CMA Fest 2015 - Kristian Bush Style

Quick note: daily summaries to come in separate posts. I couldn't save the best for last.

Once upon a time Theresa and I bought tickets to CMA Fest 2015 without knowing which artists would be appearing. As the months closed in, the schedules for over 9 stages started to unfold and emails for chance to win exclusive events started rolling in.

One of our hopeful goals this year was to win at least one of the many contests we were sure to enter, whether it be for free swag, seat upgrades, signed guitar, concert or meet and greet.

CMA gave all registered fans a chance to win 1 of over a 100 different artist experiences. As you may have figured out from past blogs, when I love an artist/group, I'll soak up as much time seeing them as possible.

Luckily my traveling companion was on-board with my craziness. Between the two of us and our 80 some raffle entries, we managed to win both of the Kristian Bush experiences as seen below.

Last Wednesday we began our trek to Nashville. I can't speak for Theresa's next goal, but mine was to get a hat trick, turkey, or hit a trifecta of Kristian Bush experiences. Why not, we already had two in the bag with our winnings?  :)

As we hurtled down the highway, we approached Southern Illinois and the town of Metropolis, which I had never stopped at to meet Superman. Check that one off the list!

As I circled the statue and saw the ginormous flowing cape, I couldn't help but think of the Kristian Bush's lyrics from Giving It Up, "I’m folding up my cape, I am no man of steel". And yes, I did tweet this picture at him. It'd be hard for him to fold up that cape.

Anyway, as we were easing on down the road, I was having fun catching up on Twitter while Theresa was at the wheel. Looky what I found, KB and his team posted his schedule for the week of CMAFest. A total of 7 possible KB sightings once we reached Nashville. I'll have to donate to my local Goodwill as we did not wake up at the butt crack of dawn to catch him there.

The next day was a no brainer because KB would be at FanFairX, which we planned to attend for the Little Big Town opening of the event, followed by Sara Evans and some moseying around. A few hours later, bingo bango, KB is on the stage with Canaan Smith and Michael Ray.

If you can't tell, I was in the 2nd row. Boo-ya! But no standing... Didn't want to obstruct others from the magical performances of all 3 artists.

Oh, remember that Superman cape pic? As KB introduced his song "Light Me Up", he mentioned superheroes, so I held my phone up showing that pic. I do believe Canaan saw it because he grinned pretty big when looking in my direction.

Okay, moving along...

On Friday we happened to be heading to FanFairX for multiple reasons once again, so I added the Opry Anniversary Panel to my list. I worked on scouting out a good seat while listening to the Oakridge Boys artist closeup (very cool!) I slowly snuck forward as their crowd dissipated and grabbed my 2nd row seat.

For the record, Theresa was off stalking her own favorites.

Some events gave away first row tickets, but that wasn't the case for this Opry Panel. As the event started, the red velvet rope was unlatched and I was asked if I wanted to move up, but move ALL the way down. Sit at the edge of the stage, nope, I sat back down. Still looking for 1st row fillers, they nodded my way again. It ended up being perfect timing because enough people flowed in-front of me and KB ended up sitting in the chair almost directly across from me.

The other artists there to share their stories were Josh Turner and Jeannie Seely. Do I think KB saw me? Well it was my 2nd day being so close, and I was sporting yet another Cubs shirt... so, yes.

I could have listened to their stories all day. Being only about a 10 yearish country music fan (thanks to the Dixie Chicks for pulling me in) it was pretty eye opening. Gonna have to get that Opry app for my phone.

Saturday morning Theresa and I woke up bright and early for a 9am City of Hope softball game to root on Little Big Town. I couldn't help but notice LBT was nowhere to be seen during the team photo. Prior to that I thought they were late from signing for the fans outside (that's the kind of people I believe them to be).

Shortly after Theresa got done stalking Brett Michaels, it was announced that LBT had to cancel due to a family emergency. Totally ready to show them some over-exuberant love, I couldn't help but be bummed. Weighing our options, we chalked up the ticket costs as a donation to the charity and booked it over to the Chevy Riverfront stage to catch KB in action for the second year in a row.

And guess what, we still got their early enough to get second row standing. Unknowing to most, I actually could have met KB during the time I sat at the softball game. Seeing that I already won a meet and greet for later that day, I hoped they could find another worthy fan.

All-in-all it worked out smashingly, even though I'm still wondering if LBT can play softball. KB and the band's performance (including Brandon Bush and Annie Clements) rocked the house, and I can't think of a place I would have rather been at that moment.

