Urban Wins Week #1

Keith Urban started off 2019 like no one else. In Music City, the Christmas and New Year's holidays always stretch from around the 15th of December until the first Monday of the year (unofficially).

Keith got the year started at 12:01am January 1st on stage for the Nashville official New Year's party. (Will come back to that.)

Then he was off to L.A. to do the Golden Globes with the wife. Keith and Nicole were on the very front table. In the center ... Every time a winner headed to stage, they were on TV. They were Hollywood's first couple! Then the next night, he flew to the Bay Area for the National College Football Championship game in Santa Clara. ESPN showed a few songs during his pre-game performance. No one was even close to his visibility this year.

NBC showed some of Urban's Nashville NYE show. Keith was excellent as you would expect. That show was a trainwreck with horrible NYC-based coverage and they even missed or didn't want to show the actual ball drop at Times Square. It was really bad.

Nashville needs to suit up and just take on New Year's Eve, get it on CBS who has folded its tent and doesn't even try. Have a great crew host (Tim and Faith ... Garth and Trisha ... too many to name), great performances and bring it back downtown instead out in the boondocks near the state capitol.

It would be a great commercial for the city and we can stop giving all the good talent to ABC!

Nashville could cut into NYC then keep it live for the Central Time Zone and the rest of the country. Any of the news or sports divisions could handle this and unlike the ABC Times Square crew, be prepared for lens condensation. NYE was a televised mess at the end of 2018. Nashville could own this!

Tracy Byrd and Mark Chesnutt are touring in 2019. Great to hear these two classics are on the road.

Tour announcements are still coming with Florida Georgia Line introducing their Can't Say I Ain't Country tour.

Bonnaroo has invited the Opry back for 2019. The Tennessee Woodstock must have liked the last time. Maren Morris and the ever-hot Kasey Musgraves doing their own sets. Kasey's career sure has heated up in the last few months. Can radio catch this wave?

Brad Paisley has few peers when it comes to the video world. (Dierks is pretty good in this, too, but not the same) Brad's Tootsie-based video "Bucked Off" is out on YouTube and it's one of those songs that is helped by a music video. Brad's music has been and is very visual. Catch his road show in 2019 and see for yourself. It's always an amazing marriage of music and visual.

Ever seen the Time-Life infomercials for their products? In the last year it's been the Greatest Hits of the CMA Awards. It's a 10-DVD set. Now at retail is a three-DVD version for somewhere around $30. Sounds great either way but STOP ... when is the last time I used my DVD player? Or CD player in my SUV or home? A long time. Better rethink that buy. Wish you could stream this or something!

And what a nice way to start the year...The Troy Gentry fundraiser at the Opry House. Blake Shelton and so many of his friends and family. The loss still hurts. Great that Troy's give-back spirit lives on!

We are off and running. RodeoHouston tickets on sale and everybody is finally back at work. The Clemson win over Alabama still hurts, but this too shall pass...