Saturday, April 26, marked the return of a beloved country concert with music lovers from across the U.S. traveling down to Athens, Georgia, to witness Between the Hedges. The lineup featured Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Zach Top and Lauren Alaina with special guest Brantley Gilbert. This year’s concert served as the second Between the Hedges show since 2013 at Stanford Stadium. The iconic concert took place at the University of Georgia (UGA) in its football stadium, alluding to the name Between the Hedges.
“Playing Sanford Stadium in 2013 was one of the biggest highlights of my career. I couldn’t be more excited to co-headline it this time with my buddy Luke Bryan. Luke and I have talked for years about wanting to do another show in Athens, and finally, the stars have aligned for us to be able to do it. This one’s gonna be something people haven’t seen before, we promise you,” Aldean said.
While the stadium doors remained closed until 4 p.m. and the first performer took the stage at 6 p.m., the party began once individuals set foot on Athens soil. The streets of downtown Athens quickly filled with sights of red and black; families and friends snapped photos in their outfits at the iconic UGA arch. Around the town, country lovers mingled in preparation for the night, hopping between bars and restaurants.
The Georgia-born singer-songwriter, Alaina, started the show at 6 p.m.. She first gained popularity after season 10 of American Idol, where she placed as the runner-up. During her performance, she expressed excitement as Saturday’s crowd constituted the largest audience she had played for. Alaina also thanked her family, who attended the concert, specifically her brother, Tyler Suddeth. With the knowledge of Suddeth’s support and presence there, she decided to sing a highly emotional song, “Little Things,” in honor of her late father. While Alaina has performed the song in past shows, she sang the song for the first time in front of her brother on Saturday, creating a sweet and emotional atmosphere within the venue.
After Alaina’s performance, Top took the stage. The only non-Georgia-born performer of the night sang multiple of his top songs, including “I Never Lie” and “Sounds Like the Radio.” Although Top serves as a relatively new artist, country music fans consider him a breakout artist since the release of his debut album, “Cold Beer & Country Music.” Top performed a short set with a multitude of his songs coming off his debut album, and Top received a booming round of applause by the end.
“I was most excited to see Luke Bryan because I grew up listening to him with my dad, and because I was supposed to go to Bryan’s concert in Atlanta last year, but didn’t get to go. The energy in the stadium was insane. It felt like everyone was coming together and singing; it was amazing. I was also down in the pit, so the energy was even better down there with us being super close to the artists. My favorite part of the night was probably when Aldean and Bryan came out together for the first time. It felt so surreal,” junior Avery Williams said.
Prior to Bryan and Aldean walking out, a comedic video of the two singers debating who would perform first played. Once the video ended, both artists sang Aldean’s song “My Kinda Party.” After the two continued to perform each other’s songs and alternated performing solo. Bryan sang a number of hits, including “Play it Again,” “Light it Up,” “Drink a Beer,” “One Margarita” and “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.” Aldean sang “You Make it Easy,” “How Far Does a Goodbye Go,” “She’s Country,” “Burnin’ it Down” and his popular song, which brought him to fame, “Dirt Road Anthem.” One of the memorable moments of the night remained when Bryan and Aldean sang their brand new tune, “Songs About Us,” live for the first time. Toward the end of the night, Aldean brought out surprise guest Gilbert to sing “Dirt Road Anthem,” surprising the audience because he co-wrote the song with Aldean. Bryan and Aldean also brought out Athens’ beloved Kirby Smart, the head coach of the UGA football team, as the final special guest of the night. After a bit of banter with Bryan and Aldean, Kirby “called the dogs” before heading off stage, with Bryan and Aldean returning to perform. At 11 p.m., the show ended, and fans exited the stadium with a bittersweet sorrow as the show they had waited months to see came to a close.
