Mackenzie and Band continue stretch of opening for Country Music's Hottest and Most Iconic Acts in 2022 and 2023!
Mackenzie and her band continue to open for country music's hottest and most iconic names. The band played opener in 2022 for Ryan Hurd outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago in a show sponsored by Budweiser, The Chicago Cubs, and country station US99. Ryan, who perhaps is best known as the husband of Maren Morris, wrote #1 songs for Blake Shelton, Lady A, and Luke Bryan. Ryan is signed to RCA Nashville Records. Mackenzie and the band followed that with an August show opening for country superstars Lonestar. Lonestar dominated country charts in the 1990s with numerous #1s and songs that had an impact well beyond country music.
To kick off the 2023 season, Mackenzie featured songs from her upcoming album "Quarter Life Crisis" while opening for breakout Country artist Kylie Morgan in Chicago in a sold out show! Kylie had been featured at the CMAs and her online streams have surpassed the 100 million mark over the last year!
In June 2023, Mackenzie opened for the 2006 CMA vocalist of the year Rodney Atkins to a packed house of over 5,000 fans in a show hosted by The Village of Antioch and Country Station US 99! Rodney had a stretch of six number one country songs between 2006 and 2011. Rodney has been nominated for a CMA award six times and in 2006 won the CMA for top male vocalist! Mackenzie and her band opened with a 65 minute set!
Other notables Mackenzie has opened for include Chris Janson, Jordan Davis, Lee Brice, Parker McCollom, The Vandoliers, and Mike and the Moonpies. (Photos: Ryan and Mackenzie pictured outside of Wrigley Field, Mackenzie and Kylie backstage in Chicago, Mackenzie and Lonestar pictured in the green room at The Vixen, Mackenzie pictured on stage outside of Wrigley Field!
Mackenzie with Ryan Hurd
Mackenzie with Kylie Morgan
Mackenzie with Lonestar
The Mackenzie O'Brien Band rocks the 2023 summer season by playing to a crowd of over 5,000 and multiple shows of over 2,000 attendees!
Mackenzie and her band kicked off the summer season with a 90 minute concert off of Crystal Lake's Main Beach in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The event boasted over 2,000 fans entering through the main beach gates for the show and another 200 fans on boats watching the show from the lake itself! Fans were treated to original music and country covers as well as an assembly of food trucks from the area!
Mackenzie and her band followed that show by opening for country star Rodney Adkins in Antioch's (Illinois) downtown event space. The concert was attended by more than 5,000 country fans . Mackenzie and her band were asked to play an extended 65 minute set before Rodney and his band took the stage on a near perfect early summer evening! The rest of the summer had her band playing in front of over 2000 fans at concerts in Downers Grove, Libertyville, and Lake Bluff and several other shows with attendance at over 1,000 fans!
Mackenzie and The Band: Festivals, Town Concerts and Album Release in 2023
Mackenzie and her band hit the festival circuit hard in 2022 and 2023 with appearances at fest.s in four states and multiple trips to Country Thunder Wisconsin! They balanced that with town concerts throughout Northern Illinois and a few preferred indoor venues in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.
Mackenzie and her Nashville team released her latest and most ambitious project yet when her album "Quarter Life Crisis" began dropping songs in July of 2023. "Gone Before I Got Here" was the first release and received over 100,000 Spotify streams after only 8 days online! Song number two "Mean Girl" was released on September 13th and hit 100,000 streams after one month on the market. The third song "Sugar Daddy Issues" will be released in January of 2024 as the marketing team decided to slow the release to develop a more targeted and faterher reaching marketing plan.
(Photo Credits: Jason Kalish at Country Thunder 2022 and Aaron Schriver at Country Thunder 2023)
About Mackenzie O'Brien Songwriter
Mackenzie was given the nickname "Hummingbird" at an early age as she was often found playing alone and humming made up melodies. The name stuck and the hummingbird has become a symbol for her band and brand. She released a song and music video entitled "Hummingbird" in 2020. Link to song: https://youtu.be/c9WY8nDpk5Q
Mackenzie reports knowing from around the age of four that music was her calling. At the age of 14 Mackenzie picked up a guitar and taught herself to play chords very quickly while watching videos on youtube. She stated that it was like part of her brain was unlocked and she again found herself linked with music!
