Nashville Pub Crawl Draws Nearly 6,000

8/24/2007 Stephen L. Betts With an estimated 5,000-6,000 music fans jamming Nashville’s Demonbreun Street near Music Row on Thursday night, the free music event known as "Capitol Pub Crawl" has been declared a resounding success. The  5 hour-long event, which was open to the public, culminated in a performance by Dierks Bentley. And despite the sweltering 103 degree heat, Pub Crawl attendees packed popular nearby clubs The Tin Roof and Dan McGuinness, where standing-room-only crowds cheered raucous live shows from Capitol artists Eric Church, Luke Bryan and Lady Antebellum. As a special encore at the end of his set, Dierks brought up all the Pub Crawl performers – as well as surprise musical guests Troy Gentry (of Montgomery Gentry) Mark Collie and Muzik Mafia’s Two Foot Fred –  to deliver an unforgettable version of the Johnny Cash classic “Folsom Prison Blues.”  “It was a nice chance to come home and show people what we've been working on for the past five years," says Dierks. "It was awesome that the Nashville community and the music industry came out to support not just all of us but just to support the music in general. It was definitely a great night for me, for Capitol Records and for the entire music community." Echoing those thoughts, Eric Church says, “You know, we live in Nashville, write our music in Nashville, record our albums in Nashville – then get on a big bus to tour outside of Nashville. This is just a great opportunity to give back to the town that gives so much to us.” And newcomer Luke Bryan, addressing the necessity of performing in the excessive August heat, Luke Bryan says, “Anytime you are playing music – and fans are having a good time – it doesn't matter if it's 100 degrees or minus 100 degrees, I'll be there.” The Demonbreun stage featured a giant video screen where live footage of all four acts allowed all fans to see each performance. Additionally, Pub Crawl concert-attendees sent text messages from their cell phone that were flashed on the screen, creating a live chat room on the bottom of the screen (“We love you, Dierks!” “Luke Bryan is so cute!”) T-shirts featuring the colorful Capitol Pub Crawl logo – with caricature depictions of all artists participating in the event – were for sale on-site. Proceeds from the t-shirts will benefit Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital; the total will be announced at a later date.