Phillip Phillips and American Authors provided a blast of entertainment for Sandy Springs on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
American Authors came out guns-blazing with an exciting and intimate opening set. With their iconic banjo and a three-piece drum set, they played all their hits from “Best Day of My Life” to “Go Big or Go Home” as well as a cover of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” which had many in the crowd on their feet.
They never missed a beat when it came to hyping up the audience. Maintaining their high energy and infectious positivity throughout their entire set. By the end of their performance, even the most stoic audience members were grooving with them.
Maybe the most exciting part of their set was when Phillip Phillips came out for a surprise duet with the band - which was something we had never seen before at a concert. All in all, the American Authors provided a fantastic entrance and energy for Phillips to come lead the rest of the show.
Although it was mostly a seated venue, as soon as Phillips took the stage a crowd of people rushed to the front to dance. The crowd only grew as he progressed further into his set. His five-piece band kept up the energy left by American Authors with their blues rock infused jams. Audience participation was the name of the game that night, as people were singing along to every song.
One thing I loved about his performance was how genuine and down to earth he was. Being that it was his son’s third birthday, he got the entire audience to join in on a sweet happy birthday video for him. Discourse between him and the audience was also very charming which added to a more wholesome experience.
Although Phillips' performance was advertised by the theater as “an evening of his biggest hits”, it was much more than that. He did of course perform hits such as “Home” and “Gone, Gone, Gone” which undoubtedly got the crowd pumped, but he also shined in his more intimate acoustic performances as well. The penultimate song of the night was a surprising cover of “Thriller” which evolved into a grand jam session with solos from each member of the band before they came back for a great encore to end the night.
Ultimately, Phillip Phillips and American Authors both put on a great show for Sandy Springs, and it was surely a fantastic night for fans of the band and curious concert-goers alike.
