August 8, 2022
Rocker Chris Daughtry rocked Salt Lake City earlier this year on his Dearly Beloved Tour. That show was so energetic at the time that Daughtry made a promise to return sometime soon since the crowd showed him so much love. This past Tuesday the rocker made good on that promise with a stop on the summer leg of the Dearly Beloved Tour. This time instead of the big city hosting the show it was the usually quiet city of Richmond Utah, and Cherry Peak Resort, nestled in the mountains of Cache Valley who had the honor.
Opening for Daughtry on this leg of the tour was rockers Black Stone Cherry. Having hit the road later than I wanted we didn’t make it to the venue to catch them when they first went on, so I didn’t get any shots of this act, but they were great. They started their set while we were driving up the canyon to the venue so on the slow ride there, we were treated to their music coming down the mountain. This was both enjoyable and upsetting at the same time since I couldn’t be there to see them. By the time we made it to the venue we got to see the last few songs and the crowd was loving seeing them perform. They did a good job of getting the crowd going and building the energy for Daughtry.
After the stage was set and the lights lit up the words Dearly Beloved on the stage the crowd went wild. The band came out and started playing and Chris Daughtry came out with his megaphone on hand to the cheers of the crowd. From the moment the opening notes of "Desperation" hit the speakers the fans were on their feet and there was no turning the energy down the rest of the night. The first few songs were off his new album which helped build the energy since his new material has a heavier edge to it. After a few songs he joked with the crowd telling us all he knew what we were thinking, “play something I know.” The crowd cheered as the next song that they performed was “Waiting for Superman.” This song had everyone on their feet singing along to it and the chorus of everyone singing poured forth down the mountainside from the venue. After the performance of "September" Daughtry and the band left the stage with the fans cheering wildly and then the chants of Daughtry started. After a longer than normal pause between the performance and the encore Daughtry took the stage telling a story to the crowd. He told us all “Everywhere I go I get people that come up to me and tell me I’m your biggest fan. I love that one song you do. Well, I am glad to have this one as that one song.” Then he started right into the performance of his smash hit “Home.” This moment was almost magical, watching him perform the song with the mountain valley being lit up by the cell phones of the people in attendance. It’s a moment that I will always remember as one of my favorite concert moments. After this song the band joined him back on stage and they rounded out the night with “Over You” and “Asylum.”
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a summer night than in the mountains listening to one of rock’s top acts performing for us in an intimate setting outside of the big city. The whole experience felt like a VIP show for those that were there. It was obvious to see that Utah loves Daughtry and we can’t wait for his next time stopping here.
