Spotlight On 2009 CMA Music Festival
June 10-14, 2009
Nashville, TN
Photos by Glenda S. Paradee

CMA Music Festival 2009 

Each Summer, over 100,000 fans meet in Nashville, Tennessee to meet and be entertained by some of today's biggest country music artists at the CMA Music Festival, formerly known as Fan Fair. The humidity can exceed the temperature during these four days in Tennessee, but if you ask any fan that's attended the musical festival, they'll agree it's worth every drop of sweat, and every aching muscle from all the walking. 

The CMA Music Festival first started as a way to relieve some of the congestion during the annual country music DJ convention in Nashville. Since there were so many artists in attendance, fans converged in Nashville, hoping to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. The CMA and the Grand Ole Opry concluded that if a festival were created for the fans, it would be successful, and so the CMA Music Festival was born, originally called Fan Fair. 

The first Fan Fair was held in April of 1972 at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium. Included were many of country's most noted artists performing over 20 hours of live music. There were over 100 booths where fans could take photos and get autographs of their favorite stars. Approximately 5,000 fans attended that year. The Odessa Chuck Wagon Gang of Odessa, Texas, served up their "Texas Menu" of barbecue, beans, slaw, onions, pickles, bread and beverages. 

Starting in 2004, the CMA decided on a name change, and Fan Fair was renamed the "CMA Music Festival. 
The CMA Music Festival always has music playing somewhere, from morning to after midnight at the bars and clubs of Lower Broadway. This year included in your four-day ticket is an assigned seat to LP Field shows each night, where stars like Reba McEntire, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift and many others appeared. 

There has been a change in the Riverfront Park shows during the day. They used to be only for CMA Music Festival ticket holders, but this year, anyone can attend the shows. Four-day ticket holders do have access to the area each day an hour before the first show, while non-ticket holders aren't allowed in until 15 minutes before opening. 

One of the highlights for many fans is getting to meet their favorite artists, and getting a picture and autograph. This is a daily event that happens in the Convention Center. Fans line up for hours before the doors open each day to be one of the lucky people to obtain a ticket to meet their favorite stars. Later, at a time displayed on the artist's booth, those lucky fans go back and line up for their meet & greet. There are also performances from many stars, mostly newer artists, throughout the day at the Acoustic Corner. A four-day pass is required to access the Convention Center. 

While many of the events require you to have a four-day CMA Music Festival ticket, there are many other events that have separate tickets to access, and even some that are totally free. 

Free events: 

a.. The CMA Global Artist Party, which features artists from around the globe. This took place on Monday at The Stage. 
b.. Aristomedia also featured a Global showcase on Tuesday at the Second Fiddle. 
c.. The CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Parade was on Wednesday afternoon. The parade was followed by the CMA Music Festival Block Party, with performances from several artists. 
d.. If you have children, they had the Family Zone (also free), where there is storytelling, food sampling, a cooking show, a magic show and much more. The Family Zone is was open Thursday - Sunday. 
e.. The Sports Zone had events daily from Thursday - Sunday, including a K9 Sports show with dogs putting on a spectacular frisbee and high jump show, a Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, and a Celebrity Tractor Race. 
f.. The YWCA Celebrity Auction was held on Saturday in the Family Zone. 
Other events that require a separate ticket included the Country Weekly Fashion Show at the Wildhorse on Wednesday. The City of Hope Softball Challenge was held Wednesday evening. Shows at the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights at the Opry House, or the Ryman Auditorium matinee on Saturday afternoon. Marty Stuart celebrated with his annual "Late Night Jam," held at the Ryman on Wednesday night. Little Big Town held their third annual "Ride for the Cure," which is a motorcycle ride, BBQ lunch and concert from the band and friends afterwards. GAC held the "GAC Kick-Off Breakfast" at 7:00 am at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The event is hosted by Mark Wills, and featured a breakfast, live performances from Mark and friends, autographs, and admission to the Hall of Fame museum. 

Fan Club Parties 

Many artists celebrate with their fans during CMA Music Festival week. Fan club members have the option to purchase tickets to the parties, which usually include a performance, meet & greet with the artist, and many have a meal or snacks as part of the ticket price. 

