On Thursday, October 16th, Dustin Lynch performed at the Charlie Horse in West Bridgewater, MA and New England Country Music was in attendance. This was a very special performance as Dustin put on an acoustic set for the sold-out crowd which was made possible by our friends at Cat Country 98.1 (WCTK).
Photo courtesy of Cat Country.
The Charlie Horse was packed from the front of the stage to the back by the time we had arrived and you could feel the anticipation for Dustin Lynch to hit the stage. Around 9:45 the side door opened and out came Dustin to the stage. He took his place on a stool wearing his trademark cowboy hat and a glass of Jack Daniels in his hand. Also, on the small and intimate stage were two musicians who accompanied him for the evening’s set.
Dustin opened the show by playing ‘Name On It’ from his debut, self-titled album. From the first chord, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, which was even more amazing given he was playing against the Patriots and Bruins games in the background, and we know how New Englanders love their sports teams!
Before the second song of the evening he announced to the Charlie Horse crowd that, “I have every intention of playing more than allowed tonight.” He then performed ‘Halo’ and ‘All Night’ which got the crowd rocking even more. This was followed by one of his first cover songs of the night, ‘Dust On the Bottle,’ which turned into a big sing-a-long for the David Lee Murphy original.
Things slowed down for about two songs as Dustin performed ‘Wild In Your Smile’ and ‘Sing It To Me.’ The latter of which he told the crowd, “Is the sexiest song I’ve ever written. It’s about being in bed with someone else and wanting to hit repeat over and over as it’s so good.” The song and comments were obviously a huge hit with the ladies in attendance.
Photo Courtesy of Alan Sullivan.
As he called for some more Jack Daniels, Dustin toasted Cat Country for putting on the show and then broke into the second single off his newest album, ‘Hell Of A Night.’ The song is set to be released to country radio on November 3rd.
The crowd was loving every verse Dustin Lynch was singing and drew them in even further with a cover of Drake’s single, ‘Hold On.’ But this was no match for the next song as he covered his first of two Garth Brooks songs with ‘Rodeo.’ Can’t go wrong anytime you play a Garth song to a country crowd.
Photo Courtesy of Alan Sullivan.
Dustin kept up a great stage presence and interaction with the crowd all evening. This was never more evident than when he paused on stage to ask the crowd “What the hell do y’all wanna hear?” The answer was one that could easily be guessed, ‘Cowboys and Angels.’ He explained the origins of arguably his most popular song to date and one changed his life, “It’s about my grandma and grandpa who have been married for 60 years and were high school sweethearts.” The audience was filled with cell phones raised in the air to record this amazing performance and everyone was singing along. And Dustin even changed the last verse to sing:
“There’s a want and there’s a need. There’s a history between, New England girls and guys like me. Cowboys and angels”
After performing ‘Mind Reader’ came the second of his Garth Brooks covers of the evening and this one was an epic ten minute explosion. The crowd went nuts as the first few chords of ‘Friends In Low Places’ came from Dustin’s guitar. Every word was sung along to as the Charlie Horse was the loudest it was all evening up until this point. For good measure he even mixed in verses of The Georgia Satellites ‘Keep Your Hands To Yourself’ and Luke Bryan’s ‘All My Friends Say.’ This was truly the best cover of the Garth classic I have ever heard and Dustin made sure to add in that mysterious third verse that goes on the end of that song.
Right after his most George Strait song of the night, ‘She Wants A Cowboy,’ Mr. Lynch raised a glass to the crowd and to Cat Country for making his final song of the night his first number one single… ‘Where It’s At.’ This video courtesy of Cat Country 98.1 (WCTK) tells a much better story than I possibly can about the crowd reaction.
This was my first time seeing Dustin Lynch live and I was blown away not only by his performance but also his connection with the fans and how much he appreciates them. He spent 45 minutes to an hour signing autographs and taking selfies with every single fan who came up to the stage. It was a great pleasure to meet Dustin after the show as he’s one of the most down to earth people. Also, big thanks to Cat Country 98.1 (WCTK) for all of their help and for putting together such an amazing show.
Make sure to follow Dustin on Twitter, Facebook, and check out his official website.
You can also follow Cat Country 98.1 (WCTK) on Twitter and Facebook.
This article was written by NECM contributing writer Mike Sullivan. You can follow me on Twitter.