By Maggie Devereux

|If you know me at all, you know I love country music. From old favorites like George Straight to up and comers like Kip Moore, I surround myself with the music. Deep down I wish I grew up in the South and I wish I had a country accent. But since I grew up here and have long a’s instead of long y’all’s, I settle for the next best thing: being a country music fanatic.This summer I got to experience two of the best concerts I’ve ever been too. In June, I saw Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Chris Young, The Band Perry and Jerrod Nieman all in one concert. With an all star lineup like that and the amazing visual effects used onstage (including a hologram of Carrie Underwood!), it was amazing. Unfortunately, the sound qualities at Wrigley Field were shy of average, and some of the vocals were hard to hear clearly.In July, I saw the best concert I’ve seen to date– keep in mind I had seen 14 different country artists in concert prior to this show– so for me to say that means it was THAT good. The Brother’s of the Sun Tour made my heart melt. I fell in love with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, and their opener Jake Owen was quite an impressive act to follow. The amount of passion and energy Kenny and Tim brought to the stage made Soldier Field– yeah they SELL OUT football stadiums– feel like a intimate arena. Luckily I had great seats, but I’m sure even the people up in the 400s felt they were right by the stage. Not sure if I’ll ever be able to say something topped Brother’s of the Sun.

Chicago got to experience a ton of country this summer, and I wish I could have been at every show. Unfortunately I missed headliners like Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Toby Keith. I also missed out on Country Thunder. The best part about summer though is the concerts are outdoors. Nothing describes country music better than fairs and festivals packed with people in cowboy boots having a good time outdoors. It gives the show a whole different atmosphere than being indoors.
My iPod, which is 98 percent country, was updated constantly with songs this summer. And as school starts and I begin to accept summer is actually over, it will be updated with the best of fall. But before I forget,  I’m going to share some of my favorites songs of this summer with you.
Take A Little Ride: Jason Aldean
Angel Eyes: Love and Theft
Pontoon: Little Big Town
The Wind: Zac Brown Band
The One That Got Away: Jake Owen
Somethin ‘bout a Truck: Kip Moore