Friday of CMA Fest was very exciting for me. Sugarland was performing that night, and I was hoping to meet some fellow Sugarland fans that day. Apparently I was so excited I forgot to take pictures. I do have this one, however:
We started off with our free breakfast. Our waiter was telling us that he was working security at LP Field. He showed us his schedule, and my daughter (who from now on shall be named “Eagle Eye”) noticed that Sugarland was rehearsing during the day. The people at the next table asked to see the schedule, and then my daughter asked for it back and confirmed that Sugarland was indeed rehearsing at 1:30 PM. She and I decided to go. I texted the 4 Sugarland friends I had contact info for, to let them know the scoop.
We headed down to Broadway. Eagle Eye had seen a girl in a T-Shirt the day before that said “I <3 Country Music”. Apparently they were free at the Guildan booth, so we were off to claim our own. There was also free ice cream and Ocean Spray Drinks (I recommend the cranberry cocktail with lime, yum, yum). There was a singer I didn’t know signing autographs at the Guildan booth, so it was a little crazy. We just had to fill out a form with our e-mail and turn it in to get our t-shirts. Eagle Eye got a pink women’s cut shirt that said “I Heart Country Music” and I got a blue one with a horse that said “Born Country”. We liked this booth because they had all sizes and would give you the size you asked for.
We saw people walking around with Pedigree bags and figured they must be giving away dog treats. Eagle Eye asked where they were from-the Pedigree booth was in the Family Zone. So we headed over there. Not only did they have treats, they had puppies! There were puppies from a shelter that were looking for homes. They were just being brought out of the car. There was a brother and a sister, and the people from the shelter decided to name them Blake and Miranda. There was also a little black and brown female puppy, and names were being discussed. Someone suggested “Reba”. I said “Jennifer Nettles”. The folks from the shelter liked “Nettles”, and decided to give her that name! Pedigree also had very cute shirts for sale that said “Country Rocks/Dogs Rule”. Eagle Eye and I really wanted one, but decided we needed more shirts like we needed holes in our heads.
Around 1 pm, we left the guys and headed over to LP field. Deb, a fellow Sugar Fan, was planning to meet us over there. When we got there, Keith Urban was rehearsing. There were about 10 people standing outside the gates. You couldn’t see anything, but you could hear perfectly. He sang a couple of songs and also talked …he said something about “Jake”. We decided Jake Owen must be performing with him. We were “in” on the surprise!
Keith finished and everyone left except Eagle Eye and me. Deb hadn’t arrived yet, but soon called to find our exact location. We had chatted several times online-it was so fun to finally meet her! She is very sweet and a diehard Sugarland Fan.
We could hear Sugarland’s band setting up and noodling around on their instruments. Why was Brandon playing the intro to Shania Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” over and over? It was so annoying! And what was Travis up to? Crazy drummers-there was a marching cadence going on-I felt like I was back in my college marching band.
While we were waiting for them to actually play a song, an idea dawned on us. What if Shania was going to sing with Sugarland? That would be epic!
They finally rehearsed “Find the Beat Again”, and we could hear some discussion. We heard Jennifer say that she couldn’t hear very well; she could only hear herself. “We need to check our ears on something besides ‘Glue’,” she said. So they sang “Settlin’”, and when they were finished she exclaimed “So fun!” (Have I mentioned I love these people? Clearly she enjoyed rehearsal!! Who does that?) Then there was Shania’s intro one more time, and they were done. What an amazing experience. It was like we had our own private sound check.
We headed back across the bridge and found the guys at a bar. It was time again for a little snick-snack, so we ordered some nachos, and we girls also got drinks. The guys had spent the entire time searching for a place for dinner. Yes, if you hadn’t noticed by now, food is very important to us.
We wandered around some more, and watched a dog jumping competition (where dogs jump into the water and try for distance). We were ready to head back to the hotel and regroup before dinner. However, I noticed I had a text from another sugar fan stating that several of them were at Big Shotz. Deb and I decided to meet up with them, so I left my family and we walked over-scoring a backpack with a Bridgestone logo on it on the way. At Big Shotz , I got to meet Maria and Sara, and say hello again to Joe and Jen. J
Deb headed home, as she had to work. And I met back up with the family. The guys had scoped out “The Best Thai Food in Nashville”, which was at a place called Thai Phoo Ket, (which cracks me up because it's actually spelled 'Phuket') a double-wide trailer across from the stadium. Actually, the food was good and reasonably priced-not the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten, but it was tasty and got the job done.
Concert time! Ashton Shepherd was up first. She has really improved since I saw her open for Sugarland-was that 3 years ago? She was quite sassy when singing “Look It Up”. She made me think of Jennifer without thinking she was copying Jennifer. I realized later in the week-there is a big difference between the 2. Then Dierks Bentley performed-I love him! After him was Lady Antebellum. There’s going to be a TV special of the CMT Fest, so after Lady A performed, they tried to tape Lady A announcing the show. They were in the middle of the audience. They tried a couple of times, but it wasn’t perfect, and the crowd was getting restless.
Finally it was time for Sugarland!!! They were announced and Brandon played the intro to “Man, I Feel Like a Woman”. Shania came out, but instead of singing with them, she just introduced Sugarland. Sugarland performed “Stuck Like Glue”, “All I Want To Do”, "Tonight", and “Everyday America” with the remix. Then the drum cadence started and a drum line came out on stage and performed “Find the Beat Again” with Sugarland! Wow! They finished the set with “Something More”. Then it was announced that they were going to do “Beat” again-for the TV show. An extra Sugarland performance? Yes, Please! It was absolutely perfect except for the 2 annoying women farther down the row who went in and out several times each night, and felt it necessary to walk by me right at “TWO STUCK TOGETHER FROM THE ATL”! How rude!
I would also like to mention that Ms. Nettles was wearing red pants-which might be categorized in the more outlandish fashion choices category. However, I would like to point out, that even in our decent seats, the stage was far away and it was kind of hard to follow the performers (thank goodness for the big screen), but Jennifer was easy to spot, due to her wardrobe choice. Well played, Ms. Nettles.
The night finished with Keith Urban, who brought Jake Owen out, and they sang one of Jake’s songs together, and Reba. I thought they were great, especially Keith. So many people left before or during Reba’s set…and Randy fell asleep, haha. What a lightweight.
Favorite performance of the night-Sugarland-and everyone around me thought so, too, so even though I’m biased, many agreed with my opinion. However, Dierks, Lady A, and Keith are all favorites of mine, so the whole night was absolutely fabulous.
Coming up-day 3: Beer and Popsicles
No comments:
Post a Comment