Just Another Day in Nashville

Yesterday* started out like any other weekday, but by the time I got home last night ** it had turned into a great reminder of why I moved to Nashville. See, one of my coworkers sits on the Board of Directors for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, and we all love to support them when we can. Unbeknownst to me (I guess nonprofits don’t have ginormous advertising budgets?) there was a fundraiser concert called Stars for Second Harvest going on at the Ryman Auditorium that night. With the economy the way it is, fundraisers like these have really taken a hit, and ticket sales are down. The organizers didn’t want the performers to look out and see so many empty seats, since they had donated their time and all, so my coworker was able to secure some free tickets for us. She sent an email with the details, I skimmed it and saw Luke Bryan’s name and said, I’m there!

My friend Katrina is much more savvy about the Nashville Music Biz and she knew who the other guys were, names I didn’t recognize. And in retrospect, I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t know who they were, but then again I don’t know how I would have known. But the important thing is that I know now, and I will never forget, and I am here to tell you about it!

So this was the program: Craig Wiseman & Friends present Stars for Second Harvest. The first hour was Craig Wiseman, Jeffrey Steele, and Tony Mullins sitting on stools with microphones and their guitars. Have you ever heard any song ever recorded by Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Phil Vassar, Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw, Rodney Atkins, Leann Rimes, or Brooks & Dunn, just to name a few? Then you have heard the songs written by these masters. It was so entertaining just to watch the three of them play and sing their own songs and each other’s songs. Even though we knew that there were some great artists waiting backstage, my friends and I agreed that we would have been happy just to listen to these three all night.

But there were others! First Joey & Rory came out and performed, in Rory’s words, their one hit. Then Heidi Newfield showed us what she can do with a harmonica. Impressive. Then Luke Bryan, the reason I was there, followed by a truly terrible (but philanthropic! he bought his own plane ticket and flew in from New York!) comedian, Gary Mule Deer. And finally Rodney Atkins wrapped up the show. Surprisingly he did not do “Fifteen Minutes.” But of course he did “Watching You.” I guess that’s his signature.

And that’s what it’s like living in Nashville! You just never know when you wake up in the morning if you might wind up at an awesome show at the Ryman that night!

And don’t worry, I made a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank the next day.

* not really yesterday, it was actually almost two weeks ago, I’m just really behind on my blogging

** also not really last night