Blake Shelton review: Country star proves he's a true entertainer at KFC Yum Center

For one night only Blake Shelton opened the largest honky tonk in the state of Kentucky.

His “Back to the Honky Tour,” which hit the KFC Yum Center on Thursday was just as much about good country music as it was about the deep country vibe.

Shelton is a true entertainer, and from the moment the big “Open” neon light flashed behind him on stage ― welcoming thousands into this imaginary, dark dive bar ― he had a mission. He wanted the crowd to drink, dance and kick-it back as though they were at the kind club where the memories blur together at the end of the night as smoothly as Shelton’s vocals do on stage.

As he sang into his second song ― Thursday was “All About Tonight,” ― and Louisville rose to that occasion with a robust enthusiasm.

“You didn’t come here to listen to me talk, you came here to drink and hear country music,” he shouted out to the crowd, before playing “Guy With the Girl.” Then he brought in some of his own drinking songs with “Sangria” and “Neon Lights.”

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In the past two decades Shelton has become a mainstay at the top of the country charts, and on Thursday he used that longevity to appeal to his fans from across generations.

His band quieted for a few minutes midway through the show, and Shelton was just left with his crowd and his guitar. The superstar approached the whole moment as though he were in a space as intimate as Headliners Music Hall or even like he knew the crowd's favorite drink.

This is the point of the show, he says, when people always ask him to play old songs from the beginning of his career.

At that moment, a fan shouted that they wanted to hear “Playboys of the Southwestern World.”

Someone, Shelton says, always wants to hear that oldie from 2003.

“Really, you want to hear that?” he said. “Well, I never do this …”

(With a quick Google search after the show, I learned that he probably has.)

With the strum of Shelton's guitar the packed house went back in time as easily as if they had plugged in an old favorite on a jukebox. From there Shelton lingered in his early 2000s hits, but he slowed it down some with “The More I Drink” and “Austin.”

He ended the show by bringing the crowd back to a loud, savor-every-moment, last call style finish with “Hillbilly Bone,” “Boys Round’ Here” and “God’s Country.”

For two hours, Shelton made that arena feel like a wild country western bar, where just about anything could happen and he was the bartender, slinging out music instead of shots.

What about Carly Pearce at the Yum Center?

Perhaps there was one thing, though, even more sincere than Shelton wanting everyone to have a big ole’ time on a Thursday night. It would be a crime not to mention Kentucky’s very own Carly Pearce, who opened the show and stole the heart of seemingly everyone in the audience.

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The Grammy winner and Taylor Mill native charmed the crowd with her talent, but also with the love of her home state. In between songs she grinned with evident joy and waved out to the crowd. The first time she ever heard one of her songs on the radio, it was on a Louisville station, she told the crowd.

"Hi," she said, beaming out to the Kentuckians. "Hi, I see you. I want you to know I see you all."

Pearce also took a few moments to honor a fellow Kentuckian, the late Loretta Lynn. She credits the country music icon for setting the stage for women like her to break into the genre. Pearce released a tribute to Lynn in 2021 “Dear Miss Loretta,” and when she sang it on Thursday, it was almost as though the crowd of Kentuckians paused in a deep, understanding reverence.

“You can tell I’m glad to be back in the state of Kentucky,” she said.

Later when she joined Shelton on stage for "Lonely Tonight" in a surprise duet, the crowd roared in excitement.

"I need a new duet partner," Shelton told the crowd after a thunderous applause. "She's just too good."

Features columnist Maggie Menderski writes about what makes Louisville, Southern Indiana and Kentucky unique, wonderful, and occasionally, a little weird. If you've got something in your family, your town or even your closet that fits that description — she wants to hear from you. Say hello at mmenderski@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4053. Follow along on Instagram and Twitter @MaggieMenderski. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Blake Shelton review: How Yum Center became western bar for night