Photos and Review by Renee Deal
Old Dominion photos HERE
Lucas Hoge photos HERE
Old Dominion has a large and adoring fan base in Boston. Their show at Royale was completely sold out. Fans packed the house at Royale well before show time to stake out a spot close to the stage. But before Old Dominion took the stage, the crowd was treated to opening act Lucas Hoge. Hoge’s song “Flip Flops” was a standout of the set. It could very well be next summer’s feel-good anthem with its catchy music and fun lyrics. Some of Hoge’s other songs include “Who’s Gonna Be There”, “Halabamalujah”, and “The Power of Garth”. Hodge’s smooth vocals and guitar chops make him one to watch. I expect to see more great music coming from him down the line. When the New England snow starts blowing crank up his song “Flip Flops” to transport yourself back to warmer days.
Next up, headliners Old Dominion brought their modern country sound and all around rocking cool vibe to the stage. Looking more like laid back hipsters than the rising country music superstars that they are, they kept their fans dancing and singing along all night long. Their setlist of 20 songs included every track off of their debut Album, Meat and Candy, as well as a few surprises. With top notch vocals from lead singer Matthew Ramsey, Old Dominion did not disappoint. In addition to their own tracks, they wowed the crowd with some amazing covers of other artist’s songs. Everyone sang along as they played “Sangria” which one of the band members wrote for Blake Shelton who recorded it. They also played Tyler Farr’s “A Guy Walks into a Bar”, Dierks Bently’s first #1 hit “Say you Do”, and Kenny Chesney’s “Save it for a Rainy Day”.
Singer Matthew Ramsey told the audience that you can’t come to Boston without a song about the ladies. Old Dominion’s song “Crazy Beautiful Sexy” was dedicated to the girls in Boston. One of my personal favorites was their song, “Snapback”. It’s impossible to listen to it and not feel happy. Ramsey’s sexy voice and the upbeat danceable music is a winning combination. But the biggest moment of the night was definitely towards the end of their set when they played their biggest hit yet, “Break Up with Him”. Ramsey’s sultry voice during the spoken lyrics, the twangy guitar line, and the groovy beat make this one of those “stick in your head songs”. I’ve had it stuck in my head for over a week now… and I don’t mind a bit.
On a side note, I’ve got to admit I got rather curious about their album’s title, “Meat and Candy”, so I did a little digging… I found this on Old Dominion’s official website, “When we first sat down to pick songs for the album, we had a lot of sing-a-long, fun, ‘candy’ songs,” says lead singer Matthew Ramsey. “We decided we needed to show our more serious side a little too. We needed ‘meat’ songs. We needed meat AND candy.”
Old Dominion wrapped up their 2015 tour schedule with a performance on the Today Show on 12/21. If you missed them this time around, not to worry… they will be back in the area performing with Kenny Chesney next August in Foxboro. That will be a show not to be missed!
Old Dominion Set List:
- Shut Me Up
- Dirt
- Said Nobody
- Snapback
- Sangria
- Guy Walks Into a Bar
- Say You Do
- Hometown / Nowhere Fast
- Can’t Get You
- Save It for a Rainy Day
- Half Empty
- Beer Can
- We Got it Right
- Ex to See
- Crazy Sexy
- Song for Another Time
- Break Up
- Wrong Turns
- Til It’s Over
- Wake Up