On Thursday, December 10th, Dustin Lynch brought his Hell of a Night Tour featuring Chris Lane and Tyler Rich to The Dome at Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT. The general admission venue started to fill up quickly as fans came flooding in when the doors opened around 7 pm. The dome was dimly lit, glowing a blueish-purple with DJ Barry Carew already spinning hits to get the crowd pumped up.
By 8:00, everyone was packed on to the floor and the DJ introduced Tyler Rich to get things started. The California native had the ladies swooning throughout his entire performance, which included a combination of songs from his EP, ‘Valerie,’ and some cover songs. He charmed fans with his original, ‘I Can Teach Ya,’ and had everyone singing along when he covered George Strait’s ‘Check Yes or No.’ Rich shook things up a bit when he introduced another cover as “The song that got me through eighth grade and high school,” surprising everyone with the 1996 Blackstreet hit, ‘No Diggity.’ He mixed a little bit of Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’ in there – a combination that had everyone fired up and dancing along. While covers are undeniably fun, Tyler’s original songs are incredible. He played his latest single, ‘California Grown’ which is currently on radio. “It’s a lot more country than you’d think,” he said of his home state before introducing the song. The lyrics support that, painting a picture of a small-town lifestyle much different than the stereotypical Hollywood glamour. Maybe he can teach us a thing or two. As his set was coming to a close, Rich introduced another one of his original songs, ‘Turn It Up,’ by saying, “I know you guys have work in the morning, but I know you came to party tonight!” The song is technically about a Friday night, and it was easy enough to neglect any responsibilities and pretend it was the weekend. “Throw your hands and your drinks in the sky!” Rich shouted midway through the song and the audience complied. As Tyler thanked the crowd and exited the stage, the dome echoed with cheers and applause for the singer – clearly the night was off to a good start.
The DJ came back out between sets to make sure the energy level didn’t drop, mixing old and new songs, country, pop, and rock; nothing was off limits. Before we knew it, it was time for Chris Lane to take the stage. The singer opened up with his own ‘Broken Windshield View’ followed by ‘Cool,’ a song off his recently released EP. “Cheers to you, Wallingford, on a Thursday night!” Lane said, and fans held up their drinks to toast. Chris is a firecracker on stage with a contagious energy. He played a run of cover songs that included something for everyone – the 1986 hit, ‘Your Love’ by The Outfield, Bruno Mars’ ‘Locked Out of Heaven,’ Journey’s eternal crowd-pleaser, ‘Don’t Stop Believing,’ and ‘Wrecking Ball,’ by Miley Cyrus, to name a few. “Somebody bounce with me right now,” he said, and the sea of people below started jumping up and down. With the crowd wrapped around his finger, Lane returned to performing some of his original songs, ‘Her Own Kind of Beautiful’ and ‘Drinking Games.’ He continued with his set saying, “I wanted a song that I could come out and sing for you ladies every single night. It’s called ‘For Her.’ ” The song showcases Lane’s incredible vocals, especially the singer’s flawless falsetto, and you could clearly see why he’s topped numerous 2015 “Artist to Watch” lists. He followed up with ‘Who’s It Gonna Be,’ another original song that’s upbeat and flirty.
If the fans, especially the ladies, weren’t already loving Chris, all of that was about to change. Lane went into another run of cover songs, kicking it off by singing part of ‘I Want It That Way’ by the Backstreet Boys – a classic fangirl favorite. He followed the 1999 chart-topper with The Weeknd’s ‘Can’t Feel My Face,’ Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back,’ and Jason Derulo’s ‘Want to Want Me.’ Even the crowd of country fans was hyped up. “Are you ready to turn it up just a little bit more tonight?” Lane asked enthusiastically. The question was followed by more cheers from the audience and Chris broke into Nsync’s ‘Bye Bye Bye.’ He ended this round of covers showing off his moves while performing ‘Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)’ by Silento and ‘Going Down For Real’ by Flo Rida. “If you guys get a chance after the show tonight, stop by the merch table,” Chris said, noting that he loves to meet fans. “I just released my debut single, it’s called ‘Fix,’ ” said Lane, introducing his final song of the night.
