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This young festival looks to grow its influence

Oro Valley Music Festival
Golf Club of Vistoso
Tucson, AZ
September 30 - October 1, 2017

Train

Brooke Eden

LeAnn Rimes

Review and photos by Frances Sealy

The third year of the Oro Valley Music Festival outside of Tucson, Arizona proved that the producers of this event are determined top make this a nationwide, world class event. The Tucson 'iHeart' radio stations," 97.1 the Bull" sponsored Saturday's lineup with an all country day while 'iHeart' "my92.9" covered Sunday's lineup with a popular music day. This was a funfilled, family event that will grow into its fourth year.

The weather was warm, breezy, and dry for the two days. The attendance increased from last year to greater than 10,000 concertgoers for this weekend. Many of the attendees were from outside of Arizona.

Brooke Eden started the festivities with a rockin' set that featured her hit single "Daddy's Money." Brooke was an engaging, energetic and polished entertainer. Next on the bill, Jana Kramer has been busy with her acting career on One Tree Hill as Alex Dupre or as the fourth place winner on Dancing With The Stars in 2016. Jana took the stage and her energy was boundless as she delivered a lively set.

As Michael Ray stormed on the stage, the fans in the crowd went crazy. He has been clearing a path for himself while writing hit records for Big & Rich and Jerrod Niemann. He has a deep voice as well as very pleasing personality and appearance. "Get To You" is his most recent single record.

Many fans agreed that the Brothers Osborne stole the show on Saturday. TJ Osborne gave strong, baritone vocals while brother John shredded slide guitar with blues, country, southern rock, and some jazz influences. Their set was amazing and left the crowd clamoring for more, much more.

The final set for the night was country superstar, Lee Brice. The burly former football player displayed his winning personality on stage as well as off stage. Brice loves to perform. His first success in Nashville was as a songwriter. He wrote a debuting Billboard number one song for Garth Brooks in 2007. Tonight's show was filled with hits including "Drinking Class" and "I Drive Your Truck." Brice paid homage to the military in the crowd. It was apparent that Brice excels as a singer and a songwriter.

Sunday was as good if not better than Saturday. The indie-rock band, Echosmith, with siblings Sydney, Noah, and Graham Sierota offered new songs from their new EP as well as their hit song "Cool Kids." Sydney is the lead singer and spokesperson for the group. They will be embarking on a headlining tour in the spring of 2018.

Country super-star LeAnn Rimes took the stage with all the bluster and bounce that one could muster during midday in Arizona. Rimes seemed to be enjoying the set as much as the thousands of fans that had gathered on the golf course. She sang a lot of her old hits with new arrangements. Her latest album release, Remnants, provided material for the set. It's hard to believe that she has been singing professionally for 20 years.

Activist Michael Franti and Spearhead easily had the most powerful performance of the day. Franti is not a hit maker, but his reputation as a dynamic, feel-good performer has made him a Tucson favorite live performer. His shows are as positive as they come. Franti has no fear as he delves into the crowds singing, shaking hands and sharing hugs with everyone along the way. He made three trips into the crowd during his set. His new single "Once A Day" was created to inspire people who are going through challenging times. Franti is truly a performer 'for the people.'

Piano man Gavin DeGraw had the task to follow up Franti and he did it with aplomb. He played many of his hits like "Chariot," "Best I Ever Had," and "Sweeter." The Billboard platinum top-ranked singer-songwriter delivered a top notched set that pulled the fans into his world. DeGraw kept the impetus going for the final act of the night, Train.

Pat Monahan of Train burst on the stage ready to show everyone ahead of him how to do it. Train has been churning out hit records for 20 years. The band has changed faces over time. The sound is as rich as ever and Monahan's vocals are powerfully endowed as ever. Monahan is all over the stage and he multitasks never missing a note. He took lots of selfies with the crowd on both sides of the stage.

One of the highlights of the set was when San Francisco 'homie', Michael Franti, joined him to perform "Save Me, San Francisco." Each performer was trying to outdo the other.

Oro Valley Music Festival 2016