MARK WILLS PLAYS HUCKABEE

Friday April 28, 2023 (Taping Date)

@ Huckabee Theater in Hendersonville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

With such a rich history like it has, any country music aficionado knows that when their feet hit the ground outside what is now the Huckabee Theater in Hendersonville, TN, they’re standing on the hallowed grounds that the legendary Conway Twitty once called home.

Whispers of legends past are faintly heard through the red and faded blue sky at dusk, freezing you for an inspiring moment while accenting an unexplainable excitement like “Twitty City” once brought, foreshadowing the next chapter in the property’s history as you are only minutes away from being part of the live studio audience for a taping of the popular Huckabee Show.

Bubbling with heightened anticipation the moment you pass through security and are whisked into the vast holding room, exuberant conversations strike up amongst studio audience members and the welcoming Huckabee staff over complimentary sweet treats and beverages.

Inside the state-of-the-art studio, you get an immediate feel for the crowd as it’s clearly a healthy balance of loyalists who attend every show, and first timers who are searching the room with wide eyes as they take in the lights, cameras, and the different sounds swirling all around them as trivia questions about Governor Huckabee flash across television screens.

A background video on Governor Huckabee plays inside the theatre, amping the excitement level of the crowd that much more as the governor comes out to the stage, gratefully welcoming the studio audience while encouraging them to laugh at the jokes, clap when they like something, and to just have a good, fun time with lots of energy.

After a momentary pause in the action to reset the studio for the television taping itself, the crowd claps along as Tre Corley & The Music City Connection play through the opening theme song and Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame announcer Keith Bilbrey reads through the guest lineup for that night’s show before landing at a rousing, “And now…here’s Mike Huckabee!” as the governor arrives on stage for his opening monologue to a tremendous ovation.

And that’s exactly how you’ll see it on TV!

But when you’re visiting a Huckabee taping, things aren’t always done as seen on TV. That’s such an interesting part of the attraction of getting a behind the scenes look at how a television program comes together between the stage and its final airing.

Proving that all it takes to ignite an audience is a few memorable chords, country music star Mark Wills instantly had everyone bopping along with shoulders dancing in perfect rhythm as they nostalgically reminisced during his smash hit, “19 Somethin’” whole flashes of Evil Knievel splashed across the backscreens as he mentioned Pac-Man, MTV, Daisy Duke, and Black Trans Am’s.

Though this may have been the first recorded piece in the studio during the taping, look for this exclusive performance on Huckabee.TV in the section labeled, ‘After The Show.’

For his song that appeared on TV, Willis hushed the entire crowd and had everyone slowly shaking their heads in approval as he took us through the very topical “Lookin’ For America,” a song originally released back in 2010 that absolutely applies to everything we’re witnessing right now.

With a heartfelt delivery, Wills struck the right chords on everything missing in the state of confusing times we live in today as he looked back on how simple it all used to be, singing profoundly of kids knowing they were safe when they laid down at night, a church that was full of people who weren’t afraid to speak the name of God, and where people understood the true cost of our freedom as they waved the red, white, and blue.

When his on the couch segment filmed, the first-time guest of the show and Governor Huckabee not only talked about his great music career, but also swapped stories of family, hunting, and his impressive tours where he’s continuously entertained the troops; telling his personal family story that inspired him at a young age to make him want to be able to do such honorable performances.

Though taped a little out of order, after his opening monologue which naturally touched on the political landscape and told the down-hearted story of a Target store in San Francisco putting all their items behind lock and key rather than locking up the criminals who keep stealing them, Governor Huckabee then welcomed Ed Schafer to the stage.

The former North Dakota Governor, and United States secretary of Agriculture from 2008 to 2009, offered a truly enlightening opinion on how both political parties need to stop tearing each other apart and going for quick hit likes on social media, to instead, come together on common ground to be the best possible for the people who they all serve.

In line with the variety talk show format that Huckabee delivers week in and week out, the audience belly laughed along with comedian Rik Roberts, a longtime performer on the show who Governor Huckabee introduced as being part of the family.

On that subject of family, Roberts opened his Polaroid photo album and delighted the crowd with hilarious musings on the home décor of his out of touch parents, his then sixteen-year-old sons reluctancy to get his drivers license, and his 10-year-old daughter’s inability to control her inner thoughts, resulting in embarrassing hilarity when she blurts them out loud in public.

Transparently honest talk of the deep state and his strong efforts to clear it out when he was the deputy assistant to President Trump, Kash Patel pulled back the curtain, exposing all that we don’t see everyday that is going on outside of the public eye within our political climate.

This conversation would lead to the ideas that he’s wrapped within his upcoming book Government Gangsters, which doesn’t just name names in attack like format, but it also provides us with a diagram to follow for solution to the problems.

The final segment of the taping featured garden expert Jamie Yost of JVI Secret Gardens. Joined by Governor Huckabee at center stage, and surrounded by a variety of potted plants, Yost taught Mike her secret formula for planting in the thriller, filler, and spiller format so as to enhance your backyard patio space to beautiful new levels this spring.

You never really know what you’re going to get with a Huckabee show, and in many ways that’s the lure to keep watching it. However, there are core signatures that can always be expected that include dynamic political talk with vibrant solutions, outstanding live performances, hilarious clean comedy, and an uber appreciative nod to all the veterans and first responders in the audience.

But at the heart of the camaraderie between Governor Huckabee, Keith Bilbrey, and Tre Corley and the Music City Connection, sits the studio audience who by the end of any taping feels like they’ve just been welcomed into the family themselves.

The idea that a stranger is just someone you haven’t met yet radiates throughout the crowd as the patrons converse with one another before the tapings begin, but it’s also felt through the excitement and gratefulness of not only everyone on stage and in the camera’s eye, but running through each staff member who keeps the energy level loud while making sure everyone is having a good time throughout the entire night.

Become a part of the extended family every weekend by tuning into the Huckabee Show on TBN every Saturday night at 7PM CST, and again on Sunday at 8PM CST.

And check out previously aired shows, as well as exclusive digital only content, by visiting: https://www.huckabee.tv/

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