BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM

Chapter 502

It was billed as “A Night of Live Music,” but the 9^th Annual ACM Honors presentation was more than that.

Staged at the Ryman on Tuesday night (9/1), the event was indeed characterized by swell performances by Miranda Lambert, Josh Turner, Holly Williams, Jason Aldean, Restless Heart, Roy Clark, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Isaak and Randy Houser. Yet the ACM also spent plenty of time honoring its own inner circle – Bob Romeo, Barry Adelman, Tim DuBois and the Ryman, itself.

The gig began with a snazzy cocktail party on the 90-degree Ryman patio outside. This was highlighted by the imaginative catering of M Street. We snacked on such unique fare as mushroom tarts with blueberry vinaigrette, veggie sushi in pink-rice wraps, lobster-and-popcorn hors d’oeuvres and spiced chicken meatballs, plus a more conventional desert of chocolate mousse.

Pre-show schmoozers included John Marks, John Huie, Pat Higdon, Pat McMakin, Debbie Linn, Debbie Carroll, Charlie Cook, Charlie Monk, Terri Walker and Christy Walker Watkins. Fittingly, the very first person we greeted was Ryman Auditorium superstar Sally Williams.

Inside, Bob Romeo greeted the capacity crowd and asked for a moment of silence for the late, great Jeff Walker. Host Jake Owen took the stage to sing “Feels So Right” in honor of Alabama.

“Feels pretty good tonight in the Ryman, Nashville, Tennessee!” he said. “Are you guys in the mood now?” We were.

The Swon Brothers presented the ACM Industry Awards. The winning venues were Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Hollywood Bowl, the MGM Grand in Vegas, Hard Rock Live in Biloxi and the Country Thunder festival in Wisconsin. Joe’s Bar in Chicago won in the nightclub category and its Ed Warm won Promoter of the Year.

The Ryman won its category for the fourth time. It hosted 76 country shows this year and underwent a $14 million renovation. The venue’s Sally Williams won her second Talent Buyer of the Year ACM accolade.

“I’m really lucky to be doing this job, and I want to acknowledge that,” she said. “In my life, I have never worked with a team of more passionate people.”

The Studio Recording Awards were presented by Kelsea Ballerini. They went to Greg Morrow (drums), Michael Rojas (keyboards), Dan Dugmore (steel), Ilya Toshinsky (specialty instruments) and the absent Jay Joyce (producer), Glenn Worf (bass), Chuck Ainlay (engineer) and Tom Bukovac (guitar).

The Gene Weed Special Achievement Award went to Luke Bryan, who scored six No. 1 hits from his Crash My Party album. Bryan was serenaded by his tour mate Randy Houser with a fiery, intense rendition of “Roller Coaster.”

“Today is September first,” said Bryan. “On Sept. 1, 2001, I moved to Nashville with a dream. I never dreamed I would even be let into the Ryman, never mind this.”

The Mae Boren Axton Awards went to Tim DuBois and Barry Adelman. The flawless vocal harmonies of Restless Heart on “The Bluest Eyes in Texas” were for the former.

“He’s a visionary in the way he puts words together,” said lead singer Larry Stewart. “He’s a visionary in the way he puts people together. He put us together,” as well as Brooks & Dunn.

Adelman’s music was a heart-tugging performance of “Yesterday When I Was Young” by Roy Clark.

Continuing the theme of honoring its own, the ACM’s Romeo was next presented with a surprise Special Recognition award. He led the way to the ACM 50^th-anniversay triumph attracting 70 thousand attendees (in the Dallas NFL stadium) and 16 million viewers to its awards show.

The music resumed with Kacey Musgraves doing a wry, winsome “Good Ol’ Boys Club” in honor of Songwriter of the Year winner Luke Laird. He co-produces and co-writes with Musgraves.

“This is all so surreal,” said Laird. “The first time I came to Nashville was in the summer of 1995 on a family vacation. I became a huge country music fan in the 1990s.” He moved here to attend MTSU and break into the biz.

Jason Aldean sang a medley of “Tennessee River,” “Love in the First Degree” and “The Closer You Get” in honor of Career Achievement Award winners Alabama.

“Some of the first music I remember hearing was from Alabama,” said Aldean. “So these guys are a huge reason why I am in this business.” He added that the group is, “the best band that’s ever been, in my opinion.”

“Just wait until you see what we’ll do in the next 30 years,” quipped the group’s Jeff Cook. Host Jake Owen said that he is frequently asked if he is Randy Owen’s son, and that he always answers, “Yes, ma’am.” He isn’t. By the way, Jake’s affable road manager Greg Fowler did that job for Alabama for two decades.

Holly Williams was spellbinding and soulful singing “Like Jesus Does” to honor Eric Church. He was given the Jim Reeves International Award. Church recalled facing a crowd in Cologne, Germany with trepidation.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared,” he recalled. “I smelled marijuana and thought, ‘This is going to go all right.’ They sang every song. They held their boots up. I learned something that night: You don’t have to speak English to speak music fluently.”

A posthumous Poet’s Award went to Boudleaux & Felice Bryant. The enduringly cool Chris Isaak, who is recording his new album in Nashville, sang “Bye Bye Love” in the late couple’s honor.

“This award…shows the enduring quality of their simple yet ingenious works of art,” said son Del Bryant. “As my mama would say, ‘Boud, we did it again,’” added son Dane Bryant.

The resonant, rich, warm voice of Josh Turner delivered “Good Ol’ Boys Like Me” to salute Poet’s Award winner Bob McDill.