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Alan Jackson held his 20th Anniversary in the music business party at the Cadallic Ranch in Nashville

The 19th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge 2009

The City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge is held each year at Greer Stadium during Fan Fair week. This year, the two teams were the After Midnite Team, coached by Blair Garner and the Grand Ole Opry team.

Josh Turner	Carrie Underwood	Carrie Underwood	Joe Nicholes
Grand Ole Opry Team	All players singing the National Anthem	Eddie Montgomery

About "After MidNite with Blair Garner"

Blair Garner created "After MidNite with Blair Garner" over 15 years ago. He's one of the most successful air personalities in the country, winning the Academy of Country Music's National On-Air Personality of the Year award in 2004 and 2006, and having been nominated countless times for others, including the prestigious Marconi Award and for Nationally Syndicated Air Personality by Billboard. "After MidNite" is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks and can be heard on nearly 250 stations from "MidNite" to 6 a.m. Gardner also created "The Blair Garner Show" in 2006, which can be heard on over 40 stations from 10 p.m. to "MidNite." For more information on both shows, visit www.blairgarner.com.

About Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville, Tenn. A uniquely American experience for over 80 years, the Opry can be heard on 650 WSM-AM and www.opry.com. The syndicated weekly program, "America's Grand Ole Opry Weekend," airs on more than 200 country radio stations across the country and on the Armed Forces Radio Network, and "Opry Live" airs each weekend on Great American Country (GAC) and CMT Canada. The Grand Ole Opry is owned by Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a Nashville-based hospitality and entertainment company that also owns and operates Gaylord Hotels. For more information, visit www.opry.com or www.gaylordentertainment.com. 

About City of Hope  

City of Hope is a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope's research and treatment protocols advance care throughout the nation. City of Hope is located in Duarte, Calif., just northeast of Los Angeles, and is ranked as one of "America's Best Hospitals" in cancer and urology by U.S.News & World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Kathy Mattea's 50th Birthday Party with fans.

The Kathy Mattea Fan Club put on a special surprise program for Kathy Mattea for her 50th Birthday titled "This is Your Life". Many of Kathy's former band mates, road crew, relatives, friends and many fans attended the party. Kathy's band member Bill Cooley received a special award. 

Kathy Mattea	Glenda S. Paradee, Kathy Mattea, Sally Vincent, Ann Coons, and Karen Sprinkle	Kathy and Glenda S. Paradee	Fan club members with Kathy singing a special version of 18 Wheels And A Dozen Roses
Greased Lightning Fan Fair Hall at the Nashville Convention Center	Reba McEntire	Reba McEntire signing autographs at her booth	Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire	Donna Fargo	Carrie Underwood signing autographs at the Grand Ole Opry booth	Glenda S. Paradee with Dolly Parton & Ross Villaverde
Carrie Underwood	Richie Fields & Glenda	Reba McEntire

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2009 AT LP FIELD 

A three-and-a-half hour rain delay couldn't dampen the spirits of country music fans at LP Field on Thursday night. 
Two songs into Reba McEntire's set, Storme Warren announced that the field had to be vacated because of imminent storms, some nine minutes away. About an hour-and-a-half later, the rain still hadn't arrived, but most fans stuck around, packing into the stadium's commissary areas.

Brooks & Dunn 

Brooks & Dunn kicked off the six-plus-hour night of music and meteoric mayhem with a 10-song set packed with radio hits. 

The duo kicked off the set with "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl," "Hillbilly Deluxe" and "Put a Girl in It" before the ever-rambunctious Kix Brooks engaged the audience with a sing-along of "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)." 

Much of the audience had found their seats as the sun was setting during Brooks & Dunn's set, though there seemed to be more empties than usual. Ronnie Dunn took over lead vocals on "Red Dirt Road," before Brooks ripped through a harmonica solo to start "Play Something Country." 

"Cowgirls Don't Cry" followed, and the now-further-stocked stadium erupted in applause as Reba McEntire, radiant in a dark V-neck T-shirt and dark jeans, took the stage to perform the hit duet with Brooks & Dunn. When it came time for McEntire's verse, fans erupted again and a sea of camera flashes washed over the audience. 

