After headlining the CMC Rocks Festival, it was perhaps a little surprising to see Thomas Rhett playing at the intimate Enmore Theatre on Sunday night. With a fervent following of country music currently sweeping Australia, the show sold out almost instantaneously so everyone in the room felt very privileged to be able to see Rhett play a headline show in such a special venue. 

After a short set from Alana Springsteen, Rhett took to the stage shrouded in the shadows of the Enmore Theatre. Rhett’s style of country music veers a little more towards pop, so he started his set with some of his more radio-friendly hits. “What Could Go Right” was a fantastic and energetic start to the show before he launched into one of his newer songs “Beautiful as You” and his smash hit “Makes Me Wanna”. 

“When I was seven years old and thinking about singing country music, I was never thinking about playing in Sydney, Australia,” Rhett said to the adoring crowd. “I can’t believe that people so far away from where I was born know the words to my songs.”

While Rhett has an extensive discography of his own, he still performed a few clever covers, with his version of Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” (which he co-wrote) being a particular crowd favourite. He also performed “Beer Can’t Fix”, his duet with Jon Pardi, which translated just as well into the smaller Enmore Theatre as it did to the Hordern Pavillion when Pardi performed it a few days earlier. 

But the highlight of the set was when Rhett sat down at the front of the stage with his band to perform a few acoustic numbers. He started off with the rarely performed “Country Again” which he had not played live for over 18 months, and he performed the number with heart, passion and sensitivity. The Enmore Theatre is the perfect venue for acoustic, intimate numbers and Rhett’s rich voice travelled through the audience beautifully. He then performed “Mamaw’s House”, which evoked feelings of introspection for many in the audience. It was a touching performance that was extremely well-executed, with Rhett and his band showing off their versatility and the extent of their musicianship. 

Rhett then returned to the full band setup to perform some of his biggest hits, which he saved for the end of the show. After energetic performances of “After All the Bars Are Closed” and “T-Shirt”, Rhett performed his smash hit “Die a Happy Man.” For the slower number, the crowd all had the phone torches up and were swaying with cameras held aloft as Rhett took everyone through the journey of the song. It was a touching performance and a fitting way to move towards the show’s conclusion. After the customary “shoey”, Rhett finished the show off with lively performances of “Crash and Burn” and “Boots” as the crowd savoured the last moments of the Nashville superstar’s Australian tour. 

Overall, this was a fantastic performance and a real privilege for Sydney country music fans to be able to see such an established artist in an intimate venue like the Enmore Theatre. Rhett brought all the hits as well as some special acoustic moments, which showed off his versatility and artistry whilst making sure that no-one missed out on the bigger numbers. With country music only continuing to pick up steam in Australia, one can only hope that Rhett will be back, most likely in a bigger arena, very soon. 

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Thomas Rhett – Enmore Theatre – 23^rd March 2025