Jake Owen Kicks Off “Up There Down Here Tour” with a Bang at Rosemont Theatre in Chicago
It’s been over three years since Jake Owen released his last full studio album, but 2022 sure has been a great year for the “Made For You” singer, and he’s just getting started.
Back in August, Jake joined the “double-digit club” after securing his tenth number one single with “Best Thing Since Backroads.” He’s been doing it a while, as his first number one hits came back in 2011 with “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” and “Alone With You.”
Photo Matthew Paskert
Another activity Jake’s been doing for a while is touring the country and bringing his “Beachin’” vibe to whichever city he arrives in. The Florida native, who transitioned from RCA Nashville to Big Loud in 2017, decided to kick off this big tour in Chicago this go-around, and he sure was excited about it.
“I’m pumped. Excited to have @travisrdenning and @mackcarpmusic along for the ride. Chicago… (you’re) up first. Let’s go.”
Mackenzie Carpenter welcomed a fairly large crew at the very beginning, as you could tell she definitely had a fanbase there to see her. Her new single, “Huntin’ Season” was one that got the crowd going, and she even had some new merch on sale to go along with the new song.
Travis Denning kept the crowd going with his hits “ABBY” and “After a Few.” Jake Owen went on to call Travis “one of the best guys you could ever hangout with” and a “bad ass”. Both Denning and Carpenter eventually came back on the stage later in the show to join Owen for “Good Company.”
But the star of the show, Jake Owen, seemed to be having the time of his life out there. There’s always the “first show of the tour” jitters, but Jake didn’t seem to have any of that whatsoever. He started the show with one of his classics, “Anywhere With You”, and never slowed down from there. Jake played all ten of his number one songs, and played them with conviction. He may have thrown a guitar pick out to the crowd during every single song. Throughout the show, Owen constantly thanked Chicago for allowing him to kick off his tour in their city.
Another piece of the show that Jake was very proud of, was the stage lights and screen videography. He had a special team that helped put together an exciting backdrop of red strobe lights, a lit up ramp that he walked up and down, and some entertaining videos to accompany his music. One that stood out was the Super Mario Brothers graphics that were playing on the screen during his hit “Grass Is Always Greener”. He thanked the producers and creative directors with a special shoutout during the show, and again on his Instagram stories after the show, giving mentions to several individuals involved in the stage production.
Jake capped off the show with “Barefoot Blue Jean Night”, a hit that just about every fan in the audience knew by heart. But just in case, the stage production team had a super cool backdrop that showed a karaoke version of the song for all fans to make sure they sang all the words. Jake made sure to post to Instagram one more time to show his love and appreciation for night one of the tour:
“Night 1 … Up There Down Here Tour … Thanks so much to Chicago for letting us launch this thing in your town. It was a blast. I’m so thankful for everyone involved in making this happen. @mackcarpmusic is a (star) no doubt. @travisrdenning is one of the best guys you could ever hangout with and a bad ass. My band, crew, bus drivers, truck drivers, and the fans. We all did it. This is a dream.”
Jake continues his tour through the end of November, concluding in Buford, GA. More information and ticket links are available at https://www.jakeowen.net/events.