I bought tickets for this show as fast as I could. Rascal Flatts has always been my number one country band and I wasn’t going to pass up seeing them for the first time. Being a fan of Ballerini also this was too good of a tour to miss.
I attended this concert in July of 2016 and to see how big both Kelsea Ballerini and Chris Lane have gotten is mind blowing.
Chris Lane opened the entire show, at the time he only had his EP out but he was such an entertainer and so talented that I knew he was going to go so far.
Chris Lane’s setlist:
Saturday Night
Her Own Kind of Beautiful
Fix
I Want It That Way / Can’t Feel My Face / Sexy Back / Want to Want Me / Bye Bye Bye / Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) / Going Down for Real Mashup
Kelsea came out thirty minuets later. Her energy is so infectious and she really knows how to keep a crowd. She made it her own show that night.
Kelsea Ballerini’s Setlist:
Sirens
Yeah Boy
Dibs
Lookin’ at the Stars
XO
Love Me Like You Mean It
Peter Pan
We Were Like
Square Pegs
At the time We Were Like was an unreleased song and Kelsea didn’t release it until October of 2018.
It seemed like it was way more than an hour after Kelsea’s set when Rascal Flatts came on but it was worth the wait. Spotlights shined through the curtains showing silhouettes of the guys. The curtain dropped and the crowd went crazy.
Setlist:
Summer Nights
I Like The Sound of That
Banjo
Come Wake Me Up / I Melt / I Won’t Let Go
Life is a Highway
Why Wait
Stand
In The Air Tonight
Bless the Broken Road
Open Arms (Journey cover)
Rewind
Fast Cars and Freedom
Purple Rain (Prince cover)
Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey cover)
My Wish
Take Me There
What Hurts The Most
Love You Out Loud
Here’s to You
Me and My Gang
I don’t know what I expected from Rascal Flatts other than a great set list but they know how to put on such an interactive and high energy show. No one at the venue was sitting and I think that says a lot about the artists.
The show was a special was as it was lead singer, Gary Levox’s birthday back in Nashville. They brought out a cake and the whole crowd serenaded him with a rendition ‘happy birthday.’ The band also took a moment of silence for the police men and women that had died recently which was such a special and emotional moment.
Venue: I loved Irvine Meadows and was so sad when they tore it down. It was such a perfect summer concert venue.
Seat: I got seats in the middle bowl and though they weren’t terrible and we had a perfect view of the stage but I wish I would have paid more for closer seats.
Parking: Since Irvine is such a high traffic area we had a heck of a time getting out of the parking lot. We also had terrible traffic on the way home. The concert ended at 10-10:30PM and we didn’t get home until 2:30AM so if you’re traveling an hour or two outside of Irvine, a cheap hotel isn’t a terrible idea.