This past Saturday was the Blake Shelton concert! Amanda and I were able to attend and help out with the media that would be there to take pictures and write about the concert. There were all kinds of fans excited to see Blake Shelton, Dia Frampton, and Justin Moore. People broke out their cowboy hats, boots, and even some teenie-tiny shorts (thank goodness for the warmer weather). The lines for merchandise and food curved around the corner. The hallways were packed right before the doors opened but cleared out a bit once people could get to their seats.

We were in and out of the coliseum escorting media during each performer’s act. Photographers from local newspapers and blogs showed up to take pictures for the columns that they would be writing. Each show that visits the Roanoke Civic Center has different rules so, for this particular show, the photographers were only allowed to take pictures during the second and third song of every act. Unfortunately, Amanda and I weren’t able to stay and watch Justin and Dia but were able to watch the rest of Blake’s performance after the photographers were done for the night. We got lucky though because during one of our trips through the coliseum, Amanda and I ran into Dia Frampton in the hallway! She was taking pictures with everyone who wanted one so we had to stop (of course). Dia was incredibly sweet and so inviting. This was certainly one of the highlights of the night.

Blake Shelton was awesome. He was full of good jokes and great music. Amanda and I were already huge fans of him prior to the show. We each follow him on Twitter (@blakeshelton) and adore him and his wife, Miranda Lambert (@Miranda_Lambert). I loved every one of his songs but particularly enjoyed “Austin” and “Honeybee”. It was amusing to watch the audience dance and sing to all his hits. It was even more amusing to watch a man take off his shirt and swing it like a lasso above his head! The crowd was absolutely loving each of the performances and you could feel the positive energy radiate through the coliseum.

It was an enjoyable night and I’m glad Amanda and I were able to help out. I am now looking forward to the Harlem Globetrotters!

What was your favorite part of the show Saturday?

Have a great week,

Natalie

Blake Shelton performing

Amanda and I with Dia Frampton

Blake Shelton!

Hello everyone!

I hope each of you had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. If you attended the Roanoke Civic Center these past couple days, I know you had just as much, or maybe even more fun, than I did! Monster Jam, Hunt Fest, and the Elton John on sale were a huge success and so exciting!

Monster Jam took place Friday and Saturday in the Coliseum. The atmosphere was wild and the crowd couldn’t have been more pumped for this highly anticipated show. It was so popular, the night performance on Saturday was sold out! Multiple trucks competed in the show: Grave Digger, Superman, War Wizard, El Toro Loco, and Grinder being a few. Friday night’s racing winner was the crowd favorite: Grave Digger but Saturday at 2 PM it was War Wizard and Saturday at 7:30 PM it was Superman. Grave Digger was also the freestyle winner for all three shows. Some fans were lucky enough to be able to venture out onto the track Saturday morning, visiting the cars and drivers at the “Pit Party”. As Amanda and I said Friday, we were able to go down on the track before the show and it was an amazing experience. The trucks are MUCH bigger when you stand next to them and put them in perspective. We hung around late that night to catch some of the show and it was awesome to see the trucks flying in the air… although it was very loud. Some of the families with little kids had to leave because they were too scared. We managed to brave it to see the incredible competition. If you’re interested in finding out more in-depth details regarding the shows, you can find them on Monster Jam’s official website.If you had an amazing time this past weekend or are bummed you missed out, tickets for next year’s show are on sale today.

The Virginia Hunt Fest was also equally a huge success. Lines formed outside early on Saturday morning before the opening at 10 AM. The variety of vendors and sights proved to be enjoyable to the large, diverse crowd. There were instructors speaking about fishing tips, archery, and “from the kill to the grill.” A big guest was Michael Waddell from Bone Collector. Visitors were also able to get $1 off their ticket to Monster Jam by attending. Amanda and I went and explored on Friday but didn’t return the rest of the weekend. We got some funny t-shirts and pretty jewelry; very girly of us to go to an event based around hunting and leave with jewelry. We were happy though!

