CMT Blog: Archive

Love him or hate him, Garth Brooks has a history of doing things, and he continued in that endeavor Wednesday (March 5) at Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. For those not familiar with CRS, it’s a time when radio programmers, air personalities and executives come to Nashville for three days of educational panel sessions and musical performances. It’s a chance for the radio folks to rub shoulders with artists and for record labels to spend countless thousands of dollars to get their singles played on country radio stations. There’s a lot of back-slapping, people calling each other “buddy” and, of course, alcohol. Lots of alcohol. And limos. I should point out that alcohol was not a factor during Brooks’ 10 a.m. CRS appearance, but it was early in the day — even for those CRS attendees who will likely be inclined to imbibe later in the day.

Brooks recognizes the importance of country radio in his career, so it was no surprise that his latest CRS appearance came after releasing some new singles from his recently released boxed set, The Ultimate Hits. His CRS involvement was to consist of a Q&A session with Nashville radio personality Gerry House. As a bonus, one of the CRS attendees was also to be selected to sing a song onstage with Brooks. That prize went to Steve Ferguson, music director and morning show host at WTHO-FM, a 5,126-watt station in the small town of Thomson, Ga.

Accompanied solely by Brooks on acoustic guitar, Ferguson avoided embarrassing himself during the first sparse lines of “Friends in Low Places.” However, as the song reached the familiar singalong chorus, there was a roar through the sound system. At that point, the black curtain behind them opened and there in full force was Brooks’ entire road band. Having missed Brooks’ recent concerts in Kansas City and Los Angeles, I have to confess that it was exhilarating to hear the guy again in his element — onstage.

With Ferguson leaving the stage, Brooks continued with a brief set that included “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” and “The Dance.” Ironically, for all the hits Brooks has had since 1989, it seems that country radio doesn’t play those old tracks all that much, at least not like they play George Strait’s catalog of hits. As Brooks knows, however, you’ve got to keep that relationship strong going. He’s obviously not one to take it for granted.