"Who was that?" Dunn jokingly asked as McEntire exited the stage. 
The duo closed with "My Maria," "Brand New Man" and "Only in America," capping their performance by bringing a small group of soldiers in fatigues on stage and showering the cheering crowd with red, white and blue streamers. 

After the set, people in the first rows draped themselves in the thin, colored paper while others rushed toward the stage for just a souvenir strip. 

Reba McEntire 

A sassy Reba McEntire launched her performance at the CMA Music Festival to thunderous audience applause with the up-tempo "Why Haven't I Heard You," then slowed it down slightly for "Fear of Being Alone." 

"Radio has been so good to play it for us, I want to play it for you now," McEntire said before performing her new hit, "Strange." The crowd was clearly ecstatic to hear it, but "Strange" turned out to be the last song anyone heard for a while -- the stadium was cleared of the approximately 40,000 fans when Warren's announcement followed. McEntire finished "Strange" at about 9 p.m.; attendees were allowed to return to their seats around 11:45 p.m. 

The only performers who weren't able to go on at the later time were Rascal Flatts, who had to leave town for a show the next night in Oklahoma, and Jimmy Wayne and Julianne Hough. The fireworks were also suspended for the evening. 

Before the music resumed at 12:27 a.m., fans were invited to move to any empty seats closer to the stage. Rivers of people (about half the crowd seemed to have stuck it out) streamed from the upper decks of the coliseum to take advantage of the offer. After all, who wouldn't want to be closer to Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley?

Darius Rucker 

Fans sure seemed excited to see Hootie & the Blowfish frontman-turned-solo country star Darius Rucker -- the first performer to return to the stage after the extended rain delay. 

The audience roared when a smiling Rucker kicked off his set with his first No. 1 hit, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It." 

"If you all want to stick around, I'll stick around and play for you, how about that?" he said before moving on to his current single, "Alright." 

Rucker's early-morning energy was infectious, his appreciation apparent; the singer took a moment to thank fans and country radio before going into his second chart-topper, "It Won't Be Like This for Long." 

The crowd, even at half its original size, seemed about twice as loud for Rucker's performance as they'd been for performers early in the evening. (In all fairness to the other performers, the breaking of the beer record might've played a role.) 

A charismatic Rucker kicked his show up another notch with a fist-pumping, sing-along-enticing cover of "Family Tradition," leaping from the stage and into the audience to sing a verse and chorus. Rucker only performed four songs, but his brief set was a highlight.

Dierks Bentley 

Dierks Bentley got the crowd singing along from the start of his 1 a.m. set with "Lot of Leavin' Left to Do," and he kept it going with "Feel That Fire" and current single "Sideways." During the latter song, he encouraged the audience to sing along, as the performance was being taped for the CMA Music Festival's ABC special. They obliged. Fists were pumping in the air and fans cheered enthusiastically at its conclusion, which also wrapped Bentley's set.

Brad Paisley 

New daddy Brad Paisley kicked off his 1:26 a.m. set with "Ticks" and lots of speedy guitar licks. Watching the energy coming from the stage and the crowd, you'd scarcely believe it was edging toward 2 a.m. 

"They said, 'I don't know if anyone will stay,'" Paisley explained to the remaining fans about the weather delay. "Half the time in concerts I say we'll stay to 2 or 3 in the morning -- heck, if we play two songs it will be." 

In his white cowboy hat, T-shirt and jeans, Paisley introduced the title track of his new CD, American Saturday Night, and fans cheered as if it were already a bona fide hit. 

"In 1999 I played Fan Fair, my first CMA Music Fest," Paisley told the crowd by way of introduction to his latest No. 1 song, "Then." "None of you knew who I was. Here it is 10 years later, and look how far we've come together. We've grown up together, and I thought I loved you then. I wrote this for a very special first person, but tonight I sing this for you." 

