Drake White is an American country artist, singer, and songwriter, who first found success with his first hit single of 2016 “Making Me Look Good Again. ” With his powerful voice, catchy tunes, and energetic performances, White gained a loyal following that saw him start his first-ever headlining tour in 2017.
The Livin’ the Dream Tour began in January 2017 to promote White’s first studio album, Spark. The name of the tour was a tribute to the record’s first track and White’s worldview, where people should remain faithful to their aspirations. The tour continued throughout over 40 cities in the United States and Canada for the next seven months. Some of the legendary venues that were frequented included the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee; the House of Blues; and a gig at California’s Stagecoach Festival.
White came with the live show energy performing with his five-piece band with a fiddle player, drummer, bassist, electric guitarist, and his long-time friend Dave Baxter the keyboardist. Both shows included songs from Spark: “Way Out,” “Making Me Look Good Again,” and “Backroads. ” But White also threw in some cover tunes and songs that were not on Spark to surprise the audience. Some of the songs he used often in the shows were self-compositions such as ‘I Won’t Back Down’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and ‘Diamond in My Pocket. ’ The shows also had a mix of fast energetic performances with slow acoustic performances.
The audience and reviewers had a high appreciation for the entertaining aspects of the live performance and the non-stop energy that reportedly Drake White had on stage. Wearing a guitar with a red hollow body Gretsch and a harmonica that was put around his neck, White ran through the stage and performed dancing, bending down to embrace the audience and even doing backflips on the drums platform. Added to this was his deep, soulful voice and the performances were more akin to a ‘healing’ service than what one would expect of a country artist.
After the Livin’ the Dream Tour, Drake White had more radiance because of songs such as “Makin’ Me Look Good Again” and “Bad News. ” In 2018, he sought to build on that success with a headlining tour across America.
The “Down to the HonkyTonk Tour” began in February of 2018 to support the new EP Pieces by White. Some other artists that have performed during the event’s opening sets include Michael Ray, Devin Dawson, and Dawson Hollow among others. This time White visited larger 2,000-3,000 seater stadia such as the Ryman, Fillmores, Eagles Ballroom, and the like. He also headlined for the first time at some of the most prestigious venues such as the House of Blues in Boston, Chicago as well as Myrtle Beach. Other venues included Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, First Avenue in Minneapolis, and the Georgia Theatre in Athens.
Similar to the previous concert, Drake and his band raised the energy of the spectators with their powerful renditions of such hits as “It Feels Good” and “Makin’ Me Look Good Again,” as well as, presenting new songs from the Pieces EP, including “All Night” and the funky-twinged title song. On the ballad ‘Pieces,’ White was at his best when he was alone on a stool surrounded by only his harmonica and his Gretsch guitar. Further, he also ensured that the audiences were on their feet guessing and singing along with him some of the original songs he mixed with Johnny Cash's’ Folsom Prison Blues and Tom Petty’s Free Fallin'.
Although eager to perform in big halls, White ensured that he continued with the small hall vibe as much as he could. This he does through extra acoustic performances on the B-stages, which are smaller stages in the middle of the rear end of arena floors to enable him to perform near the fans. In these few occasions where he does stripped-down sets, White accompanies himself on his old Gibson J-45, sings songs requested from the audience, and shares stories on how some of the songs came to be. This gives the concertgoer a closer view of the exciting, high-energy performer before he goes back to the big stage to perform hit songs such as ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘Lightning Bolt’.
After six months of touring across the states, the Down to the HonkyTonk Tour wrapped up in August 2018 with a triumphant three-show run at the historic Ryman Auditorium. White always associated the Ryman with a home and felt that the concerts were his return to the home after touring. He decided to invite many friends to join him on the stage during the entire residency, including Vince Gill, Michael Ray, and Devin Dawson. The milestone shows also include the World Premiere of ‘Wild Woman,’ which celebrates daring women. Drake would go on to release “Wild Woman” as the official single in late 2018 to further dominate the radio stations.
Thanks to two highly successful national tours as well as a frequent radio presence, Drake White has risen from being a talented hotshot into one of the most captivating and sought-after live performers in country music by 2019. With this success, the management of White capitalized on this by taking White as the direct opener for Dierks Bentley’s Burning Man Tour 2019. The massive tour took them through more than forty cities from January to September 2019, playing in arenas, which had a seating capacity of 10,000 or above.
Bentley personally chose White as his opening act after they worked together on 2016’s empowering anthem “Black. ” As the supporting artist, White got the chance to perform popular songs and some tracks from his next studio album to Bentley’s dedicated fans. Moreover, after Bentley’s set, Bentley would have White join him again to sing backing vocals and play the guitar as a guest on Bentley songs like ‘Drunk on a Plane’, ‘5-1-5-0’ and ‘Somewhere on a Beach’. This opportunity to perform with Bentley was instrumental in getting new fans for Drake White and also in raising anticipation for new songs to be released.
Non-stop gigs and captivating everyone on Bentley’s tour and Drake White's headlining acts made him one of the best live performers in Nashville. White also used constant touring to trial new material for a second album that is expected to be released in 2020. They only anticipate that the new album and extensive touring are only the beginning of a long and prosperous career for the charming country rocker Drake White.
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