Gators was the last stop of the official Stone Cold Reality tour's kick-off weekend. The festivities took place under the tent.

Gators is the world longest waterfront bar and a portion of the outside is under a huge white tent. Complete with bar, tables and chairs with umbrellas and deck chairs for soaking up the sun.

Today's events were scheduled for 2 pm. There were a few people milling about the bar. Some were wandering around wondering what the stage under the tent was for and who all the people running around setting things up were.

On the right is a photo of the bar and the onlookers awaiting the show. Ray Stephenson's girlfriend Brittany (cross-legged sitting on the bar) and Sarah (in front in the black tank-top) Pedro Barnes' significant other, and Don Rissling (yellow shirt to the left of the ladder) are amongst them. Don along with Jennifer Rachidi of Trust Marketing Agency have done quite a bit of the coordinating of events.

It was your typical summer day in Florida, mid afternoon. There was a slight breeze but the afternoon sun was shining to beat the band. Nicole Witt was up first. I recall her mentioning the heat a few times that day. There was open area all around except behind the band, so the wind kind of just stopped there. That didn't stop Nicole. Smiling and cheerful as she always is, she was ready to go on.

Natalie on Drums

One of the best things about a reality show is that things aren't rehearsed.

An unexpected treat arose when word got out that there was a nine year old drummer in the crowd named Natalie DePergola. Brian Adams caught wind of this and the next thing she knew, she was on stage kicking off the night playing the bands first song, Soak up the Sun.

Your heard it right, she played right through the whole first song, never having heard it before. We're sure Natalie's Mom is very proud of her.

One of the band member was heard commenting after her set that she could put half the drummers he knows out of business.

Here she is playing with the band. From left to right we have Chris Sorenson on guitar. Ray Stephenson on vocals, Natalie on drums, Nicole Witt lead singer on acoustic guitar, Pedro Barnes on bass guitar, and Hoovey on guitar.

The audience was in awe as she never missed a beat. You can see, to the right, the expression on Nick Brownell's face as he watches in disbelief.

These are the kinds of things that happen at our shows. We try to tell you what to expect but you can also expect something unexpected.

Nicole Witt

Nicole Witt continued on through the heat to enchant the audience with songs like Bourbon, Even if it Hurts, Smoke, and All I Wanna Do.

All of these songs can be found on her cd The Rest of the Ride. You can listen to clips of these songs on CD Baby

Ray Stephenson backed her up on vocals and Shawn Hughes, the bands drummer, relieved Natalie to continue on the best he could in her footsteps.

Nicole goes from acoustic guitar to fiddle and back again. It was a very wonderful experience witnessing such an accomplished artist.

The band continued on for about 30 minutes before taking a break. In that heat, that certainly showed some endurance. Next a few fans that had purchase her cd asked her to autograph their copy.

By the way, always ask for their autograph and date on your CD or CD cover. Brian Adams has been offering to allow your dated autographed CD to be used as a backstage pass to any of the shows that air on TV in the spring of 2010. The date is important because he only announces this at certain shows.

You have to be at the show to know if that date is valid for backstage entry. F.Y.I. Between you and me.... he's announced it at every show this weekend. He can only allow so many people back stage at these events so get to a show soon and reserve your chance to mingle with the cast after the shows.

Ray Stephenson

Now the roles reverse. Ray Stephenson is on lead vocals and Nicole Witt on back up. Ray Stephenson is a regular down home country boy as well as a southern gentleman.

Ray's songs like Honkytonk Road and Farmboy will confirm his authenticity. Ray's songs seem to have a familiarity of their own that bring you into the world he signs about. They're country tunes, but it's Raybo country. Ray's style is in a class of it's own.

Don't take our word on it... Read the review Derek Sivers, president of CD Baby & Hostbaby has written.

Nicole plays the fiddle as well. She pulled it out for a few numbers with Ray. As Brian Adams puts it; "There's nothing sexier than a barefoot woman playing the fiddle." Forgive me for saying so Nicole, but he's right.

By the way, Ray is not offended if you would like to bring him a Bud Select while he is playing. He heard a rumor to the opposite and he just wanted to take this opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings and set the record straight. Again, contrary to the rumor, Ray will not be offended if you bring him a Bud Select.