Paisley punctuated the song with a string of inspired guitar solos before ending the hit with a few a cappella notes. 
At 1:45 a.m., fans were still glued to their seats when the singer got their hands in the air again during "Mud on the Tires." Paisley told the audience that he was only supposed to play four songs, and that "Mud" would have been the fourth, but he wanted to keep going. He followed with "Alcohol," and with the help of touring partner Dierks Bentley, the two closed the show on that fitting note.

Thursday night Concert at LP Field Concert photos

FanFair2009	Brooks & Dunn	Brooks & Dunn	Brooks & Dunn	Reba with Brooks & Dunn
Reba with Brooks & Dunn	Reba McEntire	Reba McEntire	Reba McEntire	Reba McEntire
The Rain/Lightning Storm	Darius Rucker	Darius Rucker	Dierks Bentley	Dierks Bentley
Brad Paisley	Brad Paisley	Brad Paisley

Friday June 12, 2009

Greased Lightning Fan Fair Hall at the Nashville Convention Center

Wynonna	Wynonna	Wynonna	Wynonna	Rhonda Towns meeting fans
Rhonda Towns meeting fans	Rhonda Towns meeting fans	Michael Peterson	Ross Villaverde, Reba McEntire, Glenda S. Paradee	Adam Gregory & fan at the Microsoft booth
FanFair2009	John Carter	Her and Kings County	Aaron Tippin	Steve Wariner
David Ball singing & signing at Legends

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2009 AT LP FIELD 

Kid Rock had seven tough acts to follow at Friday night's (June 12) CMA Music Festival show at Nashville's LP Field, but he quickly had the tired crowd on its feet and screaming for more as midnight approached.

The country-tinged rock 'n' roller was originally intended to be a surprise guest. However, his appearance was announced the night before, and the word had spread well before Friday's concert started.

The acts leading up to Kid Rock, in order of appearance, were Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Rodney Atkins, Lady Antebellum, Jake Owen, the Zac Brown Band and Jason Aldean. Bryan came on stage at 7:40 p.m. and Kid Rock exited at 12:05 a.m.

At previous festivals, the CMA used two side-by-side stages to shorten the downtime between acts. This year, there's only one stage, a factor that makes the production limp along.

Propelled by a band that included a saxophonist and two female backup singers, Kid Rock roared on with "Son of Detroit," a crowd-pleaser that tips its hat to such country icons as Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.

Then, after romping through the vivid imagery of "Cowboy," he abandoned his frenetic pacing to sit on a stool and croon his sad and world-weary "Picture." A verse into the song, he paused and brought out Martina McBride to sing with him.

It was a glorious pairing as the two proceeded to squeeze out every forlorn emotion the lyrics suggested -- and it drew the loudest, most sustained applause of the evening.

Kid Rock wrapped up his set with "All Summer Long," which he interrupted by acknowledging that America is going through tough economic times and thanking the fans "for spending your hard-earned money to see us play for you."

As the song was ending, the festival fireworks display began.

The crowd, which looked to be larger than those at previous festivals, gave every act an enthusiastic reception, but it was particularly demonstrative toward Aldean, Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band.

Aldean strutted the stage like an amiable Mick Jagger -- pure attitude in boots and a black Hank Jr. T-shirt. He would have been fun to watch even with his sound off. But he delivered the sonic goods to perfection, rolling through "Johnny Cash," "Amarillo Sky," "Why," "She's Country" and then capping it all off with his first hit, "Hicktown."

Lady Antebellum looks so much like a well-scrubbed Christian music trio, it's always sort of surprising when they rock out instead of testify. Like the most successful Christian acts, though, they build their performance on a substratum of eroticism, which, in their case, is conveyed chiefly through the teasing, insinuating stage antics of lead singers Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott.

Add the fact that they sing everything with evangelical fervor and pound their lyrics home with a throbbing, insistent, almost hypnotic drum beat, it's easy to see why they've come so far so fast. Each song sounds like a proclamation to the world.

Their set started with "Love Don't Live Here" and progressed through "Long Gone," "I Run to You," a cover of John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good" (which has become one of their concert staples) and rang off with "Lookin' for a Good Time."

