Taylor Swift Caps CMA Music Festival With Love - CMT.com

Amid a variety of styles and sounds, all of the performers at Sunday night's (June 12) concert at LP Field all shared one emotion -- an intense feeling of gratitude towards the fans to close out the 2011 CMA Music Festival.

The yearly fan fest wrapped up with an exciting show that included Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, The Band Perry and the JaneDear Girls. Special guests and surprises followed, but the main thing on each singer's mind seemed to be celebrating the joy of country music's most faithful followers.

Swift has had much practice in this department, often thanking her fans on awards shows and surveying her crowd in awe during concerts, but her headlining spot at this year's event held special significance for the now world-famous singer.

"I'm so honored to be here at the biggest country music party in the world," she announced in greeting the massive audience. "I was about 15 the first time I came to CMA Fest, and I sat right over there!" she said, pointing somewhere to the right of the stage.

With that, she invited everyone to listen to her tell a few "stories" and promptly jumped into her latest single, "The Story of Us." Wearing a sparkling gold mini-dress, she pranced across the stage with arms raised and flinging her hair wildly, sometimes acting out portions of her lyrics with bandmates.

"You are so absolutely incredible, thank you!" she said after picking up a guitjo (a banjo with a guitar neck) and launching into "Our Song." That followed with her other guitjo tune, the redemptive "Mean."

Then, like a slow moving bolt of lightning energizing the crowd, she and an escort of security guards left the stage and began working straight through the audience. Spotlights and camera flashes twinkled off her dress as the mass of humanity began to part and Swift skipped through fans, high-fiving her way to a special stage built in the center of the stadium.

As she reached her mark, the crowd re-adjusted around the small stage, and Swift introduced another weapon in her arsenal, a ukulele.

Calling it "the happiest sounding instrument -- ever," she picked an equally upbeat song, "Fearless," and added in pieces of Train's "Hey Soul Sister" and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" for good measure. Most likely, the performance will be featured on the festival special airing later this summer on ABC.

Returning to the main stage, she enticed fans to sing along to "You Belong With Me" and signed off with "Love Story," bringing a warm and fuzzy feeling to the last notes of the festival.

Before Swift tore the house down, though, it had to be built first.

Shelton's performance was one of the night's many highlights, as the newly-married Oklahoman delighted fans with a guest appearance from Trace Adkins on "Hillbilly Bone" and used his lighthearted sense of humor to help tell a story about family. Explaining he was clearly "damaged," he attempted to describe why by playing snippets of various songs that could be heard in the Shelton household.

First up was his parents' pick with Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music White Boy," then his brother's with the J. Geils Band's "Centerfold" and finally his sister's with Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative." After all that, he talked about working up the nerve to ask his sister to turn it down one day, only to have the door slammed in his face. This led fittingly to his response, "Kiss My Country Ass."

The CMA's reigning male vocalist of the year started off his set with "All About Tonight," then slowed things down briefly with "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" before the crowd erupted during the first few notes of "Honey Bee," Shelton's latest No. 1.

Shelton's wife, Miranda Lambert, took the stage just after her husband (a word she said she's still getting used to) and offered a selection of songs starting and ending with the explosive duo of "Kerosene" and "Gunpowder & Lead." In between, she offered the sassy "Only Prettier" and the rejuvenating "House That Built Me." The latter produced what was described by some in the crowd as "the most beautiful moment" of the show as cell phones and lighters dotted the audience and blue lights washed over the stadium. Fans sang along with her current single "Heart Like Mine" and reveled in Lambert's admission to being "one of those redneck chicks" that you see all around the festival.

As a bonus, she took the opportunity to introduce the crowd to her side project, a trio called the Pistol Annies. Featuring Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, Lambert correctly described them as "a band of hot chicks," and the trio performed the girl-power anthem, "Hell on Heels."

Rucker also praised his fans, thanking them over and over for "letting him in" to country music. He brought the crowd to its feet from the moment he took the stage with the feel-good "Alright" and serenaded them through "Comeback Song," "This" and his current chart climber, "I Got Nothin'." Old standards like Hootie & the Blowfish's "I Only Want to Be With You" proved to still inspire fans, and his enthusiastic cover of Hank Williams Jr.'s "Family Tradition" earned the award for the night's loudest singalong.

