Hometown boys Harry Luge (L) and Dierks Bentley (R) entertain the Country Thunder Crowd in Florence, AZ. Photo by Gayle Lindgren

The 15th Anniversary of Country Thunder kicked off on April 17th in Florence, Arizona with a performance from The Doo-Wah Riders and the party continued through Sunday, April 20th when Phil Vassar took the stage and closed out the festival. Four days of country music and fun were held together by great concerts from Joe Nichols, Neal McCoy, Pat Green, John Fogerty, Sugarland, Bucky Convington, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kellie Pickler, Sawyer Brown, and Phil Vassar among others. A couple of the best shows of the weekend were provided by our hometown boys - Harry Luge on Saturday afternoon, and Dierks Bentley on Saturday night.

Sugarland performs to a crowd of over 25,000 on Friday night. Photo by Mike Benning

The festival crowds started off slow on Thursday with around 15,000 people in attendance. The main acts were ‘Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand’, Joe Nichols, and Neil McCoy. The campgrounds started to fill up later in the day with the lucky fans who were taking a 3-day weekend to camp out at the festival. Throughout the weekend, campers were able to meet some of the festival’s performers who stopped by the campgrounds to visit with the fans.

Harry Luge hands out copies of his CD to his fans. Photo by Gayle Lindgren

Friday brought a crowd of about 25,000 and most were there to see John Fogerty or Sugarland, neither which disappointed. Fogerty sang many of his CCR classics and even offered up the occasional ‘y’all’ to further gratify the country-loving crowd. Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, the reigning CMA duo of the year, offered a high-energy 75 minute set full of their chart-topping hits. They also gave the crowd a preview of songs from their upcoming album, due out later this year.

Saturday’s attendance topped out at around 35,000 people, and the day provided many great artists for the crowd to enjoy. Bucky Convington got the afternoon crowd warmed up for the big night ahead. He sang his current single “It’s Good to Be Us” along with other songs from his self-titled debut album, he also threw in a couple of cover songs.

Country band Heartland takes the stage at Country Thunder. Photo by Gayle Lindgren

Harry Luge took the stage next and proved that he is a great country performer who can really please a crowd. The excitement grew after he invited everyone out in the lawn-seating to come in closer to the stage, the area usually reserved for seat-buyers only. His set was strong and offered both a country & rock vibe (the latter provided mostly by a performance by his brother Greg – whom the crowd also loved). Afterwards he further pleased the fans by tossing out countless numbers of his CD’s. Harry also performed multiple times during the weekend on the Graham Central Station stage.

Billy Ray Cyrus delights the Country Thunder crowd with his performance on Saturday night. Photo by Gayle Lindgren

The evening continued with Heartland, mostly known for their single “I Loved Her First”. Billy Ray Cyrus followed, and showed the crowd that he had much more to offer than just “Achy Breaky Heart”. The crowd responded to his energy with excitement, and Billy Ray mused “You don’t know what an honor it is for an old boy from Kentucky to be able to take the stage with you.” Kellie Picker was up next and showcased her voice, her sense of humor, and even her frustration with men, throughout her set. Along with singing her own hits, she offered convincing covers of Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”.

Kellie Picker lights up the stage as she performs one of her hit songs on Saturday night. Photo by Gayle Lindgren

Dierks Bentley, who is an Arizona native, proved to be the showstopper however. The crowd screamed as the energetic Bentley ran across the stage and sang hit after hit. “This is a special night for me…It’s good to be home,” Bentley told the crowd. His hometown fans definitely appreciated his return and made it no secret – the thousands of girls screaming “I love you” could probably be heard all the way at his home in Paradise Valley.

Dierks Bentley performs for his hometown crowd at Country Thunder. Photo by Gayle Lindgren

Sunday finished the weekend out with a crowd of 20,000 people, whom Sawyer Brown proclaimed must be the “die-hard fans”. Sawyer Brown is at the festival nearly every year, and puts new meaning to the term ‘high-energy performance’. The fans enjoyed hearing (and watching) them perform such hits as “Race is On” and “All These Years.”

Phil Vassar closes out the festival on Sunday night from atop his piano. Photo by Gayle Lindgren

Phil Vassar ended the festival on a high note, thrilling the crowd with his piano playing and multiple hit songs including his current single “Love Is a Beautiful Thing” from his new CD “Prayer of a Common Man”. He sang from every part of the stage, including the runway that extended far into the crowd, and even from atop of his piano.

Country Thunder USA 2008 provided four days of great entertainment and proved to be a great way to spend the weekend in our beautiful state of Arizona.


To view more photos of Country Thunder USA 2008, visit http://www.slide.com/r/_NXvRd6X1z-5vPBNK2LDoiEUov3yhq91?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

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