By J Brownlee
OMAHA, Neb – At CHI Health Center Omaha on March 21, HARDY delivered exactly what his fans came for: a loud, hard-charging set packed with “TRUCK BED,” “GIVE HEAVEN SOME HELL,” “PSYCHO,” “SOLD OUT” and “REDNECKER.” What surprised me most, though, was how fully everyone knew the lyrics to the older songs too. This didn’t feel like a crowd carried by radio hits. It felt like a crowd that knew HARDY. Even in a big arena, the night had the energy of a hometown show.
I first saw HARDY in March 2020 when he opened for Dierks Bentley, just one week before the world shut down. That night, “Rednecker” won me over. In a strange way, the months that followed gave me the time to really become a fan, to dig into the songs and understand what made him different.
That kind of connection makes sense because HARDY has built his sound his own way. His music doesn’t just lean into rock. It unapologetically mixes rock with country, just like “Unapologetically Country as Hell” says. Nothing about it feels calculated. It’s just him. That guy everyone seems to know and most call their friend.
Before the show, I asked HARDY if he was going to play “Mockingbird and THE CROW,” one of my favorites among many. He looked at me and apologized for leaving it off the set list. That was the only time all night he seemed sorry about anything, and that’s exactly why it stuck with me. I believed him. In that quick moment, he seemed genuinely concerned that he’d let me down. Artists don’t have to give a fan that kind of real response. He did.
HARDY opens his Omaha show with “Bottomland” during The Country! Country! Tour.
HARDY can shake a room, blur genre lines and command an arena, but he still comes across as authentic. He didn’t play one of my favorites, but his apology told me what I needed to know: he’s the real deal, and people can feel that.
