#OfftheRecord: Eric Paslay Gives The UK One Hell of a Friday Night

Eric Paslay is both a heavyweight singer and songwriter. Even those unfamiliar with Paslay’s own recorded work will doubtless be familiar with hits such as ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night,’ as made famous by Jake Owen. Despite the list of songs in his name, both recorded by him and others, he is as unassuming a star as they come – casually strolling into the Borderline as one of the masses, giving us a casual, ‘enjoy the show,’ on the way into the venue.

It was clear from the start just how popular Paslay is with the UK audience, starting his set off to rapturous applause for his first single of the night ‘Keep On Falling.’ Going in I knew just how prolific a songwriter Paslay was – his attention to detail being one of the reasons he has earned so much success with his songwriting – however the rich tonality of his voice, its range and depth was what really shocked me and got the biggest reactions from the crowd. This first single gave Paslay a just opportunity to prove such talent. He managed to build on this throughout the set, each single unveiling yet other brilliant facets to his vocal tonality and range – from soulful to rock to true country, his voice alone traversed state lines.

Paslay and his team clearly know how to deliver a set and how to balance it to gain the most approval from a crowd, spacing tracks from his various albums out alongside a few new singles and tunes he penned for other artists, such as Rewind (recorded by Rascal Flatts) and Barefoot Blue Jean Night (recorded by Jake Owen) alongside some shrewdly chosen covers, including On the Road Again and Tears in Heaven. The range of his tracks was particularly impressive – from the slower hits including ‘She Don’t Love You,’ to the more uptempo ‘Song About A Girl,’ to the groovy, swaggering ‘High Class,’ Paslay knew how to get a crowd going and pull at their heartstrings in equal measure. One such heart pulling moment was ‘Deep As It Is Wide’ that allowed him to show off his vocals, but also his emotion and passion that poured forth from the song, making the whole of The Borderline spellbound.

The particular highlights, personally, were the two final numbers of the night – ‘Friday Night’ which really got the crowd going and ‘Free Fallin.’ The two in conjunction got the whole of the audience fired up, particularly when Paslay was joined by Fairground Saints for the latter.

Having not known exactly what to expect from a Eric Paslay gig, I was hugely impressed with an incredibly versatile, balanced performance. There was not a false note in terms of song choice or vocals and he managed to keep his own and the crowd’s energy going throughout – everything that a UK country audience loves. We can’t wait to see him back on these shores again soon.

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Set List

1. Keep on Falling

2. Song About A Girl

3. Barefoot Blue Jean Night (recorded by Jake Owen)

4. Never Really Wanted/Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)

5. Tears in Heaven (Eric Clapton cover)

6. Angel Eyes (recorded by Love & Theft)

7. Amarillo Rain

8. Young Forever

9. Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love

10. She Don’t Love You

11. Even If It Breaks Your Heart (recorded by Eli Young Band)

12. Live On

13. Rewind (recorded by Rascal Flatts)

14. High Class

15. Deep As It Is Wide

16. Here Comes Love/On The Road Again (Willie Nelson cover)

17. I Would’ve Said Goodbye

18. Friday Night

19. Less Than Whole/Amazing Grace

20. Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty cover) (with Fairground Saints)