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INDIO,
Calif. -- All
55,000 tickets were sold out for the 2012 Stagecoach Country Music
Festival. However, the actual attendance is much higher due to
the free tickets and passes given out by radio stations. Fans
told us they loved everything about the festival in the Coachella
Valley city of Indio. Some of them even skipped their high school
proms in order to make it to the festival. Attendees came from
all over America and rented RVs, tents and hotel rooms to be a
part of what is called Stagecoach. It was definitely a weekend
to remember.
"It's
fun, it's hot, too hot," said Candice Martinez of Monrovia,
Calif. "I got here at about fiveish on Friday, so it wasn't
as hot. It was starting to cool down a little bit. I saw Jason
Aldean close the show and Alabama. I'm looking forward to seeing
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton tonight and Brad Paisley tomorrow.
I brought my daughter here. It was our first time for both of
us. We won tickets. It's a lot of fun. It would be nice if it
would be a little cooler, but it's nice."
Kelly
Clarkston joined Jason Aldean for a song on the Toyota Mane Stage
Friday night. That was a big surprise because she was not originally
on the schedule.
"This
is our first time here," said Omar Arrula of Mira Loma, Calif.
"It's a lot of fun. I never imagined it would be so big like
this. I'm a little overwhelmed, really. We came late on Friday.
We left and had a good time. We got lost trying to find our car.
It's a little pricey here. The food is pricey and the beer is
pricey. It is an experience. You've got to come out and spend
the money. It's great. I'd recommend it to anybody."
Kenny
Rogers had the largest crowd out of all three days on the Palomino
Stage. The fans went wild when he sang "The Gambler."
I think his performance should have been on the Toyota Mane stage
since there was a gap between Martina McBride and Sheryl Crow.
"This
is our second time here," said Nancy Schlanse of La Quinta,
Calif. "It's fun and a lot of good activities, good food
and fun people. I saw Alabama last night and today Steve Martin.
We paid over time so I forget how much we even paid. The parking
is not optimum. We had quite a long walk. Other than that, it's
all good."
A couple
of weeks ago, the Coachella festival made national headlines with
its hologram of the late Tupac. He was shown performing on the
stage using special effects during Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's performance.
Fast forward to Stagecoach and there was a big screen that separated
Brad Paisley from his fans during his first two songs. A larger-than-life
image of a country singer with a cowboy hat was shown. It sort
of reminded me of the Tupac hologram.
"This
is our third time and we still enjoy it," said Ken Cook of
La Quinta, Calif. "The best part about it is people get together
and have a good time. Actually last night, I saw Sara Evans and
Alabama. Jason Aldean was good. We had a great time last night.
Tonight, we're looking forward to Miranda Lambert. I thought the
price for the weekend was good. For the amount of people you get
to see, it's outstanding. The venue is awesome, it really is.
No doubt about it. I could have rode a borough faster than I walked
through here. No offense."
I thought
maybe Alabama would come on stage during Brad Paisley's performance
to sing their duet "Old Alabama." However, that never
happened.
"I'm
really enjoying the music," said Krystal
from Banning, Calif.
"I really like the atmosphere as well. Everyone just gets
along with everyone so that's nice. I like the Eli Young Band.
They played my favorite song. Also, I saw Sara Evans. I saw her
in concert at the San Manuel Amphitheater. Jason Aldean is an
amazing artist as well. I'm looking forward to Luke Bryan today.
I skipped prom to be here and it's totally worth it. I would have
been OK with the price if I would have got it on time. I ended
up paying $400 for my ticket on Craigslist, but it's well worth
it."
Two high
school seniors told me they skipped their senior prom so they
could attend Stagecoach instead.
"I
really like the atmosphere definitely," said Cheyenne from
Beaumont, Calif. "It's just really hot, not a lot of shade.
Jason Aldean was probably my favorite--more upbeat and dancing.
We like to dance. I'm excited for Miranda Lambert tonight. I'm
fine with the price mostly because of the payment plan. I think
it's worth it. I've seen more red, white and blue than I've seen
in a whole year."
Her friend,
Nicole
from Menifee, Calif.,
added: "So far, it's like a huge party with our favorite
country artists. We saw Jason Aldean and he was amazing. We're
going to see Miranda Lambert tonight and I'm really excited for
her. I think it was a great deal. We get to see all of our favorite
artists. It's three days and it's awesome. I'm looking forward
to coming back next year and making it a routine."
