Last Night's CMA Music Fest: Boys vs. Girls as Trace Adkins, Wynonna & Naomi Judd and Martina shine

June 14, 5:41 PMNashville Entertainment ExaminerJonathan Pinkerton

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Naomi and Wynonna reunited on stage as The Judds

GAC's Storme Warren returned as emcee for night three of the CMA Music Fest at LP Field. He took to the stage with an umbrella in hand, joking about the weather that delayed his first night as host earlier this week. In a night that could easily be described as The Manly Men vs. Classic Country Ladies, Opry member, Josh Turner was first up representing the fellas. Josh's deep, soothing voice was the perfect way to ease into the evening. Much to my surprise, the singer known primarily for his slow ballads, kicked things off with the unexpectedly up-beat Firecracker. The debut single from his 2007 Everything Is Fine CD. The remainder of his set included the song that made the Opry, and his fans first take notice of his thunderous vocals back in 2001, Long Black Train, also the title and lead single from his 2004 debut CD. The hits, Your Man, Everything Is Fine and Would You Go with Me rounded out Josh's stage time.

Next up was Alabama native and Mercury recording artist, Jamey Johnson. Jamey opened his portion of the show with his latest single, High Cost of Living, which dropped back in April. While Josh Turner has that Southern Gentleman look reminiscent of Sonny James, Jamey has the country outlaw demeanor that brings the inevitable comparisons to Hank Jr. or Waylon, Willie and the boys.  What's more, he's got the songwriting skills and voice to garner himself a place in line as next in line to the country outlaw title. Having co-written such heavy-hitters at the George Strait #1, Give It Away, Trace Adkins' I Got My Game On and Joe Nichols' Another Side Of You, Jamey has proven himself on both side of the mic stand.  Last night was no exception.  His second number for the night, a bold cover of the George Jones classic, Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes, quite possibly answered that rhetorical musical question for the audience right before their eyes.  Next was the title track from his 2007 release, That Lonesome Song. His brief but impressive set ended with the Top 40 hit, In Color. Jamey's inclusion in last night's line-up gave me hope. Hope that, in an industry where you can't walk the row without bumping into an abundance of model-pretty hat act, there's room for a musician and singer who represents what could be the next wave of Outlaw Country.

While the crew changed out the set in preparation for the next act, Jason Michael Carroll sang a couple of songs on the side stage, accompanied by an acoustic guitarist.  Jason may have only sang two songs, but the fans loved him.   While he's not had record-breaking success, he is a strong vocalist and even on the side stage, showed he can entertain a huge stadium crowd.

Lee Ann Womack was next to take center stage. Lee Ann is to me, what classic country is all about. Her two most recent CDs, 2005's There's More Where That Came From and 2008's Call Me Crazy have a decidedly simple feel to them. Simple in that they are what the foundation of country music was built on, heartfelt lyrics and perfectly produced melodies. If Jamey Johnson is the next Outlaw Country male, Surely Lee Ann is the heir-apparent to the Classic Country throne. Despite the presence of thousands of adoring fans, when Lee Ann sat down to perform the third song in her set, she could just as easily have been performing for a small crowd at The Bluebird. With her amazingly emotional vocals, when she sings songs like I May Hate Myself In The Morning, you forget about everything, it's just you, Lee Ann and the song.

The larger than life Wynonna followed Lee Ann. When I say larger than life, I am referring to the persona, not the person. Wy came out in a long white coat, looking simply angelic.  The vocal powerhouse has gotten grief as of late for her association with the latest weight-loss program, but whatever she's doing, it's working.  She looked amazing.  She may have dropped a few pounds, but one thing fans can rest assured, unlike Samson, who lost his strength when Delilah cut his hear, Wy's voice was strong and as solid as ever as she belted out her 1991 mega-hit, No One Else On Earth. Next was her popular cover of I Want To Know What Love Is, the 1984 rocker by Foreigner, penned by Mick Jones of 80s supergroup. Wy switched from rock to country with yet another cover. This time she put her trademark spin on the Merle Haggard classic, Are The Good Times Really Over, a song featured on her current CD, Sing: Chapter 1. Wy crossed genres again as she covered the contemporary christian hit I Can Only Imagine, a song that was included in her 2005 double-live CD, Her Story: Scenes from a Lifetime.

Those in attendance last night were then privy to a truly rare occasion, as Wy welcomed to the stage, Mama Judd. Naomi offered a bit of a musical history lesson as she smiled and said, “Thank you for coming to celebrate our 25th with us.”  Wow, it's hard to believe its been 25 years since the mother-daughter duo first began performing on-stage together. Naomi, who has just wrapped judging duties for season two of CMT's reality competition show, Can You Duet, looked as beautiful as ever.

As the red-headed pair jumped into Girls Night Out, it was obvious that after 25 years, they are still more than capable of burning up the stage together. Fan's leapt to their feet and swayed to the music as Wy and Mama Judd performed classic after classic with Mama He's Crazy, Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout The Good Old Days), Why Not Me and the sappy, but undeniably beautiful anthem, Love Can Build A Bridge. Yes, it was a tad too much that they began the song on opposite sides of the stage and as the melody continued, they literally bridged the gap between themselves, ending up arm in arm, tear-stained-cheek-to-tear-stained-cheek. Nonetheless, it was CMA Music Fest history being played out live for the thousands in attendance to see.

How do you follow the most popular country duo's triumphant return to the CMA Fest stage? A tall order for sure; so who better to fill it than 6'6" baritone Trace Adkins.  Adkins rose to the challenge as he delivered smash-hit after smash-hit.  Adkins' set list included his usual good ole boy tunes, Ladies Love Country Boys, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk and the recent, Marry for Money, but it was Trace's cover of the Stevie Wonder funk-gospel infused Higher Ground that truly showcased his awesome vocal skills.

Bringing it home for the evening was four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Martina McBride. As she took to the stage, she said, "I'm proud to be here."  The audience was proud she was there too.  While Trace had amped up the men in the audience, Martina's This One's For The Girls offered a musical reply for the ladies.  Martina has one of the most pure and skilled voices in country music today as was evidenced by the songs Ride and I Just Call You Mine. In keeping with the cover-heavy night, Martina offered up her own version of the Bill Withers classic, Lean On Me. The crowd again rose to their feet and sang along.  Also included in Martina's set were a couple of songs from her latest release, Shine, fan-favorites Do It Anyway, Broken Wings and Independence Day. As she finished the popular self-assured anthem, she thanked the audience and ended the evening with a simple but heartfelt, "We'll see you next time. Take care of each other." With that, the sky filled with fireworks and the crowd made their way out of the stadium to either head back to their hotels or en route to the CMT after show concert.

CMA Music Fest concludes tonight with the final LP Field Concert featuring:

Kenny Chesney
Jack Ingram
Miranda Lambert
Montgomery Gentry
John Rich
Taylor Swift
Heidi Newfield

I wouldn't be surprised if Big Kenny joins John Rich on-stage. I've also heard rumors that my favorite former American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler and up-and-coming singer, Gloriana, who are taking turns opening for Taylor Swift on her current tour, will join her on-stage tonight. Could Taylor's much-talked about pairing with rapper T-Pain for this Tuesday's CMT Awards get a CMA Fest preview tonight as well? You'll have to join the thousands of fans at LP Field tonight to find out, or just check out my final CMA Music Fest wrap-up tomorrow.