Even though the Zac Brown Band is a recent arrival on the country scene, the crowd seemed to know its music. The band doesn't have a particularly arresting stage presence, but it plays with enough ferocity to make up for any lack of visual style.

After bowing in with "Whatever It Is," the band barreled into "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," which Brown ramped up with some lightning guitar picking. Then it was on to the tropical tones of "Toes," which really got the crowd going with the line, "Gonna lay in the hot sun and roll me a fat one." The band's finale was "Chicken Fried."

Atkins had his hordes of partisans as well -- and he saluted them with his opening number, "These Are My People." Next up was his new single, "15 Minutes," which is already well on its way to becoming a bar standard. He rounded out his set with the chart-proven favorites, "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)," "Watching You," "It's America" and "If You're Going Through Hell."

"This is my first year of playing on the big stage," Owen marveled. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."

Maybe he couldn't tell, but he did a great job of showing it. Owen has become a master at connecting with his audience on a one-to-one level. He's perfected the broad grin and intense stare that have served Garth Brooks so effectively.

Owen struck a properly festive mod with "Yee Haw" and "Something About a Woman." He showed his sensitive side with "Startin' With Me" and "Don't Think I Can't Love You" and sang his farewell via his current single, "Eight Second Ride."

Little Big Town captured the crowd with "Fine Line" and held it through "Bones" and "Vapor." But the clear favorite was the band's closing number, the ominously chorded "Boondocks." LBT's vocal harmonies were stunning.

In the brief 20 minutes allotted him, Bryan did a superb job of warming up an audience that was still trickling into the stadium. He came on with the goofily boastful "Country Man" and then shifted to the more contemplative "We Rode in Trucks."

For his third number, Bryan sang his current single, "Do I," which he co-wrote with Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood. He closed with his rollicking first hit, "All My Friends Say." 

Friday night concert at LP Field Concert photos	Luke Bryan	Luke Bryan	Little Big Town	Little Big Town
Rodney Atkins	Rodney Atkins	Lady Antebellum	Lady Antebellum	Jake Owen
Jake Owen	Zac Brown Band	Zac Brown Band	Zac Brown Band	Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean	Kid Rock	Kid Rock	Kid Rock	Kid Rock
Kid Rock	Kid Rock	Kid Rock and Martina McBride	Kid Rock and Martina McBride	Kid Rock and Martina McBride
	Kid Rock and Martina McBride	Kid Rock and Martina McBride

SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2009 AT LP FIELD 

Saturday night at the Country Music Festival pressroom at LP Field, celebrities Josh Turner, Jason Michael Carroll, Lee Ann Womack, Trace Adkins and Wynonna Judd were talking about everything from new babies and Aerosmith to fake butts and Miss America hair.

Josh Turner 

Josh Turner is about to be a new daddy at any minute. And while the singer is busy with his career, Turner and his wife Jennifer have also spent a lot of time trying to prepare their 2-year-old son Hampton for the arrival of his new brother or sister. 

"I don't think he totally understands, but he's ready for a play partner," Turner says. "We're ready." 
Turner says he looked to other country music singers for support after finding out about the new baby. And he means looked. 

"I spent a lot of time with Sara Evans, and it wasn't that I needed advice from them," he says. "I just needed to see that it could be done, I needed to know you could take your family on the road." 

Right now Turner is looking forward to spending time at home with his family - he thinks Hampton may need some extra attention from his daddy. 

"He asked Jennifer today where Daddy was and she said, 'He's working,'" Turner says. "Hampton said, 'No, he's not. He's in the birthday cake.' I have no idea what that means. I think he's in denial about me working." 

Random question: Strangest thing Turner has ever autographed? a toothpick. 
"It was quite challenging and it didn't look anything like my autograph. It took a really small Sharpie." 

Lee Ann Womack 

Lee Ann Womack has racked up a couple of career highlights recently. A last-minute cancellation allowed her to be the first artist to play the new billion-dollar Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, and she says she's enjoying playing music with Jamey Johnson. 

But really, she says the Cowboys Stadium opportunity got her all excited. She was on vacation with her daughter on the coast when she got the call and says the first thing she thought was, "Can I get a flight outta here?" 

