Dylan Marlowe Defines Country Music At Exit/In

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Dylan Marlowe. Photo: Jacob Powers

Rising country artist Dylan Marlowe brought his genre-defining lyrics and vocals to the Exit/In last week (Feb. 22). The Sony Music Nashville recording artist wowed the sold-out crowd from start to finish on the Nashville stop of his “Dirt Road When I Die Tour.”

Tyler Chambers opened the night up with his electrifying country sound. With his songs like “Loves Me Like A Small Town,” “Didn’t Love Her If You Didn’t” and “Roads I Go Down,” Chambers warmed up the country crowd instantly. He also covered classics such as “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World and “Helluva Life” by Frankie Ballard. Chambers mentioned that it was the very first show he was playing with his band, marking a highlight of his growing career.

Dylan Marlowe. Photo: Jacob Powers

Marlowe came bursting onto the stage to the already buzzing crowd. The Georgia native started his set off with “I’ll Keep The Country,” which remained true throughout the whole night. After gaining the crowd in the palm of his hand, he continued the opening of his set with “Empty Shotgun” and “When I Look Back.”

“Nashville, y’all ready to party?” Marlowe asked into the mic. After hearing the roar of the crowd, he went into the track that helped launch his career, “Record High.” Following a buzzing performance, Marlowe continued the party with “Grew Up Country” and “Hungover In A Deer Stand,” both odes to the singer’s roots and exceptional vocal shows.

Before going into the next song, Marlowe shared, “The craziest part of Nashville is, I moved here five or six years ago and dreamed of playing rooms like this, so thank y’all so much for coming out here tonight.” The singer then went into a performance of “Last Night Lonely” by Jon Pardi, which Marlowe actually co-penned with Jimi Bell and Joe Fox. The dancing crowd then was treated to “You Did It Too” and “You Were Right,” where Marlowe showed off his country vocals again.

As the audience was already eagerly awaiting Marlowe’s next move, he started to say, “Well since this is a Nashville show, I feel like I have to bring out some of my buddies. Is that alright?” The room instantly filled with anticipation as country trio Restless Road came out on stage to cover “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw with Marlowe, where he perfectly blended in with the trio’s iconic harmonies. After Restless Road exited the stage, Marlowe continued with covers from his childhood, choosing “Good Directions” by Billy Currington. He also went into his slow ballad track “I Will (When You Do).”

Dylan Marlowe and Dylan Scott. Photo: Jacob Powers

After swooning the crowd with the ballad, it was time to “turn the party back up.” Marlowe went into his tracks “Why’d We Break Up Again” and “Dirt Road When I Die.”

“I feel like everything in my career is happening for a reason, it’s not because of me. It’s cause the good Lord is allowing me to do it. If you leave here tonight remembering one thing about this whole night, just remember I said that God is good,” he shared before going into his hit song “All About It.”

As Marlowe was getting ready for last part of his set, he started playing the opening lyrics to Taylor Swift‘s “Back To December.” After gauging the reaction of the excited crowd, he turned to his band and said, “Maybe we should play some Taylor Swift?” He and the band then delivered a brilliant pop-punk-esque cover of the song. Afterwards he went into “You See Mine.”

“Nashville, Tennessee! Thank y’all so much for coming out tonight. We got one more song left for y’all,” he exclaimed. As he prepared to go into his first ever single on country radio, “Boys Back Home,” he urged the crowd to sing as loud as they could—and they did. During the performance, country hitmaker Dylan Scott came out to help Marlowe on their collaboration.

Marlowe will continue his “Dirt Road When I Die Tour” through April with upcoming stops in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Missouri.

Madison Hahnen
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