In what was perhaps the best way to prove radio consultant Keith Hill that he “doesn’t know what the *bleep* he’s talking about,” Pandora founder Tim Westergren put together an evening of “Women In Country” that clearly showcased how important and valid women are in the industry. A lineup that consisted of two alums of Team Blake (Shelton) from the hit show The Voice – RaeLynn and Cassadee Pope – anchored by the amazing Martina McBride, filled The Altman Building in NYC with amazing talent, grace and confidence.
Only two days after her huge announcement, RaeLynn had that “I just got engaged!” glow to her (as well as a very sparkly ring on her finger!) while she performed her set. Whilst still being considered a new-comer, RaeLynn commanded the stage as if she’s been doing this for years. She performed songs from her debut EP Me, including “Boyfriend” and her first country radio single “God Made Girls” as well as some new material, such as the swagger-filled “Boss” and her current single “For A Boy.”
Cassadee Pope, winner of season 3 of The Voice, looked amazing in her studded black dress as she rocked the room with a set of her own material and some classic covers. Pope performed several songs from her debut album Frame By Frame, including “This Car,” “Champagne” and her platinum selling single “Wasting All These Tears.” She paid tribute to classic rock with covers of The Eagles “Hotel California” and Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down,” both of which had the crowd singing along loudly.
Considering the theme of the evening, the most significant song of Pope’s set list was her new single “I Am Invincible.” She talked a bit about the struggle that female country artists have to deal with before belting out the song that included the assertive lyrics – “Nothing’s gonna make me break or shatter / Nobody’s gonna tell me that I don’t matter, no / I won’t let you.” The song could very well have been the anthem for the night: Women in the country music industry fighting for and claiming their presence and not letting anyone else tell them otherwise. 
Pope closed out her set with the up-tempo “Good Times,” also from Frame by Frame, while bringing up two very lucky fans on stage to sing along and rock out with their favorite singer.
During the changeover in preparation for the final performer of the evening, four big band stands adorned with an “M” in calligraphy were situated towards the back of the stage. Soon, a four-piece horn section – trumpet, trombone and two saxophones – took their places behind them. As the stage filled out with keys, guitars, drums and three backup singers, they warmed up and played a little intro music leading the lovely Martina McBride out, wearing a gold suit that sparkled under the lights.
McBride played several covers from her newest album Everlasting, an homage to her love of R&B, soul and blues. Backed by the amazing band, she rocked through several classics including The Supremes’ “Come See About Me,” Etta James’ “The Basement,” Van Morrison’s “Wild Night,” Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” and the King of Rock and Roll Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds.” Of her own material, McBride sang older tunes such as “Love’s the Only House” (killing it on the harmonic too!), “ Wild Angels,” “Blessed,” and “My Baby Loves Me” as well as “Teenage Daughters” from her 2011 album Eleven.
To add to the “we are women, hear us roar” attitude of the evening, McBride brought out RaeLynn and Pope to join her on the 2003 girl-power anthem “This One’s for the Girls” which had the entire venue bouncing and singing along. (This event was being recorded, and due to a slight glitch the crowd was able to hear this song not once, but twice which was a nice added treat.)
However the most poignant moment of night was during McBride’s set was when she sang her 2011 Grammy nominated single “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.” McBride spoke of the numerous 
stories she has heard from people who have faced cancer in one way or another (survivor, supporter) and how the song has touched them before giving a powerful performance.
Adding another layer to the emotion of the song was that along with Big Machine Label Group (all three artists are signed to the label), Pandora also teamed up with the TJ Martell Foundation, the largest foundation in the music industry to help fund research for cures for leukemia, cancer and AIDS, for the event. At one point during the evening Westergren (who MC’ed) announced that #WomenInCountry was being used on social media and for every time the hashtag was tweeted, Pandora would donate $5 to the TJ Martell Foundation (later on Westergren said that he would match each $5). Pandora also presented Laura Heatherly, the CEO of TJ Martell Foundation, with a check for a $50,000 donation.
To find out more about the TJ Martell Fountain, click here. For photos from the event, click here.