A song that somehow stamped our lives

There's something about a song that can conjure up a memory with near exactness. As soon as you hear those first few notes or the first few lines, you remember some part of your life when that particular song was significant to you.

"We all have a song that somehow stamped our lives, takes us to another place and time"
                                                                     -Kenny Chesney

Like most people, I've always loved music. And for me there have always been those songs that take me back in time to some place that was fun and great and usually pretty carefree.
"Heartland" by George Strait takes me back to the days of road trips with my family when my parents would record everything with our video camera.
"Where The Green Grass Grows" by Tim McGraw takes me back to the days of horse shows and our horse trailer/camper that we lived in for days at a time.
Any song by Hillary Duff takes me back to the Disney Channel days with my sisters and cousin. And for some reason "I Don't Have To Be Me (Til Monday)" by Steve Azar reminds me of my little sister Haley and everything we used to do together.
"Dancing in the Moonlight" by Toploader, "Daylight" by Matt & Kim, pretty much any Taylor Swift song, "If It's Love" by Train, and tons of others sum up my high school days and the fun I had with friends driving around town usually looking for something to do.
If a song by Kings Of Leon were to start playing right now I would be thrown back to that last summer before college where every day seemed to be one more chance to be a kid one last time. Though I realized a few months later that there is still plenty of time for that.
And now, even though it has only been a couple of short months since I finished my first year of college, I'm taken back to those late nights and long days of nothing but constant fun when I hear "We Are Young" by..... Fun. No kidding.

I guess I could have made that list a lot longer and become even more nostalgic by the second. But what this post is really about is the weekend I just spent in Nashville with my dad. About four or five months ago I decided that I was going to persuade my dad into taking me to Music City to see two of my favorite artists of all time. Of course when I told him the concert was Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw for their Brothers Of The Sun summer tour, I didn't really need to do much persuading.

THE ticket. The one I waited for months to be able to use. 

We woke up at 5am Saturday morning and drove the seven or so hours to Nashville and the whole way up there we listened to our pre-concert music. Non-stop Kenny and Tim! We got there with a few hours to spare before the concert so we got a hotel room in Franklin (every room in Nashville was occupied.... it was a huge concert). Then we decided to tour the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. This is hallowed ground for country music lovers. 

This historic auditorium has the second best acoustics in the country. Second to the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City :) 

Entrance to the Ryman 

We finally made it to LP Field (home of the Tennessee Titans) where the concert would be and fought the traffic and crowds. Our seats were pretty much in the nosebleed section. Upper Level west. That was perfectly fine with me though because we had a great view of the stage and I wasn't complaining as long as we were there. 

Tiny Tim and Faith singing "I Need You" 

Us being happy with our seats 

There's nothing like reliving parts of your childhood for a few hours in Music City. Out of every song, genre, band, artist I listened to growing up, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw were ever-present in my collection. They, along with George Strait, were probably the first singers I knew of, and I felt so lucky to be there seeing them live together. In my opinion, concerts are ten times better when you know every single song played. And this concert was especially great because it was music both my dad and I love. 

Kenny Chesney's tour bus! 

Tim McGraw on the screen

So my favorite part of the concert was a tie between the moment when Faith Hill walked out on the stage (a total surprise that she was going to perform) and sang the duet "I Need You" with Tim, and then the end of the show when Tim and Kenny sang their earliest hits together. 

I love that there can be that music that never gets old no matter how much you listen to it. And that at the same time it can take you back in time to a place when you also loved that music. I would call it timeless. 

Kenny performing 

The Nashville skyline from the top of LP Field 

Best summer trip with my dad :) 

"I go back to watching summer fade to fall, growing up too fast and I do recall wishing time would stop right in its tracks. And every time I hear that song, I go back." -KC 

Favorite Kenny Chesney songs of the night: "I Go Back", "Anything But Mine", "What I Need To Do"

Favorite Tim McGraw songs of the night: "I Need You", "The Cowboy In Me", "Last Dollar"  

-Caroline