Photo by George Lauby

Photo by George Lauby Rodney Atkins

Photo by George Lauby

Photo by George Lauby Jim Rice

Photo by George Lauby Kim Baxter (green shirt) and Chance

Photo by George Lauby Fans, from left, Jack Loomis, Heath Urbas and Lydia Dally of Hayes Center.

By the time Chance and the Jim Rice band warmed up the crowd, Rodney Atkins was ready to knock ’em dead, and that he did.

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Atkins played all five of his number-one singles plus many more in wholesome, truthful and humorous country style.

Atkins’ song “It’s America” hit number one May 2 and stayed there for two weeks.

The second single, "15 Minutes", was released May 26 and is climbing the charts.

“I gave up smoking, women and drinking last night. It was the worst 15 minutes of my life,” the song says.

Atkins flashed his powerful voice and handsome looks. With a six-piece group of top Nashville musicians, he kept the crowd singing, swaying and dancing for nearly 90 minutes.

For his third song, “These Are My People,” he turned a hand-held spotlight on the audience.

He closed his set with "It's America" --

It’s a high school prom/It’s a Springsteen song/It’s a ride in a Chevrolet

It’s a man on the moon/And fireflies in June/Kids sellin lemonade

It’s cities and farms/And open arms

One nation under God/It’s America

But the audience wasn't ready to quit, persistently clapping and raising North Platte thunder by stomping on the grandstand floor until Atkins returned.

He came back for three songs, including one with just him and his guitar.

He also encouraged the smaller-concert-crowd-than-normal to hang tough and weather the down economy.

"Traveling around the country, I see how tough it is," he said. "But we're all in this together. We're in it during the downs and the ups. We're a community. We're the United States."

Then he and the band did a little of the Johnny Nash classic, "I can see clearly now, the rain has stopped..." and closed the show with "If You're Going Through Hell, Keep on Going..."

The North Platte group Chance opened the night with a set of rousing country and rock songs, complete with a five-piece horn section.

Then Rice played a crowd-pleasing set of most original, traditional country songs, including one that George Straight is considering called "The Last Time."