Deana Carter

When Deana Carter visited Kansas City two years ago, she played Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, pretty much the default tour stop for platinum-selling country stars. Whereas alt-country artists play local rock clubs, the genuine toast-of-Nashville twangers either end up at arenas (with the genre’s up-and-coming talents employed as warmup acts) or, if they’re pushing 70, casinos. So it’s difficult at first to imagine Carter booking a gig at the Grand Emporium, a venue whose reputation far exceeds its capacity. To quote one of her chart-topping tunes, will she shave her legs for this? Fortunately for her fans, the songs from this year’s independent-label release The Story of My Life all but demand an intimate forum. Ranging from smart takes on traditional country themes (I wanna be the girl you left me for) to barbed industry commentary (I ain’t picked up my guitar in 15 days/Some music man doesn’t give a damn), Carter writes deeply personal lyrics without scaling down her massive choruses, electric guitars or string arrangements. Live, the result should be a stadium-sized set that shakes the Emporium’s walls.