What an afternoon! Mark Will's Fan Club party, of approximately 150 fans, took place at the Rhythm Kitchen in Nashville, TN on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 at 12 noon. The afternoon started off with a great lunch which everyone enjoyed thoroughly! Great food by the Rhythm Kitchen! For me personally, I was so excited as my table turned out to be front and center, table #1. I was so thrilled as we sent in for our tickets the minute we were allowed!
For a select few, the party got even better as they were chosen as "best friends of Mark". When their names were drawn from a bucket, they were allowed to move to the front and sit directly in front of Mark. I was relieved that my seat right in front was not blocked but happy for those chosen as many were some of his teen fans who were so excited!
When Mark came out, the whole restaurant erupted. We were all thrilled to see him and hear about how he has been doing. He performed 9 songs and we were all very excited to hear 4 new ones from him!! He started out with his first number one hit from 10 years ago, "Jacob's Ladder," which he often starts with. He followed that with another big hit of his, "Wish You Were Here." He then told us he wanted to do some new ones for us that he had been working on. They were all terrific and I can't wait to hear them on his new album, which he thinks will hopefully come out by the end of this year or early next year. Here's hopin'!! His new songs were called "Hank" (which he also performed at the IFCO show on Tues. night), "Days of Thunder," "I'm Not Sorry," and "The Crap I Do." I can't even pick a favourite of those as I loved them all. He ended his mini-concert for us by singing 3 fan favourites. "And the Crowd Goes Wild," "Don't Laugh At Me," and then he ended it with the most played song of 2003, "19 Somethin'." It was a great set and he had us all singing along. He is a true performer and always interesting. He always shows his fans so many sides of him...his funny side when he cracks jokes or interacts with the audience, his amazing ability as a performer when he gets the crowd going from ballad to rockin' song, his true sincerity when he thanks us from the bottom of his heart for our support and tells us that the coolest part of his job is seeing faces he recognizes out on the road. Lastly, we clearly saw his love for his family as he kissed his little girls on stage and thanked his wife publicly (with tears about to flow) for what she puts up with while he lives out his dream. He truly is an amazing performer and even more amazing man.
The party ended with Mark's meet and greet with all of the fans. He was definitely the reason for all the smiling faces there and it was clearly evident that he has a fan base (like us) that will stick with him forever. We do adore him!
