Some of the highlights from Monday night's television recap of the CMA Music Festival

were performances by newcomers, Zac Brown and his band who played their hit "Chicken Fried" and Jamey Johnson who gained recognition this past year with his song "In Color" off his second album on Mercury Records.  While Kid Rock and Taylor Swift reigned as usual, with performances of some of their biggest hits, in the end, it really was the "big" boys who stole the show.   When we say big we mean it in the literal sense.  It's refreshing to see two of the biggest hits out now sung by real southern grown country boys, as opposed to the usual perfectly buffed physiques that seem to come right off a Nashville assembly line.  And speaking of real southern grown country artists, on the ladies side, we noticed something else a little out of the Nashville "Norm".   Martina McBride's normal straight-laced persona was a little out of place paired with party boy rapper turned country rocker, Kid Rock.   McBride took a crack at singing a duet of Kid Rock's song "Picture" which was originally released in 2001 with Allison Moorer and then again in 2003 with Sheryl Crow after Crow's management rethought her having any part in a duet with Kid Rock.  The song which went Gold for Kid and remains popular with country music fans, has paired him with many talented female artists since its original release.  In fact, one of the best female vocalists in Nashville now, who is also one of those real southern grown country girls often under-appreciated for her amazing voice, is Miranda Lambert.   Lambert gave what many have already called  the best rendition of the duet, even pushing Crow's version down a notch.  So maybe we shouldn't be so hard on  McBride, but on this particular song, even her powerhouse voice didn't quite measure up to one who went before her singing Crow's part of Kid Rock's Gold Hit, "Picture".  Here's Lambert with Kid earlier this year in Nashville.