Bands
came from all over America -- including Detroit -- to perform
at Stagecoach
J.D. Souther
and Greensky Bluegrass were two of the performers that traveled
from metro Detroit to the festival in Indio, Calif. JD Souther
was born in Detroit while Greensky Bluegrass is from Kalamazoo,
Mich.
"We
drove 2,500 miles to get here," said Randy Owen, lead singer
of the legendary country group Alabama. The group has been on
its reunion tour since 2010. They performed all of their hit songs
including "I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)," "Born
Country," "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" and many
others.
Country/Folk/Rock
group the McEuen Sessions performed on Saturday at 2 p.m. on the
Palomino stage.
"This
is not necessarily a new group, we've been playing together over
the 20 years," said John McEuen, who is also a banjo/fiddle/guitar
player for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. "We've played together
many times. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is self contained in its
own world and something I couldn't replicate. This is something
new and exciting. The music is challenging. In a sense, I have
more time collectively with my sons now. It's a show that didn't
need a warm-up, because it's like 100 degrees and it went fine.
The facilities and everything are really first class. It's great
to be a part of it."
Bluegrass/Country
band Greensky Bluegrass entertained audiences on Sunday at 3:30
p.m. on the Mustang stage.
"We
played Stagecoach in 2009 as well," said Paul Hoffman, the
band's mandolin player. "This is our second time here. It's
hot. Handguns has been about for about six months. It's
our fourth studio album. It's got some great songs on it. We produced
it ourselves. I went to Western Michigan and Kalamazoo is where
we live now. We're honored to be here. It's great. Something that
I really enjoy is that we crossover really well. We fit in at
this event well and we could have fit in at Coachella as well.
This is a really awesome site. It's definitely hot. The company
that puts this thing on does a really good job. It's fun."
Bluegrass/Alt-Country
group Split Lip Rayfield performed on Sunday at 1 p.m. on the
Mustang stage.
"I
started playing guitar when I was about 14," said Jeff Eaton,
the band's bass guitar player. "I was completely into Iron
Maiden and Metallica and Slayer. I started hanging out at this
bluegrass festival and met these guys there. It tumbled into this
happy accident. While we were recording the I'll Be Around
album, I really liked the space we were at. When it was coming
to completion, all of this work started paying off. I guess that
would be the best part of it when it's done. In our region in
the midwest, punk-bluegrass bands have blown up. Most of those
bands are surprisingly gracious about how we influenced them.
We've been around for 15 years. I guess it's not surprising that
we've started a new midwestern wave of bluegrass."
Bluegrass/Country
band the Grascals entertained audiences on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
on the Mustang stage.
"It
went great, we sold out of all of our records," said Jamie
Johnson, a vocalist and guitar player in the band. "It was
crazy. The folks pretty much rushed the stage. It was kind of
nerve wrecking. I kind of know how the Beatles felt now. We appreciate
them liking our music. We played here the very first year they
had it, 2008. We're making our 117th appearance on the Grand Ole
Opry this weekend. We're excited about it. 'I am Strong' is about
a visit we did to St. Jude's in Memphis, Tenn. Their families
have to bring them down to fight the battle they're fighting.
They invited us to come down a present a check to go to the proceeds.
We got to visit the kids and see a wall of the thought the kids
wrote. We wrote the song and did the video with Dolly Parton and
the kids."
For
more information about Stagecoach: California's Country Music
Festival, visit www.stagecoachfestival.com.
Related
Stories: '80s
country/rock band The Unforgiven to reunite for Stagecoach show;
J.D.
Crowe and the New South to kick off final tour at Stagecoach show;
Steve
Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers to perform at Stagecoach today
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Country music fans Omar and Leslie Arrula of Mira Loma,
Calif.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Attendee
Candice Martinez of Monrovia, Calif.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Country
music fans Nancy Schlanse, Kim Cook, Ken Cook and Howard Schlanse,
all from La Quinta, Calif.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Legendary country group alabama drove 2,500 miles to perform at
Stagecoach.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
"I
don't see the Steep Canyon Rangers as my band," Steve Martin
told the crowd. "I see myself as their celebrity."
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