The sea of bright orange bags seems to take on a life of its own – floating down the streets of Nashville in a quest for the ultimate fan experience
If you don’t recognize the diehard country music fan by the dangling camera and gleam in their eye, the bright orange “goodie” bag on their arm is a dead giveaway!
Despite the heat, gas prices and crowded conditions in downtown Nashville – loyal fans lined the streets and riverfront to take part in the annual “Fan-fest”.
Today was the first official day of the festival - which is already living up to its reputation as the ultimate fan experience. There’s truly something for everyone.
Country artist Luke Bryan gushed (genuinely) to the media after his performance on the daytime stage about the privilege of being asked to play the Riverfront and the LP Field (as the LP Field evening shows are generally reserved for the big guns). “It’s the highlight of performing – To play in front of the fans”, Bryan said.
Trisha Yearwood appeared this morning at The Country Music Hall of Fame. Tricia’s camp handed out 200 tickets to fans starting at 9:00 a.m. - tickets that were gone in 10 minutes! The ticket granted them entrance to the autograph session for Yearwood’s new cookbook “Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen: Recipes from My Family to Yours” (that’s a mouthful).
And then there’s Mindy. After a five-year absence from the limelight – Well, let me rephrase that – After a five-year absence from the media – Well, let me rephrase that – After a five-year absence from the stage, Mindy McCready takes the concept that any press (even bad press) is good press - to a whole new level. She hit the riverfront stage wearing blue jeans and a casual peasant blouse, announcing with a giggle – “This next song is a song I wrote…well started to write…in jail. It’s called I’m Still Here”.
You gotta hand it to her…When the only press you get for four-plus years is for your tumultuous personal life and subsequent incarceration – and you can stand up in front of thousands of people and laugh at yourself…you’ve probably got staying power…The girl’s got guts.
Case in point…She just got press – again…I just wrote about her!
How do you follow that act? You bring in the big dogs! And bring they did. Have you ever heard of the DockDogs Competition? (originally started by ESPN a few years ago) I know! I hadn’t heard of it either – but when I found out it involved water…cold, refreshing water…I was tempted to race over to LP Field and join the dogs in the swimming/fetching competition! (You still have time to catch that act at LP Field – Starts daily at 11:00 a.m. www.dockdogs.com.)
It was about this time I made the decision to take a much needed break from the heat and head back to the Media Lounge (sounds so glamorous, doesn’t it?)…Okay – the truth is – I knew I was bordering on psychotic in a fleeting moment when the temptation to snatch a melting Sno Cone from a seemingly inattentive child almost overwhelmed me (she was wasting it…and I was hot!).
By 6:30 p.m. I was back on track (and, more importantly, had regained my sanity). LP Field on such a beautiful summer night was spectacular - The air still filled with the smell of funnel cakes and the excitement in the stadium palpable.
The stellar lineup delivered as promised. Jewel with her effortless style; Montgomery Gentry with their inimitable rough-n-tumble performance; Kelly Pickler stylishly bouncing around the stage in cropped denim pants and a canary yellow top.
The fireworks – the media buzzing around – the flashes from the Photo Pit – would all leave the party-goers with a magical feeling to carry with them out of the stadium.
Hard to believe there is still so much more to come over the next three days.
(Fortunately, I get to sleep an extra half an hour tomorrow – as I have already abandoned the fruitless effort of straightening my hair. Humidity and curly hair – fun stuff!)
For latest info on appearing artists, show schedules, tickets and around-town-events during the festival, here are some great sites:
www.cmaworld.com
www.cmafest.com
www.cmt.com
www.nashvilledowntown.com