Review: Thomas Rhett concert at Mohegan Sun delights fans
Country music lovers filed the Mohegan Sun Arena (for two nights) for the Thomas Rhett: Home Team Tour 23.
As always, the multi-talented musician, described as “the most reliable maker of No. 1 singles in country music,” didn’t disappoint and had the sold-out house on their feet for the 90+ minute concert. The superstar performer, with 20 multi-platinum and gold certified No. 1 hits, treated his dedicate fans to many of his hits that were so well known, the audience sang along with him word for word, and incidentally he reveled in their participation.
Thomas played tunes, including: “Angels”, “Beer Can’t Fix”, “Sixteen”, “Look What God Gave Her”, “Half Of Me”, “Crash and Burn”, “Life Changes”, and “Make Me Wanna.”
Many songs were affectionally dedicated to his wife, whom he met in the second grade. The crowd included a diversity of age groups that are attracted to his music as a result of his songs having a trace of other genres.
He certainly is a country performer, with deep roots back to his father being a country musician, but Rhett’s music is mixed with a little pop and contemporary, which clearly has a tremendous draw by groups with other music interests, who also want to hear an incredibly dynamic musician.
At the beginning of the concert, he raised up from beneath the stage, playing the drums. He then proceeded to other side of the stage, removing his personalized Home Team Tour 23 jacket and tossing it out to the audience. During his 90-minute performance, he took fan selfies while singing, told stories about his life, that included his wife and children and how he rose to the top of the charts.
At one point he congratulated, and sang to, a couple that just got engaged. In one notable highlight, Rhett sang a mix of tunes from the past 60 years. they included songs from Elvis Presley, James Brown, The Rolling Stones, Rick Springfield and more.
As I noted, Rhett appreciated the wide demographics of this audience and when I met him in the evening “meet and greet,” he was gracious and enthusiastically ready to greet the 60+ fans … me included.
There are concerts and there are concerts and Rhett appeared to as happy to be in the arena as the fans who came to see him … and the fans knew it.
Truly an electrifying evening by a performer of presence with roots in family, fans and music.
Earlier in the day, Rhett was honored by Mohegan Sun Arena, on the Walk of Fame with a plaque along with fans and the media.
His success and proficiency in song writing awarded him recognition from various entities that declared him “a prince in the genre”, by USA Today, and has been honored with eight ACM Awards including Entertainer of the Year, two CMA Awards, five GRAMMY nominations, plus trophies from the CMT Music Awards, Billboard Awards and iHeartRadio Awards, in addition to being recognized with four CMA Triple Play awards for penning three No. 1 songs within a 12-month period.
The HOME TEAM TOUR 23, which will hit a total of 40 cities in 27 states this summer, ends with two nights at his hometown Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.