A Weekend of Country Music

Several weekends ago I got two see two of my favorite country artists (actually, two of my favorite artists from any genre) back to back: Clay Walker Friday and Morgan Wallen Saturday.

First up: Clay Walker in Atlanta. My sister and I have been huge Clay fans since we were fourteen years old and heard his first single, “What’s it to You?” on Kicks 101.5. Not going to lie…his adorable smile in the video on CMT didn’t hurt. We’ve seen him numerous times and he always puts on a great show. For Christmas, my brother in law gave Alison and me tickets to see Clay Walker at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts center in February. What a treat! I hadn’t been to that venue yet and, let me tell you, it’s spectacular. The show was intimate and very laid back. Clay and his band did a lot of covers (Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Keith Whitley, George Strait, etc.), took requests from the audience, told stories and played all of my favorites. Our seats were excellent. I am so glad I was able to make the trip. I did a horrible job taking pictures because I was too busy soaking up every second of the performance.

Clay Walker at The Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center

Nineties country is clearly my jam, but if I’m going to get excited about a current country artist, I’d have to say it’s Morgan Wallen. And Eric Church. Morgan played in Greenville the night after I saw Clay in Atlanta. I had tried to get tickets months ago when they first went on sale, but the show sold out in minutes. Imagine my delight when Ben surprised me with tickets to see MW the morning of the concert! I honestly don’t know how he got the tickets or what he paid for them, but I am extremely grateful.

Morgan did NOT disappoint. The giant arena concert was very different from the Clay Walker show I’d been to just 24 hours earlier, but still spectacular. Morgan sounds great live and his set list was fabulous. Emery and Bodie are huge MW fans as well and I felt guilty for going without them, so I made a promise we would all four see him next time his tour stops in Greenville.

Ben and I ate dinner at our country club before heading to the concert and people were buzzing with excitement. Apparently Mr. Wallen played golf at Thornblade that very day. How wild is that!?!?! Honestly, I didn’t believe this story when I first heard it, but then I saw pictures and it was definitely him. Halfway through Morgan’s first song of the evening (“Sand in my Boots”) I realized he was wearing a Thornblade hat! I don’t know why this tickled me so much, but it did. I sent Ben to the pro shop first thing Sunday morning to buy the same hat for all of our family. I love it.