Stagecoach 2022 Day 2 Highlights: Carrie Underwood Welcomes Axl Rose, Brothers Osborne Remember Naomi Judd & More
Stagecoach was blazing, both in temperature and music during day two on Saturday (April 30). As the heat soared in Indio, Calif., a stacked lineup of performers led by headliner Carrie Underwood also included Brothers Osborne, Lee Brice, Margo Price, Colter Wall, HARDY and more.
Here are highlights from the second day of Stagecoach 2022.
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1:50 p.m.: This year marked Reyna Roberts’s first Stagecoach performance, but she took the SiriusXM Spotlight Stage like a veteran performer, her blazing red hair and powerful vocals firing with both barrels as she stalked the stage with charisma aplomb. Her set blended equal parts country, rock and R&B. She shared a batch of new music, before launching into her breakthrough song “Stompin’ Grounds.” She also noted that her parents were both veterans and thanked any veterans that were in the crowd. “I want to make sure that you know that you’re my heroes, too,” she said. Notably, she subtly changed lyrics from “Stompin’ Grounds” to become a sly nod to Saturday’s temperatures, which rose to 98 degrees, in “Burnin’ up from the California heat.” She closed with “Raised Right,” telling the crowd, “I hope you enjoyed Stagecoach, even though it’s a million-a– degrees up here.”
3:55 p.m.: Over at the Palomino Stage, Zach Bryan presided over a packed crowd. Prior to his label signing, he broke through with his indie-released 2019 album, DeAnn, which included his viral hit “Heading South.” A Grand Ole Opry debut performance, charting some songs on the Billboard country charts and a major label deal soon followed. But at Stagecoach, it was all about the music. “Highway Boys,” a fiddle-laced song with the lyrics, “I’m doin’ my best to keep the truth in songs,” brought an especially loud response from the crowd. He ripped through other songs including “Oklahoma City,” “Condemned,” “Something in Orange,” and dedicated “Let You Down” to a fan in the crowd who had a tattoo. As Bryan stepped away from the microphone during “Snow,” the crowd readily shouted the hook. He broke out the harmonica for “Travelin’ Man” and closed with “Revival,” letting each of his bandmates take a moment in the spotlight.
5 p.m.: The crowd was already chanting HARDY’s name as he walked onto the Mane Stage and delivered the Kid Rock-esque track “Sold Out,” which recently reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. HARDY has been playing for arena crowds all over the U.S. recently, as an opener on Morgan Wallen’s tour. On Saturday, HARDY followed up “Sold Out” with “Truck” and “Boots,” subtly adjusting the lyrics to, “I went to Stagecoach and got drunk last night.” “This goes out to anybody that’s lost somebody, that’s missing somebody,” before running through “Give Heaven Some Hell.” He gave a shout-out to the United States military and threw his water bottle into the crowd before offering a song that “changed my life forever” — his hit “One Beer.” He paused to challenge the whole crowd to take a drink together and he took a swig from his own beer cup. “That is my first and only No. 1 as a solo country singer, but I am proud as s— of that,” he told the crowd.
He may only have one chart-topper as an artist, but he’s been steadily accumulating a list of hit songs recorded by other artists, from Wallen to Florida Georgia Line. He offered a spiel that he’s done in several of his concerts before offering a rendition of “God’s Country,” a HARDY-penned song that Blake Shelton turned into a hit. “There’s a lot of bulls— going on in this country that I don’t really agree with… don’t forget that at the end of the day, this is not my country, it’s not your country… it’s God’s country,” before launching into the song and ultimately leading the crowd in a chant of “U.S.A.” His set also offered the fan favorite one-upper “Rednecker Than You,” before closing with “Country as Hell.”
5:40 p.m.: Over on the Palomino Stage, Colter Wall drew a mighty crowd with his throwback sounds of steel guitar and yodel-laced cowboy songs. The lilting “Henry and Sam,” about his two “friends,” a pistol and a rifle. “Here’s the one that pays the bills,” he then said, playing the first strains of “Sleeping on the Blacktop” as the crowd began cheering.
6:05 p.m.: Mitchell Tenpenny launched his Mane Stage set with “To Us It Did” and “Anything She Says,” before welcoming Teddy Swims to the stage for their first live performance of their collaboration “Elephant in the Room.” “It’s Saturday, baby. Cheers!” he told the crowd, before playing his current single on country radio “Truth About You.” “I was tired of people breaking up and talking s— about each other. So I made a deal and said, ‘If you stop telling lies about me, I won’t tell the truth about you,’ and wrote a song about it,” he said, following it up with “Alcohol You Later.”
