It was a good ol’ fashioned backyard barbecue atmosphere at Caesars Windsor on Friday, June 16, 2023, as Canadian country music star Brett Kissel led a musical party from The Colosseum stage.
Reminiscent of a 1990s Garth Brooks concert energy, Kissel bounded across the stage throughout his performance, flanked by his band, who were armed with piercing electric guitar, pounding drums, soothing acoustics, and a splash of fiddle.
Hands were waving, cell phone lights were shining, fans were swaying back and forth, and children were dancing in the aisles during the all-ages concert.
It was also a coming-of-age performance for the St. Paul, Alberta native on Friday.
After playing The Chrysler Theatre in Windsor twice early in his career, in front of only a few hundred people, Kissel said it was always a goal to headline The Colosseum.
Fast forward to 2023, he didn’t hold back with expressing his admiration for the Caesars crowd of 3,500-plus fans.
“I want to thank you very much for making this dream come true, a decade in the making,” Kissel told the crowd.
“This is too good to be true. Don’t get me wrong, I wish I had the opportunity to come here sooner, I really do, but we all know what happened the last couple of years, which is why tonight of all nights I want everybody to look around… because this right here is a family as far as I’m concerned, this is a family of country music.”
Kissel dove into his catalog throughout the evening, opening the show with his 2020 track ‘She Drives Me Crazy’, performing his debut single from 2013 ‘It Started With A Song’, and ripping through his countless other hits, including ‘Airwaves’, ‘Drink About Me’, and ‘Anthem’.
Kissel also welcomed the show’s opening act Steven Lee Olsen on stage to perform ‘Make A Life, Not A Living’, a track from Kissel’s 2021 album ‘What Is Life?’, which was co-written by Olsen.
Kissel wrapped up the show on an enthusiastic high note while cranking the volume up to 11 and crossing over into rock ‘n roll.
“You guys are making me feel like a rock star,” Kissel told the crowd before blazing through a mash-up of Canadian rock classics: ‘Born to Be Wild’ by Steppenwolf, ‘Roller’ by April Wine, ‘One Week’ by Barenaked Ladies, ‘Sunglasses at Night’ by Corey Hart, ‘Summer of ’69’ by Bryan Adams, and ‘Raise a Little Hell’ by Trooper.
Back in April, SWOMP caught up with Kissel for an interview, where he discussed the second installment of his four-part ‘The Compass Project’, along with his JUNO-award winning career.
Listen to the full interview below:
Here is the full setlist from the June 16, 2023 concert:
1. She Drives Me Crazy
2. We Were That Song
3. A Few Good Stories
4. Never Have I Ever
5. Cool With That
6. Drink About Me
7. Watch It
8. Tough People Do
9. Make a Life, Not a Living
10. Raise Your Glass
11. Airwaves
12. Cadillac Ranch (Bruce Springsteen cover)
13. Started With a Song
14. Thank God I’m a Country Boy (John Denver cover)
Encore:
15. Anthem
16. Born to Be Wild / Roller / One Week / Sunglasses at Night / Summer of ’69 / Raise a Little Hell
Here are some more photos from the show:
