Thanks to the arrival of fall, it’s dark out early in Rahway, NJ this October 20, 2022 evening, but the lights inside the town’s historic UCPAC auditorium shine brightly as music lovers ready themselves for a concert by country singer Josh Turner.
As audience member, Amanda, a Josh Turner fan from Clark, NJ explains, “Josh is known for having the deepest voice in Nashville. He does a lot of country songs, but he does gospel music, too, like ‘Long Black Train.’ He’s also just released an album of Christmas songs where every song he sings has that really deep sound of his.”
Emma, a fan from Hudson Falls, NY tells us, “I love Josh Turner’s voice — it’s so deep — and he writes really good songs. Plus, he’s really good-looking for his age!”
Emma’s mom, Susanne, agrees, declaring, “I’m a real fan, too! This is my second concert. We drove three and a half hours to see him today,” before noting, “I not only like that his voice is deep, but I like that he does Christian music, too.”
Emma’s sister, Amanda, is a Josh Turner fan as well, acknowledging, “I heard him on the radio and then I went and bought his CDs,” prior to adding, “I hope he plays my favorite song of his, ‘Long Black Train.’”
Whereas Ginny from Cranford confesses, “I’m a country music fan and I’m here at UCPAC for a fun night out,” Andy from Manhattan reveals, “I grew up with country music and I have family members who are big Josh Turner fans who are slightly jealous of me tonight!”
The lights dim as tonight’s opening act, Hudson Valley — Matthew Farinelli on guitar, Richie Owens on drums, Andrew Kosek on bass, and Sarah Owens on lead vocals — takes the stage.
The quartet opens its set with “Shut Me Up,” a rock-infused country tune that features Sarah Owens’ powerful voice accompanied by wailing guitar, rumbling bass, and driving drums.
“Hello, New Jersey! How we doin’ tonight?” inquires Sarah before she and the group launch into “Let Me Drink About It.” Explaining, “We are Hudson Valley. Half the band is from New York’s Hudson Valley, but now we’re from Nashville,” Sarah and Co. perform a cover version of Brooks and Dunn’s “Neon Moon,” which is followed by “Can’t Have Nothin’ Nice” from the band’s own 2018 EP, Seven.
Drums boom as Richie Owens starts off Shania Twain’s ’90s hit, “Any Man of Mine,” before the musicians perform a highlight number of their set, their rendition of Johnny and June Carter Cash’s “Jackson,” where Sarah Owens and Matthew Farinalli take turns singing lead while audience members clap and sing along.
Following the upbeat pop/rock tune, “Baby Goodbye,” Hudson Valley concludes with what Sarah describes as their “first ever Top 40 country radio” hit, “Right Place Now,” an upbeat rocker which elicits avid cheers from the crowd.
After a short intermission, hoots and hollers erupt throughout the UCPAC auditorium as six backup musicians take their places behind their instruments, smoke rises up from behind the stage, and Josh Turner makes his entrance smiling and singing “All Over Me.”
Audience members clap along as Turner croons, “Bring on the sunshine, bring on a good time/Girl, let me look at you/Jump in the front seat, kick up your bare feet/Honey, let your hair down, too,” with his distinctive deep voice on this Cajun-style rockabilly tune.
Dobro is featured on the funky country ditty, “Deep South,” where swinging guitars play together in time to cheers from the crowd, and pedal steel guitar opens the upbeat country-rocker “Firecracker,” where Turner growls low and gravelly on the intro. Audience members stand and dance to the two-stepping groove before cheering and applauding as firecracker red smoke shoots up from behind the stage.
Following the gospel tune, “I Saw the Light,” Turner greets the crowd saying, “How’s everybody doing out there? I’m Josh Turner, and we’ve got some country fans here in New Jersey!” prior to noting, “This was the most-played song of 2012.” Here, Turner and the band perform “Time Is Love,” an upbeat country pop song which features fancy mandolin playing.
Lights shine over the audience on Turner’s gospel composition, “Me and God.” Audience members oblige when Josh says, “Everybody clap your hands” to the music of banjo, acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, and pedal steel guitar. Music lovers in the audience sing along to the song’s “He rules the world/With a staff and rod/We’re a team/Me and God” refrain.
Banjo picking and fiddle bowing set the mood for Turner’s deep voice on “Everything is Fine.”
