As high as the sun was in the sky, so was the temperature for the day. An intense 100 degree day in the middle of June was on hand for a show that was a guaranteed day of fired up fun for all in attendance. Many people rocking their favorite Hardy t-shirts lined up in the heat with their blankets and lawn chairs, preparing to grab the best seats on the lawn for the night, or their seats in the pavilion, as blue skies and white puffy clouds hang above them. The smiles of anticipation were everywhere as they patiently waited to enter the iconic Merriweather Post Pavilion nestled in the city of Columbia, MD.
Doors opened at 5:30pm and people were ushered through security and off to get their night started. Some fans went immediately to grab their seats, while others lined up in huge lines to purchase merchandise that was displayed at the merch booths. The bustle of the crowd was busy but calm as the elation for the show to start was noticeably high.
At 6:59, Bob Delmont from 93.1 WPOC enters the stage greeting all the fans with some friendly chatter and then announcing the first artist of the night, opener McCoy Moore, currently based in Nashville for the last 6 years, but originally from Lakeland, FL. enters the stage to cheers from the crowd. Dressed in a Carhartt t-shirt, an orange ball cap and jeans he belted off a 7 song set filled with his original songs such as “Prayin’ for Me,” and “Went to the Bar.” and even covered a Toby Keith classic “Who’s your Daddy?,” that really got the crowd on their feet. Moore did a great job interacting with the crowd and even had paper airplanes raid the stage from someone backstage playing a prank on Moore.
After a short set change and the fans filling in most of the pavilion and lawn at this point, Tucker Wetmore hits the stage at 7:45pm with a mid tempo song as the crowd shrieks in excitement. Originally from Kalama, Washington, Wetmore moved to Nashville around 6 years ago and was dressed in a style of a 90’s/2000’s Tim McGraw with a collared shirt unbuttoned to about mid-chest, jeans and what looked to be snake skin boots.
The crowd was definitely familiar with Wetmore and his music as he sang through his set fans were swaying and singing along to just about every song. Some of his songs during the set were originals like “Wine Into Whiskey” and “Sunburn” along with a mashup of songs that included “Drops Of Jupiter” originally by the band Train at the piano on stage. Other moments throughout his set included a crowd countdown to his single “3,2,1,” and thanking the crowd for being there and only asking them for one thing, “To just have fun.” Wetmore also took the time to sign several autographs and introduced his band members before finishing his set as impending storms lurked just across the right side of the venue.
During the set change before Hardy’s performance a storm with heavy wind gusts and some rain came through, worrying fans that there might be a show delay or even worse a cancellation. But luckily with only a few minutes of a delay, the stage dark, intro music started to play. The crowd erupts with a thunderous chant of “Hardy” over and over, waiting with complete exhilaration for Hardy to enter the stage. Slowly the lights start to shine dimly, stage smoke creeping across the stage shows Hardy sitting mid stage in all camo with a campfire to his right as he starts the show off with his song “Bottomland” that speaks of his love of the outdoors and his Southern heritage.
The crowd already on their feet sing word for word as the lyrics resonant heavily from Hardy. The next song Country, Country shows more of the stage with the glow of orange and blue lights cascading through the stage. The large screen across the back of the stage is stunning the animated look of a real forest of trees, to the left of a stage is an actual tree prop and to the right is a deer stand in which Hardy climbs down and onto for the remainder of the song. A change of clothes brings Hardy out in a blue t-shirt and tan cargo type pants where he cranks out “Unapologetically Country as Hell” and crowd favorite “Jack” to a crowd that is just begging for more.
The rest of the set was filled with many fan favorites such as “One Beer,” “Wait in the Truck” and “ and hits along with a cover of Blake Shelton’s “God’s Country” in which he was a co-writer on and Bad Company’s “Ready for Love.” Throughout the show the lights on the stage along with pyro and smoke geysers randomly only intensified the energy that Hardy brought to the stage. Truly an incredible spectacle. Several times through the night Hardy spoke during the show mentioning important moments, – like becoming a dad and how his daughter made him a better person, asking the crowd if they had lost someone that meant something to them and dedicating “Give Heaven Some Hell” to them by raising their drinks to the air, and funny moments like mentioning how he felt he needed to be up there telling some jokes like Matt Rife, but that he wasn’t going to do that. Ending this portion of the set with “Sold Out” Hardy exits the stage and thanks the crowd.
The five minute pause after he left the stage got the crowd’s attention as they then proceeded to chant powerfully “Hardy, Hardy” and then “USA, USA.” before Hardy then returns to the stage for a 3 song encore. The crowd still on their feet where they had been most of the night sways with their hands in the air as Hardy finishes the set with “Rednecker” and then “Truck Bed.” As the night ends the crowd slowly starts to exit the venue, but the buzz and energy of the show was definitely felt the whole night. Fans chatted back and forth about how amazing the show was and how they couldn’t wait to do it again.