Concert Review
Amy Grant
Riviera Theatre
North Tonawanda, NY
Wednesday September 20, 2023
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto
Amy Grant returned to the Riviera Theatre Wednesday night marking the third time she has played the historic venue. Her last visit was in 2019 and oddly enough when she asked who was there not many responded. That is a good thing as it goes to show she was playing to many who may not have seen her before. Grant put on a dazzling, inspirational performance. Grant looks at things in a positive way no matter how bad things can get. The past three years have been no picnic for her but she keeps pushing through obstacles and has a great outlook on things.
The show was the first for her fall tour and was broken into two sets. The first set was a 65-minute good mix of songs which some were christian and also included the top-10 smash “Good For Me” as well as the song she recorded with Peter Cetera “Next Time I Fall” which made it to number one on the Billboard charts in 1986. In between songs Grant spoke and told stories and many times had to cut the story as she realized she was talking too much.
The second set of the show came in just under an hour and was where the performance really took off. While similar to the first set in structure, this is where everything gelled. Starting with “Lead Me On” which until this year had not been played for a number of years, was an indicator that things would get interesting. Grant played guitar on a few songs including “All I Ever Have To Be” and “El Shaddai”.
She saved the two biggest songs from her five times platinum album Heart In Motion for last..almost. Her other number one song “Baby Baby” and “Every Heartbeat” which peaked at number 2 followed by a stirring rendition of “Emmanuel”. Following a two song encore which she ended with “I Will Remember You”, she did a reprise of “Trees We’ll Never See” to close out the night the way she closed out set one.
Grant still has her voice and delivered the goods better than expected. She seems to have no plans to stop touring anytime in the near future. Clearly one of the uplifting performers that can still deliver not only a quality show but makes you want to become a better person if that makes any sense. A highly recommended show for anyone who appreciates great positive music by one of the best voices of her era.
Set One
Every Road
Stay for a While
Angels
Love Will Find a Way
Oh How the Years
What you Heard
Third World Woman
I Have Decided
Wise Up
Good for Me
Somewhere Down the Road
Next Time I Fall
Trees We’ll Never See
Intermission
Set Two
Lead Me On
I Will be Your Friend
All Right
Better Than Hallelujah
Thy Wood (snippet)
All I Ever Have to Be
El Shaddai
Sing Your Praise
Baby Baby
Every Heartbeat
Emmanuel
Encore
Put a Little Love
I Will Remember
Trees We’ll Never See (Reprise)
Check out more from Amy Grant on her official site https://amygrant.com
