From empty rooms to stadiums, Old Dominion finds its groove

This time last year, Matthew Ramsey and his Old Dominion bandmates were on the margins of big time country music.

On Saturday nights, they would play to tens of thousands of screaming fans as the opening act for Kenny Chesney’s “The Big Revival” stadium tour.

“We definitely had those moments where you’re on the stage in a stadium and you look up and see yourself on the Jumbotron and go, ‘Sheesh, what is happening?’ ” frontman Ramsey reflected.

Then they would return to the “little clubs and rinky-dink fairs” that buttered their bread, playing before handsful of folks who largely regarded them as background noise.

“We’ve been a band for about 10 years now and we’ve played every empty room that there is across this country,” Ramsey said.

And then came December: They released their debut album “Meat and Candy,” while riding the wave of their chart-topping debut single “Break Up With Him.”

And then came January — their second single “Snapback” hit radio. And February — they were nominated for two Academy of Country Music awards, Best New Duo/Group (they won) and Best Duo/Group (they lost).

And now it’s April. First up, their return to Country Thunder in Florence.

Last year, with no bonafide hits to their credit and no album to sell at the merchandise table, Old Dominion introduced itself on opening day as the first act of the festival. They followed up that night with a show on the Jack Daniel’s stage, attracting an enthusiastic crowd of several hundred.

This year, they are opening for headliner Kip Moore on Thursday, April 7. Two hours later, as Moore is getting off the main stage, they will return to the JD stage for round two.

“We may be exhausted but we’ll come out there, we’ll limp onto the stage, but as soon as we hear the crowd we’re back in it,” Ramsey said during a phone call from home in Nashville last week. “Every time we see one of those on the calendar, we’re like, ‘Ah, here we go.’ And every time we step on that stage it ends up being the best show of the whole night.”

Ramsey isn’t exaggerating when he says this has been one heck of a year for Old Dominion — Virginia natives Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Whit Sellers, Geoff Sprung and Brad Tursi.

“You can’t even imagine. It’s just been crazy,” said Ramsey, who with several of his bandmates started his Nashville career as a songwriter. “To now have an audience, that is really validating that we worked really hard. Now our music is connecting with people and we finally got a chance. That’s all anybody really wants, a chance to see if their music connects. We’ve got that chance now and for whatever reason it is connecting and we are so grateful for it.”

And 2016 promises to be even bigger as Old Dominion goes back on the road with Chesney, doing 45 shows in his “Spread the Love” stadium and arena tour that begins later this month.

“This year is going to be amazing. We are ready to go,” he said.