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Blake Shelton brought his 2020 Friends and Heroes Tour to Sacramento to play a sold-out show at Golden 1 Center on Saturday, February 22nd. Shelton shared the stage with Lauren Alaina and Shelton’s own personal heroes: John Anderson, The Bellamy Brothers and Trace Adkins.
“Ya’ll know this tour is called The Friends and Heroes Tour, right? That’s a hero right there. That is an icon. That’s a legend,” said Shelton after John Anderson took the stage.
While Shelton had some classic superstar country artists on stage with him, he never missed a beat. Shelton’s own wide collection of hits showed that he was a hero himself. With number one songs dating from 2008 to now, Shelton had the crowd on their feet, dancing, drinking, and all around feeling good.
Shelton made a 17,000 capacity arena feel intimate as he connected with the audience in the simplest of ways. Putting down his guitar for a few songs, Shelton walked the stage with a sense of ease, shaking hands and signing autographs.
“It won't hurt my feelings if you guys wanna go get a beer, you gotta go do whatever you gotta do.This is going to take a long time tonight. I’m glad you all came on a Saturday night to celebrate Country music with me," said Shelton.
Shelton’s band was impeccable. His fiddle player, Jenee Fleenor, recently became the first woman to win the CMA’s “Musician of Year”, and there was no doubt that she deserved the recognition. Fleenor’s ability to play the fiddle, as if she was shredding on an electric guitar, was on a whole other level. The entire band brought the country rock-star energy that helped Shelton ignite the Golden 1 Center stage.
John Anderson, The Bellamy Brothers and Trace Adkins, each played their own three to four song set-list, that came full circle when Shelton invited them all up to perform what they felt were their biggest hits of their careers. After eight years of judging on The Voice, Shelton is all about a little friendly competition.
"The greatest moment of my touring life is getting to sit up here with these people. Like, unbelievable. I want you all to know that you're looking at country music hall of fame-rs. And even though I look up to all of these guys--I still can't help but feel a little bit competitive in this situation. I am a coach on The Voice, okay? So I decided, that we would find out on this tour, once and for all, which one of all of us, has the greatest country song," said Shelton.
The Friends and Heroes Tour is a tour for anyone looking to have a good time. Country fan or non-country fan, old or young, Shelton delivers.