"I have to say the Cowboys Stadium is like a Texas version of the Vatican, and everyone wanted to kiss George (Strait's) ring." (Strait headlined the opening show.) 

As for Johnson, Womack says before he and his traditional country sound came along, she felt like she was "floating around out there" by herself. 

"I love Jamey Johnson," she says. "When he came along I was like, 'Thank you, God.' Sometimes I felt like I was floating around out there on my own. I would love to do a duet with Jamey Johnson. We're just waiting on the right thing." 

Jason Michael Carroll 

Jason Michael Carroll celebrated his 31st birthday at CMA Music Festival on Saturday, and for the singer, it was a biggie. And, not just because about 40,000 country fans sang him the Happy Birthday song, but because his management team bought him Aerosmith tickets in honor of the big day. 

"I'm home in Raleigh and they are (playing locally)," he giggles. "I get to meet the band. I'm stoked. My wife said she would bring some extra clothes for me. I'm so excited about that." 

Random question: Strangest thing you've ever been asked to sign? Answer: a fake butt. 
"I did actually refuse to sign that," he says. 

Trace Adkins 

Trace Adkins showed up to talk to the press, minus his hat and with no ponytail. His hair was hanging in wavy curls way down past his shoulders and, really, people were stunned. Adkins made a joke about the microphone being too short, and by that time everyone had regained their composure. 

From there, the gruff singer talked about his upcoming tour with Toby Keith and how he has absolutely no control over the music that gets played in his house. 

Someone asked Adkins, who was tougher, him or Keith: "My toughness has been documented," Adkins says. "I have the scars and surgeries to prove it. Toby and I come from that same cut of cloth. We both came out of the oil field. We have the same mentality. I wouldn't want to find out who is the toughest, and I hope you don't either." 

As far as the music, Adkins has young daughters and somewhat predictably, he says all he hears when he's at home is Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. 

"I am hero to my kids now because I did the Opry a few weeks ago with Taylor and my kids got to go in her dressing room and hang out with her," he says. "So they really think a lot of me for that." 

Random question: Are there any more movies in Adkins' future? 
"There's always a movie role," he says. "There's always something in the works. But SAG can't get their (expletive) together so everything is on hold."

Wynonna Judd 

"It's bring your mom to work day," Wynonna Judd quipped before the show. "My mom told me to say that." 
The Judds (Naomi and Wynonna) performed together Saturday night to mark the 25th anniversary of their arrival in country music. And Judd was full of laughs. 

"I have Miss America hair," Wynonna said. "My mom is going to come out, so I had to make my hair bigger than hers." 
Are far as their set, Wynonna said: "The best advice I ever got was from Bono and he said, 'Give them what they want.' The fans love the hits. So we had to condense The Judds' 25-year-history into 20 minutes." 

But Wynonna said she's open to giving fans more than that, if they want it. That's right, the mother-daughter duo is open to a reunion record. But, only if fans really want one. And she says they have to ask. 

"It's sort of like one day at a time. One lifetime at a time," she said. "If the fans ask for it we will consider it." 
(For the record, Naomi's hair was bigger.) 

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2009 AT LP FIELD 

Sunday night's LP Field show included a solid set from Taylor Swift, a "surprise" one from Sugarland, a rousing closer from Kenny Chesney and a fur-coated stage show from John Rich.

Jack Ingram 

The seasoned performers usually arrive late in the festival evening, but Texas-based singer-songwriter Jack Ingram has likely played more live shows than anyone else who played a stadium show at the CMA Music Festival this weekend.

Ingram's shows have often been of the small club variety, but he's been banging away for years, and his LP Field set put those years to use. 

In an age when country music recording contracts are sometimes doled out to people with little or no experience leading a band, Ingram stands out as a true pro and a compelling performer. Saddled with the still-a-little-light-outside slot, Ingram roused a stadium full of fans with a four-song set filled with sing-along moments. 

He opened with hit "Wherever You Are," and followed that with the roots-rocking "Barbie Doll," summer anthem "Barefoot and Crazy" and rousing, PG-13 kiss-off "Love You." 

