Charlotte native Chris Shinn lit up the stage at Amos’ Southend on Dec 17th, playing his first hometown show in years. It was a long time coming and I was absolutely excited to get to see him in person.

Opening up the night for him was friend and current Blind Melon vocalist, Travis Warren. Travis has been tearing it up recently. Not only did he release an EP of solo work this year, he’s also been touring with Blind Melon and in the studio while they record their first new album in 12 years. Tonight he played a variety of new solo material as well as some new Blind Melon tunes. This actually marked his very first solo show on the east coast, and people were ready for it. Travis has a following and fans flew in from various parts of the US just to see this show. Playing solo with just his acoustic guitar showcased the serious raw talent this guy has. He took a couple of requests from the crowd and even snuck in a couple of covers during his set, including a really amazing live cover of Jeff Buckley’s “So Real.”

Chris Shinn might be best known as being the lead singer for Līve from 2012-2016. However his musical career has spanned more than 20 years.  He also fronted bands, Unified Theory (featuring Blind Melon’s Christopher Thorn & Brad Smith as well as Pearl Jam/Candlebox drummer Dave Krusen) and Everything is Energy. Most recently Chris has been busy writing and recording a new solo album. This past Spring he joined Blind Melon on the road in their opening slot for several east coast dates. He’d also just got back home after sharing a primarily west coast tour opening up for the band Ours. Chris decided to finish off the year with this much anticipated hometown show.  

Chris Shinn did not disappoint his fan base at all tonight, by coming out with a full band and ready to rock. Playing in his hometown meant not only his close fiends and family could get the chance to see him live, but fans traveled in just for this show as well. He managed to perform a big rock show in a small and intimate setting, making it a very special night. Chris performed a variety of music spanning his 2 decade+ career and some new tracks. He even invited Travis Warren back on stage to help out during the Unified Theory song “Cessna.”

After the band exited the stage, Chris closed the night playing a full acoustic version of his new track “I Can Not Breathe.”  While his new album has not been released yet, Chris does have a few tracks from it currently available for purchase on iTunes at: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/chris-shinn/260348588

Setlist:
Hut
No Son of Mine
Puzzle Piece
Intelligent Design
Another
Cessna
Someday I…
Want And Need
Encore: I Can Not Breathe 

Review by I’m Music Magazine Photographer Daphne McKinney

All photos  © 2019 Lucia De Giovanni