Corey Smith opened the main stage. Perhaps the most understated and overlooked artist of the tour, his entertaining and intelligent songwriting ranged from country blues to jazz. He concluded with a jaw-dropping acoustic rendition of 'Stand Our Ground' in honor of fallen soldiers.
Josh Thompson and Justin Moore, clearly favorites with the crowd and particularly the young ladies in cutoffs and pink cowboy hats, delivered solid redneck-and-guns country anthems readymade for country fair truck pulls and gravel pit parties. These showmen had the house on their feet and singing along. What's not to like about these two?
Still as passionate as ever, Gary Allan closed the evening with Jack Daniels, expansive, heavy lead guitar, and heartache. Filling the Waterfront with his own brand of jagged-edge country, Allan reminded the crowd life is more than a pit party. It is love, loss, heartache and old-fashioned rocking country music full of steel guitar and stirring rhythm.