The last event of the weekend was the on sale of Elton John tickets. People began lining up outside the box office at 12 AM. The group ranged in age: young children, college students, and seniors all were present to get their hands on some tickets. Some sections were sold more quickly than others but, lucky for you, there are still some available. Elton John will be here Thursday, March 15. I can’t wait to see this show. It seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity. My mom was a little surprised that I cared since I’m pretty young but who doesn’t want to see the Rocket Man?!

All-in-all, it was a great weekend. I hope some of you were able to come out and take part in one of the events that the Roanoke Civic Center hosted. This coming weekend we have the Kazim Temple Shrine Circus Thursday – Sunday in the Coliseum. This is another great chance to attend and experience a riveting event with family and friends. I think I might cry out of excitement because I get to meet one of the show’s elephants. Besides manatees, they are my absolute FAVORITE! Expect lots of pictures and lots of laughing, crying, smiling, etc. Hopefully Amanda will be able to help me control my emotions.

Here’s a few pictures below to help you get a small taste of this past weekend.

Have a wonderful week and prepare yourself for more scintillating blog posts by the other interns and myself,

Natalie

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Were you able to attend any events from this past weekend? Tell us how it was!

Natalie in the collapsible tent at the VA Hunt Fest.

A short introduction about two of your spring 2012 interns:

Amanda Howard is a current senior at Radford University graduating in May 2012 with a major Media Studies with a concentration in Advertising.

Natalie Suprise is current senior at Virginia Tech graduating in May 2012 with a major in Marketing and a minor in International Business.

Virginia Hunt Fest

Today is the first day that Virginia Hunt Fest is open in the Special Events Center (SEC) at the Roanoke Civic Center. There’s a variety of vendors and activities for all ages: clowns, exotic animal encounters, jewelry, bird feeders, along with the traditional hunting gear and supplies. Come hang out in a tree stand or check out the new RVs. Virginia Hunt Fest will be open today (until 8 PM), Saturday (10 AM – 8 PM), and Sunday (10 AM – 5 PM). Today Amanda and I took some time out of our busy, busy schedule to enjoy some retail therapy and the wilderness offered in the SEC. The vendors were friendly and the atmosphere offered a little bit of southern charm.

Amanda with The Grave Digger!

In the middle of the Coliseum.

Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam

Tonight kicks off the beginning of the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam! They’ll only be here for three shows so make sure you don’t miss it. The Coliseum is buried under dirt anticipating The Grave Digger’s triumph over the junkyard souls. With tires just over five feet tall, the trucks are ready to rev their engines and get tonight going! Bring your ear plugs and get ready for a wild ride. Shows are tonight at 7:30 PM and tomorrow at 2 PM and 7:30 PM. Tickets are available at the Roanoke Civic Center box office but they’re running out quickly. We faced the fierce trucks earlier today and got a feel for how huge these monsters really are. Here’s a couple of snapshots for all you newbies (just like us).

Here's Amanda! Look how big those tires are!

Did you end up going to one of the events? What was memorable about Virginia Hunt Fest and/or Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam? Leave your comments on the message board below.

Aldean rocking out in pink!

Hello everyone! My name is Chris Brooks and I’m a senior at Virginia Tech majoring in Marketing Management. I’m the newest Marketing intern here at the Roanoke Civic Center.  I was born and raised right here in Roanoke, and my connections with the Civic Center go back to my childhood coming to all of the Roanoke Express hockey games.   As I go through my internship, I would like to share with you my behind the scenes experiences because few people get a chance to do what I do. Join me as I walk you through my experiences, one memory at a time.

Every job has its perks, and for my internship at the Roanoke Civic Center , getting to attend the concerts is definitely one of those perks. Jason Aldean’s Concert for the Cure to support breast cancer was only the third concert I have ever experienced. However, this concert was a little different, not just because I was working, but because I got the full behind the scenes experience that not many get a chance to see. Join me as I recap the night in a day in the life of an RCC intern.

