Some people might take their summer to go to the beach, visit family, or travel to a new destination. But for me, the last two summers have been packed with concerts. This summer, I went to ten concerts, with them being primarily country shows, alongside a few exceptions. I saw Post Malone, Rock The Country, Tyler The Creator, Luke Bryan, Creed, Alabama, The Weeknd, Big Time Rush, Dierks Bentley, and Morgan Wallen.
Over the summer, I had the opportunity to attend the music festival “Rock The Country,” which was being held in my hometown of York, PA. With Nickelback headlining the festival, I just knew I had to attend, as Nickelback has slowly become one of my favorite artists over the last year. This show definitely did not disappoint. There were six artists there, with my two notable favorites being Logan Crosby and Ole 60. However, Nickelback was truly the star of the show.
Despite having standard general admission tickets, my friend and I were able to reach the front of the pit due to a two-hour rain delay that caused attendees to leave the festival or return to their campers. Which was the best thing that could’ve happened. A rain show that still manages to have amazing visual effects is an unbeatable experience, and that’s exactly what this was. Chad Kroger is an amazing performer who never fails to put on a show, which is what makes this my favorite show.
Not to mention the entire atmosphere of the whole day was great, and every performer was amazing. Also, the parking situation was easy, and it was only a 20-minute drive from my house.
Morgan Wallen comes in at number two. This was a show I had anticipated for years, and had bought the tickets when they went on sale back in January (my show was in August). Wallen did not disappoint. Having Miranda Lambert was such a great choice; seeing Lambert after growing up listening to her was especially nostalgic for me, and she put on a great performance.
My boyfriend and I travelled 500 miles to go see Wallen on his “I’m The Problem” tour, and it was truly an amazing experience that I loved every second of. The setlist was perfect; unfortunately, it missed some songs from earlier albums, but this tour was centered around his recent album, so it was expected. However, the visuals from this show absolutely blew his last tour out of the water.
The reason I rank this under “Rock The Country,” however, was that my view was not as good for Wallen as it was for the festival, the parking situation was a headache, and we had to travel significantly further than I did for RTC.
Up next is a band that I’ve seen three times, but truly outdid themselves on this tour. That band would be Big Time Rush. The fact that they centered this whole tour around the show, openers included, added such an extra layer of nostalgia that likely will not be topped.
This has been their best setlist to date, since it was every song from every episode, and adding a B stage is something that I hope they continue throughout future shows. This truly added a more personal touch to the show, especially bringing Katelyn Tarver on stage to sing Jordin Sparks’ part in “Count on You.”
The next two concerts are arguably even in my mind because they both had great openers, insane stadium visuals, and put on an amazing performance. Those shows would be The Weeknd and Post Malone. The Weeknd (whose real name is Abel Tesfaye) put on an over two-hour-long performance with over 40 songs, with each song being better than the last. Abel Tesfaye showed no exhaust at all during his performance.
As someone who is a casual listener of the R&B singer, I was truly amazed by his vocal talent, crowd encapsulation, and overall visual effect. For a $40 last-minute decision, the show did not disappoint. I’m excited to see what Tesfaye does for future tours, as this was said to be his last tour under the pseudonym “The Weeknd.” My only major complaint was how long it took to get out of the parking lot.
As for Post Malone, he had amazing visuals and a good mix of his old and new music. His closing section of the show was arguably the coolest part of the show, and still sits as one of my favorite concert endings to date. My favorite part was when he brought out Jelly Roll for their song “Losers.”
However, I will say, it was the largest hassle I’ve had at a show in Hershey; the merchandise line location was a terrible choice, and parking was atrocious. Parking is typically atrocious at Hersheypark Stadium, so that was no surprise.
Up next was an artist that we decided to see less than a week before the show, and ended up being one of the coolest concerts I’ve ever witnessed. Tyler, the Creator was my first hip-hop concert, and it did not disappoint. I went with a friend who is the biggest Tyler fan I know, and we decided to get floor tickets.
We had an immaculate view of the B stage and the main stage. I high-fived the first opener, Paris Texas, and watched Tyler connect both the main and B stage via an overhead walkway, and just visually made “The Chromokopia Tour” an experience rather than just a concert.
Dierks Bentley and Zach Top were quite the country duo on their summer tour, but Top was the better singer; however, Bentley puts on a visually entertaining performance to make up for being outshone on vocals. For a $30 concert, it was a lot of fun and a great venue at that. Freedom Mortgage is one of the best pavilion-style venues when it comes to parking and the overall atmosphere.
I listened to Top before going to the concert, but the show just made me an even larger fan, with his song “Use Me” really blowing me away with his talent. Bentley had a lot of visual elements in the show that kept you locked in.
Specifically with their ending set of “Hot Country Knights” where Bentley, Top, and Bentley’s band dress up in cheesy 80s outfits and sing 90s country covers. It was an incredibly hilarious way to end such a fun night of music. The only reason this show is ranked lower than others is that I liked the other shows more.
A show that I was really looking forward to for an amazing price just kept having hurdle after hurdle, which is what leaves me to rank it so low. Creed performed amazingly, and I loved their set. However, the events leading up to the concert and the general venue itself are what really put a sour taste in my mouth.
To start, my car had an engine misfire right before we were supposed to leave for the two and a half hour drive to Scranton. So my friend and I had to find someone to take us to Scranton at the last second. My aunt agreed, but it was two hours after the initial time we planned to leave.
The drive all the way there was fine; it was once we got to the venue that everything started to fall apart. It takes us over an hour to get into the venue, which is four miles off the highway, and we were already running late because of the initial car troubles.
It was a little after 8 PM once we got into the venue, and we sprinted inside so we didn’t miss more of Daughtry’s set. Until we didn’t hear any music coming from inside the venue… Then we finally get inside and we’re hit with the dreaded news from the screen that “Due to inclement weather, both Daughtry and Mammoth will not be performing.”
That was the icing on the cake, not to mention the fact that Creed’s set got cut short and the rain didn’t hit till post-concert. Despite the circumstances, Creed did amazing. I loved their performance, and I would 100% see them again, but not at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain. I personally will never see a show again at Montage Mountain unless it’s someone I really want to see.
My bottom two have to be Alabama and Luke Bryan. Alabama was nostalgic because I grew up listening to them, but it was definitely more for my mom than me. But the convenience of it being 20 minutes away from my house is what ranks it higher than Bryan.
I love Luke Bryan, but it unfortunately was not his strongest performance out of the three times I’ve seen him. He was doing well in the beginning, but after about the fourth song, he was struggling significantly throughout the rest of the concert, and it just made me sad to watch.
This fall, I have three confirmed concerts coming up, which consist of Renee Rapp, Jordan Davis, and Sofia Isella. This will be my third time seeing Davis, my first time seeing Rapp, and my second time seeing Isella, and I couldn’t be more excited. I expect next summer to be just as packed with concerts if the rumors about who’s going on tour next year end up becoming reality.
