Bluebird Cafe Lands At Friends In Low Places For CMA Fest

The Bluebird Cafe kicked off its limited run of shows at Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk Tuesday night. Pat Alger, Victoria Shaw and Kent Blazy took turns sharing stories and playing hit songs – many tied to Garth. The lush third-floor event space at Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk was filled with Garth Brooks’ and Bluebird Café fans, and the trio of writers they showed up to see didn’t disappoint.

Fans tapped their feet and sang along with Garth’s hits including “The Thunder Rolls,” “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “The River” and more.

Alger told fans how he threw Garth a No. 8 party to celebrate the Top 10 success of his first single, “I’m Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old).” They played volleyball, and Alger got him a cake with a No. 8 on it.

Blazy admitted he devised a plan to get Garth and Trisha to meet for the first time. He said Trisha was his new favorite singer, and he kept trying to get Garth to use her for his demo work. Garth kept refusing, so Blazy wrote a song that forced Garth and Trisha to sing on the same microphone at the same time. He said he just wanted him to hear her sing—he never dreamed they’d get married.

Shaw laughed about their decades-long friendship and how they sometimes good-naturedly argue over who is the most stubborn.

The two-hour show ended with a sing-along on “The River” that included everyone in the audience. Bluebird Café staff raised their phones in the air to record the emotional turn.

The night held the same magic as fans have come to treasure from experiences at Bluebird Café, but the surroundings were different. Instead of lining up on the sidewalk to get into the storied club, they met at the hostess stand at Friends In Low Places on the sidewalk, were presented with a gold bracelet, and escorted to the exclusive third floor. The area is largely Trisha’s vision and includes her homey, spacious, spotless kitchen and the expansive room that is the Bluebird’s home for CMA Fest. With its dark wood floors, walls draped in soft blue wallpaper and candle-like wall sconces and pendant lights to elegantly illuminate the area, the room was a professional-yet-cozy nest for the Bluebird’s memory-making night.

Erica Wollum Nichols, Bluebird Café’s COO/GM, stepped in front of the audience at the end to express her thanks for everyone coming out. She said that a temporary home isn’t how she planned to spend Bluebird Café’s 42nd birthday, but she was so thankful to Garth and Trisha for the space.

Bluebird Cafe set up a small merchandise table between the kitchen and performance space, and fans lined up to buy hats and shirts after the show to have the songwriters autograph them. Lines of people snaked through the room as they awaited their turn to meet their favorite writers.

Bluebird Café shows will continued at Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk on Wednesday (June 5) and will run through Thursday (June 6). For more information, visit www.bluebirdcafe.com.