KB does a phenomenal job interacting with the audience. A couple people shouted some song titles at him. He requested a repeat and the gal behind me "yelled" Flip Flops. He still didn't hear her, so I stepped in and bellowed FLIP FLOPS.

Kristian then started giving someone with a water bottle a hard time about requesting his 1 drinking song. I remember something along the line of him addressing the woman with a "Hey Love" in a sweet, kind of shaking his head about the thought of the water bottle holder requesting the drinking song.

In the 90+ heat, I figured most including myself had water bottles, and proceeded to enjoy the song. Theresa confirmed with me after the show, that I indeed was the "Flip Flop" person. With his sunglasses on, I couldn't tell if his eyes shot over my head or if he was looking at me. Huh, he probably thought I was half asleep or something for not having much reaction to his razzing. Too funny!

Next up was the meet and greet Theresa won, just a short hour after the performance. Let me tell you, it's hard to feel freshened-up in that amount of time after shaking your hips during an hour long performance in 90ish weather, hoofing it up to FanFairX and shoving lunch down your gullet.

Oh, if you were wondering...yes, day 3 also involved a Cubs shirt! Why was I doing this?

1. It's super fun to get other Cub fan reactions while wearing a Cubs shirt out of state or during a non-baseball related event.

2. I thought it might help me stand out in the many KB crowds I would be in.

I gotta say, I had some great Cubs and baseball fan reactions. Apparently that was really the only reason I was wearing those shirts.

At FanFairX, Theresa and I stood towards the front of the line patiently waiting for KB to appear from behind the curtain. Kristian emerged and greeted the CMA host people and the scanned the crowd. I recall hearing something along the lines of "It's you again!" I then proceeded to remind him that it was he who posted his schedule online.

If you haven't been counting, this was the 4th Kristian Bush sighting out of 5 possibilities. Theresa was first up for the meet and greet. I was chatting with the CMA rep and overheard Theresa and KB giggling and they happened to be looking at me. What was said??? I will never know. KB kiddingly would not divulge that information. Oh goodness!

Next! As I approached Kristian I told him that I had bad news... I'll be seeing you at your show tomorrow. He questioned if I'd be at his Opry performance in the afternoon. I regretfully had to inform him I was not that good of a stalker.

He then paused, looking at the photo he was going to personalize for me. He was actually trying to remember my name. Yes, he remember me from our encounter last year during the GAC Breakfast and Signing! I was astounded. (Hope my mouth didn't drop open.)

If given the opportunity, I could have talked to Kristian for hours. But what did I do, I asked about his shoes/boots. I was informed that he and his previous pair made it through 400 shows without missing a date before being retired. I hope this pair tours as much as the old ones!

As I left the booth with a big-ass grin on my face, I recall him saying, "see you tomorrow". That's the type of fan experience I wish upon any recipient of a meet and greet, no matter who the artist, sports figure, etc.

KB kindly signed my CMA Fest badge and he also gave me an autographed photo. Below is a pic of Theresa's photo. Hmmm, possibly a hint as to what they may have been talking about?!?!

Sorry it's upside-down, blogging on your phone is very inefficient.

Here's a pic of my badge autograph on Day 4 after I applied sunscreen and started glistening. Apparently the combination will cause a Sharpie autograph on a plastic surface to turn into a temporary tattoo. Nothing to do but shake your head and smile.

With my new temporary tattoo in place, we headed over to the HGTV Lodge for our 5th and final Kristian Bush sighting. This is the fan experience I won and we were given these stylish wristbands to wear.

Can you believe they got them printed upside-down?

Guess what?!? Yep, I was wearing a Cubs shirt and managed to get 2nd row just off center. No, I did not get a picture of his footwear. As he was beginning the first requested song, Flip Flops (not my request), my phone said it was out of memory! I had to rudely multi-task during this song, so I could take photos. I can only imagine he was even more perplexed that the "Flip Flip Girl" didn't have full attention for one of her favorite artists (I can only assume he figured that one out) while he sings her "requested" song.

I don't think KB took offense, seeing that he tossed me a guitar pick after the show. He's too kind and such a talented singer/songwriter!

Who knows, maybe I'll have a chance to explain myself or strike up a Waffle House conversation with him when Mom and I see him next month in Watseka, IL. Yes, that's right. Watseka, IL.

Oh, and for the record, my favorite song is Southern Gravity, the title track off of Kristian's solo album. To no surprise, I highly recommend it! Check it out!

Here's some pics from the Riverfront and HGTV performances on this websites, so cool!