Kevin Costner and his band Modern West were unlikely tent fillers during the first day of the Stagecoach country music festival in California on Saturday by rocking fans with tunes and heartfelt messages to the struggling and unemployed.

The Oscar winner dedicated one track, Five Minutes From America, to the people of Louisiana, where he was filming when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Costner won applause from the crowd when he recalled the decision he made to continue filming, rather than relocate: "These people had lost their homes; they didn't need to lose their jobs too." His wife Christine and young son Cayden offered him a little family support from the side of the stage.

The actor faced a tough challenge in the Palomino Tent - he was on after longtime country music sweetheart Lynn Anderson, who thrilled the audience with hits like Rose Garden and Ride, Ride, Ride.

All this was long before the Charlie Daniels Band headlined the tent line-up on Saturday night. Highlights on the festival's 'mane' stage were Brad Paisley, who teamed up with Taylor Swift, Bill Anderson, Dierks Bentley and Little Jimmy Dickens "via satellite" on his Celebrity hit.

The quartet competed in a game of 'Guitar Zero' on a big screen behind the singer. Paisley was also joined onstage by Alison Krauss for a rendition of their hit duet Whisky Lullaby.

He made no mention of his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley or his new baby boy, Jasper, who was born a week ago, during his headlining set.

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)