Country Music Blog: Montgomery Gentry

Some of country music's top songwriters converged last week in Key West, Fla., for the 13th annual Key West Songwriters Festival, where they played free shows in the town's various nightspots and watering holes along Duval Street. The tiny island was overrun with tourists and festival attendees who jam-packed the venues for dancing and late night sing-alongs.With so many people around doing what vacationing, sometimes intoxicated people do, I found it difficult to stay focused on the music at times. However, there were a few ticketed shows at the Hog's Breath Writer's Room and the Tropic Theater, where Jeffrey Steele, Chuck Cannon, Kim Richey, Raul Malo, Robert Earl Keen, Kylie Sackley and other professional tunesmiths played shows with a Bluebird Café vibe and attentive crowd. I know these songwriters love it when artists like Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Montgomery Gentry and Faith Hill record their songs, but personally, I always prefer to hear the songs straight from the creator's mouth. The music portion of the festival culminated in a street party where Keen and Steele entertained throngs of people strolling along Duval Street.

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I've been reading Three Dog Nightmare: The Continuing Chuck Negron Story, a book about the tragic fall and personal resurrection of one of the lead voices from the pop band Three Dog Night. In it, Negron makes a claim that the band was one of the first to pack stadiums with a rock show.

The Beatles had done it before, at New York's Shea Stadium, and there were other bands that played stadiums, though many of them fell far short of filling them out. But I'll bet no one in the Fab Four's mid-‘60s era -- or in Three Dog Night's early-‘70s prime -- ever thought country music would be capable of that.

So this week's anniversary of the first George Strait stadium tour is one worth celebrating. Strait brought in 56,000 fans on March 14, 1998, to Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona for a lineup that featured Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, John Michael Montgomery, Lee Ann Womack and others. And Strait continued doing stadium tours with massive talent rosters for several more years before pulling back to his traditional in-the-round arena format.

What's now amazing is that while the stadium date is still a country rarity, it happens much more frequently than anyone could have predicted in the past. Kenny Chesney is playing 14 of those dates this summer, supported by a rotating list of acts that includes Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Big & Rich, Gary Allan and Luke Bryan, among others. Toby Keith has offered a handful of stadium shows as well.

Strait could likely pick up and fill out stadiums again, if he chose, and you can imagine Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn and Shania Twain (remember her?) doing the same thing. In fact, when the Gridiron Bash -- a strange, college-football-related fan competition -- lined up stadiums across the U.S. for April, a surprising number of country lineups were employed: Alan Jackson in Alabama, Dwight Yoakam in West Virginia, Dierks Bentley and Wynonna in Kentucky, Montgomery Gentry and Taylor Swift in Tennessee.

At last week's Country Radio Seminar, one booking agent noted that outside of such longstanding classic-rock icons as the Rolling Stones and U2, there's no stronger genre for live shows these days than country music.

Considering that a lot of country artists were happy to play high-school gymnasiums and small county fairs at the time Three Dog Night was playing those stadium dates, it's tough to find stronger support for the upward transformation that's taken place in country music.

Hi again, CMT Blog fans. Adam Black here from CMT Outsider blogging about another beautiful day in Steamboat Springs, Colo. It's the last day for Country in the Rockies, a charity event benefiting the T.J. Martell Foundation and its fight against leukemia, cancer, and AIDS. And I've been doing my part too, throwing my celebrity around to help get people psyched about giving to the cause. Today, for example, I threw my celebrity around quite a bit -- down various sides of a snowy mountain. Also, I got stuck (or "buried" as they call it up here) snowmobiling whilst trying to catch up with Darryl Worley. He was going AWFULLY fast for someone who knew I was trying to keep up. THEN, I saw Troy Gentry at the breakfast buffet. I said hello, and he just reached past me to grab an English muffin. It's almost as if the people here are unaware of my celebrity status! And the more I try to make them aware, the more mean looks I receive.

But still, I press on, because cancer isn't going to cure itself. Also, pay no attention to the press that MIGHT report I was trying to sneak into the Celebrity Ski Race. I was simply standing at the starting gate to cheer on Wayne Wong's team. Yes, I had a number pinned to my chest and had dressed up like Eddie Montgomery, but that was just to show TEAM SPIRIT. Ever heard of team spirit, Mr. Steamboat Springs Chronicle reporter?! Apparently not! But again, don't pay attention to any of that slander.

