CMAfest Greased Lightning Riverfront Stages

Today was a hot, humid day in which the sun showed no mercy. What happened to the wonderful weather of yesterday?
The day started off with The Boot Scootin' Brunch show with Storme Warren of GAC hosting this segment. First up was Neal McCoy doing what he does best...getting the crowed wild. He opened with a new song and included Wink, Stomp and his wildest " Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On". During this song, some fans put on goggles made out of beer cans and wearing hats appearing to be beer pitchers. After the song, one threw their beer goggles onstage to Neal who put them on. I am glad I am not a singer who had to follow an act like Neal's.

This honor was given to Carolina Rain. They are a trio of bluegrass-influenced harmonies that is totally amazing. They have a new record deal and will have a new cd out soon.
Danielle Peck did a great show followed by the handsome crowd favorite Jeff Bates. His new song "One Second Chance" is out to radio now and is one of the best songs I have ever heard. Jeff has one of the best stage shows in the music business without going for a Las Vegas style show. Jeff's music speaks loud and clear without the frivolities of props and costume changes. I feel honored to have Jeff's music in my life.The show ended with another newcomer, Luke Bryan.

The next segment was the Hooked ON Music show emceed by Brad Schmidt of The Tennesseen's Brad About you column. He first hosted Steve Azar who delighted us with "You don't know Beautiful". Sonny Burgess is bringing back the country in country music. He is a delightful addition to the music scene. Taylor swift was enjoyable and Ray Scott pleased us with his deep voice. I enjoy Ray's voice a lot. The Lost Trailers are coming on the music scene in full force.

Of everyone who performed today, the one to watch is newcomer Megan Mullins. You may remember Megan as the fiddle player from Nashville Star third and fourth seasons. Her fiddle playing is unexcelled; voice is pure heaven and is nice eye candy for the guys with a personality that says star all over it. She is going to be a major star that will span several decades.

The Nashville Standard Time show was now onstage with the festivities being hosted by Nan Kelly of GAC-TV. She welcomed first to the stage Darryl Worley who proved he is still just as good as he ever was. Newcomer Trent Tomlinson was the next artist to take over. He has come so far vocally in such a short time.

Bombshell is a band of blond females who really rocked the riverfront stages, turning the heads of all the men watching. Todd Frisch was given the job of bringing us all back down to earth after the excitement of Bombshell. Carolyn Dawn Johnson was just as good as she ever was and is really looking good. Lane Turner was the last artist to take the stage in this segment. I really don't know why he hasn't hit it big yet. He is very talented.

The last segment is the Heartland Happenin' Show with Kelly Sutton from Fox TV and Tennessee Mornings. Craig Hand made his CMAfest debut and is very easy on the ears. When Blue County arrived on stage, the crowd went wild. They have a new cd coming out soon.Sarah Buxton is very interesting, and pretty.

I have always like the Oak Ridge Boys and they definitely didn't disappoint the crowd today. They performed their 30+ years of hits including, Elvira and William Lee's crowd favorite "Thank God For Kids". Bryan White has been absent for several years from the CMAfest and announced he is back with new music coming out. Brice Long is a fairly new artist on the Nashville scene that I feel will have a long career in country music.

Tanya Tucker is still just as wonderful as ever. She took command of the stage, and was also fashionably late coming on stage that Kelly Sutton was running out of jokes. Her show was well worth the wait. I have never known Tanya to disappoint her fans and today's show was no exception. This was the end to another wonderful day at the riverfront stages at CMAfest. The day was hot with no sign of rain was in site.