The Deal
Between The Country Music Association Music Festival in Nashville and Bonnaroo about an hour away in B.F.E., there was a lot of good live music in Tennessee this past weekend.
The Good
Darius Rucker and Kid Rock are now considered country artists. Kid Rock was even the encore act for the concerts Friday night with a line-up including Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Rodney Atkins and Jake Owen. Kid Rock even supplemented Sheryl Crow for Martina McBride. My favorite show was Lady Antebellum … in addition to the 5-year-old who was dancing on the otherwise unoccupied stage earlier at McFaddens.
Meanwhile Wynonna Judd had a family reunion on stage with her band-member, her mother. Wynonna arguably has the most soulful voice in country music, though there’s a new minority country singer on the map … well, at least at CMA Fest, and that's Rhonda Towns.
The Bad
It was the Coca-Cola 600 all over again … the concert was put on a rain delay before a drop of rain even hit the ground. They interrupted Reba McEntire during her set to clear the stadium, only to wait over an hour for it to rain on the parade, but pass by as quickly as a parade. The show went on … kinda. Rascal Flatts and Julianne Hough didn’t end up going on, but Hootie did, without his Blowfish. Along with Dierks Bentley, and Brad Paisley who played up until 2 a.m. Julianne Hough will be in Charlotte, however, playing at Whisky River’s one year anniversary party (stop back by on Wednesday for your chance to win a ticket to the concert you can only win tickets to).
And I don’t mean to be mean, but Wynona Judd kinda looked like a villain in Star Trek on stage.
The Verdict
There is live music everywhere in Nashville. From the stage of LP Stadium to the street corners. There was either live music or karaoke at every bar we went to. There’s even a bar where the bartenders serve you while singing, and a strip club with naked karaoke in Printer’s Alley.
And when did John Rich become the P-Diddy of country music? He even has his own very exclusive and essentially hidden club in downtown Nashville called The Spot where lots of celebrities can be spotted.
CMA Fest 2008 ... 2000 and late
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