Billy Ray Cyrus strolled onto the stage opening his set with "Where am I gonna stay when I get home." Billy Ray also moved around on the stage but stayed in the center. In the middle of Billy Ray's set, the Opry showed a clip of George Jones photos on the big screen behind the stage, while the announcer provided milestones of George's career. George has recorded 200 albums and has 166 singles. The clip included George singing "Hold On" with Tammy Wynette. Billy Ray continued his set with "Country Music Has The Blues" as a tribute to his heroes, such as George Jones.
His new single, "Little Bit Of Life" was the lead song Craig Morgan sang into his two song set. He sang "Grand Tour" his favorite George Jones song, mentioning how nervous he was to sing George's song with him in the audience. Tanya Tucker entered the stage wearing a black blouse and slacks singing "Delta Dawn" with energy and enthusiasm that drew the audience's attention. She pulled her sleeves off as she sang her favorite George Jones song, "Window Up Above."
Joe Nichols strolled on the stage sending the crowd of female fans into cheers and screams as he sang his hit singles "Brokenheartsville," and "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off." As Joe congratulated George and wished him a happy birthday, a group of fans screamed 'I love you Joe.' As Joe began to speak again, another group yelled marriage proposals to Joe. When Joe was finally able to continue uninterrupted, he introduced he would be singing George's song, "Bartender Blues." Next up was Alison Krauss + Union Station. The group received cheers and applause as they took the stage and played "The Lucky One." Alison played the violin throughout her set ending with "We Can Make It."
The last performer before George Jones was Dierks Bentley. Dierks was also greeted with cheers and screams from the female fans in the audience as he sang his singles "Every Mile A Memory," and "Settle For A Slow Down." Dierks closed his set with George's song,"Walk Through The World With Me."
George Jones walked on the stage and sang "He Stopped Loving Her Today." The show ended with a large birthday cake being rolled out on stage and all the performers joining George on stage wishing him a happy birthday. The curtain came down way too early, I would have liked to hear all the performers and the audience sing "Happy Birthday" to George Jones.
