I Liked Dan + Shay Before They Were Cool (and many other artists, too)

Supporting new artists can definitely have it’s perks.

I liked Dan + Shay before they were cool. I’m not talking about right before the Dan + Shay album dropped cool. I’m talking in 2013, when the only single they had out was “19 You + Me.” 

The first time I ever saw Dan + Shay live was when they opened up for Hunter Hayes on his 2014 We’re Not Invisible tour. When they finally released their debut album, I listened to it on repeat countless times. 

Fast forward to Valentine’s Day of 2015, there was an unexpected knock on the front door. Whenever my dad opened the door, there was someone delivering a bouquet of flowers…for me, which definitely had me confused. I read the card, and the flowers were from Dan + Shay. They sent me, along with a few other fans, flowers for Valentine’s Day that year, and no matter what anyone does for me for Valentine’s Day, it will never top that moment. 

Before seeing Dan + Shay for the sixth time on the Can’t Say I Ain’t Country tour, the last time I saw them live was in 2017, right before they started getting really popular. Hearing everyone scream their lyrics was such a bittersweet moment for me, I felt like a proud parent. 

Another artist that was good to me before they became really popular is Kelsea Ballerini. Whenever Kelsea was on tour with Jana Kramer in 2015, she left me tickets and a meet and greet at will call after seeing my tweet about not having money to buy tickets. 

Steven Lee Olsen, who some of you might know for writing Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” once ordered a pizza and had it delivered to my house. 

It pays to support new artists. It pays to be a fan. These are experiences that I will never forget, and I will always support new artists.