The final day is party in overdrive. The morning-after as I look back, here’s what I remember about the home stretch…

I’m conflicted about Billy Ray Cyrus. His voice doesn’t have much range, character or color most of the time — unless he’s doing his gravelly Springsteen/Mellencamp. But he’s a pretty darn good songwriter and quite a charmer. Because he’s been on a few TV shows, he was the star with the broadest fan base at We Fest. Everyone from Hannah-loving kids to grandmas who were around for “Achy Breaky Heart” seemed to embrace him.

Cyrus promised a special guest and delivered Ashlee Hewitt, the Minnesota gal from “Nashville Star” (which he hosted this summer), not his too-famous daughter Miley. Unfortunately, all Ashlee got to do was sing backup on “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Achy Breaky.” How bout giving her a lead vocal, Billy Ray?

Dad did suggest that Miley come to We Fest next year for a free concert. “No ticket sales,” he urged, before adding: “Like she listens to me.”

Well, I listened to Billy Ray, who showed up late but gave his all. Loved “I Want My Mullet Back” set to a rockabilly Chuck Berry beat, and the old-school country sounds of “Where Am I Gonna Live When I Get Home” and “It Could Have Been Me.” He told a moving story about meeting a man backstage who had just come back from Iraq and asked the singer to write the words to “Some Gave All” on his camouflage hat. That’s a well-written tune for our troops. And no one could resist “Achy Breaky” after all these years.

To be honest, I intentionally avoided watching Dierks Bentley’s performance because I’m going to see him at the State Fair in a few weeks. But I could hear him rocking as I dined backstage at a table with Wynonna’s guitar player, who shared stories about his work with John Fogerty, Bob Dylan and Julianne Hough. (His brother lives in Excelsior and is a Cargill VP.)

Some revelers believe what happens at We Fest, stays at We Fest. My job is to be honest, so I have to tell you what happened when I got together with Wynonna at her pre-show meet-and-greet. We were introduced in 1984 when the Judds made their first appearance in Minneapolis and have talked many times since. Let’s just say she was good spirits on Saturdeay, which can means she can be playfully mischievous. (See the influence of mother Naomi.) So backstage, after she sprayed sparkles on her Judd hair, she turned to me and sprayed sparkles on the chest hair visible at the top of my shirt.

Well, given her mood, Wy sparkled onstage. Her voice is a force of nature. Wearing a fringed shawl and big bellbottoms worthy of 1970s Elvis, she sang her hits, Judds songs and a couple things from a forthcoming covers album.  Loved Tammy Wynette’s “TIll I Get It Right” and found Merle Haggard’s “The Good Times Are Over for Good” to be a little slow and lacking in dynamics.

Of course, Wy’s personality was in full display as she philosophized about life and flirted with a 21-year-old guy in the crowd who said he loved her. It was an emotionally well-rounded set whose highlight may have been her tour de force reading of Foreigner’s “I Wanna Know What Love Is.”

Brad Paisley has named his current tour the Paisley Party. And he’s right. His set was a wonderful mix of sentiment, humor, exciting visuals, hot musicianship and fun. The most memorable moment for me was “Alcohol.” As bottles of all kinds of booze exploded on the video screen, a tall 30-something blonde walked over, sat down two seats away from me, leaned over and vomitted. Life does imitate art.

Paisley’s music stopped about 12:20 a.m. but the party didn’t. I headed to the VIP Campgrounds, found my party partners Dianne, Terri and Tabetha and sauntered over to Vic’s Bar and Grill, an RV party place. The gals downed free shots of whatever Vic’s was serving and we danced to “Here for the Party” and “Bonkadonk” or whatever it’s called.

As the We Fest theme said, we were feelin’ great in ‘08.

By the by, Tim McGraw is already booked for next year’s event.

It rained in Detroit Lakes. But We Fest didn’t turn into We Stock. Festgoers braved the downpour during Sugarland and a brief pelting during Kenny Chesney’s closing set.

Sorry, I didn’t arrive in time to see Tracy Byrd, who filled in for LeAnn Rimes who cancelled We Fest for at least a second time in her career. (Sorry - boy, I’m full of apologies - for reporting earlier that Trace Adkins was replacing LeAnn; that’s what We Fest staffers told me. They apparently don’t know Trace from Tracy.) But I digress.

