We caught Dan + Shay last night at Nashville’s Cannery Ballroom for their Where It All Began Tour, and even without our intense bias towards anyone whose set includes an “Ignition (Remix)” cover, we were impressed.
The duo found their groove quickly, sliding into a high-energy group of songs that was surprisingly rock-infused, given the melody-driven nature of “19 You + Me.” They shone on songs like “Stop Drop + Roll,” with the hook building the energy in the 1,000 capacity room. The two are clearly seasoned performers, and their energy would be right at home in larger venues. After their latest single, crowd favorite “Show You Off,” they ventured into the more ballad-driven songs in their repertoire, earning a soulful moment with the crowd before returning to the hype with Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”
Top 40 covers seem to be more and more a part of a touring act’s set, from artists like Luke Bryan, who’s been known to include “Baby Got Back” into more than one of his setlists, to DJ Hish, a country-remix artist whose sets range from Blake to Drake. Dan + Shay adopted this trend with ease, performing a medley of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” and Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger,” followed by R. Kelly’s throwback classic “Ignition (Remix)”.
The duo closed out their set on a more expected note, mellowing into a more melodic, mid-tempo, softer groove that included an acoustic number and closed with their recently-Gold-certified “19 You + Me.” While they have yet to iron out the final kinks in the way the energy moves through their set, their dynamism and versatility were impressive throughout, and their crowd did not leave disappointed.
Grab tickets to a date near you here, and check out their website, Twitter, and Facebook for more info.