Tyler Childers and Evan Honer @ Darien Lake PAC, Darien, NY 8-13-26

Tyler Childers’ ‘Snipe Hunt’ tour had a mini derailment back on June 10th as he and his wife welcomed their second child. There were 2 dates that had to be rescheduled with Darien Lake being one of them. The rescheduled date was for August 13, 2026. Childers brought with him singer songwrite Evan Honer to open up the show.

Honer’s career stated during the covid pandemic where he released his first song “How Could I Ever.” In 2022, he competed on American Idol. Since that time, he has released 4 full length albums including his latest effort titled ‘Halfway’ that was released just on vinyl in 2026. The connection between Honer and Childers started when Honer covered Childers’ song “Jersey Giant.” A year ago last August, they finally met and now Honer has been selected to open up the 2 rescheduled dates including the one here at Darien Lake. The indie folk artist played 8 songs which lasted for about 45 minutes. He opened up with “Take Me As I Come” off of his 2024 ‘Fighting For’ album. Throughout the show he moved about the front of the stage while playing his acoustic guitar. I thought “Foolin’ Ourselves” and “IDK Shit About Cars” came off very well. I thought Honer was the perfect choice to opener up the show for Childers.

Headlining the festivities was Tyler Childers. Childers came out in a camo deck outfit. I must say I haven’t heard that many young screams for an artist in a very long time. His stage had a vintage basement theme to it. That included an old TV and decor that too you back to the mid 1970’s. The ‘Snipe Hunt’ tour is in support of Childers 7th studio effort titled ‘Snipe Hunter,’ that was released back in July of 2025. The high energy “Eatin’ Big Time” served as an appropriate opener to get the show going. In fact, Childers heavily concentrated the setlist from ‘Snipe Hunter’ by playing 8 songs off of it. Halfway through the set, Childers played on the B Stage that was positioned in back of reserved seating and before the lawn. The 1st song “Lady May” he performed solo. CJ Cain and Jesse Wells joined him for the next 2 songs “Noise on the Grindstone” and “Follow You to Virgie.” Childers tapped into the local vibe by playing “Iris,” a hit everyone knows by Buffalo’s own Goo Goo Dolls. Throughout his tours, Childers typically plays straight through to the end of his setlist. This show was no different. As he concluded on a high note with “Universal Sound.”

It was a little over 2 months but the show as worth the wait. Childers has a strong young following and that was no more evident than the sold out show he performed to this past Thursday night. The music and vibes (along with a great summer night) all mixed in to make this one of the best shows of the summer concert season!

Setlist:

Eatin’ Big Time

Shake the Frost

Tattoos

Down Under

Rustin’ the Rain

All Your’n

Oneida

Jersey Giant

I Swear to God

Dirty Ought Trill

Bitin’ List