No prep? No problem. How an Iowan played with AJR at Wells Fargo Arena on 2-hours notice

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
Andrew Hoyt opens for AJR at Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Hoyt was called about three hours before the show after another musician was unable to perform.
Andrew Hoyt opens for AJR at Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Hoyt was called about three hours before the show after another musician was unable to perform.
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Iowa native Andrew Hoyt said the stars aligned when he got a call from LiveNation on Tuesday afternoon.

The musician grew up in Grimes. He sings, plays the ukulele and guitar, and is a substitute music teacher. With just hours before the show was scheduled to start, he became the opening act for AJR at Wells Fargo Arena.

Why did Andrew Hoyt only get a few hours notice to play with AJR in Des Moines?

AJR's original opener was Dean Lewis, an Australian singer and songwriter. Lewis posted on his Instagram Story the day of the show saying:

"I am currently sitting in the ER with a suspected concussion […] I am not going to be able to perform my show for you tonight opening for" AJR.

Lewis later posted that he had an accident with a bench press in a hotel gym before the show, but would be OK. His absence left a hole in the show.

LiveNation started making calls. Hoyt said he was on a run downtown, and he's lucky he heard the call.

"As we're talking I'm actively walking to my car," Hoyt said he told the caller. "I said I can be there in 15 minutes."

How musician Andrew Hoyt went from self-made to center stage at Wells Fargo Arena

Andrew Hoyt, right, poses with two of the three members of the band AJR on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Hoyt filled in as an opening act for the band's show at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines after another musician was unable to perform at the last minute.
Andrew Hoyt, right, poses with two of the three members of the band AJR on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Hoyt filled in as an opening act for the band's show at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines after another musician was unable to perform at the last minute.

Hoyt doesn't even have a manager, he said. After getting the invitation, he called his girlfriend for outfit advice and threw some merch in a bag. He barely made sound check and he didn't even have a written setlist.

"There's so much noise," he said. "I was like, 'I gotta remember what to say.'"

After a pep talk from his girlfriend backstage and only two hours from when he got the phone call, Hoyt entered the spotlight and performed in front of more than 4,000 people. Before this, he said his largest crowd was maybe 2,000.

Hoyt called the experience, "mind-blowing," and before his last song, he made a call to his mom on stage.

Hoyt said by the end of his act, it felt like a show of 12 people, but more importantly, it felt like home.

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at vreynarodriguez@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @VictoriaReynaR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: AJR opener Andrew Hoyt had 2 hours to get to Wells Fargo Arena