Morgan Wallen Kicks Off Three-Night Stand At Nissan Stadium

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Morgan Wallen performs onstage during night one of his “One Night At A Time 2024 Tour” at Nissan Stadium. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images

Legions of dedicated Morgan Wallen fans gathered at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium Thursday night (May 2) for the first of three shows. The Tennessee native was joined by Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith and Lauren Watkins for the Music City dates of his “One Night At A Time 2024 Tour.”

Morgan Wallen performs onstage during night one of his “One Night At A Time 2024 Tour” at Nissan Stadium. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images

To kick off the night’s music, Watkins gave a charming set that included her cheeky “Anybody But You” and new song “Mama, I Made It.” Her charisma and excitement resonated with the early arrivals at the stadium who danced along during her 25 minutes.

When Smith took the stage, he brought the passion and vocal chops that felt ready for a stadium-sized crowd. The singer gave his all on tunes “Bulletproof,” “Wreckage,” “Sleeve” and his first chart-topper “Whiskey On You.” After a cover of Foo Fighters’ “My Hero,” Smith closed with his record-breaking, 10-week No. 1 hit “World On Fire.”

Next it was time for Zimmerman to take the stage. When the 24-year old appeared, the crowd was ready for his signature energizer bunny stage presence. He opened his set with “Religiously,” and immediately started taking advantage of the large stage’s full real estate.

Fans were excited to hear “Warzone,” “Chase Her,” “Fix’n To Break,” “Holy Smokes” and his first-ever No. 1 “Fall In Love” before rain interrupted his set, sending some fans into the covered terminals of the stadium. That didn’t bring Zimmerman down though. He continued his rampage of streaming monsters including “You Don’t Want That Smoke,” “Where It Ends” and “Rock and A Hard Place.”

Morgan Wallen performs onstage during night one of his “One Night At A Time 2024 Tour” at Nissan Stadium. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images

The crowd was buzzing with anticipation by the time Wallen took the stage. When the lights went out and the history-making artist’s face appeared on the screen, a deafening scream came from Nissan Stadium. After his signature, athlete-style videoed walk-up, set to his country hip-hop jam “Broadway Girls,” Wallen officially hit the stage with “Ain’t That Some.”

He blitzed the exhilarated audience with “I Wrote the Book,” “One Thing At A Time” and “You Proof,” stalking up and down the catwalk, letting the excitement show in his body language.

“It’s good to be home, baby!” Wallen exclaimed. “Me and the boys have had this one circled on the calendar for a long time. This is a special show for us.

“We have a bunch of family, friends and people that have worked with us for a very long time here in order to make something like this happen. Thank you so much for being here!”

The sheer size of Wallen’s stage and the production value of the tour allowed for him to create several opportunities for his cult-like fans to see him. Early in his set, he went over to a side stage where a set of bleachers and flags with his high school colors on them were positioned.

He spoke about his love for baseball before playing “’98 Braves.” The bracelets that concertgoers received upon entry to the show lit up in Braves colors as the singer serenaded the crowd.

Morgan Wallen performs onstage during night one of his “One Night At A Time 2024 Tour” at Nissan Stadium. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images

Before leaving the small stage, Wallen played his romantic “7 Summers.” His face lit up in a smirk when the girls swooned as the song started.

Wallen returned to the main stage for the trappy “Sunrise” and rock-flavored “Whiskey Friends.” Then, covered in security officers, the entertainer walked through the crowd on the floor of the stadium to a satelite stage at the other side of the room.

Jumping up on the small stage with an acoustic guitar and one musician accompanying him, Wallen did his best to emulate the intimacy he felt with his fans when he was playing smaller rooms. The effort created one of the night’s standout moments, with fans fully enveloped in his iconic cover of Jason Isbell‘s “Cover Me Up.”

Despite the amount of times he sings his hits that have garnered billions of streams, you get the feeling that he still feels it in his performance of the songs. Even if the lyrics are no longer applicable to his life, you can see him feeling it resonating with his fans. That connection is especially noticeable in the acoustic, tender moments of his nearly two-hour show.

From the satellite stage he played “Thought You Should Know,” “Sand In My Boots” and a song that is “technically unreleased but won’t be for long” called “Lies Lies Lies.” He then triumphantly returned to the main stage for his first hit “Up Down.” Zimmerman joined him for the fun tune.

Ernest and Morgan Wallen perform onstage during night one of his “One Night At A Time 2024 Tour” at Nissan Stadium. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images

Next up was “Cowgirls,” which the song’s featured artist Ernest appeared for. Wallen reminded fans that Ernest’s new album Nashville, Tennessee had just been released before hitting another side stage.

On the opposite side of the high school-themed side stage was one with a model of his grandmother’s house from his One Thing At A Time album cover. In front of the little house, Wallen sang “Chasin’ You” and “Man Made A Bar.”

For the final stretch of the evening, Wallen brought the hits, pumping the crowd up with “Heartless,” “Wasted On You” and “This Bar,” using the latter to advertise his soon-to-be-opened spot on Broadway. After “More Than My Hometown” and “Whiskey Glasses,” Wallen said goodnight, but his fans were no fools. They stood in the darkness waiting for the once-in-a-generation entertainer to return.

All of a sudden, the wrists of concert-goers lit up and Wallen returned with a blistering fury, performing the country hip-hop juggernaut “Thinkin’ Bout Me” to a re-invigorated Nissan Stadium. Wallen transitioned into “Last Night” and his theme song “The Way I Talk” before officially closing the night with a glistening firework show.

Wallen will continue his Nissan Stadium run tonight (May 3) and tomorrow (May 4) before making his way to Hershey, Pennsylvania this coming Thursday (May 9).

LB Cantrell
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