Last night Brad and I went to the Bama Rising concert at the BJCC. It was incredible to see so many big name artists performing for this event, and not getting paid. Here's who we saw:
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Alabama
They are the ones who thought of doing this concert. They get all the credit for making it awesome!
Ashton Shepherd
She's from Coffeeville, AL, right down the road from Silas, where my momma grew up!
(She's 6 months pregnant now, with her second baby)
Bo Bice
His guitar was made in the shape of Alabama and
designed with wood burned images of Alabama music legends. Pretty snazzy!
The infamous Taylor Hicks
He is the most amazing dancer/performer. He knows how to entertain an audience!
John Parker Wilson and Mike Johnson
Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery was a character!
Rodney Adkins
It was really neat to see him here, because his house burned to the ground a couple of days after April 27, and he was still here to support Alabama. (He didn't mention a word about what he was going through though. I read it in the news)
An interesting fact: In his song "Watching You" about his little boy, he calls him "Bear", (With tears in my eyes, I wrapped him in a hug, and said my little bear is growing up...)
Rodney said that he loves Alabama so much, that he nicknamed his son Bear!!
Everybody loves Alabama! :)
Kellie Pickler
David Nail
He was so funny. He walked up to the mic, and said something like 'Well... I didn't know this concert was going to be this big... I thought it was going to be just a little something, so I didn't bring my band...' So he sang "Red Light" and a new song that hasn't come out yet, by himself. He did a great job!!
Jake Owen
He's new, but everybody knew his songs. He was a great performer!
Paul Finebaum!!
(He was wearing Brad Paisley's hat)
The Commodores
They sounded just like they did way back when!! And were pretty funny too!
Little Big Town
The guy on the left is from Sumiton, AL, and the 2 ladies are graduates of UAB!
(The other singer isn't in the picture because I didn't know he was part of the band until later...)
BIG SURPRISE!
Kirk Herbstreit and Jay Barker
Kirk and his family just bought a house in TN, so they're in the "south" now.
Martina McBride
Just as beautiful as ever!
Dierks Bentley
Great Performer!!
Mrs. Jay Barker -Sara Evans
She was great!
Darius Rucker
MY FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!
Sheryl Crow (Brad's 10th cousin)
She came out playing an accordion!! It was pretty cool!
Brad Paisley!!!
Amazing performer! He's a cool guy too.
Most of the performers, back on stage for the finale.
This was an absolutely amazing concert.
Brad and me, tired... Too old to be going to "all night" concerts!
But we're going to do it again next week when we see NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK AND BACKSTREET BOYS!!!!!!!! (my Christmas present. When you see Brad, tell him what a MAN he is, for going to that concert with his wife! Although, he does know quite a few of the lyrics...)
'Bama Rising' started at 7:30 and ended at 1:00 a.m. The sets didn't take but like 5 minutes to change, and the artists were sitting on ready when it was their turn. I won't be able to stop talking about this experience for years to come. It was truly a once in a life time concert. (I hope, considering what it was for...)
Sheryl Crow is not in anyway related to Brad, that we know of...
