The journey to the Alan Jackson concert in Eskilstuna, Sweden.
First an introduction of me and my wife.
Me, Pontus Billstrom and my wife Sabrina Drugge decided last year at our holiday trip to the northern parts of Sweden to get married in Country & Western style, including clothing for all guests. For me this was very important as I have been a BIG fan of Alan Jackson since the beginning of the 90ths. I have all his CD: s and DVD:s, member of his fan club. The only CD: s I really listens too is Alan Jackson and Elvis, my kids do not like Elvis but my daughters are also big fans of Alan. They have talked about him and played “where were you” in school on their “special work“ where they present their favorite thing in life.
My wife I meet some years back and I have got here also into being a big Alan Jackson fan. We were in Nashville 2 years ago and she was a real cowgirl walking the streets of Nashville. We have been driving through 31 US states together listening to Alan Jackson, only… I have been in 10 more states driving and listening to Alan Jackson. Okay, some radio but a country channel. I miss Alan’s music after a while and hit the CD button on the cars radio. They do not have a 100% Alan Jackson radio channel in USA that you can listens to coast to coast?
The wedding date where set to 1st of August 2009. We looked at several churches before we decided to get married in a small chapel outside Borlange, Sweden where we live. The wooden Amsbergs chapel where build in 1683 and the polyptych are from 1490. Churched booked and wedding party place, just to go...
We got engaged in Gambia, Africa the 9th of December 2008 on our holiday trip. In the sunset at the beach, very romantic.
When we came back to Sweden some days before Christmas 2008 we told our parents, no one else, about our wedding plans. We only told the rest of family and friends we had got engaged.
On Valentine’s Day we send out the wedding invitations to our Swedish guests. Our US friends got them later. We got a lot of calls about the clothing. Here in Sweden people do not have that kind of clothes. They did not ask why country & western theme, they know… Alan Jackson, they have seen and heard him at our place all the time.
As big fans of Alan Jackson and the wedding being country & western style was the next step not too far away. See him live in the USA. We have been there several times but it have not been good timing. If we have been on the east coast Alan has been on the west coast and vice versa. Or he had a break at that time we were there. This time we booked the concert first, St. Augustine, FL the 4th of October 2009. We were very happy when they charged our credit card, then we knowed we got the tickets through the preferred seating system.
The same day we booked our flight to Chicago and back from Miami.
One week later or was it just a few days? We got a call and email from a friend of ours. Alan Jackson will come to Sweden she told us!!! I did not believe it, Alan here, no. For me to see Alan Jackson in Sweden would be as unlikely as Elvis would have played in Sweden in his days. Elvis played ones outside the US and that was in Canada.
I checked on the internet with the ticket seller and there it was. He WILL come here. I bought tickets and got 2nd row. Could not believe it anyway. I was in shock. I also bought tickets for my kids. It took me 2-3 days to get down to earth again. It took 3-4 days more before it came up here on Alans site.
Suddenly we will see Alan two times during 1½ month, get married before that and everything in country & western style. As you know it is a lot of planning before a wedding and we have taken care of that our self. I had bought wedding clothes from Scully and I did not see until a few days before I got the package that the shirt where the same (different colors) as Alan has on the cover of “Good Time”. Did not think about that, just liked the shirt on Scullys web site.
At the wedding we also had invited the news papers and they made a great report in our local paper. Country & Western wedding is not usually here in Sweden and with all guest also in western clothes it was a show…
Now we are here and my Cadillac Coupe Deville 1956 is packed, everyone else is sleeping and I am looking forward to this so I almost get a bad stomach. Tomorrow we will drive down to Eskilstuna (3 hours) and the camping ground nearby Sundbyholm horse race track where it all will happen on Friday 9.00 PM local time (3.00 PM EST). I hope to be able to write a report here at 6.00-7.00 PM EST.
See also my web page for some pictures of our wedding.
www.billstrom.nuPontus Billstrom
