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* More Than 75,000 Fans Filled Saginaw's Ojibway Island for the KCQ Country Music Fest *

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Jennifer Hanson was one of the headliners at the 98 FM KCQ Country Music Fest on June 21, 2008.

by Jason Rzucidlo americajr@americajr.com

:: 2008 FESTIVAL REVIEW ::

SAGINAW, Mich. -- Over 75,000 people came to Saginaw's Ojibway Island on Saturday. The 98 FM KCQ Country Music Fest turned the island into a sea of people. Joe Nichols. Tracy Lawrence. Jennifer Hanson. Jypsi. The Lost Trailers. Those were the acts that everyone came to see.

The weather started out rainy. But by 10 a.m., the rain ended and everything went on as scheduled. There was mostly cloudy skies above during the entire festival. That didn't dampen the spirit of country music fans who waited hours to stake our their prime viewing spots on the island.

The festival was completely FREE and open to the public. In addition to the music, there was a classic car show and a motorcycle show. There was a little less motorcycles than last year possibly due to the early morning rain. However, there was no shortage of classic cars. There was an arts and crafts tent and a children's area as well. Inside the food tent, there was Famous Dave's BBQ, Culver's Ice Cream, Jet's Pizza and many other food vendors.

Mandi Layne & The Lost Highway kicked off the show at 10:30 a.m. on the New Faces Stage. Then, Backwoods Thunder performed shortly after. Mandi Layne returned to the main stage at noon to perform the national anthem alongside men in the service.

The first national act to perform at the festival was Jennifer Hanson. I have not seen her perform in years. She came out sounding amazing. Hanson kicked off her performance with her new single "Joyride", which is included on her new album Thankful that is available currently on iTunes. She also performed her first hit single "Beautiful Goodbye". Hanson also wrote "Leave The Pieces" for The Wreckers and "A Different World" for Bucky Covington. She sang her versions of those songs for the crowd along with some other songs from the new record.

"This was a blast," said Jennifer Hanson in a one-on-one interview shortly after her performance. "I had so much fun today. I had no idea there would be so many people. It was my very first time and the crowd was phenomenal. They were really kind to me, really welcoming so I enjoyed myself."

Jypsi performed for the second time in the area on the New Faces Stage. Their first performance in Michigan was at the Downtown Hoedown in May. While in Saginaw, the group performed their latest single "I Don't Love You Like That." The group is made up of four siblings all with the last name Rische. They also performed songs off their new self-titled debut album that was released to iTunes.

Tracy Lawrence was the next artist to perform on the main stage. He was amazing as usual. Lawrence has no many hit songs that I am surprised he wasn't tapped as the main headliner. Instead, he came on in the middle of the show at 1:45 p.m. Lawrence performed all of his hit songs including "Sticks and Stones", "Time Marches On", "Paint Me a Birmingham" and his latest number one "Find Out Who Your Friends Are".

The last time I saw Tracy Lawrence was at the Michigan State Fair last August. Since then, he has won an ACM Award and a CMA Award for the song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are". It was a song that featured Lawrence, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney.

The Lost Trailers performed on the New Faces Stage at 2:45 p.m. This was the first time that I have seen them in a while. The group is alive as ever and is ready to take on their competition. They performed their hit songs "Call Me Crazy" and "Why Me". The Lost Trailers also sang "Holler Back", the title track of their brand new album that will be released on August 26, 2008. They sounded really good. Look for them to be a possible nominee for Group of the Year award in the upcoming CMA Awards.

Joe Nichols headlined the entire festival at 3:30 p.m. on the main stage. It was his first time at the KCQ Country Music Fest and he brought the house down. There was a funny moment during his show when he asked everyone to raise their beer cans. Well, apparently he didn't know that alcohol was not allowed at the Country Music Fest. Seconds later, Nichols corrected himself said raise your cell phone or whatever you have in your hand.

His performance was amazing. It was hit song after hit song. Nichols performed "The Impossible", "Brokenheartsville", "What's a Guy Gotta Do" and many other hit songs. The crowd laughed during the song "Size Matters (Someday)". I particularly liked when he sang the new single "It Ain't No Crime."

"I've been going since I was about eight with my grandparents", said Brittney Battles of Clio, Mich. She is a huge fan of Joe Nichols. "The Impossible" is her favorite song by him.

The Country Music Fest is organized by Saginaw radio station WKCQ 98.1 FM. The event started in 1992 with its first performers being Trisha Yearwood and Aaron Tippin. Ever since, it has grown into one of the largest FREE country concerts in the region.

Thanks for coming out to the 98 FM KCQ Country Music Fest. We look forward to seeing you in 2009...

 

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Tracy Lawrence performed for the third time at the Country Music Fest.

 

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Joe Nichols was the main headliner at the festival.

 

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Over 75,000 fans were on Ojibway Island for the big festival.

 

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