Thomas Rhett Proves He’s a Future Entertainer of the Year in Chicago
Thomas Rhett has achieved many goals in an impressive career that has already resulted in a slew of No. 1 hits and awards. But in Chicago on Saturday night (Sept. 14), the Georgia native proved he's poised to make himself Entertainer of the Year soon.
Rhett told the crowd about one goal he never thought he would reach — playing the United Center — but on this special night, he got the chance.
"I’m not afraid to say that Chicago is my favorite place to play in,” Rhett told his sold-out crowd. “I kind of feel like I’m a native of this town because when I was a sophomore in college, a guy by the name of Ed Warm who owns Joe’s on Weed gave me a call, saying, ‘I know you are still in college but I want you to come up here on a few weekends in a row, just you and your guitar,' and I opened up for like four different acts. Joe's on Weed was the first real spot to give me a chance. And look at me now, I’m playing the United Center for the first time.”
Rhett's show began with a bang, with the star quite literally being blasted a good six feet onto the stage. He flashed a big smile as he landed safely and starting singing the opening lines of his hit song "Look What God Gave Her." Donning his trusty wardrobe of a T-shirt, faded blue jeans and a worn-out baseball cap, Rhett sprinted up and down a playground of a stage which stretched the length of the United Center, much to the delight of those fans sitting in the back.
And while most artists hold the pyrotechnics until the closing of their set, Rhett lit it up from the beginning, with the sparks cascading down from the rafters during “Crash and Burn” and “Get Me Some of That.”
His wife and kids were siting "somewhere in here," Rhett said, and he dedicated a number of songs to them throughout the night, including “Notice,” “Sixteen” and his unreleased emotional wrecker of a song “To the Guys Who Date My Girls.”
It was the unscripted parts of the show that made it most endearing. Fans lit up the venue with their phones on “Remember You Young,” not because they were told to, but because they wanted to. It felt right.
The night just felt good and like it was destined to happen. Rhett agreed.
"If Chicago was the last show I ever get to play, I could die a happy man,” he sang to his fandom at the close of the show. “God bless you."