Smith and Myers rock Indy for Xmas

Smith & Myers were scheduled to play the 93.9 Xmas show in 2020 but couldn’t due to COVID shutting down concerts. Even though they played a virtual show, it wasn’t the same- enter 2021 and concerts are back so the Shinedown duo made up for last year, playing a two-hour set at Indy’s Egyptian Room. Many fans wondered if the show would happen as Brent Smith had to cancel a show in Philadelphia the week prior due to some horrible sickness but he recovered well and sounded better than ever. It wasn’t just a normal acoustic show featuring members of Shinedown, though, and after JR Moore and Zack Mack wrapped up a 30-minute southern rock acoustic set, Smith and Zach Myers took the stage and opened with Post Malone’s “Better Now.” The two joked back and forth throughout the set with each other and the fans, and even brought a young fan named Trip onstage to sing “Second Chance” with them since he’d been holding a sign all night, asking to sing it with the duo. They did everything possible to make it a fun show from the jump. Smith cracked fun at how the group started, telling the crowd that Myers had come to him a few years back and talked about what the project would be but they didn’t know what to call it, so they just used their last names. He made fun of how it sounded like they’re lawyers and how the triangle in the logo makes it look like they’re in the Illuminati, then told the crowd he had them covered for baking and legal advice. “German chocolate cake? Got ya covered,” he laughed. They didn’t play strictly Shinedown songs, either- and what Shinedown songs they did play weren’t strictly current hits. They threw in Smith & Myers originals “Bad At Love” and “Not Mad Enough” but also sprinkled in some fun covers from Post Malone, Adele and Peter Gabriel. Ending the night with Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” was the perfect way to go out, with Smith wishing the fans the best in their holidays and letting them know Shinedown would be back in 2022 with a new album and tour. -Reggie Edwards