This might have been the biggest concert event of the 2024 summer, kicking off the Utah concert season with a bang! It's like the Daytona 500 - NASCAR's biggest event, but unlike the Super Bowl, it's the first race of the season. Eager to avoid spoilers from the first show, I stayed off social media, knowing I was in for a night of Country Music hits.
Luke Combs was joined by Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Drew Parker, and Colby Acuff, a huge opportunity for these rising stars. Unfortunately, due to parking difficulties, I missed Colby and Drew's performances.
As the time approached, Rice-Eccles Stadium filled with Country Music fans, buzzing with excitement for Luke Combs' arrival. I found a spot in the photo pit as the stadium erupted in a massive sing-along to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” - the loudest I’ve ever heard outside of a Neil Diamond concert. The stadium was rockin'!
Before singing his 2021 song "Doin' This" from his album "Growin' Up," Combs reflected on his humble beginnings. "Doin' This" explores what Combs would be doing if he wasn't a country superstar. The song suggests he'd still be making music, just on a smaller scale: "I'd have a Friday night crowd in the palm of my hand. Cup of brown liquor, couple buddies in a band."
Combs shared, "I realized the answer would be, I would still be doing this if I wasn't doing this. I would just not be playing in a stadium. Eight years ago, I played in Tin Roof Cincinnati. Eight years ago. I would just be back there having as much fun as I'm having tonight." It was inspiring to hear him give a shoutout to the Downtown bar, a reminder of how far he's come. He said “I would be doing exactly what I’m doing tonight. I just wouldn’t be doing it in a stadium. I’d be doing it somewhere else. Nobody would know my name probably. Nobody would know my songs. I’d be playing other people’s songs most of the time. And I’d be just as happy doing that as what I’m doing tonight. Because this is what I love to do."
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When Combs played that riff the stadium, as you might expect, erupted! “I remember the first time I did it and I didn’t mess it up. Then all these years later, I put out my own version of Tracy Chapman’s masterpiece. I couldn’t believe how loud the crowd was during “Fast Car”. They sang every word of that heartbreaking song. It was my favorite moment of the night and easily one of my favorite concert moments ever. To hear Luke Combs sing that song in a huge stadium with a huge audience singing the song back to him, in the year or so that the song completely blew up for him was a memory for the ages. I wish the song could have gone on and on. I felt frozen in the moment and yet it seemed to fly by. He sounded great. The audience sounded amazing.
The night didn't end there. Combs turned things up another notch with hits like "She Got the Best of Me", "Hurricane" and "1, 2 Many". Luke Combs finished his main set with “When It Rains It Pours”. People were dancing and having a blast. It was clear that they did not want the night to end. It was fun to look down on the stadium floor and see people line dancing, and country dancing. I even saw some people doing some Western Swing.
Combs didn’t take too long to return to the stage. Encores are a funny thing. If you’ve been to a lot of concerts you expect them to come back. Combs has made chugging beers with special guests somewhat of a tradition during his shows. Last month, he brought "Twisters" star Glen Powell on stage at MetLife Stadium. During the Aug. 2 concert, Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson joined him in shotgunning beers. The moment seemed pretty electric.
Luke Combs hit Cincinnati like a hurricane this weekend. The country music superstar brought his Growin' Up and Gettin' Old Tour to the Queen City for a two-night stop at Paycor Stadium on Friday and Saturday. Combs made both nights a unique experience, adding different elements to each show, from his openers to the special guests he brought on stage. I missed out on the Friday concert, only catching clips on social media. But I fully embraced the Luke Combs experience Saturday, as I joined the tens of thousands of other fans who packed the stadium to see him perform.
Combs didn't just have one or two acts open for him. He had four different artists sing both nights: Cody Jinks, Charles Wesley Godwin, Hailey Whitters and The Wilder Blue on Friday. Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Drew Parker and Colby Acuff on Saturday. As someone who would attend Country Concert in Fort Loramie, Ohio, during my high school and college days, the number of openers almost made his show like a miniature music festival. The two big names Saturday, Tenpenny and Davis, are successful enough to headline tours themselves. I actually chose to go to the second night due to Tenpenny. Many of his songs are perfect for day drinking. Plus, his 2020 show at the Bluestone in Columbus was my last concert before COVID-19. My first country concert after the pandemic? Last night, with him and Combs. Both Tenpenny, who sported a Joe Burrow jersey, and Davis got the crowd ready for the main event, singing their major hits; Tenpenny with his "Alcohol You Later" and "We Got History" and Davis with his "Singles You Up" and "Buy Dirt." And the latter song served me the perfect line, considering I was covering this concert for my job: "Do what you love but call it work."
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Combs came out on stage both Friday and Saturday wearing a Cincy Hat, from the collection made by Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras.
My favorite part about attending massive concerts is seeing and hearing the thousands of fans belt out the artists' hits. Combs has plenty of those, as almost every song he sang regularly plays on the radio. "Fast Car," "Beautiful Crazy," "When It Rains It Pours," "Beer Never Broke My Heart" and the list goes on. But it was also fun seeing the fans scream-sing non-Combs songs. During a later portion of his concert, Combs had his band members sing their favorite tunes. From "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" by Shania Twain to Train's "Drops of Jupiter" and "What Was I Thinkin" by Dierks Bentley, it was a fun dose of nostalgia that took me back to singing those tracks in the car as a kid.
Combs gave a unique show both nights. That was certainly the case Saturday, when he made the losers of his fantasy football league sing on stage. "Lucky for me, there was a scoring issue in the last game, and my two best friends in the whole world both lost. And they both have to come out and sing in front of you guys tonight," he said. The two men ultimately sung (or tried to sing) "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn, which went horribly for them. They danced around in blue suede shoes and belted the lyrics at the top of their lungs. I don't know which was louder, their voices or everyone's laughter.
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