Country Thunder 2011 – it was hot, hot, hot. I’m referring to the weather, the performances, and the people. My friend Tony and I arrived at Country Thunder at about 11:00 Thursday morning and found our camping spot, yes I’ll call it a camp spot rather than a campsite because camping there means a spot in the middle of a hay field. We set up our tent and met our surrounding camping neighbors – a large group of 20 something year olds from Illinois who are Country Thunder camping pros. The group had several tents, canopies, and a generator for power. They were all very nice and invited us to be part of their party throughout the weekend – we certainly did hang out with them and had tons of fun.
We made our way up to the concert area about 3:00 and picked some spots as far front as possible for an evening with Sawyer Brown and Lady Antebellum. Our night started with The Roys, a brother and sister duo. They were very interactive with the crowd and gave a good performance of several songs including “Nothing I Can Do About It Now” and Dolly Parton’s “9-5”. It was a good start to our weekend. Next came Sawyer Brown, who really gave us a fabulous performance. It’s easy to see they’ve been together 30 years because they are so natural on stage. The energy was really high and they didn’t’ slow down one bit as we enjoyed “6 Days On The Road”, “Boys-N-Me”, “The Race Is On”, “All These Years”, “Talk That Talk”, “Some Girls Do”, and so many more. It was a long show that really got the audience going and ready for an amazing performance by Lady Antebellum, who hit the stage ready to rock and that they did. We heard “Our Kind Of Love”, “I Run To You”, “Long Gone”, and “Hello World”. The crowd was up on their feet the entire time and didn’t slow down for a moment. In fact they just kept pushing their way toward the front. It was a true mosh pit. It got pretty crazy down there, and the crowd just went wilder when Lady Antebellum sang “We All Unite”, “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” and “American Honey”. It was obvious these people were ready for a great weekend of fun, and this was the perfect start. Lady A also rocked us with “Looking For A Good Time”, and “Just A Kiss Goodnight”. Lady Antebellum gave us a great start to our Country Thunder weekend.
After our fun time with Lady A we headed back to our camp spot. We hung out and enjoyed partying with our Neighbors until the rain came. It was late so we headed to sleep in our tent. (we did have an air mattress) We woke the next morning to continuous rain. Our morning was spent going back and forth from the tent to the truck – it was pouring out! The rain didn’t let up until about 11:00, and it started the destruction of our camp spot. Our afternoon was occupied by us cleaning up and drying things off – it was pretty bad.
At about 3:00 on Friday after our camp cleanup we headed to the concert area. We now knew once we went up there we were staying; it was quite a haul getting there from our flooded camp spot. I lost my flip flops several times along the way, until one finally broke. I enjoyed my day barefoot! Looking around, I was not the only one. It was a true mud fest! We picked some spots further back up the hill which was a great idea because people were more respectful of individual space. It also gave me more dancing room! We got some food and drinks and jammed out to Blackberry Smoke. They have a really rockin sound and were pretty good. They sang “Livin Hell” and “Freedom Song”. I’m not sure about the rest because we were getting our information about a meet-n-greet with Zac Brown Band. Yes, we got to meet them and had our picture taken with them. They seem like a cool group of guys and got a kick out of my bare feet. After that awesome moment we headed to our seats for a superb performance. The crowd was crazy and they were ready to rock, and we did as Zac Brown Band pounded out “Knee Deep”, “Keep Me In Mind”, and “Colder Weather”. The people were all so cool and fired up. Everyone was very friendly and we all just enjoyed amazing music together. Zac Brown Band kept us going with “Walking Away”, “Toes”, “Let It Go”, and they sang a song with Sonia Leigh that they wrote together. These guys just seem to play nonstop. The band really is very talented. They also sang “Highway 20 Ride”, “Settle Me Down”, and a new song “Sweet Annie”.
