3 Doors Down brings ‘Away From the Sun Anniversary Tour’ to Nashville

The nostalgia was palpable at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on a Friday night. The crowd gathered to hear iconic songs of the 90s and 2000s by none other than 3 Doors Down and Candlebox.

3 Doors Down is more than halfway through its Away From The Sun Anniversary Tour with special guest Candlebox, and the powerful performances remained steady the whole night. Both 3 Doors Down and Candlebox rocked through the 90s and 2000s, and their live performances sounded exactly like their studio recordings, so together they made a perfect pair for a night of jamming to throwbacks.

After two decades and seven studio albums, Candlebox is ready to hang up its hat. The chart topping band is wrapping up its legacy during this tour supporting 3 Doors Down, as well as a headlining tour of its own, The Long Goodbye Tour. This made Candlebox’s opening set that much more special. The performance included “Blossom”, “You” and, you guessed it, “Far Behind”. The band, led by vocalist Kevin Martin, prepped the audience for an 18 song headlining set by 3 Doors Down.

The headlining rock band originated from Mississippi but relocated to Nashville 20 years ago, so this was a hometown show for the five member group. 3 Doors Down served the crowd with nearly all of the tracks from its 2002 album Away from the Sun and even sprinkled in hits from the rest of its discography. Upon taking the stage, the band opened with “Pop Song”. Lead vocalist Brad Arnold greeted the crowd and explained that surprisingly, “Pop Song” is a lesser known song from the B-side of the 2002 hit album. The night entered further into nostalgia when the group began the second song of the set, “When I’m Gone”. Majority of the crowd remained on their feet for the duration of the night with each and every song calling for irresistible toe tapping, head nodding and singalong-ing.

The crowd was there for the music, of course, but it also seemed that the crowd was there to chase the feeling from hearing songs from their past. On a personal note, I heard both 3 Doors Down and Candlebox play through the speakers of my house during my formative years, so their songs have echoed in my head ever since. Watching and hearing them live in person as an adult left a memorable mark on me, and I am confident I was not alone in that feeling. 

The night of music and perfect weather concluded with a two song encore consisting of “Landing in London” and the highly anticipated “Kryptonite”. Hopefully 3 Doors Down will return for another hometown show sooner rather than later.

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