Earlier in the night, The Band Perry riled up the crowd with a gracious and quick-moving set. Fresh off scoring their first two wins at the CMT Music Awards on Wednesday (June 8), they sent the crowd into a frenzy with their No. 1 hit, "If I Die Young."

"We believe country is the people's music, and this song belongs to you," said Kimberly Perry.

For a newer group, it was refreshing to hear the big audience sing most of the song note for note, and many in attendance were familiar enough with "You Lie" to do the same for that one.

To open the show, fresh-faced duo the JaneDear Girls got their first taste of the CMA's main stage. Energetic and engaging, they mixed their voices into a thick harmony on "Wildflower" and "Shotgun Girl," while fiddler-singer Susie Brown showed off her skills on an instrumental medley of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and "Orange Blossom Special."

Edens Edge performed the national anthem, while Jimmy Wayne, the Eli Young Band and Tracy Lawrence played from the "acoustic stage" while set changes were going on behind them.

As the final notes rang out and fireworks exploded overhead, the 40th annual CMA Music Festival ended on a high note with many fans pledging to return. Since they had yet to even reach the exits of the stadium, it's no wonder performers are so genuinely grateful year after year.

View photos of Sunday night's concert at LP Field.

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HOT DISH: Talkin' 'Bout Taylor Swift - CMT.com

(CMT Hot Dish is a weekly feature written by veteran columnist Hazel Smith. Author of the cookbook, Hazel's Hot Dish: Cookin' With Country Stars, she also hosts CMT's Southern Fried Flicks With Hazel Smith and shares her recipes at CMT.com.)

The first bit of news I heard is that Taylor Swift bought her parents a 5,000-square-foot home in Nashville. Now, isn't that the kindest thing a daughter could do for her parents?

The second tidbit is that Taylor reportedly bought a house for herself in Los Angeles so she won't have to stay in a hotel when she's out there. She has an apartment in a trendy and safe part of Nashville. Why does she need a house on the West Coast? Will she be in L.A. that much? Are the bright lights of Hollywood enticing Taylor? Or is it the young, handsome actors who would love having the talented and beautiful Taylor on their arm?

Taylor is first and foremost a singer-songwriter and entertainer. Think of the history of those before Taylor -- those who left Nashville writing killer songs, but the movies and all that goes with it seemed to gobble up their songwriting. Yes, they could still sing -- sing the same songs they penned on Music Row, that is.

While he's written some other excellent songs in recent years, master poet Kris Kristofferson has not written another "Sunday Morning Coming Down" since he departed Music Row to star with Barbra Streisand in the movie, A Star Is Born. I am proud of his acting, but we need more clever poetry like those lines in "Me and Bobby McGee." Kris and his family now reside in Maui, Hawaii.

The great Roger Miller's sure-hit songwriting pen sorta dried up once he left his beloved Music City. Of course, Big River, the Broadway musical he was hired to write, was a saving grace for the Okie, but his creative spark seemed to dim in the later years of his life.

The incredible Dolly Parton has a place in Los Angeles, but she does not reside there. Dolly lives in the Music Town where she wrote "I Will Always Love You," her biggest hit. She's acted in several movies, but she always comes back home to live.

Willie Nelson is surely one of our all-time great singer-songwriters and entertainers. Willie mainly lives on his bus, but he has a house near Austin, Texas, and another in Maui. He's acted in several movies, but he's never been a full-time resident of Hollywood.

All of us in Nashville are proud of your incredible career achievements, Taylor, but I suggest you keep residing in Nashville. You can always visit Hollywood.

Hank Williams Film Screened in Nashville
Loosely based on the final days of the late Hank Williams, the new movie, The Last Ride, made its debut last week at the Nashville Film Festival. Actor Henry Thomas, just a child when he starred in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, portrays Williams (referred to in the movie as "Mr. Wells) while his driver is played by a young actor named Jesse James.

Director Harry Thomason said they tried to do what they thought would be an accurate representation and he believes that's what they did. They have a deal with Fox. The well-known Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax Films, viewed the movie and said, "I think you got two of the finest performances out of actors I have ever seen in a film."