When I came into work at 9a.m., I knew it was going to be a long day. As a thank you to Aldean for coming to the RoanokeCivicCenterand raising money for Susan G. Komen, Jonathan Carlin (Marketing Coordinator) and I went shopping for him in Downtown Roanoke and Valley View Mall. I would like to thank Allison Loy who painted Jason Aldean a custom cooler that we put our goodies inside of. Inside Aldean’s custom cooler was a Georgia Bulldogs t-shirt Roanoke Railhouse “Loose Caboose” beer, chocolate from Chocolate Paper and lastly, fishing lures and bait for bass fishing from Dick’s Sporting Goods. On the outside, Aldean’s custom cooler included some of his favorite things such as the Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta Braves and fishing. There were also landmarks from Roanoke, like the Roanoke Star, painted on his cooler which you can see below. Most importantly, there was a Susan G. Komen pink ribbon which matched the theme of Aldean’s show. After the shopping was done and the normal workday was over, it was time for me to go meet with the media from The Roanoke Times.

Jason Aldean with (L to R) RCC General Manager Robyn Schon and Assistant General Manager Joe Dolan. (Also he is holding a super awesome cooler)

Once I met up with the media, I escorted them down to the pit to get some snapshots of the show. Since the media is only allowed to take pictures of the first two songs, I had to take them back out of the coliseum after those songs were done.  Even though I only got to see the first two songs of each performance, I still had a blast. There is nothing like being up close at a concert. For me, it was a one of a kind feeling. The combination of the cheers from the crowd and the bass of the speakers sent chills up my spine. There really is nothing like being front and center at a big concert.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not a huge country fan but Jason Aldean knows how to put on a show. Jason Aldean of course didn’t come alone. He was accompanied by Chris Young and Thompson Square. Thompson Square was the first to perform and they put on a great show. When they played their famous song “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” the coliseum went nuts. The husband and wife duo did end up doing a play off their song asking each other if they were going to kiss or not, and of course they did. Afterward, the crowd chimed in with a big “Awww.” It’s very clear that they have something special and they love doing what they do.

Jason Aldean Can Really Throw a Party

Next up was Chris Young. He was very, very entertaining. He really knew how to keep the crowd pumped up and even got the crowd engaged in one of his songs “Save Water, Drink Beer.” He told half of the coliseum to chant “Save Water!” and the other half “Drink Beer!” I got a laugh or two out of that. He also played a song called “Beer or Gasoline” where he criticizes that it costs just as much for a case of beer as it does for a couple gallons of gas. I thought he was very creative with his songs and was high energy throughout his performance. If and when Chris Young makes his own tour dates, I would recommend going to see him.
Lastly, it was time for Jason Aldean. His entrance was awesome to say the least. When he was ready, the spotlight shined on the curtain he was standing behind revealing his silhouette. The crowd went absolutely crazy, the curtain drops and Aldean starts his set. Aldean played some of his hit songs such as “Big Green Tractor”, “Dirt Road Anthem” and “Amarillo Sky.” While I didn’t get to see most of his set, I heard nothing but good things after the show. Aldean’s Concert for the Cure was highly successful in bringing in donations and awareness for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The concert raised $315,000 for the Roanoke Chapter of Susan G. Komen, which was a new record for his tour. Hopefully we’ll be seeing Aldean back in Roanoke again soon!

