Sophia Michaels
He definitely didn’t “Crash and Burn.”
Thomas Rhett brought his electric Home Team Tour to UBS Arena in Elmont, NY, for a sold-out concert Saturday night.
After opening acts Nate Smith and Cole Swindell warmed up the crowd, Rhett rose onstage at 9:30 p.m. behind a drum kit, on which he played a killer solo in a custom “Belmont Park” bomber jacket before launching into his 2016 summer anthem “Vacation.”
Fans were enamored with the Grammy-nominated country singer, 33, from the jump, and it didn’t take long for him to notice.
“Y’all make me smile. You bring me so much joy,” he said, noting that it was the loudest audience of his 10-year career thus far.
For the next 80 minutes, Rhett ran through a dozen and a half of his biggest hits including 2020’s “Beer Can’t Fix,” 2017’s “Unforgettable” and 2016’s “T-Shirt,” all of which sounded as crisp as the album versions thanks to the new venue’s state-of-the-art sound system.
And yet, concertgoers still managed to drown out the man of the hour at times while belting the lyrics to his beloved ballads “Marry Me” and “Die a Happy Man.”
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The show was full of personal touches, most notably a montage of home videos featuring Rhett, his wife, Lauren Akins, and their four daughters that played before his performance of “Life Changes,” his 2018 single about growing up and starting a family.
It was clear the Dos Primos Tequila founder was having the time of his life as he bounced from one end of the stage to the other throughout his set.
The most fun — and unexpected — portion of the pyro-packed concert came when Rhett schooled Long Island on seven decades of music by singing a medley of Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” (1950s), James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (1960s), The Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden” (1970s), Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” (1980s), Matchbox Twenty’s “3AM” (1990s), Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” (2000s) and Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” (2010s).
Surprisingly, Rhett didn’t cover Bruno Mars, whom he has long cited as one of his biggest musical influences, but he had fans on their feet all night long even without a little “24K Magic.” Until Mars hits the road again, the rousing Home Team Tour just may be the next best thing.
