NRA Country Stage

As part of the N.R.A. Convention this past weekend, live music was a must, and it was in Nashville after all so country was the obvious choice. (Not to mention what genre majority of the members of the N.R.A. favor)

Outside the doors of the Music City Center, there was Freedom Festival on 5th Avenue. At Freedom Festival, there were food trucks and more vendors lining the street, along with a stage. 

The earlier it was in the convention, the smaller the acts were, but Sunday afternoon, "Redneck Crazy" singer, Tyler Farr made an appearance. 

In my visits down there, I got to hear several of those acts and was impressed with the voices and song writing skills of all of the artists. 

Aaron Goodvin

On Friday, as my dad and I navigated through Freedom Festival, I got to hear Aaron Goodvin. I have to admit- I was familliar with his songwriting but not with him. Aaron wrote "Carolina Eyes," that was recorded by Scotty McCreery, "Dozen Roses & A 6 Pack," which Cole Swindell cut (my personal fav), "Out Like That," which was recorded by Luke Bryan and so many more.

Aaron's voice was great and his songwriting won me over. Keep an eye out for "A. Goodvin" in your album booklets because there's a chance one of your favorite songs comes from him.

Check out his website and Soundcloud to listen to his demos! "Woman In Love" is my favorite.

Also be sure to follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and like him on Facebook so you can stay in the loop!

Levi Riggs

I set out Sunday afternoon with the intentions of eating at Demos' and seeing Tyler Farr. Demos' almost always has a wait so my friend, Ann Catherine, and I booked it from church to downtown. We ate in about an hour (I recommend the soup) and then walked down to the convention center. Tyler didn't come on till 1, but this guy named Levi Riggs came on at 12:15, so AC and I got to listen to him. Ann Catherine recgonized his song "My Best Friend's a Girl," but in all honesty I was clueless. 

Levi has a smooth voice and just seems so comfortable on stage. 

His Soundcloud is only full of previews of his songs, but his iTunes page is loaded. I loooove "My Best Friend's a Girl." I just think it's adorable and I most definitely added it to my love songs playlist.

Hit him up on Twitter, Instagram, and like him on Facebook for more!

Tyler Farr

As my dad says, "sometimes the smaller show is the better show," and I think that is the case for Tyler Farr.

I saw him back in February on the Burning It Down Tour with Jason Aldean and wasn't too impressed. Though I was not an crazed fan then and I'm not a crazed fan now, I found myself dancing around in my room to "Hot Mess" and tearing up to "Hello Goodbye" quite often. 

When I saw him in Feburary, he didn't impress me vocally or with his stage presence, but today, I saw a whole new man. 

On the smaller stage on 5th, he seemed much more in control and at ease than on the catwalk in Bridgestone. He simply just sounded better and was much more enjoyable. Ann Catherine and I were up close and personal within 3 feet of the stage and could see behind his sunglasses to see him looking out into the crowd. He acknowledged his big fans and chatted with everyone in the crowd between songs, which I know for sure made their concert experience much more memorable. It's the little things like that that help you brownie points in my book.

It was a short acoustic set, so he sang "Whiskey in my Water," "Redneck Crazy," and "A Guy Walks Into A Bar." He also debuted a song off his new album (which hits April 28, 2015!! It's called "Suffer in Peace"). This song was called "Why We Live Here" and a classic song about America and those who defend it. If the rest of "Suffer in Peace" is anything like "Why We Live Here," it will be a good album. 

In a smaller setting, Tyler flourishes and proves he has real talent. 

The meet and greet line was free so AC and I hopped in it and met Tyler after the show. Nice guy with lots of talent. 

Tyler's first album is available here on iTunes and his sophomore album that I mentioned earlier is available for pre-order here. 

His Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook should have a video up soon recapping this show that I could be in so keep an eye out for me if you watch it :)

Big thanks to N.R.A. Country for a great weekend of music and to the N.R.A. for a really cool convention.

Stand up and fight, y'all.

xo

lauren

Alan Jackson and the N.R.A.

Besides "U.S.A.," there are hardly 3 other letters that southerners whoop and hollar more than N.R.A. 

