Country music star Thomas Rhett kicks off his 2023 tour at Wells Fargo Arena
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Thomas Rhett shined in his much-anticipated Home Team Tour 23 debut Thursday night in Des Moines.
Rhett kicked off his massive U.S. tour to an electric audience of around 12,000 people at Wells Fargo Arena in the city's downtown. The appearance marked the second time headlining Wells Fargo Arena for the second-generation star in the genre, whose father is fellow hitmaker Rhett Akins of "That Ain't My Truck" fame. Rhett first headlined the arena previously during his Very Hot Summer Tour in 2019.
On Wednesday night, the eve of his electric arena tour's start, Rhett posted a photo dump to social media that included a series of white paper signs with the first that read, "We are so proud of you daddy!" signed by his four daughters Ada James, Willa Gray, Lennon and Lillie.
"My team trying to make me cry first night of tour… sheesh," the country megastar captioned the photo.
Rhett opened the show, following sets by country singers Cole Swindell and Nate Smith, in a Des Moines home team jacket and then put in work with a drum solo before singing his hit “Vacation” and traveling across the stage as he ended the song playing the guitar.
During a spiritual performance of “Look What God Gave Her,” the crooner wowed the crowd, who held up cups of beer as Rhett took a selfie with a front row audience member’s iPhone.
“You know this one, Des Moines. Let me hear you sing this!” Rhett said as he tipped the mic stand and sang his No. 1 hit “Crash and Burn” and took yet another selfie with an audience member.
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“Des Moines, are you feeling good? Are your voices warmed up?” he said with pyrotechnics flying mid-air during the song with his Tennessee swagger.
Rhett watched a flurry of home videos featuring his four daughters before performing “Life Changes,” the catchy song dedicated to his Instagram-famous wife Lauren. Then, the country singer sang “Slow Down Summer,” “Unforgettable,” “Marry Me” and “You Make Me Wanna.”
A bluesy performance of “Us Someday” was followed by “Country Again” played on acoustic guitars. Then, he crooned to “Blessed,” a song written about Lauren and how blessed he is to have her in his life.
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Rhett took Des Moines on a tour of the decades by singing “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley before saying “that’s for you” and pointing to an audience member who was born in the 1950s. The night included cover songs including “I Feel Good” by James Brown and Rick Springfield's “Jessie’s Girl."
Fans turned on their flashlights as Rhett sang "Die A Happy Man" as the crowd swayed and sang along. "Thank you so much, Des Moines!" he said at the song's end.
Then, he performed a trio of songs for "the OGs:" "Notice," "Get Me Some Of That" and "It Goes Like This." A montage of photos of Rhett and his wife were accompanied by a performance of "Angels" as he sang "maybe angels don't always have wings." The Jon Pardi collaboration "Beer Can't Fix" and "Sixteen" followed as audience members wearing ballcaps and cowboy boots put their hands up.
Rhett rocked to a drums-defined version of "Craving You" before more pyrotechnics brought the house down. "Y'all got time for a couple more?" he asked.
He sang "What's Your Country Song" during the confetti-capped concert's close around 11 p.m. as Rhett took a bow. An encore led to a twangy version of "T-Shirt." Then, a final bow from Rhett and guitar solo guided concertgoers out of the Des Moines arena.
Nate Smith shines during opening set in Des Moines
Under blue lights, up-and-comer Nate Smith sang his song “Sleeve” donning an understated Metallica T-shirt. Smith released his self-titled debut album just last week.
“How you all doin’ tonight?” he asked the crowd to cheers.
“In every little smile and stranger passin' through, I still see her now and then in my dreams,” he sang with his gritty signature sound as onlookers posted Instagram photos and took selfies.
Smith’s set foreshadowed an explosive future in Nashville that could eclipse even the brightest newcomers with his ballad-heavy songs.
Smith sang fan favorite “World on Fire” followed by the ballad “I Found You” and then “Under My Skin,” the slow breakup anthem about losing a past lover.
Smith performed the chart-topping “Whiskey on You” about pouring one up after being passed up by an ex as he chugged a beer handed to him from an audience member in the front row. The single recently spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
More: Nate Smith's redemptive, self-assured journey to country music stardom
Cole Swindell brings Georgia heat to Wells Fargo Arena stage
With an electric guitar-layered introduction featuring bandmates, Swindell strutted out on the Wells Fargo Arena stage in an all-black outfit that included a Brad Paisley shirt, denim jacket, jeans and brown cowboy boots.
Cole Swindell opened the set with his latest single “Drinkaby,” a drum-dotted song that would easily be found at a Dallas County dive bar on a Friday night with its honky tonk, hip-swinging sound.
“Des Moines, what’s up?” Swindell asked the audience.
The opening song was followed by “Love You Too Late” and the beer sippin’, hat tippin’ track “Let Me See Ya Girl.”
“Let’s give it for the first night of the Home Team Tour,” he said before calling out the section in 304. “This is exactly how we wanted to see you tonight,” he said before saying the crowd was “good looking.”
The self-explanatory “Single Saturday Night” had the crowd going with his hit single, an ode to White Claw seltzers and looking back at the one you once looked for. Later, he sang the radio favorite “Stereotype” and “Break Up In The End.”
Swindell led an a capella crowd singalong to “Middle of a Memory” before the band joined in and the Georgia native traced the stage floor underneath a traveling white spotlight. He sang "Hope You Get Lonely Tonight" before a pair of guitar solos closed out the song and Swindell sang his collaboration with "Yellowstone" star and country peer Lainey Wilson, "Never Say Never" as a video of her played on two screens flanking the stage.
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Swindell brought Georgia heat to the Iowa night with "Chillin' It" and the sultry "Sad Ass Country Song" and "You Should Be Here" about losing someone after they pass away.
"Anybody else got here that ain't worth the damn whiskey or what?" he asked the crowd to massive cheers before singing "You Ain't Worth the Whiskey" and applauding servicemembers, police officers, EMTs and nurses.
"Hey, Des Moines, what's a boy from South Georgia supposed to do with a crowd like this on the first night of tour?" he asked during a short break during the Dierks Bentley collaboration "Flatliner."
The close friend and frequent collaborator of Rhett ended his set with "She Had Me At Heads Carolina," which had nearly every seat in the Iowa crowd on their feet.
Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at jstahl@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Country music star Thomas Rhett plays in Des Moines to open 2023 tour
