Colorful flashing lights lit up the entire Music Revention Center last Wednesday for the Andy Grammer and Gavin DeGraw concert. My mom accompanied me to see my all-time favorite musician , Gavin DeGraw, and let me tell you, from the nonstop standing crowd, pristine sound and constant dancing, it was a night to remember. Now, I am a concert lover, but this was one exceptional night. We arrived at our seats right as Andy Grammer was opening. He put on quite the show, getting everyone in the groove and feeling good. He played some of his older but more popular tunes in the beginning, like “Keep Your Head Up” and “Fine By Me.” He and his band did some mashups with songs like “One Dance” by Drake and “I Want You Back” by Jackson 5. Closing with “Honey, I’m Good” the crowd was warmed up and ready for Gavin. The intermission felt like an eternity.

Finally, the man with the signature fedora hat emerged quietly, and his devoted fans, me included, went wild at his presence. “Chariot” was the opening song which quickly got the audience hypnotized in awe by Gavin’s soulful and powerful voice. During the concert, he played old and new ballads. The stage crew switched the set up an impromptu acoustic set up on stage in the middle of the concert and played to a very indie and simple-instrumented version of “Follow Through.” He sang “Making Love With the Radio On” from his latest record release and closed the unbelievable show with “She Sets the City on Fire,” also one of his recent top hits.

My mom and I escaped the emerging crowds and headed for the car outside. While walking around the building, I noticed several tour buses parked behind the building. Of course I dragged her over to see what was going on and if those were Gavin’s buses. I spoke to some of the security lining the back doors, and low and behold, he had not made his way out to them yet. We spent about twenty minutes waiting on the steps when I caught him out of the corner of my eye, silently making his way to his tour bus. I waved to him across security guards and shouted that I loved him like any typical fan would. This was the moment that changed everything. He noticed me and came off of his bus, through the security, and headed straight for me. I felt unusually calm as my favorite artist walked swiftly toward me. I knew that once he left, all of the emotions would surface. He hugged and talked about his time on the road and how his music has impacted me greatly as if we were close friends. High-fiving my mom, taking goofy pictures with me and engaging in genuine conversation showed me that not only was he a great artist but he was exactly the soulful person I knew he would be. Seeing his concert and unexpectedly meeting DeGraw trumps every concert experience I have ever had.