Amanda Wlliams

Amanda Williams was up next. After speaking with her just moments before she stepped onto the stage, I wondered how this soft spoken sweet girl with the big grin was going to be able to keep up with the amped performance Ray Stephenson had just given.

The one thing we learned quickly about Amanda Williams is that there is the soft sensitive side of her that's present when speaking with her, but, it's nothing like that girl you meet after the first strum on her guitar.

The first thing you do is jump back a bit, and say; "Wow!". After the initial pleasant surprise you quickly get over that and just enjoy the enthusiasm Amanda Williams blasts forth in her songs.

That's not to say you won't find her sensitive side in melodiic form as well, such as in My Muse, but, Amanda loves to dance around, so, you get to hear her play a lot more of her upbeat, perhaps even seductive, songs like I Need a Good Man.

In the photo above from left to right you have Nick Brownell on lead guitar and back-up vocals, Shawn Hughes on drums, Pedro Barnes on bass, and of course, the vivacious Amanda Williams. Nick was kind enough to sing a solo songl. He sang Long Train Runnin' by the Doobie Brothers. Nick's charisma and voice that could melt butter, pierce right through you.

All said and done, Amanda certainly proved following Ray's energetic performance was not an issue you needed to be concerned with. She rapped up by announcing Jared Blake would be up in just a bit, and then, off the stage stepped the sweet southern belle I has spoken to just a moment ago. I found it hard not to ask if I had really seen what I thought I saw, but I refrained.

Jared Blake

Following along with the energy of the evening, Jared Blake comes to stage as a force to be reckoned with. The energy and soul he delivers through his music is mammoth. His heartfelt lyrics tell a tale of a man who's lived life to the extreme and is back to tell about it.

Jared's performance was the climax the audience was waiting for. He rocked the house with one song, called Crazy Bitch, that was so intense, Shawn Hughes busted a drumstick. Which he then through out to the audience as a souvenir.

His song, Easy Lovin' You, will linger in your head and have you reciting the chorus over and over.

His bold presence grabs your attention and draws you into his artistry.

His penetrating voice and raw lyrics had the audience in awe and screaming for more. A little trademark that's caught on is to yell Whoo!

Next, read on to find out what Brian Adams ended up having to do after losing a bet.

Brian's Bet

Brian Adam's has been enticing the crowd to purchase CDs in the most interesting ways. He's been daring them. For example, at the Round Up, the bet was about having one of the cast members ride the mechanical bull if said amount of CDs were sold.

For this show he challenged the audience with another dare. If the band sold a total of 25 CDs, he would do a back flip off the pier at Gators. Never having done a back flip before in his life to boot.

Well, it was too much of a dare for even this editor. I personally purchase the 2 CDs needed to reach their mark.

So he had no choice. They sold and he jumped! You can see him on the left getting ready. With a 1... 2... 3... he did a perfect flip. Shown coming out of it on the right.

You can't ask for a more dedicated producer than Brian Adams.

Nick Brownell wanted to go next but the management said "NO", something about strong currents, rocks, imminent danger...blah, blah blah

Shawn Purvis

One of the local Tampa area comedians Shawn Purvis stopped in to entertain the guests with a short set while giving the cast members a moment to catch their breaths. Shawn is also an avid photographer. He supplied the photo above of Brian coming out of the back flip right before hitting the water.

Wow what a day! You can see you're in for the unexpected with the cast of Stone Cold Reality. Every show has some surprise in store for the audience. Check the calendar for our next event. You won't want to miss it. Will it be more offers to consider a dated autographed copy of any of the artists CD as good as a back stage pass again? Another zany dare?

What I do know is you'll have a great time and hear some of the best country music singers/songwriters Nashville has to offer.

In the gallery below you can view these pics, and more, in larger format. You'll want to check out the photos as this is just as far as this editors story goes, but, it wasn't the end of the event. Though one show is all they were scheduled for, the cast enjoyed themselves so much that they all decided to each do another set later that evening. Totally free.

I can't remember the last time I had that much of a good time. I hope you all get a chance to feel the same way.