They must have liked our performances at the Stagecoach festival well enough to keep our number handy.  Not too long after Stagecoach we received a call asking if we were available for the CMA Music Festival in Nashville.  What do you think was our reply?

Jay flew out solo on Wednesday and played cowboy Thursday and Friday.  On Thursday, Christy managed the Cancer Survivor’s day event at the City of Hope in Duarte.  On Friday, she coordinated a wedding at the Victorian mansion in Santa Monica.  We were busy on both sides of the continent.

Immediately following the Santa Monica wedding, Christy drove down the street to LAX and boarded a plane for an all night flight to Nashville.  The next two days we both performed our cowboy and cowgirl roles together.  Dressed in our western gear (long sleeves, chaps, bandannas, hats and jeans), the most common question asked was “Aren’t y’all a bit warm?”, as it was about 95 degrees with the humidity at about 90%.  We once again brought the west to life with trickroping, virtual calf roping, bullwhip stunts, line dancing, having fun and taking photos with the enthusiastic festival guests.

Our performing took place later in the day and into the evening, so we had the opportunity to walk around the city and experience Nashville and all the festival had to offer during the first half of the day.Nashville is an amazing city with boundless energy, a charming southern atmosphere, top quality–live–non-stop music, a fascinating history, friendly people and amazing delicacies to savor, both during the festival, as well as following the festival when the city retuned to it’s normal routine. The CMA Music Festival took over the downtown heart of Nashville with close to 20 stages, all featuring a variety of top-billed country music stars.  Downtown also features an endless choice of restaurants and bars all with live music spilling out onto the street through open doors and windows.  I have never heard so much great live music in one place in my entire life.

Following the festival, we took adavantage of our location and took a detour through Smokey Mountain National Park, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Knoxville.  It doesn’t get much more lush and green outside of the Amazon than here in the beautiful south.  Can’t wait for our next adventure!  Glad you could join us.

P.S.  One of the wildest things that I have ever seen . . . and I’ve only seen it in Nashville . . . . is a “Pedal Tavern”.  Passengers drink and provide pedal power at the same time!

Work is done for the day, so its time for George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, ZZ Top, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Merle Haggard, our old friends the Doo Wah Riders and a bunch of other spectacular acts. Amazing that so much talent can be brought together in one place.So, a few months ago we were on the road, when a call came in asking if we would be interested in performing three days for a vendor showcase at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio. “Sure, we might be able to work it into our schedule” came the reply.

Once the ink was dry on the contracts, our adventure began.  It was only a “short” mile + walk from the car to the performance site.  Our journey took us through the “RV Resort”, which was an adventure all its own.  Hundreds of campers in orderly rows, all had their own little party yards.  Party yards that included wet bars, DJ systems, kiddie pools, christmas lights, hay bales and all manner of recreational diversions.  Two security checkpoints were loads of fun before we finally arrived at the performance site. Security always loves ropes and whips . . . I didn’t even try to get my guns through. With introductions complete, we settled in for three days of fun. Yes, our work is indeed fun!  Christy had the audience in awe, flawlessly spinning her trick ropes and leading line dance steps with the captivated crowds. Jay turned the city slickers into cowhands, roping the virtual calves and some of the guests with a lasso. Some of the real cowbys and cowgirls didn’t need any help handling the rope, and roped the calf like they had just returned from a long dusty cattle drive.

For those of you who have never been to Stagecoach, it is for lack of a better term, unreal.  Each day there were about 75,000 people wandering between stages in full  party/have-fun mode.  Four main stages feature a variety of headliner acts from 1pm until midnight with a few smaller stages thrown into the mix.  Speaker stacks and choreographed lighting that would rival any concert stage.  And people as far as the eyes could see.

So this is where this story began  and ends . . . after a long day of spinning ropes, cracking the bullwhip and having fun with guests, it was time to relax, listening to some of the best musical talent on the planet.