Carrie Underwood headlined two shows at the Grand Ole Opry on August 4th in Nashville, and both shows appeared to be solid sell out crowds. That’s no surprise considering just how immensely popular, talented and beloved Underwood is by her fans and the Opry community. Underwood was not the only performer of the evening, of course, and the 7pm show was rounded out with performances by Jimmy Dickens, Jeannie Seely, Andy Gibson, Jim Ed Brown, Bucky Covington, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Riders In The Sky, Jean Shepard, Love and Theft and Bill Anderson. The Opry Square Dancers also made an appearance to entertain the crowd. The 9pm show featured the same lineup with the addition of Stu Phillips and a different order of appearance.

The Opry isn’t just a concert in a historic building, it’s also the longest running radio show around. After each performer’s set there was a pause for commercial announcements that gave the stage hands time to prepare for the next act. It was an interesting experience to see everyone working together to get the job done in a short amount of time, and impressive to say the least at how precise the timing was handled.

At the 7pm show Underwood took the stage during the last 30 minute portion of the concert and played just four songs, but for the time she was onstage and in the circle she completely owned the hearts and minds of everyone in the building. Carrie came out strong with “Flat On The Floor,” and after the rousing rendition of the song from her second CD “Carnival Ride,” Underwood took a moment to harken back to her debut CD after winning American Idol, and performed a poignant version of “Wasted” from her 7 times platinum certified “Some Hearts,” the best selling country CD from the 2000 decade. The show took a turn to a special moment when Underwood next announced her mother was in the audience and that she’d be performing a song that she hadn’t played in so long she had to take a listen earlier in the day to remember the lyrics. Carrie performed “Don’t Forget To Remember Me,” with her mother in mind, and it was one of those Opry moments you hope you get to see again at the Opry’s Youtube channel. Instant classic is a term that comes to mind to explain the experience. To finish off her set, Underwood took the crowd into her current repertoire and performed “Good Girl” from her latest release “Blown Away,” and for what seemed like the first time in her set Underwood moved away from the circle and microphone stand and walked over to the side of the stage for a brief moment to belt out the last lines of her hit song before thanking the crowd and walking off the stage having given the audience everything they’d wished for and more. It was, to say the least, an amazing night at the Opry.

The 9:30pm show offered Carrie fans a chance to see three different songs performed and Underwood took the stage for the second of four half-hour time slots. It was a far different tone than the earlier performance and started out with the new track “Nobody Ever Told You,” from “Blown Away,” and moved into a similarly themed and passionately performed “I Told You So,” that slowed things down for a moment while allowing Underwood to display her vocal prowess in all it’s glory. To end her set Carrie performed another new song entitled “Cupid’s Got A Shotgun,” that playfully turns the tables on the classic Cupid myth and finds Underwood on the run from love while reminding Cupid that she’s “a dang good shot myself.” It was a strong way to end the night with a song that’s an excellent candidate for the third single from “Blown Away.”

For more information about Carrie Underwood and to purchase merchandise please visit www.carrieunderwood.com and for more information about John Schulze Photography please visit https://www.facebook.com/JohnSchulzePhoto or https://www.johnschulze.com/

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