Smith and Myers at the Downtown Event Center in Las Vegas, NV

Smith and Myers, one half of the huge rock group Shinedown, perform a dynamic acoustic set at the annual Bite of Las Vegas event.

The annual Bite of Las Vegas event is one that people look forward to, combining national music acts and local restaurants into an all-day event. This year it has moved to a new location more central in Las Vegas and the attendance reflects that. The day is full of various musical acts but one of the biggest bands of the night are Smith & Myers, half of the huge rock band Shinedown, performing an acoustic set. Singer Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers make up this duo and with the catalog of great songs this band has. It is easy to see why they are so popular tonight.

Though this is an acoustic show, it is in no way lacking energy. These two command the stage from the moment they step foot on it. The set is comprised of both Shinedown songs which translate to the acoustic performance amazingly well, as well as some covers from the Smith & Myers acoustic covers EPs released in 2014. The performance is more than just the music. The band tells some stories, makes some jokes and, after the first song, they do the Shinedown tradition of having the crowd turn to the people next to them and say “hello” introducing themselves as all part of the Shinedown family.

For this being a duo there is a robust sound. Smith’s vocal and the solo guitar provide a powerful performance that, at times, makes you feel that there are more musicians on the stage than there are. They repeatedly joke that it is just this tiny guitar and his voice. It may be just that but there is nothing missing from this sound or the performance. Some of the highlights of the set include the Shinedown songs “I’ll Follow You” and “Second Chance.”  Both these songs are crowd favorites and everyone is happy to see them performed. These songs as just as powerful acoustically as they are with the whole band plugged in, just in a different way. The covers included in this set really stand out as well. Of course, everyone is familiar with this bands cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” which is arguably one of the best covers recorded, but they show they are more than that with two covers from their acoustic EPs – a cover of Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” and Adele’s “Someone Like You” which may be just as unique and powerful of a cover as “Simple Man.”

The set is a perfect mix of the originals and covers, and it delivers exactly what the crowd wants. Shinedown played this same venue last summer and this performance makes the crowd anxious for their next return to Las Vegas, but, at the same time, everyone is excited to have been able to see this duo since the performance is surely a memorable one.