Posted by: Chris Brooks

URTH at James Taylor

James Taylor

Pre-Concert Party Featuring:

URTH

May 20, 2011

 

 

 

For those of you that don’t already know, the person playing the drums in this picture is ME!  I have been playing in bands for 15+ years now so it was easy to understand my excitement when I found out that James Taylor was going to be playing at the Roanoke Civic Center.  I guess it is my own selfishness and my quest for greatness that I felt the need to ask Robyn Schon (General Manager) if I could play the pre-concert party. After only hearing our 3-song original demo and some great references from a few loyal fans combined with other positive comments from those “important folk,” she happily agreed and signaled the go ahead for us to play. She luckily took my word on urth being a great live, fun loving funk band but for all she knows we could have been an all curse-metal, no-clothes-wearing, freak show, buuuut she agreed, so it was GAME ON. All we had to worry about now was the weather…which turned out to be perfect! 

Just to give you a little background on my band, I play in a Funk/Fusion trio called URTH.  We like to cover old school Mo Town and other funky 60′s and 70′s stuff like : Jackson 5, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, War,  etc. We have only been together for a few months but have already played quite a few shows and the crowd response has been great!

Me, Playin Tha Drums

The one catch to this gig was that we had to bring our own sound.  You wouldn’t think that this would be a difficult process, but I soon found out that the speakers we were using were about a combined weight of 500 lbs. Luckily for us the RCC had an elevator to use once we were there, which made the move-in process easier and I dropped some weight with a nice little sweat before the show, so im pretty happy about all that.  As you can see in these pictures we are without our bass player for this gig.  Unfortunately, Nick (bass player) was in Belize at the time.  So Brach (Guitar Player) decided that he would play the bass parts either on the 7th string of his guitar or play the lines with his feet using organ style pedals.  This was definitly new for me but I thought the sound quality was really well done. The crowd for the James Taylor show was more of your easy listening crowd so I wasn’t sure how well straight funk would go over, but judging from the conversations I had after the show with people from the crowd, (drunk or sober) everyone seemed to really enjoy it. I feel that because I am using the RCC blog for my shameless promotion of my band that I will make this post short. We had a really great time playing and it sounds like we might be seeing the RCC staff again real soon for another pre-concert MOdown.

Crowd at the Plaza Party!

 

If you are interested in checking out some URTH tunes, go to:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Urth/180463751994304

www.myspace.com/urth

www.mindspring.com/~urth/

Blog Post by: Tyler Wright

Stage Load-in Day 1

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: ALEGRIA HITS RECORD BREAKING NUMBERS AT RCC!!

May 4-8

 

 

    From the day I got here in December, the talk of the Roanoke Civic Center has been CIRQUE. The anticipation for this show grew bigger and bigger the closer we got to the event.  Every single member of the staff worked countless hours to make this event happen without a problem.  Even with all this preparation there was no way to know how big and how insane this event really was.  Every aspect of this show was completely choriographed to perfection.  The stage crew had a laundry list of rules and regulations, (as well as their own traveling laundromat) some of which being that the inside of the coliseum had to be exactly 70 degrees and that no cameras were allowed in during their performance due to the fact that the show was based on lighting ques.  Luckily our event staff was there to work through every single request they had. Well done!

15 Total Semi's For Cirque

 

    The afternoon of opening night was the first time Jonathan, myself (Tyler Wright) and our new director of marketing David Aiello had a chance to really work together as a team.  I would like to think of us as a more sophisticated version of the three amigos; David being the head amigo of course.  We were in charge of making sure the multiple TV reporters, cameramen, and journalists were where they needed to be in order to get the best quality stories without interfering with the performers strict training schedule.  This was a really fun and interesting few hours because we were able to see just how intense their training really was.  I have never actually seen a human body do what these athletes could do.  And I truely believe they are as much athletes as your typical sports athlete if not more so. 

Performers Training

 

    Even during all of this hoopla we were able to actually sit down and watch a few moments of the contortionists practice their routine on the main stage.   Watching them was not only mesmerizing but it actually made my body hurt just watching them carry out their routine.  Seeing the fire dancers spin fire at a rate that would cause any normal person to actually catch themselves on fire and the trapeze artists perform aerial manuvers at heights of up to 40 ft. was definitely the highlight for me.  I remembered while watching these particular performers how I spent a large portion of a day making little cardboard cut outs of them for our front of house display.  I must say that the display looked amazing!

