Florida Georgia Line had waited a long time for Thursday night’s headlining show at Bridgestone Arena. Through the skyrocketing success of 2012’s “Cruise,” the highest-selling country song of all time, which this April was certified 10x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA; eleven #1 songs at country radio; and numerous ACM and CMA awards; the duo had one milestone left to crack: playing the hometown arena. On Thursday, the duo ecstatically checked that box, to a sold-out crowd of nearly 14,000.
“This is crazy, crazy, crazy, humbling, extremely special for us,” the duo’s Brian Kelley said at a party before they took the stage. “This is the show, this is the tour, this is the night that we want everybody to see.”
Warmed up by sets from Kane Brown, The Cadillac 3, and Cole Swindell, the crowd was ready to party. Screams were literally deafening that evening, as a scrim bearing a wolf, the logo for the duo’s latest business venture, Old Camp whiskey, dropped and the duo descended from the rafters on two platforms to the beginning notes of “This Is How We Roll.”
Some milestone moments end quickly, but for Florida Georgia Line, Thursday night found them savoring the moment, reminiscing on their personal and musical beginnings and digging deep into the Dig Your Roots Tour theme. Giant trees emerged for the duo to sing their title track. Mid-set, they made their way to a small stage on the far side of the floor with a small bonfire behind a grand piano and a stool, where they reminisced about having people over and burning pallet wood in the backyard when they lived with Chase Rice in Green Hills, then launched into two of their most somber tracks, “Dirt” and “H.O.L.Y.”
The duo’s family played an important role in their set: “H.O.L.Y.” focused on their wives, while a dialogue in which they shared each others’ baby pictures and awkward teen moments paused to highlight photos of them with their moms. The crowd was right there with them, laughing along as Tyler Hubbard pointed out baby Kelley was wearing his cowboy boots backward and emitting an audible, arena-wide “aww” as Hubbard asked them to help serenade their wives with “H.O.L.Y.”
Though the hit-laden set would have more than satisfied the Bridgestone crowd, Florida Georgia Line had several surprises up their sleeves that fell nothing short of epic. “If we’re digging our roots, I gotta take y’all back to my first concert,” Kelley said. “House of Blues, Orlando, Florida, two words: Backstreet Boys.” There was more to the dialogue between him and Hubbard, but it was practically inaudible over the screams, which hit new heights as lights blocking the main stage rose to reveal the pop stars themselves. Through “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” complete with a choreographed dance, and “God, Your Mama, and Me,” on which the band is featured, the crowd went, well, wild.
Ended there, the night would have been impressive. But the duo pulled out all the stops, inviting Jake Owen to join them onstage for “Sun Daze,” and, in a final blaze of glory, brought out Nelly, with whom they closed with “Ride Wit Me,” “Hot in Herre,” and “Cruise.”
The duo was all smiles and swagger throughout the night – yes, “It’z Just What They Do,” but it’s clear the night was truly special for them, one that neither they nor their fans will ever forget.
“Nashville, we had big dreams and big goals,” Tyler Hubbard shared from stage. “When BK and I met we dreamed about selling out the Bridgestone.”