Friday April 23, Day 1

Headlining Friday night was Tim McGraw, but “headlining“ in Stagecoach terms means it doesn‘t start until 10 p.m. But no worries, there were plenty other fabulous acts to prequel him including: Parmalee, Kacey Musgraves, Kip Moore and Jake Owen.

Most of these acts took to the “Mane“ stage for their performances, but others like Merle Haggard or the Time Jumpers took the Palomino stage.

My personal favorite of the night was Jake Owen. While most of us girls were pleasantly surprised by his newly shortened locks, his music posed to be some of the most entertaining of the night. He started his act with a crowd favorite, the summer classic, Beachin‘ and ended with the also ever popular, Barefoot Blue Jean Night.

Jake Owen got the crowd wild, happy and ready for Tim McGraw.

Unfortunately for the hyped up crowd, Tim McGraw was a little late. But you can‘t rush perfection, right?

Tim McGraw started with Truck Yeah, which embodies the spirit of country, and ended with one of my personal favorites, Live Like You Were Dying. In between these two songs were other classic Tim McGraw songs like: Something Like That, Southern Girl, Shotgun Rider and I Like It, I Love It. Tim McGraw undeniably has some of the best country music out there to date and it must have been near impossible for him to narrow down that list to just his top few.

Aside from the music (which was indescribable), Friday was filled with a slightly gloomy weather, a taste of wind, some hardcore Southern dancing in the Honky Tonk and some fun socializing with friends.

The night ended with a sleepy ride back to our designated hotels on the Stagecoach shuttles.

Saturday April 24, Day 2

Headlining Saturday night was Miranda Lambert, the queen of sassy country. Naturally, she didn‘t come on until around 10:30 p.m. Some of the other acts that took place on the second night were Cassadee Pope, Eli Young Band, Justin Moore and Dierks Bentley.

Similar to the night before, most of these acts took to the “Mane“ stage, but ZZ Top, who proved to be an unexpected favorite, and the Cast of Nashville, performed at the Palomino stage. Both stages successfully captured their crowds.

My personal favorite of the night was Dierks Bentley. Although I knew I was going to enjoy his act — his music was already amazing — I didn‘t expect was for him to have such a good time. Like many country artists, he enjoys kicking back and relaxing with a beer in his hand as he performs, and he definitely took those qualities to the next level.

As the night went on, he seemed to be forgetting his own lyrics or repeating the same verse instead of singing a new one. However, this in no way affected the performance. He was having a grand old time — he even did a little bit of crowd surfing and the crowd was right along with him.

It seemed appropriate that Bentley ended his act with Drunk on a Plane, but he also integrated some of his other great hits into his set-list like What Was I Thinkin‘ and Say You Do.

It was safe to say that even someone who didn‘t like country music would have had a great time watching Dierks Bentley perform.

After Dierks Bentley came Miranda Lambert. She seemed to be the most controversial headliner out of the three as some thought she shouldn‘t have received the slot. However, I actually really enjoyed her performance! For one, she rocks the short blonde hair and for two, her music is fantastic.

She started her night off with her famous duet, Something Bad, which she usually sings with Carrie Underwood. Unfortunately, Underwood could not make an appearance, so Lambert instead played their video. Afterwards, she finally made her on-stage appearance and sang Fastest Girl in Town.

Lambert has quite the reputation for her feisty music and her set-list lived up to that. She included songs like, Little Red Wagon, Gunpowder and Lead and Platinum, but also touched on her softer songs like The House that Built Me and the heart-breaking homage to Blake Shelton‘s brother, Over You.

Personally, I‘ve always been a fan of Lambert so I couldn‘t have enjoyed her more. I had never actually heard of the song Platinum until earlier in the day, but now I love it! It‘s quite the play on words for those platinum blondes making platinum records.

She was a successful end to the second night of Stagecoach and gave quite the melody to hum along to on the shuttle ride back home.

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