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The Evolving 'Urban Cowboy'
August 14, 2015
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A few weeks ago, the word went out that Fox was going to make a weekly drama out of the move Urban Cowboy.
That movie moved the Country music earth back in 1980. New songs stars and who could ever forget the mechanical bulls and the line dancing classes at clubs springing up everywhere.
Well ... The Urban Cowboy drama is a go. They will shoot in Austin. The excitement builds...
Until this news came out ... A Mexican soap opera star has been hired for the lead role and the music will be Latin in flavor. Won't help Nashville and might be able to be hotter to keep up with the on-fire music-based show, Empire.
Nashville has boomed tourism in Music City, but hardly a seismic shift in the music trends. "Empire," on the other hand, is doing a talent contest and bus tour and is the hottest show on TV, complete with limited commercial interruptions. Nashville has covered the story lines in Country music very tamely actually. The actual headlines are similar when you check our divorce rate and some artists losing their record deals. The stories do seem to mirror some things that have actually happened here.
The Urban Cowboy will have drug cartel story lines like the recent Dallas. If you are a Houstonian, you will know this ... A big boot-scootin' Country nightclub called Longhorn's was hot for several years ... The place was a movie theater converted into the Country bar ... Then the place flipped: "El Chapparrel," same idea ... Tejano crowd.
So, there is precedent for taking this route. My friend Country singer, Grammy winner Hispanic star Ric Trevino, had the foot in the door for Nashville years ago but the industry didn't know how to market to the Hispanic audience. Had the star ... saw him play the Astrodome at the rodeo and the place was sold out. Singing in Spanish and English. Can't believe that road has not been traveled in last 15 years!
The Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam was symbolic of everything good about Music City. The charity for veterans ... the fellowship back stage ... the family reunion-like atmosphere. Charlie Daniels and his wingman Ted Nugent rocked and played and had a lot of fun. The support from Eric Church and two dozen others was impressive. Hope that the 78-year-young Charlie Daniels will keep rocking like he is 18...
Sara Evans and REO Speedwagon doing "CMT Crossroads," a show that remains one of the, if not the best Country series on TV.
This has been the Summer of Divorce in Nashville. Let's hope that trend cools in the Fall. Been rough watching Music Row couples fall apart with the pressures of the music business in the ever-present background.
The time apart, the competition, the demands ... The front folks in this business have to keep a happy face and roll on. We have seen that is how they roll this Summer. Acting like everything is okay when it is not is not natural, but the way they do it. It was refreshing that Jake Owen told his audience he was having a tough time going through his personal difficulties. It worked for him. The fans and the support. The special bond between the music consumers and the music makers. It is a wonderful thing,
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