Jamey Johnson on stage jammin' with Heidi Newfield, Emily West and more!
Beth Brinker here, your GAC Road Reports correspondent and your source for all things Country Throwdown! Stay tuned for my on the road adventures and behind the scenes exclusives with the talented artists and singer/songwriters on one of this summer’s hottest tours! I finally get to be a gypsy with a traveling music circus and all my friends and favorites. First stop – Florida!
If the first day of The Country Throwdown tour is any indicator of what lies ahead, I can only expect the unexpected. I knew collaborations were inevitable, but I was surprised to see so many so soon!
The highlight of the first show unfolded when Jamey Johnson was joined by Emily West, Heidi Newfield, and singer/songwriters Sarah Buxton, Jedd Hughes, Heather Morgan, Troy Olsen and Brad Tursi of The Bluebird Café Tent for an edgy rendition of the classic hymn I’ll Fly Away.
To top off the evening, Sarah Buxton and I were “kidnapped” by the Eli Young Band and Jack Ingram for a surprise show at the Dallas Bull in Tampa. The Eli Young Band covered The Beatles and even Jack Ingram, himself. They started playing Jack’s tune Barbie Doll and switched bands mid-song. Before long Jack and his band were getting barefoot and crazy, literally. Jack has nice feet, like all Texans.
We were safely returned to our buses and it was on to West Palm Beach, and then Jacksonville.
One of my favorite features of the tour so far is The Bluebird Café Singer/Songwriter Tent. The Bluebird Café is a legendary club in Nashville that celebrates the creative minds behind our favorite songs. On any given night, you can sit down, eat, and enjoy current and future hit songs being sung by the people who write them. This summer, you can experience that on every stop of the tour. Not only can you catch them at the tent, they also sing in between the acts on the main stage every night. I’m not the only one who loves these nine singer/songwriters – Jack Ingram has been spotted listening at the Bluebird Café tent at every stop so far.
If you want to see what you’re in for when you come out for a Country Throwdown, check out this clip:
Stay tuned…my next post will offer up some highlights from our run through Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. Here are the remaining dates for tour stops in May:
Sat-5/22 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sun-5/23 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
Thu-5/27 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Fri-5/28 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Pavilion
Sat-5/29 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
Sun-5/30 Saratoga Springs, NY SPAC Amphitheatre
Mon-5/31 Gilford, NH Meadowbrook US Cellular
GAC is a proud sponsor of the Country Throwdown Tour. For more information about the tour dates, tickets and merchandise visit www.countrythrowdown.com.