Lobby Window Display

Contortionists

 

 

 

 

 

 

    All in all this was one of the coolest, entertaining and jaw dropping spectacles I have ever seen.  Every single person that walked out of the show seemed to have a smile on their face and I think I even saw a few people trying to re-enact some of the gymnasts moves on the bike rack outside our venue.  I tried to tell them they might get hurt, but you cant stop a 70 year old from doing what she wants to do.  On top of all the fun and excitement the civic center literally broke every record we have had from previous shows.  This was a definite success in our book and hope that it was for you too.  

 

 

Here is a shot of the masks that the performers wore

 

…AND THE WINNERS ARE….

SHELLEYSAWYER81@GMAIL.COM

MRT_HOBACK@HOTMAIL.COM

BBMAKE4@YAHOO.COM

 

 

 MAX AND RUBY SWAG PACK GIVE-AWAY!!

Prize Pack Give-a-way

 

    Max and Ruby has been  considered by some to be the pinnacle of bunny  shows.  Their hit tv series has been airing on Nick Jr. for over 5 years now.  This is their first year on the road and judging by the crowd response  it seems like they are not going to disappoint. 

     Over the past 2 weeks Jonathan and I have been promoting this event by hosting “bunny parties” at the Roanoke Library and Barnes and Noble book store.  Both events have been a huge success, with dozens of little kids slingin’ elmer’s glue and other decorations around the room trying

Bunny Madness

to impress us with their unique bunny designs. 

     We have had so much fun seeing the response from all the children that we have decided to do a PRIZE PACK CONTEST!!!!  In these gift bags we are giving away your choice of a green or grey Max and Ruby t-shirt (size: children’s medium), Max and Ruby coloring sheet, a glow in the dark slap-on bracelet, an originial Max and Ruby cd, Max and Ruby Silly Bands, and finally The Max and Ruby story book, “Max Makes A Friend”.  All of these awesome prizes will be in an authentic Roanoke Civic Center goodie bag.  We want to make sure that on May 12th you will come to the Civic Center dressed to your full Max and Ruby potential.

Here are the Contest Rules:

1) Contest ends May 3rd at 4pm

2) We will RANDOMLY select 3 goodie bag winners. 

3) You must subscribe to the Roanoke Civic Center Backstage Blog

4) You also need to answer our Max and Ruby question (see below) by submitting a comment to this post.

We will check to see that winners meet all of the qualifications.  Good Luck!

Question:  What is your favorite Max and Ruby Story?

Max and Ruby: Bunny Party at the Library

April 21, 2011

Jonathan reading Max and Ruby to the kids

     One of the great things about working in the Marketing department at the RCC is that I never really know what to expect when I walk through the doors in the morning.  Maybe I’m marching in a parade dressed as the Mayor of Munchkin land in the mythical land of Oz, maybe I’m taking Harlem Globetrotter Bucket Blakes to breakfast at Thelmas Chicken and Waffles (that was an interesting morning), or maybe I’m hosting a Bunny Party at the local library.  I found myself doing that last one last Thursday to promote our upcoming show: Max and Ruby: Bunny Party on May 12.

 

     The plan of action was to read a story to the kids, make some crafts and then have some refreshments, and I have to say, for two guys who haven’t made crafts since they were that age, I think we pretty much nailed it.  We arrived on scene with several gallons of punch, who-knows-how-many cookies, and of course our crafts supplies that Tyler spent the better part of a day cutting out (well done sir).  Within minutes kids started filing in and gathering around for story time.  This is when I started to get a little nervous.  It occured to me that I’ve never really dealt with an all kids audience, and that although kids books are a pretty easy read I hadn’t read one out loud since my Fox in Sox speed reading days in college (yes that’s for real).

