Old Dominion Live at The Eventim Apollo
From the moment that they first headed across the pond for C2C: Country to Country back in 2016, Old Dominion have really looked to make Europe a second home. At my old gig, I got to speak to the band on their tour bus at the same venue in Hammersmith back in 2019 where we are tonight and it is one of the interviews which stands out the most from where Matthew Ramsey talked about how the UK audience are willing to give a new band a shot. The audience here have really given them that shot having play some of London’s biggest and most iconic venues, including being the first act to “graduate” from the external stages at C2C to later return as headliners and people seem to agree back home as they are the reigning ACM Award winning Vocal Group of the Year for the eight year running and also the CMA equivalent for the last seven years.
The evening began with California, Missouri’s sassiest native Kassi Ashton who returned to the UK for the second time this year for a delightful half hour which included the crowd requested and stunning version of “The Straw” along with a great medley of Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” with The Rolling Stones classic “Paint It Black” before she got the crowd shaking their asses to “Drive You Out Of My Mind”.
The evening began with California, Missouri’s sassiest native Kassi Ashton who returned to the UK for the second time this year for a delightful half hour which included the crowd requested and stunning version of “The Straw” along with a great medley of Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” with The Rolling Stones classic “Paint It Black” before she got the crowd shaking their asses to “Drive You Out Of My Mind”.
The guys with origins to the state of Virginia emerged on stage at nine sharp and began the procession of hits which has deservedly lead to their global acclaims. They are an act where you walk into the room buzzing with excitement for what is to come and this rides on a peak throughout where you leave with the uttermost sense of positivity. From seeing them at Brooklyn Bowl where they introduced Maren Morris and headlining C2C in Berlin to a wild Wednesday night in south west London, they always deliver in a way that they are quickly becoming your friend who “hates country” having a new favourite band.
The pacing of the set where “Break Up With Him” hit at number through before they danced across their entire catalogue across the one hundred and ten minute set allowed even album cuts to hit the spot to the casual fans. These guys really have mastered their setlist where they link new with old and have a hanger of bangers ready to let fly for everyone to sing along to but also also took time for the diehard fans as they took requests which varied from previous shows.
Favourites like “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart” and “Make It Sweet” ensured people were well on the way to leaving here, feeling better than before they arrived prior to the audibles by request which for the biggest show of the tour were “Dirt on a Road” from their self-titled EP followed by “Said Nobody” and “Man or the Song” with an introduction paying reference to Bruce Springsteen playing at this venue.
Picking up by slowing it down with “Written in the Sand” which started a train of singalongs with “One Man Band” in the middle, which is a song that is now even more beautiful to me after seeing my friends Lucy and Jack have it as their first dance last weekend. “Song for Another Time” is the king of all song songs and allows the crowd to let go one last time before “I Was On a Boat That Day” as a great way to end the show:
The pacing of the set where “Break Up With Him” hit at number through before they danced across their entire catalogue across the one hundred and ten minute set allowed even album cuts to hit the spot to the casual fans. These guys really have mastered their setlist where they link new with old and have a hanger of bangers ready to let fly for everyone to sing along to but also also took time for the diehard fans as they took requests which varied from previous shows.
Favourites like “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart” and “Make It Sweet” ensured people were well on the way to leaving here, feeling better than before they arrived prior to the audibles by request which for the biggest show of the tour were “Dirt on a Road” from their self-titled EP followed by “Said Nobody” and “Man or the Song” with an introduction paying reference to Bruce Springsteen playing at this venue.
Picking up by slowing it down with “Written in the Sand” which started a train of singalongs with “One Man Band” in the middle, which is a song that is now even more beautiful to me after seeing my friends Lucy and Jack have it as their first dance last weekend. “Song for Another Time” is the king of all song songs and allows the crowd to let go one last time before “I Was On a Boat That Day” as a great way to end the show:
There is an obvious reason why they have been undisputed rulers of the live performing groups in country music for the last 8 years as they have unrivalled energy, a catalogue of high intensity hits which the crowd can sing along to and a rapidly extending fanbase that continues to burst venues on this side of the pond. OD have something special like Dierks Bentley does, like Sabrina Carpenter, like Zach Bryan and like Taylor Swift where you leave a show buzzing and you do not just feel uplifted but the positivity raises you.
