Shinedown sets Toledo stage on fire for Dance, Kid, Dance Tour

A country artist, a metalcore band, and a rock band came together for an insane night in Toledo, Ohio for the Dance, Kid, Dance Tour. You wouldn’t think this could happen, but it did and it worked.

Morgan Wade was the first one onstage. She started off the night with more chill and dark country music; I was almost fooled into believing she wasn’t a country artist. Throughout the set, she played her acoustic guitar and stayed behind her mic, singing with a slightly airy voice about past men she regrets. The trumpet solo at the end of her set took me by surprise, for sure. Wade handed her guitar off and took that time to come to the end of the catwalk to be closer to the crowd.

The instrumental cover of “Detroit Rock City”, despite being in Toledo, was a fun thing to add at the end.

Beartooth was the second band onstage and they did not disappoint. They were energetic from the first song, with singer Caleb Shomo easily stealing the show. Unlike Morgan Wade, Caleb was ready to interact with the crowd the second song in. Six songs in, Caleb’s shirt came right off. Who could blame him after going wild for half the set as it was. Don’t worry folks (or worry, if you’re about that), he put a coat on during “Riptide!”. The last song played was “In Between” and it was a very well-known one. At the end Caleb played conductor, raising and lowering his arms, as the crowd yelled lyrics up to him.

The night couldn’t have ended better than the explosive play-through Shinedown had. The set started off with a TV showing old shows. The last scene was a red screen saying: “Shinedown presents.” After this “Dance, Kid, Dance” started. During each breakdown, fire blasted from the ceiling and from the floor. A few songs in, lead singer Brent Smith encouraged the crowd to turn that Thursday into a Saturday. Brent also told the crowd that his favorite part of the tour has been seeing everyone smile. The band members proceeded to talk about an organization called “Musicians on Call” that helps bring live music to people who are in healthcare environments. The tour’s money would end up being donated to that organization to help make more people smile.

Eventually, Shinedown played my personal favorite, “Enemies”.

They brought the fire back and it went off during the entire song.

Halfway through Shinedown’s set, there was an intermission. Elevator music played as a man with a TV for his head danced around. After the intermission, an acoustic setup was at the end of the catwalk. The boys decided to be silly and pretend to fight each other with lightsabers. They then proceeded to play songs that had never been done live before; Brent even needed to have the lyrics in front of him to sing the songs! Towards the end of this segment, Brent brought a girl onstage who was holding a sign saying she had been to 16 of Shinedown’s concerts. Brent escorted her back to her spot herself and, to me, that was such a sweet gesture. After that, it was back to regular programming with “Planet Zero”, “Diamond Eyes”, and a fitting “Second Chance”.

If Brent’s favorite part of the tour is seeing smiling faces, then Toledo fans delivered. Shinedown has been around for years and they are still going strong. This tour was one you don’t want to miss! 

Photography by Kayla N. Rising

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