In their early days, LOCASH earned their stripes playing the bars on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, so it was a return to their past when they took the stage at the Tin Roof to get Saturday’s party started with a rowdy, infectious, non-stop set that had the packed venue hopping from their opening tune, the 2019 hit “One Big Country Song.”
“Let’s get this party rockin’,” exclaimed Chris Lucas, as the duo followed with “Buzzin’ in the Country,” a surefire crowd pleaser with its sing-along chorus, before segueing into their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, 2016’s easygoing “I Know Somebody.”
Like many acts playing the event, LOCASH had a cover song in their back pocket. In this case, it was a sultry, slow-jamming take on the Prince-penned “Waterfalls,” made famous by TLC 30 years ago. The duo quickly brought it back to the present with “Hometown Home,” their first song released through the new label they started, Galaxy Label Group. “We pushed all the chips in and bet on ourselves,” Preston Brust said. And it’s paying off. The gently swaying song, which features the duo’s layered harmonies, was the Hot Shot Debut on the Country Airplay chart, bowing at No. 56.
Of all the acts playing Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard, LOCASH got the award for traveling the most distance. Three hours before their set, the group arrived from Wisconsin, where they had played the night before, and immediately left for a show Saturday evening in Indiana.
LOCASH then called an audible and veered from the set list, diving into a breathless medley of classic rock songs, starting with The Outfield’s “Your Love,” Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” and Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom,” before launching into Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” and calling up the group’s lead singer, A. Jay Popoff, who lives in Nashville, to sing with them. For those several moments of pure unadulterated joy, there is no doubt that there was not a better time to be had on Lower Broadway. “Are we in trouble?” Lucas playfully asked after completing the rock segment. “I don’t know. I don’t care,” answered Brust.
After leading the audience in a chant of “Ain’t no party like a Billboard party because a Billboard party don’t stop,” complete with a spinning disco ball, LOCASH wound their segment down with their 2015 hit “I Love This Life,” which reached No. 2, before throwing signed drum sticks and guitar picks into the dancing crowd.
