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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Jamey Johnson, Trace Adkins Have CMA Fest Covered

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Jamey Johnson performs at the VAULT Concert Stage at LP Field in Downtown Nashville Saturday, June 13 during the 2009 CMA Music Festival. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Association.

June 15, 2009 — In its ever-present effort to expand its reach and appeal to a broader audience, country music continues to pull in influences from an ever-widening musical circle, a fact in evidence this weekend at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. In addition to their own hits, artists such as Jamey Johnson, Trace Adkins and Little Big Town ladled their sets with music made famous in the past by other acts, and the bundle of covers ranged from Country Music Hall of Famer Merle Haggard to R&B legend Stevie Wonder.
Here's a look at what got covered from Thursday through Friday at LP Field:
• Jamey Johnson dusted off George Jones' "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes," providing appropriate references in the process to Conway Twitt y, Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley.
• Trace Adkins ripped into Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground." While he left the reincarnation-themed bridge intact, he turned the world-turning doomsday line "'Cause it won't be too long" into a "higher ground" reference.
• No Hank Williams songs made an appearance in the stadium, which is likely a sore point for country music purists. On the other hand, Hank Williams Jr.'s 30-year-old "Family Tradition" did get a workout from Darius Rucker. "Family Tradition" was considered rebellious at the time of its original release; now, with its "get drunk" and "get stoned" audience participation, it's a country anthem.
• Often compared to Fleetwood Mac, Little Big Town segued from its haunting "Bones" into the Rumours album cut "The Chain," complete with the intense, searing finale that appears in the Mac's original.
• Rodney Atkins rolled out a verse and a chorus of the Johnny Nash pop song "I Can See Clearly Now" to set up "If You're Going Through Hell (Before The Devil Even Knows)." They're the same tempo, and they sort of boast the same message: There are good times ahead.
• Lady Antebellum revved up John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good." To put the song's age in perspective, it was a Top 5 pop single on the day Lady A guitarist Dave Haywood was born, July 5, 1982.
• The Zac Brown Band tossed out the Charlie Danie ls Band's "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," proving the group's virtuosity. Zac and crew did it at a faster tempo than the CDB and still kept the pace locked in tight, despite the sonic challenge of playing in such a large venue.
• Kid Rock threw in pieces of several oldies without finishing any. He copped the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider" in the run-up to "Cowboy" and inserted Waylon Jennings' "Theme From The Dukes Of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)" into its center. His closer, "All Summer Long," necessarily joined Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" with Warren Zevon's "Werewolves Of London." (Martina McBride's surprise duet appearance with Kid on "Picture" was one of the festival's highlights).
• Lee Ann Womack trotted out a three-piece horn section for an authentic, Western swing performance of Bob Wills' "San Antonio Rose." Fiddle, guitar and steel played complex unison lines — some excellent musicianship in a forgotten subgenre.

• Before a rather emotional Judds reunion, Wynonna veered in multiple directions as cover girl of the festival: She reprised Foreigner's pop epic "I Want To Know What Love Is," as she gave it a gospel slant; Merle Haggard's "Are The Good Times Really Over (I Wish A Buck Was Still Silver)"; and Mercy Me's Christian song "I Can Only Imagine."
• Martina McBride channeled Bill Withers with her take on the 1972 hit "Lean On Me." Some fa ns were probably channeling the 1987 Club Nouveau version.
• Miranda Lambert promised to show fans how to "shake your booty Texas-style," then rolled out a British-style rocker: Rod Stewart & Faces' "Stay With Me." Miranda, incidentally, lost the hair-slinging contest to Taylor Swift. Finishing a distant third: Trace Adkins.

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