Review by Renee Clark Quade | Photos by Rebecca Clark

There are artists who perform, and then there are artists who entertain. Cooper Alan is 100 percent the second one.

The instant Cooper Alan walked on stage at his sold-out show at The Vine at Del Lago, it was clear this would be a high-energy, full-throttle night. He opened behind the keyboard with “BOS,” an upbeat, gritty track that somehow still made the room feel intimate. The song leans into that southern rock, bar-band swagger, with raw, bluesy guitars, a driving rhythm made for live crowds, and a playful, slightly rowdy energy that instantly brought to mind Georgia Satellites’ “Keep Your Hands To Yourself.” It set the tone perfectly for a set that balanced high-energy vibes with a real sense of connection.

Cooper is incredibly animated on stage, but what really stands out is how intentional he is about making the crowd feel like part of the show, not just watching it, but actually in it. At one point, he had fans show off their worst dance moves just for the chance to chug a beer with him. And honestly, they committed.

That balance between fun and genuine connection is what makes his shows hit differently. One minute he’s jumping onto the rail pouring beer into fans’ mouths during “Crazy Shady Uncle,” and the next he’s slowing things all the way down for a stripped-back cover of “Drops of Jupiter” that had the room completely locked in.

Then came one of the more personal moments of the night. He played “Starting To Show,” a song about his wife and stepping into fatherhood. You could feel the shift. It wasn’t just another song in the set, it meant something. He even took a minute to film a video with the crowd to send back home to his wife and daughter before going into “Take Forever,” the song he wrote for their wedding.

And then just like that, the energy flipped again. When he introduced “Dale Dickens” as a song about everyone’s exes, the crowd reaction said everything you needed to know: loud, immediate, and maybe a little too relatable.

Musically, Cooper pulls from a lot of places. There’s a bit of Eric Church in the way he writes, grounded, real, very much from the fan’s perspective. But the way he delivers it? That’s where the Luke Bryan energy comes in: big, fun, and completely built around giving people a night they don’t forget.

And that’s really the thing, you can tell he cares. He knows people worked hard to be there, to buy those tickets, and he makes sure they get their money’s worth.

Throughout the night, he mixed in covers and mashups that kept the energy high. Everything from “Sweet Home Alabama” to AC/DC, plus snippets of “Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy” and “Fishing in the Dark” worked into the encore. It never felt random, though. It felt like he was reading the room the entire time.

Even when a small situation broke out in the crowd and security had to step in, it barely disrupted anything. The momentum stayed intact. He closed out the night in a Buffalo Bills shirt, which in that room was a very good call, asking the front row what he missed before going into the final stretch that included “The Fridge” and “New Normal.”

His band is a huge part of why the show works so well. Scott Inkley absolutely shreds on guitar and brings a rock edge that elevates everything. He and Cooper play off each other constantly, and it shows. Tom Lohrmann keeps the energy up on bass while adding strong backing vocals, and Darius Fant holds it all together on drums. Everything clicks perfectly, but it still has a relaxed, natural flow.

What’s amazing about Cooper Alan is that he’s built all of his success on his own as an independent artist. Some fans in the front row were literally shaking their heads, saying they can’t believe how big he’s gotten, and yet they never hear him on country radio. The fact that he’s drawing a sold-out crowd without that kind of support is extraordinary, and maybe that’s exactly why it feels so genuine.

Nights like this prove that fans will find music they connect with, even outside the mainstream, and will support it with everything they’ve got.

Setlist

BOS
Crazy Shady
Jesus Saves
Roots
To The Bar Can’t Dance
Work
Colt 45
Drops of Jupiter/Drift Away
Holy Ghost/Tough Ones/NNRY
Hard Acre
Starting To Show
Suit and Tie First Rodeo
Wake Me Up
Dale Dickens
Take Forever
Feel Like Hell Today
Plead The Fifth
Acoustic Mashup
Courtesy of The Red White and Blue

Cooper Alan Photo Gallery