Daddy surprised Mommy on their 12th wedding anniversary (which was August 21st of this year) with a trip to Nashville, Tennessee! He bought tickets for them to see the 45th Country Music Award Show and he also got tickets for the filming of the CMA Country Christmas Show! Mommy has always said that the CMA Award Show would be her concert of choice, so Daddy made it happen!!
Their first evening in Nashville was off to an ordinary start. They walked from their hotel to Broadway Street in downtown Nashville to see the sights. Their first stop was the famous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge! The girl that was tending bar at Tootsie's turned out to be from Katy, Texas! Her name was Alicia Katy and she was a singer and songwriter trying to make a living in the music industry. Mom and Dad visited with her throughout the night and she invited them to the Hard Rock Café later that evening, where her brother-in-law Randy Houser would be announcing his new record label! They headed to Hard Rock for dinner and then walked upstairs for the Broken Bow Records CMA Party!
Executives from Broken Bow Records started the night by congratulating Jason Aldean for the great success of his latest album My Kinda Party, and also his hit singles Dirt Road Anthem and Don't You Wanna Stay.
Other entertainers of the record label were at the event to celebrate the night. Dustin Lynch sang his debut single
Cowboys and Angels.
James Wesley followed with his latest single Real.
Randy Houser shared his signature voice with the crowd!
The husband and wife pair Thompson Square sang Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not!
The duo was honored for the success of their hit single!
After the performances, Dad and Mom enjoyed the view of the Nashville Bridge from the patio!
On their way out, they snapped a shot of the guitars displayed in the stairway! They knew I would love to see those!!
Their final stop for the evening was The Wheel. They enjoyed soaking in the local, laid-back culture and listening to local musicians! After that, they returned to their hotel to rest for CMA day!
The next morning they hit Broadway to check out the local shops and sights in the daylight! They ran across this life-sized Honky Tonk Heroes Guitar on their way to the Country Music Hall of Fame!
Lone Ranger mementos in the Hall of Fame
I think that this triple-neck instrument and the guitars used by the country group Alabama are pretty cool!
WOW! Look at all the gold and platinum albums on the Wall of Fame in the Hall of Fame!
There was a large section of the museum honoring Hank Williams and his family. One of the things that Mom and Dad thought we would enjoy seeing was the hat and Monday Night Football vest that Hank Williams, Jr. wore each time he asked the famous Monday night question... Are You Ready for Some Football?! to the tune of All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight!
On their way out of the museum, they saw Alan Jackson's star on the Country Music Walk of Fame! One of their first dates was an Alan Jackson concert in Beaumont. Clay Walker, and upcoming star at the time, opened for Alan Jackson at the concert. Mom says the song that she remembers most from that concert is Chattahoochee... Mom and Dad were only SIXTEEN! WOWZERS!
They enjoyed a late lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville before heading back to the hotel to get dressed for their evening at the CMAs!
They arrived at the Bridgestone Arena ready for a night of country music... I think they cleaned up nicely!!
The stage was set for the LIVE show!
Lights, Camera, Action! Blake Shelton opened the event with Footloose!!
Country music's favorite hosting pair, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, stepped out with smiles and a silly song to entertain the crowd! Brad Paisley started singing
Are You Ready for an Award Show?!... Carrie Underwood quickly reminded him that they probably shouldn't be singing Hank Williams, Jr's music due to the fact that the network just dropped his Monday Night Football opening act due to the fact that he likened President Obama's leadership style to Hitler's. Oops... I guess that wasn't politically correct!! Hank Williams, Jr. was not however banned from country music!! He made a surprise appearance with Brad and Carrie, and received a standing ovation from his country music family!
Keith Urban wowed the crowd with his "up-close-and-personal" performance of You Gonna Fly!
A beautiful performance of A Little Bit Stronger by Sara Evans and an amazing arial acrobat performance as she sang!
One of the many costume changes for Brad and Carrie as they introduced country music newcomers Eric Church and Easton Corbin!
With Miss Piggy to assist, Brad and Carrie welcomed the young and ever-popular Taylor Swift!
The ordinarily "active" entertainer, sat on a couch as she sang her hit song Ours!
Jason Aldean accepted his CMA for Album of the Year. It was cool that Jason Aldean won this award, but it was even cooler that World Series MVP David Freese (third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals) presented the award!!
