The Round Up!

Country music star Easton Corbin made an appearance at one of the most popular country western bars in Florida last Thursday on February 23rd. At the Round Up he performed a live concert where he sang his hit songs "I'm a little more country than that" and "Roll with it". This was Easton Corbin's second appearance at the Round Up in the past year which the first time was sold out and I wasn't able to get in to watch him! Although I wasn't able to make it to his first show, luckily I was able to make it this past Thursday. He put on a great show and I had a great time. Up and coming artist Shane Duncan Band opened for Easton Corbin to get the crowd ready. While Easton Corbin was preparing to come on the stage, and the Shane Duncan Band played their last song, tons of people made their way to the dance floor to do some line dancing! Line dancing is a very popular activity at the Round Up and people dance just about every night. The next concert that is going to be at the Round Up is this Thursday on March 1st with country singer David Nail headlining. His most popular songs are "Red Light" and "Let it Rain". Special guest Tommy Dalton will be opening for David Nail. I'm definitely going to try to make it to this concert!

                 

Not-so-clear picture of Easton Corbin

Great picture of the Shane Duncan Band

                                                               

Amish Friendship Bread

The last time I was home in Mendon, Illinois was in December for winter break; my grandmother made a delicious dessert called Amish Friendship Bread. After I tried it my Grandma explained why the bread was called Amish Friendship Bread.  The recipe had been passed to her and other friends, and they were given a starter bag to begin making the dessert. The recipe requires 10 days to make and after day 10 you take some of the mixture out to start new starters to give to friends. This way you can constantly make the recipe yourself and pass it on to friends. I thought that this was a great idea, and I plan to make it once I go back home and we thought it would be difficult to mail a starter to Florida when you have to add ingredients to the starter after a few days. I asked my Grandma to send me some of the bread and she was more than happy to, and she ended up sending me 3 loaves! That was the best Valentine's Day present ever!

                                               My Grandma's delicious bread she sent me!!

Here is a recipe of Amish Friendship Bread that can be found at http://www.armchair.com/recipe/bake002.html

Amish Friendship Bread

Important Note: Don't use metal spoons or equipment. Do not refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic or plastic bowls or containers.

Required Main Ingredient

1 cup live yeast starter (see above)

day 1:

Do nothing with the starter.

days 2-5:

Stir with a wooden spoon.

day 6:

Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden spoon.

days 7-9:

Stir with a wooden spoon.

Day 10:

Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends. To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.

1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Country Music at the Grammy's

This past weekend I watched the 54th Annual Grammy Award's and several country star's made an appearance. Taylor Swift performed her hit single "Mean" on stage and this song gave her the opportunity to win Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song. She was in the running for both of these awards against big name artists such as Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood. The award for Best Country Duo Performance went to Barton Hollow for their song "The Civil Wars. I havent heard much about this Duo or know of too many of their songs, but i know that they are up and coming singers.The Last country music award given at the Grammy's was given to Lady Antebellum for Best Country Album called "Own the Night".Lady Antebellum is a young and outstanding country group with several hit singles. For the last segment of the country music categories, Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley introduced the performance of The Band Perry with Blake Shelton and the recording academy lifetime achievement award recipient Glen Campbell. In Glen Campbell's 50 years of performing and singing country music, he also won many Grammy Awards and fans admire his hardwork.

                                           Taylor Swift pictured with her two Grammy Awards

Dierks Bentley "HOME"

Dierks Bentley just released his 5th album on February 7th! His new hit single "Home" has been on the radio for about a month and every time I turn on the radio it is on. This song is about how great our homeland is and how we have made it through many hardships dealing with the war. Dierks is currently on the rode touring and playing many of his new songs. This weekend he plays in Chicago, Illinois on the 9th and then he plays in Phoenix, Arizona on the 11th. I just recently bought the album and I can't stop listening to it! You should definitely get it!

"It's been a long hard ride

and I wont lose hope

This is still the place 

That we all call home"

Howdy!

On January 21st I made it to my first country concert of the year in Fayetteville, North Carolina. My sister lives 15 minutes from the Crown Center where the concert was held. It was a sold out concert with American Idol runner up Lauren Alaina opening up for Luke Bryan who sings "Country Girl Shake it for me" and also Jason Aldean who sings "Dirt Road Anthem" and "My Kinda Party". The concert was definitely one of the greatest concerts I have ever seen!! Luke Bryan is an amazing performer and one of my most favorite country music artist. Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan kept the crowd energetic when they sang a few duets together of a few of their their old favorite country music songs. Here is a not-so-clear photo of the two singing together.

This Past weekend on January 29th in Davie one of the biggest country music festivals in South Florida took place. This huge concert called the Chili Cookoff headlined Sonia Leigh, Chris Cagle, Clay Walker, Luke Bryan, and Zac Brown Band. This concert lasted from noon to about 7 at night and was also sold out with thousands of fans attending. But this festival wasn't just for the live country music BUT for the CHILI! There were over 100 people making chili for the festival and competing for the best recipe. It is a wonderful time even if you are not a country fan. Next year check it out and have a great time!