I have been a fan of the show Nashville Star every year, since it first came out in 2003, which you can tell by reading all the recaps from the shows. For the past three years, they have sent the winner and the Top 3 finalists on tour across the country, and they never came anywhere near me, so I was never able to see them. This year was the first time they came near me, so my friend Dianne and I signed up for the fan club of Chris Young, the winner this year, and got our tickets to see the show.
We arrived a little more than an hour ahead of the start of the show, and waited for the gate to open to go get our Meet & Greet passes with Chris. I brought my cover to his album (which is AWESOME), which I had received two days before, and waited for the Meet & Greet to start. We were taken back behind the stage near the Nashville Star bus, and shortly afterwards Chris came out, pen in hand, along with Casey, Nicole and Matt. Did not expect to meet everyone, and was really happy to meet them as well.
We probably could have had the others sign our ticket, but I know, speaking for myself, I usually will just take my picture and move out of the way for the next person to meet the artist. I told Chris how MUCH I loved the album, and stood with all four of them for a picture. After thanking them, Dianne and I went to find our seats, which were just to the left side of center in the fourth row. Not bad. Too bad they had about 10 ft from the stage to the barrier, and another 10 feet from the barrier to first row. But, my pictures turned out fine, so I can't complain too much, can I? :D I would say by the time the show was going to start, the floor seats were pretty well sold out, and there were some people back in the General Admission grandstands as well.
While we waited for the show to start, we listened to the pre-show music, and watched a few commercials on the two screens at the rear of the stage from the sponsor, State Farm. I told Dianne that I hope that Casey, Nicole and Matt didn't think we didn't like them, since we didn't ask for their autographs. I felt bad about that.
Right around 7:30, the Nashville Star Band hit the stage playing, what else, the Nashville Star Theme Song. This was so cool. Not living anywhere near Nashville, I've never had the chance to see the show live, so hearing the music live was really neat.
After this, Matt came out, and started singing "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line," and I figured this was the start of his set in the show. After he sang a verse, Nicole came out, and I realized that all four of them were going to sing together. Wow! I loved their group numbers. After Nicole came Casey, and Chris came out fourth. They moved around a lot when they were singing, and all my photos of them together were blurry. It's hard to photograph a group of people, unless they stand together and pose.
After the song, they all left and the screens started showing clips from Matt's Nashville Star experience, including talking with Wynonna, judges comments, etc. Then, on the screen, they introduced Matt and on the stage they repeated his name, and he came out again. He wore a black and gray striped long-sleeved shirt and jeans, and his hair wasn't slicked back, like he wore it on the show. He looked really different. Oh, and he wore sunglasses for most of his performance.
Matt began his set with some Hank Jr's "Born to Boogie." His second song was one that he said he wrote with Jon Bolinger, and was called "Whiskey on Ice." By the way, Matt and Nicole were selling CDs at the merchandise booth, so maybe that is where you could find his recorded version of the song. I didn't check out the cds closely, so I am not sure. Not sure why Casey didn't have any cd, either.
Matt asked how many people liked Waylon. With a roar from the crowd, he broke into "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean." Asked who out there likes Johnny Cash, the audience gave a cheer, and Matt sang "Folsom Prison Blues." Then, the fun really began. Matt talked about this being his first time out to California, and thanks for making him feel welcome. He said he's really been everywhere now, and sang "I've Been Everywhere." But, he did it in a fun way... the naming off of the cities is always done in a quick pace, and Matt showed off his ability to speed it up, and every verse, he would ask the band to kick it up a little bit... pretty soon he was just flying, and after he was done, he got a standing ovation. That was his last number and he left the stage to the smiling, happy fans.
Group Song:
- Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
Matt Mason's Set List:
- Born To Boogie
- Whiskey on Ice
- Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
- Folsom Prison Blues
- I've Been Everywhere
