92.1 & 93.5 Wild West Country

Nestled in the West Nashville neighborhood of Bellevue, roughly 13 miles away from the throngs of young CMA Music Festival attendees spilling out of downtown’s rooftop bars this week, sits the Ray Stevens CabaRay Showroom. The 35,000-square-foot dinner theater was a passion project for the 79-year-old Stevens, an entertainment venue where the multi-Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and comedian could perform onstage each week without straying too far from home.

The live show begab shortly after plates were cleared from tables. The show leaned heavily on medleys at the beginning — “That’s all we’re going to do of that one, too,” the singer said with a laugh after only a line or two from one of his first songs to find airplay, 1962’s “PFC Rhythm and Blues Jones” — only spending the time for full songs on those that were unquestionably hits. Once the applause finally died down after a rousing rendition of the Hot 100 charting ‘Gitarzan,’ he expressed his gratitude with “Thank you, culture lovers.”