6:25 p.m.: Meanwhile, over at the Palomino Stage, Americana star Margo Price wielded a tambourine as mightily as a guitar as she offered up songs including “Nowhere Fast” and “Tennessee Song” with a rustic-yet-elegant style that blended elements of country, funk and alt-rock. “Thank you, California. We make country music for people who do psychedelics,” Price said, before launching into the acerbic look into the life of a wannabe star, “Twinkle, Twinkle” and segueing into “Don’t Say It.” The laidback, swirling ’80s feel of “Heartless Mind” led to the set’s closer, her breakthrough harmonica-laced “Hurtin’ on the Bottle,” before adding on a medley of country classics including Merle Haggard’s “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” and Willie Nelson’s “Whiskey River.”
7:10 p.m.: Lee Brice revved up the Mane Stage, swaying along and rocking out on a song absolutely appropriate for the Stagecoach crowd, “More Beer.” He followed with “Hard to Love,” employed some falsetto on the boogie-worthy “Soul.” Brice, who possesses one of the smoothest-yet-most powerful voices in country music, is also a writer on a significant portion of his music, having also penned hits for artists including Garth Brooks and Eli Young Band (he included a version of “Crazy Girl” in his set). His performance included several of his own compositions, including “Memory I Don’t Mess With” and “Parking Lot Party.” “Some of my favorite memories on any stage ever have been right here,” Brice said. “Thank you for having me back.” He also offered a version of “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” sans his duet partner on the song, Carly Pearce. One of the set’s most tender moments came with “I Drive Your Truck,” as several in the crowd raised cowboy hats and cups in remembrance those they’ve lost.
8:30 p.m.: “We’re Brothers Osborne and we’re here to f—in party,” TJ Osborne said soon after stepping onto Stagecoach’s Mane Stage. With brother and bandmate John Osborne, the two were undoubtedly guilty of a damn good time, as they sing in their hit “Ain’t My Fault.” The duo rolled into the righteously rollicking “All Night” and from there, party vibes never let up. “Write That on My Headstone,” “Shoot Me Straight,” “Burning Man” “Stay a Little Longer” and more all pulsated with electrifying harmonies and indefatigable energy.
The duo also paused to honor another family duo, The Judds. Brothers Osborne performed a verse and chorus of The Judds’ 1984 hit “Why Not Me” in tribute to the late Naomi Judd, who died just a day before the mother-daughter duo’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday (April 1). Brothers Osborne also played “Younger Me,” which recently earned the duo their first Grammy award and their supremely danceable “Ain’t My Fault,” led by TJ’s basement-deep voice. At times, John knelt to the ground, wringing out every bit of blistering soul from his guitar.
9:50 p.m.: “You better buckle up, it’s gonna be a wild ride!” Underwood told the Mane Stage crowd during her headlining, full-length concert set at Stagecoach. Starting her set on a massive riser, she offered “Last Name,” complete with fireworks flaming overhead of the stage. From there, she ran through her catalog of hits, including “Undo It,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Good Girl,” “Wasted” and her breakthrough song “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” which was tagged with “How Great Thou Art” to thunderous applause. As much fans as the crowd seemed to be having, it was clear that Underwood was also enjoying every second of her set. Her performance was effervescent, engaging, loose and fun, as she danced and sauntered around the stage. Even a brief technical issue with her microphone didn’t slow down the momentum during “Church Bells,” as she was joined by a choir. She also offered the title track to her upcoming album, Denim & Rhinestones, instantly turning the whole place into an ’80s disco-inflected party. Gesturing to her own summery denim and rhinestone outfit she quipped, “I practice what I preach, people.” She wore a custom denim jacket emblazoned with the word “Carriecoach” across the shoulders as she belted out “Before He Cheats.”
Later in the set, she offered the instant summer anthem “Crazy Angels,” also from her upcoming album. She asked the crowd to hold up their cell phones lighters and dedicated “See You Again” to anyone who has lost someone they love. “I know all of country music will be lighting something up for Ms. Naomi Judd,” she said. Though she didn’t perform a Judds song during her set, Underwood did wow the crowd with another fan-favorite cover, bringing out special guest, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose for “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and a freewheeling rendition of “Paradise City.” “Thank you for the best night of my life!” she told the crowd as Stagecoach closed out day two.