Concert Review: Mason Ramsey
New York's Gramercy Theatre has hosted many up and coming musicians and on March 14th, Mason Ramsey arrived early to put his own country spin on the historic venue.
The charming southern belle, Halle Kearns, opened the show with a confident acoustic set. Halle is a singer/songwriter through and through, arriving to the stage with only her talent and her guitar by her side. This isn’t her first rodeo touring with Mason as she opened previously for him on his last major tour. Now, fresh off of getting married, Halle has returned to bring her southern charm back to the dedicated audience of Mason’s fans. Halle deserved a lot of credit for being able to go up there and entertain the sizable Gramercy crowd without relying on anything other than her acoustic guitar. With that alone, Halle delivers an intimate performance, building on an atmosphere that almost emulates the intimacy of a show you would see in a bar, energy that would continue to carry immensely into Mason’s set. Halle was all smiles as she sang a few of her tracks including, “Big Shoes to Fill,” “Happiness Bar,” and her newest single that was dropping at midnight that night, “Homemade Margaritas.” Her kind demeanor and soft, catchy melodies built the base of an exciting night ahead.
Mason entered the stage to a roaring audience excited to see what Mason would do. Opening with “Next Right Thing,” “Catch me if you can,” and “Falls into place,” I was a bit shocked at Mason’s energy on the stage. After further research, I am not the first person to comment on his emulation of Elvis Presley’s moves, but in the moment, his dance moves sent off alarm bells for it to me. It was fun to see him come into his own and feel free enough to go crazy on stage. Mason clearly wants to make an impact on his audience in the same ways that Elvis did, however, I do wish he pulled some moves out that felt a bit more personalized to him. But who knows! Maybe I'm just nitpicking and the Elvis type moves did feel right to him. Either way, I loved it and the crowd certainly liked the energy too. I hadn’t previously seen Mason confident enough to roll with the punches and have fun on stage like that so I'm glad he felt safe and comfortable enough to. It shows real growth in terms of his stage presence. He continued, heavily bouncing off energy from his talented instrumentalists on stage alongside him. I’m really glad to see he has a strong support system around him that encourages him to come out of his shell. Sometimes it can be really difficult for musicians, especially those that are minors, to feel comfortable enough to continue in this career without a strong support system that doesn’t just take advantage of them. Rest assured Mason won’t follow in Elvis’s footstep in that way any time soon.
Even from the back of the theater, the intimacy between Mason and the crowd was strong, really elevating that small-time, bar-like vibe, as I mentioned earlier. Mason constantly played around with the audience, pointing and making direct eye contact at many throughout the crowd. At the halfway point in his set, Mason switched the energy up and performed some more low key tracks, including an unreleased track from his upcoming album, “How Do I Know If I Am In Love?” As someone who is a few years older than Mason, it was interesting to listen to track about his varying experiences and perspectives on love. At times, it does feel nostalgic, as it emulates the type of puppy love most people experience at such an age. Upon a first listen, some adult listeners may find it difficult to connect with the songs, as they may feel he is quite young to be feeling so strongly about someone in such a way. However, the way in which Mason has consistently exposed his vulnerabilities throughout his discography speaks volumes to his audience, who undoubtedly relate to the quick and passionate ways people fall in love these days. This dynamic really intrigued me during the show as the audience was made up of a variety of people, including families. Before I could ponder any farther, Mason picked up the energy by playing some of his more recent viral hits including, “Blue Over You,” “Before I Knew It (with the addition of harmonies from Halle!), “ and “Famous.” Ramsey ended the night on a somber note, covering songs by two of his most significant influences, “Baby What Do You Want Me To Do” by Elvis Presley and “Your Cheatin Heart” by Hank Williams.
Catch Mason Ramsey and Halle Kearns on the Fall Into Place tour, which continues into the summer of 2024. Visit our gallery to check out more photos from the show!
