Kane Brown adores the crowd, and they adore him in return.
The popular pop country singer visited PPG Paints Arena on Friday as part of his In The Air Tour. Brown became famous on social media and has since won CMT and AMA awards in his ten-year career. His recent chart-topping single, “I Can Feel It,” was released in September of 2023 and was well-received by the crowd on Friday.
Brown has collaborated with country musicians as well as pop, hip hop, and R&B artists. His own music combines country sounds with elements of various genres and his versatile vocals. As he sang on Friday, “I’m a little bit of bass, 808s, a little bit of clap your hands/I’m a litle bit of six strings on a backbeat with a fiddle in the band.”
Add in some impressive technical effects and enthusiastic interaction with the audience, and Kane Brown delivers an impressive show.
Parmalee, a band from North Carolina with several hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and Tyler Hubbard, known for being part of the successful pop country duo Florida Georgia Line, opened for Brown. Hubbard, who performed a mix of solo and Florida-Georgia Line hits, became a crowd favorite. He promised to get the audience ready and rowdy for Brown, and he succeeded with hits such as “Cruise” and “5 foot 9.”
Brown’s performance was enjoyable but not particularly lengthy. Despite a shaky start and an abrupt ending, his time on stage was just under an hour and fifteen minutes, packed with pyrotechnics and high energy.
Beginning his set high above the stage on a lighting rig, Brown started with “Bury Me In Goergia,” a lively tribute to his home state. Movement was a key theme of the night; Brown moved from above the stage, down to the thrust stage, and then directly into the audience, making his way to a small, lit satellite stage at the back of the crowd where he performed more stripped-down songs “Whiskey Sour” and “Good As You.”
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Much like his music, Brown’s show attempted various stunts to impress fans. From well-timed flames so hot that the heat could be felt in the lower bowl to confetti cannons that showered the floor seats with shimmers, he had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
And Brown effortlessly connected with the crowd, like when he signed a hat offered by a fan in the front rows and sang perfectly at the same time. He seemed genuinely pleased when the audience sang his lyrics back to him, responding with a spirited “Yeah!” several times. He even initiated a “Here we go, Steelers” chant.
He didn't have any trouble borrowing fans’ phones to take selfies while he was performing, signing Terrible Towels from the crowd, and even accepting what looked like a onesie from an audience member before he left the stage (he and his wife, Katelyn, are expecting their third child).
His wife also joined him onstage to perform their duet hit song “Thank God,” a sentimental but genuine ballad that reached No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. Country Airplay chart. Katelyn, wearing a Penguins sweater and sparkly boots, had lovely vocal chemistry with her husband.
He also brought Parmalee and Tyler Hubbard back for a one-song-long party onstage, performing “Famous Friends,” a duet he recorded with Chris Young. He followed it up with “Memory,” a more serious look at the dangers of living fast, originally recorded with blackbear.
The most heartfelt moment of the night happened when Brown sat on a stool on the stage to sing his version of “Georgia On My Mind” by Ray Charles. Before the song, he asked, “Are there any golfers in the house? The Masters is about to start, so I have to do this cover song.”
After pausing the show for several minutes due to a medical issue in the crowd, Brown ended the evening on a positive note with “Like I Love Country Music,” an lively, energetic song that mentions genre staple artists like Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn.
Succeeding in nailing both the boot-stomping, fiddle-driven country songs and the numbers that skewed toward pop and R&B, Brown showed that he doesn’t just have potential in a range of genres, he’s already succeeding. He’s found a welcoming home in country music, and even non-country fans could find something to add to their playlists after Friday night’s show.
