Old Dominion fans began lining up at 5 a.m. outside of Nashville’s Acme Feed & Seed on Friday (June 9) for a chance to catch the band performing up close. The event was well worth the wait, as Old Dominion played an hour-long acoustic set of fan requests, signed autographs and handed out OD swag like koozies, candy, beach towels and personalized, hand-stitched snapbacks.
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The group’s Friday morning performance, dubbed “Old Dominion Day,” was part of Sony Music Nashville Live during 2023 CMA Fest. Throughout the four-day festival, artists on the label’s roster made appearances, posed for photos and performed for fans at Acme Feed & Seed on lower Broadway.
Friday’s event served as a preview of the reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year’s upcoming EP, Memory Lane, available on June 23. Old Dominion performed several songs off the eight-track project, including the nostalgic “Memory Lane,” feel-good “Love Drunk and Happy” and clever ode to a relationship’s end “Easier Said With Rum.” They also hinted that there’s much more music to come.
“We’re really excited for you guys to hear everything that we’ve worked on,” frontman Matthew Ramsey said mid-set. “Obviously we’re releasing this music on the 23rd, but we’ve purposefully not called that an album yet because there’s more. So we’ve been working on a lot of music and we’re excited for it for you guys to hear it all.”
Added multi-instrumentalist Trevor Rosen: “I’ve probably said this before, but I actually mean it this time: it’s my favorite music we’ve ever recorded.”
Ahead of playing new release “Easier Said With Rum,” Ramsey said the band recorded the song in Key West, Florida. While it was a “beautiful, beautiful day,” he confessed that the band “were all crying in the studio.”
“We’re emotional these days, guys,” he told the packed room of fans. “You’ve provided an amazing life for us and we thank you for that. So sometimes, sometimes we get overwhelmed.”
Additional fan-requested songs throughout their 11-song set included “One Man Band,” “Snapback,” and “Hotel Key.” Before the band closed its set, Ramsey suggested they play two more songs since the crew brought in a xylophone and accordion specifically for their performance. The frontman then launched into “No Hard Feelings” on xylophone before Rosen closed out the set with spirited accordion accompaniment on “I Was on a Boat That Day.”
“Thank you guys for showing up here early like this, this is a beautiful sight,” Ramsey concluded. “We’re so excited to be here this week. We’re so excited to have new music coming out and the fact that you want new music. Thank you for prolonging our careers a little bit. We really appreciate you and thank you so much for this amazing life we have.”
Old Dominion will perform at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium tonight (June 10).
Photo Credit: Mason Allen/Courtesy of Sony Music Nashville
