The Rodney Atkins Fan Club Party was set a few months back, and tickets went on-sale online. We all were in a mad rush to get our tickets right away. I believe a little over 250 tickets were sold before the event, and more were sold at the door.
Rodney's People
There were fan club members and Rod Squad Street team members all over Nashville all week passing out Rodney information. The stickers we passed out said "I am one of Rodney's people," which is very appropriate for the song he has out right now on the radio, "These Are My People."The Rod Squad members also passed out flyers and pamphlets. These items were filled with information about joining in the Rodney Atkins fun. The many members in town were very hard at work promoting Rodney Atkins during all of the 2007 CMA Festival. We wore his shirts, hats and stickers all-week-long, and told everyone we could about Rodney and his great music. We told everyone about this great family, his excellent band and group of fan club members, and Rod Squad members that he has following him. We made a lot of people aware of the great guy we already know him to be. Fans traveled into Nashville from all over the world, so this was an excellent opportunity for exposure for Rodney.
The line for the Rodney Atkins fan club party started around 8:00 am outside the Belcourt Theatre, and the doors were to open at 9:30 am. The party was scheduled to last until 1:00 pm.
We were able to see Rodney, his wife Tammie Jo, and son Elijah pull up in Rodney's red pickup truck. Rodney's dad, Alan was out talking to all of the fan club members while we were waiting in line to get into the venue. He always makes a point of coming out and getting to know Rodney's fans. Rodney has a great support system, a great family.
While in line, I passed out the "I'm one of Rodney's people" stickers to all I could so that we could get as many of us as possible in some sort of Rodney gear for the show and hopefully for the rest of the day. Once we made our way to the door, we were all given a raffle ticket for the drawings that were to take place later during the party.
Gifts for the fans
There were blue backpacks that said "Rodney Atkins Fan Club," passed out to all the fan club members attending. The bags included Rodney Atkins Fan Club post-it notes, a Rodney Atkins pen, and a sticker, as well as a laminate that said "Rodney Atkins Fan Club Party Belcourt Theatre, June 8, 2007."Al, the merchandise man was there with a full assortment of Rodney items for sale, which included hats, t-shirts, photos, bracelets, his two cd's, guitar picks and so on. You never can have too much Rodney Atkins memorabilia!
The Belcourt Theatre had drinks and hot dogs, popcorn and candy for sale. We were led into the beautiful old historical theatre and seated. We were all waiting in anticipation to see Rodney and his very talented band hit the stage and get us all singing the great songs along with them.
XM radio was in attendance. The fan club party was recorded to be played on XM radio at a later date in its entirety. Rodney was introduced up on to the stage and gave a great concert.
Rodney hits the stage
I was seated in the front row, which really helped me with getting good photos for this article. He spoke to us briefly, thanked us for coming, and then got started with his lineup of excellent songs.New and old songs were played. There were three brand new songs that he introduced to us, and all were great hits with us. The songs spoke of family, love, values, home, everyday life, and they each left us all with warm hearts and smiles.
Rodney truly knows what his fans want, and truly has a place in each and every one of our hearts. He shows what true life and true country music is about. He puts off such a positive image and makes everyone around him happy and proud to know him. He is truly a class act.
Set List:
- (new song on next album) "The Older I Get"
- (current single) "These Are My People"
- "What I Love About The South"
- "Watching You" (His son Elijah was on stage with him) Previous #1
- "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)"
- (new song on next album) "God Wants Me To"
- (new song on next album) "15 Minutes"
- "Goin' Thru Hell (Before The Devil Even Knows)" Previous #1
After Rodney finished his concert, raffle tickets were pulled and numerous people won prizes. A pair of tickets to a Grand Ole Opry show were given away, as well as a few autographed items, Atkins family homemade bracelets, and signed laminates. Many people went away winners.
Rodney then came back out for his meet and greet with everyone. He makes it a point to know his people, and he remembers us. He loves his people and they love him. I took him a camouflage Notre Dame hat because I know he loves the camouflage, and he knows it's where I am from.
He posed for pictures with everyone, and chatted as best he could with the limited time he had. He was actually headed out of town to do a show before having to return to Nashville to perform at LP Field on Sunday night.
All in all, this was a great year for Rodney, and it was a great gathering of the people that love him and support him the most. I am a very proud member of his fan club, "The Rod Squad," and just a friend in general. He is a person that you can't help but love. He is truly an upstanding guy and an excellent performer, singer, and songwriter. We are all are counting down the days to our next Rodney concert, to his next CD, and to his next CMA Festival Fan Club Party, in 2008.
