Review & setlist: Thomas Rhett’s 5-hour show at Fenway full of emotion

Rhett ended his Fenway Park show by having his wife and four daughters join him on stage, remarking he has "a lot of history" in Boston.

Thomas Rhett performs at the 56th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn. The awards show airs on April 18 with both live and prerecorded segments. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

By Chris Stevens

July 20, 2025

8 minutes to read

Thomas Rhett burst onto the stage in a flash of red light, a small barrage of fireworks and wearing a Red Sox hat when his “Better in Boots” tour stomped into Fenway Saturday Night.

Fun fact: Thomas Rhett was the very first country artist to ever set boots on stage at Fenway when he opened for Jason Aldean. Now, a decade late,r he was the headliner and got quite sentimental about it all.

Rhett has played all over the Bay State, from Fenway to Xfinity back to The House of Blues, out to Gillette, and two years ago tore up TD Garden as the headliner. But Saturday was all about Fenway, calling it “the craziest thing ever” and a full-circle moment. He even read what constituted a love letter that he wrote to the city. Rhett said over the years he has eaten his weight in lobster roles, emptied several bars of most of their beer, and threw up on a whale watch.

“I have a lot of history in this city … and I love you all so much.”

Before he got touchingly soppy, Rhett, who is always a barely contained bundle of energy onstage, kicked off the night with “Boots” off his 2024 album “Something About a Woman,” and slid immediately into fan favorites “Make Me Wanna,” “Look What God Gave Her” and the autobiographical “Life Changes,” a song that makes women wistful and everyone sing.

What makes Rhett a joy to listen to is that so much of his music is relatable and fun. A lot of it is centered and inspired by his wife Lauren, who he’s known since the second grade. While he might not have evolved (yet) like Sting’s musical evolution, if you were to string his music together and you’ll see the change.

After “Life Changes,” Rhett swung into “Crash and Burn” off his sophomore album “Tangled Up.” Written by none other than Chris Stapleton, the song not only has a pop feel but also a retro-50s-ish feel. Then, he went from the nostalgic “Sixteen” to “Want to Dance,” which is both pop-sounding but still true to his country roots. It came out three weeks ago and he dedicated it to all the guys who came with someone to dance with (and shout out to the guy in front of me who did in fact dance with his date).

The father of four got almost teary-eyed talking about his girls growing up before singing “Remember You Young,” a song from 2019 that he says they rarely do anymore, and he wondered why. He then switched gears and had the crowd singing proud to his 2021 hit “What’s Your Country Song” and literally dancing in the aisles to Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” which Rhett wrote.

And when he sang “Nothing Else,” which he just released in April, I realized, I think that’s my country song. He and Frank Forrest sing “Cause I woke up with a good thing laying by my side; I woke up to some birds singing, ‘Hey look, I’m alive’; I got my family, Jesus, and my health; And if I got all that, I really don’t need nothing else.”

I know, can you get more country than that? But it kind of rings true and again, I’m going to ring the same bell – it’s a fun song, you can’t help but be like, ‘damn, he’s right! My life is great!” And really, isn’t that why we go to these shows – to feel like everything in the world really is great, at least for a few hours? Mission accomplished, Thomas Rhett!

After slowing things down with the semi- tear jerker “Gone Country” off his “Soundtrack to Summer 2024” album and asking crowd to help him sing the total tearjerker “Marry Me” (as in “she don’t wanna marry me”) Rhett brought out the man who he says has one of the best voices he’s ever heard, Teddy Swims, “for a complete change of pace.” The pair ripped through “Something ‘bout a Woman,” Rhett’s 2024 album “About a Woman.”

While Teddy and Thomas killed it on the sultry yet oh-so country song, that was not the surprise. The true stars of that performance were the two women singing backup: Melissa McMillan and Blair Whitlow. Rhett and Swims took a step back and let the ladies shine, and they did so with such a strong soulful, bluesy sound, they just took it to another level. It was goosebumps awesome.

Rhett was also generous in letting his bandmates shine, from the wailing guitar riffs of Nathan Whitney to the thumping bass of Travis Vance, Chris Kimmerer on drums and Jamie Porter on keyboards, he has surrounded himself with a stellar group of musicians.

Rhett wrapped up the show with the incredibly singable “Unforgettable,” off his 2017 “Life Changes” album, the sweet and bouncy “Beautiful As You,” and the sexy “Craving You” before the stage went dark for a quick reset. Lights up and there was a bar center stage, setting the stage for Rhett’s “After all the Bars Are Closed,” a song about hope and maybe blossoming love.

