“CRS… it’s not all about the interview”

Checking in with our first blog of 2023 and it’s a good one!

Hope you have seen all of our posts on social media over the last few days while we were in Nashville for CRS. We actually had to take a few days to collect ourselves to get this blog ready. Michelle was unable to make it this year. Michelle and Connie have been going to CRS for many years. Connie knew the experience was going to an amazing three days of country music. It is a field day for anyone that covers and reports on country music. Let’s get straight into it and highlight some of our favorite moments.

CRS stands for Country Radio Seminars which consists of three full days of country music artists. It’s all about record labels promoting their music within country radio platforms.
There are also a ton of seminars with so much to learn about what’s up-and-coming in the industry. Right now it’s podcasting, blogging and social media content. How we listen to country music is changing and for people like us that are in the field of blogging and podcasting, we felt very welcome. CRS actually understands that we play an important role in promoting country music. People are streaming music and not necessarily listening to traditional radio like they used to. For labels wanting to promote their artists, they have to change the way they do things. It felt great to be there and see those changes happening firsthand. We learned so much about country music across all listening platforms, especially with streaming and social media now so much a part of the conversation.

Starting out our three day s of fun, Monday afternoon there was “A Conversation with Garth Brooks”. You could have heard a pin drop in the room as Garth talked about his career ranging from his early years in Nashville, his 1997 free concert in Central Park performing to a crowd of estimated 1 million fans, to his new Nashville bar on lower Broadway fittingly named “Friends in Low Places” slated to open late 2023. In true Garth Brooks fashion, he never sat down once, worked the stage, choked up the audience, then made them laugh, and kept the entire room on the edge of their seats. He also introduced his new collaboration with CRB: The Garth Brooks ‘No Fences’ Award. This is a new industry honor that will recognize an individual in the country music industry who has boldly demonstration innovation, creativity, and tenacity.

TikTok has been unbelievable with getting so many new artists discovered. Let’s start with our TikTok stars to watch. Our number one favorite up and coming star of the weekend was Avery Anna, she was actually discovered on TikTok singing in her bathtub. She was amazing and we can’t say enough about her personality and stage presence. Check out her song Narcissist. We posted video on our social media platforms. Next up… Jelly Roll, no doubt this guy has got it. We were stunned when he came on stage with Brantley Gilbert at the Big Machine luncheon we attended. Everyone went nuts in the room. We started to jam out like nothing else. It was so much fun. He has certainly created a major buzz. He’s a little rough around the edges and is rapidly growing his own following. We understand he may not be No Shoes Nation’s cup of tea but felt reporting on him as an upcoming artist was important.

On the second day the last few years we have headed over to the historic Ryman where UMG hosts us for multiple artist performances. This year’s line up consisted of:
Kassi Ashton, Boy Named Banjo, Dalton Dover, Caylee Hammack, Tyler Hubbard, Sam Hunt, Vince Gill, Parker McCollum, Kylie Morgan, Catie Offerman, Brothers Osborne, Brad Paisley, Josh Ross, and Darius Rucker. We had to post in two parts the Darius and Brad finale. They rocked our faces off. It was simply amazing being in the “Mother Church” with all those artists.

After The Ryman we headed back to the Omini Hotel to take in a seminar, where our friend Steve Stewart was on a panel. Steve is Cox Media Group’s Director Of Country Content. The “Radio & Records: Redefining The Relationships” seminar was great and we learned so much about the behind the scenes connections radio has with the artists and their record labels.

Right after Steve’s seminar we settled into our seats to watch Kenny do his interview with Lon Helton. This was a rare environment for Kenny to let down his guard and allow Lon to dig deep. The topics were incredible. The interview started with a review of how Kenny started out in the country music scene. It moved on to cover his career from top to bottom. Lon quizzed him on his number one songs. We had some laughs at all his old album covers. From making fun of himself for his chest hair sneaking out of his shirt as they put up on the screens the “All Need To Know” album cover. To showing how his shirts have evolved into being sleeveless with his first island inspired album “No Shoes No Shirt.” He touched upon his longtime love of the Virgin Islands. At the end we had more good laughs at how much his voice has changed from thirty years ago when they played Lon’s archived first interview with Kenny. During the interview Kenny discussed his struggles having divorced parents and his relationship with his father, as well as his love for his mom and grandma. We sat and intently listened as he discussed the anxiety he felt after his controversial marriage and how he needed to protect his grandmother when a BBC reporter showed up at her front door and she innocently welcomed them into her home. It came off as a funny story but at the same time we quickly understood why he so intensely protects his privacy. With that being said, we were asked by Kenny’s team to remove the content we posted from the interview on our socials. Since other media outlets have since been covering the interview, after us pulling ours down, we plan to put some cool stuff from it in our next podcast. We have had valid communication over the years with his team. We are hopeful to work with them and develop a better understanding of promoting Kenny and his music. So, we apologize to Kenny and are sad that the other media outlets may have not protected the “intimate details” from the interview like we will. We respectfully pulled everything down unlike others. We truly believe the fans will love Kenny’s music even more if they can hear some of what was discussed. Were “burning questions” answered? No, not at all, but we did come to understand him better and are appreciative of his candor. One of the most important things we took from the hour and half intimate conversation was that Kenny is a one-of-a-kind artist that has worked very hard to produce the best country music in the world. It didn’t come easy for him. He said a few times that his heart is into his songwriting and he struggles with his creative soul as he is constantly spinning songs and ideas in his mind.
Yes he is working on new music and is about halfway through a new album. He is constantly looking for “that” song. We continue to be proud members of the No Shoes Nation and it will always be about the music and the fans for us. While understanding that Kenny is the catalyst that brings us all together. We will constantly strive to be an honorable liaison for the fans.

After all the excitement of the day, that night featured Lainey Wilson’s Bell Bottom Music Celebration that highlighted hits of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. Sixteen artists hit the stage singing the classics, with Lainey Wilson kicking off the night with “Fat Bottomed Girls”. It has been amazing to watch Lainey’s success since she moved to Nashville in 2011 living in a camper for the first three years, to selling out every show on her current Country With a Flare tour. Other unforgettable performances included LoCash’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” (hair band wigs and all), Jelly Roll’s “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”, Elvie Shane’s “Feelin’ Alright”, and Parmalee’s rendition of Usher’s hit “Yeah!”.

As we wrapped up our final of three days in Nashville, we spent our time attending more seminars and learning so much about the industry. CRS closed out the evening with an Academy of Country Music sponsored dinner and performances by the The New Faces of Country Music, which included Priscilla Block, Jelly Roll, Jackson Dean, Frank Ray, and Nate Smith. Watch Priscilla Block, another artist discovered on TikTok. That girl has so much stage presence and confidence, she will go far.

Watch for our podcast later this month, where Connie and Michelle will discuss more of what Connie experienced for those three days in Nashville and the tour ahead!

Stay Healthy and let the “I Go Back”Tour Begin.
Connie