Ready to dance to live county music again? Rupp Arena hosting second Acoustic Concert

It seems nothing can minimalize the love Central Kentucky maintains for country music, even when the crowds supporting it have to be downsized.

This weekend, Rupp Arena – which has been closed to most concert traffic since the COVID-19 outbreak began a year ago – will present its second unplugged country music performance sampler, billed as Acoustic Concert, Show #2. Produced by 98.1 The Bull, the show will bring country artists Jon Pardi, Lauren Alaina, Jordan Davis, Travis Denning and Priscilla Block to a venue that will be utilizing only 15 percent of its normal seating capacity.

What that translates into is about 2,800 available tickets. The other differences from what we used to know as concerts: tickets are being sold mostly in groups of two more with a somewhat steeper-than-normal price tag ($59.50 to $295.00 per patron.) Seating is spaced out to ensure social distancing with masks being a must - standard operating procedure, really, for most public events in the COVID era.

None of this seems to diminish country’s enduring appeal in the Lexington area. An initial Acoustic Concert, a January outing headlined by Brantley Gilbert, was a sellout.

The lineup for Acoustic Concert, Show#2 on March 20 may lack the kind of marquee act that has distinguished country shows during normal performance years. But what it does offer is a mix of familiar names (including two veterans of past Rupp concerts) along with noteworthy newcomers. To its credit, this is also one of the few extended multi-act country bills at the arena where female acts will have an almost equal presence as their male counterparts.

Here is a look at who will be playing and what you can expect.

▪ Jon Pardi: California native Pardi is one of the two Acoustic Concert artists to have played Rupp previously. He was the middle act on a March 2018 bill headlined by Miranda Lambert and opened by The Steel Woods. Pardi has been a reliable country music contender on the charts ever since his debut album, “Write You a Song,” was released in 2014. But it was his sophomore recording, “California Sunrise,” that created enough fuss to generate platinum level sales and a string of four Top 10 country hits topped by the traditionally flavored, swing-happy “Dirt on My Boots.” Much of Pardi’s music falls into the celebratory Bro Country sound, especially the 2020 collaborative single with Thomas Rhett, “Beer Can’t Fix.” Curiously, Pardi broke from those ranks for a duet single, “Getting Over Him,” with Acoustic Concert cohort Alaina.

▪ Lauren Alaina: Georgia native Alaina is Acoustic Concert’s second Rupp returnee, having opened a January 2018 show there for Alan Jackson. The singer was introduced to television audiences before country radio took notice of her. She was featured on the 10th season of “American Idol” in 2011, becoming its runner-up contestant. That visibility triggered generous sales, especially digitally, for Alaina’s debut album, “Wildflower,” which was released later that year. Ensuing years placed her strongly pop-informed brand of country on tours with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Martina McBride and others. Alaina’s 2018 Rupp show came a year after the release of her second album, “Road Less Traveled.” That record’s hits included the title tune, which she co-wrote with Jesse Frasure and pop empress Meghan Trainor. It remains Alaina’s biggest single to date.

▪ Jordan Davis: Originally from Louisiana, Davis made a huge initial splash with country radio when his 2016 debut album “Home State,” was issued. The record spawned three Top 10 country hits – “Singles You Up,” “Take It From Me” (the video for which placed the Southern bred singer on the streets of New York City) and “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot.” While a follow-up to “Home State” is still in the works, Davis released a self-titled EP recording in 2020. Davis’ newest single is a mash-up of modern and tradition country accents titled “Almost Maybes.”

▪ Travis Denning: The music of Georgia-born Denning was popularized by other artists before audiences got to hear what the songwriter himself was capable of. Jason Aldean helped break open Denning’s career by covering his “All Out of Beer” in 2016. Denning’s own record deal fell into place a year later. A debut EP titled “Beer’s Better Cold” came out in May 2000 and included the single “Where That Beer’s Been?” Sense a thematic pattern here? The EP also produced a Top 10 hit called “After a Few.” The song would go on to spend over a year on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

▪ Priscilla Block: The breakthrough of North Carolina singer Block is a something of a Cinderella story. Moving to Nashville following high school, she released songs and cover tunes online through TikTok. One of her of original compositions, the heartbreak requiem “Just About Over You,” prompted fans to raise $1,500 so Block could make a proper studio recording of the song. She signed to Universal Music Group Nashville last fall. Without even a debut album to help promote it, “Just About Over You” became a Top 40 country hit this winter.

Acoustic Concert, Show #2

Who: Jon Pardi, Lauren Alaina, Jordan Davis, Travis Denning and Priscilla Block

When: 7:30 p.m. March 20

Where: Rupp Arena

Tickets: $59.50-$295.50

Online: rupparena.com or ticketmaster.com.