OneRepublic

September 11, 2022

Charleston, SC

Credit One Stadium

Review by Joseph Hett

The Stars Aligned In Charleston For OneRepublic

OneRepublic brought their “Never Ending Summer Tour” to Charleston, SC on Sunday night at the Credit One Stadium. On this very humid day, the threat of rain dissipated and clouds parted to make way for the stars.

A video of beach scenes and skylines were showcased on the screen at the back of the stage before OneRepublic came out and started “Kids.”

Members gracing the stage were Ryan Tedder (Lead vocals), Zach Filkins (Lead guitar), Drew Brown (Rhythm guitar), Eddie Fisher (Drums), Brent Kutzle (Bass guitar/cello), Brian Willett (Keyboards) and Ashley Clark (Violin).

With “Good Life,” Tedder changed the lyrics for a pop from the crowd with “To my friends in New York, I say hello / My friends in Charleston they don’t know.”

Tedder said, “Well, Charleston. How are y’all feeling? This is wild, man. We’ve been to South Carolina. This is the first time we’ve ever played Charleston – this is crazy. Took us way, way too long. One of my favorite cities too. So it doesn’t make any sense. But we’re happy to be here!” Tedder also noted that they were going to play 15 years worth of songs, mainly the hits.

Armed with an acoustic guitar, Tedder began “Stop and Star.” Towards the end, Tedder let the crowd sing-along. OneRepublic continued with “Rescue Me” from 2021’s “Human” album. “Secrets” began with a violin and cello intro. Tedder went behind the piano to tickle the ivories for “Love Runs Out.”

Tedder spoke about his ventures as a songwriter: “I’ve had a day job separate from being in this band. I’ve had a completely different job. And I’ve kept those two things very separated for 15 years. For God knows what reason, but I just have. I’ve been writing songs for hundreds of other artists at this point for about two decades.” He continued, “I’m going to play, with my band, eight number one songs in a row in the next 17 minutes. Sorry ahead of time they’re not OneRepublic songs, but I will promise you…you will probably know these songs. Forgive me. Okay?”

Tedder then showcased some of his impressive songwriting resume along with stories on how they came about. Those were “Halo” (Beyonce), “Bleeding Love” (Leona Lewis), “Burn” (Ellie Goulding), “Rumour Has It” (Adele), “Maps” (Maroon 5), “Love Somebody” (Maroon 5), “Beer Can’t Fix” (Thomas Rhett), “Thats What I Want” (Lil Nas X) and “Sucker” (Jonas Brothers).

Everyone knew what time it was when the screen showed a fighter jet fly across it. Tom Cruise was then featuring talking about how they needed a song for the beach scene in “Top Gun: Maverick.” The distinctive whistling started and kicked off “I Ain’t Worried.”

After an extended intro, “Apologize” kept the fans singing along. Near the end of the song, Tedder decided to do something unique: “Because the acoustics in this arena sound like they do in this tennis court…tennis court (chuckles), I want to try something real quick. In the next 90 seconds or less, we are going to make the largest four part harmony choir in the history of Charleston. And we are going to do it right now.”

Tedder gave thanks to Amy Allen and South Carolina natives NEEDTOBREATHE for supporting OneRepublic’s tour. Tedder noted that NEEDTOBREATHE almost sounds prerecorded since they sound so good. That is true – their one hour set really got everyone going. OneRepublic then took a jump into “I Lived.”

“If anyone has any battery left in their phone, let’s see some stars,” Tedder said. The stadium was soon illuminated with a galaxy of “stars” for “Counting Stars.” They closed the set with “If I Lose Myself.”

OneRepublic put on an amazing and must-see show. As their dates in the United States wind down, they will be hitting the road again later this year to tour overseas. Who would have known that a tennis stadium would have such good acoustics for a concert? Hopefully OneRepublic will visit Charleston again real soon.

Photos provided by OneRepublic