FLORENCE β Chris Young is not used to being in the bright headliner spotlight of Country Thunder, but on Thursday night, the first of the four-day event here, Young was almost giddy at the thought that he had graduated to the adult's table.
"I'm very proud to be kicking off Country Thunder," he said to the thundering approval of more than 25,000 people packed into the festival grounds. "A lot of my friends are playing on this stage this weekend."
His opening act, the rocking duo of LoCash, were also graduates to the nighttime spotlight. The pair at last year's festival played a daytime slot, in the bright sunshine about two or three acts behind the headliner.
On Thursday, Preston Brust and Chris Lucas made the most of it under the canopy of dark skies. The pair, which mixes driving rock country with pop and a bit of hip-hop, tore into a set of driving, bouncing-off-the-walls music that set the bar high for Young.
Young sings love songs of beautiful women he's loved, lost and longed for β and a couple songs professing love of tequila and beer. And on the surface that sounds two or three notches below the energy level of LoCash. But Young managed to turn even the most sobering love song β "Who I Am With You," "I'm Not Over You" and even a cover of Alison Krauss's "When You Say Nothing At All" β into a quiet celebration. And when he did kick it up a notch or three, the crowd hopped and bopped along.Β
Country Thunder continues through Sunday. Today's headliner: Arizona boy Dierks Bentley.Β
