All right, so we covered day 4 and what I dubbed as JakeCarrieStormGate 2013. Now we move backwards to Saturday, day 3, which gives us yet another controversy. This time involving the surprise guest. A guest which has me wondering just what on Earth the CMA was thinking. Actually, scratch that, I can guess what they were thinking: having this artist showing up on the TV special airing August 12th will make for good TV. Or rather, what they believe will be good TV. I may be way off base here, but lately it feels like there's people out there who seem determined to prove that country music is cool. And do so by trying to cater to fans of other genres. It's the only explanation that makes sense.
The problem? Well, first it implies that country music isn't cool already and that's nonsense. Country may in fact be at the height of its coolness. Look at how just about every singing competition has a country judge now. People say that having Keith Urban on Idol or Blake Shelton on The Voice helps the genre, but I think it's the other way around. Having a country act on helps those shows. Country music, once the red-headed stepchild of the music industry, has become a force too powerful to be ignored. Country fans have proven to be a valuable commodity. Thanks in no small part to their unwavering loyalty. Country music is perhaps the coolest it's ever been. So what's up with the CMA, or networks like CMT, trying so hard to prove their coolness to people who don't care about country music? And in doing so, alienate the people who do?
Again: I could be way off base here. But there's no other logical explanation I can think of that justifies why they'd choose this particular guest. A guest who may have performed a longer set than any of the other acts during the night shows. So I still have to ask just what the CMA was thinking? And why?
Of course, my day didn't start off with this guest of dubious inclusion. It started earlier, at the Bud Light Stage at the Bridgestone Arena Plaza...
With a performance by one of my new favorites: Parmalee. Yeah, I like these guys and I like them quite a bit. This was my second time seeing them - the first was when they made their Grand Ole Opry debut back in March. That was a wonderful first show, especially for someone who loves the Opry as much as I do. But there they only performed two songs; here I got to see a 40 minute or so set. And it was great! Not a weak song in the set and a strong stage presence. I can't wait until they release their debut album, which I believe is theoretically coming out in the fall.
We headed to the convention center for the first time after their performance and got to meet the Parmalee boys, which was a highlight. After walking through Fan Fair X, it was time to head to the Riverfront for Jerrod Niemann. I've been a fan of Jerrod's for a little while now and after this past week he's become another one of my ever growing list of favorites. I think he's terribly underrated and I'd love to see that change.
Saturday night's LP Field concert started off with Brett Eldredge doing a wonderful version of the national anthem. Brett's seriously one the best new male vocalists in country music and it was great to see him on the big stage. Too bad it wasn't for a full set! They did this thing where you could tweet to win a chance to hang out with him in one of the suites during the show, but it was brought up once and never mentioned again. Pretty odd, if you ask me. With the cell phone service being as bad as it was, I wonder how many people were even able to enter. And then supposing people did and someone won, you'd think they'd make a point to do an update. Maybe show them in the suite in the break between acts. Would've been nice to have something to watch at those times, I'll say that.
In any event, after Brett it was time for the Oak Ridge Boys. I really like that they were included in the lineup; it was a fun set, which of course included "Elvira". They did a nice tribute to George Jones, bringing out his widow Nancy afterwards to address the audience. Talking about how much she appreciated the outpouring of support and saying that she believed that George was smiling down on each of us. It was easily the most emotional moment of the entire festival. God bless Nancy Jones.
Next up: Florida Georgia Line. These guys exploded onto the stage like they'd been headlining for years. This was their first time playing LP Field, but you'd never know it. Not from their performance and not from the huge response they got from the crowd. I'd go as far to call their performance electric. They had the crowd in the palms of their hands. Their set was one of the best that night! Really enjoyed finally getting to see them.
And here's where the night got, well, interesting? Baffling? Confusing? Insert similar words here. You see, all night host Storme Warren had been hyping up the surprise guests. One of the biggest acts in music and whatnot. My first thought? Jason Aldean. My next? George Strait. Someone in the row in front of me suggested Toby Keith. Another person said Kenny Chesney. Any of the above would've been pretty wonderful. Not to mention that any of them would've made a whole lot more sense. So the time comes. The lights go down. Storme doesn't come out to make the introduction like he does every other time he introduces an act this night or either of the other two nights he hosted. Instead we just hear his voice. The crowd is relatively quiet, anticipation building with each second. And then it comes. The name of the surprise guest.
