Miranda and Dierks Rock Assembly Hall

Lee Brice opened up for headliners Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert in their Locked and Re-Loaded tour, which hit Champaign on Friday, February 22 this year.

Brice’s time on stage lasted about half an hour, which consisted of popular songs such as “Hard to Love,” “Love Like Crazy,” “A Woman Like You” and “I Drive Your Truck.”  His vocals were stronger than expected, and his performance was incredible.  During “I Drive Your Truck,” it was plain to see a tear falling from his eye, giving the audience a feel for true country music.

After an intermission, Dierks Bentley took the stage, opening with “Am I the Only One.”  Assembly Hall was filled with people singing along, and his portion of the concert definitely had the most audience participation.

In the middle of his set, one lucky fan standing near the stage was pulled up by Dierks and given his guitar to play and dance around with.  When the song ended, Dierks signed that same guitar, giving it to the fan to keep.

As far as his set-list goes, he played numerous favorites including “5-1-5-0,” “What Was I Thinkin’,” “Up on the Ridge,” “Sideways” and “Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do.”

Another favorite, one of his newer songs, was “Home,” and the performance was chilling.  The only lights were on Dierks, and the rest of the hall had audience members holding up their flashlights from their cell phones, so the entire room looked like the starry night sky.  It left a feeling of unity throughout the audience.

His performance of “Up on the Ridge” was also noteworthy, as the musicians were incredible and the special effects really set an October-like feeling throughout the room, matching the tone of the song.

Of course, eventually his set ended, and the real headliner came out.  Miranda Lambert was next to the stage, and she opened with a favorite, “Fastest Girl in Town.”  Throughout her set, she played music videos to her songs on the big screen, and this one specifically had the audience pumped.

Close after her opening song, she played another couple fan favorites, “Over You and Mama’s Broken heart.”  While the latter was mostly focused on girl power, the first was an emotional performance, and one that led her to mention Blake Shelton and how lucky she was to have him.

She didn’t miss many favorites, playing “Only Prettier,” “The House that Built Me,” “Baggage Claim,” “Dead Flowers,” “Kerosene” and, of course, “Gunpowder and Lead.”  Each song set its own mood, and Miranda hit every note perfectly.

Of course, she also threw in a twist as she covered “Mississippi Queen” by the rock band Mountain with her own little country twist, which had the fans excited.

After her set, she was brought back by an encore and sang “White Liar,” her first number one hit ever.  This really tied in the girl power theme of the night and was the perfect end to her set.

Even after this, however, she wasn’t done.  She pulled Dierks Bentley back on stage one last time to sing their duet, “Bad Angel.”  Their voices were in perfect harmony with each other, and it definitely turned into a night to remember.