HOLMDEL, NJ—Country duo Florida Georgia Line—made up of Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard—cruised into New Jersey on their Dig Your Roots Tour and brought Cole Swindell along with them.
Tailgaters made their way into PNC Bank Arts Center in time for Cole Swindell’s set while he began with a few songs including, “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight.” Our inevitable Jersey pride was later presented when Swindell made a special shout out to New Jersey before performing “Up,” where the lyrics in the chorus are, “We’ll be up like the sun in the New Jersey sky.” He continued his performance with “You Should Be Here,” “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey,” which was my personal favorite of the night, and a Justin Timberlake cover of “Drink You Away.” Upon exiting the stage at the end of his set, Cole Swindell stopped to sign a fan’s shirt and another fan’s hat as his band made their way to the front of the stage to play an outro.
At 9:22, the lights went out and a sheet that was put up during the changeover that had outlines of the Florida and Georgia—cleverly showing the line between Florida and Georgia—dropped, revealing Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard standing on a platform in the air as they sang, “This Is How We Roll.” Pyrotechnics were actively shooting fire into the air while the pair were lowered onto the stage and then found their way to the front of the stage. The concert continued with crowd favorites like “It’z Just What We Do,” “Round Here,” and “Anything Goes.” As the two began singing their latest album’s title track, “Dig Your Roots,” the stage production changed as blow-up trees inflated and generated a woods-like tone for the next few songs.
Right before Hubbard and Kelley went on to perform one of their new songs, “Smooth,” the FGL boys introduced that they were coming out with their own whiskey line, Old Camp Whiskey, which was a secret at the time. It has since then been announced and is on shelves now! Later in the performance, Jaren Johnston of The Cadillac Three and Cole Swindell were brought out and played an acoustic medley of songs that they have written. This was a really cool part of the set because it felt very relaxed and timeless. “H.O.L.Y.” was next up on a piano and this was another favorite moment of the night for me. This song is fresh in everyone’s mind because it’s constantly played on the radio lately, so the excitement when the crowd heard the first few notes was evident. During “Sun Daze,” Hubbard and Kelley put on their sunglasses and the crowd copied them, and cell phone flashlights lit up the entire venue for “Get Your Shine On” right after
Florida Georgia Line’s encore was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. It started off with their song, “Party People,” before turning into a huge throwback party of Nelly’s “Ride With Me,” Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” Papa Roach’s “Last Resort,” Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody,” and more. The crowd went wild for this—I mean, how could you not? Their last song of the night was none other than “Cruise,” as adorable baby pictures of the boys played on a slideshow while the crowd “aw-ed.”
This was a show that kept the crowd completely entertained the entire time and if you ever get the chance to see Florida Georgia Line or Cole Swindell live, please do yourself the favor of doing so!
Show date: August 4, 2016
