Rodney Atkins at Celebrate Virginia Live in Fredericksburg, VA September 9, 2011

RODNEY ATKINS CELEBRATES VIRGINIA

I must confess I was a little leery of attending a concert at the Celebrate Virginia Live venue in Fredericksburg, VA after an August earthquake rocked the area followed by Hurricane Irene with torrential rains that washed away roads and left many in the area without power for days.  But that Friday we saw the first rays of sunshine in over a week so my daughter-in-law and I decided to venture forth.  True, there were some muddy spots where we had to step gingerly but all in all the outdoor venue was in good shape and it was great to get out of the house.

Rodney Atkins appeared to be thrilled to be in Virginia.  He told us to think of ourselves hanging out in his front yard while he played guitar and sang from his front porch.  In fact it actually felt like that’s exactly what we were doing! 

With his humble charm and no-nonsense style he immediately put the audience at ease as he sang his newest release “Farmer’s Daughter.”  He knelt down several times to converse with fans closest to the stage and hand out guitar picks.   He confessed that he’s not worried about conforming to the “norm” which may be why he doesn’t win a lot of awards but he unashamedly puts God, family and friends first in his life (and that ranks him high in MY book).

Atkins continued to perform a number of his hits: “It’s America,” “About The South,” “Friends with Tractors,” and he even covered a few songs to the delight of the crowd – “Good Ol’ Boys” (Waylon Jennings), “Much Too Young (Too Feel This Damn Old)” (Garth Brooks), and “Back on the Road Again,” (Willie Nelson).  It was obvious Atkins and his band mates were enjoying themselves.

Atkins continued to maintain the momentum by saving some of his best songs (in my opinion) for last: “Take a Back Road,” “Cleaning This Gun,” “These Are My People,” and “Watching You.”  Atkins invited the cutest little 5 year old girl on stage to sing along on the chorus of “Watching You” as the audience cheered and applauded her effort.

With the anniversary of 9/11 only two days away, Atkins closed with a fitting tribute to the military by singing “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows).”