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Cowboy Hats Off To CMA Music Festival
By Chad Carlson
Published: June 24, 2008

“What kind of a country music fan wouldn’t love this?” exclaimed Janet McGready, a 29 year old graduate student, who CMA Music Festival Fan Fair Logo 2008 traveled across the country to Nashville from her hometown of Spokane, Washington. Tens of thousands of people were in similar mindsets as they embarked from all areas of the world to take part in the biggest country event of the year. With an average daily attendance of 52,000 country music enthusiasts, the 2008 CMA Music Festival transformed the city of Nashville, Tennessee into a 4 day, all night party, welcoming people from all over the world. The festival is the largest country music party in the world for country's biggest fans. The annual event in Nashville gives country music fans access to some of the biggest stars with round-the-clock performances, celebrity appearances, fan club parties, autograph booths, photo opportunities and more.

Year after year, the folks at CMA continue to improve upon making their annual 4 day festival truly unique and the best of its kind, providing fans the perfect combination of entertainment, luxury, and freedom. For most, the thrill of this annual event is to catch their favorite country stars in ways they’ve never seen them before, including softball games, tractor pulls, and bowling competitions. From the 3rd Annual Lonestar & Friends Strike Out For the Kids bowling party to the 18th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge, the festival kicked into high gear on the first few days of the week, entertaining those fans who had come a few days early to take in the entire festival’s offerings. In addition to the Country Weekly Fashion Show, the events enabled fans to see top name artists including Phil Stacey, Sara Evans, Phil Vassar, Keith Anderson, and James Otto dive into new waters and interact with each other and with their fans in ways that are truly unique to this festival.

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It’s been a pretty incredible decade for Jack Johnson. After taking the music world by storm in 2001 with the mellow Jack Johnson Live Concert Review - Blossom Music Center

Jack Johnson Live Concert Review - Blossom Music Center

attitude, acoustic guitar strumming, and socially conscious lyrics of that year’s ‘Brushfire Fairytales,’ it’s been a steady ascent to stardom for the surfer and filmmaker. He quickly found himself playing some of the biggest amphitheaters and concert halls in the country, taking his tour worldwide, headlining huge festivals across the globe, and going platinum several times over. Seven years later and little has changed for the 33 year-old Hawaiian-born son of a professional surfer. He’s married to his college sweetheart with whom he has a two year-old daughter. His fourth full-length studio album, ‘Sleep Through The Static,’ debuted at #1 on the charts. He’s still mellow as can be, and he’s once again embarked on a tour of huge amphitheaters, which stopped in Northeast Ohio Tuesday (6.17.08), at Cuyahoga Falls’ Blossom Music Center.

Some things in life never get old. For me, a few of those things are ice cream, reruns of 'Scrubs' on Comedy Central, and the music of The Beatles. Another is the legendary reggae music of Bob Marley who, with The Wailers, wrote some of the best music since the The Wailers Live Concert Review Cleveland House of Blues

The Wailers Live Concert Review Cleveland House of Blues

dawn of rock n roll. Together they created reggae music that transcended genres and has since transcended generations. Bob has been gone for many years, but his legacy lives on with The Wailers, who continue to tour and make music, headed by original bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett and new singer Elan Atias. Tuesday night (6.10.08), The Wailers took to the stage at the House of Blues, bringing along with them two young reggae rock acts, Passafire and Tropidelic.

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