CMAfest Greased Lightning Riverfront Stages Review

Today the weather was not very cooperative. The high heat and high humidity made it a bad day for the concert, but still the biggest crowd so far.

The show started with the awesome harmonies of the Imperials and Stamps quartet who showed us why they were favorites of Elvis, as backup singers. Their harmony is unexcelled.

Billy Yates and Longneck Jones were the first country act. Billy showed why he's been a local favorite for years. Tracy Gershon was the hostess of the first show this morning. She brought out Melissa from Days of Our Lives to introduce Blue County. She is married to one of the duo; Blue County had the crowd on their feet and singing along.

Miranda Lambert who was the 3rd finalist in last year's Nashville Star made everyone aware of her presence with her perfect pitch and strong set of pipes. She announced she would have a song on the radio in the fall and a cd released in February.

Next up was Brad Cotter. He was truly tremendous and showed why he was voted the Nashville Star this year.

The Players are a gang of studio musicians from Nashville that get really jazzy. They are the best there is for their musicianship. Thom Bresh sang his version of the song his dad wrote "16 Tons" about the upcoming presidential election.

Lane Brody is just as beautiful as ever. She did a montage of her commercial jingles and threw out Juicy Fruit gum to the crowd.

Johnny Lee could not be there today due to having Strep Throat so Thom Bresh sang his part with Lane in "Yellow Rose of Texas" Lane finished up her set with an acclaimed song she wrote called "All the Unsung Heroes" and dedicated it to several war veterans. She explained how her brother who is a Viet Nam vet came back from a reunion and told her how the song so very deeply touched all of them.

Mel Tillis showed he is still an excellent performer and entertainer. Mel McDaniel had the crowd singing along with "Stand Up" The weather got bad and the rest of the show was postponed for an hour and a half due to rain and lightning.

When they reopened, the first act was Jamie O'Neal who announced she is now on Capitol Nashville and has a new cd coming out soon. Gretchen Wilson had 2 encores. Can you believe she's sold over 2 million cd's in one month? This feisty good-looking female has the women totally on her side and is going to be a superstar.

Due to rain and lightning, the stages were again closed for good this time. Most of the acts that were supposed to perform were rescheduled for Sunday.