A sea of cowboy hats and denim jeans made up the crowd Saturday night during Chris Young’s performance to arguably the biggest crowd at the Green Music Center to date. The 31-year-old country artist performed songs from his newest album, “I’m Comin’ Over,” an album that in his words, “is the quickest album to gold I’ve ever created. I’ve put so much love and time into these songs—these songs I’ve made for you.” 

He smiled and the flannel-clad audience went crazy.

Young was not accompanied by an opening act and for the first few minutes the venue was filled with random country songs playing through Weill Hall’s speakers. During the lull, a rambunctious fan and fourth year student named Steven Gregori was pleased to share his enthusiasm. 

“I’m not much of a country guy, never was,” Gregori said. “But man, this is the craziest turnout the center has ever seen. How could you not be into this?”

When Young took the stage, the roar of the crowd was deafening. By the time the country singer reached the microphone in the middle of the platform, he smiled and waved his screaming fans quiet.  A modest introduction, he thanked the audience for the opportunity and got the show going with the high-energy performances of his more popular songs like his hit single, “Voices.”

He constantly skirted the edges of the stage and singing with the concertgoers that were close enough to nearly touch him. He sang directly towards them during the choruses of his songs. Maddy Elowry, a front row attendee and diehard fan was there with her husband, Eddie Elowry, and both were as lively as the college students they were standing next to. 

“He knows how to swoon, I can tell you that,” Elowry said, her husband nodding in agreement behind her.

Around the mid-point of the performance, Young asked the audience, “Are you guys into classics?” then laughed. “Wait, are you guys even old enough to know about the classics?” 

The crowd screamed louder than before and Young brought back his drop-dead grin. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, and proceeded to play a cover of ZZ Top’s most famous song, “Sharp Dressed Man.” Everyone went wild.

After that, Young reintroduced his fellow bandmates, stating, “I really couldn’t be here without them. They are amazing.” 

He played his song, “Who I Am With You,” and the concert slowed it’s pace for a time.

For the remainder of the concert, Young would always take an extra second or two to express his gratification for the opportunity to do what he does.

“You guys…man, you guys have been ridiculously awesome. I can’t say that enough. This is my favorite thing to do,” Young said before playing one of his last songs, “Text Me Texas.”

“My brother told me about when Trace Adkins came here for a concert. He said it was incredible, that it was jam-packed. But holy crap, if this is how the concerts are, I’m never missing a single one. This is awesome,” said freshman and first-time attendee to a Weill Hall concert, Will Hernandez.

To wrap up the concert, Young played an acoustic version of his song, “Save Water, Drink Beer,” and ended the experience on a high note.