During the CMA Music Festival, I crashed five fan club parties and I was pleased to discover a chilled-out country star at each and every one. None of the singers seemed in any hurry to get off the stage, and in a few cases, they played a couple of new songs that nobody else has heard yet. To a fan, that’s a golden opportunity and worth the price of a fan club membership. That, and a rare chance to get a photo with your favorite artist.
Celebrating No. 1 hits in Nashville ain’t no big thang, according to The Tennessean newspaper. So why, then, did so many celebrities from other record labels come out Tuesday (May 19) to root for Jamey Johnson at a party to celebrate his album’s recent ascension into the gold category? I guess 300 people were there, which is about double the normal attendance. And among those guests were the Oak Ridge Boys, Keith Anderson, Holly Williams, Bill Anderson, Kimberly Schlapman and Phillip Sweet (Little Big Town) and Teddy Gentry (Alabama). What did Johnson think of all the fuss? Sounds like he was pretty humble. “I’m flattered to have other artists at this party,” he said. “When it’s all said and done, no one is going to remember who sold more records. What’s going to matter is relationships.” So he may sing about some rough stuff, but deep down, he seems like he has a heart of gold. And that must be what fans — and fellow artists — have known and loved all along.
Fans may have missed out on Sugarland at Keith Urban’s shows last week in Uncasville, Conn., but they were treated to something else on Friday night (May 8) instead. In addition to Little Big Town — who substituted for Sugarland after Jennifer Nettles was placed on voice rest — Jamey Johnson made a surprise appearance and joined Urban onstage for a duet version of “In Color.” Rightfully so, it sounds like the crowd loved every minute of the hit song as Johnson lead and Urban harmonized. You can watch the video on Johnson’s Web site. If you were going to a Keith Urban concert, what unexpected artist would you like to see him duet with?
Damn those voice doctors. They just put Jennifer Nettles on vocal rest. Which means, sadly, that Sugarland cannot give Keith Urban’s Escape Together World Tour the kickoff it deserves tonight in Connecticut. Bummer for Nettles, bummer for Urban, and bummer for all the fans who were going to the show to get a double dose of good country music. The silver lining in this little musical cloud is that Jason Aldean and Little Big Town were able to make room in their schedules at the last minute — Thursday (May 7) and Friday night (May 8), respectively. No word yet on who will take that opening slot for Urban’s show in Pennsylvania on May 9, though. Let’s just all wish Nettles a speedy recovery so Sugarland can get back out on the road. Voice troubles also forced Sugarland to cancel appearances during a visit to Europe in March.
Something must be wrong. There are absolutely no country stars lined up to play the county fairs I love so much.
This is the time of year when I start marking up my summer calendar with fair and festival dates. Not because I’m into tractor pulls, duck races, petting zoos and carnival games nobody will ever win even with a pocket full of $20 bills. And not because I’m addicted to funnel cakes, fresh-squeezed lemonade and pulled pork sandwiches. But because there is nothing better than hearing country music from the bleachers nestled into my local county fairgrounds.
The Zac Brown Band opened up their act playing “Different Kind,” and the crowd went wild. They left us begging for more after each song, especially to hear “Chicken Fried,” and they held us on our feet until the end. They did not disappoint when they finally did play “Chicken Fried.” There was a young boy standing behind me, and I heard his mother saying that he is a ZBB fanatic. He received the CD for Christmas and knew all the songs. So naturally, as soon as “Chicken Fried” started playing, I pulled him up to the front row so he could watch the band from where I was standing without any obstacles in his way. He got the biggest grin on his face, and I was glad to pass on the favor having received the freebie myself! The musicians were just awesome — fiddling and pickin’ and playing all the instruments. I got the honor of standing in front of the fiddle player, Jimmy, and he kept my attention for the entire show. We left the front row and stood at the back to watch of few songs from Little Big Town and then went and bought some ZBB souvenirs. Thanks for the opportunity to write a review for CMT.com. It was my pleasure. Check out the Zac Brown Band’s upcoming tour dates.
Plenty of fresh new acts are just waiting for their turn to shine. And Little Big Town understands that. So they opened their hearts — and their tour — to give four country bands a chance to show the world how good they are. A Place to Land tour will be the runway for Josey Greenwell (Bardstown, Ky.), 32 Below (Fargo, N.D.), Corinne Chapman and J.W. Cudd (both of Nashville). Some 300 artists were vying for those four spots, so how did LBT narrow it down? Through a four-week competition via the Eventful Web site. Fans, friends and family all voted, and it came down to who had the most demand. LBT’s Philip Sweet says, “We are excited to see up-and-coming talent emerge and are grateful to share our fans and our platform with them in this unique way. We’re a band that believes in perseverance and building a strong base of fans in a grass roots way, and this is a cool way to nurture that spirit of independence by creating this opportunity.” Good Lord willing, this will be the start of something even bigger for the four winners.
Here’s a new one from a band called Gloriana, a quartet made up of two brothers, Tom and Mike Gossin, and two women, Rachel Reinert and Cheyenne Kimball. The Gossins discovered Reinert through her MySpace page, while Cheyenne, who starred in an MTV reality series named after her in 2006, later approached the three at a Nashville nightclub.When I first saw their debut music video, it reminded me of Little Big Town meets Lady Antebellum’s “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” I look forward to seeing whether or not this group’s music will take off, especially once they they receive national exposure opening for Taylor Swift as part of her Fearless Tour 2009. What do you think?
A new live performance by Jason Aldean is joined by Justin Moore’s second video venture and new singing group Gloriana’s debut in this week’s lineup of new productions evaluated by the CMT Video Evaluation panel.
Artist: Jason Aldean
Video: “She’s Country”
Director: Wes Edwards
Taylor Swift is right. Her song, “Hey Stephen,” paints a picture of a guy who looks like an angel. And he definitely does. But after spending a couple hours with Stephen Barker Liles, from the Nashville trio Love and Theft (named for a Bob Dylan album), I’d say his looks are just the beginning.
Liles and bandmates Brian Bandas and Eric Gunderson spent much of 2008 touring with Taylor Swift, which led to her little crush. And then “Hey Stephen” was born. In it, you can hear the upright bass fused with a little gut-string guitar, and you can hear Swift singing, “Hey Stephen, I could give you 50 reasons why I should be the one you choose/All those other girls, well, they’re beautiful, but would they write a song for you?” It’s one of those catchy tunes Swift is so good at. But Love and Theft’s own music is way more acoustic and is built around the harmony stylings of bands like the Eagles and maybe even a little Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.
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