Kristi, one of our fabulous CMTT readers had the pleasure of attending the Country Throwdown Tour last week.   We have been telling you about this tour for months now and it is a MUST SEE!  We normally don’t post reviews that are this long but because this is an ENTIRE DAY full of great music we thought we would let you read all about it.  Just make sure to click the link at the bottom to read the rest of the review.   It’s worth reading from beginning to end.

The creators of the Vans Warped Tour have finally done what they should have done a long time ago – they created the first traveling country music festival, the Country Throwdown Tour. Seeing as this is their first year doing this festival, they have a lot of kinks to work out for 2011; but, overall, it was a great show.

I attended the show in Bakersfield, Calif. on June 18. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect since every show on the tour had been at an outdoor amphitheater and this one was booked at an arena. It’s an all-day event with multiple stages, so I went in not knowing what to expect since the area around the arena has no room for something like that. It turns out that the entire thing was indoors: the Bluebird Café and Outlaw Stages in the theater connected to the arena, and the Main Stage in the big arena. The fact that the fans and the artists didn’t have to melt out in the heat was a major plus; however, the acoustics and the lighting inside were less than desirable. I was a bit disappointed with that aspect of it, but I quickly got over that once the music really got going. It was a non-stop party from beginning to end.

I started my day off at the Bluebird Café stage watching local singer-songwriters do their thing. I think it’s so great that the tour is bringing in local artists at each stop to try and give them a “break” and give them their first shot at playing for die-hard country music fans. The crowd was sparse at this point, which wasn’t surprising since it started at 1 p.m. on a weekday. It didn’t begin to get real busy until about 3 p.m. or so.

After watching the locals perform, I headed over to the Rockstar Energy truck for the Eli Young Band signing. There were a ton of people in line; thank goodness for my VIP wristband. Sorry to all you folks I got to go in front of, but I was very thankful to not have to wait in line for 45 minutes! They were an incredibly kind group of guys with immense talent. There’s more to them that “Always The Love Songs,” and I can’t wait for people to hear what they’re really made of.

Immediately following the Eli Young Band signing, I headed back over to the Bluebird stage to see some of my absolute favorites, Sarah Buxton and Jedd Hughes (now known as the duo, Buxton Hughes). I have been listening to their records constantly lately and I was so excited to finally get to see them live. Let me tell you, they did not disappoint. They were absolutely fantastic. One of the highlights of the day was an “enthusiastic” fan dancing her rear-end off during every single one of their songs, even though I don’t think she had a clue as to who they were. Why do I say that? Because she screamed “Rocks In Your Shoes!!!!” as a request…and that’s an Emily West song. Sarah and Jedd were obviously getting a kick out of this woman. It looked as though they were doing all they could just to get through a song without laughing. Emily West, who was watching sidestage, and Dave Pahanish, a singer-songwriter that was playing with Sarah and Jedd, ended up joining the crazy woman in front of the stage for a little dance session. It was absolutely hilarious. After Buxton Hughes finished their set (which was entirely too short, by the way), I headed over to the Capitol Records booth to meet them. I had met Sarah once before, but this was my first time meeting Jedd. They are both total sweethearts. No one deserves a “big break” as much as they do.

Next on the agenda was seeing Emily West perform on the Outlaw Stage. That girl has got some mean pipes! I’ve been a fan of her music for a long time now and have met her a few times, but this was my first time seeing her perform live. She was amazing. You can tell how much she loves what she does. She pours her heart and soul into every song she sings. The crowd favorite was definitely “Blue Sky,” a real tearjerker, which happens to be her current single. I got to meet Emily again following her set and she was just as sweet as can be.

Jonathan Singleton & The Grove were the next guys up on the Outlaw Stage. I had only seen them once before and that was only a four-song acoustic set opening for Carrie Underwood at a state fair. Seeing the entire band play was a much different experience and I can’t believe how insanely talented these guys are. I love Jonathan’s gravelly voice and the band’s rockin’ rhythm that drives each one of their songs. I’d definitely pay to see these guys again. I met them later on at their merchandise booth and they were the nicest group of guys you could possibly meet. Check out their music if you haven’t already.

