When: September 28th, 2024
Where: Clay Center For The Arts. Charleston, WV

As you may have noticed my favorite place to be is a concert and my favorite genre of music is folk and Americana! I have loved Sierra Ferrell’s music, her dress for yourself style, and her talent for a long time but I have not been able to see her live. I have watched numerous videos of her shows but nothing could prepare me for what I witnessed. Being a West Virginia resident, I had never been to the clay center but stepping into the building felt like I was stepping back in time, to a beautiful fan filled opera house.

As I stood in line to get in, I saw fans of all ages, ranging from children dressed in big dresses trying to recreate some of her stunning, and sometimes surprising, stage costumes jumping up and down with excitement, and everyone in between. This is the moment a lot of fans had been waiting for, Sierra’s Charleston homecoming show and it was nothing short of spectacular. The night started out with a declaration of September 28th being Sierra Ferrell day ending in a standing ovation and an audience full of applause.

As she stepped on stage in an old century style dress I couldn’t help but get emotional, it was one of those “finally, I made it” type of moments that are always saved for special occasions like these. As the show went on and her old time folk sound and jaw dropped voice echoed through the walls of the opera house, stopping every so often to thank us for coming to the show and give the audience little times of comfort and happiness, telling her adoring fans to always go after what they dream and to keep pushing forward, sneaking in some comedy when she could.

You can learn a lot from an artist by their interactions with their fans and what they stand for and promote, I have always been told to separate the work from the artist but sometimes it’s better not to, in cases like this. She stands for kindness, fairness, and believing in yourself and always BEING yourself and we can relate to those in a lot of ways.

About halfway through the show she did an outfit change and this changed the whole feeling of the show. Her and the entire band were electric from start to finish, with dance moves and props ranging from a train whistle to an old church bell for her hit song “bells of every chapel.”

After the show she thanked the crowd one more time before shaking everyone’s hand and walking off stage. After this, I attempted to get a set list to no avail, but as I walked away empty handed I saw a small girl smiling ear to ear, set list in hand, and that made it all feel better! After this I got in line for merch and made new friends, one of my favorite parts of any concert experience, and ended the night with her mesmerizing performance stuck in my head, where it had stayed ever since.

If you get one take away from this, it’s to live your life like a Sierra Ferrell costume, dare to be different, dare to always stand out.