Lenny Kravitz.
Wait...what? Who!? That was seriously my reaction. Mine and probably every other person's in the stadium. Talk about coming out of left field. It's been interesting watching the backlash from this unfold. There's been some complaining about how unwelcoming and rude the crowd was and well, I'd like to talk about how the crowd really was. There was definitely a moment of utter bewilderment. After all, you don't expect to see a rocker as a surprise guest at a country music festival. But ultimately the crowd was very welcoming at first. Key words there: at first. The crowd seemed to mostly enjoy his first couple of songs and then he really got the crowd going when he talked about his performance at the CMT Awards and in case we missed it...
Yup. Out came Jason Aldean to the biggest cheers I heard during the entire festival. I knew Jason would be a surprise guest! I didn't think he'd end up being the surprise guest of a non-country surprise guest, but no matter. Anyway the crowd went absolutely crazy when Jason came out as you might expect. That stadium was on fire during the two songs they did together. And then Jason left and I assumed that Lenny was going to. I was wrong.
That's what should have happened. After all, by that point Lenny had played for roughly the same time as most of the other acts at CMA Fest. But no. Lenny stayed to do one more song. A song that lasted for almost 15 minutes.
Yes. You read that correctly. The song, "Let Love Rule", went on for almost 15 minutes. Do a search for Lenny Kravitz "Let Love Rule" CMA Fest on YouTube if you don't believe me. I'll say this for Lenny: I've never seen an artist have a crowd so completely and then lose them as fast as he did. First of all, it was not a song that anyone seemed to know. Maybe a few people did, but not much. Lenny kept trying to get the audience to sing...something. Now usually artists will lead the crowd in what they want them to sing. Lenny assumed people knew. We did not. The bulk of the 15 minutes consisted of him trying in vain to get the crowd to do what he wanted. People have said the audience was rude. No. The audience was confused. And frankly, annoyed. To say he overstayed his welcome would be a huge understatement. To anyone who wants to call the country fans in attendance disrespectful, I'd like to ask them if there's any song you'd want to hear for almost 15 minutes. That's a long time to listen to one song! Even a song you know and like.
Country fans go to CMA Fest to hear country artists. I know, silly us for wanting to hear country artists at a country music festival. So yes, it's frustrating when a spot is given to a person who doesn't even bother pretending that he's in any way country. It boggles my mind that there's people surprised at the reception he got. If anything, be surprised that he held onto the crowd for as long as he did. Lenny was an invited guest. A guest who really didn't belong there. So he should've have respected the crowd enough to not go over his allotted time. He went almost 15 minutes over. When there were still three acts yet to perform. You can blame him for going over his time and I do. But ultimately I blame the CMA. It would have been better to have Jason Aldean as the surprise guest and have him bring out Lenny for a song. Far better.
Thankfully after the epic almost 15 minutes disaster that was "Let Love Rule", it was Dierks Bentley to save the day. In writing this I can't help but feel that Dierks got the best placement in the lineup. I know I was more than ready to have some country put back in the festival at that point. You could've put my least favorite country artist in that spot and I would've been thrilled. And no, I won't tell you who I'm talking about. Bottom line is that it was high time for some country music. You know, the reason why we were all there in the first place. And what better person to bring country back than Mr. Dierks Bentley? Who I am dubbing the savior of the evening.
You know what? I feel a song coming on...
Ahem.
Anyway, it's always a treat to see Dierks. I can't help but feel like he should be more popular than he is. I mean, I know he's doing well and has a ton of fans, but he seems to fly under the radar some. I don't understand it. I thought his set at CMA Fest was absolutely fantastic. He did such a great collection of songs. Even surprising me with "Up On the Ridge" from his terrific album of the same name. I really can't say how much I enjoyed his set! He wrapped it up with the beautiful "Home", which was the perfect way for him to finish.