Following a fiddle solo, the crowd cheers when Josh adds some local color to the song’s ending lyric crooning, “I’m feeling good and everything is fine/Up here in Jersey tonight!”
Pink and yellow lights flash on the intro to the country-rocker, “Hometown Girl,” after which Turner reveals, “That one was for all you hometown girls out there.” Adding, “We feel the love here in Rahway,” Turner explains, “You have to specifically come here to Rahway, so that’s proof I love you!” before he and the band perform the swamp-rockin’ “Country State of Mind” where Josh yodels on the song’s coda.
Following a trio of country numbers including “I’ve Got It Made,” “I Could Tell By the Way You Dance,” and “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” Turner delights the crowd with a live rendition of his 2006 #1 country hit, “Your Man.”
Crooning in his deep voice, “I’ve been thinking about this all day long/Never felt a feeling quite this strong/I can’t believe how much it turns me on/Just to be your man,” Turner captures the hearts of music lovers in the crowd who clap and sing along before responding with enthusiastic hoots and hollers.
A train whistle blows and puffs of smoke rise on the intro to “Long Black Train,” a gospel bluegrass tune which is a clear audience favorite. As he performs, Josh invites the crowd to stand and clap as they sing the “Cling to the Father and his Holy name/And don’t go ridin’ on that long black train” refrain together.
The crowd hoots and hollers and Turner and the band immediately segue into the infectious shuffle, “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” where audience members sing along as they dance before ending with wild cheers and applause.
“Good night, Rahway!” exclaims Turner as he and the band leave the stage before returning to play an encore of “Good Ol’ Boys,” the theme song from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show.
The crowd stands and dances at their seats and in the aisles before Josh ends the show with another highlight of the evening, a lively rendition of “Would You Go With Me.” Hands clap overhead to the driving drums, mandolin, electric guitar, and bass which accompany Turner who fist bumps with audience members as he sings, “Would you go with me if we rolled down streets of fire?/Would you hold on to me tighter as the summer sun got higher?/If we roll from town to town and never shut it down?”
After noticing a young boy dancing at the foot of the stage, Josh signs an autograph for him while the crowd hoots and hollers. Then, Turner concludes his set by announcing, “I love you, Rahway! God bless America!”
As audience members make their way out of the UCPAC auditorium, we chat with several music lovers who share their opinions of tonight’s performance. Remarks Amanda from Clark, with whom we spoke before the show, “Josh Turner was awesome! He interacted really well with the crowd, and I especially loved it when he got us going by inviting us to dance!” Her friend, Gabby from Clark, agrees, adding, “It was a fun show — very interactive!” before acknowledging, “This was my first time seeing him, and I’ll definitely be seeing him again!”
The young boy who Josh saw dancing in front of the stage, Pietro, tells us, “I’m a big fan of Josh! My mom plays his music for me at home,” before noting, “He gave me his autograph! I’m just so happy he noticed me!” Pietro’s mom, Bianco from Red Bank, contends, “Josh Turner was great tonight! This is my second time seeing him — I first saw him back in 2013 — and I play his music all the time at home.”
Megan, a fan from Howell, asserts, “Josh is amazing — so much talent!” Explaining, “I’ve been a fan for at least eight years now. He’s such a pure singer and he’s very humble, too,” Megan continues, “Plus, I really liked seeing him here at UCPAC. The theater is really nice and I like the historic vibe of the town, too.”
Whereas Jeremy from Union insists, “Josh Turner’s voice is incredible!” and his fiancé, Nicollette from Union, maintains, “It was fun — a good time for all of us country fans!” Moriah from Woodstock, VA reveals, “I drove four hours from Virginia for this show,” before adding, “My favorite song was ‘Would You Go With Me.’”
Lastly, we chat with Kimberly from Elizabeth who declares, “I love Josh Turner, and I loved his show tonight!” Recalling, “I’ve been a fan of his for at least seven years now,” Kimberly concludes by exclaiming, “He’s got that great low voice and he writes great music, too — so, for me, he’s just classic country!”
For more information on Josh Turner, please go to joshturner.com. To learn more about Hudson Valley, please click on hudsonvalleyband.com. For further info on upcoming shows at UCPAC — including Black Violin’s Give Thanks Holiday Tour on Nov. 10, Scared Scriptless with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood on Dec. 16, and Broadway’s Mandy Patinkin in Concert on Feb. 18, 2023 — please go to ucpac.org.
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