Rhett said he felt it only right to end the night with a love song and he did with “Die a Happy Man,” his 2015 mega hit off his “Tangled Up” album. It is a sweet, sweet love letter to his wife. When it ended, he asked a favor of the crowd.

“I’ve always wanted to know what it would sound like to have 35,000 people sing the chorus of this song … would you mind,” then he sat and listened to his words sung back to him in the dark punctuated only by the wrist band lights that flashed automatically different colors and rhythms to various the songs played (they didn’t stop the cellphone lights from coming out during “Remember You Young” but it seems to be a new trend). It was a moment for sure.

Before Rhett left the stage, he had one last treat for the audience – not an encore but an introduction as he brought Lauren and his four daughters, all sporting Red Sox jerseys, on stage.

The Rhett family wasn’t the only ones sporting Red Sox gear Saturday or waxing poetic about performing at Fenway. The nation’s oldest ballpark seemed to cast a spell over each of Rhett’s opening acts, which included the sweet and soulful Castellows, the oh-so-young and crazy energetic Tucker Wetmore and the incomparable Swims, who Rhett called his brother and very best friend.

Swims, with all his tattoos, cut off jeans and what I’m pretty sure were calf high black socks (no shoes, just socks) also took the stage like a house on fire. I don’t even know how to explain Teddy Swims. He has Dave Chappelle and I think Mr. Rogers tattooed on his legs (along with dozens of others) and that kind of says it all. He has a voice like no other. You probably know him from his 2023 hit “I Lose Control” from his album “I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy.” His sandpapery voice is astounding and really defies all genres. Critics started out calling him pop, then added rock, soul and R&B to the list. “I Lose Control” borders on Chris Stapelton style country, the heartbreaking “Bed on Fire,” which he sang with one of his backup singers (fabulous and again, couldn’t find her name – maybe I just don’t know where to look) is definitely soulful and “The Door,” with which he wrapped his show is a funky popish fabulous break up song.

He is immensely enjoyable to watch. He was backed up by Freak Freely (which might be my new favorite band name), which was also a treat to watch. Addy Maxwell is a screaming guitar player and that smile – that man is having fun. And when Swims performed “Some Things I’ll Never Know” with just Jairus Hardge on keyboard – oof, it was almost painfully beautiful because you could see every emotion on his face – right through the ink.

Like Rhett, he also let the people around him shine. Swims is funny (both literally and figuratively). He’s only been swinging hits since 2023, but he and his husky voice are an old soul that seems to have been here forever. And I hope he keeps surprising us with his genre-busting sounds forever.

Also, a pleasant surprise was Wetmore, the second of three opening acts.

He was hilarious! He worked the less-than-half-filled (at the time) Fenway Park like he was personally responsible for everyone having a great time. You would know him from 2024 number one hit “Wind up Missing You” from his Waves on a Sunset album. He also treated the crowd to “Silverado Blue” and “Wine into Whiskey” off the same album along with “Bad Luck Looks Good on Me,” “Brunette” and “What Not To” off his 2025 album by the same name (What Not To).

But he surprised the hell out of me at least when he sat down at the piano and asked if we’d like to hear a little Beethoven and then played it flawlessly. It’s always funny to me when someone so tied to one genre suddenly shows that other side, like the first time I heard Seth McFarlane sing or heard Post Malone do country. I just wasn’t expecting it.

Wetmore said when he was young (he’s 25 by the way), he was the weird piano kid, “but look at me now.” He also had the crowd do a little of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” before launching into Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Great Balls of Fire” then came back to his own “3,2,1” off “What Not To.” He also did a little mash up of Georgia Sattelites’ 1986 hit “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” and Hank Williams Jr. smash “All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight,” which again, I found hilarious He made me feel old and yet so happy because he was clearly having the time of his life and said so several times.

He was also clearly a Thomas Rhett fanboy and so sincere in his gratitude for being on the tour and for being able to play at Fenway, a huge bucket list item for him, he said, you couldn’t help but like the guy! And I have no doubt he’ll have his own full circle moment one day.

The musical trio The Castellows are becoming polished. Their tight harmonies and poppy, yet still country music, are authentic, and they are a joy to listen to.

They were all a joy to listen to, and with all due respect, they should be. Country music concerts are a commitment. Rhett’s five-hour (total) show is about average and on the short end of some country fests, so the music better be worth it. Saturday’s show, at Fenway Park no less, was absolutely worth it.