Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line shakes hands with the crowd as the band performs at Riverbend last year.Riverbend officials knew they had a solid hit when they signed Florida Georgia Line to play the 2013 festival. They didn’t realize at the time, however, that the bases were loaded and that the ball would easily clear the wall.
The crowd for the show, booked on the second largest stage at the festival, turned out to be the largest Bud Light Stage audience ever, according to Talent and Production Coordinator Joe “Dixie” Fuller.
To make things even better, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley were booked about a week before their song “Cruise” really took off. That meant, of course, that their price for future dates suddenly came with an extra zero. But Hubbard and Kelley insisted on honoring all previously signed contracts, so Riverbend not only had a big night, it came at a bargain price.
“We try to be men of our word, so any commitments we’d made, we stayed to those commitments,” Kelley says.
The duo has continued its meteoric rise and will perform a sold-out show Wednesday at Track 29. This one is a benefit for the Forgotten Child Fund.