PHOENIX--George Strait [ tickets ] and the rest of his festival lineup proved on Saturday (3/31) that despite Nashville's pop leanings of late, traditional country music is still a vital genre.

Strait was joined during his set by Alan Jackson [ tickets ], who is second on this year’s bill, for their rendition of "Murder on Music Row," a stinging indictment of the pop trend. In announcing the song, Strait recalled commotion he stirred in Nashville when the duo performed it during the 1999 CMA Awards.

"Awhile back, I did a song with a friend of mine and it stirred up a little controversy, but it’s OK," Strait said as Jackson strolled on stage.

Earlier in the day, Strait’s thoughts about the state of country were foreshadowed by testimony from Brad Paisley [ tickets ], another main stage performer.

"Do we have any traditional country music fans out there?" he asked the near-sellout crowd that braved the sweltering heat for the all-day festival. "... Nashville has its own ideas of what country could and should be about. But I'm not listening to Nashville anymore. I'm listening to y'all."

The traditional country vibe kicked off early in the afternoon with Asleep at the Wheel, and continued right through Strait's set, which wrapped up more than nine hours later.

Flanked by banners reading "George Strait [ tickets ] Chevy Truck Country Music Festival," the enormous stage held three large video screens. An emcee, who addressed the audience as "ladies and gentlemen," gave the concert the feel of an old-time revue--a stark contrast to the coldness of rock and blues festivals. In between sets, the screens showed commercials for a myriad of sponsors like Resistol Hats, GM Cards, Justin Boot Company and Chevy. (Jackson was a sponsor’s nightmare, airing videos that included Ford trucks and performing "Mercury Blues," a love song about Mercury trucks which was reworked for Ford Truck commercials a few years back.)

Straitland, a vast collection of T-shirt stands and food booths, hosted the honky-tonk act BR5-49 and the Warren Brothers in between main stage sets.

The sets were lively. Paisley, playing his trademark red paisley guitar, used his sense of humor to woo the audience, which adored the singer.

"It’s an honor to be here at the George Jones Country Music Festival. I’m Alan Jackson [ tickets ]," he said.

"I’m just kidding. A few of you don’t know who I am. Maybe this will help," Paisley added before singing his second No. 1 song, "And We Danced."

Besides his hits, Paisley, who followed stellar performances by Asleep at the Wheel and Evans, played a series of short, humorous songs about topics ranging from hunting to ditching a woman for fishing to the general cultural shift toward debauchery: "I wish coke was still Coke and a joint was a bad place to be." When he sang "The Clintons lied to us all on TV," Paisley was greeted with rousing applause.

LeeAnn Womack came across as bored during the first half of her set, but livened up during her pro-woman anthem "I'll Think of a Reason Later." Her set included two covers: Bruce Channel’s "Hey Baby," which opened her performance, and the oft-covered standard "At Last," stunningly rendered.

Wearing a pink tank top, blue jeans and ‘70s-style sunglasses, Womack closed with her biggest hits "I Hope You Dance" and the Rodney Crowell-penned "Ashes by Now."

Lonestar lead singer Richie McDonald flirted with the audience by wiggling his hips, and won them over by trying on various articles of clothing that the crowd threw on stage. He conducted a singalong of "more, baby, more" during "You Walked In," a song that was written by Bryan Adams and Mutt Lange.

The band also unleashed two new songs--the ballad and title track "I’m Already There" and the heavy "Out Go the Lights"--which will appear on a new Lonestar album due in June.

Jackson and Strait, on the other hand, were all business, foregoing stage banter. Jackson kicked off his 70-minute performance with his appropriately titled 1994 song "Gone Country," and whipped through a variety of his hits, including "Don’t Rock the Jukebox" and "www.memory." Fans slow-danced in the aisle during ballads, and during the song "Mercury Blues," Jackson reached into the audience and signed autographs.

Strait ended the festival by displaying his fondness for traditional country tunes. After beginning his 105-minute set with the rockabilly-flavored "Don’t Make Me Come Over There and Love You," he disclosed the agenda for the show.

"We got a lot of songs for you, so we’re going to get right back into pure country music."