February 15, 2013. November 14, 2014. February 25, 2016.
Three sold out concerts at the PlayStation Theatre (previously the BestBuy Theatre) in New York City. That’s a feat Chris Young bragged about (and rightfully so) on Thursday to his fastest sell-out Big Apple show to date, while giving his fans one amazing concert.
Cassadee Pope opened the night with a jam-packed half-hour set, starting with a pow
erful performance of “Edge of a Thunderstorm.” Wearing a short leather skirt and a white cropped “New York City” t-shirt, Pope gushed about how much she loved NYC and its pizza. And Billy Joel, which received a loud cheer as she sang an impressive cover of “Movin’ Out.”
While Pope’s most recent single “I Am Invincible” was missing from the set, she did squeeze in seven songs including “Alien” “I Wish I Could Break Your Heart,” and a new song “Summer.” She kept the crowd bouncing with the aptly named “Good Times” before closing out with her hit single “Wasting All These Tears.”
The 30-minute changeover allowed the excitement for Young’s performance to grow. The house lights dropped and Young kicked off his set with the football anthem “Underdogs” as a roar erupted from the crowd. The first chord of “Gettin’ You Home” caused a bigger frenzy; everyone sang along, practically deafening Young’s come-hither vocals. After expressing his thanks for his first #1, the song that got everything going for him, Young continued with a lineup of successful singles – “Voices,” “Lonely Eyes,” and “Who I Am With You.”
When the other half of a duet is the tour’s special guest, there’s a good chance you’re going to hear that song live. As Young began singing “Think of You,” you could feel the anticipation for Pope’s entrance. Their powerful voices complimented each other better than on the near perfect studio track. In a night of many highlights, it was definitely one at the top.
“Aw Naw” brought the party back before the flirty “I Can Take It From There,” where Young scolded the crowd for not cheering loud enough at the mention of legendary Conway Twitty. To drive his point home, Young performed a solo bit of “I’d Love to Lay You Down,” showing off his velvet voice, bringing the house to a whisper before leading everyone back into his song. For the first acoustic segment, Young played “something old, something very old, and something new.” Reaching back to his Nashville Star days, he performed “Drinking Me Lonely” before captivating the audience with Keith Whitley’s classic “When You Say Nothing At All.” For the new song, Young sang the wonderfully deep “I Know a Guy” off his new album I’m Comin’ Over. 
The band covered ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man,” a staple amongst covers that Young and company perform, before going into another one-two punch of back to back #1 hits. First, the melodically fun “You,” followed by what just may be his most iconic song at this point in his career – the Platinum hit “Tomorrow.” Between his voice and the lyrics, it’s just quintessential CY showing his vocal talent and range, and there is nothing like hearing him belt it out live. Young introduced Grammy Award winning Terry Crisp on the steel guitar, and after his beautiful solo, the familiar slides of “Neon” began. Then, abandoning the set-list for a moment, Young acknowledged two fan requests with an incredible performance of the set-list rarity “When She’s On” and, despite admitting to not remembering all the words, he teased the chorus of “Lost.”
The album tour wouldn’t be complete without the title track, “I’m Comin’ Over,” and with just Kevin Collier accompanying him on guitar, Young sang “Text Me Texas,” followed by “The Dashboard.” After praising his sister and others who have served in our military, a thunderous “U-S-A” chant erupted, causing Young to step away from the mic and give the audience the floor. “I’ll always stop for that chant,” he said proudly. Young closed out the night with the up-tempo, crowd engaging “Save Water, Drink Beer.”
A twenty-one song set list comprising of the perfect mix of slow, emotional songs to high energy ones, two fan requests and a killer version of “Think of You” with the amazingly talented Cassadee Pope. Proving yet again that Chris Young never disappoints, and why he’s been a consistent leading man in country music today.
Check out photos from the night here.