The IFCO Fun Fest was held at the Ryman Auditorium on June 6, 2006. The cast included veterans like the Oak Ridge Boys, and Con Hunley, to brand new stars like Chris Young and Megan Mullins.
The emcee for the night was music journalist Robert K. Oermann.
The show opened with Branson star Joe Tinoco singing "You Show Me Yours, and I'll Show You Mine." Joe stars nightly at the White House in Brandon, Missouri, and was a delight to listen to.
Curb artist Rachel Proctor was next, and she sang her hit, "Me and Emily."
Following Rachel was Texas star Todd Fritsch, who sang "Five Morning's Down," followed by his big Texas hit, "Small Town Radio."
Auburn-haired Rustie Blue was next. She sang "Do Me a Favor," and followed that with the Martha Carson hit, "Satisfied."
Another new act, the trio Alvarado Road Show, who were discovered by Steve Wariner and signed by Universal South sang their first single, "I Hope She's Happy." The song will be out next month, and their album will follow in the fall. They have a really good sound.
Karen Taylor-Good brought tears to many people's eyes with her song, "On Angel's Wings," which is a true story about her mom having Alzeimers. Her vocal is absolutely stunning, and the song will touch the coldest heart. Listen to the full-version of the song. (It's a long download, but well-worth it.)
Con Hunley is someone that I got to see at last year's IFCO show, and I was glad he was back again. He opened his set with "I Can't Make It Alone." His current single "That Old Clock" was next. What fun that was to listen to. It's got a real 50's Jerry Lee Lewis sound to it.
Megan Mullins is another gifted artist who plays a variety of instruments, and those of you that watched Nashville Star will remember her as the fiddler in the Nashville Star band. She sang "I Want You Bad," and her current single, the Top 40 hit, "Ain't What It Used To Be."
Another artist I was looking forward to seeing perform live is Keni Thomas. He started his set off with the touching song, "Not Me," which he recorded with Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill on his album, Flags of Our Fathers.
Keni told of being on the road with Darryl Worley, and hearing Darryl say, "This is my next No. 1 song..." before singing a song that would soon be a No. 1 song. Keni said, that works pretty good for him, so I thought I'd try it... "This will be my first No. 1 song." He sang "Shreveport to L.A."
Keni's got a ton of personality, and is a fireball on stage running and jumping around. You feel good watching and listening to him.
Hot Apple Pie was next, starting their set out with the energetic "Hillbillies." Next up was another upbeat track, "The Shape I'm In." They said they are making a new record and they will be releasing a new single in the Fall.
There was a short intermission, and as I came back from getting something to drink at the snack bar, I saw a lady holding a young girl who was obviously a St. Jude patient up by the stage where Little Big Town was visiting with her. They invited them both on stage to watch their performance. It was mentioned later on that they knew her when she was sick, and now she's getting better and came to enjoy the show.
After the intermission, Little Big Town hit the stage with "I'm Good." This band has quickly grown to be one of my very favorites, and I'm so glad to get to see them perform. "A Little More You" was next, followed by "Bring It On Home," where Phillip just kills on the vocal, and closing with their huge hit, "Boondocks."