What a great Friday evening at Country Thunder. We headed back to our campsite and called it an early night, until the rain came. It was really bad Friday night with major downpour and excessive winds. It was pretty scary. We slept in the truck that night, which was a good choice because our tent didn’t survive the storm. It didn’t just collapse, it broke.
We got up Saturday to a destroyed camp area. We were camping in mini lakes. Everyone made the best of it, but it wasn’t fun. And once the rain stopped, the heat and humidity cranked up into high gear. Talk about hot! We again cleaned up our wet camp spot and headed to the Concert area. We decided to pick some spots under a small tree near the gate going backstage. Our day of music started with Lorri Morgan who really gave an amazing performance. She was high energy and looked so comfortable on stage. We enjoyed a lot from Lorri Morgan including “”Train Wreck Of Emotion”, “Watch Me Walk Away”, “What Part Of No Don’t You Understand”, and “Except For Monday”. It’s really amazing how she kept going in the heat – I can’t imagine just how hot she must have been on stage giving us her all. We also jammed to “Half Enough”, “Wait A Minute”, and “Cleaning Out My Closet”.
Following Lorri Morgan was Craig Morgan who also gave us a great show. We were going to meet him, but somehow we missed the line-up. Bummer. But we did enjoy most of his performance which was very good. We met a great family from Iowa – the Smiths’, who we chatted with a lot. Katie (the Daughter) was so sweet and helpful – she watched our chairs while we were backstage and she listed out songs from the performances. That’s teamwork – I really couldn’t have done it without her help. Thanks Katie! Some tunes enjoyed by Craig Morgan were “Redneck Yacht Club”, “That’s What I Love About Sundays”, “I’m Country”, and one of my personal favorites “International Harvester”.
Next up Mr. Darius Rucker. We were backstage meeting him during some of Craig Morgans’ performance. Darius put on a really good show. He was simply dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and took control of the stage. He had quite a long playlist for us to enjoy – and enjoy we did! Darius Rucker sang “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”, “Love Will Do That”, “Alright”, “I Got Nothing”, and “Only Wanna Be With You”. The crowd was pumped and ready for more, so we continued to enjoy “Hold My Hand”, “Let Her Cry”, “You Never Call Me By My Name”, “Space Cowboy”, and “Family Tradition”. Darius Rucker really was amazing. You’ll appreciate the awesome pictures of Darius Rucker thanks to Katie once again – she had seats up front and took my camera in. Way to go Katie! Best pictures of the entire weekend.
So we come to our final show for Saturday, Martina McBride. Wow! Amazingly beautiful and so talented. We were privileged to meet her, and she was really nice. Martina McBride gave us such a great show it was the perfect way to cap the night. As she sang, I could almost feel what she was feeling. She seems to dig deep and get real. She gave us “Teenage Daughter”, “You Don’t Have To Be My Baby”, “Wild Angel”, “Love’s The Only House”, “I Have Been Blessed”, and “Cry”. The crowd just couldn’t seem to get enough of her, including Amanda from Brookfield. We met her and her Mom during the Martina McBride performance. She is a huge Martina fan. Since we wanted more, that’s what we got. Martina McBride also sang one of my favorites, a very inspiring song “Anyway”, a dedicated song to all the women “For The Girls”, and a fun song “Two Bottles Of Wine”. After that we got emotional with “Where Would You Be” and “Broken Wing”, but then she completely fired us up with “Independence Day”. A superb performance by Martina McBride!
Once the show was over we headed back to camp, loaded up, and mudded our way out of there. We were not going to spend another night sleeping in the truck and knowing I had a friend about 25 minutes away we decided to sleep by her. It felt great to shower and sleep comfortably. Call us wimps if you wish, but “Ma” and “Pa” (what our camping kid neighbors named us) did what was necessary to be ready and energized for our final day of Country Thunder. And ready we were! Driving around the camp area was very challenging, not to mention far from the concert area so we decided it would be best to park in General Parking. What a great idea! That worked out well because we were able to walk back to the truck for drinks rather than buying them all inside. Don’t worry, we spent plenty of money inside, but we had our own beer in our coolers that we needed to drink up to fulfill their Country Thunder experience. And by tailgating in between shows, we met more cool people, some of who were Randy and Patti from Pennsylvania! They flew into O’Hare airport, drove a rental car up and stayed in a hotel. They came just for Country Thunder, how cool is that! They were very nice and a lot of fun. I must say, the people we met throughout the weekend were just awesome all the way around!
