Posted April 29, 2024 | Article by Savannah Swartz | Photo by Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times
Luke Combs said it best, “When It Rains It Pours” except for in Beaver Stadium, where it thankfully only drizzles.
Combs delivered an outstanding concert in the stadium amidst minor rain on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
It was announced in 2023 that the country music star would be coming to State College and performing in the iconic Beaver Stadium. He is only the second to ever do this, aside from Blake Shelton, Chris Young and Big and Rich during Happy Valley Jam in 2017.
Combs was sure to reference the mammoth crowd and how Beaver was filled with more fans than one of Country music’s biggest festivals, “Stagecoach,” which has only ever capped at 75,000 attendees.
Doors opened for the concert at 5 p.m. and the show, which featured 5 performers total, lasted till around 10:30 p.m.
The first two openers were smaller country artists, Colby Acuff and Drew Parker. Both singers played a few songs and showed their Penn State pride.
Following that came Mitchell Tenpenny. He has released three full-length studio albums since his start in 2018.
His most popular song, “Drunk Me,” is really what puts him on the map, and was the closing song of his set.
Jordan Davis had an energetic entrance playing “Damn Good Time,” and a damn good time it was. At this point, most of the stadium was filled up and beginning to really get into the music.
Davis had a full day in Happy Valley prior to the show. He threw out the first pitch at the Penn State Baseball game.
The singer has three studio albums, the most recent being “Bluebird Days.” Many of his songs fit the classic country mold considering they are either super sentimental or about beer.
His most popular song “Buy Dirt” signaled the end of his performance. Unfortunately, the feature on the song Luke Bryan did not come out for the performance, however, the Luke everyone was anticipating was next in the lineup.
Combs started his set at 9 p.m. and the wait was so worth it. He emerged from center stage and started with the hit song “The Kind of Love We Make.” This was a phenomenal opener and got the stadium, which at this point was full of hype.
Following this he kept the energy up and walked around the stage with a microphone in one hand and a solo cup in the other.
What makes Luke Combs stand out from other performers is how he sells out 80,000-person shows as just a singer and not necessarily an “entertainer.” There were very little theatrics to this show, just his vocals and the occasional guitar.
The show went on, transitioning from upbeat songs like “Lovin’ on You,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” and “Beer Can” to his slower love songs like “Better Together” and “Beautiful Crazy.”
The upbeat songs unleashed boot stomping in the crowd as the slower songs brought out flashlights to illuminate the night.
One of the most highly anticipated songs, “Fast Car,” did not disappoint. This was probably one of the loudest songs sung in the stadium.
Following this, he abruptly went into “Brand New Man,” a Brooks and Dunn song he was featured on for their “Reboot” album.
The power Luke Combs has to popularize a song that is over 30 years old is just incredible.
The concert was soon over, but before that, he announced that a fan, Jocelyn, and her family flew to this show and were able to meet with Combs before the show.
Jocelyn recently became cancer-free and has raised over $100,000 for cancer research at her lemonade stand. Combs announced that he would match what she raised and double it.
This resulted in a huge cheer from the crowd and certified that Luke Combs is definitely “For The Kids.”
The last two songs of the main set were “1, 2 Many” followed by “When It Rains It Pours,” a remarkable end to the show, however, something was missing.
He never played “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and never did the “We Are” chant. Fans started leaving the stadium until Combs returned to the stage to rectify this intentional mistake.
His encore performance consisted of the highly anticipated “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and the chant that brought pride to all of Happy Valley.
Luke Combs put on an exceptional show and rightfully broke records in Beaver Stadium.
Savannah Swartz is a third-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email sms9072@psu.edu.
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