Dan + Shay Perform Emotional, Raw Acoustic Cover Of Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" At 98.7 The Bull on March 15, 2015

It is truly incredible to have had a front row seat watching Dan + Shay's growth as artists from the time that I became a fan in March, 2014 through the present and hopefully for many more years to come. I know that they will show even more of that growth in many different avenues on their upcoming sixth studio project.

Going back to March 15, 2015 and viewing the duos cover performance of pop star Ed Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud" in front of a live audience at country radio station 98.7 The Bull's Skype Live Studio (now PNC Live Studio), I had forgotten how overall polished the guys were early on in their career. Despite Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney being in their 20's at the time (Smyers in his mid 20's and Mooney in his early 20's), and both of them being their silly selves when they were not performing, the rawness and emotion they put into their rendition of the meaningful love song blew me away hearing it again today for the first time in quite awhile. 

A song about finding your true love in the most unexpected places, growing old with that person through all of the changes that come with life, and loving that person for who they are, quirks and all, among other messages, Mooney really dug deep into telling the stories with his genuine facial expressions and pure vocals. He also showed off his vocal range throughout the song. Smyers' beautiful, flawless harmony and guitar playing complemented the lead vocalist nicely and he got into the performance as well with his genuine facial expressions. This made for what I thought was a perfect performance. I truly enjoyed it. The live studio audience applauded the duo at the end of the clip.

Both guys had girlfriends at the time and now they are both happily married, Smyers to his wife Abby and Mooney to his wife Hannah. The Smyers' have four rescue dogs while the Mooney's have four boys. Sheeran wrote "Thinking Out Loud", but hearing the duo sing it, they tailored it to their personal love stories and truly made it their own.

Stay tuned for future posts with my commentary on the duos other performances of Sheeran's hit. This was not the first time they covered the English pop singers song. You may remember my post from May 18 when Dan + Shay covered his sweet love song "Perfect" on The Elvis Duran Show. You can also look forward to future posts with my commentary on their additional performances of that song from over the years.

Below is the duos cover of "Thinking Out Loud" courtesy of PNC Live's YouTube channel for you to enjoy!