See Jake Owen Discuss His Live Chops
“What It’s Like Performing Live” finds rising country star Jake Owen in a state of transition, playing shows between the release of his biggest album to date, 2011’s Barefoot Blue Jean Night, and the release of its follow-up, Days of Gold. In this promotional video, Owen goes from soundcheck to performance to after-show cool-down, reminiscing at one point about his first tour: “I was the opening, opening act on Kenny Chesney’s Flip Flop Summer tour, I believe – I was out here with Dierks Bentley and Kenny, in this same parking lot, as an opening act, playing for 15 minutes, and here I am tonight all these years later . . . and it’s sold out.”
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The camera then cuts to Owen as a bona fide country-star, rocking out an arena, complete with a rising platform, flashing lights and a roaring audience. But despite the singer’s rise, the video shows the more mundane aspects of touring, such as long road trips and the inevitable shock of stillness that follows a rowdy performance. Owen also shows that he’s something of a jokester, as when he mugs for the camera, holds up his 12-string guitar and declares that the instrument is the “king of Eighties songs.”
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Near the end, Owen says he hopes to headline his own mega-tours. Days of Gold, which is out now, could help make that wish come true.