Mitchell Tenpenny to perform at Adrian College’s Country Pop-themed 2023 Spring Concert
Posted Friday, January 27, 2023
Author: Mickey Alvarado
ADRIAN — Country Pop star Mitchell Tenpenny will perform songs from his new album, “This is the Heavy,” as Adrian College’s 2023 Spring Concert headliner, on Friday, March 24, in the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center.
Tickets can be reserved online at adriancollege.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/132.
Adrian College also booked two other country musicians as opening acts with up-and-comer Nate Smith set to light up the stage, and former After Midtown singer/songwriter Michael Rotundo returning once again as a soloist. After Midtown was one of Adrian College’s opening acts last year.
Both Smith and After Midtown opened for Tenpenny last June at a “Boots and Bands” summer concert in Jackson, Mich.
Tenpenny’s new full 20-song album, “This Is The Heavy,” contains his recent No. 1 single, “Truth About You.” The gold-selling song’s top of the chart success is the shortest span between No. 1 songs in the modern chart era with just three weeks passing since his last chart topper reached No. 1 on August 22, a co-penned collaboration with labelmate Chris Young titled, “At The End Of A Bar.”
While Tenpenny’s rock influences are featured in his new album, with heavy drums and guitars, he says the foundation for everything he does is country.
“It goes back to my rock influences, with more expressive arrangements, but lyrically it’s about what I’ve been doing the last four years of my life,” Tenpenny said. “There are still songs that have the vibe of ‘Drunk Me’ and ‘Alcohol You Later.’ I’m not one to ever leave the fans behind. Because I loved when bands stuck to what made me fall in love with them. That’s important to me. I never want to venture off too far from what first got me started.”
The Nashville native has set new standards for breakout success in country music. His 2X Platinum-certified, No. 1 hit, “Drunk Me,” amassed nearly 580 million on-demand streams. The song was taken from his introductory album, “Telling All My Secrets,” and earned the best first week showing for any major label country debut LP at the time of its release. Since then, the “winning” singer (the New York Times) has received nominations from the Academy of Country Music and the CMT Awards.
Smith says his singles, “Under My Skin,” “Sleeve,” “Heart of a County Song,” “Raised Up,” “I Don’t Want to go to Heaven,” and “Whiskey on You,” feature a mix of gritty backwoods soul, rock ‘n’ roll swagger and velvet-thunder vocals. His new self-titled album, “Nate Smith,” is set to be released in April.
