It’s almost hard to believe that with his immense popularity and collection of Number One hits, the 15 in a 30 Tour is Sam Hunt’s first summer headlining venture. Hunt stopped in over 30 venues across the country, bringing the tour through Mansfield, MA on July 22nd where close to 20,000 excited fans showed up to sell out the open-air amphitheater on the hot July evening.
To get things started, Hunt enlisted country newcomer, Ryan Follese. Despite only recently embarking on a solo career in country music, the 30 year old is no rookie in the music business. Follese fronted the pop-rock band, Hot Chelle Rae, and during that time he toured with the likes of Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift and earned a double-Platinum single. Ryan opened the show with two tracks off of his 2016 self-titled debut EP, ‘Wilder’ and ‘Float Your Boat.’ The crowd sang along to his first single, ‘Put a Label on It,’ before Follese introduced his follow-up, ‘Lose a Little Sleep.’ The single is set to go to country radio late summer/early fall, he said. The Music City native rounded out his set with a little throwback to his pop days, performing Hot Chelle Rae’s chart-topper, ‘Tonight Tonight.’ To keep things interesting he mashed up the song with The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s theme and the crowd was digging it as they sang along. Albeit a short set, it was a job well done as fans were definitely left pumped up for the night ahead.
Next to hit the stage was singer/songwriter, Chris Janson. “I’m in an extra good mood, I’ve been hanging out backstage with the Patriots,” he said partway through his first song, ‘Redneck Life.’ High-energy hits like, ‘I Love This Life,’ (which Janson was a co-writer on) and his summer smash, ‘Fix a Drink,’ continued the party. There was never a shortage of excitement or intensity from Janson, even when he slowed things down for a personal song he wrote with James Otto, ‘Holdin’ Her.’ He told the story of how he met his wife 12 years ago, “I said, ‘I’m going to marry that girl right there.’ Three years later, I married my best friend. Her name is Kelly. I got two bonus kids, and we were blessed to have two more children after that, and that made my life complete.” While he performed the ballad, sweet family photos and videos played on the screen behind him for a truly touching experience. After that, Janson was quick to crank it back up with another song he penned, Tim McGraw’s, ‘Truck Yeah,’ and his 2015 hit, ‘Buy Me a Boat.’ The latter featured enough harmonica playing and spirit fingers to go around. He ended with an animated rendition of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire.’ Honestly, if you’re in a bad mood after a Chris Janson’s performance, you must be broken. His energy is so contagious it would probably take two broken legs to stay off your feet.
Maren Morris was the next artist to grace us with her presence. Around 8:20 pm the lights went down and Maren’s intro began to play, “This is the soundtrack to our life,” her voiceover said. “They say you should never meet your heros… but what if you became your own?” Fans went crazy as the newly-engaged songstress appeared on stage with long, bubblegum pink hair, wearing cropped shirt that read, “FEYONCE.” She rolled out hits from her debut album including ‘Sugar,’ ‘Just Another Thing,’ and ‘How It’s Done,’ before sharing a story with the crowd. “I wrote this song after a couple cocktails at 11:00 in the morning,” she recalled. When asked what her album was missing, Morris’ response was, “Well, I could use a love song.” So that’s the song they wrote, literally.
After performing Hero’s third single, Morris continued to play a few more from the album, like the fan-favorite, ‘Rich.’ This song pushes the genre, but she’s not the only artist on the night’s bill to have done so at one point or another. Regardless, fans were on their feet and jamming out. Maren didn’t hold back as she belted out the hit, profanity and all. (What did you expect?) “You’ve been a badass crowd!” she proclaimed before introducing her band mid-song. As her 40-minute set was winding down, Maren recalled the last time she played at the Massachusetts venue, “I remember singing this song here last year. Who was at Keith Urban? That was my first ever tour and this was my first single.” Fans erupted into loud applause as they knew what was to come. “This song still makes me just as emotional as the day that I wrote it. Boston, will you help me?” The crowd cheered. “I know I didn’t need to ask,” she responded with a smile. Fans voices echoed along with Morris as she performed the hit that earned her a GRAMMY award, ‘My Church.’ With only time for one more, the Texas native finished her set with a mashup of her own ‘Second Wind’ and Beyonce’s ‘Halo.’
Finally at 9:30, it was the moment we had all been waiting for. It was no surprise how insane the crowd went when Sam Hunt appeared on stage for an explosive performance of ‘Leave the Night On’ to get things started. Wasting no time, he jumped right into ‘House Party’ and surprised fans by hopping off the stage and making a quick loop around the arena. Hearts raced as people crowded the aisles to catch a high five as he made his way through. We even caught some of the ticket attendants fangirling as Hunt whizzed by. “It’s good to be in Mansfield. I want you to sing, dance, do whatever makes you feel good. We’re about to have a good time!” he exclaimed, continuing with ‘Raised On It,’ ‘Saturday Night,’ and the song he penned for Keith Urban, ‘Cop Car.’ For those who don’t know, Sam has got a pretty solid catalog of hits he’s written that were recorded by other artists. He went on to play a couple of his most popular – William Michael Morgan’s first Number One, ‘I Met a Girl,’ and the 2013 Billy Currington hit that helped kickstart Hunt’s career, ‘We Are Tonight.’
With roughly 20,000 eyes and ears on him, Sam took a moment to address the crowd. Sitting center stage, with just a guitar in hand, the Georgia native spoke about growing up, genre boundaries, and his initial struggles in Nashville. Taking a trip down memory lane, Hunt shared some of the music that influenced him and inspired him to become what he is today. Unsurprisingly, these songs spanned multiple genres, ranging from Travis Tritt to R. Kelly. “When I sat down to write a song for the first time, it was the country and the R&B that came out. They told me it’s not going to work,” he recalled. “By the grace of God, a fella that I’ve been listening to for a few years came along. He recorded it and put it on the radio.” That guy was Kenny Chesney and that song was ‘Come Over.’ “I knew I wanted to be an artist the first time I heard Kenny Chesney on the radio,” he said before playing the hit.
It would have felt like a safe assumption to say that Hunt would close the show with his record-breaker, ‘Body Like a Backroad,’ but the headliner unexpectedly put it smack-dab in the middle of ‘Speakers’ and ‘Take Your Time.’ The surprise sent everyone into a frenzy, and the fangirls were out in full force. Screaming, jumping and dancing ensued – It was without a doubt one of the night’s biggest songs, and rightfully so, as it has been one of the biggest songs of the year. To follow, thumping bass and smoke filled the arena as Hunt completed his set with ‘Ex To See.’ But as most concerts go, that wasn’t the last we’d see of the star. Hunt came back strong for an encore with powerful performances of ‘Make You Miss Me,’ and a mashup of ‘Break Up In a Small Town’ with his early 2017, ‘Drinkin’ Too Much.’ As the clock struck 11:00, the swoon-fest was sadly over. Hunt proved his well-deserved success (not that there were any doubters in attendance) with his powerful stage presence and strong connection with the crowd throughout. The show was exciting and engaging as Sam rolled out hit after hit for an hour and a half. We knew Sam Hunt just wants to blow your mind – well, mission accomplished.
