Tyler Hubbard is best-known as one half of the now defunct Florida Georgia Line. The chart-topping phenomenon incredibly only ever played one show in London, which is when they played C2C in 2015. In 2022 Florida Georgia Line called it a day after going on hiatus and then seemingly falling out over their different political opinions. Since then Hubbard’s former bandmate Brian Kelley has been to the UK several times, performing on the C2C Main Stage in 2024, but fans haven’t been able to see Hubbard live. As a solo artist, Hubbard has two albums under his belt – 2023’s ‘Tyler Hubbard' and 2024’s ‘Strong‘ – and he’s achieved two US Country Airplay number ones – ‘5 Foot 9' and ‘Back Then Right Now'.
Now he’s finally coming to the UK to perform at C2C 2025 and he’s bagged himself the penultimate slot on the Saturday line-up, playing ahead of headliner Dierks Bentley. With two albums to pull his setlist from, plus Florida Georgia Line’s classic catalogue, hopes were high for Hubbard’s first performance as a solo artist in London. Hubbard started strong with ‘Park’, the banging current single from his latest album ‘Strong’. The Country-pop song sounded tremendous in The O2 and it continued the night’s high energy vibe. ‘Night Like That’ was up next and Hubbard continued to deliver his brand of radio-friendly Country-pop to a very receptive audience.
A few songs in, and a few songs after number one smash ‘Back Then Right Now’, Hubbard pulled up a chair to sing the ballad ‘Me for Me’, which he dedicated to his wife. While it was a pleasant enough moment, and a chance to really listen to Hubbard’s vocals, it slowed down what had been an uptempo set. The beat picked up again as Hubbard revisited moments from his career including his time as part of Florida Georgia Line – ‘Meant to Be’ and ‘Cruise’ – and his highlights as a songwriter – HARDY’s ‘Psycho’ (albeit briefly) and Jason Aldean’s ‘You Make It Easy’. It was a nice reminder that Hubbard is a multi-skilled artist, who is more than just his distinctive voice which has been responsible for plenty of smash records.
At ease on stage, Hubbard left no inch uncovered as he performed. Regularly interacting with the audience, and at one stage throwing signed t-shirts into the crowd, Hubbard has clearly honed his skills as a showman thanks to his Florida Georgia Line Days. For the final part of the set, Hubbard switched focus back to his solo career with his number 1 single ‘5 Foot 9’, which was a crowd pleaser. The inclusion of ‘American Mellencamp’ was a surprise as it hasn’t been part of his C2C Glasgow set and the 80s-tinged ‘Wish You Would’ was a highlight that hinted at the direction he could follow to forge a new path on his solo journey. The set came to a close with “Dancin’ in the Country”, which brought the energy back up and ended things on a high.
As Hubbard left the stage, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. Having been a fan of Florida Georgia Line I did enjoy his set but as he tried to cover so many bases, I felt his own path as a solo artist was somewhat lost in the mix. What I didn’t get was a strong sense of who Hubbard is as a solo artist. Some of his material would have worked for Florida Georgia Line while other moments felt like him trying to find a new direction. Perhaps a little more focus on his future direction might have made the set a little more cohesive or maybe he just needs to a do a proper headline tour here in the UK so we can see him play for longer!
Set list: 1. Park 2. Night Like That 3. Back Then Right Now 4. Turn 5. Me for Me 6. Meant to Be (Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha cover) 7. You Make It Easy (Jason Aldean cover) 8. Psycho (HARDY cover) 9. Cruise (Florida Georgia Line cover) 10. 5 Foot 9 11. American Mellencamp 12. Wish You Would 13. Dancin’ in the Country Venue: The O2, London Performance date: Saturday 15th March 2025