All in all, Country in the Rockies turned out to be hugely beneficial to the cause. The T.J. Martell people were awfully nice to us, and the hotel they put us up at even let me have one of those pre-pasted toothbrushes because I left mine at home. Yep, with folks as friendly as those from the T.J. Martell Foundation, we'll find a cure, and have a great time doing it. Bye from snowy Steamboat Springs. I'm your faithful blogger, Adam Black, wishing you a very merry week of whatever it is you do.

Hi everybody on the CMT Blog! Adam Black from CMT Outsider here, sharing some of my thoughts from Country in the Rockies here in Steamboat Springs, Colo. And let's begin with this thought: For some people, skiing means cutting a path in new fallen snow. For me, skiing means cutting my face on a rock when I've newly fallen.

I thought skiing on snow wouldn't be much different than skiing on water. After all, they ARE the same basic element -- H20. However, I should have realized I was in trouble when they didn't offer "wake or knee-board" as a rental option at the ski lodge. You see, because I told CMT that I was an expert skier, they decided to enter me in the "celebrity" ski race at Country in the Rockies, a benefit to raise awareness and money for leukemia research. Skiers included Darryl Worley, Montgomery Gentry, Lucy Angel, Blue County -- and me. Oh, I know what you're thinking: "Wait, Adam's not a celebrity!?" And if you're thinking that, you are wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! The Latin for celebrity is "celebrate," and I am someone who celebrates, so I am absolutely a celebrity. The other Latin meaning is "celibate." And, I don't know about Darryl, but my wife wouldn't be too happy if THAT were the case.

So, celebrity I am, and on the slopes I stood. But not for long -- no sooner had the starting pistol fired that Darryl whizzed by me, knocking me off balance. I toppled over and did a pitiful cartwheel just 10 feet down the slope. Part of my problem is that the only thing I really learned in ski school was "snowplow to stop." Well, YOU try to snowplow while turning a cartwheel. It's quite ineffective. So, that was my afternoon. Laid out on the snow. Jeering laughter filling my ears.

By the way, I didn't make the trial cut. Darryl's team is in, though -- even though I KNOW he knocked me over on purpose. But I can't be too mad at him. He and the other artists and guests have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in cancer, leukemia and AIDS research for the T.J. Martell Foundation. Tomorrow, Darryl and I are going snowmobiling. I've never been snowmobiling before. Should be fun.

One more thing! After the ski race, we all headed off to the big concert. Got some cool shots behind the scenes, before there was some kind of misunderstanding and the guard threw me out face first into the snow. I'm thawing the right side of my body as we speak. In fact, I had to type this whole blog with my left hand only. I'm sure the feeling will return to my right side by morning, though. Yeah, I'm sure it will. Talk to you again later!

Here are some of the country-related items of interest floating around the Web today:

Kenny Chesney made a surprise appearance during George Strait’s recent concert in Birmingham, Ala.

A Las Vegas fashion reporter claims Carrie Underwood committed a "crime of fashion" at the American Music Awards.

Jessica Simpson, Sheryl Crow and other stars are flocking to a new Nashville boutique operated by singer-songwriter Holly Williams, daughter of Hank. Jr.

Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry and his wife are co-chairing a fundraiser for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The year-end country song chart has been posted by Nielsen SoundScan and you might be surprised by some of the results. The most-played country song on radio was “Watching You” by Rodney Atkins. He also has the No. 4 song with “These Are My People.”

No. 2 is Billy Currington’s “Good Directions,” No. 3 is Kenny Chesney’s “Never Wanted Nothing More,” and No. 5 is Rascal Flatts’ “Take Me There.” Rounding out the Top 10 are Big & Rich’s “Lost in this Moment,” Carrie Underwood’s “Wasted,” Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This,” Dierks’ Bentley’s “Free and Easy Down the Road I Go,” and Sugarland’s “Settlin'.”

