Connecticut Concert Review: Florida Georgia Line and Dan + Shay

If you were one of the 30,000 people, like me, enjoying the Florida Georgia Line concert this past Friday night at Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, then you will understand what I’m about to say. If you were not lucky enough to be there, well, no worries, that’s why I’m here to tell you.

The second this concert got announced, I knew it was going to be a sellout. I mean come on -- Florida Georgia Line as headliners with Dan + Shay and Morgan Wallen as openers -- you can’t beat it.

There were a few openers before Dan + Shay, including Morgan Wallen, Canaan Smith and Hardy, and they were all great. Totally respect every single artist that walks onto the stage because the talent in these people is unbelievable. Morgan Wallen played his hits and then closed his set out with his new No. 1 single, “Whiskey Glasses”.

So, now it’s the part I’m excited for – Dan + Shay. Quick side note – if you’ve never seen them before, change that. Now I have been to a lot of concerts in my 24 years, but their shows are truly some of the most amazing shows I’ve seen. The connection these two have with the crowd is something I’ll never be able to explain. During their shows, I usually take a minute to sit back, take in the music and watch the crowd. The emotions they bring to the venue is absolutely priceless. Their set is amazing. They played some of their older songs, and some of their newer songs from their most recent album. One of my favorite things is seeing how excited they are to be there. They always reflect on where they used to be, and where they are now. And just how thankful they are for being where they are now. For someone who willingly pays a hefty buck to see her favorite artists, it’s so nice to hear the appreciation they feel back. Their encore was 3 songs long – first it was “Speechless”, then “19 You + Me”, and then they ended their set with “Tequila”. Now all of those songs REALLY hype the crowd. How could it not?! They have a special little dialogue that prompts people to raise their flashlights on their phones during “Speechless”, and when the entire venue lights up like little stars, it looks beautiful. I definitely didn’t take those moments for granted. Singing the lyrics with 30,000 people to these 3 songs makes you appreciate the music, the artist, and the fans. It’s something I absolutely love experiencing.

Now it’s time to party – Florida Georgia Line is about to enter the stage. They opened the show with their song “Colorado”, and the crowd went absolutely wild. You can tell everyone was there to party, and man were they ready. They transitioned out of “Colorado” and into “Cruise”. This brought an uproar to the crowd because even if people went there for another one of the artists on the bill, everyone knows the lyrics to “Cruise”. Something I loved about the show, was that they brought each of their openers out to sing a song with them. Hardy came out and sang “Ya’ll Boys”, Canaan Smith came out and sang “Get Your Shine On”, Dan + Shay came out and sang “H.O.L.Y.” (which I will get back to in a minute) and Morgan Wallen came out and sang “Up Down”. These were in all different parts of the show so it was cool to see each artist being brought back out. FGL sang most of their songs from their newest album, but still threw in the classics like “Round Here”, “Smooth”, and “May We All”. Okay.. now back to the “H.O.L.Y.” duet real quick. WOW. First of all, the song “H.O.L.Y.” in itself is amazing. But then you add Dan + Shay’s voices onto it as well?! I had no words. That was seriously such a beautiful moment during the show. It was seriously so powerful and it was truly my favorite part of the entire show. FGL encored with “Simple”, “Meant to Be”, and “This Is How We Roll”.

Overall, wow. The show was just as amazing as I thought it would be. Great opening acts, great headliners. There is no question as to why it sold out. My favorite act of the night? You guessed it. Probably Dan + Shay. I have all of the love for FGL, but Dan + Shay just seem to absolutely hit it out of the park every time they perform. But what can I say, I’d be perfectly content with an FGL / Dan + Shay tour again and again and again. Until next summer, my friends... (but seriously, can they please go on tour together again?!?)