Brett Eldredge remembers his first show at Country Thunder.
It was five years ago. He played one of those lonely early afternoon gigs, the ones where only a few hundred people show up.
He was thrilled.
On Thursday night β the first night of the 2015 Country Thunder β he was the headliner. A record crowd that beat last year's 24,000-plus showed up.
He was ecstatic.
"This is the best feeling, to close the show," he said. "This is my favorite party of the year."
Eldredge was a smart choice to open the festival, which runs through Sunday. He was a bundle of unbridled rocking energy, setting the tone for what promises to be a one party after another given the headliners: Big & Rich Friday, Blake Shelton Saturday and Luke Bryan Sunday.Β
Edredge devoted the biggest chunk of his show to what he does best: rock. The 29-year-old Illinois native has only one album under his belt β he's working on No. 2 β but he's got some solid hits to draw on: "Beat of the Music," "Don't Ya," "Mean to Me." He also did a commendable job interpreting the songs of other artists β including a stanza of Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon," some Brooks & Dunn, and John Mayer's sexy hot "Your Body Is A Wonderland."
"Thank you all for this opportunity," he shouted above the roar of applause after his show.
Also on Thursday:
β’ Old Dominion did double duty, playing a set at the Jack Daniels stage near the food court area Thursday night five hours after they opened the festival at 3:30 Thursday. It was kind of surprising to see them six hours later still at it. Frankly, they were even more energetic on the small JD stage, which is hard to fathom given their Main Stage show. In many ways seeing them on the small side stage was an even bigger thrill; those guys are terrific and with less room to roam they played even more to the audience. Several hundred people packed the stage giving it the feel of a small club show.
Follow Cathalena E. Burch on Twitter @Starburch throughout the festival for a unique, all-access look at Arizona's largest music festival.Β
