Article and Photos by: Casey Steinmiller
KANSAS CITY- A sold out show packed the floor of the Midland from wall to wall.
Located in downtown Kansas City in the Power & Light District, the Arvest Bank Theater at The Midland is a eloquent concert venue with a very classy feel. It has a max capacity of three-thousand with a multi tiered floor as well as a large upper balcony that overlooks the main area.
Kevin Garrett is a pop singer based out of Brooklyn New York. He plays the keyboard very light and mellow music accompanied by drums. As a opener he gave a very relaxed and light atmosphere to the venue, warming people up to live music. As opposed to very loud and in your face openers Kevin drew the crowd in and made them feel comfortable. Kevin hit a high range of notes in songs like Never Knock and Pushing Away as well as others off of his new EP “Mellow Drama”.
Skylar Grey a songwriter well known for co-writing Eminem and Rihanna’s Love the Way You Lie. She is also known for guest appearances on many hit singles such as Diddy’s Coming Home, Dr. Dre’s I Need a Doctor and many more. Skylar’s set started out with a very energetic intro. After introductions she moved on and Sam Harris of X-Ambassadors came out to sing Cannonball, which is collaboration between the two groups. She went on to play other songs such as Coming Up For Air, Moving Mountains, and Lemonade. She took a short break to play a medley of popular songs she has helped written. She ended her set with Gone Fishing.
After one final set change the lights went black. Intro music started and X-Ambassadors started with the highly energetic song Loveless. They moved on into Hang On, Love Songs Drug Songs, and Fear. They then slowed it down with the song Unsteady. The crowd joined in and belted out the lyrics with them. Once the song finished Sam Harris picked up his saxophone and started the song Naked, a super up beat song that is about exactly what it sounds like as well as being open and honest with people. After the song Nervous they decided to go acoustic for the song Gorgeous. The music picked back up as they moved right on into their hit Renegades. They finished the night off with the song Jungle. As the crowd chanted for more though they were obliged to play one last song Unconsolable. The crowd applauded and left very happy because of a fantastic performance.