Hank Williams Jr. and his family deserve the best of the best. Not only did his daddy give us real country music that we still enjoy, he also gave us Hank Jr.

Rolling Stone Says Nashville Has Best Music Scene
Rolling Stone magazine reports that Nashville has the best music scene of any city. Not New York or L.A. or Chicago or Miami or Austin. It's us!

When it comes to honky-tonks, local rocker Ke$ha named Robert's Western World, where she knows you can enjoy live music and even buy a pair of boots. Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney prefers the Station Inn, an old-style bluegrass venue. For hot new bands there's the 5 Spot, 12th & Porter or the Exit/In. Nothing holds a candle to the Ryman Auditorium, though, the venue the magazine correctly refers to as "God's own listening room."

Carney says the best place for daytime drinking is the 12 South Taproom, while the Kings of Leon's Caleb Followill hones shuffleboard at Loser's but claims Nashville's ultimate dive is the Springwater. For cheap eats, Carney suggests fried avocado tacos at Mas Tacos. Ke$ha says Arnold's is the place to go for a meat-and-three meal. The Kings of Leon's Nathan Followill swears by bison burger at Burger Up. And Jack White and his wife Karen Elson are brunch regulars at Marche. Taylor Swift loves the Blue Chair granola yogurt parfait at Fido.

Rockers with royalties buy fancy jeans at Imogene + Willie. Others go for the vintage look at the Hip Zipper. But it is Manuel who gave Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash their signature look. These days, he dresses folks such as Kid Rock and Bob Dylan.

Thanks, Rolling Stone. We read you, too.

Hot News
Nominees for the 2011 CMT Music Awards will be announced live on NBC's Today show on Wednesday (April 27). Appearing with hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, CMT's Evan Farmer will present the nominees during the 10 a.m. ET hour. The Band Perry will also participate in the nomination announcements and perform their current hit single, "You Lie."

It's slipping up on us fans. What we used to call Fan Fair -- now called the CMA Music Festival -- is right around the corner. The 40-year-old event will kick off with Gary Allan at the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage on June 9 at 10 a.m. The daily lineup features exciting newbies like Brett Eldredge and Josh Kelley and well-knowns like Billy Ray Cyrus, Terri Clark and Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis. The nightly concerts at LP Field are the top of the line, too, with Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, the Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, and many others. The biggest show on earth is what it is.

Toby Keith is returning to the Middle East for his ninth USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour. Since 2002, Toby has entertained 159,000 troops and their families. During the upcoming 12-day, three-nation tour, Toby will perform a series of concerts, pose for photos and lift the spirits of the men and women in uniform. Toby has also announced plans to return to Europe this year during his Locked and Loaded World Tour.

Opening concerts for Kenny Chesney this spring, Billy Currington had a night off, so he performed a headlining show at Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio, Texas, where he sold 5,500 tickets. The curly-headed hill-Billy broke the club's record for presales and for total tickets sold.

See the new Hot Dish recipe of the week: Hamburger Stroganoff.

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Taylor Swift Says to Love What You Loved When You Were 6 - CMT.com (blog)

Taylor Swift Says to Love What You Loved When You Were 6October 26, 2010; Written by Alison Bonaguro Photo Credit: Brad Barket/PictureGroupTaylor Swift answered some questions Monday night (Oct. 25) during a live video streaming event on CMT.com and other sites within MTV Networks. And of all the responses she gave, this one stood out to me. "We can't stop loving the things we loved when we were 6," she said when she was asked about living life to its fullest. She gives the example of being happy just to be at the grocery store picking up ingredients to bake something. She loved it then, she loves it now. (By the way, if she's right, expect to see me doing a lot of cartwheels in the coming weeks.) "I think that as you grow up, as you get older, we can't get bitter, we can't get jaded. So I think that growing up, the things that make you happy, that list should get bigger as time goes by," she said. There was also talk of her musical influences (her dad played a lot of Simon & Garfunkel and her mom liked Def Leppard) and how it was the trifecta of Faith Hill, Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks that ultimately lured her over to the country side.

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