BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM
Chapter 481

As the Country Radio Seminar swung into its first big day on Thursday (Feb. 26), artists hoping to curry favor with the broadcasters were out in full force. I hadn’t walked more than a few yards into the Renaissance Convention Center when I ran smack into James Carothers. He began his day early by performing for a breakfast at Puckett’s downtown. Next, I spotted Drake White and made a big fuss over his outstanding new single, “It Feels Good.” He told me that unusual percussion sound on it is a suitcase being whacked and that the soul sister heard is actually Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

Not far away, The Cadillac Three, Mickey Gilley and The McCrary Sisters were doing video interviews for grammy.com. In the press room, Love + Theft, Angel Mary & The Tennessee Werewolves, Michael Martin Murphey and A Thousand Horses greeted assorted media reps. Hannah Bethel, Hannah Weeks and Southside Drive were meeting and greeting in the halls.

“You’ve got a lot of people’s hopes and dreams in your hands,” said Vince Gill to an SRO radio crowd in The Ryman Auditorium.

He was one of 16 artists presented by UMG at its sixth annual CRS Ryman showcase. The format here is brilliantly simple. Everyone performs acoustically, one song apiece. The conventioneers are treated to just about every artist on the rosters of UMG’s Mercury, Capitol, MCA and EMI imprints.

We partook of well prepared boxed lunches in our Ryman pews. The crowd was so large that they ran out of food this year. Royce Risser emceed, as chatty and charming as always. “You get to see what we at UMG are so proud of in the most legendary auditorium in the country,” he told the assembled multitude.

First up was Josh Turner with his gentle “Lay Low.”

Kip Moore offered his latest, the raspy and urgent “I’m to Blame.”

Kacey Musgraves introduced her new single “Biscuits,” which shipped to radio that very day. “It all began here for this artist,” said Royce of Musgraves. She pinned our ears back at this exact event in 2012 by introducing “Merry Go ‘Round,” brought down the house with “Follow Your Arrow” in 2013 and look at her now. Look, indeed: She wore a cute, ruffled, country-girl party dress and performed barefooted on the Ryman stage.

Canaan Smith introduced his ballad “Bronco,” written for and about his brother who died in a car wreck.

The always riveting David Nail was heart stopping on “Home,” a song written in the wake of his grandmother’s recent passing.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary as a group Little Big Town drew a massive cheer for their flawlessly executed “Girl Crush.”

Easton Corbin did his current hit “Baby Be My Love Song.”

Chris Stapleton blew everybody away with “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore,” drawing the afternoon’s first standing ovation. “I just got chills,” said Royce.

Mickey Guyton was introduced at this CRS presentation two years ago. Her long-delayed ballad “Better Than You Left Me” is taking off at radio, but she instead performed a jaw-dropping newer song, “Nice Things.” Standing far back from the mic, she harmonized amid her band members with a voice so powerful it needed no amplification. In a word, “Wow.”

Dierks Bentley was a triple treat, since his accompanists on “Say You Do” were Jon Randall and Jessi Alexander.

Brothers Osborne introduced their March 9 single “Stay a Little Longer,” and its virtuoso guitar finale earned them the day’s second standing ovation. Essential that you catch these guys live.

Billy Currington offered a bopping “Don’t It.”

Darius Rucker’s “Southern Style” was strummy and jangly and upbeat.

Eric Church surprised and impressed everyone with his striking new song about Alzheimer’s, “I Know Who He Is.”

Then it was time for Vince Gill. The Country Music Hall of Famer drew a standing ovation by just walking on stage. Royce called him, “the greatest ambassador country music has and will ever see.”

Gill told the crowd about releasing his first record 40 years ago, which was played by his local radio station. “What you did for me from Day One is, you gave me a belief in myself,” he told the radio folks. “I’m not gonna quit sending you records,” he added, before delivering his classic “Whenever You Come Around.” After it, he got another s.o.

Keith Urban has missed some Team UMG at the Ryman events in the past because of his American Idol commitments. But he was there this year, introducing a super new tune titled “John Cougar, John Deere and John 3:16.” Eric Church returned to the stage to sing “Raise ‘Em Up” with Urban, who was also booked to showcase at the Ryman at midnight last night.

Lady Antebellum wasn’t at the UMG show, but the group has been very much present for CRS. The trio won a Humanitarian award on Wednesday morning, performed on the Opry’s CRS show that evening and did a panel discussion with Tom Roland on Thursday morning at the convention.

Also present and accounted for were such industry folks as Martha Moore, Bri Stewart, Bob Doerschuk, Jeff Walker, Jewly Hight, Jewel Coburn, Courtney White, Skip Bishop, Jerry Phillips, Susan Niles, Lee Ann Photoglo, Walter Campbell, Steve Lowery and Jason Morris.

Larry Boothby was among those who caught the Garth Brooks CRS show at Marathon Music Works Wednesday night (2/25). “You know Garth, he does things right,” he observed about the superstar’s full-band, class-production presentation.

