LIVE: Chicks with Picks @ Putnam Place, Saratoga 10/24/2019

On Thursday night, Putnam Place played host to The Cat 100.9‘s fourth annual “Chicks With Picks” concert to benefit cancer research. Hundreds of country fans descended on downtown Saratoga to see two local favorites and two rising stars out of Nashville.

Local singer Jenna Sue opened the show with songs from Martina McBride, Carly Pearce, Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde and others. She picked fan favorites. Every song was a sing along and many in attendance joined her.

Renee Lussier, the female lead singer of Skeeter Creek took the stage and commanded attention from the first note she sang. The audience was full of “Creek Freaks.” Capital district audiences are spoiled. We get to hear this woman on any given weekend. Lussier’s voice is as good as ANY you’ll hear on country radio. Renee knows how to work a crowd and she didn’t waste a second of her thirty minute set. From the first note of “Heads Carolina” to the last note of “Folsom Prison Blues” she impressed. The highlight of her set, in my opinion, was her rendition of “Who I Am” by Jessica Andrews. Lussier’s father and grandfather were in attendance and she dedicated it to them, explaining that it was one of the first songs she learned to play.

Ingrid Andress hails from Colorado. She played an entirely too short set. Seated at an electric piano, she gave the crowd five incredible songs about relationships, family, love and loss. I have a creeping suspicion that the next time she comes through town, her star will be quite a bit brighter and she will be in a much bigger room.

Thursday night marked the second time in the past few months that Caylee Hammack has come through town. She previously played SPAC as part of the CountryFest show. Hammack is a very energetic, entertaining singer. Her set ranged from a terrific take on the disco classic “I Will Survive” to a wild rendition of Tom Petty’s “Last Dance With Mary Jane.” Hammack’s original material benefited from the stripped down acoustic format of this show. The simple approach let the lyrics and her voice really shine.