DYLAN MARLOWE

Thursday February 22, 2024

@ Exit/In in Nashville, TN

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

(photo by: Jacob Powers)

“Are y'all ready to go to the country with me for the next hour?" asked Dylan Marlowe during his sold-out show this past Thursday night at Nashville’s Exit/In as he road-mapped through a precise balance of backroads imagery, heartbreak, and “Only In Nashville” moments, adding his name to the next chapter of the venue’s rich history with a spotlighting performance that announced his arrival as country music’s next big thing.

Bouncing into his set with the unbridled energy of his early single, “I’ll Keep the Country,” Marlowe instantly slid into an irresistible, country boy swagger that would reign prevalent throughout the night as the crowd welcomed him with a showering of enthusiastic cheers as they fist pumped in rhythm with their drinks held high, adding deafening harmony as they excitedly shouted along with every word. 

Knowingly asking ahead of several songs throughout the night, “do we have anyone in here that’s country?” and “where all my rednecks at?,” the backroad country anthems naturally became a main staple of his set, whether it was through the softer paced namesake of the tour itself, “Dirt Road When I Die,” the addictive up-tempo drive of “When I Look Back,” a swampier turn on “Grew Up Country,” or the highlighting of a new song that was accented with cheers of approval, “Hungover In A Deer Stand.” 

As every next song presented a raucous, sing along atmosphere, the fan favorites ignited something different, something more definable that spoke volumes on the relationship between Marlowe and his incredible fanbase as he many times stood within the serenading of only the voices during “Record High,” “Why’d We Break Up Again,” “All About It,” and “You See Mine,” the latter which arrived late in the set and saw Dylan breaking the barrier between he and the crowd as he leapt from the stage into the thick of it, becoming one with his fans.

Spliced skillfully between anathematic blasts, Dylan shifted through well-timed, slower paced melodies, nowhere more prevalent than during an acoustic portion that anchored the middle of his set.

Bringing couples closely into one another for slow dance moment’s through “I Will (When You Do)” and the heartfelt ode to his wife, “You Were Right (Nat’s Song),” he also used this 5-song set to deliver the first “Only In Nashville” moment of the night when he brought out his friends in Restless Road for a rebel rousing version of Tim McGraw’s “I Like It, I Love It,” aptly turning the cornerstone of the rock block into a honky-tonk dancehall as the crowd boot scooted along with the melody.

However, in what was perhaps the strongest message of hometown pride, and a visible showing of  connection with his country laden fanbase, as he sang “is your water tower just a water tower that you pass by in your car? Or did you tattoo it on your arm?” during his recently released, “You Did It Too,” a brief pause of the music allowed him the opportunity to roll up his sleeve and show off his own tattoo with a smile plastered across his face as a tremendous applause rang out.

“This is my first single at freaking country radio,” a super excited Dylan Marlowe exclaimed into the mic as he encouraged the crowd to sing along with “Boys Back Home,” turning the crowd on its side as they screamed along with the hot opening chorus, jumping in excitement of the breakout hits arrival at the end of the night.

But as it was Nashville, Marlowe still had one last trick left up his sleeve.

“Dylan Scott where you at!” he shouted ahead of the second verse as the country superstar bounced onto the stage to a deafening ovation, commanding his second verse before both Dylan’s would come together at center stage to lead one final sing along as a pop of confetti covered the crowd and the metaphoric exclamation point was boldly stamped down!

Balancing between tempos throughout the night, though masterfully staying bent on upbeat  numbers, the edges of Marlowe’s vocal walked the heart into each word of every lyric, resulting in an 18-song, jaw dropping performance that expanded the facets of each side of who he is as a singer, songwriter, performer, and artist, opening the photo album of his career in what played out like an appreciative thank you note to his fans for all their incredible support.

Though he certainly paused to bask in several snapshot moments throughout the night, soaking in the applause and smiling through all the sing-alongs, the center of where the favor he’s been experiencing all comes from wasn’t lost on the country superstar as he humbly made an encouraging declaration through a tone of awestruck gratefulness when he pointed it all back up:

“God is so good! None of this is possible without him y’all! I have this platform for a reason, and I think that reason is to tell you that if there’s one thing you take away from this night….God is so so good!”

FULL SET LIST
1) I'll Keep the Country
2) Empty Shotgun – Mr. Mechanic
3) When I Look Back
4) Record High
5) Grew Up Country
6) Hungover In A Deer Stand
7) Late Night Lonely
8) You Did It Too
9) You Were Right (Nats Song)
10) I Like It, I Love It (Tim McGraw cover)
11) Good Directions (Billy Currington cover)
12) I Will (When You Do)
13) Why’d We Break Up Again
14) Dirt Road When I Die
15) All About It
16) Back to December (Taylor Swift cover)
17) You See Mine
18) Boys Back Home

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