Russell Dickerson performs at The Sylvee at Madison, Wisconsin on Jan 25. Credit: Courtesy of TNS

On Saturday night, 92.3 WCOL, celebrated its 25th anniversary with a sold-out concert at Express Live featuring Riley Green, Jordan Davis and Russell Dickerson.

First to take the stage was up and comer, Riley Green, whose single “There Was This Girl” has swarmed country radio as well as his new hit single, “In Love by Now” starting to make a rise on the country charts.

Green has an amazing voice, although I found his guitarists more entertaining than he was during his performance. Green stood center stage with his guitar in hand during his whole performance while his band stayed engaged with the crowd by tossing picks and dancing along to the music.

Also, during his performance, Green provided us with his two hit singles and one cover song, having the rest of his performance be his original songs, in which not many were familiar with, so the energy level in the venue was not where it should have been.

Second to take the stage was Jordan Davis, who has made an appearance in Columbus a few times for separate events. Davis took the stage full of energy, and singing many of his original songs including his two hit singles, “Singles You Up” and “Take It from Me.”

Davis did a few cover songs, including “Starving” by Hailee Steinfeld and a short guitar play of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Before leaving the stage, Davis announced he was working on a second album and played one of the songs that will appear on that album.

Though the openers were popular up and comers with hit songs on the radio, the crowd was still not familiar with some of the original songs Green and Davis played, and they would have had more of an impact on the hyping the crowd up had they played more cover songs.

Lastly, Dickerson exploded on stage and was throwing the birthday bash that WCOL was looking for, as he was all over the stage during his set. Dickerson showed off his sweet dance moves, his amazing talent in singing, and had excellent engagement with crowd as he consistently made O-H-I-O and Columbus, Ohio references throughout his set.

Dickerson definitely brought the life back to the venue, in which was much needed after the openers. Known for his hot singles, “Blue Tacoma” and “Every Little Thing,” Dickerson’s energy was contagious throughout the rest of the night and it was a great choice for a headliner.