Brad and Carrie's excitement and humor in between acts really made the night fun! There was a lot of smiling and laughter coming from the audience... from both country stars and the fans enjoying the show!!
Lionel Richie joined Little Big Town and other country music artists for a medley of his hit songs.
The Band Perry was a big winner of the night! The group, made up of a girl and her two brothers, was named New Artist of the Year and their song If I Die Young was named Single of the Year and Song of the Year!
Brad and Carrie's fantastic Remind Me performance earned the pair a standing ovation!
Reese Witherspoon presented the award for Male Vocalist of the Year to none other than Blake Shelton... a repeat from last year!
Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, and Vince Gill paid tribute to country music great Glen Campbell.
Lady Antebellum was named Vocal Group of the Year!
Mommy was very excited that Faith Hill was singing at the awards, this was her first performance at the CMAs in five years!
It was no surprise that Miranda Lambert, wife of Male Vocalist of the Year Blake Shelton, was named Female Vocalist of the Year for the second year in a row!
Dad and Mom smile for a quick picture during the final commercial break!
The legendary Reba McEntire presented the final award of the evening. She announced Taylor Swift as Entertainer of the Year!
It was a wonderful night of country music!
The next day, Dad and Mom explored more sights around the city. They saw the stadium that is home to the Tennessee Titans!
Since it was their last day to walk along Broadway, Mom stopped to take a picture with one of the many Elvis statues along the streets of Nashville!
Later than evening, they bundled up in the cool weather and headed back to Bridgestone Arena for the CMA Country Christmas live taping event to be aired on ABC in December!
The stage was set and the director of the show spoke to the audience about the live taping. It would not be the same as the prior night's award show that was broadcast live as it was being performed. Tonight there would be no commercial breaks, but there would be breaks in segments, possible repeat performances, and even a few acts performed out of order!
The night's hosts, and last night's Vocal Duo of the Year, Sugarland welcomed guests to the show and then sang Silent Night...this was the first song of the night but would be one of the last songs on the television broadcast!
The grand finale was the next performance on the agenda! All of the country music crooners lined the stage to film the show's final song, Jingle Bells. After SEVERAL starts and stops the stars made it through the song wonderfully!!
From left to right, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Martina McBride, Brian Setzer, vocal group Little Big Town, Darius Rucker, vocal duo Sugarland, vocal group Lonestar, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, American Idol Winner Scott McCrerry, and another American Idol Alum Kelly Pickler.
Keith Urban played guitar for Little Big Town's performance
Scotty McCreery sang The First Noel beautifully!
Jennifer Nettles' upbeat All I Want for Christmas performance was in the middle of the night's lineup but it was actually the opening act when the show aired on television!!
Darius Rucker sang Winter Wonderland
Brad Paisley and the Brian Setzer Orchestra performed a medley of upbeat of Christmas music!
Faith Hill sang one of Mommy's favorite Christmas songs Little Drummer Boy. It was a truly amazing performance!
Keith Urban performed The Christmas Song flawlessly!!
Martina McBride had a hard act to follow, but she sounded as beautiful as she looked!
The husband and wife pair Vince Gill and Amy Grant performed together and she showed Vince and the crowd her secret as they were leaving the stage... she had worn warm winter boots under her gown instead of high heels!
Kellie Pickler "Rocked Around the Christmas Tree" to wrap up the evening of wonderful performances!
Daddy and Mommy told us that they had an amazing time in Nashville, but they assured us that they missed us bunches and spent so much of the trip saying, "The boys would LOVE this!"
WELL...as you can see, we have a lot of fun bowling, but I am not so sure that bowling is our sport!!
We got to party all over again when Wilson opened his cool gifts at home!
Wilson loves the new glove that Daddy bought for him!
Here he is geared up in his Transformer pajama pants and robe, with his Captain American mask and shield! Now there is a SUPERhero!!
A special congratulations to our big brother Ryan and his soccer team for winning 1st place in the B.I.G. Soccer Tournament in Beaumont over the weekend. Ryan and 6 of his soccer friends played 5 amazing games of soccer on Saturday and Sunday, winning the tournament in the finals... in a shootout!! I am bragging a little bit, but Ryan played in goal for most of the tournament and did an awesome job - 2 SHUTOUTS! He got to come out of goal to SCORE a penalty shot, and also scored a goal when playing forward for a bit! The victory was sweet for us all!
