Vegas - An Adventure with Cort Carpenter

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This is a series where I share how specific songs really hit home for me. These songs are going to range from songs you've heard a thousand times to songs that you probably haven't heard - and everything in between.

I went back and forth on which song should be number one. Which song I should launch this series with, because it feels like an important choice. Eventually, I decided that this is not going to be in any particular order, so we should start with a song that is relevant.

I recently moved to Las Vegas and it only makes sense to start with a song called 'Vegas' right?

I first heard this song when I was researching artists to reach out to ahead of Watershed in 2018. I came across a guy from my home state, playing the biggest country music festival in the northwest and I knew I had to talk to Cort Carpenter.

Full disclosure, I listened to this song probably a dozen times before I listened to his more popular songs, because, well, I love Vegas and this song is the perfect mental montage of everything everyone loves about Vegas.

*We hop on the flight for the time of our life yeah baby we headed to Vegas*

It grabs you right away. The song has been in my ears within 30 minutes of landing in Sin City every single time I've come since I discovered it - and we come to Vegas a lot, well, before we moved here we did...but more on that later.

A couple of times I've even played it for the airplane when we landed (I'm not sure everyone understood or appreciated it though).

*Bright lights, High rise, I saw my (first?)third Ferrari tonight..."

This line. I'm pretty sure I've been screaming incorrectly for 3 years. I've always sung this line as "first Ferrari" but recently I got to see Cort perform this song live again and I noticed when he got to that line, he held up three fingers. You don't hold up three fingers when you're counting to one, friends. My wife and I were standing on the side of the stage at FarmJam and immediately looked at each other and laughed.

It was pretty obvious that we had both been singing the wrong lyric this whole time. (Sorry Cort)

Cort Carpenter was nice enough to come on the podcast, when we were just starting out and his generosity and graciousness (I'm not sure that's a word) over the last couple years has been incredible. I'm lucky enough to be able call him a friend and that is part of why this song holds a special place in my life.

That all brings us to today.

I began writing this on an airplane as I left my new hometown, Las Vegas, headed back to the city that I've lived in for most of my life, Spokane. I had only been a Vegas resident for about a week, but I would be lying if I told you I hadn't listened to that song every day since moving here. (and about 50 times on the 17 hour drive down).

*Nobody knows where this night's going to end or where it's going to
take us but that's the way you do it when you're partying in Vegas*

Those words ring a bit more true now. In September, We quit our jobs and moved the family to the lights in the desert. Nobody knows where this night, or the next night, or the night after that is going to take us, but that's the way you do it when you're living down in ‘Vegas’, right?.