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If you’ve ever wondered what Albany, NY, might look like if it were a city in Texas, wonder no more. On the evening of Friday, June 20, thanks to Grammy award-winner Chris Stapleton coming to town to perform to a sold-out crowd, downtown Albany felt like you had somehow been transported to Texas with all of the cowboy boots, cut-off jean shorts, and cowboy hats on every pedestrian walking the streets surrounding the MVP arena. I had no idea we New Yorkers were so country!

It was truly quite something.

And truth be told: we were no different.

We had bought our tickets to this coveted show in early May and a few days before the concert, the topic of attire came up: cowboy boots was where it was at. So I did what any other person getting ready to attend the King of Country music’s concert would do, I dug out my Lucchese boots, dusted them off, and got excited that I finally had a valid reason to wear them. Obviously I paired them with some cut-off jean shorts while the boys donned jeans, boots, and Coors and Modelo t-shirts. When in Rome and all that.

The 2025 tour, a megaphone serenation, and parking

Chris Stapleton kicked off his “All-American Road Show” tour in early June, the Albany show actually being one of his first on this tour. But if you missed this show, he’ll be back in New York, at Madison Square Garden and the UBS Arena, at the end of July. And to be frank, the show was worth the ticket price. So if you’re kicking yourself for having missed the Albany show (as you really should be doing), I’d advise you to consider the other two New York dates and locations. … The show was truly incredible. 

I’ve been to a few events at the MVP Arena and I have to give a shout-out to them because it’s truly a great venue. I wished they had more big names and shows like this because man-o-man! I know they’d be sold out too. Just before COVID, I saw Celine Dion there and that too was incredible. Most recently, we saw Disney On Ice and let me tell you, it was a delight! 

For this Chris Stapleton concert, getting to the MVP Arena and finding a parking spot attached to the venue truly wasn’t that big of a deal. $20 to park, sign me up. After navigating through the throngs of cowboys and girls lined up outside the venue, and being serenaded by a man with a megaphone on the street corner, we opted not to stay in line for the first parking lot to the right but drove to the one “behind” the arena. 

Pro tip: it’s $20 cheaper to park there than in the front parking building. 

We parked on the top floor and had a gorgeous view of The Egg and Empire State Plaza. Another pro tip: when we were leaving, there’s an extra exit on the 4th floor parking garage and it made our exit all the quicker. From leaving our seats at the end of the show to exiting the parking lot building, it took us 15 minutes. Sure, we hauled a$$ to beat the crowd, but considering we thought we’d be stuck in traffic for an hour, it was a true delight to get out of there so quickly.

One last thing about the MVP Arena besides the whole parking sitch, IMHO it is big enough without being too big. We never had to wait too long to get a drink or food or to use the bathroom… well, the one bathroom was crowded before the show so I ventured to the other side and there was literally no line there. 

The lines for Chris Stapleton’s merch on the other hand, well let’s just say they were all pretty long before the show started.

Maggie Rose kicked off the show

Chris Stapleton only had one act before he took the stage and it was Maggie Rose with her band. When she went on, the arena was probably at half capacity, but by the time she finished, it was almost full and the crowd gave her and her band a warm welcome. 

To be honest, I’d never heard of Maggie Rose before this night, but she and her band blew my cowboy boots right off! Maggie is a soul and country singer who hails from Maryland, and she delighted us with upwards of a dozen original and cover songs. Her band was simply incredible, and paired with her killer vocals… I was truly in awe. She’s got a set of pipes on her and she could probably sing the phone book and make it sound ah-mazing. 

So if you were like me (before the show that is) and haven’t heard of her – look her up, add her to your Spotify playlist and give her a listen. You will not be sorry. Maggie Rose, I’m officially a huge fan!

Mr. Stapleton takes the stage

Then it was time for the King of Country music to take the stage. 

After Maggie Rose and her band exited the stage, the stagehands went to work to uncover and transform the stage. It was simple yet elegant. The center of the stage was flanked on either side behind where Chris stood with one area for the keyboardist and the other area for the pedal steel guitarist, those confined areas were a-lit with Edison bulbs as was the front of the stage. 

When Chris and his band took the stage, I think all of Albany heard the crowd welcome them. The arena lost their minds with their applause. 

Without any preamble, Chris and his band jumped right in with “Bad As I Used To Be,” followed by “Midnight Train To Memphis,” and by the time he moved onto “Arkansas,” everyone in our section was still standing, swaying to the music, hands up in the air, belting out the lyrics. 

It wasn’t until his sixth or seventh song, which were “Nobody To Blame,” and “Millionaire,” respectively, that he first addressed the crowd. He was brief, but thanked everyone for coming out and hoped they had a good concert with him. He addressed a few of the concert-goers and signs that they held in the pit throughout his set. At one point, he saw a sign where one of his guests asked if he’d sign their yearbook. This garnered a chuckle from him and he had one of the security bring the yearbook up to him and he took the time to write a full page for that person, and he then read it to the crowd and everyone loved it. 

He continued with more incredible songs like “Think I’m In Love With You,” and “Joy Of My Life,” while he very obviously kept looking to his wife who was singing backup to his left on the stage. He continued with the likes of “Where Rainbows Never Die,” and “White Horse.” But it didn’t take me that long to realize that Mr. Chris Stapleton is the King of Country music for a reason – he’s truly a national treasure. It was during this opening song, “Bad As I Used To Be,” that I just went, “Wow! He sounds just as amazing as he does on his records.” And how many artists can truly say that? But that is how the entire performance was, it was as if you were listening to him on the radio – but way better. 

He sang one banger after another, the crowd singing along to just about every song. And when he introduced his band, he was so complimentary and kind. The obvious love and respect he’s got for his band was so evident as was the camaraderie that they had, and the little anecdotes he included for a few of them made you feel more connected. 

Now, I can’t remember if it was a member of Stapleton’s band or Maggie Rose’s, but one of the guitarists (or was it the bassist?) hailed from Western New York. Can I just say that when that little tidbit was announced during the introductions, the crowd lost it. The decibel level of the hoots and hollers magnified by about tenfold. I guess you can’t say that we New Yorkers don’t celebrate other New Yorkers successes and are proud of fellow New Yorkers.

When the clock neared 11 pm, Stapleton began with the opening to “Tennessee Whiskey,” and the whole house lost it. I don’t think one person in the arena wasn’t singing along. And I have to tell you this: I think the live version may have been even better than the recorded version that we’ve all been listening to and loving for years. That’s just how incredible Mr. Chris Stapleton and his band are when you see them live. So let me just encourage you yet again, as long as time and finances allow, to go see him. He is incredible. 

We opted to try to beat the crowds and so we ducked out after “Tennessee Whiskey,” but he did take two encore songs, “Traveller,” and “Outlaw State of Mind,” which I can only imagine were incredible too. But overall, just amazing. A standing ovation for the King of Country. And yes, given the chance, I’ll definitely go see him again!

View the full set list here.