(contributed by Kirby Smith)

On Saturday, June 12, as the sun set slowly on another storm-free day in Nashville, Country Music fans filed into LP Field, all anticipated a great time on the third night of CMA Music Fest 2010. But for one foursome, expectations were especially high.

 “We came to find ourselves husbands!” said Katie Linley, 22, of Knoxville, Tenn.  Along with friends Meghan Blackwell, 22, of Tullahoma, Tenn., Sarah Vontaine, 23, and Janna Evans, 23, both of Johnson City, Tenn., Linley said the group was looking for “real cowboys.”  “We even came with our boots on!” Evans said.

Saturday’s concert may not have resulted in any engagements for the girls, but it did highlight their sound footwear decision as moments later Randy Houser roared onto stage to sing his hit “Boots On.”

“Let me be the first artist to welcome y’all to a Saturday night at CMA Fest,” Houser cheered. 

Houser went on to perform his hits “Whistlin’ Dixie” and “Anything Goes,” stopping in between to thank the crowd for packing the house early and their support in allowing him to live his music dream.  His gratitude rang especially true in his down-home drawl.

Newcomer Easton Corbin took the stage next and proved to be a man of many questions. 

“I thank y’all for having me out tonight,” Corbin said.  “This next song is a very special song.  It’s my first song out of the box.  So, y’all let me know if y’all are a little more country than that.”

After the performance of his current single “A Little More Country Than That,” Corbin posed a critical question: “Tequila or beer?” Fans immediately recognized that lyrical excerpt from his next song, “A Lot to Learn About Livin’.”

Next up, Billy Currington brought a word of warning to the stage with his hit song “Don’t.”  After mentioning Mama and Jesus and [George] Jones, the three loves of country boys, in his song “That’s How Country Boys Roll,” Currington let the crowd take over most of the singing in “Good Directions.”  He then took back command of the arena when he introduced “People Are Crazy. “Where are all my beer-drinkers in the house?” Currington asked. That question got a big response, but he evoked an even stronger reaction when he replaced “people” with “women” in the title line of the last verse of the song.

One performer of the night who surely does not share his jesting sentiments was Jamie O’Neal, who kicked off the evening with the national anthem.  O’Neal belted the final note as Major Nate Miller flew over the arena in an FA-18 Hornet.  Miller and his Marine Corps squadron the VMFA-251 Thunderbolts out of Beaufort, S.C., were honored on stage later in the evening for their service to our country and assistance in the evening activities.

Front man Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band also took time to recognize our troops by promoting the band’s Letters for Lyrics campaign. “Please write a letter to a soldier so you can get a signed, free CD,” Brown said.

Letters for Lyrics salutes troops by providing a free Breaking Southern Ground CD to fans that write a letter to a soldier.  The program has a goal of sending one million letters. 

Keeping with the band’s patriotic theme, they performed “Free.” The audience resembled a flag waving in the wind as the crowd began to sway with one another to the music.  Beach balls danced across the arena as the band played “Toes.”

The band also brought special guest duo Joey + Rory to the stage for a song they had all written together especially for Country Music fans, “This Song’s for You”.

As the only female artist of the night, Martina McBride’s songs triggered a distinctly higher pitch to the audience’s enthusiastic responses.  While her performances of “This One’s For the Girl” and “Blessed” got the crowd going, her full-throttle rendition of “Broken Wings” prompted the biggest reaction.  In fact, it inspired the emcee of the night, Storme Warren of Sirius Satellite Radio and GAC, commented that it was one of the loudest he had ever heard in his 19-year history with CMA Music Fest.

While McBride wowed fans with her pipes, she also gave them a taste of her sense of humor by commenting on the affect of the heavy, humid night air on her eye makeup.

“I have a feeling that at the end of this night, I’m either gonna look like Amy Winehouse or Alice Cooper,” McBride laughed. 

She ended her set with thanks to Country Music fans for the chance to live her dream and a song from the beginning of her career “Independence Day.”

Fittingly, the last performance of the third night of concerts came from high-powered trio Rascal Flatts.  Their fast-paced show included “Fast Cars and Freedom”, “Me and My Gang,” “Bob That Head” and their current hit “Unstoppable.”

Rain cut their last CMA Music Fest performance short.  Lead singer Gary LeVox commented on what the band missed most about a CMA Music Fest performance with cooperative weather as the band began their hit “Summer Nights”. 

“We love to watch all that white skin get burned up in the summer sun!” LeVox said. 

As many fans began to dance in the aisles, the LP Field crowd experienced perfect concert synchronicity as fireworks at the back of the arena soared, flashed and thundered to the music of Rascal Flatts.

Fans Brandi Smith, 35 of Cumberland Gap, Tenn., and Tracy Clayton, 37, of Daytona Beach, Fla., reflected on the night’s performances.

“Tonight’s performers are rooted in Country Music,” Clayton said.  “Whereas some performers find their way to Country Music in different ways, all of tonight’s group found their way traditionally.”

Finalizing the theme of the third night, Smith described the night in three words: “Classic Country Music”.