“I have always wanted to stand on this stage,” said McDill. “Tonight, I get the chance. Thank you, Nashville, for letting me be a part of this club for 30 years. I am in fine company tonight. Or, as we say in the South, in tall cotton.”

The ACM Crystal Milestone Award was given to Loretta Lynn. Newly divorced Miranda Lambert gave a feisty, spirited performance of Lynn’s divorced-woman song “Rated X.”

“Thank you, ‘Miss Loretty,’ for writing that song and being so brave,” said Lambert. “I am so thankful for woman empowerment.”

“I just thought I’d drop in and see if Miranda was keepin’ it country,” said Lynn. “I want to thank y’all for another award. And, hey, I’ll be back next year for another one!”

Like many, many of the night’s honorees and performers, she was given a standing ovation.

Leading the applause were Mike Sirls, Mike Vaden, Mike Kinnamon, David Macias, David Pomeroy, Fletcher Foster, Sarah Skates, John Ozier, John Peets, John Jarvis, Johnny Duke, Joe Galante, Rac Clark, Karen Clark, Chris Parr, Chuck Aly, Sherod Robertson and Rod Essig.

Not to mention attending fabulons Bill Mayne, Lori Badgett, Beverly Keel & Ronnie Steine, Rhonda Adkins, Tony Brown, Paul Worley (who is working with Chris Isaak), Skip Bishop, Butch Waugh, Ed Morris, Diane Pearson, Schatzi Hageman, Vanessa Parker, Tim Fink and Regina Stuve.

Ben Vaughn, Eric Parker, Harry Chapman, Andrew Kintz, Neal Spielberg, event musical director Frank Liddell, Leslie Fram, Beth Laird, Phyllis Stark, Stuart Dill, Sam Lovullo and songwriters Brett James, Buddy Cannon, Dallas Davidson and Barry Dean clapped along with vim and verve.

On Aug. 31, 2005 Scott Borchetta and Toby Keith took the stage at Nashville’s Global Cafe to announce their respective record labels, Keith’s Show Dog and Borchetta’s Big Machine, would launch the following day. Today (Sept. 1) marks that 10-year anniversary.

A celebration was held this morning at the Bridgestone Tower’s SiriusXM studio for the latter company; which has gone on to boast five imprints with 65 No. 1 hits, more than 50 million albums sold and more than 200 million singles sold. A staff of 93 now oversees a talent roster of 30 recording artists in addition to three racing drivers. To boot, Borchetta’s personal garage contains 19 cars.

“Each time I sign an artist it’s a $1 million gamble,” said Borchetta to MusicRow. “I told our investors from the beginning, if they didn’t have the money to lose, don’t come along with us. Go to the horse races. I wanted investors who felt it will be fun, if it works or it doesn’t.

“I bought out our main shareholder, Ray Pronto, earlier this year so I own 90 percent of the label. Toby Keith is still a silent partner. I never hear from him except for when I see him out. We’ll usually give each other high-fives.”

As part of the celebration, a $100,000 donation was made by Borchetta to Metro Nashville Public School’s Music Makes Us initiative. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Chris Henson (Interim Director of Schools), Dr. Jay Steele (Chief Academic Officer) and Dr. Nola Jones (Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts) were on hand to accept the charitable gift. Hume-Fogg students sat front row at the event, wearing Music Has Value-branded apparel, courtesy of the label group’s brand, for which it has even launched a digital and physical storefront.

“In three years we restored band programs at all 33 middle schools; created new choral programs in 10 schools; established 45 new classes in 18 schools including mariachi, rock band, world percussion, country and bluegrass songwriting, and hip-hop,” declared Mayor Dean. “We’ve also opened a world-class recording studio, student-run record label and launched an online hub connecting Nashville music professionals with teachers.”

“To think for one minute that music wouldn’t be in schools? No! Not on our watch,” supposed Borchetta of his contribution to the initiative. “There’s a lot of pride today about music, about Nashville and about the great artists that have been a part of the Big Machine Label Group.

“I have always found that when I save up for something and buy it, I have great value in it. It means that much more to me. One of the things that is happening in real-time is adding value back to music so we can all continue to invest and make sure this great art form has a home for the rest of our lives and beyond.”

Recording artists The Cadillac Three and Danielle Bradbery were also present in support of their label head. The events aired later in the day on SiriusXM’s The Highway.

Looking back on his decade of impact on the global music industry, Borchetta said, “It’s still an outlier to invest in a brand new record company. But if you look back at the prospectus I wrote, it’s really a crazy look-in-the-future moment.”

At launch, Show Dog and Big Machine equally shared staffing resources, including promotion team and administrative resources, although financing remained separate. Keith footed a reported $5 million bill for his financing, and Borchetta’s investors in the other. Meaning, sooner or later Big Machine was to become profitable based upon its own roster which at the time included Danielle Peck, Taylor Swift, and Jack Ingram.

“Our early vision was survival,” recalled Borchetta. “It was get your boots on the ground, get these records played, get these artists exposed, and music in the stores wherever those stores were. There was a limited window where I only wanted to give up so much of the company for investment. I never wanted to go back to have a stock sale.

“I was part of startups before with MTM Records (30 years ago) and DreamWorks (1998),” said Borchetta. “You look at both of those situations in particular, DreamWorks staffed-up but we didn’t have records. Every day money is going the wrong way. I made sure that when Big Machine opened we had records out. Jack Ingram had a No. 1 on his first single and Taylor’s first single came out in June of 2006 (“Tim McGraw”) and her album in October 2006. We were very blessed with early success.”

What’s next for the 21st century music mogul? “We’re going to expand into a lot of other medias by survival, demand and opportunity,” he proudly concluded.