Casey James at The Loft at City Winery, NYC, USA

Blues singer, songwriter, guitarist Casey James lit up the stage at The Loft at City Winery in New York City. Located at 155 Varick Street on the second floor above the parent venue, City Winery, The Loft at City Winery, is an intimate venue that opened in May 2018, and provided longtime, as well as first time, Casey James fans with the opportunity to experience his creative talent up-close and personal.

Casey James
Live at The Loft at City Winery, NYC

Having heard and loved Casey James’ killer new release, Casey James – Strip It Down, on Friday, July 6, 2018, we went to The Loft at City Winery to experience Casey James live and were wowed by his talent and his generosity as a musician, taking time out before the show to do a meet and greet with VIP guests, and again after the show providing more fans the opportunity to come by and say hello. Blues fans are loyal fans, and if indicated by the number of fans who had traveled great distances from across the United States to hear him perform in New York City, Casey James has earned some very loyal, and well-deserved, fans.

Casey James

As a bit ofa backstory for those new to Casey James and his music, he grew up in Cool, Texas, started playing guitar at age 13, and was a finalist on the American television program, American Idol on Season 9. From there he launched his solo career, which has skyrocketed to great success. He and his wife Kelli and their two children now call Nashville, Tennessee home, where he has firmly secured his place in the Blues Rock genre.

David Parks

Casey James, playing with Eric Glover on keys, Tommy Lee on bass, and David Parks on drums, opened the show with the song, Messin’ Around, a cutoff his new 14-track release, Casey James – Strip ItDown, released in June 2017, which had the audience cheering.

Eric Glover and Tommy Lee

Next on the setlist was another great cut off the new release, All I Need., followed by Let’s Don’t Call It A Night, which Casey introduced as his first single, released in 2012, a Texas Blues, Rock, Country song that thrilled long time fans to hear onetheir old favorites. Casey and the band continued with two more cuts off the new release with Bullet proof and I Got To Go.

Casey James

A veteran performer who engages his audience, Casey introduced the next song, Hard Times, Heartaches & Scars, as when he was 21, he was in a motorcycle accident and almost died. He damaged his right leg and his left arm, and while in the hospital, the doctors wanted to fuse his left wrist, which would have left him without the opportunity to play guitar. His mother advocated for him not to have his wrist fused to his arm. Although his arm healed he has limited ability to rotate his arm, but rest assured, Casey James is a darn fine guitarist who has worked through the pain to get where he is today and played 6 different guitars during his performance to get the exact sound that he wanted for his well-crafted songs.

He explained that he wrote the song, as a redemptive song, about coming through the experience and appreciating what he has. The cut is one of our favorites on the release and hearing it performed live was fabulous.

Listen to a video clip of Hard Times, Heartaches & Scars – https://youtu.be/q9TRz8B6Vnc.

Casey James

Casey followed with Need Your Love So Bad, Different Kind of Love, and Stupid Crazy, which he introduced by explaining that after time with Sony, he started writing songs that he wanted to hear. He wrote Stupid Crazy in his head while he was in bed. The next day, he hummed it to his wife and asked her what she thought, ands he said it was okay, so he wrote it down. The result is a catchy song that once heard, keeps playing in your head long after the album, or in this case, the performance, ends.

Taking fans back to his first eponymous album, Casey James, he played the song, Drive, followed by a fabulous cover of the 1971 Bill Withers song, Ain’t No Sunshine, which had the audience dancing in their seats. Casey and the band closed out the performance with a cover of one of his favorite artists, Tad Benoit, with Tad’s 1992 song, So High, off Tab’s Nice and Warm album.

Casey James and Debra C. Argen

A meet and greet after the show completed the exceptional Casey James experience at The Loft at City Winery in New York City.

About The Loft at City Winery: "Introducing The Loft at City Winery: a new, even more intimate space featuring City Winery’s signature sound, sightlines, and service! Located one floor up from our main venue, it promises guests more ways to indulge their senses with programming that ranges from City Winery favorites to up-and-coming acts to theatrical productions to talks, classes and more. A food menu with concert-friendly plates and full drink menu (with plenty of–you guessed it–wine that’s made in house!) rounds out the offering. The Barrel Room Lounge is a natural extension of our Barrel Room restaurant, offering the same wine inspired, regionally influenced, and locally sourced cuisine that we’ve offered for a decade in a warm, casual setting. Guests are welcome join us in the Lounge prior to concerts for the best of both worlds. The Loft’s Private Dining Room has room for up to 40 guests, with flexible configurations that make it ideal for everything from corporate presentations to multi-course meals. Collaborate with our private events team to craft the perfect experience."

Until next time, keep enjoying the music!

Want to read more about Casey James? Read our interview with Casey James and our review of Casey James – Strip It Down.

If you want to catch one of Casey James upcoming shows, here’s a sampling of some of the placeswhere he will be playing. To see the entire tour calendar, please visit: www.CaseyJamesOfficial.com

Casey James Tour Calendar

A sampling of upcoming shows at The Loft at City Winery. To see the entire calendar, please visit: www.CityWinery.com/TheLoft

The Loft at City Winery Upcoming Shows

The Loft at City Winery

155 Varick Street, 2^nd Floor (located between Spring and Vandam Streets)

New York, New York 10013

United States

Telephone: +1-212-608-0555

Website: www.CityWinery.com/TheLoft

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/CityWineryNYC
Twitter: @CityWineryNYC

Follow Casey James on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CaseyJamesOfficial

Follow City Winery on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CityWineryNYC

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© July 2018. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.