Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert play sold-out Show Me Center concert

Fans of country music duo Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert joined a sellout crowd Friday night at the Show Me Center, eager to see the unique performance the country crooner couple set out to achieve when they announced their co-headlining tour in September.

The tour showcases "seamless" performances where the artists blend their music together at times, chiming in on each other's singles and uniting for an intimate acoustic set in the middle of the show.

The idea behind the tour actually started as an experiment for the couple, who began dating in 2007.

"We wanted to do something special that nobody else can pull off," Shelton said in a prepared statement.

Theresa Elfrink and Patty Owens, both of Marble Hill, Mo., said they bought tickets for the concert hoping not only to hear new singles from both performers, like Shelton's "She Wouldn't Be Gone" and Lambert's "More Like Her," but also for pure entertainment that went beyond a traditional country music show.

"That's what I like in a concert," Elfrink said. "I don't want someone to stand there and sing. You see that on TV."

The last concert the two women, both country music fans, attended featured Carrie Underwood and Jason Michael Carroll, but Friday's concert was designed by Shelton and Lambert to shake up the traditional opening act followed by the headliner.

"The result is a unique show packed full of music and energy that will leave people wondering what the hell is going to happen next," Shelton said.

Shelton opened the show with the jukebox favorites "The More I Drink" and "Some Beach."

Kendra Summers, of Bernie, Mo., who had never seen either Lambert or Shelton perform, said before the show she was most looking forward to hearing Lambert's girl-power anthem "Gunpowder and Lead."

Lambert wrote the song, which received a CMA award nomination for single of the year, while attending a concealed carry class.

Summers said she's a "big fan" of both artists' music.

The standout performance of the show featured the couple joining forces on Shelton's No. 1 hit "Home," but Shelton's rendition of his "Nobody But Me," ran a close second.

The tour promotes Shelton's "Pure BS" deluxe album and Lambert's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," Academy of Country Music's Album of the Year.

The duo's next show on the tour is today in Pikeville, Ky.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert perform at the Show Me Center

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