Mcgraw’s library of hits delights fans
While the lyrics of the title track from Tim Mcgraw’s most recent album – and namesake of his current tour – are concerned with being a person worth remembering, Columbus fans of the country music mainstay have already decided he is.
Mcgraw’s Standing Room Only tour took over Nationwide Arena Saturday night with a sea of cowboy hats and checkered shirts, and a fair amount of sparkles.
For more than 90 minutes, Mcgraw took those in attendance on a journey through his more than three-decadeslong career in Nashville, Tennessee, starting with “Truck Yeah,” and ending his three-song encore with “Live Like You Were Dying.”
In between, Mcgraw played many of the classics fans love, including “Just to See You Smile,” “Red Ragtop,” “Something Like That” and “Where the Green Grass Grows.”
Current single “One Bad Habit,” and “Standing Room Only” were the only songs from the 2023 album that made the cut for Saturday’s show. Mcgraw also performed a cover of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” to the great enjoyment of the crowd.
During the evening, Mcgraw also mixed in some of his well-known collaborations, including “Over and Over” that he released with rapper Nelly in 2004 and “Highway Don’t Care.”
The latter performance on Saturday night included a video montage of collaborator Taylor Swift and Mcgraw enthusiastically having the crowd sing Swift’s portion of the 2013 hit. Swift, who is currently on hiatus from her own tour that you may have heard about, was an opening act for Mcgraw at the beginning of her career.
Opening for Mcgraw on this tour were Nashville quartet, The Woods, whose vintage country sound and pleasant harmonies got the crowd clapping along.
Carly Pearce, who with each song she releases continues to cement herself as one of Nashville’s best “that boy done me wrong” songstresses, then performed a set that featured fan favorites “Every Little Thing,” “Next Girl” and “What He Didn’t Do.”
Pearce also played “Truck on Fire,” a song from her upcoming album “Hummingbird” that will be released in June. The song, about a liar whose truck replaces his pants in being ablaze, is the kind of melody that has the potential to make waves as a single on the country charts if the reactions in Nationwide Arena are any indicator.
But the star of the night was the man at the top of the ticket. Mcgraw’s energy and enthusiasm was contagious, with fist pumps and smiles during many of the more upbeat tracks.
While Mcgraw acknowledged early on in his set that he doesn’t talk much during his performances – a skill he said he has honed while living with wife (and country music legend in her own right) Faith Hill and the couple’s three daughters – Mcgraw gave high fives and fist bumps out throughout the evening to the front few rows of spectators he could reach.
Mcgraw also took time to acknowledge Massillon native Shawn Fichter, who plays drums on tour. Fichter’s mom and several other family members were in attendance at Saturday night’s concert and got a special shoutout from the stage.
Saturday night’s set could have been much longer, particularly with the career longevity Mcgraw has experienced. With a career like that, fan favorites will no doubt be left on the cutting room floor of any tour. The most glaring omissions from the show were “Down on the Farm,” “My Next Thirty Years” and “Don’t Take the Girl.”
However, Mcgraw played most of the tunes he knew fans wanted to hear and seemed amazed, even after more than 30 years, at the zeal with which they were received and sung back to him by the nearly sellout crowd.
The feeling Mcgraw exuded from the stage was astonishment that he continues to be able to do something he clearly loves doing. But at the root of it all, as he led the crowd in singing a cappella during his encore, is staying “Humble and Kind.”
bbruner@gannett.com