Hunter Hayes is a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Louisiana. He’s been making music since 2011 and has a history of playing concerts at universities. Even so, his appearance at Kennesaw State University was a pleasant surprise to students.
On Saturday, April 16, hoards of fans lined up outside the gates at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Just minutes after the gates opened, the crowd in front of the stage was already at least 10 people deep, and the seats were verging on full.
During the performances of Mary Kate Farmer and Ryan Lafferty, I could hear the excitement in the audience. Farmer is a new and relatively unknown member of the country genre, but she had the audience singing and dancing along to her songs as if they already knew them. Her band of three took did a great job of energizing the crowd.
By the time Lafferty came on stage, the audience was full of energy. He immediately took command of the stage. His set was composed of a mix of original songs and covers – including “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift – which was a smart choice, as it allowed him to showcase his own material, but also gave the audience a dose of familiarity. Lafferty’s was full of constant energy, though he did stop every few songs to make jokes with the crowd and plug his instagram and new EP.
When the lights dimmed preceding Hayes’ set, the audience exploded with screams and cheers. He opened with an impressive guitar riff. When he finally began to sing, if possible, the crowd grew even louder. Throughout his set, Hayes jumped and danced around the stage, making it clear that the energy in the audience affected him as well. His band also seemed very into the music.
Hayes’ entire set list allowed him to show off his musical talent, from energetic guitar solos, to impressive falsetto. All in all, though I’m in no way a fan of the country music genre, Hayes’ show was impressive. Kennesaw’s football stadium makes a great venue for concerts, and it showcased Hayes’ music well.
