By Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Rachel Williams blushed, shrieked and quaked until her mind went blank. Then she started to cry.

“They touched me,” she gasped, staring back at the stage where two of country music’s biggest stars – Big and Rich – took over a corner of the Ladies’ section of the Auburn Wal-Mart.

That’s where they shook her hand.

For more than 90 minutes Monday, the duo behind “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” signed CDs, guitars, hats, T-shirts, toddlers and one man’s bald head.

In all, more than 2,000 people formed a line that stretched across the front of the giant store, through the doors, up the grocery aisle, along the back corridor and down the other side.

Some people began lining up at 4 a.m., six hours before the singers arrived.

“I want to tell them they’re stallions,” said Devyn Donohoe, 17, of West Gardiner. She and her friend Kristen Fowler were first in line.

“We wanted them to know we’re their biggest fans,” Fowler said. “We had to be first.”

When Big and Rich arrived – dressed like members of two different bands – the girls watched in awe.

John Rich settled into a seat on the stage wearing a black striped shirt and a black hat. Big Kenny sat beside him, wearing a burgundy velvet jacket, a scarf around his neck and no hat, just a long mane of blond hair.

“Thanks for comin’ out,” greeted Rich, holding out a hand to each person who stepped up. Some didn’t know which star was which.

Not that it mattered to the chart-toppers.

Music sales drew them to Auburn, the second stop in a 10-city tour of stores. The local Wal-Mart is one of the band’s best sellers, though the numbers are a secret, said a spokeswoman for Anderson Marketing, which arranged the tour.

In the crowd that attended, virtually every person carried a copy of the new CD, aptly titled “Comin’ to Your City.”

Despite Big and Rich’s camera-ready look, it’s their music that’s the big draw, said Mary Beth Kirby. She and Tamitra Kioussis, students from the University of Maine at Farmington, began waiting at 5 a.m.

Big and Rich’s music is popular in the dorms, said Kirby. Its brash and not-so-twangy sound makes it easy for non-country fans to adopt and enjoy, she said.

Some of their lyrics are silly, but some of their songs have a message, said Kioussis. Condemnations of domestic violence and racial prejudice can be found in their music.

It’s a popular mix. Their first album, “Horse of a Different Color,” was released in the spring of 2004 but remains on Billboard’s album charts 80 weeks later, this week at No. 19.

The new album was released only a week ago. Wal-Mart devoted two registers Monday morning just for its sale.

For each person who bought a CD, the pair seemed friendly, often reaching out to shake hands with people too shy to offer a hand.

They posed for photos with people’s children and chatted about their songs and the Musik Mafia, a group of Nashville performers that also includes star Gretchen Wilson.

“I learned they’re human enough to be in Auburn, Maine,” said Amy-Lynn Hyde of Farmington.

The event didn’t please everyone, though.

Devyn Donohoe and Kristen Fowler, the 17-year-olds who were first in line, were disappointed. They’d picked up toy horses in the children’s department and wanted to dance for the duo. They weren’t allowed, though. There were too many people waiting.

“They’re still stallions, though,” Donohoe said.

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