Dylan Scott at MGM Music Hall, Boston, April 3, 2025

Concert Reviews

At his Boston stop, the nation’s fourth-most-played country artist showed why he’s No. 1 in fans’ hearts.

Dylan Scott with Graham Barham and George Birge at MGM Music Hall, April 3, 2025

Dylan Scott is perhaps the most undervalued and overworked country music star touring today. The dude just picked up his sixth No. 1 hit and, according to Music Row, he is the fourth-most-played country artist in the U.S. — yet you never see him scooping up anything at award shows. What’s up with that?

At the very least he should win a fan favorite award, because after watching the sheer devotion of his fans when Scott rocked the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Thursday, April 3, he’s earned it.

He had complete control over the crowd the minute he burst on stage with “Good Times Go By Too Fast,” and two songs in, he solidified it when he launched into his raucous anthem, “County Till I Die,” for which the tour is named. “C-O-U-N-T-R-Y, I’ll be country til’ I die!” — try to sing that without smiling.

Scott told the tightly packed crowd in his deep Louisiana drawl that although he plays Boston a lot, “this may be the best dang crowd ever.” I’m sure he says that to all the crowds, and yet, the way he says it still makes you feel special. You could see trucker hats and cowboy hats bobbing across the arena as if to say, “Damn straight we are.”

And suddenly, you knew where he was going. Scott threw a smile at the crowd and said, “This Town’s Been Too Good To Us,” launching into the song that is his sixth No. 1 hit. 

Scott is the king of the long song set-up. He chatted about his family and thanked us for letting him live his dream, segueing perfectly into “I Owe You One,” off his newest album, this year’s “Easy Does It.” He also asked people what they were drinking, taking a poll on alcoholic beverages before announcing, with a coy smile, that if we needed, “I’ll be a Bartender,”  a cut off his 2022 “Livin’ My Best LIfe,” album. Then he started handing out red Solo cups that may or may not have contained actual drinks. 

Firmly planted in the middle of the floor, closer to the front than the back, was an interesting place to vibe for the 3-hour-plus show. 

The opening acts, Graham Barham and George Birge, did excellent work warming up the crowd, but it remained a loose, free-wheeling mass until Scott took the stage. Then it compressed rapidly without fanfare so you didn’t realize it until it was too late to move — unless you moved with the crowd, that is. Floor tickets are fun, but when you’re 5-foot-2 it’s also a challenge that involves dodging elbows and trying not to get stepped on while stretching your neck like a turtle basking in the sun to get a glimpse of the stage. 

You also can’t help but get chummy with the immediate crowd. The couple behind me both really need singing lessons, good luck to the bromance that was brewing big time to my right and Caitlin — get writing!

But it also adds to that camaraderie you only feel in concert crowds, like when you’re all helping someone, in this case Scott, sing a pared-down cover of Travis Tritt’s “It’s a Great Day to be Alive.”

Scott might not be playing arenas such as TD Garden or Fenway itself (yet), but you’d be hard pressed to find more rabidly devoted fans. They collectively sang along to every song he threw at them, even “I Hate Whiskey,” which only dropped last week. 

I think it’s because he seems to be having the time of his life on stage. Whether he’s riffing on guitar, playing a little keyboard or just singing, he is on the move and always keyed into his audience, talking to the 12-year old girl in the corner seat up in the first balcony and the guy who he said looked 12 but had a beer in his hand. And in all fairness, his music — from “Boys Back Home” to even “I Need a New Truck” — makes it hard for anyone to stand still. He is crazy danceable. 

Before closing out the show with his monster hit “My Girl” (also his first No. 1 hit from his 2016 self-titled debut album), Scott brought Birge and Barham back on stage with him to do a little trip down ’90s country music lane. He and Birge did a little Toby Keith, “Should Have Been A Cowboy” (a highlight, I thought), while Barham tried on a little Tim McGraw before the three of them sang David Lee Murphy’s “A Little Dust on the Bottle.”

Barham and Birge stood pretty tall on their own as well. Barham’s slightly hypnotic “Shoot the Lock” kicked off the night, and his new EP “Half A Dozen Roses” had all the girls screaming (why do girls scream?). He is a happy performer and much more fun to watch on stage than his YouTube music would leave you to believe. He will be a headliner one day, I’m sure, but there is a reason he’s an opener now. Just keep playing and learning from the big dogs, dude — you are on your way and you will get there. 

Birge too is on his way. Like Barham he was also fun to watch, though with his trucker hat pulled down over much of his face  it was hard to see if he was actually having a good time. He has a country twang reminiscent of Eric Church and a couple of No. 1’s with “Mind on You” and “Cowboy Songs,” both of which brought the whole arena to its feet singing and swinging along. He also had a tendency to dance like no one was watching, which was thoroughly entertaining. 

It was a George Strait cover, however, that had the crowd arm-in-arm with cell phone flashlights waving in the night. As cool as that is, it will never replace the Bic lighters of my youth — though at least you never burn your thumb on a cell phone. 

My only criticism of the show would be to tighten up the act. An 8 p.m. start and lengthy breaks between performers makes for a hella long night. Those 9-year–olds in the front row who got to chat with Scott need to get to bed. That’s not to say the night wasn’t worth it. It was totally worth it, “Amen to That.” You might even say we were “Livin’ Our Best Life” — see what I did there, Dylan? Two can play at that game.