Stormy Speaks

Stormy Weather is opry.com's exclusive columnist. A veteran, though self-described "young and trendy music industry insider," Stormy takes readers along as she moves gracefully within Nashville’s elite inner circles and shares her own first-hand observations, take-no-prisoners opinions and juicy commentary on the movers and shakers inside Music City's illustrious entertainment industry. Read it from Stormy like you won't read it anywhere else.

Stormy Recalls Fourth of July Family Festivities and Looks Forward to Summer Road-trips!  

Nothing celebrates our nation’s independence quite like Uncle Milton propping up a perfectly good bird on a beer can and cooking it over an open flame.  Jim Ed Brown would be proud when Uncle Milton finally decides to pop a top on a cold one and begin that roasting process that makes each Fourth of July remarkably like the last one.  For some families, it’s fireworks and Grandma’s secret-recipe potato salad, but for Stormy, it’s Uncle Milton’s Beer-Up-A-Bird’s-Butt Chicken.  And the fireworks, of course.  Not the kind that light of the evening sky with a patriotic display of spectacular color.  No, Stormy is talking about the sparks that flew between Uncle Milton and Aunt Martha. 

What started out as a docile discussion about who’s the greatest country music singer of all time soon escalated into a full-blown family feud.  Uncle Miltie wasn’t budging from George Jones, and Aunt Martha thought surely that Merle Haggard was the hands-down clear winner.  Before we knew it, the family picnic was divided and brothers, sisters, cousins, neighbors and even folks we’d never seen before were taking sides. . .  and extra helpings of Uncle Milton’s chicken.  Finally, Stormy grabbed an unused cloth baby diaper and waved it like a white flag, declaring a truce.  Although it was 110 degrees in the shade, there was a chill in the air the rest of the afternoon.  Luckily, nothing reunites a family like Grandma Wilma’s congealed salad.  Those miniature marshmallows must have some sort of mystical powers because before day’s end, everybody was gathered round the holiday table, lost in a gelatin-induced moment of sheer tranquility. 

With that family event behind her, Stormy is looking forward to some summer fun.  Shall we say, putting some distance between her and the family until next year?  Stormy and the girls are road-tripping.  First stop:  Brad Paisley’s American Saturday Night Tour on July 24 in Virginia Beach, Va.  Welcome to the future, indeed, if the future holds Dierks Bentley, Jimmy Wayne and Brad. 

If we’ve done the math and calculated the mileage, we have enough time to enjoy a week at the beach before hitting the road again.  This time, destination:  Charlotte, N.C. for the Aug. 1 Rascal Flatts concert.  Oh, we do indeed plan to let our igloo cooler mark our piece of paradise.  A few summer nights in Charlotte and a shout out to our good friend Darius Rucker, and, in the words of Willie Nelson, we girls are on the road again.

Now, luckily, the four of us can trade driving shifts because the next leg of the journey is brutal!  Honestly, enough caffeine in her system and Bettie Lou could drive this unassisted, largely due to the fact that it’s a big payoff at the end for her—Keith Urban.  Oh, yeah, baby!  The girls are hauling it to Rochester, N.Y. for the Aug. 2 date on Taylor Swift’s tour with Keith Urban.  Bettie Lou holds nothing back when she sings Taylor’s song “You Belong with Me.”  Stormy is certain that Bettie Lou has changed the lyrics ever so slightly to something that better represents BL’s true feelings about Nicole Kidman.  That’s neither here nor there, really. 

By Aug. 3, Stormy and the girls will be headed into New York City for some serious downtime and relaxation.  And by downtime, Stormy means shopping all day.  And relaxation is hitting all of the cities best restaurants and clubs (and a few museums to appeal to our intellectual sides).  All of this to ready us for Kenny Chesney in New York City’s Central Park on Aug. 14 where Kenny perform live on Good Morning America’s summer concert series.  Stormy and the girls will then road trip-it over to Gillette Stadium for the New England Country Music Festival with Kenny, Sugarland, the Opry’s newest members Montgomery Gentry, Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum. 

Stormy doesn’t have time to waste.  She’s got to pack for a major road trip.  Laptop is in the bag for Summer Roadtrip 2009 updates.  The first will be July 27 from Virginia Beach, the sand between our toes, sun on our faces