Another small break between sets was occupied by DJ Barry Carew as fans patiently awaited the evening’s headliner, Dustin Lynch. It wasn’t long until Dustin appeared, leaping on stage to a chorus of applause. He opened with ‘To The Sky,’ ‘She Cranks My Tractor,’ and ‘Halo,’ before formally greeting the audience. “Welcome to the Hell of a Night Tour! Y’all are wild as hell tonight. I thought I heard you guys backstage earlier,” he said. “My names Dustin, thanks for coming out tonight!” The crowd applauded as Lynch mentioned that it was his first time playing in Wallingford, CT. “Ladies, as a band on stage and as a tour, our number one goal tonight is to get the girls dancing their booties off!” Lynch said. He added, “Tonight we want to make a memory with you guys that we can look back on in a few years and smile.” It was the perfect transition into Lynch’s ‘All Night,’ a song that’s easily relatable about reminiscing on good times with friends.
He followed up with a string of ’90s country covers, ‘John Deere Green,’ ‘Meet in the Middle,’ and ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ by Joe Diffie, Diamond Rio, and Brooks & Dunn, respectively. A couple of fans even danced the entire ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ out on the floor. “I hope y’all took Friday off because we’re just getting started tonight,” Lynch said, and some of us were wishing that we had. Despite what sounded like microphone problems during his next song, ‘After Party,’ Lynch didn’t miss a beat, he just kept rocking out like a true professional. The problems were solved in no time and Lynch carried on with his set playing ‘Sing It To Me’ before initiating a game of Simon Says. “I want to hear you guys repeat after me,” said Dustin starting out with a drawn out “whoa.” The crowd’s first attempt left the singer a little underwhelmed. “That was lazy for a Thursday night,” he said. The singer had no problem calling the fans out on their mediocrity. But he gave the crowd a chance to redeem themselves repeating with “hell yeah” and “yeehaw” which resulted in praises from Dustin, who was much more impressed that time around. His set continued with hits like ‘Name On It,’ ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ ‘Wild in Your Smile,’ and ‘Hurricane,’ before it was time for another game.
Lynch brought out a prize wheel, not something you’d typically see on stage at a concert. “We’re bout to get silly, y’all!” he said. Chris Lane and Tyler Rich also joined the headliner on stage, their return eliciting loud cheers and applause from fans. The game was simple, a fan from the audience came on stage to play the part of Vanna White. Her job was to spin the wheel and the trio would sing whatever song it landed on. “Please do not let it land on Beyonce,” Lynch said jokingly. The guys performed songs by the Beastie Boys, Tim McGraw, and Kenny Chesney. Even though they didn’t know all the words, the performance was humorous and entertaining, nonetheless.
“This is our brand new single to country radio,” Dustin announced, performing ‘Mind Reader’ before thanking the crowd, “Y’all have made this night so much fun for us. It’s good to be back in New England!” As the set was nearing it’s end, the singer shared a story about what makes his single ‘Cowboys and Angels’ so special. “I wrote this next song about my grandma and grandad who’ve been married 60 years this year,” he said. “This song is about their love story.” But he couldn’t end the night on a such a soft note. “It’s time to do a little dancing ladies,” he said flirtatiously. He rounded out his set with ‘Where It’s At’ and had the crowd yelling for more, the stomps and screams echoing through the dome so loud you could almost feel it shaking. But Lynch had yet to play the tour’s namesake, and it wasn’t long until he was back on stage for his encore to perform the high-energy hit, ‘Hell of a Night.’ Fans applauded and whistled as Dustin thanked the crowd one last time.
The Hell of a Night Tour had proven to be just that. Lynch always puts on explosive, stadium-worthy performances, which is probably why he’s accompanied artists like Luke Bryan and Keith Urban on the road in the past. This fall, the hitmaker had the chance to embark on his first headlining tour and Lynch made sure it was one fans would remember. Chris Lane and Tyler Rich were the perfect additions – their strong, energetic performances exceeded expectations. Despite the fact that it was a late weeknight show surpassing 11 pm, it was obvious that fans were sad to see it end. Dustin knows how to keep the fans wanting more and we absolutely love what he did with his own tour. Even though it won’t be the same, we’ll be sure to catch him again as he makes his way back around with Luke Bryan in the spring.
