For country purists, Florida Georgia Line is more closely related to corn syrup than pure cane sugar. However, those crossover fans that enjoy an occasional mix of country twang and hip-hop bass, the Dig Your Roots tour, that made its stop recently in Omaha, provides a lot of both. The Brian Kelley/Tyler Hubbard duo set out to engage their audience in a more mature evolution of musical style. For this purist, it worked. There were plenty of pyrotechnics and pop-up balloon trees (“Dig Your Roots”, get it), but the acoustic set including “H.O.L.Y” and the tribute to Hubbard’s father, who passed away 10 years ago, “Dirt”, revealed an unexpected response from what I anticipated at a FGL concert. Expecting a little more NSYNC than Merle Haggard, I was pleasantly surprised to find there’s real talent under the kitschy chorus and repetitive measures. By the time they hit their encore, the Ride Wit me/Should’ve Been a Cowboy/Last Resort/Everybody (Backstreet’s Back/This is How We Do it/Jump Around medley, I was getting down and singing along with the other 12,000 boot wearin’, good time lovin’ FGL fans.
The last song, arguably the duo’s most notable, in the evening’s set list, “Cruise”, left their fans with what they’d come for; an evening without thinking about their jobs, their family, their homework, their stress. While this may not be your grandfather’s country music, it’s simply a new flavor. Instead of grape ice pops, we can enjoy kiwi/strawberry/acai flavor. It’s still an ice pop, just a little different. -Jodeane Brownlee, faculty adviser.
