The first day of the CMA Music Festival had pretty decent weather. There wasn't any rain during the time I was at the Riverfront Stages on this day, so that made for some good photographs.
As I arrived at the Riverfront Stages, Brice Long was just finishing up his set, and Keith Anderson was just getting ready to come on stage. I took my spot in front of the stage, and watched Keith do his thing.
His first song was "Wrap Around." Just watching him move around was not an unpleasant thing. He's really easy on the eyes, and he is a fun entertainer.
Introducing "XXL," Keith said he's the runt of the family. All his relatives are 350 lbs or larger, and that is where he got the idea for the song.
Keith's debut album is Three Chord Country & American Rock & Roll, and it was released last month. He performed the title cut next.
Being from a small town, you have to make your own fun, like taking that special someone, and "Pickin' Wildflowers." I love this song. It's so much fun to listen to, and the video is cool, but seeing Keith sing it live makes it even better.
Jessica Andrews was next on the stage, and she opened with "Ain't That Life." I'm guessing at the title, as I'm not familiar with the song. From there, she went into her big hit, "Who I Am." Next up was a cut from her latest album, Now, called "When Gentry Plays Guitar."
Jessica said she's going to have a new album coming out later this year, and the new single will be out later this month. She sang that single next, which is called "Summer Girls." She then closed her show with "There's More To Me Than You."
Next on stage was the legendary Mel Tillis. He started his set off with "Love Revival." While I didn't recognize the first song, I definitely recognized the second one, "Southern Rain." The crowd sang along on this one.
Another familiar song was "Burning Memories," which he followed with "Send Me Down To Tucson". Another familiar tune was "Coca-Cola Cowboy."
Mel's two backup singers are known as the Stutterettes, and he gave them the stage to perform a medley of classic country hits. They sang "Don't Come Home a-Drinkin' With Loving on Your Mind," "Rose Garden," "End of the World," "The Key is in the Mailbox," and "Stand By Your Man." They harmonize really well.
Mel then sang the fun "I Got My Horse and You Got the Saddle." At least, that's what I think it's called.
I saw Mel's daughter, Pam standing to the rear of the stage, and he called her up. They said they were disappointed that they weren't scheduled at the same time. She was singing later on in the day. So, they rectified that and did a beautiful duet called "Waiting on the Wind."
Mel sang one of his favorite gospel songs, which I'm not sure of the name, but I think it's called "You Can't Love the Father if You Don't Love the Sun."
I had never seen Mel perform live before and enjoyed his show.