Tucker Wetmore Brings Energy and Emotion to Sold-Out Chicago Shows

Tucker Wetmore arrived in Chicago, IL on Saturday, Nov. 16, ready to deliver the final weekend of his debut headlining tour with back-to-back sold-out shows at Joe’s on Weed St.

The Waves On A Sunset Tour lunched on October 4 in Statesboro, GA and featured dates in cities all across the U.S., including Milwaukee, Athens, Baton Rouge, Indianapolis and more. Wetmore’s Windy City fans were especially eager to catch his shows as they sold out the first night within minutes, forcing him to extend his stay for one more night. 

By 9 PM on night one, he made his grand entrance with an infectious smile and a bright energy to each step. Wetmore got the crowd singing along right away with tracks off his Waves On A Sunset EP, including “What Would You Do?,” “Break First,” “When I Ain’t Lookin’,” and “You, Honey.” Sprinkled in between those tracks, he delivered a rowdy cover of Jon Pardi’s “Heartache On The Dance Floor” and his contribution to Twisters: The Album, “Already Had It.” 

“How we feeling tonight Chicago?” Wetmore asked, earning a round of screams and applause so loud that he predicted could be heard all the way in Nashville. “This is night one in Chicago. I got two nights in Chicago. One tomorrow night as well. This is my second time ever being here. I fell in love with the city the first time I stepped into it. All because of you guys. Thank you so much. This is my last weekend on my first headline tour ever and y’all have completely sold this s**t out. So thank you guys so much. This is awesome.”

Nothing could have prepared the crowd for all the fun that was about to ensue on a Saturday night at the award-winning venue. Along with the high-energy performances, the Washington native also made time for plenty of heartfelt moments where he lowered the energy and truly expressed his gratitude for the whirlwind of a year he’s had.

“Y’all, I am having a fricking blast. This is so cool. I love Chicago. First time I came to Chicago, the one thing that made me fall in love with Chicago, the damn food. It was so good. I’m such a foodie. I did not have a single bad meal,” Wetmore gushed. 

Taking a seat on stage while his band took a break, the singer/songwriter had a heart-to-heart moment with his fans as he asked many people in the room were going through a breakup that night. This led him into performing the last song of his EP, “Mister Miss Her,” a somber track that captures all the feelings of a breakup. 

“It’s a heartbreak song. I chose this song for a lot of reasons. It goes perfectly into the album that I’m working on for next year, which I’m super excited about,” he teased. “And I feel like this song kind of explains where I’m at in my life right now. I’m going through a breakup, and that’s just a part of life, right? We’ve all been there. So I wrote a song about it. If you know it, sing along. This one’s called “Mister Miss Her.”

This solo acoustic portion of the show continued as he moved over to the keyboard and showcased his self-taught skills. Wetmore provoked a karaoke night in Chicago between him and all his fans with a medley of beloved classics like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” and Lionel Richie’s “Easy.”

“I sat down at one one day and I was playing for hours. I didn’t stop. I’m all self-taught, I’ve never had a lesson in my life,” he revealed. “I found out about a man named Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, a band called Queen. That’s where my love of piano stemmed from. So I wanted a part in my show for this tour where it’s just me playing the piano.” 

He continued, “That 11-year-old me would be so proud of what we’re doing here tonight.  This is the coolest s**t in the world, thank you so much you guys. I used to be so embarrassed to play, I have no idea why because this s**t is awesome.” 

Then it was time for his “just me and my guitar” portion of the show. He experienced a full-circle moment as he performed one of the first songs he learned how to play and sing at the same time – Chris Stapleton’s “Whiskey And You.” 

The set featured several unreleased songs like “Drinkin’ Boots” and “Bad Habits,” both of which give fans a preview of his upcoming full-length album, due in 2025. Wetmore also performed his debut single, “Wine Into Whiskey,” sharing the emotional backstory of how it was inspired by his family and how it changed his life.

While there were plenty of tracks that his listeners knew every word of, there were others that some may have been hearing for the first time. Wetmore showcased several unreleased songs including “Drinkin’ Boots” and “Bad Habits,” which he revealed did not make it on his last EP, but will likely appear on his forthcoming full-length album due out in 2025. 

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“I just recently dropped this EP and I can only fit eight songs on it. It’s not a lot of songs I’ve been writing for years now and I got a lot more than eight songs. It was kind of tough to pick those eight songs.”

Wetmore turned up the energy with his “Drinkin’ Boots” performance when he pulled off a crowd-pleasing shoey, which found him chugging a beer straight from a cowboy boot to celebrate his milestone weekend.

“Here’s to night one in Chicago. Here’s to country music. And cheers to beer,” he said before downing the drink that he joked tasted like leather. 

There were only two song’s left in the set list at this point and it wasn’t hard to guess what they would be as he was just missing two of his biggest releases – “Wine Into Whiskey” and “Wind Up Missin’ You.” 

Before the emerging artist could close out the show, he wanted to have an honest conversation with the room of people in front of him about the journey of “Wine Into Whiskey,” which he wrote just over a year ago. 

“When I first wrote this song, I knew we had something special, but I didn’t know how special it would be. I didn’t know it’d be a moving factor to the train that my life has been in last couple months. I didn’t know how you guys would perceive this song, if I’m being honest. I wrote the song for my sisters. I grew up with four sisters and a beautiful mother, and seeing the things that they went through in their life, my thought was, if the guy knew what he was doing wrong, would he still do it? So I wrote a song about it, and you guys have changed my life with this song.”

@countrynow.com @Tuck gets emotional while reflecting on the final weekend of his first headline Tour. ❤️ #tuckerwetmore #country #countrymusic #countryconcert #wavesonasunset #tour #chicago #joesonweed ♬ original sound – CountryNow.com

Emotions were already running high, but after hearing everyone sing this song back to him, tears welled up in Wetmore’s eyes. He had to take a moment to compose himself before returning to the mic and thanking everyone who played a part in completely changing his life over the past year. 

Not only was this a monumental night as it marked the end of his first headline tour, but it was also his first time selling out a venue for back-to-back nights. The energy was electric, and Wetmore made sure to take in every ounce of the support radiating through the crowd.  

“Before I sing this song, I want to just say thank you guys for everything you guys do for me in my life. You guys listen to the songs, spend your hard-earned money to buy these tickets to come here tonight and spend your Saturday night with us. I couldn’t thank you guys enough. Thank you to my team. Thank you to Country Radio.”

The nearly 90-minute show wrapped up with a room of screaming fans belting along to the viral Top 15 hit at country radio, “Wind Up Missin’ You.”  

Following the show, Tucker Wetmore announced that since he had so much fun on this run, his Waves On A Sunset Tour will continue into 2025, with newly added dates across London and the UK as well as in the U.S.