It's worth noting that the guys from Duck Dynasty joined Storme Warren as co-hosts this evening, providing plenty of entertainment of their own! Those guys are a trip. Now we decided to leave after Dierks so I really can't comment on the remaining acts: Kelly Clarkson and Keith Urban. Though I've heard rave reviews of the people who stayed to listen. We actually left early each of the first three nights for various reasons. So I apologize if you were wanting to hear about any of the acts not mentioned. This'll do it for my day 3 recap. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!
The problem? Well, first it implies that country music isn't cool already and that's nonsense. Country may in fact be at the height of its coolness. Look at how just about every singing competition has a country judge now. People say that having Keith Urban on Idol or Blake Shelton on The Voice helps the genre, but I think it's the other way around. Having a country act on helps those shows. Country music, once the red-headed stepchild of the music industry, has become a force too powerful to be ignored. Country fans have proven to be a valuable commodity. Thanks in no small part to their unwavering loyalty. Country music is perhaps the coolest it's ever been. So what's up with the CMA, or networks like CMT, trying so hard to prove their coolness to people who don't care about country music? And in doing so, alienate the people who do?
Again: I could be way off base here. But there's no other logical explanation I can think of that justifies why they'd choose this particular guest. A guest who may have performed a longer set than any of the other acts during the night shows. So I still have to ask just what the CMA was thinking? And why?
Of course, my day didn't start off with this guest of dubious inclusion. It started earlier, at the Bud Light Stage at the Bridgestone Arena Plaza...
With a performance by one of my new favorites: Parmalee. Yeah, I like these guys and I like them quite a bit. This was my second time seeing them - the first was when they made their Grand Ole Opry debut back in March. That was a wonderful first show, especially for someone who loves the Opry as much as I do. But there they only performed two songs; here I got to see a 40 minute or so set. And it was great! Not a weak song in the set and a strong stage presence. I can't wait until they release their debut album, which I believe is theoretically coming out in the fall.
We headed to the convention center for the first time after their performance and got to meet the Parmalee boys, which was a highlight. After walking through Fan Fair X, it was time to head to the Riverfront for Jerrod Niemann. I've been a fan of Jerrod's for a little while now and after this past week he's become another one of my ever growing list of favorites. I think he's terribly underrated and I'd love to see that change.
Saturday night's LP Field concert started off with Brett Eldredge doing a wonderful version of the national anthem. Brett's seriously one the best new male vocalists in country music and it was great to see him on the big stage. Too bad it wasn't for a full set! They did this thing where you could tweet to win a chance to hang out with him in one of the suites during the show, but it was brought up once and never mentioned again. Pretty odd, if you ask me. With the cell phone service being as bad as it was, I wonder how many people were even able to enter. And then supposing people did and someone won, you'd think they'd make a point to do an update. Maybe show them in the suite in the break between acts. Would've been nice to have something to watch at those times, I'll say that.
In any event, after Brett it was time for the Oak Ridge Boys. I really like that they were included in the lineup; it was a fun set, which of course included "Elvira". They did a nice tribute to George Jones, bringing out his widow Nancy afterwards to address the audience. Talking about how much she appreciated the outpouring of support and saying that she believed that George was smiling down on each of us. It was easily the most emotional moment of the entire festival. God bless Nancy Jones.
Next up: Florida Georgia Line. These guys exploded onto the stage like they'd been headlining for years. This was their first time playing LP Field, but you'd never know it. Not from their performance and not from the huge response they got from the crowd. I'd go as far to call their performance electric. They had the crowd in the palms of their hands. Their set was one of the best that night! Really enjoyed finally getting to see them.
And here's where the night got, well, interesting? Baffling? Confusing? Insert similar words here. You see, all night host Storme Warren had been hyping up the surprise guests. One of the biggest acts in music and whatnot. My first thought? Jason Aldean. My next? George Strait. Someone in the row in front of me suggested Toby Keith. Another person said Kenny Chesney. Any of the above would've been pretty wonderful. Not to mention that any of them would've made a whole lot more sense. So the time comes. The lights go down. Storme doesn't come out to make the introduction like he does every other time he introduces an act this night or either of the other two nights he hosted. Instead we just hear his voice. The crowd is relatively quiet, anticipation building with each second. And then it comes. The name of the surprise guest.
