FLORENCE - Here are some fun facts from Country Thunder 2012:
The 76,395 people who attended over the four days of the 19th annual festival consumed nearly 6,000 cups of lemonade, nearly 16,000 corn dogs and an estimated 3.5 million kernels of kettle korn.
They bought more than 15,400 souvenir T-shirts, which were the dress of choice for many of the nearly 17,000 people who rocked into the wee hours at the after-hours Electric Thunder DJ tent. And they posed for nearly 24,000 photos at the Great American Country TV tent.
But the real story of Country Thunder unfolded on the main stage with superstars Blake Shelton and Alan Jackson, perennial crowd favorites Phil Vassar and Neal McCoy, and debuts by rising stars Kellie Pickler and The Band Perry, all contributing to the argument of just what is country music today.
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On Sunday, Vassar, Nashville's answer to Billy Joel, made no apologies for his pop country. He sings about the simple joys of family where sipping sour milk can be funny and missing your children's milestones are reason for regret. His hour-long show, as the late afternoon on a day gift-wrapped by the weatherman made way for a pleasant night, was the perfect springboard for the pop-country sibling act of The Band Perry.
The Perrys walk a fine line between country and pop with songs about small towns named Independence where you can lose yours, and snarky commentaries on wishing their lover was gone more often.
The Band Perry, which opened for über-neo-traditionalist Alan Jackson, found themselves with a chorus of 20,396 singing along to their smash hit "If I Die Young," which launched the siblings' career about two years ago.
Then there was Jackson, who was arguably the least flashy performer on the 2012 Country Thunder lineup. He does not strut the length of the catwalk, like Blake Shelton did Saturday night or Vassar did earlier Sunday. He strums his guitar and sings into a microphone about trucks and home cooking, country pride and hoedowns. There are no surprises, no flashing light shows or dynamic stage setups. It is country music, pure and simple.
