On Thursday 24th January 2019, Dan + Shay finished off their UK tour, with support from Devin Dawson. Here, Imogen reviews a magical evening of country music at Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
The past year for Dan + Shay has been transformative. Their latest, self-titled, album was a game-changer for the duo, with the leading single ‘Tequila’ picking up two Grammy nominations and garnering over 142 million streams on Spotify. From top to bottom the album was a masterpiece – a display not only in beautiful and touching songwriting, but a showcase in harmonising and of Shay Mooney’s exceptional vocal ability.
Dan + Shay are set as one of those country bands who have noticed the potential of the UK fan base – working hard to cultivate a fanbase this side of the pond. Every trip back to the U.K. results in a bigger, more epic show – upgrading from Bush Hall to Koko, a slot on the main stage at C2C in 2017 and finally now to Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Selling out the entirety of their headline tour, was therefore an indicator of just how large their UK fanbase are set to be – it would be no surprise to anyone if the Royal Albert Hall featured as a venue on their next tour. Anyone clued into country music in the UK would have noticed the anticipation building up to their last slot on the tour – with rave reviews for their performances on the European leg, including at Manchester, Cambridge and Birmingham – and so it was with improbably high expectations that I anticipated their sold-out London show.
From the starting drums on ’19 You + Me’ (their debut single) to the final notes of ‘Tequila’ this was a powerhouse of a set, the energy building to unprecedented levels, leaving every member of the audience radiant, reminding us of why we fell in love with country music in the first place.
The duo owned the stage. Dan Smyers’ energy was infectious, running around the stage like he was trying to reach a goal of 20,000 steps during the set, playing the guitar and interacting with the crowd without missing a beat of his backing vocals. Not to be outdone, however, Shay Mooney still provided plenty shimmying dance moves of his own, making the stage his own with his own cheeky, lovably relatable dance moves. The duo’s chemistry on stage is effortless, not putting a foot wrong, with an enviable camaraderie and jokey rapport between them. It’s shocking that this was their first performance at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, for the energy they brought to the stage would have befit artists on their third go-around.
Despite the high levels of energy though, the duo were still perfectly capable of providing those goosebump, emotional moments that make a performance memorable in their own way, such as in their stripped-back rendition of ‘My Side of the Fence’ and ‘Can’t Say No,’ counterbalanced by their band’s return for a personal favourite, the catchy and fun ‘Stupid Love.’ Frequently the duo appeared almost overwhelmed by the love they received from the crowd who bellowed back the entire back catalogue of their songs, including one moment where Shay appeared nearly on the verge of tears. Indeed, when the duo performed ‘From the Ground Up,’ the crowd sang along to every breath and gave the duo a mammoth standing ovation at the end – the applause continuing for an unprecedented amount of time. These kind of moments made them even more likeable – humble and relatable in equal measure; including when Shay recorded a video of the crowd shouting ‘Happy Birthday’ to his two-year old son Asher, remarking that his son would probably hate him for that in about ten years time…
Enough ink has already been spilled over Shay Mooney’s incredible vocals, but needless to say these were as faultless as ever – it is a testament to their power that ‘Keeping Score’ was sublime even without Kelly Clarkson’s exceptional vocals, as in the studio version.
The set was astutely composed, balancing their older tracks with the new. Perhaps where the shrewdness of their setlist was most evident was in the clever composition of their encore. The duo sandwiched their biggest tracks from their most recent album – ‘Speechless’ and ‘Tequila’ – with an incredibly energetic cover of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling.’ As if the entire audience had not had proof enough, their last performance of ‘Tequila’ left no doubt of both the ability of the duo to entertain and Shay Mooney’s vocals – with an unparalleled freestyle riff. To the rapturous reception of the track, the duo stopped mid-performance, jumping off the stage to finish the song in the middle of the crowded stalls, the audience bellowing along in their faces. It was one of those moments where music seemed to unite every person there in a truly magical atmosphere. On this performance alone. I would hasten to add that a CMA Entertainer of the Year award should be added to their trophy cabinet in the years to come.
It is quite some feat when an artist can leave the entire audience wanting more after a 95-minute set. When they said ‘can we just stay here forever?,’ I would venture to say that every person there would have been perfectly content to stay in the theatre for the entire night, given half the chance. I’m already anticipating their return to London to play the Royal Albert Hall – to say they deserve the slot would be an understatement.
Set List
1. 19 You + Me
2. Nothin’ Like You
3. Alone Together
4. All To Myself
5. Show You Off
6. All Nighter
7. Keeping Score
8. From the Ground Up
9. How Not To
10. Make or Break
11. What Keeps You Up At Night
12. My Side of the Fence
13. Can’t Say No
14. Stupid Love
15.I Like The Sound Of That (recorded by Rascal Flatts)
16. Lately
17. Speechless
18. Can’t Stop The Feeling (Justin Timberlake Cover)
19. Tequila
Stream the album here.
