As a rule, I generally don’t take on assignments covering opening acts. But then again, it isn’t every day that you see an opening act like Drew & Ellie Holcomb. If ever there was going to be a reason to make an exception, this would be it.
It wasn’t that long ago that Drew & Ellie were headlining their own tour. In fact, their Never Gonna Let You Go Tour played Denver’s Paramount Theatre less than four months ago, on April 17. When they wrapped up that tour in mid-May with a two-night engagement at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the couple figured they would be taking a break from touring. But when the opportunity to join longtime friends and collaborators NEEDTOBREATHE on their The Long Surrender Tour, they jumped on board.
Music helped bring Drew Holcomb and Ellie Bannister together years ago, when he was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee and she was a freshman. That early friendship eventually became a marriage, now twenty years strong. Both went on to build successful music careers: Drew as frontman of the acclaimed Americana/roots band Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, and Ellie as a respected Christian solo artist.
Their individual careers have overlapped in several ways. Ellie was an original member of The Neighbors but left the band to help raise the couple’s children and pursue her own solo work. They have recorded and performed together many times, but with the January 2025 release of their first full-length joint album, Memory Bank, their work as a duo has moved to the forefront.
It’s still somewhat uncharted territory for the couple. But uncharted territory that they love. As headliners, setlists of close to two dozen songs aren’t unusual. You need to fit in some Ellie songs, and some Drew (& The Neighbors) songs, and some Drew & Ellie songs. As an opening act, that setlist would have to be cut back considerably. Or would it?
On Friday’s second night of the current tour, Drew and Ellie took the stage at 6:30 pm, and presented a spirited 50-minute set that included all or parts of eighteen songs. Then, at the conclusion of NEEDTOBREATHE’s set, Drew and Ellie returned to the stage to join frontman Bear Rinehart and crew for the first two songs of a three song encore.
From the moment the Holcombs took the stage, they barely stopped moving. Drew was a bit more reserved, but Ellie’s exuberance was so contagious that he seemed pulled into her momentum. Drew is unquestionably a strong frontman, but Ellie brings an energy entirely her own.
Whether written for their individual projects or their work together, Drew and Ellie’s songs feel grounded and sincere. They are joyful and uplifting, but never detached from real life. Their lyrics unfold like stories of struggle, difficult choices, heartbreak, triumph, and the quiet resilience that carries people forward. Live, those songs draw the audience into a celebration fueled by genuine emotion.
Friday night’s celebration centered on a shared sense of community — the themes, experiences, and emotions that connect us all — and that spirit was clear from the opening number, “Family,” from Drew & The Neighbors’ 2019 album, Dragons. Opening songs rarely become audience singalongs, but this one did. The message landed immediately: this was going to be a special, meaningful night.
(The full setlist, presented in order, can be found in the photo gallery below. Note that is includes the two songs Drew & Ellie performed with NEEDTOBREATHE as part of that band’s encore.)
The evening unfolded as one highlight after another, but for me, the standout came midway through the set, when Drew & Ellie performed “Feels Like Home” from their 2022 collaborative project, Coming Home: A Collection of Songs. Drew introduced it as the song they most love singing together, and it was easy to understand why. At its heart, the song captures the small, grounding moments that make you feel “back home,” even when you’re far from it. By the end, it didn’t simply sound like a song they cherish; it felt like one the entire audience needed.
In many ways, that song reflected the strength of the entire set: personal without feeling insular, heartfelt without becoming sentimental, and broad enough for the whole audience to find its way in.
Drew & Ellie Holcomb may have been the opening act, but their set felt anything but secondary. Warm, spirited, and deeply sincere, it stood on its own as one of the night’s most memorable moments. In less than an hour, they delivered a set that felt generous, joyful, and deeply personal — the kind of performance that doesn’t simply prepare an audience for the headliner, but leaves its own lasting imprint. Though I’m still not planning to make a habit of reviewing opening acts, Drew & Ellie Holcomb certainly made the case for me to make an exception to that rule.
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If you missed NEEDTOBREATHE’s The Long Surrender Tour, featuring Drew and Ellie Holcomb as the opening act, at the Dillon Amphitheatre last week, don’t worry – you’ll have another chance to see them when the tour returns to Colorado next month. They perform at Red Rocks on September 14. Tickets are available here: Red Rocks Online.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
