Rhapsody Rocked Nashville!

Since nearly all of Rhapsody descended upon Nashville for the CMA Music Festival and the CMT Music Video Awards, we decided to throw a helluva party -- and boy, did we ever. Young and old alike met down at the Rutledge and were treated to one special night in Nashville.

The doors opened at 8:15, and the line, which was down to the middle of the block, started moving to let people into the cool, air-conditioned comfort of the Rutledge. It didn't stay cool for long, because CMT's Can You Duet winners Caitlin & Will took the stage and treated the early crowd to a sizzling set. It's amazing how these two were more or less thrown together in the competition, and yet complement each other so well. And hey, is that a Dave Matthews Band tattoo Caitlin sports on her forearm? Why yes, it is! Highlights included the duo's radio hit, "Address in the Stars," and their cover of Keith Urban's "Stupid Boy."

Next up was Gloriana. This foursome had been making the rounds during Music Fest, meeting their fans and radio folks, and played both our Scavenger Hunt and Fan Social as well as this exclusive event, so they definitely were working all week. Their brand of melodic country went down well with the younger attendees, who knew every word to the band's feel-good anthem, "Wild at Heart." They are currently on tour with Taylor Swift and, from what we hear, are bringing the house down. We also heard that Gloriana's debut will be released August 4, so be sure to check out the New Releases section of Rhapsody then. Who knows? We may even get it a little earlier -- nudge nudge, wink wink, if you know what we mean.

Luke Bryan absolutely kicked things up a notch or two when he took the stage. Bryan has had a string of hits during the past 18 months, so the crowd was crazy when he came on and sang songs such as "All My Friends Say," "We Rode in Trucks" and his new single, "Do I." Even though the Rutledge only holds 250 people, Bryan worked the crowd as if he were in the biggest stadium in the world. I mean, this guy was good! About three-quarters of the way through his set, he told the crowd, "Damn. I haven't even had a drink yet. Can someone get me a Miller Lite?" And out of nowhere comes Blake Shelton with an ice-cold bottle. The crowd ate it up.

By the time Jack Ingram hit the stage, Shelton and Miranda Lambert had moved to a table in the back to watch -- just like the rest of the fans. Ingram came out like he owned the place and delivered the kind of gritty performance that only playing in a packed, sweaty club can bring out. I mean, the guy was on fire -- and even attempted to crowd surf at one stage of the game. By the time "Measure of a Man," "Barbie Doll" and "Love You" were done, the crowd was his. And when Ingram launched into his current hit and serious summer anthem, "Barefoot and Crazy," I thought the walls would crumble. This guy is seriously a first-class performer.

By the end of the night, everyone came away with the feeling they just saw something special. From start to finish, the artists thoroughly entertained the crowd, and they took the time to sign posters for their fans. It was said at least a hundred times over during the CMA Music Fest that the relationship between artists and country music fans is a special one, and our Rhapsody Rocks show on Monday night proved that to be true one more time.

Rhapsody will have both video and audio from this event on our site soon, so keep checking the blog or www.rhapsody.com for more.