When the Going Gets Tough...

Gas at 4 bucks, 100-degree heat, more than a few cases of laryngitis. Pooped and about ready to drop as the masses involved in the CMA Music Festival and the inaugural soak-in the last week. Back home trying to think about what they saw and heard.

Nashville: The heat was awful. Fan Fair and heat are twins. First time I can remember no rain. Nine percent uptick for CMA sales ... by all counts a successful event. Southern Alabama: BamaJam did better than they had dreamed. In people (not sales), counts the Bamajam was over 100,000. Big successes on any scale.

Note with unscientific survey, Jessic Simpson accomplished her mission of convincing all she saw that this is for real. She talked the talk and we shall see if she walks the walk. The fans and others genuinely want to take her at face value. I hope she keeps her word. She's in now; what will she do?

In the bigger picture, how fast did the face of country music change in the last year? The sales are crap, so something had to give. NASCAR has pulled a similar trick. The YOUTH movement is in full push. Kids are driving cars at 200 mph and kids are taking up the posts in the country wars. Taylor, Carrie, Julianne, Kellie and, yes, Jessica. Dale Jr. even seems like an old-timer next to the young hotshots, and everyone looks old next to Taylor Swift! Some of the stars who have been around 10 years are looking like these young singers' parents! Do these new kid listeners have any country music background? The Taylors have the folks IN the house ... now what?

The biggest stars of country are indeed huge on any scale you would like to measure them. Ticket sales, awards and general star power only growing for Urban, McGraw, Chesney, Rascal Flatts. The old gals and middle guys are the ones getting lost. With the gas prices, economics, the fall shakeout of ticket sales and who can tour will be interesting.

Poor people still find a way to have cable TV. It is the way of the world. Country music is more diverse than it has ever been. Not since 1967-68 Top 40 have you seen such a range of artists falling under a country bandwagon. Hendrix, Monkees, Cream, Beatles, Eddy Arnold, Perry Como all having hits in the hot Top 40 '60s. This country bunch that ranges from Josh Turner to Taylor Swift is pushing the big tent theory. The sad thing is that radio stop bringing the classic artists along the way. Kenny Rogers is almost an artist without a format. That is wrong! Still country may find a way to fix that, too. Can Willie, Hank Jr and others fit in a format with recent post-high schoolers?

Nashville was taken over last week by the CMA and all that comes with that event. But to the South, the dusty peanut fields of South Alabama was a whole different gig. BamaJam was a well-run event, from the parking to the RV camps and everything in between. A brilliantly run first-time event. CMA has long since had their act down to smooth rule.

Is the CMA festival one day too long? Sunday seems to not be important. That's just me.

Nashville Star is back ... NBC needs a hit ... we shall see!