Brad Paisley Concert at Usana

If there is anyone out there who doesn't yet know this fact, here goes... Glen and I are country music lovers. No--not the Willie Nelson, twangy stuff. The newer music. With the younger singers and a more modern sound.

Our favorite country music star is Brad Paisley. He was coming to town and we decided to get tickets for his concert at Usana Amphitheatre.

Nani is a big fan of country western music also, so she was willing to go with us. By the time we decided we would be available the night of the concert, it was only a few days before the concert.

Glen wanted seats up close and he told us there were only three seats available in the section he wanted and he could either buy one ticket or three tickets, but not just two tickets. He bought three and invited Nani to come along with us.

Glen was happy to have two women with him that evening. In keeping with the country theme, he took us to dinner at Texas Roadhouse before the concert. Yee haw!!!

The first performers were on stage by the time we took our seats.

It was a group called The Henningsens which is a country music trio consisting of a father and his son and daughter. (I had to look up that information on the internet because we had never heard of them before.)

Next up was Lee Brice. We didn't recognize his name, but some of his songs we had heard before.

Lee told us to stand up and dance, so I obeyed.

Chris Young was another performer. I didn't know him, but I recognized some of his songs as well.

It was amazing to us how many of the performers' songs focused on alcohol or beer. Whole songs. Dedicated to alcohol. Dedicated to beer. With people in the audience cheering like crazy whenever those words were mentioned. Raising their first, second, third or sixth or seventh cups of beer in their hand.

Disgusting to worship a beverage like so many appeared to be doing!!

Just waiting around for the big part of the show to begin. Brad Paisley drew quite the crowd. It was a very nice evening for an outdoor concert.

And then there he was--Brad Paisley!!!!

He frequently went on the walkway leading out into the audience. He would sing and do some mad, crazy guitar playing while he was out there.

One time he walked through the audience to get to a platform clear out near the people sitting in the way back and out on the lawn. We learned from reading his book that he used to go see concerts of famous country singers and he could only afford to get the cheapest tickets possible and sit in the last rows.

He always wished the performers would come closer to him. Now he always spends some time during his concerts singing to the people on the last rows. To get back on stage he ran right past us, but the picture I took of him was only a blur.

After each song, Brad throws his guitar pick out into the audience. Lots of guitar picks (the red things on his microphone stand) are used during each concert.

Another trademark move of Brad is he strums a little on a guitar, signs his name on the guitar and then bends down and hands it to a lucky fan in the audience. This concert we watched him give his hat to someone in the audience.

 

Brad Paisley is such a likable guy. We enjoyed learning more about him through reading his book. We learn more about him through the words of the songs he writes and sings. They are so true to life and he can always find a funny twist to real-life situations.

My only complaint has been I wish he wouldn't sing his song called "Alcohol" as his encore performance at every concert.

I much more prefer the love songs. Probably my favorite is "Then." The words are so beautiful about how love grows so much with time and looking back to when you first met, "I thought I loved you then. Now you're my whole life. Now you're my whole world... We've come so far since that day. And I thought I loved you then."

You go through stages of life--getting married, having babies, hair turning grey. "What I can't see is how I'm ever going to love you more, but I've said that before. And I thought I loved you then."

So beautiful. The concert. The uplifting music. Being with the husband I love. Sharing the evening with the sister I love.

As I look back on my life and the people I love, I can sing along with Brad, "And I thought I loved you then." Love just grows deeper and more beautiful with age.