This past Thursday I went to Sam Hunt's concert in Albuquerque, NM, a part of his "Locked Up" tour. Once we arrived we checked in then had lunch with Dave, Russell Dickerson's rep, at a Mexican restaurant called Abuelita's. I always enjoy hearing the stories the record reps have about various country stars. After that, we drove over to the Isleta Amphitheatre. I had been there a few times but never realized there's parking in the back behind the stage, which is where we went in through. Once there, we got our radio room passes and walked to the back, behind the stage, through a wooden hall where the talent tour buses were and into the radio room.
The first artist we met was George Birge, (Mind on You, Cowboy Songs). While waiting for him in the radio room it started raining which was a nice reprieve from the heat! There was a small couch and a cooler and bar. George walked in and he immediately recognized some faces, including my manager Patti Diaz, who had met him a couple years ago as a budding artist, (she posted a video about this, check out her IG or Facebook). This was my first time meeting him and he was very nice. We talked about his dad being part Portuguese, his love for mariachis, (he says they are extremely talented), and possibly making his way to El Paso. His roommate and good friend is from here! Therefore I had to test his Spanish. Go to my social media and you can see the video of me giving George Birge a Spanish quiz.
The second artist we met was Russell Dickerson, (God Gave Me a Girl, Love You Like I Used To, and his new release, Bones). He was the most animated and very fun. He reminded me a lot of Jim Carey, (think Ace Ventura, Pet Detective). He wore a belt that had his name on the back, and he too was familiar with some of the other people in the room. I believe he had the most energy. One of the women in the room, Bev who is a seasoned radio personality and had beautiful long blonde hair down past her knees, told a story about a time where she was at a Russell Dickerson concert, near the stage, next to a woman. This woman and her started talking and Bev was commenting to her on how impressed she was with how much this woman was enjoying watching his concert. Bev told her "wow you really like him," to which she replied, "I'm his wife!" They were instant friends.
I asked Russell Dickerson to do the macarena with me to see if he knew it and he did indeed! When I saw his performance later that evening I realized that dancing is a strong suite of his, so the macarena probably wasn't much of a challenge for him. Next time I'll see if he knows the line dance to Shaboozy's "A Bar Song" haha!
The final artist we met was the headliner himself Sam Hunt. He seemed the most reserved and very nice. One of the girls in the room, Delila Star, was a huge Sam Hunt fan and very nervous to meet him. Once he walked in and I had introduced myself, I started making convo with someone from his team who was covered in tattoos asking about his art and saying hello to Hunt's tour manager. I then went back to the group, standing next to Sam and joking about how Patti thought he was good looking. I asked him about his wife's work as an RN and how life with 2 kids was on the road. When it was picture time, I asked him if he'd ever seen the movie Stepbrothers and he said yes, (did we just become best friends), and I requested the Stepbrothers pose for our photo, to which he gladly agreed. I think we pulled it off. Just call us Dragon and Nighthawk.
After that, we spent some time in George Birge's tour bus hearing more stories, then went to the pit to enjoy the concert. I had a blast and the crowd was huge! We ended the night at a Honky Tonk before I finally went to sleep at 3am. This will definitely be a night to remember.
Go find me on social media for more videos and pictures from Sam Hunt's "Locked Up" tour with Russel Dickerson and George Birge, and listen to them on 96.3 KHEY Country!