22 July 2024 (gig)
26 July 2024
After appearing on America’s Got Talent, Drake made a name for himself in the States, as the Elvis of Country. Earlier this year, fans in the UK and Ireland saw him perform as part of the iconic Country 2 Country tour which takes over London, Glasgow and Ireland - this year Belfast instead of Dublin, every year.
Tickets for this show have been like gold dust ever since Country 2 Country, and heading down to SWG3 in Glasgow on Monday night, people were queued up hours in advance to make sure they didn’t miss a second of the evenings' lineup.
Kicking off the show was Luke Flear, hailing from Yorkshire, Luke hit the ground running with an acoustic set of original and cover songs - it did feel a little awkward that he didn’t speak until at least a few songs in - we had no idea who was on stage or what he was playing - but once he warmed up and got chatting, playing a few covers we got to know a little bit about him and his love for country. There’s no denying that Flear has a passion for country and his vocals are utterly outstanding echoing around the venue. At the age of 22, playing to crowds that size with such talent is nothing short of impressive - Luke Flear, there's a name to remember you'll be seeing more of him soon.
It wasn’t long before the main man himself took to the stage, which was the most full I’ve ever known SWG3 to be but the atmosphere was buzzing. Kicking off with iconic covers Blue Suede Shoes and the one and only, George Straits’ The Fireman, the country crowd were raring to go and Drake had everyone on their feet dancing within the first 5 minutes of being on stage.
It’s hard to believe that Milligan only has one released album, his debut Dallas/ Forth Worth, which came out in 2022, because throughout this concert there was the perfect ratio of original tracks and covers, but even some of his originals you forget have only been available to fans for 2 years - tracks I would already consider to be country anthems.
It was back-to-back tracks with Bad Day to be a Beer Tipping Point, Over Drinkin’ Under Thinking, I Got a Problem, Hating Everything She Tries On and Jukebox Songs and Barstool Beers. When I tell you, the HEAT inside that venue felt like Drake had brought the Texas weather to this Glaswegian warehouse. Non-stop dancing, singing and partying from the Scottish country crowd.
Fans were treated to two unreleased songs Slow Dancin’ to a Fast Song which highlighted the sheer power and strength of Milligans vocals holding a note for what felt like an eternity. Speechless.
Drake told the crowd that it was “about time he started writing songs for a new record and approach a new topic for songs”, he was joking of course, as he broke out into his next release “How Much Beer” - country artists just love tracks about beer, but we love hearing them so please don’t stop.
Giving recognition to his heroes and influencers in his music, Milligan played a Buck Owens medley before moving into more of his original tracks including Goin’ Down Swingin’, What I Couldn’t Forget, Dance of a Lifetime and music to my ears - a cover of Mr Presley’s Burning Love which was note-for-note perfection. There is always the wonder when an artist who has a famous Christmas song, whether they will play it mid-year at their headline set, and Drake Milligan brought the Festive season to Scotland with his ‘Cowgirl for Christmas’ and had the crowd singing along every single word, pure poetry.
Closing the show, we heard a variety of covers from Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Ronnie Dunn before a final 3 tracks which blew the crowd away, including Long Haul, Kiss Goodbye All Night and of course, the top Milligan track of all - Sounds Like Something I’d Do.
I’ve reviewed and attended hundreds of concerts in my lifetime, but nothing quite compares to what I saw Drake Milligan produce on Monday night. From the stage presence to the delivery and energy, this man is the next big thing and I can promise you now, the next visit to Europe will be in venues if not double, triple the size and capacity. Watch this space, because the new King of Country has made his mark in Scotland.
