Jake Owen, Old Dominion & RaeLynn Bring New Songs to Pandora’s Sounds Like Country Concert

For the third consecutive year, Pandora has hosted the kickoff party to CMA Fest with their country showcase. Held at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, Jake Owen, Old Dominion and RaeLynn performed during the streaming service’s Sounds Like Country concert on Tuesday night (June 6). The free concert for country fans included surprise guests, new songs and plenty of giveaways for those in attendance.

Owen headlined the evening and brought the beach party to Nashville with a stage covered in palm trees. Dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, the singer ran around the stage barefoot and his energy never wavered throughout his hour set. He began his performance with the appropriate “Beachin'” asking the audience, “Y’all ready to go beachin’?” Backed by a horn section, Owen kept the crowd on their feet screaming for more as he continued with upbeat tracks like “Summer Jam,” “Real Life” and a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”

Songs like “If He Ain’t Gonna Love You” showcased Owen’s more soulful side while previous singles “Alone with You,” “Anywhere with You” and “Eight Second Ride” had the crowd singing along word for word. In fact, he frequently dangled his microphone stand into the crowd and allowed them to take the lead on the song. Mid-set the singer recalled listening to country music with his father as a child in Florida and shared his gratitude that he’s been able to share the stage with some of his heroes. Owen admitted that one of his favorite bands is Shenandoah and as he began to sing a snippet of “Sunday In the South,” members of the group walked on stage. After Owen introduced the audience to Shenandoah’s Marty Raybon and Mike McGuire, the three artists performed the song together and traded vocals on each verse. Later, he’d debut a brand new song he wrote in Mexico called “Son of a Beach” before closing his set with a sing along of “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.”

Old Dominion; Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Pandora Media

Old Dominion, meanwhile, kicked off their performance with previous single “Snapback” that had the audience singing along from the moment the band took the stage. Also performing an hour set, the guys shared their appreciation for fans from all over the country coming to see them in Music City.

“When you play Nashville you expect to see a lot of familiar faces but the faces I see tonight are from all over the country,” frontman Matthew Ramsey said several songs into the band’s performance. “It’s a pretty exciting time for us. Today was a pretty big day. We made the announcement that our second album, Happy Endings, is coming August 25. Who doesn’t love a happy ending?”

The band then segued into two new tracks off the upcoming release including new single “No Such Thing As a Broken Heart” and the feel good “Be With Me.” During their performance of “Crazy Beautiful Sexy” the band invited several fans on stage to dance along to the song, one young fan being Ramsey’s daughter. While she stood there beside her father he told her, “If you’re gonna be up here you gotta dance,” and as he showed her a few dance moves she copied them much to the crowd’s approval. He’d then end the song with her dangling from his back before pointing to his cheek for a kiss as the audience applauded.

Highlights included Ramsey and guitarist Brad Tursi frequently nearing the edge of the stage, leaning on each other during some impressive guitar shredding, as well as a performance of Kenny Chesney’s “Save It For a Rainy Day,” written by Ramsey, Tursi and the late Andrew Dorff.

RaeLynn; Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Pandora Media

RaeLynn opened the evening with several songs from her debut album, WildHorse, released earlier this year. Dressed in an entirely black sequin ensemble with sparkly knee-high boots, black shorts and a sequin and black top, the former contestant on The Voice commanded the stage with equal parts sass and sophistication. While songs like “Graveyard,” a track she cites as one of her favorites on her album, showcased her haunting and raspy vocals, others left a lasting impression. Previous single “Love Triangle” is a song RaeLynn said she wrote when she moved to Nashville. The song is written from the perspective of a child dealing with her parents’ divorce, and Raelynn said she never expected it to see the light of day.

“Honestly y’all, when I wrote this song I didn’t think it was going to be a single,” she told the crowd. “I just thought it was something I needed to write for myself for personal healing. When I would be on the road with you, I would meet my fans after the shows and y’all would always talk about ‘Love Triangle.’ Thank you so much for showing me it’s OK to wear your heart on your sleeve as an artist and telling me how this song has impacted you guys.”

She then performed the poignant ballad as the audience listened attentively. The remainder of her set included new single “Lonely Call” and the beat-driven “The Apple” before she thanked those in attendance. “Country music fans are better than any other fans,” she conceded as the audience screamed in agreement.