Lee Brice kicked the week off with a sold-out Tuesday (2/24) concert at the Ryman, along with Maddie & Tae and Tyler Farr. The Warner Bros. party at the Rosewall on Wednesday (2/25) featured Brett Eldredge, Hunter Hayes, Jana Kramer, Ashley Monroe, Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Charlie Worsham and more.

Others who have already sung for the conventioneers include The Oak Ridge Boys, Eli Young Band, Mo Pitney, RaeLynn, Mel Tillis, Lucy Angel, James Otto, Lucas Hoge, Chase Bryant, Austin Webb, Waterloo Revival and LoCash.

Garth Brooks’ World Tour with Trisha Yearwood may not have a Music City date on the horizon as of yet, but several hundred Nashville area residents, and Country Radio Seminar attendees, got a taste of Brooks’ engaging, country charm last night (Wednesday, Feb. 25). The legendary entertainer has brought his show to hundreds of thousands of fans per night at arenas across the country, but last night he hosted an intimate, full-band concert at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works.

Brooks commanded the show from the second he stepped onstage, performing the thunderous power rocker “Cold Like That,” an album cut from his latest release Man Against Machine, co-written by fellow Sony artist Steven Lee Olsen. Numerous lucky radio listeners crowded close to the stage, having won invites to the private show through local station WSIX.

“Let’s see who knows the words to some of this old stuff,” said Brooks, before sailing into “Papa Loved Mama,” “Two Pina Coladas,” “The Thunder Rolls,” and “Callin’ Baton Rouge” with energy and enthusiasm that would rival any 20-something, starry-eyed newcomer. The crowd, which ranged in age from early 20s to post-retirement, proved age is only a number, and sang along faithfully to every song. It was clear from the first strains of Brooks’ 1991 hit “Rodeo” that the crowd relished the set of the singer-songwriter’s classic hits. Cell phones swayed above the crowd for majority of the evening, as fans snapped photos and video.

“Playing this size club takes me back to playing a lot of songs for the first time,” said Brooks, before launching into another Man Against Machine album cut, “All American Comeback Kid.” In true all-American fashion, Brooks emphasized the song’s concluding chorus by welcoming members of the armed forces to the stage, amid chants of “U.S.A!” from the crowd.

From the first notes of “Friends in Low Places,” the crowd cheered as if the 25-year-old classic tune was a current chart-topper. The frenzy peaked with Brooks inclusion of the song’s “infamous third verse,” which prompted fist pumps, lifted up drink cups, and cheers from the crowd. Though the set didn’t feature the full array of lights and full-scale production suited for an arena-sized venue, the performance didn’t need it. Brooks’ legendary onstage charisma and catalog of classic tunes were at full volume throughout the performance.

“Friends in Low Places” closed as white confetti spiraled over the crowd, a move that typically signals the closure of a concert. Instead, Brooks treated the crowd to an emotional performance of “The Dance,” and, as he’s done numerous times in concert, let the fans take over singing duties at the end of the ballad. Brooks then walked offstage to a thunderous applause.

The crowd wasn’t sated, and clamored for more. Their applause enticed the singer-songwriter back to the stage, where Brooks’ encore electrified with “Standing Outside The Fire,” “Two Of A Kind (Working On A Full House),” and “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old).”

Brooks’ next tour date is set for Feb. 27 in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.

Old Dominion, the five member band comprised of Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Whit Sellers, Geoff Sprung and Brad Tursi, has signed with Sony Music Nashville’s RCA Nashville imprint. The group, whose members have had cuts by Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry and Chris Young, is managed by Morris Higham Management.

Old Dominion’s debut EP, containing single “Break Up With Him,” was produced by hitmaker Shane McAnally. The single was rush released, based on fan and programmer demand, after early success at satellite and terrestrial radio as an album cut.

The deal with RCA Nashville, where Old Dominion joins a roster that includes Garth Brooks, Miranda Lambert and Jake Owen, means more music is on the way later this year.

“We couldn’t be more excited to join the RCA Nashville family,” shares frontman Ramsey. “As a band, we are eager to start our next chapter and are grateful for the opportunity to do that with the support of an amazing promotion and marketing team in RCA.”

“There has been a VERY loud buzz about Old Dominion around the Sony Music Nashville offices for some time now; so much that the three imprints were all fighting for the chance to work with the band,” says Sony Nashville CEO, Gary Overton. “I am pleased to announce the signing of Old Dominion to RCA Records Nashville.”

“Rarely in our business do you meet artists who are a ‘triple threat’– singer, songwriter, and musician. On top of those qualities, which each of them possesses, Old Dominion provides a truly amazing live experience,” says Morris Higham Management President, Clint Higham. “The team at Morris Higham Management is honored to represent the band and is looking forward to the partnership with RCA Nashville.”

The band will spend the spring and summer touring, as well as opening select stadium dates on Kenny Chesney’s The Big Revival Tour.

Thirty Tigers worked with Old Dominion to self-release the EP.

Additionally, the band is repped by publicity firm EB Media.