The Late Fan Fair Still Remembered

Just got off a plane in LA from Hawaii ... already in fear of the hardest week in Country music for the on-scene fans and those covering them...

Who are these fans, I ask myself thinking of future stories? The ones met in the early '80s were mostly women probably mid-30s, maybe older. Never met many from the Deep South, which was a surprise ... Many from Midwest and Upper Midwest. A sprinkle from the West and a good number from New England. They wanted an in-person, up-close-and-personal connection with their favorite artist. An autograph would be a dream and so would a picture, which at the time was much harder to accomplish.

TODAY ... If Country music is predominately male "lettuce," and the listeners are much younger females ... 20s, then having the huge 20-hour-a-day live music events would be what they want. Because that is sure what they get. Instead of a State Fairgrounds campus, you get the wide expanse of the hot pavement of downtown Nashville. It was hot at the fairgrounds, too ... This event is often most remembered by the amount of sweat. and the lines.

You have got to be in shape if you are a fan going to this to the fullest. Cool clothes ... very comfortable footwear, just for starters. It's a military plan-type of a trip for the folks putting on this mega-event and those attending ... Good Luck with just surviving. The best part is the CMT Awards Show ... if you can get a ticket. You are sitting down in the cool and all the stars will show up in one place ... The biggest star event of the week by a long shot.

ABC turns this into a TV show so they control that LP Field concert pace and production. For better or worse. The downtown is a wild card with multiple events going on at the same time. I may just go back to the airport and see if I can hitch a ride back to Hawaii.

Hall of Famer Jim Ed Brown is back in cancer treatment, sadly to say ... WSM's Bill Cody should be back on duty mid-week after being under the weather.

In Hawaii, you are supposed to unplug ... and did but this black cloud looming ... The Ghost of Fan Fair is in the distance. The stars will make news .. .raise a lot of money for charity ... the baby acts have new clothes and makeup and will be working like they have never worked before ... The veterans ... well, let's see if any of the superstars show up outside the CMT and may a two song shot at LP Field ... Will there be any up-close-and-personal encounters with the stars? I hope so.