Home Free Warms Our Hearts And Souls in Charlotte
Warmest Winter Tour Makes a Stop at Ovens Auditorium
Live music has made a big comeback in 2021 especially in the latter half of the year. After being without shows for well over a year, music fans weren’t taking anything for granted and this holiday season would be no exception. I will freely admit that the holiday season is my absolute favorite time of year. I don’t know what it is but give me the music, the lights, the festivities, and the joy that it all brings and I am definitely in my element. So, of course, I always check out all the festive concerts and shows heading to town each year and do my best to attend as many as possible. This year I decided to take in something a bit different and finally get to see Home Free live in concert.
In case you aren’t familiar with the group, Home Free is an acapella country singing group with five outstanding vocalists, Austin Brown, Rob Lundquist, Adam Rupp, Tim Foust, and Adam Chance. They made a name for themselves back in 2013 after winning the fourth season of The Sing-Off television show and their popularity has soared ever since. Vocally they run the gamut with a lead tenor, a high tenor, a baritone, a bass, and a beatboxer for all those percussion sounds. The harmonies are beautiful and Home Free provides a unique experience for music lovers and I was excited to see what their show would entail.
Their latest album Land of the Free was released last summer to much acclaim. This round though Home Free is touring in support of their 2020 release Warmest Winter and made a stop in our fair city at Ovens Auditorium to a capacity crowd. The fan base was varied with everyone from one to one hundred in attendance for what would be one of the best shows of the season. With a winter, holiday theme, the stage was set with a wooden bar in the center decorated with red Christmas stockings and Christmas trees lit up in blue lights flanked each side of the stage. A huge, Home Free Warmest Winter banner hung at the rear.
The second the group hit the stage to “Christmas Don’t Be Late,” I was hooked. What a phenomenal show! There were beautiful songs, uplifting stories, and some funny moments as well. The group even threw some money into the crowd after “Cold Hard Cash.” Everyone got up out of their seats for the Dallas Frazier song “Elvira,” I mean who doesn’t like to “Giddy up!” now and again.
For me, the most touching moment of the evening was during “Warmest Winter” and I admit I shed a tear or two during this one. The second half of the show featured the always fun “Sea Shanty Medley” and a drum solo which featured beatboxer Adam Rupp taking us through some great rock and pop tunes with his amazing skills. If you closed your eyes, you would swear there was a full drum kit and drummer on stage. He was that good. There were also some traditional songs thrown into the mix with an inspiring version of “How Great Thou Art.” The evening closed with some holiday classics with “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Auld lang syne” before Home Free got the crowd on their feet one more time for a rousing sing-along of “Ring of Fire.”
This was a fantastic holiday experience that the whole family can enjoy. Be sure to check out Home Free when they make a stop in your town no matter the time of year. You won’t be disappointed.
