Hardy Ignites the Summer Concert Season at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater
June 4, 2025
The Summer heat came early to Utah with the first 90-degree day of the year hitting the same day as opening night at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater last week. The real fire came after sunset though when country/rock powerhouse, Hardy, brought the Jim Bob World Tour to Salt Lake City officially kicking off the summer concert season. Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. with fans dressed for both the show and the heat pouring in, eager to ring in the concert season.
The lineup to the show was just as diverse as Hardy himself. Opening the night was rising artist McCoy Moore who leaned into more of the country sound, followed by Stephen Wilson Jr. whose blending style got the crowd rearing for what was to come. In the final lead up to the night’s main event, Koe Wetzel, whose genre defying sound could have headlined in his own right lit the fuse for the evening. Mixing rock, country, punk and indie it’s hard to nail Koe down. Fortunately, the fans didn’t care what you call his music, they just wanted more of it, and he got the crowd firing on all cylinders leading into the night's headliner.
Love him or hate him Hardy has carved out a name for himself quickly rising to the top of the ranks in country music since he burst onto the scene with his hit “Rednecker.” Writing for genre giants such as Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett while also recording songs with Wallen and Lainey Wilson has propelled Hardy forward. When you mix his songwriting skills together with his unbelievable stage presence you get a show like none other. Equal parts country concert and rock show Hardy brings a level of energy to the stage that’s impossible to ignore.
For nearly two hours fans got to experience a true Hardy show. One that was loud, rowdy and unfiltered and in an unfortunate highlight also featured the accidental breaking of his favorite guitar. That moment came at the end of the acoustic performance of “Fathers Son” which he performed alongside Stephen Wilson Jr. Hardy’s ability to weave in personal stories and details between songs like “Buck on the Wall” and “GIVE HEAVEN SOME HELL” contrasted emotional moments with his ability to fire up the fans and get them screaming lyrics to his song “Truck Bed” and melt their faces off with his anthem “Unapologetically Country as Hell.”
Hardy didn’t just open the summer concert season—he detonated it. On the hottest night of the year so far, he brought the heat and proved once again that he’s not just part of country music’s next chapter—he’s writing it.