By Arden Berry | Arts & Life Editor
Swoon-worthy, sultry, sweet beats filled Foster Pavilion Friday night.
Rising country star and Midland native Braxton Keith and opener Cassidy Daniels brought vocals both bright and deep to the venue.
Daniels strolled on stage with a tasseled vest and deep crimson dress. She opened with “Ain’t No Jukebox,” which she described as a honky-tonk song. She then sang “Heart-Shaped Necklace,” a song referencing her disdain for heart-shaped jewelry and a boyfriend that got her something heart-shaped anyway.
“This one’s for the ladies out there,” Daniels said. “ … I hope you find someone that knows you. To be known is to be loved.”
Daniels danced and whipped her red hair around throughout her hour-long set. She shredded her acoustic guitar and a mandolin. She sang “When It Rains” as green lights cast a glow on the stage like a stormy sky.
“Sorry about the weather, y’all,” Daniels said. “ … it starts raining, I start missing somebody.”
Daniels gravelly low notes and loud and clear high notes rung through the arena as she sang songs like “That Kind of Man,” “Come to Jesus” and “The Chaser.”
“Y’all are so quiet I feel like I could hear a mouse pissing on a cotton ball,” Daniels said of the crowd.
Daniels sang a new song alongside a set mostly filled by her recent album, “What Have I Got To Lose.” Songs from the album included the titular piece, “Crazy Love” and “Perfume Over Cigarette Smoke.” Daniels said “Perfume Over Cigarette Smoke” was inspired by Miranda Lambert.
“Do we have any Miranda Lambert fans?” Daniels said. “I wanted to come up with something that I thought she would do.”
Daniels ended her set with “Amen & Hell Yeah.”
“Thank you so much,” Daniels said.
Tomball freshman Kendall Carlton met Daniels after her set.
“She was so, so good, adding all her songs to my playlist,” Carlton said. “ … She was so sweet.”
Following the opening act, Keith’s band made their way on stage to the sound of wild west music. Red lights shone out as Keith stepped on stage with a cowboy hat, jeans and a jean jacket on.
Keith opened with “Real Damn Deal.” His nasal tenor tunes cut through the air as the crowd on standing in the floor area went wild. Smoke and multicolored lights filled the stage as he sang songs like “Gonna Come Back as a Country Song,” “Little Bit By Little Bit” and “Lonely As The Lone Star.”
“Living it up in the Lone Star State y’all,” Keith said.
Keith referenced his performance at The Backyard Bar Stage and Grill in April.
“Anyone ever come to the show at The Backyard in Waco?” Keith said. “ … This is one of my favorite ones from the old set y’all.”
Keith then played “A Little Bit Closer” as the packed crowd on the floor swayed and sang along. He went on to play songs both sweet and sad, with “Let Me Love You More,” “Giving Up On You,” “White Walls” and “That’s How Hearts Get Broken.”
Bright blue lights backed love song “Fall This Way.”
“Y’all, I’m getting married on Wednesday,” Keith said.
While many of his songs were familiar to the audience, he sang one unreleased song that he and his band had been working on in the studio called “Hungover or Not.”
“We got a little banger,” Keith said. “This is my favorite song that we recorded.”
Keith then introduced his band.
“The honky-tonk train is leaving the station,” Keith said.
Keith kept the country tunes going with “Cozy,” “Under Them Neons” and “Blue.”
“I wrote this song when I was in Nashville, Tennessee, missing Texas y’all,” he said of “Blue.”
Keith ended the set with “I Ain’t Tryin’,” then walked off stage while holding his hat out to the crowd.
“Thank you for supporting country music,” Keith said. “We love y’all, Waco, Texas. We’ll see you next time.”
After some chanting from the crowd, however, Keith returned to the stage to sing a cover of “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks. Those who had walked away from the stage quickly ran back.
Keith brought in a variety of fans to fill the floor, Baylor students and otherwise. Zachary White, who lives in Temple, said he had been wanting to see Keith for months.
“I took the chance as soon as I heard he was going to come here,” White said. “ … Absolutely amazing. 100% going to see him again as soon as he’s close.”
Grapevine sophomore Jesse Pinto said he had been to a couple of Keith’s previous concerts.
“I sang my heart out to every single [song],” Pinto said.
Pinto said he went to Keith’s VIP meet and greet.
“I got so nervous I forgot to talk,” Pinto said.
Rosenberg freshman Kymberly Johnson also said she has loved Keith’s music for a long time.
“I also DM’d him and he hearted my message,” Johnson said. “I’m happy for his wife. She’s a lucky gal.”
Lumberton freshman Kennedi Canter said Keith put on a good show.
“He was amazing,” Canter said.
