Show Stealers, One-Of-A-Kinds And Flops

Seemed like a long week ... The ACMs felt long ... because it was. The stadium looked fantastic. One and done on that idea, though. Too expensive. A novelty. Award shows blur so much these days. That was an impressive one-of-a-kind event ...16 million on the high side in audience.

Research time ...Went back to the '90s ... CMA's 48 million in '92 ... 38 million late '90s. TV in general has trouble these days on anything outside a football game. Next award show's Billboard in May. Just too many award shows. They are rarely special to the audience. Overexposure! Hurts the good ones!

A week later you still have to be impressed by the Andrea Swift/Taylor Swift segment. Who knows how to go into a loud cavernous stadium and speak about something so personal and make fans at home cry? I watch veteran Oscar winning actresses, on same stage, flop. What Andrea Swift did was extremely hard. Her daughter is class. Always. Washington Post flogger/blogger says TS speech was a Nashville goodbye message. May it was. Look at here now!

Alan Jackson's performance was so representative of Country music at its best. It felt great watching and hearing him. You could feel the excitement when George Strait started All My Ex's Live in Texas. The '90s stars still shine brightest of them all.

Nick Jonas and friends was water cooler talk but not good water cooler talk. Some of the stars fell flat. Good presentation with weak songs. Everything LOOKED great and technically sounded good, a feat unto itself. Overall, you had to like bro-country. In great supply and mostly forgettable. Not unpleasant just forgettable. The tale of two generations of Country music. Clear as maybe ever.

That Tidal /Jay Z-led streaming service seemed to land with a thud. Did you see Comcast and Time Warner cable blow up their deal this week? Consolidation may finally have a ceiling. Seems even picking a leader for a big Nashville label seems difficult. Nothing is easy in 2015. I think most would agree with that.

Nashville has finished its production with the final episodes to air soon. Renewal is pretty certain. At least for the next year. The show brings tourists to town even though it might be light on hit records. Hope it returns. The stars have been good citizens while shooting. The best at giving back to local charity events.

The George Jones Museum is fantastic. The second-floor museum is first class and is handled in a world-class manor. Plenty to see and displayed smartly. The first-floor restaurant and gift shop is perfect, and the roof bar will be a frequent watering hole once the word gets out. Parking downtown is awful ... and nearing impossible. For business ... a quick in and out, forget it.

The new amphitheater seemed to just appear. Major debates about the baseball park that is now open but the $61 million part/amphitheatre just appeared. Nashville is a very unpredictable town these days. Busting at the seams! Very impressive renewal of downtown for sure. Just parking seemed to be an after-thought or no thought. $41 to park at 2nd and Broadway for a work event ... seven hours ... 41 bucks ... Nashville has big-city parking for sure!

Music Row feels the downtown sprawl, too. The campus is now again spread all over town. Those were the days and they were very unique. Money changes things. It sure did around here.