Who needs the Grand Ole Opry when you’ve got the Palace Theatre and the Roots & Boots Tour?

Greensburg’s grand dame of entertainment venues had a honky-tonk feel Feb. 2 as country music icons Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin and Collin Raye shared the stage for an acoustic evening of classic songs and some even more classic stories.

It was a star-spangled night, to be sure.

Kershaw has three platinum and two gold albums and more than 25 singles in the Top 40. Tippin has six golds and one platinum and three No. 1 singles. Raye is the owner of four platinums and a long list of Top 10 hits.

Tippin had extra bragging rights in Greensburg, as his son Tom Tippin opened for the big three.

“I’m from Nashville, Tenn., and I’ve got a whole lotta spunk,” the younger Tippin told the cheering crowd as he took the stage.

Attendees Lee and Lisa Norman of North Huntingdon also had a story to tell.

The couple met in 2008 at an Aaron Tippin concert. They celebrated Lee’s 40th birthday at another of his shows, where their sentimental favorite singer gave them a shout-out from the stage.

Larry Minder of Woodsfield, Ohio, proudly watched his nephew and concert promoter Dustin Knowlton of Big Time Entertainment keeping things organized backstage with Teresa Baughman, the venue’s director of operations and programming.

As small groups filed into the wings for a pre-concert meet-and-greet with the stars, Minder jokingly called himself his nephew’s “bodyguard.”

Also having a grand old night on the town: Allen and Lynn Bednar, Mark and June Proviano, Tom and Jodi Kromer, Paul and Janet Byrnes, Gary and Gina Byrnes, Shawn Barrett and Rachel Mazzetti, Tim and Carol Zang, Amber Workman, Josh Palmer, Wanda Workman, Andy and Natalie Gregg, Jodi Cain, Jamie Wright, Josh Miller and Brian Ulery.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley at 724-836-5750, smcmarlin@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shirley_trib.

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