First day music great!
June 06, 2008
Now, about last night….
I’ve never been a big Alabama fan. To me, they’ve always been that country band from, well, Alabama. I’ve never seen them perform, never bought any of their music.
Boy, have I been missing out.
Randy Owen is not a performer. The man is an entertainer of the highest quality. And until BamaJam, I was ignorant of just how good he is. This is typical for me ... I discover I like somebody after the band breaks up. But everyone I heard yesterday was very, very good.
Little Big Town performed just before Randy and put on a heck of a show, and a long show too, going over their alloted hour and 15 minutes by about 10 minutes. They may have started late; not sure. Darryl Worley preceded them and I only heard him from afar. It was deadline… I couldn’t help it. Ashton Shepherd and Shawn Hammonds. Also very, very good.
The sound system at the Main Stage is of the best quality I have ever heard at any event or concert. There is no place where the sound is the least bit off. When you choose your seats, it’s loud or louder, but there are distances back where it is easier on the ears. Let the young folks go down front; I’m already hard of hearing.
And the stage, which has to be bigger than a football field, is impressive. There’s a screen to the right for close-up viewing but last night I kept the binoculars to my eyes. (Yeah, the vision is going too.) And the light show was very, very good as well.
Makes me wanna go check out the generators behind the stage…. What kind of machine keeps this baby operating!
The cool thing about Thursday night was hearing those great Alabama songs and looking up at a small quarter moon and a few stars in the sky. The breeze was truly a gift after the scorching temperatures of the day. Honestly, my clothes were wet. That’s how hot it was. We expect more of the same today.
Last night couples danced slow as Randy sang and the crowd really got involved, filling in the lyrics when the entertainer asked them to. One little boy down front on his Daddy’s shoulders (I guess it was Dad’s) suggested “My Home’s in Alabama,“ to the performer, who quipped back, “I’m getting to it!“
It was late—after 11:30 when we got back to the campground, coming straight here after the performance. Forgive me for being too tired to write.
People, this event is a success. A huge one and the music is great. While I estimated—- that means I took a wild guess—there were 6,000 people watching Randy last night, I was told this morning that 25,000 “tickets”—comps and others—have been “processed” at the gate.
ZZ Top pulled in early this morning, Billy Graham told me. (Not the Rev., but Ronnie Gilley right hand guy.) They play at 10 tonight. Also today is Tracy Lawrence, Trace Adkins and Gilley himself will perform with this new band, Houston County at 5:30.
Also today: Keller Williams, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain.
If you are not coming out today, you will REGRET it! This is big, folk
