With all the CMC Rocks acts coming down to Australia for the iconic festival this weekend, the pre-festival mania was in full swing as Old Dominion arrived in Sydney for their final sideshow before heading up to Queensland for the festival. The crowd was super lucky for this concert, not just getting Old Dominion but also Alexandra Kay and Dasha. Kay kicked off the night with a strong set of pop-tinged, radio-friendly country music before Dasha took to the stage. 

While the comparison to Taylor Swift might be lazy, it really is quite accurate in this case, with everything about Dasha’s style and music resembling an early Taylor Swift (who Dasha says has hugely influenced her). Kicking off with “Not at This Party”, Dasha brought the energy from the start before a cracking cover of Gretchen Wilson’s “Here for the Party”. She then closed out her set with her smash hit “Austin” with a big surprise for the crowd in bringing out The Wiggles, who she previously collaborated with on their album. While it seems like The Wiggles come out for everything nowadays, it was still a fun moment with Dasha and Anthony Field having a few laughs on stage and Dasha executing the perfectly written song phenomenally. There really are few better country songs on the radio at the moment and Dasha showed why she is one of country music’s rising stars. If anything, it was perhaps a bit of a misfire not to have Dasha on her own headlining show, with some of the crowd seemingly leaving before Old Dominion after seeing the rising star. She definitely could have sold her own show and the crowd in attendance were clearly pumped to see her. I hope she does a headline show in Sydney soon because if I were a betting man I would say that at some point we will all be heading out to Homebush to see her at some point as her star continues to rise.

With the Virginia-influenced name and  ties to the state for most of the band members, Old Dominion first moved to Nashville as songwriters before breaking out as performers themselves. As a result, their set was jam-packed with cleverly written country music songs and they brought the energy from the start with “Make It Sweet”, “No Hard Feelings” and “Break Up with Him”, which showed off their cohesiveness as an ensemble and their great musicality. Lead singer Matthew Ramsey has a fantastic country voice and it was on display in this set as they played in Sydney for the first time.

While some of the earlier music bordered a little bit on cliché (I don’t think you could have a more stereotypical country song than “Beer Can in a Truck Bed”), they mixed up the show with some up-tempo numbers and some ballads. This meant that although the show was quite lengthy at nearly two hours, there was enough to keep the audience engaged. That said, at the start of the show, it did seem like some members of the crowd were a little subdued, with the venue feeling a little sparser after Dasha’s performance but they came to life when the band sung a cover of “Save It for a Rainy Day”, which they actually wrote for Kenny Chesney before moving into their requests of “Goodnight Music City” and “Water My Flowers”.

This was a very backloaded set with many of their biggest hits at the end of the show. “Snapback” was a lively and energetic moment before “Hotel Key” really had the crowd singing along, followed by the band’s biggest hit “One Man Band” and then “Memory Lane”, which had significance for many members in the audience, with one audience member even showing that she had the song tattooed onto her arm, which was a lovely moment.

The band connected very well with the audience all through the night, frequently engaging with those in the mosh pit and showing their gratitude for being able to come to Australia. Unfortunately, they weren’t helped by the sound in the venue, with an incredible amount of feedback through all three acts, which created a somewhat uncomfortable auditory experience at times. This was no fault of the band but perhaps reinforced that the TikTok Entertainment Centre is not really the venue for country music, with the Hordern feeling much more appropriate for a band like Old Dominion. That said, they pushed through and closed out the night with “Song for Another Time” and “I Was on a Boat That Day” to end a great set. 

Overall, this was a fun night of music showing off three of country music’s biggest stars, with Old Dominion making their first time in Sydney count with a set that moved through their whole discography and delighted their passionate fans in attendance. While the set did wane in energy at times in the crowd, it was well executed by the consummate professionals of Old Dominion and there’s no doubt that when they head to CMC Rocks, they will give a fantastic show for the lively crowd in attendance there. Dasha was also fantastic and really does seem to be a rising star in the country world with great things ahead for her. A wonderful display of country music and a great taster for CMC Rocks on the weekend.

Rating: ★★★★

Old Dominion – TikTok Entertainment Centre – 18 March 2026