Garth Brooks told me that a few years after I had mentioned I saw him and Trisha Yearwood at the George Jones Memorial Concert. November 22, 2013 was supposed to have been the last concert on George’s farewell concert tour and it was supposed to have taken place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. But George had passed away a few months earlier, so the decision was made to make that last concert an amazing farewell. And amazing it was! Thanks to my friend, Tammy Gould, who had an extra ticket, I was there. For the first time, I’ve gathered together some of the photos (not even half of them, BTW), most of them taken by Tammy. I was having trouble with my camera and got a few, but nothing like the ones Tammy took, shared with me and has allowed me to post in this special album.

The list of performers for the four-hour concert featured the best in country music, from most of the biggest stars, legends and up-and-comers, all backed by George’s band, The Jones Boys. And off to the side of the stage was an empty rocking chair with a solitary spotlight. Each artist left their ego and self-promotion somewhere else, performing only songs The Possum had done. Here’s the set list: Big & Rich (“Lovebug”), Kid Rock (“White Lightning”), Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood (“Take Me”), a group of classic female artists – Leona Williams, Jeannie Seely, Jeanne Pruett, Janie Fricke, Jan Howard and Emmylou Harris (“If My Heart Had Windows,” “Tender Years,” “I’m Not Ready Yet”), Lee Ann Womack “Once You’ve Had the Best”), Charlie Daniels (“Me and Jesus”), Baillie & the Boys with Dailey & Vincent (“I’m Ragged But I’m Right”), The Kentucky Headhunters (“High-Tech Redneck”), Sam Moore (“The Blues Man”), Kathy Mattea (“I’m a Long Gone Daddy”), Clay Walker (“Things Have Gone to Pieces”), Eric Church (“Choices”), Tommy Shaw of Styx (“She Thinks I Still Care”), Dierks Bentley (“I Always Get Lucky With You”), The Oak Ridge Boys (“Same Ole Me”), Larry Gatlin (“A Good Year For the Roses”), Ralph Emery, another group of artists – T.G. Sheppard, T. Graham Brown, Lisa Matassa, Jett Williams, Suzy Bogguss, Collin Raye and Tracy Lawrence (“The Love in Your Eyes,” “Wine Colored Roses,” “I’ll Share My World With You”), Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton (“These Days I Barely Get By”), Josh Turner (“One Woman Man”), Craig Morgan (“Finally Friday”), Daryle Singletary with Little Jimmy Dickens – the only person allowed to sit in the rocking chair, another group of artists – Eddy Raven, T.G. Sheppard, Collin Raye, Janie Fricke, Daryle Singletary, Tracy Lawrence, T. Graham Brown, Mark Collie and Pam Tillis (“I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair”), Jon Voight, another group of artists – John Michael Montgomery, Eddy Raven, Lee Greenwood, Ken Mellons, Mark Collie (“The Cold Hard Truth,” “The Right Left Hand”), Travis Tritt (“The Door”), Brad Paisley (“The One I Loved Back Then”), Megadeth with Jamey Johnson (“Wild Irish Rose”), Jim Lauderdale with The Roys (“Why Baby Why”), a group of classic male artists – Larry Gatlin, Ray Stevens, Stonewall Jackson, John Conlee, Jim Ed Brown, Bobby Bare, Jimmy C. Newman and Bill Anderson (“When the Last Curtain Falls,” “Still Doin’ Time,” “Someday My Day Will Come”), Jamey Johnson (“Tennessee Whiskey”), Rodney Atkins (“When the Grass Grows Over Me”), Lorrie Morgan (“A Picture of Me Without You”), Montgomery Gentry (“The Race is On”), Thompson Square (“Two Story House,” “We’re Gonna Hold On”), another group of artists – Chad Warrix, Eric Lee Beddingfield, Linda Davis, Teea Goans, Mandy Barnett and Greg Bates (“Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes”), Shooter Jennings and Jessi Colter (“If Drinking Don’t Kill Me”), Patty Loveless (“Color of the Blues”), Lisa Matassa (“Walk Through This World With Me”), Vince Gill (“Bartender’s Blues”), George Strait (“The Grand Tour”), Martina McBride with George Strait (“Golden Ring”), and Alan Jackson (“He Stopped Loving Her Today”) joined by Nancy Jones for the end of the song.

Garth was right.

Here’s a link to my Facebook page and the photo album containing photos of each performer:  https://www.facebook.com/randy.owen.52/media_set?set=a.10155853907475318&type=3