Country Music And Guns!

Anyone want to take bets on print reporters taking shots at Country music in their coverage of the National Rifle Association's yearly convention stopping this year in Nashville? Seventy thousand expected to hit the new Music City Center.

Every politician worth his weight in gunpowder will be at the meeting and the soundtrack provided by Hank Williams,Jr, Colt Ford, Alan Jackson with Jeff Foxworthy for dessert.

This should get some big national coverage from all media and Ted Nugent will hoot and holler on the last day. It's a big convention and the audience is pro-traditional Country. Whatever that is in 2015. Alabama played for the NRA last time and went over big; some the organizers really loaded up for the Nashville stop.

You just know the cliches and stereotypes will fly in the coverage. Should be very interesting.

The intense concert bookings in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia will be visible in June ... if oversaturation is possible this will be the time ... Big shows like the CMA Music festival, CMT Awards, The Rolling Stones, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney ... all playing in the first two weeks of June in Dixie. Oh yeah, Bonnaroo, too ... Hope the weather cooperates for the outdoor shows ... 91 degrees here in Georgia on April 9th ... What's June 9th going to be?

Yes this is ACM week ahead ...Garth is on the cover of People and possible return ACM Entertainer of the Year -- and why not? The facts speak for themselves ... anyone else say they can out-entertain better than Garth Brooks? Sold more tickets in a shorter period of time ...Yes, the Bros and the Sis may pull off the win ... but it is fan-voted. Team Garth is pretty formidable ... just sayin'.

This ACM extravaganza is the bravest event ever tried in Country Music. Going into a city like Arlington, Texas, where nothing like this has ever been tried. Using both their stadiums and convention center in some way or the other at the same time. Loading in March 18th for an April 19th show demonstrates a scale bigger than any other award show in history ... 70,000 fans ... 85 tour buses, the numbers are staggering. Proud of the ACM staff and Bob Romeo for having moon-landing-kind-of vision and ambition. God speed, John Glenn!

CMT ... addendum: The future programming coverage for CMT got a lot of attention. The Billy Ray comedy, the new talk show and Kellie Pickler's Seacrest company production got the headlines and the Hollywood trade coverage. Country music was not forgotten, just under-covered. Yes, they are doing plenty of concerts, award shows, the great Crossroads, and a lot of other high-profile all-music specials. CMT is the visual standard bearer of Country, day in and day out. The big four networks do big Country shows and high-profile guest appearances. CMT is the network on record now. At this time of radical change and debate of what is and isn't Country music, know that the staff at CMT is trying to ride the 30-foot wave ... some days more effectively than others, but out there in the ring, throwing punches. It is not easy on one channel what it takes how many to do on Sirius? Much less one radio station.