Alicia Dye | News Editor
Sept. 29, 2022
On Tuesday at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville, Ricky Montgomery made a stop in Pittsburgh for his ‘Overtime Tour’, making it the first time Montgomery ever played Pittsburgh.
Montgomery started making music when he was 14-years-old and later gained popularity on the discontinued app, Vine. Montgomery released his debut album “Montgomery, Ricky” in April of 2016, but never toured. Montgomery then founded The Honeysticks, a band he created with his childhood friend. The Honeysticks released an extended play and a few singles.
However, neither Montgomery’s solo music nor his band’s music would gain traction. Montgomery considered giving music up completely until his song “Mr. Loverman” blew up on TikTok during the height of the pandemic. After blowing up, Montgomery was signed to Warner Records and started making music again, and touring.
I’ve been listening to Montgomery since 2016. I discovered his music through a playlist and have been keeping up with him ever since. I’ve never been able to see him live, as he never toured until 2021, and hasn’t come to Pittsburgh until now.
When this show was announced, I was overwhelmed with joy. While Montgomery had started touring in 2021. A lot of the tour dates were the same cities, Washington D.C., New York and many other big cities.
I was lucky enough to get a VIP Meet and Greet ticket for the show. I showed up to the venue at 4:45 and waited outside. I eventually got my VIP lanyard, and was let into the venue.
For me, meeting Montgomery was somewhat a big deal. Having followed his music for years and having interacted with him a bunch of times, I was beyond excited.
I was the second person that night to meet Montgomery. I introduced myself to him and got to take multiple photos with him. Montgomery even signed my VIP lanyard and asked me if I had anything else for him to sign.
The concert lasted two hours, with opening act Delaney Bailey performing first. Bailey performed seven songs, some of which were unreleased and some that have been released recently. A lot of her set was acoustic, and she interacted with the audience. Bailey was on stage for only 30 minutes but made the most of her time.
Montgomery came on stage around 9 p.m. The venue was a standing general admission show and I was able to stand front and center. Montgomery started off the show with an amazing performance of “Talk to you,” which he released earlier this year. Montgomery then performed “Cabo” and “Line Without a Hook,” both songs from his debut album. Montgomery’s live vocals sounded almost the exact same as his studio vocals, something that is rare from artists.
In between songs, Montgomery would make jokes about his merch stand, “I want to mention something very important. We have merch! Tip Maggie please. Tip Maggie. Everybody loves to tip Maggie.”
During Montgomery’s song with the Honeysticks “I Don’t Love you Anymore’, he changed the words from “Maybe I’ll go back to St. Louis” to “Maybe I’ll go back to Pittsburgh,” which received loud cheers from the crowd.
The crowd itself was energetic throughout the whole show, singing almost every lyric to every song, sometimes being louder than Montgomery himself was singing.
Montgomery wrapped up the show with his most popular song “Mr. Loverman” and put his whole heart into the performance. Montgomery even threw signed setlists into the crowd.
Having waited six years to see Montgomery, I can gladly say the wait was absolutely worth it. The show was perfect in almost every way.