RTT NEWS - Jamey Johnson Farm Aid Coverage
Gretchen Wilson, Jamey Johnson Give Farm Aid A Country Feel
(RTTNews) - Gretchen Wilson, Jamey Johnson and the legendary Willie Nelson paid tribute to the American farmer Sunday in St. Louis, joining an all-star lineup at Nelson's annual Farm Aid benefit.
Gretchen Wilson's wild, raucous anthems gave the country fans in the audience a chance to sing out loud for a great cause.
The singer's band started the set with a brief medley of classic rock fist-pumpers, bridging the intro to Tom Cochrane's "Lunatic Fringe" with the Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane" before Wilson came on stage and launched into "Here For the Party."
From there, the band roared through a rousing version of "There's A Place In The Whiskey," into which the band ably interpolated segments of ZZ Top's "La Grange."
Wilson's set also included the songs "California Girls," which she dedicated to Paris Hilton, "Redneck Woman" and "Politically Uncorrect," after which the band played a dueling-guitar version of "The Star Spangled Banner."
At one point, Wilson pulled from a bottle of whiskey before ripping through a version of "All Jacked Up" that brought the audience to its feet, dancing and swinging their beer cups and bottles high over their heads.
Earlier, Jamey Johnson played a relaxed, easy-going set filled with country twang.
Johnson and his band played a brief, three-song set, having already filled in for Billy Joe Shaver, who missed his scheduled performance.
The set's highlight came during Johnson's final song, "In Color," when his vocals infused the song's plaintive lyrics with a sense of heartbreak and loss as his band provided a multi-layered, harmonic backdrop in the music.
Throughout the set, Johnson and his band played ably, bringing a Lynyrd Skynyrd-influenced edge to the music, especially in the guitar leads.
Master of ceremonies Willie Nelson brought Farm Aid to a fitting end, turning the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre into a country juke joint with some classic hits.
Joined on stage by a band that included his sister, Bobbie, and his son, Lukas, Nelson tore through versions of "Whiskey River," Shoeshine Man," "On The Road Again" and "You Were Always On My Mind."
Willie was also joined by other acts from the bill for a full-scale Gospel revue.
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