I’ve been to a lot of concerts since my last post a month ago. I did not attend the ACM Awards, but I spent a lot of time at the free ACM Country Kickoff concerts on May 9-10. A few miles away on May 10 was the Opry NextStage event. Fortunately, traffic wasn’t bad and parking was free at both venues. Since these were “short sets,” most artists didn’t bring a full band, and as a result, there was little to no steel guitar, banjo, and mandolin, even from artists whose recordings include such instruments. The Opry provided a house band for the NextStage event.
I’ll give some credit to Ian Munsick, who brought his fiddle player to both the Opry NextStage and ACM Country Kickoff events. The crowds reacted very positively to his statement that there should be more fiddle in today’s country music.
Since I live in Texas, I find it especially interesting that the ACM and CMT both held their awards in Texas this year. The Opry sponsoring the NextStage event in Texas was a nice bonus. I considered also going to the free afternoon events for the iHeartCountry festival in Austin, but the weather was horrible that day, so I passed on that one.
On my way to the Dallas area for ACM/Opry, I went to the first evening of the Salado Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering. This three-day event featured some ticketed concerts, but the first evening music jam was free. All of the performers at this western event have a legitimate background in ranch life.
After that, I enjoyed visiting the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. As a fun fact, the dulcimer player Vince Conaway mentioned that the mandolin was his first instrument and he was familiar with bluegrass. The “fire whip” performer Adam “Crack” Winrich plays the harmonica and mentioned that he’s a country fan.
The City of Kyle, Texas sponsored a three-day fair May 19-21 with free admission and lots of music. Most of the acts (mostly country and Tejano) live in central Texas, but Kyle Daniel made the trip from Nashville.
On May 27, I went to the Legends of Country Night at the Real Life Amphitheater in Selma, Texas. The venue is managed by a church. Johnny Lee is on a retirement tour, so it was especially good to catch him while I had the chance. Moe Bandy had to miss the event because of hospitalization, but Moe’s band Americana served as the house band for all of the performers. Moore and Moore opened the show and provided backup vocals for other acts. It was announced that they were in charge of booking the other acts, too. Joe Stampley, Janie Fricke, and T. G. Sheppard also performed. It would take quite a while to list all of their hits. I saw Tracy Pitcox of Heart of Texas in the audience.
The next big event is CMA Fest. Since it’s the 50th CMA Fest, it’s disappointing that so few older artists are scheduled. However, there are tons of “unofficial” events all over Nashville. If you’re looking for older artists, check out the Music Valley area. Some artists who rarely perform anymore are scheduled for these events. “Country With Heart” has Johnny Rodriguez and Rex Allen, Jr and many more.
Counting all of the official and unofficial events during CMA week, there’s probably over 800 artists. Even if you like only 10% of the artists, that’s still an overwhelming 80 artists in a week.
Jackson Dean at Opry NextStage
Kristyn Harris and Washtub Jerry at Salado Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering
Robert's Country Blog 