The Queen Was Here!

By Rob Greenwell

The queen of country music paid a visit to Kentuckiana/Southern Indiana on July 11^th at the newly remodeled, newly renamed Horseshoe Casino, previously Caesars Indiana. That would be Reba.

It has been said that you should honor the veterans of country music like Merle Haggard, George Jones, Patsy Cline, who gave Nashville country music its identity. George Strait and that little ole' red head from Oklahoma who got her start singing the National Anthem at Rodeos in her home state also did some ground-breaking, paving the way for female artists on the radio. When female singers were not getting proper attention, Reba McEntire forced the radio elite to pay attention to her. Talent does even begin to explain Reba; she has charisma, charm, and great attitude about life. I could spend the rest of this review talking about that "it" that she has, but onto the show.

Reba opened this hour-plus set with "So Good Together," the it was off to the races, playing hit after hit, including "Walk On," Is There Life Out There," Why Haven't I Heard From You " and "That's The Night That The Lights Went Out In Georgia" She even added one of her newer hits from the album Reba Duets, "Because of You" and was joined, amazingly enough, by Kelly Clarkson, who just happened to be there (Clarkson is managed by Reba's husband Narvel Blackstock.). The encore was the only blip on the screen, but only because it wasn't long enough. She came out for one song, her classic mega-hit "Fancy." She missed opportunities to do "Does He Love You,: which Kelly could have helped out with, and her new single, "Every Other Weekend." Even though there wasn't a male singer to help out, she could have done what she did years ago, which was to put Kenny on tape and on the video screen the same way they did when her and Vince had a duet going.

All in all, the queen is still relevant after all these years, and shows no sign of slowing down. My only hope is that she doesn't stay away as long next time.

Email thoughts to rgreenwell@louisvillemusic.com