Review by Mackenzie Dvorachek
Photos by David Urmanski
On Wednesday night, the queen of country music, five-time Grammy award-winner and best-selling female artist in country music history, Shania Twain, brought her star-studded “Queen of Me” Tour to the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Prized by attendees as the first show back in the states since her brief trek to eight venues across Southern Canada in the last two weeks, the tour has been one of the most highly-anticipated performances of 2023 and Twain did not disappoint.
Reigning Academy of Country Music Awards New Female Vocalist of the Year, Hailey Whitters, opened the show for Twain dressed in a denim-inspired two-piece outfit and using the entire stage to her advantage, lights and all, ending her thirty-minute set with hit song “Everything She Ain’t,” which got everyone up on their feet. Whitters proved to be a ball of sunshine and perfect choice as supporting act to the country music legend.
The show continued with Shania performing some of her most iconic hits including “Roll Me on the River” and “You’re Still The One,” with the crowd echoing the chorus back to her throughout the songs while Twain saw the perfect opportunity to change the lyrics mid-song to “Madison, look how far we’ve made it,” so she did, and the crowd went crazy. “Giddy Up!” brought every person, still sitting down, up on their feet. With a cast of background dancers in the mix, attendees saw no reason to curtail sharing their dance moves for the remainder of the set.
Twain shot through many more of her iconic hits including “Any Man of Mine,” “Who’s Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” and “Honey I’m Home.” Of course, she had to add a little bit of USA flair to the show and did so by adding “Rock This Country!” to the setlist. Backed with an American flag the entire song, Twain made sure that Wisconsin knew she and her crew were there to “Rock this Country!” However, what really brought the house down, was when Twain included a throwback medley of five songs that haven’t been performed in decades: “Nah!,” “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face,” “Waiter! Bring Me Water,” “When,” and “Thank You Baby!” Now THAT is a medley!
The most memorable moment of the night happened right after the medley. Twain noticed two little girls on their father’s backs the entire night in separate sections of the crowd and decided it was a good time to call them on stage. One of the girls was toting a sign that read “My 1st Concert. Here to see Shania & my uncle Andre’s lights.” Although Twain appeared to be a bit confused about the second statement on the sign, she was noticeably touched and proceeded to sing with the two girls while adding an autograph to the bright pink poster as a final everlasting memory the girls will not soon forget.
In addition to this special moment, Twain took a moment to read a tweet from a special fan, who ended up being in attendance Wednesday night. When reading the tweet, screams were heard coming from the 200’s section in the stands with a girl jumping up and down in awe of what may happen next. The girl, Jenny, made her way to the stage to talk and sing with Twain before ending the experience with a selfie with the Queen herself. What a moment for these three girls that they will never forget.
Everyone should know to never leave a concert early because there is always an encore and boy did Twain save the best two songs for last! Her first encore song was “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” and the crowd was starstruck when they noticed that she was wearing the iconic cheetah outfit worn during the “That Don’t Impress Me Much” music video. “I brought her out of the museum to join me on tour. This is the original outfit. And I’m just so happy that she is still around.” Don’t worry Shania, we’re VERY HAPPY she’s still around too!
There was still one song missing from the setlist, but based on the excitement and stir of the crowd, they all knew what was coming. Shania ended the concert with a bang, singing “Man, I Feel Like a Woman!” and everyone danced away. Even the husbands and boyfriends were singing and dancing, but given the uninterrupted energy and enthusiasm in the room, that was not surprising at all! Twain shined ever so bright from beginning until end, proving why she is the best-selling female country artist of all time and why her fans are so devoted to her.
The “Queen of Me” Tour is one of Twain’s largest tours to date with 80-plus shows booked across the globe from Nashville to New Orleans and London to Glasgow over a six-month period. This is also Twain’s first headlining tour in almost five years, following a very successful 2022 Las Vegas Residency. Following her European dates at the end of the summer, Twain will travel back to the United States for a handful of additional performances. Since Twain is full of surprises, fans never know what will be coming next. How many costume changes will she make? Will she add any pyrotechnics or fire to her set in the future? Will she have any special guests join her? Shania is making sure that her show will live rent-free in your mind for quite some time. If you were unable to catch her in Madison, what are ya’ll waiting for? Giddy up and get your tickets today!
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