wynonna day

Before it rained so hard that I was temporarily blinded and terrified, July 4th in downtown Nashville was a festive occasion. On Broadway down near the Cumberland River, there was a bounce house, a climbing wall and meat-on-a-stick.

But besides that, July 4th in Nashville was a day to celebrate Wynonna. Not only did she sign autographs at the Country Music Hall of Fame but also she was the headliner for the 4th of July concert with the Nashville Symphony.

I have really liked Wynonna for a long time. I find her to be so different from the other country music stars. Her life has been filled with a lot of confusion and struggle, from never meeting her birth father to clashes with her mother Naomi to weight gain and loss and two failed marriages. I like her because I love her voice. No one else sings like her, and when performing, she is completely emotionally available. How many other artists have you seen cry on stage? She also exudes and discusses a spirituality I find truthful and comforting, not fake or pushy.

Wynonna's set with the symphony was cut short by the impending thunderstorm. She only got to sing three songs, and she wasn't happy about it.

"But it took me three hours to get ready," she said, and then encouraged the audience to come see her on the road.

Because of the weather, the fireworks started about an hour early, but I doubt most people stuck around to see the finale. The rain went from steady to blinding. I couldn't get it out of my eyes. Everything was distorted.

Luckily, we had been standing in the back and didn't have to get through a mass of people to get to the streets, which were filled with water. We were so wet when we finally got to the apartment, we took our clothes off in the hallway and immediately threw them in the washer.