Kane Brown Delivers Saturday Headlining Performance at Stagecoach 2023

Genre-defying superstar Kane Brown’s headlining set at Stagecoach on Saturday night was both another feather in his well-decorated cap and a victory lap.

Having hosted the 2023 CMT Awards, garnered yet another No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and taken home the 2023 CMT Video of the Year award for his duet, ‘Thank God’, with wife Katelyn, the singer took the Main Stage as strobe lights flashed. Pumping his fists, he bellowed “Stagecoach!” then launched straight into ‘Lose It’.

Brown’s set was long on vivid video projections, while the strobes and laser lights flashed different colours throughout the night (‘Kane Brown’ LED bracelets were distributed beforehand so that each member of the crowd was lit as well).

Immediately before Brown took the stage, a screen displaying a pyrotechnic advisory. Despite all of the captivating theatrics, one of Brown’s biggest strengths — besides his incredible near-baritone — is his ability to remain relatable and down-to-earth.

Between songs, he talked about his humble beginnings, professing his appreciation for his fans, and even stepped into the crowd to shake hands and bump fists while singing ‘Be Like That’. During his ode to everyday heroes, ‘Famous Friends,’ he launched t-shirts into the audience.

Dressed in a #24 football jersey, he segued between musical styles and tempos without missing a beat, showing off his hip-hop-leaning tendencies and dance moves on ‘Grand’, before pivoting to his tribute to the festival's primary genre, ‘Like I Love Country Music.’ Backed only by piano, he sat on a stool to deliver his No. 1 hit, ‘Heaven,’ the crowd's LED lights shining as they sang the chorus back to him.

Brown loves to sing about love — whether it's falling in, losing it, or cherishing it — but some of his most interesting material alludes to struggle and doubt. He talked about dealing with depression and his wife's anxiety issues to introduce ‘Memory’, and would later commiserate with an audience member about being raised without dads.

“If you have a dream, you can do it”, he encouraged the audience.

His muscular backing band (his fiddle player was a standout amid excellent company) returned — and the pyrotechnics started firing — for the harder-charging ‘Bury Me in Georgia.’

After a powerful rendition of ‘What Ifs,’ Kane Brown teasingly asked if it would be “okay to bring my wife out?” The crowd roared with approval as Katelyn walked on for a starry-eyed performance of ‘Thank God’ that could win over any cynic.

But the night wouldn’t end on a ballad. After a brief pause as the stage darkened, the tempo rose once again for ‘One Mississippi’, and he closed the night with a rousing version of ‘Good As You’ as the promised fireworks exploded in the night sky.

For more from Stagecoach 2023, see below:

Kane Brown

Artist