Since I was sporting a VIP wristband, I wandered around a bit backstage at the arena while the Eli Young Band was playing the Main Stage. I watched part of their set from sidestage, then headed backstage to check out all of the bands’ equipment. I got a sneak peek at Little Big Town’s set list and got to check out their guitars up close. After exploring back there for a bit, I headed outside to where the semi-trucks and tour buses were. I ended up by Montgomery Gentry’s buses, which were totally “pimped out.” It looked as though they’d just been outside because their lawn chairs were sitting outside in front of their TV (which was still on) which pops out one of the storage compartments on the outside of the bus.

I got back into the arena to catch the end of the Eli Young Band’s set, then headed back over to the theater to take in Heidi Newfield’s show on the Outlaw Stage. That girl knows how to rock. There’s no doubt that she should have been playing the Main Stage. The crowd watching her was by far the biggest of the day for the Outlaw or Bluebird stages. She rolled through her hits like “Johnny & June” and “Cry, Cry (‘Til the Sun Shines),” and threw in some new material and old Trick Pony material as well. She made a vow to sign autographs and take pictures with every single person who wanted to meet her, and she stayed true to her word. She seems like a very genuine person and I was honored to meet her. I happened to see Bluebird artists Walker Hayes (he loves Country Music Tattle Tale!) and Ashley Ray walking around after that, so I went up and chatted with them for a bit, too.

Heidi was the last performer for the day in the theater, so everyone then made their way over to the arena for the rest of the night’s festivities. I caught the first half of Jack Ingram’s set before heading backstage for a meet & greet with my favorite band in the world, Little Big Town. I’ve met them on numerous occasions over the past several years, but I still get just as excited as I did the first time I met them. I honestly believe that there is no other artist out there that’s as good to their fans as Little Big Town is to theirs. Having seen my face a million times, they greet me like an old friend. I made miniature scrapbooks for each of them documenting all of our fun times together and some of my favorite shows. Seeing the looks on their faces as they flipped through them was priceless. They seemed genuinely surprised and happy that someone would take the time to do that for them. After receiving kisses on the cheek from Phillip and Jimi for the gift, I’m pretty sure I’ll make them a new scrapbook every time I go see them. Just kidding, Karen – don’t hurt me!

After the meet & greet, I made my way back into the arena for Eric Church’s set. He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. Bakersfield definitely loves them some Church! The fan favorite was a track from his debut album, “I Pledge Allegiance to the Hag,” honoring Bakersfield legend, Mr. Merle Haggard. The crowd went absolutely nuts. There was beer splashing all over the place and I’ve never seen so many bras and panties being thrown onstage. My personal favorites were “Love Your Love The Most,” “How ‘Bout You,” and “Guys Like Me.”

Little Big Town was next to take the stage and, I have to say, this was the best crowd response I’ve ever seen them get at any show of theirs that I’ve been to. They opened with a new song, “Why, Oh Why,” from their upcoming album, The Reason Why, set to be released August 24. They also played some other tracks called “Runaway Train” and “The Reason Why,” both of which will be on the new album. Of course, they performed classic fan favorites such as “Good As Gone,” “Bring It On Home,” and “Fine Line,” but the biggest response of the night came from their current single, “Little White Church.” They closed their set with their first monster-hit, “Boondocks,” and left the crowd wanting more. I could have listened to them play all night long.

Unfortunately, I missed the remainder of the evening’s festivities, which included Jamey Johnson and Montgomery Gentry, because I wasn’t feeling well. Regardless, it was an unforgettable day. I can only hope that they had enough success this year to do a second go ‘round next year. It’s the perfect opportunity for those who can’t afford to attend the annual CMA Music Festival in Nashville to see and meet a ton of great country artists all in one day, right in their own town. Thanks, Country Throwdown!

~Kristi