Concert review: Kip Moore and Billy Currington give crowd a good time

Kip Moore and Billy Currington had a Northern Quest crowd packed with country music fans on their feet Thursday night.

I will fully admit that I haven’t exactly kept up with Kip Moore’s career. I primarily remember his string of early 2010s hits on country radio, the kind that fit much of the modern country sound that I’m not exactly the biggest fan of but don’t outright hate.

That being said, I was very surprised to see a rockier, guitar -driven set from Moore and the band, which often included a total of three electric guitars on stage.

Through this somewhat surprising set, I learned that I prefer Moore’s deeper cuts over the more popular tunes that tend to follow the modern country stereotype of singing about beer, trucks, and women over some major chords. I also really like Moore’s natural rasp and the band’s harmonies over it, especially when he’s very obviously feeling the music and hits a beautifully strong note.

He also has great energy on stage and is a showman of sorts, including crowd interaction as well as specifically discussing Spokane and a show he played here over a decade ago but still remembers well. I can’t say I’ve seen many artists that aren’t from the area speak of Spokane with such genuine love for the Lilac City. It’s obvious he and the band have a good time, have great chemistry and wouldn’t rather be doing much else.

Overall, Moore provided a solid performance that surprised me. I may not be the biggest fan of some of the music, but he created an energy within the venue I respect.

For starters, with Currington, I don’t know how I simply forgot about the amount of hits he has had over the course of decadeslong career. Each song was a flashback to the road trips of my youth, when he seemed to be all over the radio. Songs like “Don’t,” “Good Directions,” and “People Are Crazy” screamed with nostalgia.

Most of Currington’s sound has a specific contemporary Southern charm that’s hard to deny. Similar to Moore, some of the music is a little radio buzzworthy, especially the heavy mentions of beer, but I’m not here to hate on the good vibes of this era of 2000s and 2010s country. As Currington put it, “We’ve got some summertime songs,” and that’s an accurate way of describing his sound.

It’s obvious Currington has been doing this for some time, and the band was solid. I especially loved hearing the emphasis on pedal steel guitar, resonator guitar and the keys.

The highlight of the evening might have been Currington returning for the encore with just his pianist for a gorgeous rendition of “Let Me Down Easy” that really let his vocals shine. About halfway through this longer version, right under a full moon, the rest of the band joined back in, and the pedal steel wailed as the crowd screamed. Definitely one of my favorite musical moments I’ve experienced at Northern Quest so far.

Overall, Moore and Currington provided a good time and energetic show to a very loving crowd that obviously enjoyed everything the evening had to offer.