Lenny Kravitz.
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| Lenny Kravitz |
Yup. Out came Jason Aldean to the biggest cheers I heard during the entire festival. I knew Jason would be a surprise guest! I didn't think he'd end up being the surprise guest of a non-country surprise guest, but no matter. Anyway the crowd went absolutely crazy when Jason came out as you might expect. That stadium was on fire during the two songs they did together. And then Jason left and I assumed that Lenny was going to. I was wrong.
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| Jason Aldean! |
Yes. You read that correctly. The song, "Let Love Rule", went on for almost 15 minutes. Do a search for Lenny Kravitz "Let Love Rule" CMA Fest on YouTube if you don't believe me. I'll say this for Lenny: I've never seen an artist have a crowd so completely and then lose them as fast as he did. First of all, it was not a song that anyone seemed to know. Maybe a few people did, but not much. Lenny kept trying to get the audience to sing...something. Now usually artists will lead the crowd in what they want them to sing. Lenny assumed people knew. We did not. The bulk of the 15 minutes consisted of him trying in vain to get the crowd to do what he wanted. People have said the audience was rude. No. The audience was confused. And frankly, annoyed. To say he overstayed his welcome would be a huge understatement. To anyone who wants to call the country fans in attendance disrespectful, I'd like to ask them if there's any song you'd want to hear for almost 15 minutes. That's a long time to listen to one song! Even a song you know and like.
Country fans go to CMA Fest to hear country artists. I know, silly us for wanting to hear country artists at a country music festival. So yes, it's frustrating when a spot is given to a person who doesn't even bother pretending that he's in any way country. It boggles my mind that there's people surprised at the reception he got. If anything, be surprised that he held onto the crowd for as long as he did. Lenny was an invited guest. A guest who really didn't belong there. So he should've have respected the crowd enough to not go over his allotted time. He went almost 15 minutes over. When there were still three acts yet to perform. You can blame him for going over his time and I do. But ultimately I blame the CMA. It would have been better to have Jason Aldean as the surprise guest and have him bring out Lenny for a song. Far better.
Thankfully after the epic almost 15 minutes disaster that was "Let Love Rule", it was Dierks Bentley to save the day. In writing this I can't help but feel that Dierks got the best placement in the lineup. I know I was more than ready to have some country put back in the festival at that point. You could've put my least favorite country artist in that spot and I would've been thrilled. And no, I won't tell you who I'm talking about. Bottom line is that it was high time for some country music. You know, the reason why we were all there in the first place. And what better person to bring country back than Mr. Dierks Bentley? Who I am dubbing the savior of the evening.
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| Dierks to the rescue |
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| He's bringing country back, Those other genre boys don't know how to act I think it's special when he brings that twang So go Dierks Bentley, go and do your thang. ;-) |
Anyway, it's always a treat to see Dierks. I can't help but feel like he should be more popular than he is. I mean, I know he's doing well and has a ton of fans, but he seems to fly under the radar some. I don't understand it. I thought his set at CMA Fest was absolutely fantastic. He did such a great collection of songs. Even surprising me with "Up On the Ridge" from his terrific album of the same name. I really can't say how much I enjoyed his set! He wrapped it up with the beautiful "Home", which was the perfect way for him to finish.
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| "Home" |
It's worth noting that the guys from Duck Dynasty joined Storme Warren as co-hosts this evening, providing plenty of entertainment of their own! Those guys are a trip. Now we decided to leave after Dierks so I really can't comment on the remaining acts: Kelly Clarkson and Keith Urban. Though I've heard rave reviews of the people who stayed to listen. We actually left early each of the first three nights for various reasons. So I apologize if you were wanting to hear about any of the acts not mentioned. This'll do it for my day 3 recap. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!
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