 

    If you’re not familiar with Max and Ruby, each book bascially tells the tale of Ruby trying to accomplish some project or errand, while also trying to entertain her playful, curious and perhaps mischeivious little brother Max.  While Max is apparently only old enough to speak in one word phrases, its seems to me that Ruby could save everyone involved a lot of time if she would just listen to him right from the start.  In anycase Max’s message and/or antics usually end up helping solve Ruby’s problem of the day.

Tyler at the craft table

The reading ended up going very smoothly, I was told by the librarian, Charlsey, that it’s always a good sign when they dont errupt into anarchy, so I’m putting it in the Win column. (Of course I only had to hold their attention for the amount of time it takes to read a kids book, which is to say: about 3 min)

Next we moved onto the crafts, where Tyler had set up a table for kids to make bunny masks out of pre cut paper plates, and color our Max and Ruby coloring sheets (I may have joined in on the fun).   The kids had a blast coloring and assembling their masks, the only hitch came in the form of the glue sticks.  Lesson learned: Dont skimp on glue sticks, brand names are worth it!

Kid with an EPIC bunny mask!

 We were fortunate to have a bunny themed show right around Easter, so as an added surprise for the kids, (and quite honestly us too) the Library had arranged for the Easter bunny to make an appearance and take some pictures!  Most of the kids were really excited, but some did need some coaxing before finally going and getting their picture taken ( I think the free candy filled Easter egg may have helped motivate them =P)

 

All in all we had about 75 kids show up and 30 or so parents, all of whom seemed to enjoy themselves.  If you missed out on all the fun at the first party the good news is we are hosting a 2nd one at Barnes and Noble  Tanglewood, on April 27.  We will have refreshments and will be giving away some tickets, so we hope to see you there!

 

What is your favorite Max and Ruby story?  Let us know in the comments!

 

Tyler and I with the Easter Bunny

Author: Jonathan Carlin

      The Business & Technology Expo

April 19, 2011

    Well I guess I will just jump right in with this one.  Jonathan and I were put in charge of creating, decorating and manning the civic center booth this year at the business and technology expo. This was a challenging task seeing as I had never even seen a biz & tech expo before.  Obviously I wanted to impress the staff and any spectators aka GM’s and directors that would walk by our booth, so I racked my brain trying to think of some unique ideas.  I’m not going to necessarily admit that I lost sleep over this…buuuut I DID! 

    I decided that I would keep things simple so I just found items around our building and in the marketing closet to build the display.  As you can see there are four rather large banners.  These banners are to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Roanoke Civic Center.  Each banner has a list of every artist that came to the RCC for each year of that decade.  They are actually really sweet.  Along with the banners I made a powerpoint presentation, set on a continuous loop, which showed some of our upcoming events like WWE, Cirque Du Soleil ”Alegria, and Max and Ruby.   After 4 hours I’m pretty positive I can recite those tv spots word for word. So…I’ve got that going for me. We also had a register to win box that guests signed so they could be in the running to win tickets to either WWE or Cirque du Soleil “Alegria”.  The rest of the table was filled with “Stuff We All Get”, which was a bunch of pens, pencils, flyers and these really cool post-it booklets that just happened to arrive in the mail about an hour before the start of the expo.  All in all I feel like everyone was pleased with the design and just the overall positive vibe of our table.  

   The scene at the Expo was real laid back.  Jonathan and I were able to meet a bunch of interesting people.  We definitely had our share of unique conversations.  I was real happy with how nice and what great moods everyone was in.  Then to my surprise I saw Ovations Catering Service bust through the door with carts and carts of Hors d’œuvres, and slowly trailing behind that cart was the bar.  I would say that this was the point when the party really got started.  Luckily for me, people were distracted by the alcohol line so I was able to high tail it to the meatballs. I must say, Ovations knows how to cook a meatball.  Once the wine and beer started flowing Jonathan and I were really able to have some fun conversations with all the business exec’s circling our booth. 

