Twenty-five years after they started, Diamond Rio was still going strong as the band members walked across the stage Saturday night at H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center to cheers and claps.

Before the crowd saw Diamond Rio, the opening act, Kendall Conrad, walked across the stage in glittering gold boots and a jeweled black dress.

Singing songs about finding a guy, only to find out he has a girlfriend, and being a clingy person, Conrad got a few giggles out of the crowd. She seemed nervous to start, not saying too much between songs, but as time went on she seemed more relaxed.

Audience members commented that Conrad was good at playing the guitar.

After her opening, she met with audience members in the lobby, taking pictures and signing posters.

But after intermission, people hurriedly filed into their seats to watch the main act.

In the dark, lead singer Marty Roe, keyboardist Dan Truman, bass guitarist and baritone vocalist Dana Williams, mandolin player and tenor vocalist Gene Johnson and lead guitarist and banjo player Jimmy Olander walked on stage.

Diamond Rio jumped into its own mash-up of some of its hits such as “Sweet Summer,” “Unbelievable,” “Imagine That” and many others.

The band finally took a break to speak with the audience. Roe said it was the band’s first experience of fall weather. He also said that in Tennessee, the leaves do not change color; they just fall, getting a laugh from the crowd.

Roe added that the band was celebrating 25 years, and said they could not have done that without the fans.

They then sang two of their most popular songs, “One More Day” and “Beautiful Mess.” Members of the audience could easily be heard singing along to both.

The band explained that they did the “medleys” because they had so many hits they could not play all the full songs during a concert.

They played yet another medley, which included “You’re Gone,” “Walkin’ Away” and “All In Your Head.”

The band explained that it crossed some things off their bucket list, which included a Christmas album, gospel album, autobiography and live album. They also released a new album last year titled “I Made It,” which pictures a goldfish jumping from a bowl full of fish to an empty one.

Then, just for fun, Williams took an audience member’s phone and took a picture of him with the band and returned it back to the audience member saying, “Don’t trust a man with your phone.”

Diamond Rio also played “I Can’t Think Of Anything With You,” “In God We Still Trust,” which received a positive crowd reaction, and “I Believe.”

They then played another medley of 1970s rock songs covered in a bluegrass style. The audience could be heard singing along with those as well.

The band finished off with “Meet In The Middle” and “How Your Love Makes Me Feel.”

Diamond Rio came back for an encore and then went into the lobby to take photos and give autographs.

When asked how it felt to still be around after 25 years, Johnson said, “It’s great.”

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