I was late because I was stuck at my hotel (never had breakfast or lunch; it’s a real glamorous job, huh?) talking to Toby Keith on the phone (I said glamorous) and then writing a trend story about country music that my editors needed on Friday afternoon.

So here are some impressions of what I saw and heard on Day 2:

Little Big Town. This quartet is the best harmony group to arrive in country music in a long time. To be sure, they sang a lot of pop/rock tunes, including “Go Your Own Way,” “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” and “Heartache Tonight.” But the vocal blend sure sounded terrific.

Sugarland. They rocked the house. Even though the duo was on a mammoth stage, they treated it like a club gig. No stage frills, just performing like they were in a packed bar, not in front of 48,000 people. Jennifer Nettles looked barroom casual but she sang hard, worked that stage and sweated plenty to prove it. The performance was straightforward, raw and real. Kristian Bush took lead vocals on the crowd-thrilling encore of “Life in a Northern Town” with Little Big Town joining on the chorus. The quartet stuck around for “Pour Some Sugar on Me” as the fans rocked out in the rain. It was worth getting wet. (Yes, I got wet despite my 99-cent Coleman poncho.)

Kenny Chesney. He didn’t have the same kind of big arena-dazzle production that Rascal Flatts brought on Thursday. He and his band played it pretty straight. To be honest, Kenny seemed to be cruising through his hits. Then Tracy Byrd came out (sans his cowboy hat so I didn’t recognize him at first) to duet on a slice of old-school twang (was it “That’s My Name”?) that sparked Chesney.

He had more verve on the ensuing “Livin’ Fast Forward” and became looser and more animated on “Young” and for the rest of the night. Nettles and Bush even came onstage for one number but they didn’t sing, they merely waved their arms back and forth like they were doing “Purple Rain” in overdrive.

We Fest wraps up on Saturday with Brad Paisley, Wynonna, Dierks Bentley and Hannah Montana’s dad. I might even get over there early enough to ride the Bronco Bounce, a mechanical bull in an inflatable corral.

Read (about) my bull tomorrow.  

  Please post your comments here:

Sorry for not posting this sooner. The wi-fi at my hotel was down last night. That’s right, I’m staying in a hotel. Not a tent or RV over at the Soo Pass Ranch. I’m working, OK?

On Day 1, the weather was perfect. About 80 and sunny in the afternoon. Neal McCoy sure played a lot of oldie covers including “Okie from Muskogee,” “You Never Even Call Me by My Name” and “The Banana Boat Song” (Day-O). Taylor Swift may have sounded a little pitchy at times but she connected with the crowd, which packed the concert bowl, which doesn’t often happen during the sun-drenched hours. Jason Aldean rocked the house. I dug his cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”

Of course, I spent some time with the partiers in the campgrounds. Joe Kittell from Wahpeton, N.D., is my new best friend. Dude knows how to party. Maybe Rascal Flatts should write a song “Partying in Daylight” for Joe and his happy campers.

I did get to speak to Rascal Flatts before their set. Nice guys. Loose, quick wits. Gary LeVox has a wristwatch that’s serious bling. So serious that Hopalong Cassidy from Froggy, the Up North country station, asked him about it during the Jumbotron interview that all 48,000 festgoers saw.

I have to admit that up close Joe Don Rooney has the glazed-over eyes of a new dad who hasn’t slept much in the past two months. He did have a photo of his son, Jagger Donovan, affixed to the body of his guitar onstage.

Also talked to Taylor Swift on her bus. You’ll read more about her and Rascal Flatts later in the Strib. You know they’re coming together Oct 10 at Xcel Energy Center. RF promises a whole new show from the one that came to St. Paul last October. Their closing set on Thursday at We Fest was certainly a visual feast. Good times.

After the music ended, I headed back to my hotel to watch a preview DVD of Toby Keith’s new movie, “Beer for My Horses.” Problem was that it was a faulty copy, so I missed about one-third of the audio on the film. But got the essence of it cuz I’m interviewing Toby today on the phone; he’s coming to the State Fair on Sept. 1.

