RIBFEST highlights

RIbfest was AMAZING!!!!!! I wrote a huge blog in the car on my phone during our ridiculously long overnight drive from St. Petersburg to Nashville last night.... But it vanished! It never sent and it never showed up as a draft or anything :(

But it's all good! I'll just write a new one now!

It is really messing with my head right now that ummm... just last night I played a show at Ribfest. And I have already played a show in Nashville tonight. Weird. Not much sleep has been involved in the last week. But Lord, it is worth it! 

Here's some of the highlights from Ribfest this weekend.

During our show Friday night we could see the spaceship that launched. We had just finished "Whatever It Takes" when Hootie said - LOOK! There it is! And you could see the big trail of fire from the back of the rocket. CRAZY!

Saturday, we played a show to about 6,000 people as one of the opening acts for the Doobie Brothers!!!!

If you count the National Anthem as  "opening" *wink wink* (just roll with me here....) then technically you could say that this weekend I "opened" for Styx, the Doobie Brothers, and Asia. : )-

It started raining during our rock medley and "Devil Went Down To Georgia" a the end of our set on the main stage and the audience didn't leave!!!!!! It was awesome because looking out into the sea of people - they weren't scattering outward like you would expect, they just went vertical!!! Umbrellas, chairs, anything to put over their heads. But they all stayed! It was pretty much the most epic end to a show I have ever played.

One guy kept screaming "Natalie Stovall - better than CORN DOGS!!!!!" during my show on Sunday.

Jenn and Ella got to come on the road with us for the first time this weekend!!! (Jenn and Ella are Miguel's girls if you didn't know!) They even made it on the big screen a few times from out in the audience during our set!!!

Backstage, I had my own RV with my name on it again this year to hang out in and it was stocked with drinks and snacks. (that makes me feel really cool)

One little girl said "Now that I have seen you play 2 years in a row you knocked Kelly Clarkson our of my top 3 list. It is now: 

1. Natalie Stovall 2. Taylor Swift 3. Carrie Underwood". 

Can you imagine how amazing that feels!?!?!? Yeah, that little girl is my BFF now. :)

Right before my show started on Sunday, I saw 2 awesome, yet very unexpected things. 1. A DOLPHIN!!!!!! It was RIGHT next to the stage in the water. 2. The lady from "I Dream of Genie"!!!! How cool is that? She's still gorgeous.

We had the most incredible food all weekend!!!! Ribs, chicken, pulled pork.... and ohhhh that cornbread.

I dedicated the show on Saturday to Mr. Billy Brooks. He's a veteran from the Vietnam War who has been battling cancer for the last 3 years due to his exposure to Agent Orange. He is truly an inspiration. And I was so happy he was able to come out to the show. As I was talking to Mr. Brooks afterwards,  another veteran came up to the tent. He shared some very emotional stories ad thanked me for my show and for recognizing our soldiers and veterans. He gave me a dog tag with an American flag on it as his thank you. He thanked ME. How crazy is that? A man who risked his life to serve this country thanking me for simply doing what I love to do. Wow. Yeah. Amazing.

And ALL of this was for an incredible cause!!!! Every person working at Ribfest is a volunteer from the Northeast Exchange Club in St. Petersburg. This year there were records set each day for attendance. I can't wait to see the results of how much money was raised!!! They donate the money to many wonderful children's charities, and last year, they donated over $1,000,000 to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. I am so honored to have been asked to be a part of this event again this year. Everyone all weekend was incredibly gracious and hospitable! It was such a memorable weekend! THANKS RIBFEST!!!! Hootie, Miguel, James, Jenn, Ella, and I love you guys!!!!!

peace, love, fiddle

(please let it send this time)