On Saturday, Country music fans of Florida gathered at the Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa to watch the live Dierks Bentley concert for his “Mountain High” Tour. The concert openers were the up-and-coming band Lanco and the more well-known Brothers Osborne band.
Many of the songs played by Lanco are just hitting the radio and becoming popular. However, many fans sang along to their more popular songs “Greatest Love Story” and “Born to Love You.”
“Greatest Love Story” was a huge hit last year when it came out. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard and, according to Rolling Stone, became the first single to hit platinum before the album was even released.
The band has a great stage presence, full of energy, motion and engagement with the audience. The lead singer, Brandon Lancaster went into the audience while singing and took time to thank his fans after explaining the background of his band.
When Brothers Osborne reached the stage, many fans stood to sing along and dance. Brothers Osborne also put on a good show with many popular songs such as “It Aint My Fault” and “Shoot Me Straight.”
When Dierks Bentley finally reached the stage, fans were ecstatic. Most of the stadium rose to their feet and sang all their favorite songs. Couples were dancing together up and down the aisles. The night came alive with hundreds of voices.
Dierks’ show at the MidFlorida Credit Union Ampitheater Saturday night was sold out. @dierksbentley
Dierks Bentley had a backdrop on stage showing various images or videos depending on the song that worked with the lights and created a strong and powerful connection to each song. For example, during his song “Somewhere on a Beach,” there were beach pictures and people having fun on the beach. During his song, “Women Amen,” fans could put the hashtag #WomenAmen on their picture and be featured.
The Brothers Osborne band returned to the stage briefly to perform “Burning Man,” a stellar performance complete with fire and lava screen background.
Lanco also returned to the stage, and Bentley allowed them to perform one of his songs after introducing them to the audience as a band to keep on their radar.
Bentley explained how important his fans are to him with not only words but demonstration. One fan was holding up a sheet of paper that said their bucket list was to be remembered by Dierks Bentley. Bentley promptly showed the name to each member of his band and then proceeded to recite the names of other fans’ names he remembered. He took the time to point the cameras to other signs as well. One poster asked to shotgun a beer with the singer, and Dierks obliged. While he was up at the DJ booth, he pulled the fan up with him, and together they shotgunned the two beers (the fan won). He also took time to thank the fans who were sitting in the “grass seats” and said he saw them and was thankful for them. Finally, he paid attention to the American Flags in the crowd and began a USA chant.
The DJ maintained a cheerful and bouncing ambiance during the breaks by playing popular songs from every genre. Songs such as “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey had the entire crowd singing and smiling. Overall, the atmosphere was vivacious but not overly boisterous and provided for a successful and memorable concert.
