Rocking Detroit with Shania Twain and Gavin DeGraw

It’s been awhile since Mom and I had the chance to go to a concert together. I so enjoy spending time with her … she is my best friend, after all, so it was a blast when we went to see the Rock This Country Tour with Shania Twain and Gavin DeGraw at the Palace of Auburn Hills a couple weekends ago.

You all know every time I go to a concert, it rains. While we made it through the evening mostly rain free, there was a downpour on the way there, so my streak remains unbroken 😉 We didn’t let a little rain put a damper on the evening though.

Gavin DeGraw hit the stage first in the already pretty packed arena. It’s not really accurate to call him an opening act. He’s a stellar performer with great music that has been playing on the radio for years. This may have been the first time ever I wanted to see the “opening act” as much as the headliner. It bummed me out that the crowd wasn’t up and dancing as soon as he took the stage. I wanted to jump up, but I wasn’t brave enough to be the only one.

About midway through his set, Gavin left the stage and headed into the crowd while he sang my favorite song “I Don’t Want to be.” It was so cool that he mingled with the crowd and that got everyone on their feet, where we stayed for the rest of the set, which included all his hits: “Chariot,” “In Love with a Girl,” “Not Over You,” “Sweeter,” “Soldier,” Best I Ever Had,” and “Fire.” I sang along to everything, and so did Mom.

His set was over in a flash and we waited for Shania to take the stage, already super amped up. Before we knew it, Shania took the stage, appropriately opening with “Rock This Country.” From start to finish, her show was full of fireworks, laser lights, and lots of cool ways for her to move around the stage and also head into the crowd.

I have been a Shania fan since I was a little girl after one of my baby sitters introduced me to her music, so it was a blast to hear all my favorites, including “Honey I’m Home,” “Come on Over,” “Man I Feel Like a Woman,” “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” “Any Man of Mine,” “I’m Outta Here,” “Love Gets Me Every Time,” and “Don’t Be Stupid.”

She also sang a few new songs, which is always tough, but I still enjoyed them. The sound quality was a bit iffy, but when Shania slowed things down and sang “You’re Still the One” and “From This Moment,” her voice shined through and the whole crowd sang along. It was an awesome experience.

Two great performers and so many fantastic sing along moments, meant for one stellar show and evening. I’m so lucky that I got to see the show and even more so that I saw it with Mom.