Chris Stapleton's superstardom arrives at Wells Fargo Arena with All-American Road Show

Chris Stapleton's superstardom fully arrived during his Thursday night tour stop at Wells Fargo Arena.

The country crooner performed to a nearly sold-out crowd and performed a slew of hits during a set that showed why he has catapulted from star within the genre to one of the most recognizable artists in music today. The eight-time Grammy Award winner brought his 2023 edition of the All-American Road Show tour to the metro two years after he set an attendance record at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand in 2021 with 17,320 fans.

He opened the show with “Nobody to Blame” and “Parachute” as the crowd sang along to the pair of beat-heavy crowd favorites. "Second One to Know" was the third song to go as the Nashville-based singer-songwriter showcased skillful electric guitar mastery while he performed alongside wife, Morgane.

More: Country music superstar Chris Stapleton plays Des Moines this summer

"Folks, I'm not going to waste a whole lot of time on words tonight," he said.

Then, Stapleton strummed an acoustic guitar to "Starting Over," his ode to fresh starts on the coast with the one he loves as Morgane sang backing vocals. The 45-year-old was right on the money with a rendition of country singer Kevin Welch's song "Millionaire off the 2002 album of the same name.

Stapleton easily pleased the crowd with "Hard Livin'" and received whistles, woos, claps and cheers for his delivery of the 2017 song before he stunned the crowd with a cover of Guy Clark's "Worry B Gone." Marty Stuart, who opened for the country superstar, returned to the stage to perform a Travis Tritt collaboration "Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best" alongside Stapleton.

Then, his band left the stage for a solo performance of "What Are You Listening To?", the song that first catapulted his career with radio play. He followed it up with the 2020 track "Maggie's Song," a love letter to dogs that delighted Des Moines fans.

"I don't think I ever set foot in Iowa until I got to play places like this which is kind of incredible to me," he said.

Stapleton sang "Whiskey and You" before he brought "Arkansas" to his fans in Iowa who rose to their feet at the first sound of the song's guitar riffs and Morgane's headbanging instrumentation on the tambourine. The crowd showed up as background singer's halfway through the set for "You Should Probably Leave," the ever-popular radio favorite.

The gritty "Midnight Train to Memphis" brought metro area fans on a trip through Stapleton's versatile talents as both a guitarist and vocalist. "Are you still with us?" he asked to massive applause and cheers. "Crosswind," a song he dedicated to truck drivers, followed as he and Morgane stunned on stage with sultry harmonies.

On the warm 80-degree night in downtown Des Moines, Stapleton brought "Cold" to the audience of thousands. Cell phone flashlights flew above folks' heads while the crooner performed a slow burning version of "The Devil Named Music" off his 2015 No. 1 album "Traveller" before playing the title track from that album.

Then, Stapleton stopped the show as an audience member near the front row needed medical attention before restarting. A blues-infused "Fire Away" before Stapleton said "Wow, I can hear you singing out there!"

Stapleton asked the crowd to hold up their cellphones, turn the flashlights on, sing along to the song during an extra verse, and dedicate it to somebody who couldn't be present tonight.

"Thank you so much, that's what magic sounds like to me," he said.

The concert ended with "Broken Halos." Then, Stapleton asked, "is everyone having a good time tonight" and performed his most popular song ever, "Tennessee Whiskey," a cover of the David Allen Coe song.

"Thank you all for being here tonight, we love you. Goodnight!" Stapleton said to the crowd as the lights fell.

Until the encore, that is. Stapleton and his band performed "Outlaw State of Mind" under red lights as Margane jumped up and down before the superstar and his crew made their way off the stage.

Allen Stone sets his up-and-coming stardom in stone

The Pacific Northwest’s own Allen Stone opened the Des Moines show with a timely track, “Celebrate Tonight.”

“We’re so excited to share the stage with legends like Marty Stuart and Chris Stapleton,” he said.

Stone performed more of his hits with signature soulful vocals from “Where You’re At” and “Consider Me” to a smooth cover of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” and rock and roll-inspired “Brown Eyed Lover.”

“Thank you so much for having us tonight, Des Moines!” he said.

Marty Stuart croons, calls Des Moines a 'cool town'

After a brief intermission following Stone's set, country legend Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives performed the folky crowd favorite “Tear The Woodpile Down” followed by his song “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’,” a subdued 1991 collab with fellow country star Travis Tritt.

“Hello Des Moines peoples, I love this town! It’s a cool town!” he exclaimed.

This year’s countrified “cosmic” release “Sitting Alone” came after.

“Do we have any farmers out there?” He asked the crowd before saying “you’re not a farmer” to an audience member.

“From this day forward, Des Moines, Iowa, should be known as the surf capital of the world,” Stuart said later.

Stuart shared a story about Des Moines when he first got a call from Johnny Cash’s band leader at 20 years old and then a call from Cash himself.

Then, he dedicated a song to his former father-in-law. Stuart was married to Cindy Cash, the country legend’s daughter, for five years.

Right after, Stuart played a rendition of “Ring of Fire” and then “A Friend of Mine.” After a series of theatrical events and performances, Stuart made way for a brief intermission before Stapleton took to the stage.

Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at jstahl@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Country music star Chris Stapleton performs at Wells Fargo Arena