Miranda Lambert’s “On Fire” tour made its way to the west coast with a stop in Fresno, California on April 26. Miranda is no stranger to the San Joaquin Valley – we’ve seen her here numerous times; however, a lot more people have jumped on the Lambert bandwagon since those early days. She went from playing radio gigs in city parks to performing at multiple valley fairs, then moved her way up to headlining a local casino. Her last appearance here was in 2010 as the opening act for Brad Paisley’s “American Saturday Night” tour. But all that changed this past Thursday when Lambert rocked the faces off the sold-out crowd at Fresno State’s Save Mart Center.

Supporting her on the tour were country heartthrobs Jerrod Niemann and Chris Young. Niemann’s band is possibly one of the best country bands I have ever seen live. These guys are unreal. From their cover of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Pride and Joy” to the ever-recognizable riff of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” every single band member got their chance to shine. I was beyond impressed.

Chris Young was his usual studly self. That boy doesn’t “sing,” he “saaaangs.” This cowboy’s got some soul! Proof? His cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” This guy has pipes. Of course, the crowd went nuts for monster hits like “Voices,” “Gettin’ You Home,” and “Tomorrow,” where everyone was singing along with every word.

Once Young finished his set, you could feel the energy level rising with the crowd’s anticipation of seeing the pistol-packin’ mama we all know and love. Miranda started off the show with a rockin’ track, “Fastest Girl in Town,” from her latest album, “Four the Record.” I reviewed that record for CMTT last year and promised you that “Fastest Girl in Town” was going to be a crowd favorite in the live show…and it definitely was. It was the perfect song choice to open up the show. “Mama’s Broken Heart” also seemed to get a huge response from the crowd. For a minute, I thought I was at a rock show – I looked behind me and saw nothing but a sea of people jumping up and down making “metal horns” with their hands. This girl knows how to work a stage. She had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.

She slowed things down a bit with tearjerkers like “Over You” and “The House That Built Me,” both of which resulted in a roaring applause from the audience. You know what else got a great response from the crowd? Mr. Blake Shelton singing “Honeybee.” It was a surprise to everyone and the place went nuts.

My personal favorite moment of the show was when she brought out Angeleena Presley and Ashley Monroe, better known together as the outlaw trio Pistol Annies. They burned down the house with that classic country sound. Everybody absolutely loved them. I think a lot of copies of “Hell on Heels” were sold at the merch booth after the show. In addition to “Hell on Heels,” they played three others – “Takin’ Pills,” “Bad Example,” and “The Hunter’s Wife.”

Lambert ended the show by bringing the Annies, Young, and Niemann back out on stage with her for their own rendition of “King of the Road.” It was a great way to end an absolutely stellar night of music. I’m going as far as to say Miranda Lambert for ACM and/or CMA Entertainer of the Year in the near future.

If you want to catch the “On Fire” tour in a city near you, check out the dates online at mirandalambert.com.

Kristi Olson
CMTT Music Contributor