Country Thunder Wednesday Concert Reviews

Laurie and I arrived in Wisconsin and went straight to Country Thunder. We wanted to check out the festival grounds since neither of us had been to this particular event. We were able to walk around and take a brief look at some of the vendor's tents on our way heading to the main stage area.

We met Michelle from Insight Management to pick up our credentials. Michelle was great to work with during the event. She provided an opportunity for us to set up an extra interview and kept us updated on all changes throughout the entire week. Thanks Michelle, you rock!

We found the media pit and prepared for Kellie Pickler's performance, the first show of the day for us. Kellie ran late because fans caught up with her so she took time to sign autographs.

Kellie Pickler

Once on stage, Kellie opened her set with "Gotta Keep Moving," and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind." Then, she sang a couple self-penned songs one in particular was a slow, touching song she dedicated to her grandma called, "My Angel." Kellie shared some of the history of her grandmother raising her and she's the woman she is today because of her. She went on to say her grandmother a mother to her, and her best friend, and everything she wanted to be, which were lyrics in the song.

Next, she said she wanted to go back in time to do Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" before launching into her personal survival song called "I'm On My Way" which is one of her favorites from her album. Then, she sang "Independence Day," which was the first song she sang at a hometown festival when she was 15 years old. Kellie did a commendable job singing this Martina McBride favorite. Next up was "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You," another song from Kellie's album she dedicated it to "all those heartbreakers out there."

Then, Kellie introduced "Small Town Girl" as the first song she wrote to let everyone know she's still that same small town girl everyone voted for on American Idol. She told the audience "You can take the girl out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the girl." Pickler danced and pranced around the stage and on the catwalk doing Marilyn Monroe poses and stopping to sign autographs.

Pickler said "She's a sucker for the classics" then sang the Tammy Wynette classic "Stand By Your Man" and Dolly Parton's "9 to 5." Kellie said "This is the point in my show where I normally sing "Fancy" but since Reba is here I'll leave that for her. But I really want to sing it." she went on to say, "it's amazing to share the same stage with Reba." She continued by introducing and singing "I Wonder," after which she made the closing comment, "It's amazing how fast your life can change, and how fast your dreams can come true." She wiped tears from her face as she begin singing her first single "Red High Heels."

Steve Holy

Steve Holy appeared next on the main stage. He opened with "Be Careful When You Kiss Me," "Wrap Around" and "You're Gonna Miss My Love." Steve's upbeat sound had country-rockin' fans on their feet swaying. He wiped sweat from his face and tossed the towel to a very eager and excited fan.

Next, Holy sang "Good Morning Beautiful," "It's a Woman's World" and "You Can't Rush a Good Thing." He explained the last song by saying he had been in a relationship for two months and he couldn't even get a kiss. He asked the guys in the audience if that wasn't too long to have to wait for a kiss. The guys cheered their agreement and Holy laughed.

Then, he sang "Baby Don't Go" and followed with a song he said he wrote about two weeks ago it has no name yet but it might be called "Wonder" or "Seven Wonders." Steve added that they have only played the song twice and wanted to try it out on this audience. If the audience's reaction is any indication of how the rest of Holy's fan will react to this new song. it'll be another hit for him. Some key phrases in the song are as followed: "As sure as the snow on Mountain Everest" and "My love will always be there."

Holy introduced "Uh Huh" making reference to the movie When Harry Met Sally and Harry, the Billy Crystal character's line "Men can't be just friends with women," saying he found that out when he was 18. Afterwards, Steve closed with "I've Got a Brand New Girlfriend."