Raising of drinks, spirits and cowboy hats and boots – that was the theme of the night at Eric Church’s The Blood, Sweat and Beers tour stop in Fort Wayne, Indiana Saturday night.

Church said at the end of the concert that he has had many fun stops on his tour, but Fort Wayne was the most fun he has had so far.

Sonia Leigh opened the show and right away it was obvious that the people were excited.

The show was sold out, but the seats were empty as people stood throughout the whole show from the very beginning.

Leigh did a great job starting it off, but with few people knowing the lyrics to the songs, they didn’t get as into it as the rest of the concert.

I had never heard her music before, but her gritty voice is unique and her music was easy to understand.

The song that stood out to me was “My Name is Money” where she sings as if she is money and how that defines her. I thought it was a clever song and it was relatable.

She definitely has potential to come out with a few hits in her career, but I think she needs to come out with a few more stronger songs like “My Name is Money” to break onto the main scene first.

Still, there was plenty of dancing and shouting for the opening band, which can be attributed to the energy and excitement the crowd had.

Brantley Gilbert had an even more welcoming reception from the audience.

With big hits “Country Must Be Country Wide,” “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” and “Dirt Road Anthem,” Gilbert had most of the crowd singing and swaying to music.

Church had much of the same reaction, but it wasn’t only his big hits that had people moving and singing. The audience had an obvious love for Church’s music and knew all his songs, old and new.

“These Boots” inspired some in the crowd to take off their boots and raise them in the air. A few even threw one of their boots on the stage – even Church had to laugh at that and took a minute during his performance to pick up one boot and sign it.

“Drink In My Hand,” “Guys Like Me” and “Smoke a Little Smoke” seemed to be some other favorite songs from the night.

All the performers kept the spirits and the energy of the audience high. The show lasted for more than two hours, but it was so much fun I wish it would’ve been longer.

I am a relatively new country music fan and I haven’t been to many country concerts, but this one proved to me that country music fans know how to have a good time.

The Blood, Sweat and Beers tour was definitely worth the trip and if you have the chance to go to one of the stops on the tour, I would suggest going.