Charlie Daniels' big country ropes in music fans

SARATOGA SPRINGS - There are some a few things you can count on at the annual Country Music Festival every year -
cowboy hats, American flags, smoke, and people.
Lots and lots of people.
(photo at left by thomas dimopoulos)




Twenty-thousand music fans descended upon the Saratoga
Raceway on Saturday for the day-long annual Countryfest music marathon.

Some of country music's biggest stars took the stage during the early evening hours.

Doors for the festival, presented by WGNA-FM, opened at dawn, but the show "officially" kicked off at 11 a.m. with regional favorite the Boot Hill Band, followed by national acts Steve Azar and Mark Wills.

"So far, my favorite is Mark Wills," said Colleen Quinn, who made the trip to the Spa City from Pittsfield, Mass. "His songs are hot, but he needs to work out some," she said, laughing as she waited for Sara Evans to take the stage.

There was lots to do while waiting. A variety of food and beverage vendors lined the track's perimeter. For kids, there was a climbing wall and a Rain Room to cool them off.

"Y'all can get up and dance if you want," Evans said as she came on stage introducing an upbeat country rock song to the audience, which is from her soon-to-be-released CD "Restless." Her happiness was infectious. A relatively new star on the country music scene, she is also a new mom.

"I want to be successful, but I also love being a mom," she said. "I believe I was born to sing and have a family. I really have the best of both worlds."

As she finished up her set with a rhythmic rendition of the Doobie Brothers song "China Grove," she exited the stage to where her 4-year-old son, Avery, and 5-month-old daughter, Olivia, were waiting in the wings - the young girl gurgling in delight as mom scooped her up and "zoomed" her through the air.

One of the main in-between-set attractions was the WGNA walk of stars, where fans could meet and greet their musical heroes. Amongst the faithful ready with cameras and glossy photos was News 10 chief meteorologist Steve Caporizzo and his wife, waiting their turn to meet Charlie Daniels in his big red Liberty Coach.

As a distant quarter of the sky threatened with gray clouds, Caporizzo offered advice. "That is north," he said, pointing to where the silver clouds were accumulating. "That's where the rain is."

As luck would have it, once he stepped away to meet Daniels, the sky opened up and showered the fans with rain. When Caporizzo emerged a few moments later, the sun magically reappeared.

Charlie Daniels had some magic up his sleeve as well, hitting the stage in a trot with fiddle in hand. He used its bow like a magic wand, blessing the masses as far across the track as the eye could see. Behind him, his band pounded, riffed and banged away with tight precision. Alternating between his fiddle and a sunburst Les Paul, Daniels drew the biggest cheers for his reading of the Pledge of Allegiance, which was beamed across the track on the large video screen as the fans dug Daniels' gospel, shook to his barrelhouse boogie and mimed along to his rabble-rousing prose. He closed his set with a "Star-Spangled Banner" finale, fiddle style, then invited Sara Evans and Mark Wills onstage for a breakneck speed version of his 1979 hit "The Devil Went Down To Georgia."

"Did you see that? Now that's what you call a 10th anniversary magic moment," said WGNA's Dick Stark after all had exited the stage and exhilaration hung in the air. People in the crowd waved American flags above a sea of cowboy hats - black , white and safari straw. "Now, the question is this: How do you follow that?" Stark said.

It was up to headliner Lonestar to tackle that. And from the moment lead vocalist Richie McDonald asked the crowd, "How y'all doin' Saratoga Springs?" he won them over. He led the Texas-bred quartet into a string of the group's hits from "I'm Already There" to "Amazed." He dedicated the tune "Not a Day Goes By" to "all the folks lost on Sept. 11."

While Lonestar played, John Reagan was still riding a personal high. Seven hours after his group, the Boot Hill Band, had performed on the same stage as his musical heroes and in front of 20,000 people, Reagan was still shaking his head in wonderment. "You know, I've played in no-name bars and honky-tonks for the past 25 years," the group's drummer said. "This really is the experience of a lifetime."

words and pictures by Thomas Dimopoulos
published in The Saratogian, July 2003.