Old Dominion Says Crafting Their Live Show “Keeps Us On Our Toes”

Author Lauren Hoffman and Jeff Kurkjian

November 10th, 2023 12:43 PM

On top of releasing their fifth studio album, Memory Lane, just last month, Old Dominion took home the CMA Awards win this week for Vocal Group of the Year.

RELATED: Old Dominion: What They Learned, Opening for Kenny Chesney

To say that the band is having a very good year would be an understatement. We got to spend some time with Matthew Ramsey, Brad Tursi, Trevor Rosen, and Geoff Sprung of Old Dominion backstage before their big win.

Now that they have nine No. 1 hits, including, “Break Up With Him” and “One Man Band,” plus five albums under their belt, picking out the songs to play live for their fans each night can get a little tricky. However, Ramsey says “It keeps us on our toes a little bit too.”

Sprung added, “Yeah, I mean, I think on that particular run it was a little more freeform. But now we’ve realized that touring this year we’re on our fifth album and the catalog has gotten so large, like you’re talking about that we can’t fit all the songs people want to hear. It’s made this great opportunity on this current tour where we open it up to requests and it’s been really fun to kind of pick from the hat.”

Aside from their live show keeping them on their toes, we thought we’d do the same with a few listener questions during our interview backstage. It got personal and we even learned of a text exchange between Ramsey and Luke Bryan that involved a morning flight cocktail.

Old Dominion is currently in the midst of their 2023 No Bad Vibes Tour with special guests Tyler Hubbard, Chase Rice, Kylie Morgan, Priscilla Block, Adam Doleac, Kylie Morgan, Jameson Rodgers, Kassi Ashton, and Niko Moon on select dates.

Click below to watch our full interview with Old Dominion.

No Bad Vibes Tour Dates:

11/16 – Fort Wayne, IN / Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
11/17 – Rosemont, IL / Allstate Arena
11/18 – St. Louis, MO / Enterprise Center
11/30 – Wilkes-Barre, PA / Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
12/1 – State College, PA / Bryce Jordan Center
12/2 – Baltimore, MD / CFG Bank Arena
12/7 – Des Moines, IA / Wells Fargo Arena
12/8 – Kansas City, MO / T-Mobile Center
12/9 – Lincoln, NE / Pinnacle Bank Arena
12/13 – Columbus, OH / Nationwide Arena
12/14 – Louisville, KY / KFC Yum! Center
12/15 – Nashville, TN / Bridgestone Arena
01/4 – Honolulu, HI / Blaisdell Arena
01/6 – Kahului, HI / Maui Arts and Cultural Center
01/26 – Durant, OK / Choctaw Grand Theater
01/27 – Durant, OK / Choctaw Grand Theater
03/22 – Key West, FL / Coffee Butler Amphitheater
03/23 – Key West, FL / Coffee Butler Amphitheater
03/24 – Key West, FL / Coffee Butler Amphitheater

CMAs 2023: These Are The Moments People Are Talking About

• Wynonna Judd's Performance With Jelly Roll

  There was so much talk about the opening CMA Awards performance of “Need A Favor” by Jelly Roll and Wynonna Judd. Fans expressed concern online that Wy seemed shaky; Wy sang with a firm grip on Jelly’s jacket throughout the song, which the star-studded crowd loved. A church choir accompanied the powerful song, and as the song ended, fire rained down on the stage. Regardless of all the talk about Wynonna’s performance, the song sounded amazing and was a show highlight for sure.

• Lainey Wilson's Performance

  Lainey told us before the CMA Awards that when she performs on an award show, she likes to show a different side of herself and do different kinds of performances. She did just that with her gripping performance of “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” a song from her album Bell Bottom Country. She sang in front of a Western backdrop, and her performance was one of the best of the night.

• HARDY, Post Malone, and Morgan Wallen's Performance

  It was so great to see country stars honor the late great Joe Diffie and his hits of the 1990s. HARDY and Morgan Wallen paid tribute to Joe in the best way possible, playing two of his biggest songs for a packed CMA crowd. The addition of Post Malone to the performance was epic, and it was nice to see him dress like a country boy and sound like he’s a natural fit with two of country music’s biggest voices (Wallen and HARDY) of today.

• Tanya Tucker with LBT Performance

  Tanya Tucker is a name that should have been added to the Country Music Hall of Fame years ago, and in 2023, she was finally inducted as a member. Her songs have spanned decades, and she has contributed so much to country music, winning her first Grammy award just a few years ago (2020) with Brandi Carlile. It is important to honor those in country music who paved the way for today’s stars, and it was nice to see a CMHOF performance from Tanya and Little Big Town singing Tucker’s mega-hit from the 1970s, “Delta Dawn.”

• Lainey Wilson Winning Entertainer of the Year

  The biggest winner of the night was Lainey Wilson, who said in her tearful speech when she won the top award of Entertainer of the Year, “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s the only thing I know how to do. We have played… I think at the end of the year, we’ll have played about 186 shows this year, and we’ve worked our butts off this year and so many years in between. I’ve been in this town for 12-and-a-half years, and it finally feels like country music is starting to love me back.”

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Author Lauren Hoffman and Jeff Kurkjian

Category:

• Country 102.5
• Music

Tags:

2023 CMA Awards,Old Dominion