From the Bandstand 3: Alyssa Trahan Opens for Charlie Daniels

This past Wednesday (August 17) I opened for the Charlie Daniels Band at the Steuben County Fair. It was probably the most amazing experience I’ve had so far in my career and life in general! To be honest, it still feels like I dreamt the whole thing up!

We got to the fair early, so we walked around for a little while, saw all the cute animals, and looked around at the vendors. It was actually my second year playing at the fair so we saw some familiar faces; Lee Richey from WKPQ “Kickin’ Country” was broadcasting from a tent at the fair, and was nice enough to do a couple interviews with me on the air. We were called for soundcheck around 4:00pm. The sound company was great, and we actually used Charlie Daniels Band’s equipment. My bass player’s instrument actually broke during soundcheck — but the show must go on! — so he adjusted some settings and we were all good to play!

My band and I, which includes myself and three other members, played a 30 minute set made up of mostly original music. Surprisingly, I saw quite a few people singing along to my original songs, which I wasn’t expecting at all! It was pretty amazing to see. The crowd was also really responsive; they were loud, crazy and so much fun! I’ll never forget the sound of the screams and applause and how it made me feel, it’s truly a feeling unlike anything else in the world.

When I was standing there on the stage, looking out into the beautiful crowd, everything felt right. It might sound cheesy or cliche, but it’s true! I don’t talk about this a lot, but I get stage fright sometimes. But on that stage, I didn’t. I wasn’t worrying about what could go wrong or what people thought of me, I was just happy! My thirty minute set was over in what felt like two seconds; I could’ve stayed up there for hours!

After my set, I met fans at my merch table. I had to walk around the stage to get to the table, and when I turned the corner, I was stunned at how many people were there waiting in line to meet me! We actually sold out of posters there were so many people! I signed CDs and posters, took pictures and talked to people for over an hour. After that Charlie Daniels had started his set, and I got to witness true greatness. Mr. Daniels may be turning 80 this year, but he is still an incredible performer! My favorite part of the show was when he began playing an acoustic rendition of “How Great Thou Art.” The entire crowd was silent. I got chills, it was amazing.

After the concert, I was introduced to Charlie Daniels by one of his team members. We didn’t have long to talk (he had to get to PA for a show the next day) but the few minutes we spent together were unforgettable. He is such a genuinely sweet man. He gave me a big hug the minute he saw me and even told me we should hang out sometime in Nashville! We snapped a quick picture together and he was pulled onto his tour bus.

I headed back to my merch table to watch my stuff and be there incase anyone else wanted a CD signed or anything. And again, when I turned the corner I was stunned. There was another long line there waiting for me! I ran over as fast as I could and talked to everyone who wanted to talk to me. I was there for probably another hour or so.

Eventually the crowd was gone and the stage was torn down. I remember thinking, “It’s over already?!” I spent so much time looking forward to that day (it was booked around 8 months in advance) and it was over. I wish I could do that every night for the rest of my life! I said goodbye to everyone on the crew, including CDB’s security guard and merch guy who were both so nice to me, packed up my stuff and we headed home. It was hard to sleep that night, I had the sound of the audience stuck in my head and my heart was still racing from the excitement. But I will never forget that whole experience. It left me feeling so thankful and inspired, and I wouldn’t change anything about it even if I could.

— Alyssa Trahan

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