3/24/09 - The Stars Go Blue - Amy Grant and others do a benefit concert for Colon Cancer Research

When I got an email from someone telling me that Amy was going to participate in a benefit concert for colon cancer research, I said to myself, I will do anything it takes to attend and support that event. I was so excited that one of my favorite people was supporting a cause so close to me. For those who didn't know, my father was diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2003, and passed away later that year, so I was beyond excited to hear that Amy was supporting this cause.

I arrived at BNA early on 3/24 (redeye SFO-->DFW-->BNA) - that was a painful flight, because the flight to Dallas isn't quite long enough to get any sleep. Oh well. I departed the airplane and the first person I see is Justin - Amy's road manager. I wanted to go up and say hello to him, but he was walking pretty quickly towards his gate and talking with a friend, so I decided not to bother him (who knows, maybe he saw me and decided to walk quickly...). At any rate, it was exciting for me to see a familiar face.

Then I quickly went to my hotel to check in, and start my workday (good thing for the time difference - I was able to make it to my normally early morning (PDT) phone calls, and worked a full day - it was painful since I was tired, but the job is busy, and there's too much to do, so I didn't want to take time off.

After the day was over, I headed over to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and stood in line. While we were waiting in line, someone named Nan and Charlie (I think) came out and started talking to people. It was obvious they were famous, but I had no idea who they were. So when they left, I asked the people around me, and turns out they were the ones who put on the event. What a touching story - they are a married couple, and she got diagnosed w/cancer. Her doctors worked with her and eventually she was okay. At the same time that she was getting the "cleared" signal, her husband got diagnosed. He is also doing okay now.

The doors opened, and we went in - I got a great seat in the 3rd row. It was a small venue - 212 people, so every seat was good. Amy, Vince, and one other guy came out and were there for the whole show. They each took turns doing a song, and had other musical guests in between. I think Amy only did 3 or 4 songs. She did Thy Word, Love Has Made Me Unafraid, Threaten Me With Heaven, and I think one more...I can't recall. It was an all acoustic set. I talked to a bunch of you before the concert and our assessment of the concert was correct. If you were just an Amy fan hoping to see a good show, this probably wouldn't have been the best use of your time or money. She only did a few songs, and it was nothing like the energetic LMO tour last fall - it was very very low key. For me though, it was such a special night and every moment was great.

They had a lot of onstage chatter between them. You can tell all of them are good friends. It was almost like a night of them sitting at home, in front of a fireplace with their guitars, and just having a low key guitar playing evening. The only difference is there were 212 people watching. There was no production, it was very casual. Ironically, most of them were wearing jeans, while the audience was dressed up because we were told it was business casual.

Amy did talk about the new songs, and how she's been writing for a new album. For those who were at the LMO tour, there was nothing new here. You've heard the songs, and they sound the same today as they did last fall.

One of the guests did a song, and afterwards Amy was sweating - she commented something like "Wow, I'm sweatin now...I think everyone up here's gonna get lucky tonite!" Interesting moment. Vince did a song - something like "How do I kiss the lips at night, that chew my a** off all day long." No, it wasn't about Amy - I guess it was about his dad and mom. Amy got to sing after this song, to which she said "I don't really have any songs similar to that" it was kinda funny.

After the show, there was a reception. They served blueberry cosmos, had a fruit fondue thing, and a cash bar. All the celebrities came out and mingled with the crowd. Amy's line lasted much longer than Vince's. He finished up and came over to her and was like, "can I take you home soon?" - but she still had a decent sized line. I would guess of the 212 attendees, maybe 40 of them talked to Amy. The first people there talked to her forever (there wasn't really a line behind them yet, so I guess no reason to rush), I just stood around patiently - I figured I'd wait til the end, cuz I hate feeling like I'm holding up someone behind me. Eventually more people migrated over and a line formed. I just kind of waited in the area, and talked to different people in line. One girl asked me to take her picture - she handed me the camera, walked up to Amy, and Amy then said, "Hi John" - I was very happy that she remembered who I was. I've met her several times, but usually I sense she recognizes my face; but only during a multi stop tour when I see her several days in a row, does she usually remember my name by the last day. I think this was the first time that I saw her, she remembered my name, and I haven't seen her in several months.

Anyways, I continued to wait around, and then the last person before me went up and finished, and Amy started walking away. I don't think she realized I wanted a turn to talk to her, she may have thought I was more just hanging around taking pictures and videos. As she started walking, about 3 other people rushed up to her and were like Amy, you're not done yet - this guy here has been waiting patiently until the end to talk to you, and I think he might be one of your biggest fans.

So I got my turn. I had a million things I wanted to say (plus a list of questions from all of you, and about 20 people who wanted me to say "hi" on their behalf) - but I knew Vince was waiting for her, and she was probably tired, so I tried not to take too long. I showed her a picture of my dad - it was from a concert in the fall of 2002, when my family and I waited by the bus after the show and got to take a picture with her. I told her that a few months after that, dad was diagnosed w/colon cancer, and passed away a year later. I was getting choked up as I was talking, but I continued to thank her for doing this benefit, and how much it meant. What a special moment.

Then I moved on, asked her briefly about her new album. She said it was coming along slowly. I asked her to sign a cd for a friend of mine, and took a picture with her. I didn't want to keep her long, and she didn't have her usual manager (Justin or Jen - which was a bummer cuz I totally wanted to chit chat w/Jen), so I didn't want to abuse that and take up too much of her time, so I sped it up and finished. She thanked me for showing her the picture of my dad - I wanted to give her the picture, but I realized she probably had no interest in keeping it.

Okay - so I think I answered all the questions people asked me about the night, but if I missed anything, let me know and I'll try to answer it.

Sorry I didn't get to say hi on behalf of y'all, or ask her who was producing her next album or what style of music it will be (but if you were at LMO, I think you know what it will be like).

Hope that gave you a sense of the evening. I'll post up some pictures momentarily - the videos will probably not be ready until next week though.

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