Merry Christmas, All!
I’m tucked away for a “Tender Tennessee Christmas” with my family in Memphis. As is customary this time of year, No Thanks to Cake has been slightly neglected over the past few weeks.
End of year business, a glitchy WordPress upgrade (watch out for the latest version of WP, bloggers!), and of course, holiday shopping, parties, and such have left me with little time to pop here on the blog and catch up with all of you. It tends to happen every year. Silly life getting in the way…
I did want to catch you all up on one of the most wonderful experiences of 2016.
You guys, I saw Kelly Clarkson this month!! Yep, I went to see my very favorite artist in celebration of Christmas… and it was beyond magical.
I flew into Nashville on Thursday night in anticipation of the big event. I spent the night with my friend Angela, working from her house on Friday. Note: When your friends are off and you have a full day of conference calls, it’s not that fun. The fact that it made this night possible made it A-OK.
Kelly Clarkson hosted her 2nd Annual Miracle on Broadway event on Friday, December 16. It’s held at the arena downtown, and a packed crowd showed up to see the original (and best) American Idol take the stage with some of her local “friends” in the industry. The show benefits several amazing local Nashville charities (including the Nashville Public Library – – Um, my friend Jen has designed their new look, if you haven’t been there lately!) Singing everyone’s favorite Christmas carols (and more), Kelly did not disappoint. I mean, she never does really. We attended in 2014 too, and LOVED it!
As I’m sure you have observed over the years, my friend Angela and I are mega-fans. That’s really the only way to describe it… we never miss a Kelly show. We see her twice, we travel, and we sing all of the songs. It’s what we do.
So, for the 2016 when Kelly announced that she was offering a VIP experience, we decided to go for it: To splurge for the meet-and-greet tickets… and make the magic happen. Unfortunately, despite logging in at the very moment the tickets went on sale on like three different devices, the top-level tickets were sold out. Really??? We got the next tickets the “Winter Wonderland” experience and were thrilled with the idea of having THIRD ROW seats. And, seriously… they were incredible.
Getting ready for the night, we thought we’d get a little fancied up for the evening. Gold and black was the theme! Special thanks to Angela’s hubs Jamie for taking our pics. (One by each tree, of course)
Off we flew in our sleigh (ahem… uber) and we arrived at Bridgestone arena for the show. As part of the special Winter Wonderland experience, we got to go into the pre-performance area for a pre-show. Um, a private performance by Kelly??? Yes!
Not only did they have a stage set up for Kelly to perform to this small crowd, but also dinner, desserts, a photo booth, and the big guy Santa. When we arrived, we met up with Jaede and her family. They too purchased the behind the scenes experience, and of course, we had a blast catching up with them. It was Elizabeth’s first concert! Great choice with Kelly!
After visiting with Santa and snacking on some pre-show nibbles, it was time for Kelly to perform. You guys, this was very similar to the Rockstar stage I’d experienced in the past. So close to the talent, and when we’re talking about the talent being my favorite singer… you can only imagine the excitement!
Kelly answered questions, played a few of her favorite songs from Wrapped in Red, and then OMG, she sang two of my favorites (Stronger and Since You’ve Been Gone.) We couldn’t be more excited after this first set, and there was a WHOLE concert still ahead!
There is NOTHING better than being at a Kelly Clarkson concert, singing and dancing. Whether it’s Christmas music or pop music, I’ll be the one standing, dancing, singing, and there’s always at least one set of tears.
We headed into the arena, grabbed our seats… and you guys, it was INCREDIBLE. Being so close to the action and hearing the beautiful music of the season. Just breathtaking. From Reba to Kelsey Ballerino (who has a beautiful voice!) to Ronnie Dunn… the show was incredible with lots of Kelly and lots of beautiful red dresses.
Here’s a few clips… because you need a peek at this awesomeness!