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Music critic Jon Bream reports from Detroit Lakes:

The last day was the best — from start to finish. The weather was sunny, then overcast, then sunny, then cloudy but pleasant all the day. The music was more consistent on Saturday.

Newcomer Trent Tomlinson came across like the Next Big Thing. The women will tell you he’s hot. The title of his debut tells you what you need to know about his music: “Country Is My Rock.

Music critic Jon Bream reports from Detroit Lakes:

The weather presented a challenge on Friday. It rained in the afternoon. As the sun was going down, high winds blasted Big & Rich with storms threatening. Fearing rain, Brooks & Dunn took the stage early and battled big wind but the big rain never happened. Credit Big & Rich for that because they led a no-rain chant during their set.There was plenty of rock with Friday’s country. Josh Gracin, the former “American Idol” finalist, did Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion,” and Trick Pony, subbing for Sugarland, dusted off Bonnie Tyler’s “It’s a Heartache.” Big & Rich cover all the musical bases in their “music without prejudice.” They even did the Pledge of Allegiance and set off the loudest sonic bombs heard at We Fest (maybe that was their version of “bombs bursting in air”?)

In the confetti department, Brooks & Dunn outdid Rascal Flatts from Thursday with red, white & blue during “Only in America” — as well as bringing out three Marines to salute the crowd. Ronnie Dunn’s red hair was blowing in the wind (maybe he needs old-school hair-care products) and his shirttails were flopping around. But somehow he managed to have his huge belt buckle gleam between the shirttails.

The music on the mainstage ended relatively early — about 11:30. Hey, it’s the weekend and it’s We Fest; people want to party. The late-night sounds of the Bryce Niemiller Project, a Fargo group playing on the smaller Ranch House stage, were heavy on bar-band rock. I preferred watching inebriated Fest-goers play Hammer Schlagen (in which people bet who can pound a nail into a tree stump using a hacket-like head on a hammer with one hand) than listening to “My Sharona” and “I Love Rock n Roll.”

Touring the campgrounds was much more fun. There are some seriously elaborate places (with corporate sponsors) in the VIP area. Some late-night dancing with major sound systems (some playing country, some rock and one even hip-hop). Lake Sallie campground has the Power Hour @ 2 p.m. daily with the crowd doing shots every 60 seconds. The Watermelon Patch has its annual free samples at noon on Sat from 22 watermelons, each spiked with a different bottle (and brand) of booze.

The big question for Saturday: Which famous spouses will show up? Will Trisha Yearwood bring Garth Brooks along? Will Keith Urban escort his new bride Nicole Kidman to Detroit Lakes?

“I wouldn’t put any money on either one of them,” said We Fest emcee Tom Katt.

Critic Jon Bream reports from Detroit Lakes:

It was sunny and hot and Terri Clark, who went onstage at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, told me afterward that she’d never before witnessed a wet T-shirt contest during her “She Didn’t Have Time.” Yes, the girl flashed her guy.

Speaking of flashes, here’s a hot news flash: Sugarland has bowed out of its appearance on Friday (today) at We Fest due to singer Jennifer Nettles’ illness. Trick Pony will take Sugarland’s place in the 5:45 p.m. slot.

Back to Thursday: Josh Gracin, who performs on Friday, showed up a day early to watch Rascal Flatts on the side of the stage along with Gary Allan, who stuck around after his Thursday set.

Martina McBride played between Allan and Rascal Flatts. What does it say when her best received tunes were covers of rocker Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me with Your Best” and North Dakota country singer Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden”?

Having played at three previous We Fests, Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts understands the essence of this 24-year-old institution. He told the crowd that the fest is misnamed. “They should change it to To Hell with the Music. Take a look around: It’s the Finest Women Fest.”

And he probably could see only the women near the stage in the VIP seats. The real party people — and great people watching — were in the general-admission area in the back of the concert bowl at the Soo Pass Ranch.

Did any of you We Fest-goers check out the new free wi-fi on-site? Strib photographer Cheryl Guerrero did but I didn’t have a chance to. I will on Friday (today).

Check it out and please post your We Fest comments here. Tell us who your favorite act has been so far and what’s the most striking oufit you’ve seen — onstage or in the crowd.

Now if I could just get my cellphone to work at the We Fest site. Apparently, Sprint is the affiliation for the site’s new cellular tower.