PHOTOS: Old Dominion Plays Free Pop-Up Show in Detroit

It's not every day that a country band the caliber of Old Dominion plays in Michigan.

Much less at a small venue.

Much less with free admission.

But it happened in Detroit on Friday night.

4-time Country Music Association Vocal Group of the Year Old Dominion was in town last week as part of a weekend bill at Ford Field. They, along with award-winning female vocalist Carly Pearce and award-winning duo Dan + Shay, opened the show for country superstar Kenny Chesney on Saturday, August 20, 2022.

But the night before that was special.

A Hometown Throwdown

Since Detroit is Old Dominion guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist Trevor Rosen's hometown, the band decided to throw its own party for a few hundred fans (including many of Rosen's family and friends) on Friday night, August 19.

Early in the week, fans were given the heads-up to opt-in to special text messaging that would reveal the location of a special, free admission Old Dominion show somewhere in Detroit on Friday night.

Around lunchtime Thursday, subscribed fans received a text indicating that the free show would be at downtown Detroit's storied St. Andrew's Hall. Doors would open at 6:30pm for fans ages 21+, and recipients were encouraged to come early for a chance to get in. (The listed capacity of St. Andrew's Hall is 1000 people.)

Old Dominion went on shortly after 8:30 Friday night, before a standing room only crowd that was stoked to have the opportunity to see the band in this kind of setting.

The band played all of its hits, several album tracks, their version of Keith Urban's recent Top 10 hit "Wild Hearts" (which bandmate Brad Tursi had a hand in writing), and a duet version of "Save It For A Rainy Day" with the man for whom they would open the following night at Ford Field, Kenny Chesney.

Scroll through our gallery below for highlights from the evening!