Mackenzie developed her skills on guitar, and some banjo, and began singing in bars and coffee houses upon graduation from high school. She also hit open mic.s in the area, In Austin Texas, and in Nashville Tennessee where she built up music alliances and eventual partnerships. Mackenzie recorded and released her first original song "It's Just a Line" in 2017 recorded at Nashville's iconic Omnisound Studios! The song solo written in a singer songwriter style was featured on the Iceman's Nashville based radio show for up and coming original artists in that same year. The song is no longer on online listening platforms but can be found at the following link...
Link to Song: https://www.reverbnation.com/mackenzieobrien/song/28673620-just-a-line
Mackenzie continued performing in Chicagoland and In Wisconsin and continued developing her writing style while being known for her development of song melodies. Mackenzie was sought out by various writers and built songwriting partnerships in Nashville and online with other writers across the US and Canada. In 2019 Mackenzie won a songwriting contest sponsored by Merf Music Nashville which put her path on a new trajectory. To date, Mackenzie has written with Grammy nominated and Grammy winning writers, writers that were BMIs top money earners, and many writers with #1 songs to their credit.
At this time, Mackenzie continues to write with a team of writers in Nashville and she is excited about releasing her newest album in 2023! The album will feature a more americana music blend and one song (Sugar Daddy Issues) that is completely outside of the "Nashville Box". Her music can be found on all the online listening platforms.
Writing Room (nashville) with some of the best
Laying down vocals at Omnisound Nashville
Singing out in Nashville Clubs
The Mackenzie O'Brien Band
The Mackenzie O'Brien Band has defied odds by quickly becoming Chicagoland's #1 young country band. In spite of being young (25 to 35 years old) and female led, the band has moved from small to bigger bars and festivals including their headlining fest.s in four states. The returned to the iconic Country Thunder for the third consecutive year this summer and they have continued to perform at some of the areas biggest venues. Past performance locations include The Now Center (Formerly the Sears Center), Joe's on Weed, Joe's Live Rosemont, The Hard Rock Casino and on the main stage at Gallagher Way outside of Wrigley Field. They have also performed concerts for more than 50 municipalities, US 99 Chicago Country, The Chicago Cubs, and The Chicago White Sox!
The band is one of the few in Chicagoland that can play all covers and, if requested, play all original songs or a mix of both! One large venue owner commented "Mackenzie and her band are the only band I have booked that had no crowd energy drop off when playing an original song!" Over it's few years in existence, the band has opened for various country stars and the genres hottest new acts! This includes Lonestar, Chris Janson, Rodney Atkins, Parker McCollom, Lee Brice, Ryan Hurd, The Vandoliers, Jordan Davis, Kylie Morgan, and Mike and The MoonPies.
The band is local to Chicagoland and Southern Wisconsin but also play venues throughout the midwest and beyond! They feature all full time musicians and a lead singer referred to, in print, as "Chicago's New Country Queen".
Antioch, Illinois Opening for Rodney Atkins 2023
Some Photos from the 2023 Season
Schaumburg Concert
Late Nights Out!
Photo Shoot "Quarter Life Crisis" Album
Whiskey Jack's Madison Wis.
On the Streets of Madison Wis.
Libertyville Concert at Sundown
Singing at The Local / Nashville
Country Thunder w/the Band
Ottawa High School Packed House
Downers Grove Concert
The Hard Rock Casino Indiana
Crystal Lake Concert on the Lake
Some Photos from the 2022 Season
Wrigley Field Concert
Hard Rock Indiana
Bolingbrook Town Concert
Long Grove's Strawberry Festival
Dancing Crowd at 28 Mile Highwood
Country Thunder Wisconsin
Town Concert Villa Park
Mokena's Farm and Barn Fest
Between Writing Sessions Nashville
Town Concert Sycamore
Great Stage at The Hard Rock
Hometown Show at The Vixen
Mackenzie with Dean Sinclair on Drums
Late Night Crowd at Bub City
Late Night in Chicago
Joe's on Weed Chicago Opening for Parker McCollum
Country Thunder Wisconsin 2021
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Opening for Chris Janson & Jordan Davis at The Now Center / Drive In Concert
