A guitar strummed to life and wild cheers followed as my friend and I ran up the ramp to our seats. We saw the concert had started and saw two singers with a band on stage as we rushed closer to our chairs, ready, for the first performance.
The Academy of Country Music: Party for a Cause, occurred on Saturday April 18 at the Globe Life Stadium. The concert raised money for three military charities the day before the ACM awards. The concert offered opportunities to see “Superstar duets” perform together, opening with Clint Black and Joe Nichols.
Had the weather been more agreeable, the concert would have been one of the best. The lightning in the area postponed the show from 7:30 after the first performance, to 10:00 that night. During that time concert goers were moved off the field and out of uncovered seats to safer areas. People crowded together looking at the channel 11 weather broadcast on the stadium screen while they waited. After an hour of weather reports, the big screen changed to the Ranger’s game and fans had a more enjoyable wait.
As soon as the concert started again I could tell it had been well worth the wait. The concert began with a touching moment where three charities were presented with large checks, before the party started. The ACM teamed up talented country music artists to sing new popular country songs and classic hits together like “Big Iron”, “Strawberry Wine” and “Downtown.” The “Superstar Duets” were extremely pleasing to hear. Hearing new and old favorites sung by their original artist with an accompanying artist to give the song new life thrilled audience members.
One surprise audience members received included hearing the ACM will air the concert on May 16. Because the concert would be played on TV the singers were sometimes told to perform a song again, after re-tuning a guitar or after a makeup artist reapplied foundation. Audience members didn’t let that stop them from having fun and enjoyed getting a chance to sing along with the musicians for a second time.
A second surprise included some bad news, because the rain destroyed the last two acts equipment we wouldn’t be able to hear them play. But because Keith Urban thought that wouldn’t be nice for fans, he decided to play a few more songs for us. Elated fans listened to Urban play for another 30 minutes before the concert ended.