Prior to the show, a Silent Auction was held with money going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Some of the items up for bid included CDs from artists such as Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, a large stuffed Mickey Mouse signed by Josh Gracin, hand-written lyrics from Darryl Worley, a beautiful watercolor print from Steve Wariner, and much more. All items were signed by the artists.
The Johnson Sisters, Kay, Loretta and Loudilla have organized this event as co-presidents of IFCO, which stands for International Fan Club Organization. This is the 38th year of the show.
Robert K. Oermann, who is sometimes called "the dean of Nashville entertainment journalists" was the host of the show. First up were the four finalists of the IFCO Center Stage Star Search Contest. It's the first three places, but there were two people tied for third place.
Third place finalist Tresa Street performed first, singing "Ain't Nothin' Changed." Also third place finalist, and my favorite of the four new artists that performed was Taylor Ware. This little girl can yodel your pants off. "Taught Me To Yodel." (Uncertain of the title, but she's great.) She's got great stage presence too, and only 10-years old. Next up, the second place finalist, Leah Durelle, who sang the LeAnn Rimes hit, "Blue." First place winner, and the only guy of the group was next. His name is Austin Cody, and he sang a really catchy song called "Destination You."
Aaron Lines was the first of the well-known artists to perform, and he started out his portion of the show with his current single, "Waiting on the Wonderful." He told the story of his air conditioning going out in his house, and how happy he was to be in the cool Ryman Auditorium. The second song was based on a true story about two 15-year-old kids that went through some tough times, with the girl getting pregnant, but the boy stepped up and accepted his responsibility and Aaron says today, 15 years later they are still together and have had a second child. The song was called "Takes a Man."
