APCA Nationals!!!

I'm in a bit of a haze right now. We all got very little sleep last night.... And it's been a looooooong day. But it is one of those exhausting days that makes you feel so good - the exhaustion is how you KNOW it's been a great day.

We drove to Atlanta this morning (left at 6am.... and this is a group that usually goes to bed around 5am....) well... I say "we". JAMES drove. Sometimes I don't know how he does it. But he always does on the most important days - especially when I need to sleep to rest my voice.

We played at APCA Nationals tonight. We were the closing act for the opening showcase. And WHAT A CROWD!!!! The showcase was in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton in downtown Atlanta, and the place was packed.

Not gonna lie.... I felt pretty cool when I saw the line-up for the showcase. :)

The whole thing was incredible. The first guy was the most energetic man I have ever seen. He had a HUGE conga line going, then he had the entire audience singing "Summer Lovin" - it was the best way to start of the show. He got everyone pumped up for the rest of the entertainers!

Louis Ramey from Last Comic Standing was the first comedian in the showcase. He was HILARIOUS!!! I love this guy.


The next act was a singer songwriter who went out with just his guitar. His name was Austin and he had a ridiculous voice - impressively high for a guy. And then Alexandra McHale was on. We did a show with her in Philadelphia last year at St. Joseph's University, and she and I were both nominated for "Best Female Performer" in campus Activities magazine this year. She's a regular on VH1's "I love the 80's" and she is very funny.

Then this really inspiring and beautiful poet named Shanelle performed. And then it was our turn. In these showcases, you have exactly 15 minutes to get out there and show your stuff. :) And we BROUGHT IT tonight. I felt like it was the best showcase we've ever had. And this was a really important one. Not only were tons of schools here, but LOTS of military representatives were there as well. We knew it was an important night and we left everything we had out on the stage. I always like to be as far in front as possible - but tonight that meant I had to sacrifice having any kind of monitors. It wasn't that big of a deal. I could hear just enough from the main speakers out front to know what I was doing, so I just went with it. A big group got up and did the electric slide during "Beat It" in the medley :) It made me so happy.

After the show, they have what they call a "marketplace" where all the artists and buyers get 1 hour to meet and talk. And the people who are interested in booking on-site fill out "Strong Interest Forms". And then there are tons of other booths and activities going on in the marketplace... it's not just for the performers and their agents. Tonight I saw "make your own chapstick", inflatable laser tag, and yes.... a monkey. Well. I didn't get to see the monkey which made me sad. But Hootie and James did!!!





I made a whole bunch of new friends and got to hang with a ton of old friends!!! When I first got to the booth, there was another artist standing there. I recognized him, so I figured (since he was with my agency) that we had performed together before. And THEN I realized - NOPE. We haven't ever performed together. It was Dan Evans from the Biggest Loser!!! I LOVE that show. He and his mom were on it together. Dan just signed with my agent, so he came to the conference to check it out and see what it is all about. It was so cool to meet him and his brother!


Lori and Elizabeth from USAO in Chickasha, Ok came and sported their "Natalie Stovall" t-shirts!! It made me so happy when I saw them :) this is the shirt that Elizabeth brought to our show because she had forgotten to have me sign last year when we played at USAO. :) I love these girls.


This lady hired us to play at Ft. Benning in Georgia. That still goes down as one of my all-time favorite shows. We played for the soldiers who were about to finish up boot camp. My Daddy did his OCS training there, so he and Mamma got to come to the show. Man, that was an awesome event. You can check out a quick clip of the soldiers singing LOUDER THAN ME on the beginning of "Devil Went Down To Georgia" It was 100º that day. whew. Ft. Benning Video


Look at those HATS!!!! I want one.


And then we ran into some friends from Berklee. Their agent had actually asked if he could borrow Hootie's bass stand for a band that needed it in the showcase after us. But we had NO IDEA that we knew the guys in the band!!! How fun :) It's just been like a big ole Berklee Reunion this week.


So yeah. It was a GREAT night. We got more strong interest forms than we've EVER gotten in one night. There are some really amazing opportunities on the horizon, and if ANY of them pan out - well... then we're gonna have some wild adventures in the near future!

I have SOOOOO many great pics from tonight. I've already posted them all on my facebook page, and I will have them up on my myspace page in the next couple of days. I'm speaking on a panel about how to make college events a "win, win, win" for artists, agents, and schools, bright and early tomorrow.... no rest for the weary. But I am excited. It's fun to be successful enough at something that someone actually values your opinion.

The best thing about tomorrow though has to be that Greenville is only 2 hours away!!! Do you know how EASY of a drive that is?!? Good Lord I am excited.

Peace. Love. Fiddle. and Awesomeness On The Way.