CARBONDALE - Chasity Ratliff and Shelly Wood love Todd Snider.

The two drove from Cape Girardeau to see him perform with Robert Earl Keen and Bruce Robison Friday at Shryock Auditorium as part of Southern Lights Entertainment.

They were not alone. Southern Illinois turned out and packed Shryock for the performance. Already adorned in a Snider T-shirt, Wood accompanied Ratliff to the merchandise table to expand their share of Snider wear.

Both said their reaction to hearing that Snider was playing so close to home was "like oh my god."

Wood said a friend called and told her and didn't even finish giving her the news before Wood called Ratliff.

"Before she even finished telling me I called her," Wood said. "I may have jumped up and down, too."

But Snider was just a third of the fun for those who attended Friday night, as they had Keen and Robison to look forward to, also.

Keen has written songs for Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith and has had his songs recorded by George Strait, Shawn Colvin and the Dixie Chicks.

Snider released the album, "The Excitement Plan" in 2009 and performed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with David Letterman."

Robison has written three songs that have been covered by other artists and made it to No. 1 on the country charts. The Dixie Chicks topped the charts with "Travelin' Soldier," George Strait recorded "Wrapped" and Tim McGraw hit No. 1 with "Angry all the Time."

On stage, Keen said the three are good friends and rarely get a chance to share a bill.

Ratliff and Wood said they were looking forward to the other shows, but at the end of the night, it was all about seeing Snider.

"He's got a way of talking about current events but in a humorous way that's still meaningful," Ratliff said.

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com

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