Hershey, PA – Tyler Childers brought his Snipe Hunt Tour to a sold-out Hersheypark Stadium on Friday, August 14, for an evening of Appalachian storytelling, heartfelt ballads and country songs that thousands of fans were ready to sing back to him.
The Hershey stop was originally scheduled for June 11 but was postponed as Childers awaited the birth of his second child. More than two months later, the anticipation had not faded. The stadium was packed by the time he took the stage Friday night.
Evan Honer opened the evening by playing his first stadium show and quickly proved he was ready for the moment. His energetic set established an early connection with the crowd, but his most memorable appearance came later when he returned to join Childers for “Jersey Giant.”
The song carries a unique history between the two artists. Childers wrote “Jersey Giant” more than a decade ago but never released an official studio version. Years later, Honer’s acoustic cover went viral and helped propel the young singer-songwriter’s career. Watching them perform it together in front of a sold-out stadium brought that story full circle.
Childers also made the evening feel personal by sharing memories from previous visits to Hershey and Gettysburg. One of the sweetest came when he recalled stopping at Hershey’s Chocolate World with his wife for milkshakes during their honeymoon.
Throughout the night, Childers moved comfortably between the full production of the main stage and the more intimate setting of a secondary stage. Leaving the main stage for several acoustic numbers brought him closer to fans seated farther back in the stadium while placing the focus squarely on the songwriting at the heart of his music.
The set included many of Childers’ most beloved songs, including “All Your’n,” “Lady May,” “Nose on the Grindstone,” “Shake the Frost” and “Whitehouse Road.” Each was met with an immediate response, as thousands of voices joined him on songs that have become deeply personal to the people singing them.
The night’s biggest moments did not depend on spectacle. They came from Honer returning for a song that helped change his life, Childers sharing memories of the region and an entire stadium carrying familiar lyrics back toward the stage.
By balancing the force of a sold-out stadium performance with moments that still felt personal, Childers gave Hershey something much closer to a shared experience than a conventional country show.