Ingram's next album comes out on August 25, and it's a safe bet that many in the LP Field audience will be marking that date down on calendars or Microsoft Outlook programs or wherever it is that people mark things down these days.

Heidi Newfield 

Heidi Newfield opened her 10-minute set with a harmonica solo that led into "Pour Me," a song she sang hundreds of times with her former band, Trick Pony. Newfield then launched into "Cry Cry ('Til The Sun Shines)" and finished with her breakout solo hit, "Johnny and June." 

Montgomery Gentry 

Montgomery Gentry brought a Southern-rock shading to the night, though duo member Troy Gentry's newly stylized look might not have been immediately accepted in, say, the Marshall Tucker Band. 

In any case, the duo delivered a crowd-pleasing, up-tempo set highlighted by "Roll With Me," "One In Every Crowd" and "Gone."

Miranda Lambert 

Miranda Lambert, who grew up as a fan of Ingram's music, more than proved herself as a singular entertainer. 
Lambert strutted on stage and delivered a 25-minute set that accentuated her skills as a bandleader, singer-songwriter and interpreter. 

She began with "Kerosene," moved through a raunchy cover of the Faces' "Stay With Me," and included self-penned songs including the set-closing revenge tale "Gunpowder & Lead."

John Rich 

John Rich arrived on stage wearing a fur coat and singing the Big & Rich song "Loud." Next, he invited cowboy-hatted rapper Cowboy Troy out for "I Play Chicken With The Train," and it seemed his performance might be something quite similar to a Big & Rich show, only without the Big. 

But Rich then asserted himself as a solo act, playing his populist anthem "Shuttin' Detroit Down" before "The Good Lord And The Man," a song in which he asserts, "We'd all be speakin' German, living under the flag of Japan/ If it wasn't for the good Lord and the man." 

Now, it's hard to imagine a situation in which we'd be speaking German while living under the Japanese flag, but the song drew sustained applause. Rich closed with the Big & Rich party tune "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)," with MusikMafia members Cowboy Troy and Two Foot Fred contributing.

Taylor Swift 

Taylor Swift has yet to write about flags, economics or Detroit, but her autobiographical songs about the trials of a youthful heart have turned her into what CMT's Lance Smith called "probably the biggest star on the planet." 

Swift's catalogue of hooky, country-pop songs were crowd favorites, even though the subject matter seldom drifted into anything applicable to those over the age of 25. 

Swift writes her truth, which is a suburban, teenage truth, and she marries that truth to a precocious sense of rhythm and melody. There are some who figure her fame is ephemeral, but there's reason not to bet that way. Plenty of 30-year-olds can write movingly and convincingly about being 30; only a few 19-year-olds write movingly and convincingly about being 19, especially in a manner that interests 30-year-olds. 

Swift is not yet a dominant singer, and she's still finding her sea legs as a headlining stage performer, but her enthusiastically received LP Field performance was yet another indication that she's in this for the long haul. 

Her set began with "Picture To Burn," and included "Our Song," "You Belong With Me," "Fifteen," "You're Not Sorry" and the closing number "Love Story."

Sugarland 

Sugarland was the sort-of surprise next act, though most in attendance seemed well aware that the CMA duo of the year was going to play. 

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush began their performance with "Love," a song that throbs with a U2-inspired rhythm. That wasn't the only pop-influenced moment, as Sugarland also offered a bit of R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming." 

Throughout the performance, Nettles' voice rang strong, particularly on soulful ballad "Stay." 

Kenny Chesney 

The night, and the festival, ended with country's top touring artist, Kenny Chesney. 
Though his set began at midnight, 20 minutes after the night had been slated to end, the stadium crowd stayed in place to hear the CMA's four-time entertainer of the year. 

Chesney brought a high-energy close to the proceedings, concluding the festival's strongest stadium night with a good-time set that opened with "Beer In Mexico" and went on to include hits "Summertime," "Young" and new single "We Went Out Last Night." 

Chesney's performance was a fitting end to what's being touted as the most successful CMA Music Festival to date. The record industry frets. The economy falters. Country music thrives.

Thanks For The Music!