CMA Fest - Day 2

So thank goodness we didn't have the kids with us, because we knew we were in for some long lines....but we honestly had no idea.

The doors for the convention center open at 10am, so we were there in line at 7am. We thought we were doing pretty good until we realized where the entrance was...and there's no way we were going to get any one's autograph. We were actually standing in line on the back side of the building. Here is the line in front of us:

And it was wrapped around the other side too. All these people were on the way to get their autograph vouchers as well. We found out later while we were inside that each booth usually only gives out 50 to 100...and it's a free for all when those doors open. There were so many big names signing that day (Tim McGraw, Lady A, Jason Aldean, etc.) we knew we didn't have a chance, but we decided to stick around and see what it was all about. The fact that it was air conditioned didn't hurt either :-)

And they were right, complete madness when the doors opened. Bobby and I just kind of stood there watching hundreds of thousands of people running to these booths. As clumsy as I am, it just wasn't a good idea! You could still walk around and get pictures of the folks, so we stayed inside a while and snapped some shots then we ventured outside for a couple of the concerts.

We saw Bombshell (very talent couple of ladies) and Jaron and the Long Road to Love. You guys might recognize him by that song "I'll Pray for you". I laugh every time I hear it because Reece always says "mommy, it's not nice to drop a flower pot on some one's head, but it is nice to pray". Too sweet. Anyway, here is a shot of Jaron:

It was so hot at this point we decided to go back into the convention center for the air conditioning and to get a snack. We strolled around to see what pictures we could get of folks. I have to say we say The Judds there and they never once smiled...not once. They looked so irritated to be there.

We were rounding the corner and I spotted Bucky Covington of American Idol fame. I lifted my camera and said "hey Bucky". He was nice enough to stop what he was doing and pose for me to get his shot. Thanks Bucky!

There was complete madness around the Jason Aldean booth, so we left shortly after that and caught a couple more shows on the Riverfront before grabbing dinner and heading over to LP Field for the big nightly shows. LP Field was huge and they said it was a sold out crowd...around 60,000 people there! We were very happy to be there....and very HOT!

The concerts that night were unbelievable! Here was the lineup:

Danny Gokey was actually pretty good!

The legend Alan Jackson put on a great show!

CMA Fest will air on TV September 1st and one of the camera men was camped out beside us most of the time, so it will be interesting to see if we get on TV. Tim McGraw is "hosting" it, so there were a couple of times where he would do an "introduction" in the middle of everything. TV cameras were everywhere!

Unforgettable performance. Would love to go back and see him again 10 more times!

Great sound by Jason Aldean. Sounds just like he does on the radio.


Up and coming Lady A proved why they are so big right now

Carrie Underwood...she was awesome! Bobby was very happy at this point :-)

And she even did a song with Jason Aldean...Guns and Roses' "Paradise City"

We did not know just how good it was all going to be. I loved the LP shows...and it didn't hurt that we had center stage, 9th row seats either! And to think we have 3 more nights of shows like this was pretty exciting! This was day 2 of going to bed past 2am.

Shows for Day 2: Bombshell, Tyler Dickerson, Jaron and The Long Road to Love, Blaine Larson, Diamond Rio, Jake Own, Danny Gokey, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Carrie Underwood.

Day 3 we were planning on spending a complete day a Riverfront because the concerts were going to be so good. Stay tuned to see how we faired in the heat!~