UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Country rawker and local legend Aaron Lewis made his annual acoustic trip to the Mohegan Sun Arena this past Friday night for an incredible performance. This night had it all, Staind songs, country songs, cover songs and even some songs that were so new… he hasn’t even named them yet.
Lewis has been consistently touring the United States over the past year plus with his country acoustic show and has been selling out on a regular basis. Clearly fans across the country have embraced Lewis’s country act. Along for this part of the tour was slide guitar virtuoso Ben Kitterman.
Opening up the show with the Staind classic So Far Away, Lewis had the crowd singing along from the first note and primed them for the night. The next couple of songs Northern Redneck and Grandaddy’s Gun brought out the country side of the night.
After a few other songs, Lewis mentioned he was writing new material and wanted to play one for the crowd. This song was so new it didn’t even have a name yet and this was the first time he played it live.
Without skipping a beat, Lewis showed off his singing chops by taking on a random but extremely enjoyable cover of Cindi Lauper’s Time After Time. Lewis had his voice so high that I honestly thought it was a female singing the first verse. This is not a knock – it was amazing. Another cover, Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive came next as this has been in his live rotation for a few years.
Taking a minute to regroup, Lewis mentioned the current state of country music and stated he’s “hard-pressed to find anything country about it”. This was clearly a knock at all of these polished pop country acts that have the country look down, but not much else. This was a perfect segue to his song That Ain’t Country.
The rest of the set was a mix of Staind songs, another cover song and some solo material. Some of the highlights included the songs Zoe Jane, Right Here, It’s Been Awhile, country boy and Alice in Chains song Rooster. Lewis did an emotional version of Rooster as he dedicated it to the men and women that have served in our countries armed forces. Probably the loudest ovation and singalong went to the song Massachusetts. This has quickly become a crowd favorite at his shows, especially in the New England area.
Lewis took a short break and came back for a quick three-song encore. Starting off the encore was a great cover of Bob Seger’s Turn the Page. Lewis’s voice and emotion fit this song perfectly. He finished off the night with Lesson Learned and Outside.
I would personally go see Aaron Lewis any time he decides to tour. Although low-key, Lewis has a great personality for these acoustic shows and truly plays for the audience… despite telling a fan that yelled out a request for a Pearl Jam song, “I don’t want to play Pearl Jam. Go see Pearl Jam if you want to hear them”.
Send your comments or suggestions to [email protected]. The Rawk Report provides updated concert reviews and news for the New England Area.
