The Mason Station: CMA Fest

In addition to moving, we have been taking advantage of summertime happenings around Nashville. Last weekend, the CMA Music Fest was in town. 4 days of non-stop country music action, all within steps of our condo! Since we were moving, we weren't able to spend as much time participating in the downtown activities and free concerts (which is too bad, because it looked like a lot of fun! Definitely plan on checking that out next year). We were able to score some tickets to the McDonalds suite at LP Field, though, for the headlining concerts on 2 of the nights. I was grateful to have those tickets for several reasons:

Tickets to these events were about $40-$50/night. Free is better!

We could walk, which took care of 2 things. We didn't have to pay for parking (there's that free word, again!) and we were able to time how long it took to get from our place to the Field- Titans season is quickly approaching!

The suite is air conditioned, which is heavenly on a muggy, hot, Southern June night

I love concerts of any kind- if it's live music, I'm typically happy to be there- but I've never been to a country music concert before. I made a few observations that I feel compelled to share, even if it's just for my own documentation...

First of all, country music draws such a DIVERSE crowd! There were people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities piled under one roof for the same reason. That impressed me. And everyone got along! People were dancing and singing and relaxed. I love when people are able to let loose and have fun and not be judged for it.
Country musicians put on a good show. I was entertained the entire time, and got to see some big name country artists. I think it is very cool that these famous musicians aren't above only playing 4 or 5 of their songs, and sharing a bill with lots of other people.
It may be cliche, but country musicians are probably the most patriotic people in the states. They love to sing about "Mare-ka" (America to the lay person's ear.) Each concert started with someone singing the Star Spangled Banner, complete with 4 fighter jets flying overhead at a LOW altitude. Seeing those planes like that is really cool, and always gives me goose bumps. And a couple of the musicians brought up veterans during their show when they sang patriotic songs.
I was struck, also, by how appreciate the fans were. I was downtown on Thursday and saw a Marine dressed in his full military outfit, and observed several complete strangers walk up to him and shake his hand and tell him "Thank you" for what he does for our country. The same type of thing happened at the concerts. Several military men were walking to their seats on the field, and they got a HUGE spontaneous round of applause from the fans. I think these days we do take for granted that these men and women risk their lives in combat to protect us here in the states. It's nice to know that patriotism isn't dead, and I'm sure that the military people appreciated being appreciated.
My favorite moment of the fest, I think, though was when the Zac Brown Band played their popular song, "Chicken Fried." Zac sang the first part, "You know I like my chicken fried" and then the crowd sang "Cold beer on a Friday night". And it wasn't like a handful of people sang it, the ENTIRE crowd of 50,000- some people sang. You wanna talk about goosebumps- I love, love, love when stuff like that happens. How cool would you feel if that many people knew the words to your song?

I'm starting to ramble, but wanted to share some of my thoughts on my first CMA Fest. All-in-all, a great time! Can't wait for next year!

Kenny Chesney