Dan + Shay, the dynamic country music duo of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, first captured the hearts of audiences with their 2014 debut album, Where It All Began. Renowned for a series of chart-topping hits like "19 You + Me," "Nothing Like You," "From The Ground Up," "Tequila" and "Speechless," and three consecutive Grammy wins from 2019-2021, Dan + Shay are beloved for their harmonious blend of soulful vocals and compelling songwriting.
After a near split that helped them find their mojo again, 2023 saw the release of their fifth studio album, Bigger Houses. The boys have just embarked on a highly anticipated new tour, "The Heartbreak On The Map Tour," showcasing not only the evolution of their sound but their extreme gratitude for this next step in their lives and career. "There’s really something special about this tour. Dan and I have been on a journey the last couple of years so we’re really in the best place we’ve ever been in and we have so much gratitude that we get to do this for a living," says Shay Mooney.
"The Heartbreak On The Map Tour" kicked off on February 29 in Greenville, South Carolina with an upcoming stop on the 19-city arena tour at Bridgestone Arena on March 21. Shay says, "There’s going to be a freshness to this tour. The production is something we’ve never done before. It’s bigger and better than we’ve ever done. It’s gonna be a breath of fresh air. We've got a lot of gratitude we’re coming into this tour with. Fans are gonna feel that. I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. Our fans are gonna be excited. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’m fired up!"
Fans can expect nothing less than Dan + Shay giving it their all. "One thing we make sure to do is to have a lot of rehearsals. We rehearse every single move we make, so we don’t have to think about where we have to be. If we’re thinking about that, then we’re not gonna have a great time. We want to be prepared. We’re forever grateful that our fans are spending their hard-earned money to come see us play so we want to be sure we’re putting on the best show that we can."
Shay adds, "Before the show, one major thing we always do with our band and our crew is to have this moment where we remind ourselves how lucky we are that we get to do this. It's such a team effort. We've got four other guys behind us in our band that are just as much a part of the show and there's guys that are running lights and running sound. Without them behind the scenes, the show wouldn't happen. We take a moment before the show to thank all of those people."
Dan is co-producer (along with Scott Hendricks, a former Franklin Lifestyle cover) on the Bigger Houses album, a title Shay doesn't necessarily want. "Music is so much bigger than all of us. And there are so many things about creating music that I can say are my favorite things. Production is such a cool piece of it because it's about how a song is going to be perceived by the rest of the world. But I'm afraid if I learn too much about it, Dan's gonna make me do more work," Shay says laughingly.
The duo also completed the taping of the 25th season of NBC's The Voice as coaches, which premiered February 26. It's a first for the show to have a coaching duo with two chairs and one button. Shay says, "We're excited to make a little bit of history and be the first duo on the show. It was incredibly humbling. The first couple of days took some getting used to because there was just so much at once. You're being filmed the whole time. Once we settled in, we were there in the moment realizing that this is really, really special. It's an extremely rare thing that most people don't get to be a part of. You're sharing the stories of all of these people coming through and you get to be a part of their journey."
While Dan + Shay sing several songs about heartbreak and named this tour after it, gratitude for what they have is what this tour is really about. DanAndShay.com
The Heartbreak On The Map Tour
Fri, Mar 1 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
Sat, Mar 2 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Thu, Mar 7 Austin, TX Moody Center ATX
Fri, Mar 8 Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena
Sat, Mar 9 Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center
Thu, Mar 14 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
Fri, Mar 15 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
Sat, Mar 16 Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
Wed, Mar 20 Savannah, GA Enmarket Arena
Thu, Mar 21 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
Fri, Mar 22 Chicago, IL United Center
Thu, Apr 4 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum
Fri, Apr 5 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Sat, Apr 6 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center Omaha
Sun, Apr 7 Kansas City, MO T-Mobile Center
Thu, Apr 11 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Fri, Apr 12 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Sat, Apr 13 Boston, MA TD Garden
"Music is so much bigger than all of us."
"Dan and I have been on a journey that last couple of years so we're really in the best place we've ever been in."
