The Evergreen Tour: An Intimate Concert Experience with Hunter Hayes

Hunter Hayes proves he’s still a heartthrob after a decade and a half. If you loved him in 2011 when he released his debut single “Storm Warming,” you’ll love him even more after listening to his newest album Evergreen in 2026. The Louisiana native pulled out all his greatest hits in Cincinnati at the Taft Theatre on April 17, making it the perfect way to spend a Friday night.

Hunter mixed old songs with new songs with love songs with drinking songs with sad songs with dancing songs. The multi-instrumentalist switched gear after almost every song (and sometimes in the middle of a song), proving how talented he really is both vocally and instrumentally. Any fan of Hunter Hayes in 2011 should be a fan of him now. 18-year-old Hunter is a 34-year-old Hunter with a more mature, diverse, unique sound.  There’s no reason Hunter shouldn’t be as popular today as he was a decade ago. It’s clear that some people refuse to let Hunter grow up in their minds from his first handful of hits, which is a mistake because they’re missing out on experiencing the beautiful music made by him now.

Franklin Jonas & the Byzantines blew the crowd away as Hunter’s opener. It’s a gift that Franklin Jonas decided to share his musical talents with the world because he’s just as good, if not better than his brothers. The deep, soulful, Americana band kept fans on their feet with a high energy, interactive performance. When he wasn’t singing, the youngest Jonas brother talked nonstop about his love for Skyline Chili, a Cincinnati-based delicacy to those with the acquired taste. He went as far to sport a blue bedazzled Skyline Chili hat at the end of his performance as he walked amongst the crowd all the way to his merch booth after the set.

Hunter Hayes took the stage at 9 P.M. and started the show off with the title track off Evergreen which talks about loving someone through all the seasons of life and has a gorgeous melody. Immediately after, the multi-instrumentalist and his band gave fans a blast to the past with an unforgettable performance of “Storm Warning,” which all his fans went crazy for.

Between “Storm Warming” and “Too Late” (another beautiful song off Everygreen), Hunter took some time to slow down and embrace the night with the crowd, referencing those in the audience as his friends which gave a very intimate air to the show that the crowd embraced all night by talking to Hunter while he was on stage.

Hunter had no problem keeping the audience engaged while starting out the show with multiple songs from Evergreen even if everyone in the crowd didn’t know all the words. “Until She Comes Along” came with a very long, expressive guitar solo at the end which made the fourth song of the set feel like the last song of the set in the very best way. 

The crowd was buzzing during “Still Fallin” and “Dream About” before he threw it back again to “Somebody’s Heartbreak,” which mesmerized the crowd with how smooth his voice sounded just like it did on debut studio album. 

Continuing with older songs, the crowd screamed as loud as it did all night thus far when the first note of “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me” hit. Every time Hunter hit a high note, the pitch of screams got higher and the claps got louder. He paused during the middle of the song to sing without his band, completely capturing the crowd. Somehow, when the band started back up behind him, the sounds from the crowd only amplified. Many got to their feet (if they weren’t already) and danced.

Next it was time to introduce the band. Everyone was very appreciative that band intros weren’t the typical “Here’s X, Y and Z, let’s move on with the show.” Instead, every band member took a few minutes to show off some moves and play some funky notes. This was the start of an extremely strong middle of the set that kept the crowd going. There was no drop off in energy from either Hunter and his band on stage nor the attendees, proving Hunter is not only a very talented singer and musician, but his stage presence is unmatched.

After introductions, Hunter and the band moved into the “love song portion of the set.” It was very cool to see 34-year-old Hunter so in love after 18-year-old Hunter yearned for it for so long. “Every Piece,” a song about loving someone unconditionally no matter what, got more and more people standing as it went on. “Wait” was a certifiable banger by the first few notes and may have been the best song of the set. Hunter continued with the trend of making every song feel like the last song of the set by keeping the energy sky high.