We enjoyed one song from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “Cosmic Cowboy”. Unfortunately we missed most of the show because we are cool and we were backstage meeting Easton Corbin! What a nice man, so personable. Easton Corbin was willing to give autographs, so I had him sign my hat on the top. Oh ya – that’s awesome, and so was his show. Easton Corbin looked like he was having so much fun on stage, which was great because we were certainly having a lot of fun. We enjoyed “Roll With It”, “Little More Country Than That”, “Don’t Ask Me About A Woman”, “Put A Girl In It”, “It Must Be Love”, and “Don’t Happen Twice”. A great performance that I’d love to see again.
Next…the absolutely gorgeous Sara Evans. She came out in a pair of shorts and a beautiful top and instantly took control of the stage and the audience. It was like this spark of energetic beauty lit the stage. She sang a lot of songs, each having such strong meaning it grabs you inside. She rocked us with “As If”, “Born To Fly”, “When You Were Cheating”, “Something More”, and “Torture”. The crowd was already fired up and just screaming for more. Sara Evans did take time throughout to talk about her family and personal life, which really puts you in a position of feeling like you’re getting to know her. It was very cool. I did get a few good pictures because I simply asked security if I could go in so I could take some quick pictures. I promised to come right back – and I did. She also sang “Little Bit Stronger”, “Could Not Ask For More”, “Suds In The Bucket”, and “Place To Start”. Sara Evans was amazing on stage. After the show we were so very lucky to meet her backstage and have our picture taken with her and she also agreed to autograph my hat – wow what an experience.
After meeting Sara we headed back to our seats to enjoy Josh Turner, who we were also fortunate enough to meet earlier. A very nice and good looking man…who called me ‘Darlin’ when I asked if he would autograph my hat before we took our picture together. Josh Turner came out on stage and started us off with “Firecracker”, “Don’t Happen Twice”, “Just To Be Your Man” and “Long Black Train”. At this point the crowd is so fired up there is no stopping us, and Josh Turner could tell. He gave us an amazing show continuing with “Haywire”, “Roll With Me”, “Me And God”, “All Over Me”, and “Jesus Is The Answer”. Josh Turner put on a really great show and I’m glad I had the chance to see him live. (not to mention having his arm around me!) His deep voice has a way of capturing you into his songs, and what a happy place to be. Josh Turner is definitely a show I’d see again.
It is now time for the last performance, the fabulous Rascal Flatts. Before the show we once again were so blessed to have an opportunity to meet them – they were so cool! They seem like really fun guys, laughing and cracking jokes. They were full of life and energy which poured out of them while they were on stage. It was a full day of great music and Rascal Flatts was the perfect way to cap it off. It’s obvious they have a huge fan base because the place was packed. Another group with so many songs I wonder how they pick and choose what to sing. Well, however they do it; they do it right because it was a fun filled evening of “Me – N – My Gang”, “Summer Nights”, “Broken Road”, and “Stand”. These guys are so full of energy on stage it’s as if sparks fly from them out onto us. They’re like a group of big kids having the time of their life. They were “Unstoppable”. “My Wish” is that they continue to know and love “What The Cowgirls Do”, because the world just wouldn’t be the same without Rascal Flatts. They were simply awesome and left us feeling great “Signed Sealed Delivered”, reminding us that “Life Is A Highway”.
Country Thunder was a great experience that I would recommend to any Country music fan. I had the time of my life!