Over at The Texas Music Chart, the last chart of 2007 finds Cross Canadian Ragweed at No. 1 with “I Believe You.” The rest of the top five, in descending order, are the Randy Rogers Band’s “Better Off Wrong,” Shooter Jennings’ “Walk of Life,” Johnny Cooper’s “Let It All Go,” and George Strait’s “How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls.”

The top five songs on Billboard’s final weekly chart of 2007 are Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” at No. 1, followed by Josh Turner’s “Firecracker,” Chesney’s “Don’t Blink,” Strait’s “How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls,” and Montgomery Gentry’s “What Do Ya Think About That.”

Finally, in all the proliferation of charts, Billboard’s year-end charts rank all country artists, as well as top new country artists. Topping the country artist chart for the year is Carrie Underwood, followed by Rascal Flatts, McGraw, Chesney and Brad Paisley. Billboard’s top new country artist chart for the year puts Jason Michael Carroll at No. 1, followed by Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Luke Bryan and Cole Deggs & the Lonesome.

See and hear Atkins on his Unplugged at Studio 330  session.

Well, I’ve said it before: Only an idiot makes predictions on awards show winners. So that well qualifies me. Without further adieu, here are my selections for the winners in the major categories of the 41st annual CMA Awards.

• Entertainer nominees: Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Keith Urban
  Pick to win: George Strait
• Female vocalist: Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood
  Pick to win: Reba McEntire
• Male vocalist: Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Josh Turner, Keith Urban.
  Pick to win: George Strait
• Horizon award: Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, Little Big Town, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift.
  Pick to win: Taylor Swift
• Vocal group: Alison Krauss and Union Station, Dixie Chicks, Emerson Drive, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts
  Pick to win: Little Big Town
• Vocal duo: Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Sugarland, the Wreckers.
  Pick to win: Sugarland
• Single: “Anyway,” “Before He Cheats,” “Lost in this Moment,” “Ticks,” “Wrapped.”
  Pick to win: “Wrapped”
• Album: 5th Gear (Brad Paisley), It Just Comes Natural (George Strait), Long Trip Alone (Dierks Bentley), Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing (Keith Urban), These Days (Vince Gill).
  Pick to win: These Days
• Song: “Anyway,” “Before He Cheats,” “Give It Away,” “Lost in this Moment,” “Stupid Boy”
  Pick to win: “Give It Away”

The nominees for the 41st annual CMA Awards will be announced Thursday (Aug. 30) in Nashville and New York, and I’m ready to make a bold prediction: Brooks & Dunn will be nominated for vocal duo of the year. And, to give you even more insider information, don’t be at all surprised if they win in that category when the awards show takes place Nov. 7 in Nashville. They’ve having a good year, you know.

The truth is, of course, that Brooks & Dunn have won the vocal duo prize for 14 of the past 15 years. Montgomery Gentry’s win in 2000 must have given the champs a strong dose of reality. After that happened, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn got serious again and started making some of the best music of their career.

The nominees in the vocal duo category are generally the same ones who were on the previous year’s list -- give or take a name. In addition to Brooks & Dunn, last year’s nominees included Big & Rich, Montgomery Gentry, Van Zant and the Wreckers. Despite the success of the Wreckers’ debut album, some folks in Nashville are always a little suspicious (if not downright resentful) when a pop artist decides to delve into country. And now that Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp have announced plans to put the Wreckers on hold while making solo albums, it will be interesting to see if CMA voters take them seriously enough to grant them a second nomination.

In addition to those artists, there have been a lot of vocal duo nominees since 1992, the year Brooks & Dunn edged out the Judds at the awards show. The first name that always comes to mind is the Bellamy Brothers, whose humor and financial security allow them to joke about never winning, despite numerous nominations. But do you remember some of the other vocal duos who have been nominated during Brooks & Dunn’s reign? That list includes Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Baillie & the Boys, the Kinleys, Sons of the Desert, Brother Phelps, John & Audrey Wiggins, the Lynns, Thrasher Shiver, Baker & Myers, Darryl & Don Ellis, Orrall & Wright, the Raybon Brothers and Blue County. I have to admit that I’d forgotten about several of those, myself. But I’m sure if you asked any of them, they’d tell you it’s an honor just to be nominated.