Rockie Lynne with Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry in Las Vegas for the 2006 ACM Awards Show!
Photo Courtesy of Universal South
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Hey gang...you know the great thing about ordering a Double Tall Nonfat Latte at Starbucks in Las Vegas at 6:00 a.m. ? No line! None. Notta A Latte people up at 5:45 in the morning at the MGM grand in Las Vegas ! There were a few mega million jackpot slot machine junkies still barely hanging on to the handle just before the sun came exploding over the Stratosphere bringing another day of one hundred degree excess and joy, but by and large I was alone. Just four short hours ago these walkways were jammed with country music superstars, agents, managers, fans and one really blonde lady with daisy duke shorts and really, really large ... hmm...shoes. Yeah she had big shoes. Just going into my room last night I passed Aaron Tippin standing in the middle of the lobby, Jamie O'Neal visiting with a young man named Brian in a wheel chair, Buddy Jewell signing autographs by the fountain and Storme Warren in a Speedo hanging from a chandelier smoking a cigar and singing "Oh Lonesome Me" at the top of his lungs (just kidding). Did I mention she had really big shoes?
Today is the first day of the festivities for the ACM Awards in Las Vegas , Nevada . My day actually started yesterday in Detroit Michigan a t the Motown Hoedown sponsored by Tim Roberts, Ron Chapman and all of the folks at WYCD --a big shout out to Mia and all of her team for their assistance. There were great shows by Shurman, The Forbes Brothers, Danielle Peck, Eric Church, Tracy Byrd, Clay Walker and ME.
I finished my show, caught a late flight and arrived several hours ahead of my luggage in Las Vegas. Checked in to my hotel, took a nap and woke up early to get ready for the ACM Motorcycle Ride.
My Harley Davidson Dyna-Wide Glide was brought down from Minnesota (where I live) by my friends Gregg Schmitt and Randy Vaughn. Gregg is the co-founder and Randy is a 'ride captain' for my own ride called "Tribute to the Troops." www.tributetothetroops.org
It was a joy to be able to ride my own motorcycle and I was grateful that they were able to bring it out for me. For those artists who did not have their own bikes out here, Ricky Kelly of Cool Springs Harley Davidson provided a tractor trailer load of incredible machines for us to ride. Before the start of the ride, Troy and Eddie gave a pep talk about safety and thanked everyone for coming. The ride left from the Las Vegas Harley Davidson shop ( where it was about a hundred degrees) and went to the top of a mountain ( where there was snow and it was around forty degrees) then back down the mountain to Freemont street where we all got to play a couple songs each for about four thousand people. It was amazing! The lady with the big shoes was everywhere, and apparently she has a sister! The ride was a huge success and a lot of money was raised for music charities and everyone was safe.
I was able to catch several of the artists at the concert. Montgomery Gentry kicked it off with a huge bang. Little Big Town was amazing! Their harmonies blow me away! It is so reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac but with a country feel that is so uniquely their own. Shannon Lawson played two great acoustic songs all by himself. I did my thing, then Brian McComas kicked a**. Trent Tomlinson rocked the house with his own style of kid rock meets David Allen Coe country. Trent Willmon is an awesome singer and he closed the show. I missed some of the shows in the middle but I'm sure it was awesome.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Thanks for checking in. Love -- Rockie