The band transitioned almost too smoothly between “Wait” and “Missing You,” which has the grooviest chorus. “Rescue” felt like church in the best way, and Hunter opened “Fragile” in the best way. He talked about how special it is to be loved no matter how you show up to your partner, how he feels safe to be broken. It was clear this song means a lot to him, and the vulnerability he showed went a long way with the crowd.

To announce the acoustic part of the set, Hunter said, “If you don’t like sad shit, it’s time to go to the bathroom,” and impressively, no one left. He let the crowd choose which acoustic song they wanted to hear. Someone in the front shouted “The Ones You Love,” a song from Evergreen about grief and loss. Hunter told the crowd how difficult these things were to talk about for him, but he felt the need to write this song. He dedicated the song to the girl who shouted it and her deceased mother.

There was a notable shift in the crowd during this song. You could feel the love and empathy everyone in the room had for Hunter. The emotion in his voice during “The Ones You Love” was raw, and the crowd was incredibly attentive and respectful. There was one loud “Wow,” in the crowd after the song concluded.

After playing “Human Again,” a vulnerable song about finding peace and growth along his journey of living amongst everyone else’s expectations, he continued with another song that brought out the full range of emotions from those who have ever heard it: “Invisible.” Hunter said that this song opened up a whole new side of his life and career. “I want you to feel seen by this song. If you feel like you don’t belong where you are, you just haven’t found the place that deserves you yet.” It was beautifully heartbreaking to see so many people singing this song with so much passion.

At this point, the night was coming to a close, so it was back to party time. A foot-stomper of a song, “Dear God” had a very different sound than anything he played previously up until this point. The song received loud screams, and everyone was dancing to the music again.

Hunter took crowd requests again, and this time, the people wanted “Light Me Up,” which meant they were true Hunter Hayes fans as this song was only included on the 2013 Encore edition re-issue. This one got more of the crowd standing and moving. Huge shoutout to Bella for coming on stage and helping with the introduction. This song deserved more love when it came out, so it was nice to see that it’s getting its flowers now.

Another deep pull, “21” was the debut single off Hunter’s third studio album The 21 Project. It was very cool to see Hunter completely embrace songs he wrote as a kid. This song is fun and fast paced and a great song to have at the end of a setlist to keep the energy going. Immediately after “21,” the stage goes dark. Moments later, lights shine over the drum kit as Hunter appears playing them. What can’t this man do! 

Hunter knows his audience as he continued the night with some older fan favorites. Next up was “Tattoo,” his second single from his second studio album Storyline. Even the old people who sat in their seats most of the night got into this one. Some of them even whipped out their phones to take videos.

As the night starts to wind down, Hunter plays one last song off Evergreen: “Around The Sun.” “This song sums up me as a human,” he said. After vaguely talking about all the crazy things going on in the world, he said, “Music is unity. Music is community. Music is safety.” Hunter knows how to bring all walks of life together for a night, and it’s beautiful.

It’s finally that time, the song everyone wants to hear as it’s been screamed from the crowd all night, “I Want Crazy.” He really let the audience participate in this one by pointing the mic at them several times during the song. Everyone stood. The crowd filled the room with their voices. Everyone likely got goosebumps. It may have been one of the best songs ever performed live.

Before the last song, Hunter shouted out his whole crew, and made sure the people attending the show knew who they were and how grateful he was for them. This is something that never happens at concerts, and it should. A big thank you to Hunter for acknowledging that this should quite literally could not go on without the hard work of so many people who aren’t on stage every night.

Hunter opened the show with his newest music and closed it out with his (second) oldest, (definitely) most popular song, “Wanted.”  Phones were out recording, couples were swaying side to side, and everyone sang as loud as they could. At the end of the song, Hunter put down the microphone, took out his earpiece, and let the crowd swallow him whole as he sang the final chorus with them. This was the most beautiful, intimate ending to the night for Hunter and his friends in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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