With much of the region under a severe weather warning and an air quality advisory, rock fans happily made their way indoors on Saturday, as Shinedown brought its “Dance, Kid, Dance, Act II” tour to the MVP Arena in Albany. Joining the band were Coheed and Cambria and From Ashes to New.

Shinedown is currently touring in support of their 2026 album, Eight, their appropriately named eighth studio album. Formed in 2001, the band’s current line up consists of Brent Smith (lead vocals), Zach Myers (guitars), Eric Bass (bass guitar, keyboards), and Barry Kerch (drums), however, Bass announced prior to this tour that he would be sitting out this stretch of shows while he tended to personal issues. Josh Sturm and Zach Mack have filled in during his absence.

From Ashes to New kicked off the evening’s hard-rock triple header. The nu-metal rockers showed off their take on the rap-rock genre while taking advantage of the tour’s elaborate stage set up, during their high energy thirty minute set.

Up next was Coheed and Cambria. The Nyack, New York rockers have created a devoted following over the course of their two decades of performing, blending elements of modern emo and progressive rock sounds. Opening with 2003’s “A Favor House Atlantic”, Claudio Sanchez’s unique vocals captivated the audience and filled the area with ease. Sanchez didn’t hide his excitement about returning to the Capital Region, shouting out Valentine’s as one of the the first clubs the band played, decades ago, and noted their first record label, Equal Vision, is Albany based.

With their arrival drawing near, every Shinedown fan’s favorite mascot, “TV Guy”, took to the stage to show off his dance moves. The character drew laughter and cheers from the crowd while showing off stylistic dance moves.

Finally, it was time for the main event. The band arrived with a fury of fireworks and pyrotechnics, opening with “Safe and Sound”, the frantic rocker off their latest album. Always striving to give fans the best concert experience, Smith and Myers quickly made their way to the side stage platforms which extended to the middle of the arena’s general admission floor.

Along with their crunchy guitar riffs and heavy rock sound is a deeper message of community, unity, and hope. Never was this more evident than when the band performed their latest single “Three Six Five”. As the song began, Smith encouraged concert goers to think of loved ones they have lost over the years, reminding everyone that those individuals never leave you, and they remain present in your life each day. During the song, a photo montage of band members with their loved ones flashed across the video screens. Those photos shifted to photos of the late 3 Doors Down singer, Brad Arnold, who passed away earlier this year. The band would later honor Arnold, with a cover of Kryptonite, sung by Zach Myers.

Midway through the set, the band relocated to a stage in the middle of the floor, where they performed a four song acoustic set. A fixture on their current tour, the acoustic set has allowed the band to dig deeper into its catalog, rotating tracks not normally on their setlist. Drawing the biggest cheers this evening was “45”, the second single off their 2003 release Leave a Whisper. The longtime fan favorite track has largely been absent during recent tours and was a welcomed addition on this night.

Following the mini-acoustic set, the band returned to their more traditional hard rock ways, performing favorites like “Cut the Cord”, “Monsters”, and “Planet Zero” before closing the night with “Sound of Madness” and “Second Chance”. In all, the band played a setlist of 21 songs, spanning the length of their 25 year career.

With the evening drawing to a close, Smith offered his signature farewell. “We don’t say goodbye, we say ‘until next time’,” Smith proclaimed, leaving fans headed to the exits with hopes of a return show in the not so distant future.