Old Dominion & Friends

When my favorite band on the planet announces a special benefit show called “An Evening With Old Dominion and Friends” for their very first show at the Mother Church of country music Ryman Auditorium…well, you know this girl wasn’t going to miss that experience!

What fired me up the most was the thought of a longer set. OD is on fire with hit after hit and I was stoked to hear ALL of them! This was way beyond a concert, it was a full-blown experience that included backstories from surprise guests and the most amazing sound bellowing from this historical venue.

Here’s an overview of the four surprise guests who joined Old Dominion ultimately raising over $60K for the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and Opry Trust Fund.

Kenny Chesney

No one, not even Old Dominion, knew that Kenny would be there. He walked on stage and the sold out auditorium went completely insane. Kenny poked fun at Matthew and apologized for not returning his text when Matthew asked him to join them for this show. They sang Kenny’s smash hit “Save it for a Rainy Day” written by Matthew Ramsey (lead vocals) and Brad Tursi (guitar).

Kelsea Ballerini

In the middle of OD’s hit “Written in the Sand”, Kelsea snuck on stage to join in the fun. She then told the backstory on how her new hit “I Hate Love Songs” was written. She co-wrote the song with Trevor Rosen (keyboard, guitar) and she went on to sing it with the auditorium swaying along.

Michael Ray

Michael Ray is an opener for Old Dominion on their Happy Endings World Tour. Matthew introduced him as “the nicest guy in country music” as he bounced on stage to sing his new hit single “One That Got Away”. Matthew was one of the writers on this catchy song.

Sam Hunt

Sam Hunt was the final friend to take the stage. He talked about a time when he wrote music in Nashville with OD before either entity was even remotely famous. He sang two songs co-written with Old Dominion…”Make You Miss Me”, and “Ex To See”. Can we talk about that last one for a hot second? The video says it all—I love how Matthew gets all up on it here.

The takeaway? Old Dominion’s sound, look (#himatthi), vibe, and clever lyrics will make you lean in and become fangirl af. Such an amazing night that I never wanted to end, now that’s living in the moment. Experiences > Things.