When did you go: July 12th, 2013

Where did you go: No Shoes Nation 2013 concert, Target Field, Minneapolis

What were you up to: dancing and grooving along to Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, Eli Young Band and Kacey Musgraves

How far did you drive: 47.9 miles

If you had told me a year ago that I would be listening to country music on a daily basis let alone going to country music concerts I may have said “You’re crazy.”  Up until nine months ago, my knowledge of country music came from occasionally listening to some random country station on my way to mom’s in Iowa, and trust me, starting about 20 miles south of here to her place there’s nothing but country stations.  But this weekend I found myself with one of the hottest tickets in town to my first ever knee-slapping-redneck-party. Yee Haw!!

Going to this concert had been on my mind since the tickets went on sale last December.  Unfortunately I did not buy tickets of my own at that time, bummer, I know and yes my wallet paid dearly because of this, but it was so worth it! Oh, so any way, I decided on Thursday (yes the day before the concert) to beg and plead with one of my friends to go with me. Really, it didn’t take that much begging at all, about two text messages worth and she was in. It took me about 2 seconds to purchase our tix on my phone, ser-i-ous-ly, you can do anything on those things!  Tickets in hand, well almost, my excitement could not be contained, I was literally jumping around my place with glee!!

Normally going to a concert of this size means heading to the city early to enjoy the bar scene at Cowboy Jacks or Kieran’s Irish Pub and some pre-concert tailgating but this being a spur-of-the-moment-once-in-a -lifetime-blast (the exact words I used when pleading with my friend via text to join me) my friend and I needed to put in half days at work. Bleh! Oh well, eventually we were on our way and not being a part of the pre-redneck-party wasn’t going to ruin the fabulously glorious entertaining night ahead of us. Soon enough we would have fruity, summery drinks in hand!

Did I mention I love live music, (I don’t think I did) but I do! Always have.  There’s just something about being part of a crowd listening to a favorite band or musician, singing and grooving along with thousands of other fans, yet at the same time feel as though this is your private show because all the songs “sound like a memory” ( Eric Church Springsteen reference there~ kind of scaring myself now with my new-found knowledge of country music).  This concert had all that and more!

All I can say about the show is “WOW! Double WOW! Them rednecks know how to put on a show!”

Zac (yeah, were on a first name basis too “Hey Zac!”) and the Band sounded as crisp and clean as they do streaming on my iphone. Of course they played their emotionally charged songs~ Free and Goodbye In Her Eyes (my faves~to name a few);  and slipped in some of their fun and upbeat tunes~ Chicken Fried and Toes plus a mean cover of Metallica’s Enter Sandman.

And Kenny…uh, really I can barely describe his electricity on that stage, with his smile shining so bright on the big screen one could just feel it in the air! Every note he sang was my favorite, I don’t believe I sat down or stopped swaying or dancing the entire time he played.  My faves~ Somewhere With You, You and Tequila, and Summertime.

As Kenny said there’s something about Minnesota in the summertime.  I believe it stems from the fact we are cooped up and Eskimo-like for 9 months of the year (okay, okay it’s not that long). It just affords us the appreciation of a beautiful night spent with 43,939 other fans listening to individual memories float through the summer air to land on our ears and in our hearts.

Enjoy. Laugh. Live. Sing. Most of all~ BT2U