For King & Country brought their Unsung Hero Tour to Truist Arena at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky right outside Cincinnati, Ohio on October 19, 2024. This tour bears the same name as their popular theatrical release from earlier in the year based off their story of faith as the Smallbone family made their way from Australia to the United States.
It was a beautiful fall day in Kentucky as people waited to enter the arena. As the doors opened at 6 PM, the excitement began to build. A voice rang out at 7 that the show would start in 10 minutes. Excitement was palpable, and ten minutes later it was go-time. The crowd stood in amazement as the curtain dropped, but they did not stand on the stage, but rather were lowered from the ceiling on these platforms that would be utilized in every way possible throughout the night.
For King and Country puts one of the most engaging shows in live music, and with this new tour they took that intensity up a whole other level. The addition of the platforms increased the production quality and impact of the show at large. They incorporated an arena-spanning catwalk which they utilized to its fullest extent, meaning that no matter where a person was sitting, no one had a bad seat.
The crowd was receptive the entire night and sang along to every song. As guitarist, Daniel Waterbury descended into the arena playing the opening runs of “You’re the Voice,” a cover of a John Farnham song in the 80s they had on their Unsung Hero Soundtrack release in honor of the movie. This soundtrack features original tracks by For King & Country but also covers of popular songs from the late 1980s and 1990s, which represent the time the movie was set.
If you’ve seen For King & Country before, you’ve come to expect certain songs on their setlist, but with this tour they changed up not only the stage design, but the set as well. Some of the beloved songs were still there, but music director, Danny Lopez, was one of the creative mind behind how the setlist was established, and even developed some new intros to many of the mainstays like “Burn the Ships,” “Priceless,” and “God Only Knows.”
For King & Country moved from the cover into up-tempo songs with “Relate” and “Fight on Fighter.” Fight on Fighter included confetti streamers much to the crowd’s delight. Joel and Luke made their way into the audience on “Fine Fine Life.” They then slowed it down a bit for some ballads like “Love Me Like I Am” and the crowd favorite “Priceless,” and a song that had never been played live until this tour, the beautiful love song, “Seasons.”
For King & Country then played the song in which the tour is named, “Unsung Hero” with clips from the movie playing behind them on floor-to-ceiling screens. They followed that with the unifying anthem, “Together” which also received a refresh to the opening bars of the song. For King & Country ended the first half of the show before intermission with the popular and moving song, “God Only Knows.”
They started the second half of their show with high energy numbers, like “Run Wild. Live Free,” “Fix My Eyes,” and “Messengers” a song by Lecrae that features For King and Country. The set slowed down for a few songs while they moved to the end of the catwalk for an acoustic set. This section started with “Place in this World” another song off the soundtrack which was originally made popular by Michael W Smith. Then they played “Shoulders” acoustically in its entirety which for the last several tours had been significantly shorter.
The energy picked up and the platforms came into play again for “God is With Us.” The song that put them on the map, “Proof of Your Love,” was next, which always has the fans up on their feet singing loudly. Long-time fans also saw the addition of “Ceasefire” back into the setlist after a long hiatus, which was a sight to see with the band spanning the entire length of the stage from the top of the stage to the end.
For King and Country capped off the night with three songs that are always crowd favorites. “Burn the Ships” is poignant and made even more beautiful with the added keys and violin intros. The energy goes to another level with “Joy.” This is a fun song that gets the crowd up and dancing. The final song of the night, the encore, might be the song that everyone always wants to hear, even though it might be out of place with the timing of the year. Bringing the Christmas spirit no matter what time of year, they always close out their show with the encore, “Drummer Boy.”
For King & Country:
Joel Smallbone: Lead Vocals
Luke Smallbone: Lead Vocals
Vince Dicarlo– Multi-Instrumentalist
Garret P. Tyler– Drums
Hannah Tyler– Violin
Daniel Lopez– Multi-Instrumentalist
Daniel Waterbury– Guitar
Gabe Baker– Multi-Instrumentalist
Chris Karebelas– Percussion Instruments
Setlist:
1.) You’re the Voice
2.) Relate
3.) Fight On Fighter
4.) Amen
5.) Fine Fine Life
6.) Love Me Like I Am
7.) Priceless
8.) Seasons
9.) Unsung Hero
10.) Together
11.) God Only Knows
12.) Run Wild. Live Free
13.) Fix My Eyes
14.) Messengers
15.) It’s Not Over Yet
16.) Place in This World
17.) Shoulders
18.) For God is With Us
19.) Proof of Your Love
20.) Ceasefire
21.) Burn the Ships
22.) Joy
Encore:
23.) Drummer Boy
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Music and the appreciation of coverts and live music was introduced to me at an early age. I love the shared experience of live music. Christian Rock was a mainstay in my from early in my childhood to present day. My parents introduced me to the pioneers of Christian Rock, like Petra and White Heart. This only progressed me in my love of music and concerts. My musical preferences are a wide range of genres and artists.
While in college, I received my bachelor’s in communication. While in college, I had my own Christian Rock show on the college radio station. I also interned with two different radio stations. I always have had a passion for sharing music and musicians’ passion and artistry. That has since progressed into some concert photography and being able to capture that passion from bands on stage. I have be able to photograph many artists across the Midwest region.
