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Morgan Batesole

Professor Harris

English 101

18 October 2017

Strong Connection Between McGraw and Hill Touches Audience

After attending Tim McGraw and Faith Hills performance om Thursday, October

15th, I would just like to give a huge round of applause not only to the two amazing

vocalists but to the entire production team as well. This was my first country concert,

and although I wasnt sure how I felt about attending, it exceeded all of my expectations.

McGraw and Hill, married for 20 years, put on an emotionally touching and intense

performance that connected to the audience. The performance included laser shows,

giant screens with ultra HD pictures, ascending stages and more. This concert was very

satisfying and well worth the $41 spent, primarily because of how much effort the

performers put in to give the audience a memorable experience and because of their

strong connection which radiated throughout the audience.

As stated previously, the aesthetic of the concert was amazing. Its important that

during a musical performance, all of the extras such as visuals, other noises, and

special effects equally balance out with the actual music or else they can become too

much to the point where they are distracting. This can be difficult to achieve, especially

in a 20,000 person arena, such as the PPG Paints arena in Pittsburgh where I saw the

performance. That being said, McGraw and his team avoided projecting many close ups

on the screen and inserting loud noises or bright and powerful displays during most

songs, which allowed to their voices to dominate. The two began the show on a strong
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note which set the tone for the night by romantically covering Aretha Franklin's I Knew

You Were Waiting For Me. Although they started the concert singing together, the show

transitioned into Faith Hill being the primary singer, and then Tim McGraw, with

occasional duets included in between. This structure reflects any good marriage, in the

sense that each person got their own spotlight, but then came together several times to

support each other and work together.

McGraw and Hill gave me, as an audience member, the feeling that they really

wanted to connect with their audience and that they truly cared about providing a good

experience. In past concerts Ive attended, performers have taken the stage, sang about

half of the length of their most popular songs with hitchy and short transitions and they

rarely provide dialogue between the audience. This concert, I'm happy to say, was the

exact opposite of this. McGraw and Hill utilized their large space and through moving

around to all areas of the stage and looking at all sections of the arena made the

audience feel like they existed and were being acknowledged. The couple also talked to

each other and the audience, often times providing funny anecdotes about their

marriage and home life. McGraw contributed his own review of the concert about half

way through, quoting, Not that this happens every night, but shes singing a whole lot

better than me tonight, to which the entire audience responded with a simultaneous

awwwwwww! Giving the audience insight on their marriage and actually taking the

time to talk to the audience instead of just quickly singing the songs and exiting the

stage added to the experience because I felt like they were actually happy to be playing

for us and happy that we were there. We didn't just go to see them, but they came to

see us as well.
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As touched on before, the concert wasn't rushed, and all songs were sang for at

least half of the duration of the song. The concert started at 9:30 and ended around

11:45 with no breaks, which in itself shows the time and effort this couple put in to give

a memorable show. The couple performed 26 songs total, 11 together, 7 by Hill and 8

by McGraw. Those including variations of country; deeper country such as Where the

Green Grass Grows, country rock in Angry All the Time and pop country such as

Shotgun Rider. Personally, since I am not the strongest country fanatic, I enjoyed the

pop country the most. Since I typically dont enjoy the sound of old time country music,

the deeper country played did not appeal to me very much. However, this did not

tamper with my experience, since the voices of the performers were so smooth and

rhythmic. Even during songs I knew I didnt love, I could appreciate the singers amazing

voices because of the lack of autotune included. Their setlist appealed to all audiences,

as I was surrounded by people from all ages ranging from about 15-70, all of whom

ended up on their feet singing and dancing along at one point during the show.

My favorite part of the concert was at the very end, after the two had just

performed Speak To A Girl beautifully. Being one of their most popular and touching

pieces, most of the audience expected the show to close on that note. However,

McGraw and Hill surprised everyone, because after the stage and arena darkened for

about 3 minutes, all of a sudden bright lasers beamed on the stage and the arena was

filled with light. Faith Hill entered the stage, dancing along to an upbeat song that played

in the background, and began walking down towards the bottom of the stage. Instead of

being surrounded with security guards, she led the way while about 4 followed. She

made her way around the entire perimeter of the floor, mostly consisting of general
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admission ticket holders, directly touching the hands of and thanking her fans. Next,

McGraw entered from a nosebleed section, performing the same task, and made his

way from there all the way to the stage. In fact, I even got to touch his hand (which I still

have yet to wash). Every musician, artist, singer, or famous person in general knows

that giving a regular person, especially one of their fans, the opportunity to touch their

hand or say a couple words would probably be one of the best things that could happen

to them, but still, almost no performers do this. The fact that Hill and McGraw took their

time to do everything they could to give their audience a memorable and special

experience shows that they really do care.

Truthfully, at first I doubted that I would have this enjoyable of an experience at a

country concert, mostly because I rarely listen to country music. However, McGraw and

Hill disproved my original hypothesis, and showed me an amazing time at their concert.

I believe that this concert wasnt just about the music, and although I did enjoy the

songs, it left a lasting impression because of their compassionate and caring attitudes.

After seeing this concert, I made sure to add Tim McGraw and Faith Hill to my playlist

and I plan on listening to their music much more frequently.

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