{"id":881,"date":"2011-02-15T12:22:38","date_gmt":"2011-02-15T17:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nashvillemusicianssurvivalmanual.com\/Blog\/?p=881"},"modified":"2011-02-15T12:41:00","modified_gmt":"2011-02-15T17:41:00","slug":"rhett-akins-plays-the-bone-collector-fan-club-party-with-michael-waddell-and-special-guests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nashvillemusicianssurvivalmanual.com\/Blog\/rhett-akins-plays-the-bone-collector-fan-club-party-with-michael-waddell-and-special-guests\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhett Akins plays the Bone Collector Fan Club Party with Michael Waddell and Special Guests"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend the Rhett Akins tour rode into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for what would be one of our coolest outings in a while. Fans of Michael Waddell<\/a> and his popular hunting show \u201cBone Collector<\/a>\u201d were about to be treated to a special night of fun and music for the show’s third annual fan club party, and it was \"\"<\/a>our job to provide some extra \u201clift\u201d on this particular night. After a long day of setup and preparation the doors finally opened at 7 PM, and the \u201csmall arena\u201d at the PA Farm Show Complex began to fill quickly with an excited crowd of hunting aficionados. The Bone Collector crew had laid out quite a spread, and the guests began enjoying the free buffet with a few cold ones while the sounds of Rhett\u2019s hunting songs from \u201cThe Brotherhood Album<\/a>\u201d filled the air in a hall that looked ready for an Aerosmith concert.<\/p>\n

The place was filling up fast, and soon \u201cBone Collector\u201d stars Michael, T-Bone, and Nick Mundt, were accompanied by some of the other show organizers on stage to offer a warm welcome to the crowd. After raffling off some free giveaways, the first performer, MCA recording artist Ashton Shepherd<\/a> took the stage and played a short acoustic set with one of her bandmates, her clear, country voice filling the auditorium. Near the end of her set T-Bone came back out and invited a couple up onto the stage to deliver one more prize giveaway. Apparently, the couple were longtime fans of the show, and what at first looked like a raffle giveaway quickly became a more substantive moment when the fellow dropped to his knees and proposed to his unsuspecting fianc\u00e9. The woman had no idea this was going to happen, and was near tears as they danced on the stage to a touching serenade by Ashton. After a few more prize giveaways, Rhett and band took the stage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Our first tune was \u201cMy Baby Looks Good in Camouflage\u201d, one of several hunting themed songs we would perform from Rhett\u2019s latest album project, and the crowd was instantly singing along with this song that has never even been on the radio. Midway through the set, Rhett announced that we were going to play his song \u201cBird Dog\u201d and asked if there was anyone in the crowd who knew the song and wanted to come up and sing along. Two fellows in the front row made their way onto the stage and joined Rhett for an \u201cinteresting\u201d rendition, after which Rhett announced \u201cSorry, I won’t do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of Rhett’s first rocking performance the place was buzzing with excitement, and many of the 1200 plus fans were crowded up to the front of the stage, standing elbow to elbow in a sea of camouflage. After a few more giveaways, Michael introduced the night\u2019s unannounced \u201cspecial guest\u201d Aaron Lewis from the band Staind<\/a>, and the crowd was treated to an intimate acoustic version of \u201cIt’s Been a While\u201d, amidst his four song set.<\/p>\n

It was now time for a final round of giveaways and Rhett’s second and final set to cap off the night. With a few big surprises still in store, Rhett kept the first part of this set short and sweet, and by the time we had played three or four songs he was inviting Ashton back up to the stage for an unplanned sit in. The two sang a heartfelt duet of the Hank Williams Jr. classic \u201cDinosaur\u201d and the crowd roared with their approval. Next, Rhett brought up Michael to play some guitar, and Nick Mundt to sing Whitesnakes \u201cIn the Still of the Night\u201d. Nick may be a hunter by trade, but it’s obvious that he may have been a rock ‘n roll front man in another life, as was evident from the bloodcurdling howl he let out at the beginning of the tune. His scream, combined with the sound of three electric guitars and our rhythm section thru a mega-watt PA system, threw the night into overdrive. The night was now beginning to feel like an episode of Don Kirshner\u2019s \u201cRock Concert\u201d and I ran out to the center of the stage to exude a little “attitude” with Nick during this fun moment, both of us getting down in a rockstar stance.<\/p>\n