    I think that whether you are a vendor or just someone looking for a place to network, these events are great that every professional should experience.  This was my first one and I can say that I will be at next year’s.  For those of you that are interested, Smith Mountain Lake is having a biz & tech expo this week (Friday, April 29,2011 @ 11am).  Send me a comment if you need some more information about it.  This should be a really great time.

 

(A vendor literally handing out screwdrivers in a cocktail glass)                           

BRAD PAISLEY LIVE!

Feb. 18, 2011

      As an intern this was my very first major concert at the  Roanoke Civic Center that I was lucky enough to be a part of.  I will just start off by saying that this show was AMAZING! From start to finish I was entertained the entire time.  

      The line-up started with country artist Jarrod Neimann, who had the year’s only #1 billboard charting country album.  Immediately following a set change was the powerhouse act, Darius Rucker.  Some of you out there might remember him as the great Hootie from Hootie & The Blowfish. Lately Darius Rucker has been dominating the country scene with his new solo project.  He can still own a room just as well as back in his early days.  The final act of the night was of course Brad Paisley.  I knew some of his songs like Alcohol and Whiskey Lullaby, but I was surprised to hear so many other songs that I had no idea he wrote. His stage performance and overall swagger was unmatched.  Needless to say on this night they were tearin’ up the stage!

     Jonathan Carlin (right) and myself (left) were in charge of the “Meet & Greet” for this event. We were eagerly awaiting the entertainers arrival, but were quickly put in our place by the bum-rush of fans waiting to get autographs. We were both pleasantly surprised.  Neimann’s camp was real easy to work with and had a very laid back vibe.  “Oh by the way,  I have literally never seen so many beautiful women in my life!”  The signing session took about 30 minutes and then he was off to perform.  His set was crowd pleasing to say the least.  He played his radio hit “Lover, Lover, Lover” first, which set the standard for the evening.  He finished his set by throwing the crowd a great curveball with the  Hank Williams Jr. song Family Tradition.

(Darius Rucker signing the Wall Of Artists board)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will just start by saying that Brad Paisley’s Meet and Greet was much more intense then the other two acts.  The crowd was larger and the stress was greater.  Here’s a little summary of how it all went down…  A month or so before the event we asked Tight Line Fly Rod Co. out of Covington, Va if they would be willing to donate a custom built fly rod to Paisley. If you don’t already know this Brad Paisley is a huge fisherman. The owner, Charles Armontrout, happily agreed and donated a fly rod that totally blew away all of our expectations.  This thing was SICK! Long story short I promised Charles that if he donated the fly rod that I would get a picture with Brad holding it and a few autographs. Easy enough, right? WRONG!

     There were so many fans waiting in line to get a picture with him that the allotted 45 minute meet and greet window quickly was about to close.  Then, the tour manager told us that he was going on stage in just under two minutes. At this point I just about had a total mental breakdown.  Luckily we had already assemblied the fishing rod and laid out the pictures so we quickly jumped into the room and managed to all fit in the picture.  Upon seeing his gift he seemed to completely lose all sense of urgency and really looked happy to recieve such a great and unique gift. As Brad was walking out the door I remember mentioning to Robyn (General Manager) how he had not signed the pictures. There was literally nothing we could do.  Have you ever had that ”heart sinking” kind of feeling…Well that was exactly how I felt. THEN at the very last moment he just happened to turn around  and sign all 3 pictures and a cowboy hat that I had earlier put on the table.  This was literally the highlight of the entire night for me.  Our adrenaline was maxed out and our hearts were pumping.  I left the room with such a feeling of accomplishment because everything happened so perfectly. 

     The rest of the night went off without a hitch.  Brad played amazing and really showed the crowd why he is the CMA Entertainer of the Year. 

    Thanks again to the artists, crews and all the fans that showed up to support this incredible night!!!!