Jiffy Lube Live was packed from the front row of the pavilion to the rear edge of the lawn with enthusiastic Tim McGraw fans ready for a night of country music. Before McGraw took the stage, however, Virginia’s own 49 Winchester made a strong case for arriving early.
Coming out of Russell County, Virginia, 49 Winchester didn’t feel like a typical opening act. The band has a road-tested sound that lands somewhere between country, Southern rock and Americana, with enough grit around the edges to keep things interesting. There’s a lived-in quality to the music, and nothing feels overly polished. That’s part of the appeal.
The August 15 show opened with “Bluebird,” as 49 Winchester quickly settled into a set that moved between rootsy country and straight-up Southern rock. “Hays, Kansas,” “Bringin’ Home the Bacon” and “Pardon Me” kept the momentum going, while “Russell County Line” felt particularly appropriate for a night in Northern Virginia — a hometown-adjacent moment for a band that has spent plenty of time carrying the Commonwealth’s name well beyond its borders.
“Anchor” and “Everlasting Lover” brought some warmth to the set before “Long Hard Life” and “The Wind” shifted things back toward the band’s rougher side. “Slowly,” “Tulsa” and “Last Call” followed.
Watch 49 Winchester perform “Last Call” live at the Caverns on YouTube:
And then they pulled out the curveball.
49 Winchester closed with a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes.” It’s not exactly the song you’d expect to hear from a Virginia country-rock band opening a Tim McGraw show, which made it work even better. The unexpected left turn was a nice reminder that good musicians don’t need to stay inside one particular box.
By the time Tim McGraw walked onto the stage, the crowd had already gotten a strong reminder that Virginia’s musical roots run deep. But when the headliner arrived, the mood shifted immediately. Jiffy Lube Live was ready for the hits, and McGraw wasted little time getting to them.
“Forget About Us” opened the set before he rolled straight into “Just to See You Smile,” followed by “Where the Green Grass Grows” and “My Best Friend.” In just a few songs, McGraw had already covered several eras of his career.
That’s the advantage of a catalog this deep. There are songs people remember from high school, songs tied to summer road trips and songs that remind them of somebody they haven’t talked to in years. A Tim McGraw set list doesn’t require much explanation because the songs do the work themselves.
“Down on the Farm” brought some rowdy energy before one of the evening’s more emotional moments, “Don’t Take the Girl.” The song remains one of those classic country stories that can change the temperature of an entire venue. McGraw followed it with “Real Good Man,” “Indian Outlaw” and “Something Like That,” shifting gears again without losing the crowd.
The show didn’t feel like McGraw was simply checking boxes on a greatest-hits list. The sequencing kept things moving, with longtime favorites sitting comfortably alongside newer material.
Watch the official music video for “Something Like That” by Tim McGraw on YouTube:
“Southern Girl” brought another surge of recognition from the crowd, but one of the night’s most memorable moments came when McGraw told the story behind his new song, “Pawn Shop Guitar.”
Early in his life, McGraw said, he took his high school class ring to a local pawn shop and pawned it for $25. He used the money to buy a cheap guitar, which he began using to write songs. That guitar ultimately helped set him on the path toward country music superstardom. McGraw then performed “Pawn Shop Guitar,” the title track from his forthcoming album.
Later, McGraw invited a young boy in the audience to come to the front of the stage. He asked the boy whether, if McGraw gave him a guitar, he would learn how to play it — and whether, 20 years from now, he would invite McGraw to come see him perform.
The boy said yes.
McGraw signed a red guitar and handed it to him. It was the kind of unscripted moment that can make a huge amphitheater suddenly feel much smaller.
“I Like It, I Love It” returned the show to full crowd-participation mode, with Jiffy Lube Live happy to oblige. “Felt Good on My Lips” and “Mexicoma” kept the lighter side of the evening going before McGraw brought the mood down with “Live Like You Were Dying.”
The song has taken on a life well beyond its original run on country radio. Hearing thousands of people sing it together gave it another layer, particularly in a live setting where the words seemed to belong as much to the audience as they did to the singer onstage.
McGraw returned for the encore with “King Rodeo” and “The Cowboy in Me,” both fitting comfortably into the evening’s country-meets-rock character. But the emotional center of the encore came with “Humble and Kind.”
It’s a quieter song, but it doesn’t need volume to make an impact. The crowd supplied plenty of atmosphere on its own.
Watch the official music video for “Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw on YouTube:
Then McGraw finished the night with “Truck Yeah.”
Of course he did.
There are songs designed for headphones, songs built for radio and songs that seem engineered specifically for a summer night at an outdoor amphitheater. “Truck Yeah” belongs firmly in that last category. The crowd was on its feet, the volume went up, and McGraw left the audience with one final blast of energy.
For a summer Saturday in Virginia, it was a hard combination to beat: a rising Virginia band bringing grit and a few surprises, followed by a country superstar with a catalog deep enough to keep an amphitheater singing deep into the night.
49 Winchester Setlist
1. “Bluebird”
2. “Hays, Kansas”
3. “Bringin’ Home the Bacon”
4. “Pardon Me”
5. “Russell County Line”
6. “Anchor”
7. “Everlasting Lover”
8. “Long Hard Life”
9. “The Wind”
10. “Slowly”
11. “Tulsa”
12. “Last Call”
13. “Changes” (Black Sabbath cover)
Tim McGraw Setlist
1. “Forget About Us”
2. “Just to See You Smile”
3. “Where the Green Grass Grows”
4. “My Best Friend”
5. “Down on the Farm”
6. “Don’t Take the Girl”
7. “Real Good Man”
8. “Indian Outlaw”
9. “Something Like That”
10. “Pawn Shop Guitar”
11. “Southern Girl”
12. “Song for America”
13. “I Like It, I Love It”
14. “Felt Good on My Lips”
15. “Mexicoma”
16. “Live Like You Were Dying”
Encore
17. “King Rodeo”
18. “The Cowboy in Me”
19. “Humble and Kind”
20. “Truck Yeah”
