Fan Review: Rascal Flatts & Friends At Wrigley Field
One of our readers, Kalyn, attend the sold-out Rascal Flatts show at Wrigley Field over the weekend. She was nice enough to share concert experience with us…
I had the honor of witnessing the magic at the Rascal Flatts concert at Wrigley Field this past Saturday night.
Im a die hard cubs fan, so just the thought of having field seats and seeing one my favorite bands in my favorite stadium, was beyond thrilling! I am a Rascal Flatts fanclub member and got tickets via the fanclub. Up until I got my tickets I was a worried our seats weren’t going to be good. To my surprise, I about fell over when I saw we had 2nd Row seats! Thank you Rascal Flatts fanclub for AMAZING seats! We were just off of center stage (that section was right by us) on Jay’s side of the stage. The weather was picture perfect. Something cool to note… The kid who designed the cover for Rascal Flatt’s Unstoppable CD was sitting just down from me, which was kind of cool not to mention he was pretty cute!
Darius Rucker kicked things off. I’ve been a fan of Darius’s since his Hootie days and I was thrilled to finally get the chance to see him live! Boy did he not disappoint! He sang six songs from his debut [country] cd, including “Alright”, “It Won’t Be Like This For Long”, and “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”. He also covered Hank Williams Jr.’s song “Family Tradition” which the crowd LOVED! Darius blew me out of the water. He is so animated while on stage, that you can physically see just how much fun he is having on stage. When he was singing “Alright”, he was dancing up a storm! He needs to teach me some moves!
Next up was Vince Gill! I had met Vince Gill back when I was maybe 5 or 6, he performed at our local county fair and signed a t-shirt of mine. I still have that t-shirt to date and to say that seeing him again was a thrill is an understatement! I was super excited! He sang a 11 song set. His band took the stage well before Vince did, and it was neat watching them get ready. They were taking pictures of one another with Wrigley Field in the background, it was neat to see that not only are the fans having a good time, but the performers were just as excited to be at Wrigley Field as the fans were. He didn’t have anyone announcing him on stage, but he walked out on stage, came to the mic and was like “Hello, im Amy Grant’s husband Vince Gill”, haha. Everyone around us cracked up! He sang a good helping of hit songs, including “What The Cowgirls Do”, “Go Rest High On That Mountain”, and “Liza Jane.” I felt as though the crowd didn’t react to him as well as they did with Darius. Vince is more traditional country and there were alot of people there who are more into the pop country that is Rascal Flatts. I enjoyed Vince’s set greatly!
Next up was Rascal Flatts! As they were getting the stage ready, they played “Go Cubs Go” over the speaker system and the sold out Wrigley Field crowd all chimed in. “Go Cubs Go” is played after every home game win at Wrigley Field, its became a staple tradition at Wrigley Field! The cubs ended up winning their game Saturday night, and it was fun to be down on field level and listen to the crowd sing along! Also, Dan Huff was present and I would later find out, that he actually knew the people who were sitting in front of us and came down and gave them a hug and stuff! Rascal Flatts opened with “Summer Nights.” Perfect way to open up the concert! I absolutely love this song!
(Im not very good with set lists and specifics, so I’ll touch basis on some of the highlights of the night.) The first came during the point where Gary takes a break and JoeDon and Jay take over. Jay started talking about them being in the new Miley Cyrus movie and kind of poked fun of it. That led into a set where Joe Don sang a portion of “Mayberry”, while Jay sang “Lean on Me” while playing the piano. They also sang portion of “Prayin’ For Daylight” and “Backwards.” Jay and Joe Don really should have more solo spots because I love their voices!
The favorite moment of the night goes to the duet with Vince Gill. Vince came back on stage to sing his hit song “Whenever You Come Around.” Now for those who’ve never heard the song, its a very stripped down/acoustic song. Vince started singing then gave it over for Gary to sing a portion, then they wrapped it up together. By far one of the most beautiful rendetions of the song I’ve ever heard. Gary’s voice really shined while singing the song.
For the encore, Rascal Flatts came back out sporting Chicago Cubs jerseys and of course the crowd loved it! Darius came back out to sing “Hold My Hand” and then joined Rascal Flatts in singing “Life Is A Highway.” Vince Gill and Dan Huff both joined Darius and Rascal Flatts in singing “Life is a Highway”, which closed the the show. (Halfway through Rascal Flatts set, I noticed a couple walking right past me, and realized that it was Joey + Rory, from CMT’s Can You Duet. It was neat to see that other artists were present! I should add that Joey is gorgeous in person and Rory is a cutie!)
It was a magical night at Wrigley. History was made, as the show was the first country concert as well as the biggest country concert ever performed at Wrigley. The show was sold out and people were up on the rooftops as well! Regardless of all the negative reviews out there, this was by far my favorite show I’ve been to. Rascal Flatts have never sounded better than what they did Saturday night. Darius and Vince blew me away, I knew they were good but I have a new found love for them! The ticket price was well worth it, it’s a night that I know I won’t ever forget!
Thanks for sharing your awesome review Kalyn! We’re glad you had a great time!
