And the winner is....

NASH STREET!!!

Starkville, Mississippi

http://www.nashstreet.com/

Last night, John and I attended the 26th annual Colgate Country Showdown (http://www.countryshowdown.com/) at the Ryman here in Nashville. The Ryman is the former home of the Grand 'Ole Opry. Basically, the Showdown is the American Idol of country music with a slew of famous former contestants including Billy Ray Cyrus and Martina McBride. People compete at their own local, state, regional, etc. levels and the regional winners wind up here, competing for the chance to win $100,000. Congratulations to Nash Street on their success - they're on their way! Afterwards, we went to a reception for the band at the Sheraton downtown. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing some people from back home!

The Ryman Auditorium (http://www.ryman.com/)

The Showdown was hosted by LeAnn Rimes.

Here are all the finalists on stage right before the winners were announced singing short clips from their most favorite songs...

Here is LeAnn Rimes singing before the winners were announced...

And here is Nash Street with their grand prize...$100,000 from Colgate!