FORT BENNING, Ga., (April 1, 2015) -- Soldiers and civilians of all ages populated Wetherby Field March 28 for a free concert, which called for fans to "Turn It On."
The mid-50-degree weather had those in attendance bundled up, but that didn't stop nearly 6,000 fans from experiencing the musical styling of the Eli Young Band, Old Dominion and Kelsea Ballerini.
For some fans, the concert was an escape from day-to-day routines.
"I'm away from the drill sergeants for a little bit; I really just want to have a good time," said Pvt. Caleb Gentry, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment.
Gentry said he had been in basic training for six weeks and for him, the free concert was a display of support.
"It means a lot to me," Gentry said. "To me, it means there are still American people out there still ready to show the American Soldiers that they still care, they still love us, they still think about us and are still appreciative. For some high-speed country singer to come out and show his appreciation for American Soldiers, I think, is a big deal."
While the concert began at 6 p.m., when the gates opened at 4:30, many rushed to sit right in front of the stage, and others wandered the field.
"We're here to celebrate with all the Soldiers and Family members and to bring them all together as a community," said Tom Shull, director and CEO of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. "It's so important to create an environment for them where they can feel good about their service and the fact that we're going to take care of them and their Families."
The concert was the product of Fort Benning winning the AAFES Battle of the Bases Wing Eating contest in 2014 and was also sponsored by the Fort Benning Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
"This is a great concert, the band is somebody that has a lot of fans and the military traditionally likes country music. So, it means a lot," said Shannon Beck, director of marketing for Fort Benning MWR.
Lt. Gen. David Halverson, commander of Installation Command, said it is important to be able to balance the mission, community and Families.
Ballerini kicked off the concert, and got the audience fired up and ready for what was to follow.
"Kelsea Ballerini is an up-and-coming, rising star," Beck said. "We pride ourselves on trying to reach (those) artists."
For audience members who weren't familiar with Ballerini's songs from her EP, Ballerini worked some of her favorite pop hits into her set. Ballerini played a mash up of "Hit Me, Baby, One More Time," "Backstreet's Back" and "Bye, Bye, Bye," songs she claimed she grew up to.
Ballerini also gave credit to Keith Urban's song "Stupid Boy" for pointing her in the direction of country. Ballerini slipped lines from Urban's song into her performance of her own song The First Time, which she said she wrote after learning an important life lesson.
Following Ballerini, the band Old Dominion entertained the crowd, performing country music hits they had written for other artists such as "Better Dig Two", made famous by The Band Perry along with their own songs Shut Me Up, and the comical "Break Up With Him."
The Eli Young Band had no trouble getting the crowd fired up, again, as they opened their set with no introduction and performed brand new hits, such as their new single "Turn It On," as well as old favorites which made them famous like "Always The Love Songs," "10,000 Towns" and "Crazy Girl."
The band also took a moment to thank those in attendance for their service.
"We get to live out our dream because of you," said Mike Eli, lead vocalist.
Eli spoke of his two brothers serving in the Marine Corps and sang "Prayer for the Road" after applauding his fans.
"People are wanting to give back to the military," Beck said. "People realize some of the sacrifices they go through: long deployments, being in war zones and the Family side as well, the ones that have to stay home, manage a household and be single parents for a year. People are always coming to us and saying 'we want to do something for the military,' so we are happy to oblige when we can because that's our mission - to make sure the Soldiers and Family members have the best downtime they can."
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