by Mike Carroll and Leslie Paczosa
We started our day walking around the parking lot taking in the tailgating atmosphere. The thing that stood out the most to us was that at least 5 tailgate parties we walked past were blasting Colt Ford music. Guess he’s pretty popular for not being mainstream, eh? After seeing that ya’ll were ready to party, we headed inside to get situated.
The show started off with Emily Brooke singing a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. It was beyond awesome to say the least! Emily is a very talented young lady with a bright future and is a must see if you are at a local show. If you missed her opening performance, make sure you go check it out on YouTube. You will get the chills.
Jennette McCurdy was the first act to the take the stage, and the first thing that stood out was the highly uncomfortable-looking shoes she was wearing. We had a chance to talk to her after her performance, and the first thing we asked, was “so…how’re you’re feet feelin’??”
“Oh my God!! My feet are KILLING ME!!!” was her response. No surprise there! She did receive a lot of compliments on the shoes from her female fans, so I guess no pain no gain, right?
The highlight of our time with her as she did her radio/fan club Meet & Greet was an adorable little boy that shyly presented her with a vase of flowers. He was so nervous that he kept looking down at the ground while she talked to him. She asked him excitedly, “Are those for ME??? How sweet of you! Come over here and give me a hug!!”
The boy slowly went around the table, bent over part way at the waist, and kept his lowered head to her side as she gave him a big hug. As soon as his time with her was done, he was off running up the hill with a big grin on his face to go play with some other kids.
After meeting with people in the roped off area, she went out and did a one-hour Meet & Greet with the rest of her fans. She had quite a line of folks waiting to meet her. She too, has a bright future ahead of her.
Tom Jackson took the stage next with his rockin’ style of Country Music and put on a great show. His new tune, “All About You,” has potential to be a radio hit, so make sure ya’ll request his music to your local radio stations.
Frankie Ballard was running late for his Meet & Greet, but made up for it with his friendly demeanor and willingness to spend time talking with each fan. He later put on a very entertaining show, and was later seen standing off to the side of the main stage watching the other artists as they performed. You gotta love someone with that kind of respect.
Blaine Larsen was also very friendly to talk to, and spent time talking with each fan as well in the Meet & Greet. We quizzed him on why he didn’t sing some of his previous singles last time he was in town (Jupiter, 6/10) after claiming that night that he didn’t remember the lyrics for those songs. He was surprised that he didn’t play them, and promised he’d be hitting them all on the main stage on this day. He ended up skipping his biggest hit to date, “How Do You Get That Lonely,” but it wasn’t on purpose. He later tweeted an apology to all of the fans at the Rib Roundup for accidentally skipping over it on the set list. As far as we’re concerned, he’s forgiven!
The LoCash Cowboys were awesome. Preston and Chris are funny, friendly guys that knew us from twitter. After meeting with the fans that had Meet & Greets, they went out and signed for the other fans that didn’t have access to the signing area. They then went out, and, as predicted in our Preview blog, got the joint rockin’. They put on a high-energy performance that in our humble opinion was one of the best of the day.
Thompson Square was next up…like all others before them, they were very friendly and spent time with the fans in the Meet & Greet area. Unlike the artists before them, fans had to provide their own objects for autographs. (The first 4 artists had photos on hand for autographs). They then went out and put on a good show, showing why some have them pegged as the “next big thing,” as their early record sales indicate.
Next up on the docket was Rodney Atkins. Once we hit the “Big 3,” the Meet & Greets were a bit more rushed since things fell behind schedule a bit. We didn’t have a chance to talk with Rodney, but he had the crowd standing and singing along throughout his set. He too was one of the highlights of the night.
The next big moment of the night came when the latest class of Army recruits were sworn into active duty as official soldiers in the US Army. What a privilege it was to be able to witness such a heroic moment in all of those young men and women’s lives. Craig Morgan came out to thank them and gave a small speech before they marched off the stage to go protect our great country.
Next up was Joe Nichols, the ladies fan-favorite of the night hands down. He was in a playful mood before his set. When we asked him how often tweets from his twitter account were from him personally, he laughed and said, “If they’re funny, it’s me. Otherwise, it was my manager back in his office doing promo work.”
He had several women clamoring to meet him from outside the Meet & Greet area, and he obliged for a lucky few. He then took the stage to sing hit after hit…though it appears nobody was drinking Tequila, because we didn’t notice anyone’s clothes falling off, even during his hit single, “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.” Oh yeah, he apparently also really likes to drink Diet Dr. Pepper.
By the time Craig Morgan stopped by to visit before his set, it was getting dark out. The Meet & Greet session was a bit rushed because of this, but he made sure to meet with every fan that was back there to meet him. He then capped the night off with the closing set, playing all of his hits.
In our Preview blog, we highlighted his pre-music career serving his country, and little did we know that the next day he’d once again be a hero. He was on his way home when he passed a house that had caught fire. He proceeded to rescue two children from the burning home, and told the story a few days later to the Jeff Elliott in the Morning Show on WIRK. I believe they have a recording of that interview on their website, so go check it out.
Throughout the day, we kept running into a gentleman who was there with his daughter. He had won Meet and Greets to meet all of the artists, and his daughter was able to have them all sign her pink guitar.
All-in-all the 2011 Rib Roundup was a great day-long event that went very smoothly and successfully. We were disappointed that we didn’t have time to see the acts over on the side stage by the rib area, but the feedback we’ve been hearing has been very positive of the acts that performed there, especially for Emily Brooke, Tom Jackson, and Sarah Darling.
While the cold did send some fans home early, there was a good crowd for the 2nd Annual WIRK Rib Roundup, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s.
What were the highlights of the Rib Roundup for you? Tell us about YOUR experiences!
PHOTOS Courtesy of L. Paczosa & M. Carroll