A big crowd showed up for Dustin Lynch at the Hansen Agricultural Student Learning Center on Wednesday night. Even though it was the middle of the week, many could be seen around the room in concert ready form.

Justin Adams started things off in a superb way. Adams came to the stage with only guitar, but he truly knows how to have fun with an audience.  

“We got Dustin Lynch tonight, we got Jackie Lee tonight, but you’ve got to sit through 20 minutes of me first,” Adams joked. 

I loved hearing his original music. It had this style to it that felt original and personal to Adams. He even played a song entitled “You’re In It,” which was recently recorded by country singer Granger Smith. 

Adams mentioned that he had spent some time in Iowa when he attended the University of Northern Iowa. He was sure to acknowledge the big win that Iowa State saw last weekend, and I think that might have been the moment he officially won over the crowd.

He closed his set by playing a cover of “Friends in Low Places,” originally by Garth Brooks. The song got the crowd excited right from the opening chords, and people sang along to every word.

After not much time at all, Jackie Lee and his band went up onto the stage.

Lee had a more pop flare to his sound. This added a nice variety to the concert early on in the night

He also has a really interesting sense of humor.  He was quirky and his unique personality showed in his performance.  

One moment of his set truly surprised me. In the midst of country songs, he played covers of  Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down” and Yellowcard’s “Ocean Avenue.”

The two songs were completely unexpected, but Lee did them justice. The covers even sounded punk rock, which made me admire the talent his band had. 

“I know I’m a country artist from Nashville, but I love me some pop-punk,” Lee said. 

Lee closed his set off with “Getting Over You.” He mentioned that the song had six million loops on Spotify, and it seemed like a crowd favorite. 

After that, Lynch took the stage in electric fashion. Right from the start, I could tell the singer knew how to throw a party. The start of the show was paced perfectly.  

He had awesome stage presence, and he loved pumping up the crowd too. The audience gave the love and excitement right back to the singer, too. They never seemed to stop having fun. Plus, many of them knew the all of the words to Lynch’s songs. 

Hearing a crowd sing along almost always adds something extra to a show. This was really prevalent when he played his hit, “Where It’s At.” The whole audience was really into it. People were singing and moving to the beat and Lynch encouraged all of it. 

“Y’all are killing it tonight, keep it up Iowa State!” Lynch said. 

When it came to slowing things down, Lynch was great at that too. When he performed “Cowboys and Angels,” it sounded just as good as the original recording. 

As much as I love his wild songs, part of me feels Lynch’s deep and soothing voice is perfect for country ballads.

Things picked up again soon as, Lynch performed “Why Not Tonight.” During this song, a member of the crew, named Omaha Shaw, appeared from behind the stage dressed in red, white and blue. He took an American Flag and paraded it around stage throughout the whole song.

I have never seen anything like what Shaw did on the stage before, but it made for a really fun and patriotic moment. 

One of the best parts of the show came near the end of Lynch’s set. He and his band covered snippets of classic rock songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Their little rock-and-roll montage was unique, and they had everything from AC/DC to Blink 182 within it. 

Finally, things got dark before a sea of red lit up the stage. At this time, Lynch walked out dressed in an Iowa State hockey sweater. Appropriately, he closed off his performance with “Seein’ Red.” A great choice to wind things down, as it kept the excitement going even after the show. 

Lynch and his band bowed to the crowd, and stuck around on stage to throw out souvenirs when the house lights came on. Lynch even signed some autographs for a few lucky fans. 

For a Wednesday night show, Lynch didn’t hold anything back. He had a great crowd to work with, and he really showed his school spirit to local fans. The whole thing played out like a giant party, and a really fun one, at that.