The Buckeye Country Superfest returned to Ohio Stadium last night. The festival has not taken place since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s festival is the only concert scheduled at the stadium that celebrates its centenary.
Although a slight rain in the early afternoon delayed the tailgates and the fan festival for a few hours, by 2 p.m., the skies appeared to be clear for the event.
The stadium was filled with more than 63,000 avid and unconvinced country music fans singing their hearts out as they wore the essentials: cowboy hats, dazzling blue cowboy boots, and an American flag print. The total broke a record for the largest concert at Ohio Stadium, According to the festival’s Twitter account.
Morgan Wade
Morgan Wade, of Floyd, Virginia, opened the show at 5 p.m. and she’s made quite a name for herself this year.
It topped the charts from Rolling Stone, Time, StereoGom, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Vader, and Billboard’s debut single “Wilder Dreams” and her album “Reckless,” both released in 2021. Their debut in every decade.”
Wade, the only woman in the lineup, had a sense of bravado and elegance that all male actions could easily kill.
Her voice reminds us of Cheryl Crow and Adele. Wade appears to be the head of pop crossovers like Crowe and Maren Morris. She sang her hit songs like “The Night” through sunglasses while holding her sparkly blue guitar accentuating her tattoo sleeves. Wade was the perfect opening for a festival.
Cameron Marlowe
Cameron Marlowe, best known as a contestant on Season 15 of “The Voice,” took the next stage at 6 p.m. Marlowe has been touring with artists like Brad Paisley and Lee Brice since the show.
He literally got the party started when his guitarist came on stage waving a cooler full of beer while Marlowe released his first single, “Sober as a Drunk” from his self-titled EP.
He told the audience how excited he was for his performance on one of the biggest stadiums in college football.
“It’s a dream to play here,” he told the crowd.
Marlowe’s voice has a roar that deserves to be heard in the stadium. He bounced across Ohio Stadium as he previewed new songs from his upcoming debut album “We Are Cowboys” released on August 26.
Performing the titular track and influenced rock ‘n’ roll with the song “Money Ain’t Sh*t,” Marlowe dedicated his album to a North Carolina upbringing that he believes today’s generation has missed.
“All kids these days are using their phones now and disconnecting them,” he said. “Kids should grow up like I did in North Carolina.”
By the end of his run, Marlowe had made his mark on Ohio Stadium.
Zach Bryan
From Oklahoma – but wearing an OSU Buckeyes jersey – Zach Bryan took the stage at 7 p.m.
Bryan served for seven years in the United States Navy until he was honorably discharged. He filmed the music video for his song “Heading South” which was filmed outside his barracks in 2020. Bryan released his third and first album since his signing with Warner Records, “American Heartbreak” in May 2022.
The festival went into high gear as the crowd jumped to their feet for their first strum on Brian’s guitar.
Brian’s voice features the grunge grit of the ’90s that makes songs like “Something in the Orange” and “From Austin” pop into the country’s male music scene.
While performing his song “Condemned”, he even directed a harmonica to perform a single that got audiences going wild.
Bryan’s group was met with a standing ovation from the crowd and cheers for appearing for nearly five minutes after his unfortunately unfulfilled group ended.
He joked between presenting each song, wishing the audience would not hate this song. Hearing thousands of people chant “We want Zack” ensures that they didn’t hate any of them.
Cody Jenks
The crowd began to gather as soon as the business got bigger and bigger. Cody Jenks of Haltom, Texas brought his personal brand of outlaw country to the stage at 8 p.m.
Since debuting as a solo artist in the mid-2000s, Jinks have played nearly empty bar rooms to independently build a dedicated following. He is known for his mix of heavy metal and country, lifting grain that Marlowe and Brian brought into their sets.
He rocked the house with hits like “Hippies and Cowboys” and “Must Be Whiskey.”
The crowd fed and responded to the Jinks’ energy throughout his entire group, leaving the crowd screaming for more.
Luke Combs
Two-time Grammy-nominated Luke Combs took the stage at 9:45 p.m. and was knocked out by the Ohio State University marching troupe.
He mocked the Ohio State University-Michigan rivalry, joking that when he played football at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, they also beat Michigan.
Combs’ charisma and his relationship with the audience was captivating as the audience sang the lyrics on his 13 number 1 singles.
His new album, “Growin Up”, was released in June of this year and he is currently on a stadium tour across America.
With songs like “The Kind of Love We Make” and “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” Combs was clearly reaching out to all demographics with his music. From young kids to college students to older country music fans, they all seem to unite around Luke Combs.
Combs echoed this sentiment by advocating for the crowd to be authentic to himself.
“No matter what anyone says, what anyone thinks, no matter how small the achievement, you are proud of who you are,” Combs said. “You’re proud of what you’ve done. You stand up for the things you believe in.”
Very political sentiment regarding country music, but Combs was careful not to use any language that referred to a particular side of the spectrum.
Concluding the festival with his biggest hit with the wedding song “Forever After All,” Combs drew a crowd who wished his last group would last forever.
In general, the Superfest was a success. Hopefully there will be more variety in the coming year and be more proactive in terms of COVID safety precautions.
David Kwiatkowski is an intern at The Columbus Dispatch. You can reach him on Twitterkwiatkdm or his email [email protected]