I'm super excited about this month's Books in Real Life post! Rachel & I are collaborators on this feature, where we challenge ourselves to do the things we read about in books in real life. This time around, we are featuring a novel that we both absolutely love - Open Road Summer. This debut novel from Emery Lord is about a girl named Reagan, who spends an entire summer going on tour with her best friend Dee (who happens to be a country superstar). There's friendship, there's growing up and there's just the right amount of romance, and I absolutely adore this book! (If you haven't read it yet, I 100% suggest you do. It's brilliant.)
For Open Road Summer, we wanted to watch a country music concert together, to pay homage to Dee's many performances over the course of her tour. What's really brilliant about this particular episode is that we accomplished so many things at once - saw a concert together, watched a country music star and paid homage to Jana Kramer, who is a favorite of ours from One Tree Hill. (We even did a Tunes & Tales for her debut album!) It's definitely one for the books, and I had a lot of fun!
Jana Kramer's songs are incredibly catchy + clever, which is a winning combination in my book. She manages to be so charming and sassy while she performs, and I really enjoyed watching her work that stage all night! It's definitely one of the best performances I've ever been to, and I certainly wouldn't mind going to see her in concert again, if I were given the chance to do so.
1. What was your favorite part or a memorable moment? I loved it when she paid tribute to One Tree Hill, even doing a special shoutout to a member of the crew behind the show who was there! It made me feel that much more connected to her.
2. Anything you wish you'd known beforehand? I wish I knew all the tracks off of her new album! That would have been really awesome. I also kind of wish I had a selfie stick with me, so I could have used it when she walked around a fair bait so everyone could grab a selfie.
3. Would I do this again? I already said so earlier, but yes, absolutely. If she decided to tour for her new album and did another NY show, I would be so game to go and see her again!
You guys also get a bonus this time around, as Rachel & I put together a playlist of our favorite Jana Kramer tunes for you! Give it a listen, and I daresay you will fall in love ;)
This is such a great idea for a feature! I haven't actually read Open Road Summer but have heard a lot of great things about it. I've never been to a Country Music Concert before, to be honest it's not my normal genre of music. But I have been wanting to go to Nashville for quite a while now so I feel like that would be the perfect place to check out the country music scene. Plus I am definitely going to start looking at some of the things the characters in my books do and have a go at them myself! Once again, great feature, I can't wait to see what else you get up to! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I love this post. I remember Jana Kramer from her time on One Tree Hill and I read Open Road Summer and never thought to feature it on my blog in quite this way. Good job! Love this idea.
ReplyDeleteI think I had the chance to see Jana at a country bash with more than one artist before, but I'm pretty sure I missed the day she performed. It sounds like her concert was a lot of fun, and I definitely need to see her live in person someday. I've aso been listening to Jana's new album on Spotfiy recently, and it is fabulous. And I love how you and Rachel went to the concert because of Open Road Summer. LOVE that book! Wonderful post. :)
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