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Five takeaways from Josh Turner at the Orleans on December 3

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Josh Turner

Two-time Grammy-nominated country music star Josh Turner kicked off rodeo week in Las Vegas with back-to-back shows at the Orleans Showroom Theater on Friday and Saturday nights. On Saturday, the max-capacity, majority female crowd of 850 shrieking and shouting fans gave the 39-year-old singer a Las Vegas-style welcome with plenty of noise, laughs and lighthearted moments throughout his 16-song setlist, which lasted about 75 minutes. Here are five lasting takeaways from Saturday’s show.

1. Simple is better. Just about everything at the concert, from the size and setup of the intimate Orleans venue to Turner’s stage attire (a T-shirt and jeans that could have been purchased hours before at Old Navy) and his six-member band was simple. And that made the show feel more personal.

Turner paused for several candid moments to tune his guitar on stage, and while the set list was likely the same as Friday, it didn’t give a pre-programmed feel.

“Some people would say it’s close enough for country music,” Turner said. “But I want to have it right for you all.”

Saturday’s concert included performances of 2012 hit “Time is Love,” 2006 singles “Your Man” and “Would You Go with Me,” 2010’s “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” 2014’s “Lay Low,” and his latest radio single, “Hometown Girl.”

2. Catcalling is not dead. Shrieks and shouts of “I love you Josh,” “Marry me,” "Ow, ow," and even “Thank you,” were present throughout, the first three of which took place after just about every song during the first hour of Turner’s set. He responded when convenient, once saying back “I love you to death,” and laughing along with the crowd.

3. Christian contemporary and country music can go hand in hand. A self-proclaimed Christian artist, Turner doesn’t necessarily sing music for Christian radio airwaves. But with some members of the crowd bowing their heads and raising their hands during songs like “Me and God” and “Long Black Train,” the tail end of Saturday’s show at times drew parallels to a worship service or contemporary Christian music concert.

“I said cling to the Father and his holy name,” Turner sang with his signature baritone twang, “and don't go ridin’ on that long black train.”

4. So can country music and military support. Honored at Saturday’s show was Ex-Marine and Benghazi survivor Mark Oz Geist, who Turner called “a special guest and American hero.”

“I’m very pro-America. I’m very patriotic,” said Turner, who said he never served in the military, but comes from a “long line” of servicemen in his family dating back to the American Revolutionary War.

The Orleans crowd applauded for nearly two minutes without stopping during the presentation of Geist, a 12-year Marine veteran, who walked up to the stage and shook Turner’s hand. Geist has spoken publicly about his experience during the 2012 attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi, and helped campaign for President-elect Donald Trump.

5. Raising four children is expensive. Turner made multiple references to his merchandise stand, website, iTunes collection and 2014 book Man Stuff: Thoughts on Faith, Family and Fatherhood, encouraging his fans to “help me out a little bit.” Why? Turner is the father of four boys—Hampton, 9, Colby, 7, Marion, 5 and Samuel, 2—and said part of the reason he continues to tour is “so my boys don’t go hungry.”

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