Line-up

Headliner
Uncle Kracker Last time in Springfield: 1 year ago

Venue

Shady Gators/Lazy Gators

132 Sweet William Road, 65049, Lake Ozark, MO, US

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Uncle Kracker biography

Matthew Shafer (Born 6 June 1974) is American Rock and Pop singer songwriter and occasional rapper, often known by his stage name, Uncle Kracker.

Uncle Kracker was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, in the early 70’s. After early attempts at rapping in his early years, his first taste of performing came after meeting a young Robert James Ritchie aka Kid Rock at a turntable competition his brother was playing at. After hitting it off with Kid Rock, he agreed to perform with his then band “Twisted Brown Trucker”.

As Kid Rock blew up, he kept Shafer on as his tour DJ and also used him as a back up vocalist for his 1996 album “Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp”. After continuing DJing for Ritchie over a number of years, Shafer decided to begin work on his own solo album.

In 2000, Shafer released his debut LP, “Double Wide” under the moniker Uncle Kracker. The albums rock and rap blending sound was a hit around the world, proven by its success in the charts, as Double Wide rose as high number 7 in the US, as well as charting in many European countries. This album remains Shafer’s most successful to date and has been certified double platinum.

Following the release of his first effort, Uncle Kracker went on an extensive tour around the US, before writing and recording his follow up album, “No Stranger To Shame”, which came out in 2002. Shafer’s sophomore effort was also a success commercially, especially after the release of it’s first single, “Drift Away” was an instant hit. The track is a cover of Dobie Gray’s 70’s hit song.

Moving forward, Uncle Kracker ditched his rap rock leanings and moved into the world of country music, releasing a further three albums in that genre, the latest being 2012’s “Midnight Special”.

Live reviews

While his name doesn't inspire much hope for the quality of his music, do not be fooled, when it comes to producing cool, calming and chilled out hits, this guy is definitely not cracked. Being a close and personal buddy of the amazing Kid Rock not only gives Uncle Kracker instant cool points, but it also helped this smooth singing Southerner break onto the music scene having originally started out as a DJ. Switching his style to a more country rock vibe, he thus gave us one of his most well known songs, 'Follow Me' taken from the album 'Double Wide', which was not only produced by Kid Rock, but also, unsurprisingly went double platinum.
With his incredibly mellow stage presence, Uncle Kracker is able to instantly unwind and cool down even the most crazed and overly caffeinated crowd, which is exactly what he did when he performed with old friend, Kenny Chesney in Knoxville, Tennessee. Duetting with long time pal and fellow country music star, they serenaded their audience with the sweet sound of one of Krackers biggest hits, 'Drift Away', with the title of the song emulating the nights atmosphere, which consisted of arms swaying to the light of the full moon, a sea of contented smiles all around and completely harmonised sounds all culminating in a night of total relaxation.

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