Phil Vassar loves great big crowd

"The labels didn't like the songs," he said.

But his friends did, and they recorded them: Jo Dee Messina had hits off "Bye, Bye" and "I'm Alright"; Tim McGraw hit a home run with "My Next Thirty Years" and "For a Little While"; and Collin Raye turned "Little Red Rodeo" into one of his signature songs.

"It just proved them wrong; they all were really big hits," Vassar said during a phone call from his tour bus in San Antonio last month.

So it might have seemed a bit strange when Vassar asked Arista Nashville — the label that scooped him up seven years ago — to release him from his record deal last month so he could move over to the newly reorganized Universal Records South.

"It was time to do something different," Vassar said. "(Universal South President) Mark Wright and (sales VP Van) Fletcher are good friends of mine. They just took over the label at Universal South. So it just seemed like the thing to do. Change is good."

Vassar is working on his Universal South debut, which he hopes to release late this summer or in early fall; the first single should be out in May.

He promises to preview some of the new material when he plays Country Thunder on April 15, opening up for the honky-tonk duo Montgomery Gentry.

Vassar loves Country Thunder, he volunteered early in the phone call.

"It's a great big stage, a great big crowd. It's just a great country audience," he gushed.

Which explains why he dropped everything on a couple of days' notice and flew to Arizona to cover for LeAnn Rimes two years ago. Rimes was to headline the festival's closing night in 2005, but had to beg off because of illness a few days earlier.

"It's the least I could do for my sweet little neighbor. She lives right across the street," Vassar said, then noted that his other across-the-street neighbor in Nashville is Keith Urban and next to him are a couple of other country stars. "It's a bunch of us in that little area."

During that 2005 show and then again at last year's festival, Vassar stood and pounded on his piano with an infectious energy.

"You wink/ I laugh / 'Cuz we know a little hug leads to a foot rub / Then a hot tub / Then a French kiss on a bear rug," he sang, and a crowd of women swooned.

"Ooh la la la la la / Looking good, Carlene/ Whoa my my my my my/ Time's been good to you," he sang, and this time the guys cheered the loudest.

And when he sang about broken washing machines and taking a swig of the milk and the milk's gone sour, we conjured our own version of "Just Another Day in Paradise."

"My daughters are the most important thing in the world to me," said the 44-year-old father of two young girls. "I never figured out what life was really like until I had my kids. The greatest thing in the world to me is watching these girls grow up."

Part of the reason Vassar left Arista is that he felt overshadowed by the label's other artists, including Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. At Universal South, there are five artists: him, Joe Nichols, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Shooter Jennings and Katrina Elam.

"I've had a great career so far. I think now with going over to Universal, it's going to speed up a little bit. I feel it," Vassar said. "I think it was time to do something different."

Festival lineup includes stars, up-and-comers

This year's festival showcases some of Nashville's brightest stars and those who would love to join them. Here are several of the artists who will be appearing at Country Thunder 2007.

New England native Jamie Lee Thurston has been in the spotlight since his musician father plopped him on his lap during a performance when Thurston was 3. Thurston, a rich baritone who records on the new Texas indie upstart Country Thunder Records — no relation to the Country Thunder USA festival — describes his style as "testosterone country, big ruckus country." He performs on the Main Stage at 3 p.m. next Thursday.

32 Below boasts of itself as being "on the edge of country," which basically is an admission that the band is not strictly steel guitars, country bars and banjos. But according to its press clippings from shows the band has performed, the 6-year-old quintet puts on a hard-rocking show that in some towns runs more than three hours. The band has a rocking edge to its sound, but remains every bit the country outfit when it comes to weaving stories about dirt roads and hometowns. They play the Graham Central Station stage April 14 and 15.

Nashville Star winner Chris Young makes his Country Thunder debut next Thursday. The 6-foot-4, 21-year-old is doing double duty, warming up the Main Stage for Lorrie Morgan at 5:30 p.m., then scooting over to the Graham Central Station side stage three hours later. (Morgan appears at 7 p.m.) The baritone-voiced Young is struggling to have his debut RCA album stand out in a field saturated by more experienced and visible male artists.

Steve Holy comes back strong with his powerhouse ditty "Brand New Girlfriend." The song put Holy back on the charts and in radio's good graces, and he's enjoying his biggest success since his 2002 breakaway single "Good Morning Beautiful." He is scheduled to perform at 5:45 p.m. April 14 on the Main Stage.

Undoubtedly the most buzz-worthy act on the lineup will prove to be the Louisville, Ky.-born Villebillies crew. These guys — 10 in all — cross-pollinate their country with hip-hop, Southern "whiskey rock," pop and Nashville country to create a sound that is comfortably at home in post-Big & Rich/Cowboy Troy country music. Check out song samples on their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/villebillies. Or check them out live at noon April 13 on the Main Stage or at 5:30 that night on the Graham Central Station stage, where they also will play two shows on April 14 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

The headliners April 14 are likely big influences for the Villebillies, the hick-hop country duo Big & Rich. They follow fellow Muzik Mafia first lady Gretchen Wilson. The honky-tonk queen takes the Main Stage at 8:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 10:30.

Trick Pony has a new trick: lead singer Aubrey Collins, a hard rocker from Denver. The trio is amping its attitude — if that's possible given Ira Dean's and Keith Burns' off-the-wall-tumbling-off-the-stage live shows. There's more rock laced in with the country, as you'll discover when they slip into the lineup at 3:45 p.m. April 15 on the Main Stage.

The Graham Central Station stage will be the setting for some of the best new talent coming out of Nashville, Texas and all points in between, including Mercury Records newcomer Gary Nichols, a Muscle Shoals, Ala., rocker with a gritty bite and tempered country twang. He gets a quick shot at the Main Stage at 1 p.m. April 15 before two nighttime sets on the second stage. Milwaukee-based pop country quintet Chasin' Mason has several second-stage slots throughout the weekend before taking a trip to the Main Stage at noon April 15.

Coming next Thursday: We chat with the big man Trace Adkins and newcomer Sarah Buxton, plus coverage throughout the festival.

Lineup

• Next Thursday — 3 p.m., Cowboy Crush; 4:15, Chris Young; 5:30, Jamie Lee Thurston; 7, Lorrie Morgan; 8:30, Jo Dee Messina; 10:30, Trace Adkins.

• April 13 — Noon, Villebillies; 1:15 p.m., Western Underground; 2:30, Rio Grand; 3:45, Heartland; 5, 2nd Shift; 6, Tanya Tucker; 7:30, Blake Shelton; 9, Randy Owen; 10:30, Reba McEntire.

• April 14 — Noon, Tim & Willy & the All Earl Band ; 1 p.m., 32 Below; 2, Sarah Buxton; 3:15, PovertyNeck Hillbillies; 4:30, Harry Luge; 5:45, Steve Holy; 7, Cross Canadian Ragweed; 8:30, Gretchen Wilson; 10:30, Big & Rich.

• April 15 — Noon, Chasin' Mason; 1 p.m., Gary Nichols; 2:15, Williams & Ree; 3:45, Trick Pony; 5, Neal McCoy; 6:30, Phil Vassar; 8, Montgomery Gentry.

• Times and lineup are subject to change.

• Online: Hear audio snippets from the artists at www.countrythunder.com. Click on Arizona and then the lineup. Audio links are below artist photos.