Train brings crowd interaction and radio hits to Walmart AMP
By Novena Littlejohn with Troy Littledeer | @kituwahpunk
Train did not stand still Wednesday night at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, and neither did the crowd.
Frontman Pat Monahan worked the stage edge constantly, at one point taking phones from fans in the front rows to shoot selfies from the spotlight. T-shirts flew into the crowd in regular bursts, pulling people toward the barricade in waves. The energy was managed but never manufactured — Monahan has been doing this long enough to know exactly how much a crowd will give back if you meet them halfway.
The setlist leaned on familiar material without staying rigid. “Meet Virginia” slid into a stretch of “The Joker.” “Hey Jude” and “Hotel California” surfaced mid-set. A recent single associated with Teddy Swims moved across the amphitheater as the band kept transitions quick and loose. The crowd tracked every turn.
Edwin McCain opened with a stripped-down acoustic set anchored by “I’ll Be.” He told the crowd the room had turned into a 1990s prom — a line that landed because it was true. The singalong that followed confirmed it.
The pairing held together. McCain’s quieter acoustic pacing cleared the way for Train’s louder, more kinetic set without losing the thread of recognizable hooks that kept both crowds connected. From opener through encore, momentum held.
The Walmart AMP continues its summer run. The Jonas Brothers are next.
Troy Littledeer is a member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and an award-winning journalist and photographer based in Adair County, Oklahoma. His reporting focuses on tribal sovereignty, federal Indian law, and accountability in Adair County and across Indian Country, with an emphasis on people over government and service to community members. He is a lifetime member of the Indigenous Journalists Association and recipient of the 2025 Tim Giago Free Press Award. Littledeer also supports high school and NCAA sports, as well as music and the arts.
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