For those who are unaware, N.R.A. stands for the National Rifle Association. It is basically an organization of people who love the 2nd amendment and protecting what America has always stood for.

This weekend, the N.R.A. held their yearly convention in Nashville, so I decided to seize the day and go see what the convention was all about. 

Guns. 

Simply put, lots and lots and lots of guns.

I think my jaw dropped when I walked into the exhibitors hall.

Think of a room the size of a warehouse and then triple that and fill it with guns, knives, tactical gear, and fishing equiptment, from big names like Smith & Wesson and Glock to one man, small business stalls. That is what the N.R.A. Exhibitors hall held.

There were 9 acres of guns.

9 acres. 

It was absolutely insane.

Crazy.

Good crazy though.

In very few rooms have I felt as safe as I felt in that room.

Besides the exhibitors hall, there were leadership conferences featuring political leaders from all over the country such as Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin. There were also concerts appealing to N.R.A. members, AKA country and rock and roll music. On Friday night, Bocephus (or Hank Williams Jr.) preformed and on Saturday, Jeff Foxworthy and Alan Jackson preformed.

Sadly, I didn't get to see Hank Jr., but I did get to see Alan Jackson, who I could rave about for hours -- absolutely phenomenal.

(Side Note: We went to Ted's Montana Grill for dinner before the show, and now I'm curious why more resturants don't serve bison. Their naked bison burger is my recommendation. Simple but so good.)

After an introduction to the N.R.A. Board, the pledge, the National Anthem sung by a talented veteran, a prayer, and a segment honoring Jon Morris, Jeff Foxworthy kicked the night off.

Hilarious guy who is not afraid to embarrass himself. Slightly inappropriate at times, but flat out hilarious.

I don't think a smile left my face while he was on stage. Reliving a colonoscopy and demonstrating cat puke, Jeff was a great entertainer.

Then came Jon Pardi. I was not impressed sadly. I've listened to Jon for a few years now and I enjoy listening to most of his music, but live, I was just not impressed.

Vocally, his performance was below par. He blamed the pollen outside, so I'm giving little grace for the pollen count. Raspy, under pitch, and talkative is how I would describe Pardi. His struggle of reaching the notes caused the background vocalists' harmonies to sound off, too. His band wasn't bad at all though. Really good band, actually.

His sound was fine if you like no variation. I personally thought all his songs sounded the same. There were a few distinctions, but for the most part, they were the modern talk-sing that I do not favor. (Ironic that this style is paired with the classic Alan Jackson on tour?) The only song it felt like Bridgestone sang along with was "Missin You Crazy."

Being on stage, Jon did not look natural at all. He seemed as if he was trying to push himself with interaction between the   fans.

I've listened to Jon's album a few times and have a few of his songs on my regular playlist, but I was ultimately disappointed with the performance.

Alan Jackson on the other hand.....

The Man.

The Myth.

The Legend.

I absolutely loved his show. Alan's older style of stand and sing is my preferred show style. He was focused more on the music than on the crowd's reaction and interaction than his opener. For the most part, he stood in front of the mic stand and sang his heart out. If George Strait is the King, then AJ is the brother waiting for the throne.

Really, it was a great show. His band was on fire with a heavy steel guitar part and extremely talented fiddle player. His old music videos were the only enhancement to to the band, Alan brought Bridgestone alive.

Though many of the songs played were much older than I am, I still enjoyed the set of hits. I think my favorite song he sang live was "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" simply because of the audience's reactions. In the room filled with mostly N.R.A. members, the song caused tears in my neighbors eyes and salutes towards our military from those in front of me. To me, a quality performer must be able to deliver feel good tunes and the tear jerkers, which Jackson could definitely do. With those heartfelt tunes like "Remember When" and "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" to party tunes like "Goodtime" and "Chattahoochee," Jackson had the entire audience was engaged and singing along. He also used his collaboration with the Zac Brown Band to bring the energy back up after the more emotional songs with a *guest appearance* by Zac Brown ('s hat). 

Fun show. Fun night.

As a whole, attending the N.R.A. Convention was super cool and if it ever comes back to Nashville, I'm definitely going. Lots of guns and country music made a happy girl.