Shinedown Returned to St. Louis with Explosive Show

August 17, 2025 Sean Derrick

–by Sean Derrick

Rock stalwarts Shinedown are known for electrifying live shows that leave fans in awe. On Friday they ramped that up another level at Enterprise Center in downtown Saint Louis.

In town for a stop on their “Dance, Kid, Dance Tour” the band (vocalist Brent Smith, Drummer Barry Kerch, guitarist Zach Myers, and bassist Eric Bass) brought visual to life, so to speak.

After a 20-minute delay a crew member brought out a character dressed in a black suit and tie, with white gloves and a television for a head. Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” played while the later described TV Man slowly looked around before dancing to the music. He then stopped when his TV head turned on and showed images of various TV shows from The Monkees, to Sanford and Son, and The Jeffersons, the A-Team, etc.

The band then appeared on stage and immediately exploded through “Dance, Kid, Dance”, “Bully” and “Cut the Cord” with so much pyro that you would have thought they blew through their entire pyro budget already. But no, the pyro, including flames, fireworks, lasers, and explosions were prominent throughout the show, like a rock show should be.

The flames were intense. I’ve seen Shinedown at least a dozen times and this is the most intense show I have seen. Not only with the amount of flames (I stopped counting at 40 nozzles spewing fire from the front of the stage, the back, and in the lighting rig above), but also in terms of deep connections that seemed to resonate with this show.

Smith not only brought a super high energy vibe but he also talked about how they are contributing $1 with every ticket sold to Musicians on Call ($300,000 so far) who provide live music in hospitals to patients, families and caregivers. Smith then brought many a tear to the crowd as he got the crowd to think about a loved one they recently lost before performing “Three Six Five” while showing recently passed family members on the video screen behind Kerch.

The stage had a long extension coming off the front that stretched to the center ice portion of the arena. After “Enemies” TV Man showed up again in the back behind the soundboard on a riser, wearing a Blues Jersey and dancing to some cheeky elevator muzak. Myers gave a shout out to TV Man and commented on the jersey he was wearing, stating “it’s the only good team you have.” He clarified by saying “It’s true, the Yankees are gonna spank the Cardinals this weekend.” The crowd didn’t like the truth (The Yankees did, in fact, lay the smackdown on the Cardinals pretty easily over a Busch) but accepted the good-natured ribbing by Myers.

The band began to set up on the end of the stage extension, complete with a drum kit for Kerch, and a piano for Bass while Myers played on acoustic guitar. From the end of the extension the band performed “Call Me”, “Thick as Thieves”, “Get Up”, and “Save Me”. Even though they were in the middle of a nearly full arena that part of the performance seemed super intimate.

While Smith did most of the talking Myers even got into the act during this period by leading the crowd through an outro of the Tears For Fears classic ” Head Over Heals” at the end of “Call Me”.

The band has considered St. louis a 2nd home as the band caught on early with the fans here. Smith then brought out his personal iPad and shared some facts about the city he learned, including that 7-Up was invented here, which they shared was a favorite for them. Then Myers redeemed himself by stating Ozzie Smith was the coolest baseball player of all time.

Another emotionally intense moment came during the performance of “A Symptom of Being Human”, a song Smith has attributed to his own battles with mental illness and the social stigma surrounding it. The reaction from the crowd proved that it is a stigma that needs to go away as it affects so many people.

Every note was solid throughout the show, the band was tight, and Smith’s voice was stellar, as always. From the sound of “Dance, Kid, Dance” and “Three Six Five” the next album is well anticipated. but this show should tide fans over until it is released.

Country singer Morgan Wade opened the show with a rock influenced country style. Her voice is solid and powerful.

Morgan Wade performing at Enterprise Center in St. Louis Friday. Photo by Sean Derrick / Thyrd Eye Photography.

Bush held the support slot and crushed it with a solid hour-long set. They rocked out with an 11-song set that of course included “Glycerine”, “Machine Head”, “Everything Zen” and “Comedown”,

Bush performing at Enterprise Center in St. Louis Friday. Photo by Sean Derrick / Thyrd Eye Photography.

Vocalist Gavin Rossdale hasn’t lost a step as he nears 60 (did I just feel myself getting older at that thought?). He still has the energy of someone half his age and even went down and did a tour around the lower bowl crowd during “Flowers On a Grave” getting up close and personal with the large crowd.