In my opinion and the sounds of others standing around me Adkins, McBride, Nichols and Brooks and Dunn were the favorites of the night. Black was also good and well accepted, but who wouldn't like listening to him play that harmonica, and sing "Killin' Time." He also sang his newer single "Spend my Time."
SHeDAISY started the night off with singing "Little Goodbyes" and "Passenger Seat" along with a few others. Lawrence still has that stage presence that he has had all along especially while singing "Time Marches On." Everyone supported his new single "Paint Me A Birmingham." I'm glad he's back and looking good doing his thing.
Then there was the handsome John Michael Montgomery who sang "Be My Baby Tonight" and "Sold! (The Grundy County Auction)" He switched moods and sang "The Little Girl," and his current single "Letters From Home." When he was finished he flipped his guitar over to reveal a big "THANK YOU" that was painted on the back of it.
Lonestar put on a great show. McDonald and his band sang "What About Now," the soon-to-be performed song on Days of Our Lives, "TGIF," and "Walking In Memphis." It was so hot the shirt he was wearing was totally drenched. He even autographed a cap thrown to him on stage.
Joe Nichols followed Clint Black who is a hard act to follow, but he did a great job along with his new fiddle, mandolin and back up singer Mark McClurg. He sang, "Cool to Be A Fool" and "The Impossible." And it wouldn't have been the same without him singing "Brokenheartsville." Watch out for Joe.
Then came Trace Adkins and the crowd went wild. He has such an awesome stage presence about him. He is also a very funny guy and came out and said to the crowd right off, "I ain't never seen so may rednecks at one place in all my life." Then he sang "(This Ain't No) Thinkin' Thing" and "Chrome." He finished with "Rough and Ready" and another favorite of mine "Hot Mama."
Martina came out with her radiant smile and the audience applauded her right off the bat. She opened with "When God Fearin' Women Get The Blues," and "Harper Valley PTA." She then talked about growing up in Kansas and watching the Wizard of Oz as a kid, then belted out an awesome rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." She closed her set with "Independence Day" which had everyone on their feet applauding her.
Then of course it was the Brooks and Dunn show. "Little Miss Honky Tonk" was their first song of the night. Kix having the time of his life on stage as usual, then they had to bring it down a bit for "Ain't Nothing 'bout You." My favorite that they sing is "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of The Girl," which they had to perform twice because of them filming the event for a CBS-TV special.
Gretchen Wilson then rode up on a lit-up four wheeler, got off with her guitar and went straight up to the mic and finished the song with Brooks and Dunn. Brooks then introduced Wilson as the fastest women in the history of country music for having an album, Here For The Party that reached platinum status so quickly.
Wilson then broke into her song "Redneck Woman" with "Hell Yeahs" from everywhere in the stadium. She also had to perform her song twice for TV directors. Brooks and Dunn returned to end the show with "Rock My World Little Country Girl," of course with streamers, confetti and the huge balloon dolls. A fantastic evening of FUN and great music.
