Dasha. Photo: Acacia Evans
At the start of 2024, Dasha played an opening slot at The Basement in front of just over 100 people, not knowing she was on the cusp of her breakout year. Thursday night (Nov. 14), she got to celebrate her monumental year in front of a sold-out crowd at Nashville’s Exit/In, as part of her “Dashville, U.S.A. Tour.” The spectacular night marked the Warner Records artist first headlining Nashville show.
In front of an already buzzing crowd, singer-songwriter Steinza played on stage with just his guitar accompanying him. He serenaded the crowd with his own original tunes such as “Tricked,” “Visions Of You,” “The Former” and more, and offered unreleased track “High And Dry” before ending his soulful set with “Taste The Dirt.”
To keep the party going, the crowd was treated to a DJ set while waiting. Line dancing lessons were also in play, turning the Exit/In into its own honky tonk. The lessons capped off with everyone doing Dasha’s viral line dance to “Austin,” turning up the anticipation even more.
With a pink neon sign illuminating the room, it became time for Dasha to hit the stage. Instantly receiving love from the crowd, the country-pop sensation started off with the fiery “What Happens Now?” the title track of her sophomore album. She then treated the fans to “Heartbreaker From Tennessee,” which was just released on Friday (Nov. 15).
Taking a moment to take in the scene, Dasha expressed her gratitude for everyone being there before going into “Ain’t No Friend Of Mine,” with the crowd bopping along. Before heading into the next tune, Dasha wanted to queue the venue in on the making of What Happens Now? that released in September.
“While I was writing this, I realized that I have some patterns I need to break. I do this thing where I love going back to my exes,” Dasha quipped. “A lot of songs on this album are about realizing that.”
With her guitar in hand, she began catchy tune “Leaving Don’t Mean Goodbye,” before singing a girls-night-out anthem “Way Too Drunk.” Bringing her magnifying stage presence back to the forefront, she wowed the room with “Run Like Hell” before surprising them with an unreleased track, during where she borrowed a fan’s cowboy hat.
“A lot of this album is based out of this horrible heartbreak I went through,” she shared. “I learned a lot about myself, about the world, about life… I realized the way that people treat you is a reflection of how they’ve been treating themselves.” To demonstrate this message, back in the center of the stage with her guitar, Dasha performed powerful story song “Even Cowboys Cry,” in awe as the crowd spontaneously shined their cell phone lights.
To keep the soft, acoustic moment going, her band exited the stage as she went into “42,” her personal favorite on her sophomore project, where she let her vocals power through the room. Steinza was then welcomed back on stage where the two performed “Drown Me” together, a song they co-wrote with Taylor Fernandez.
Continuing her pattern of being vulnerable with the crowd, Dasha went on to explain the story behind “Talk Of The Town,” a tune about everyone in her small hometown of San Louis Obispo, California knowing about a relationship she was trying to keep under wraps.
Turning the energy back up, she performed upbeat tracks “King Of California” and “Share This City” before treating the attentive crowd to another unreleased tune, “Not At This Party,” making the crowd eager for her next album. As the night was winding down, Dasha, and the Exit/In, still had a lot more to give. Playfully dancing into the words, Dasha took control of the stage for “Bye Bye Bye,” interacting flawlessly with her fans, before going into recent fan favorite “Didn’t I?”
“Nashville: are you guys ready?” Dasha exclaimed as she looked around the still-full room. The band lead everyone into her breakout, viral hit single “Austin,” with every single person fully in tune. After singing part of the song from stage, Dasha hopped over the barricade and went into the crowd to lead everyone in a giant line dance session. The intimate and spectacular moment with the crowd left everyone on a high, and further solidified her star power.
Dasha completed her “Dashville, U.S.A. Tour” on Friday in Atlanta. She will wrap up the year performing on numerous stops of the “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour.”
