Concert Review: Tyler Childers Along with Evan Honer Brought the Bluegrass, Hippie, Honkytonk to Hershey Park Stadium
- Tara Lakatos
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
On a warm and sticky summer night in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Tyler Childers proved that you don't need arena-sized theatrics to command a stadium. Armed with a catalog built on Appalachian storytelling, country grit and songs that feel as lived-in as they sound, Childers brought his Snipe Hunt tour to Chocolatetown. Evan Honer, singer-songwriter and ex collegiate springboard diver opened the show with his personal brand of indie-folk-pop.
I'll admit that I didn't know who Evan Honer was before this show, but I walked out a fan. Evan is an American Idol reject that took and independent route to success. He's released several full-length albums and EP's on his own label Cloverdale Records.
Evan blasted out 11 songs in a 45-minute set. His songs were light, fun and warmed up the mostly eager crowd. Songs performed included "Take Me as I Come", "Nowhere Fast", "Maybe for Once" and closed out his show with "I Don't Know Shit About Cars" and a backflip. This left many in the audience comparing him to Benson Boone minus the sequin bodysuit. Evan was the perfect opener for Tyler.
Before Childers even sang a note, his stage told part of his story. Rather than the polished, oversized production you might expect at a stadium show, the stage looked more like pieces of an old Appalachian home had been collected and brought along for the ride. Taxidermied animals shared space with old books and a reel-to-reel projector, creating a setting that felt worn-in, personal and completely intentional. It wasn't just decoration. It visually connected the massive Hersheypark Stadium stage to the Appalachian roots that remain at the center of Childers' music.
The difference between simply knowing Tyler Childers' music and truly connecting with it was easy to see throughout the night. The pit was packed with happy fans hanging on every song, while farther back in the general admission field, the atmosphere was noticeably different. There were plenty of people who seemed more interested in drinking and having a night out than in what Childers and his music were actually about. It created an interesting divide in the stadium—one crowd came for a concert, while another came specifically for Tyler Childers.
One of the night's most memorable moments came when opener Evan Honer returned to the stage to join Childers for "Jersey Giant." Honer had already warmed up the Hershey crowd with his opening set but seeing the two artists share the stage gave the song an entirely different energy.
But some of the best moments weren't happening onstage at all.
During "Tattoos," a superfan in the front row was visibly overcome with emotion, crying as Childers performed just feet away. It was a small moment in a massive stadium, but one that perfectly captured what makes Childers' music resonate so deeply. These aren't simply songs people sing along to. For many fans, they're attached to memories, relationships, heartbreak and pieces of their own lives.
Before "Bitin' List," Childers delivered his familiar list of grievances, and apparently people who refuse to return their shopping carts are on it. He joked about the irony of those same people later complaining when their cars get scratched, earning Karma. This gained plenty of laughs from the crowd.
But, in typical Childers fashion, what started as a funny rant turned into something with considerably more weight. He moved from abandoned shopping carts to those people who can ruin your day simply by hearing their name or thinking about them. His point was simple: eventually, you have to let that hate go. Holding onto it isn't hurting the person you can't stand; it's ruining you.
It was funny, relatable and unexpectedly thoughtful—a pretty good representation of Childers himself. He can make thousands of people laugh over shopping-cart etiquette and, minutes later, have them considering the emotional cost of carrying around resentment.
And that may be where Childers is at his best. Hersheypark Stadium is a long way from the intimate rooms where songs like these were born, but somehow, for the people who truly connected with them, he still managed to make a stadium feel personal.
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