Oh my word. I've been home a week!! My how time flys by when your having fun! NOT. Holy cow! Getting back "in the groove" has proven to be more difficult than I imagined. Yes, everyone has said "it always feels like that" after a vacation, but even though Nashville was a vacation, my time there was more like living there for a week since I didn't stay in a hotel and I was around locals. For the past week EVERYTHING has reminded me of Nashville. At work I've probably typed in 15-20 people's addresses who are from Nashville, and of course every song on the radio reminds me of my trip. I swear it's like a bad break up.. I was so caught up in planning the trip, getting ready for the trip, being on the trip, enjoying the trip, coming home from the trip, unpacking from the trip (which I've only done a little of) that it's truely like a break up! It's all I've really thought about since January, and now, I don't have anything to day dream about or prepare for, other than my 25th birthday. Seriously.. I've had a love affair with Nashville, and I'm having to quit cold turkey. Friday night I went out to Flying Saucer, went to the one in Nashville 2 times while I was there, so I went just to get the drink I like and their chips & salsa. Ridiculous!
On another note (sorta) haha Keith Urban is coming to Columbia TOMORROW & on a last minute whim I bought tickets. I had a promo code so I got a great deal on lower level seats. Hey, if I can't be in Nashville & a piece of Nashville is coming to Cola, I WILL take part. I just couldn't pass it up! :) Hi, I'm Morgan and I'm addicted to Country Music. Geeze! Very excited to see him live (again) last week was just a tease to make me want to go! Plus cutie Jake Owen (who I also saw live last week) will also be there! :D Very Excited!
Alright, I know I have YET to "finish" this blog from my trip. I had an extremely busy weekend trying to get stuff around the house accomplished, a 4yr old bday party, a baby dedication, some family time, father's day and a wedding. Whew! I have NOT had time to go through my pictures and decide which are good enough to post. Also, I need to finish the recap of the trip in writing before I forget what all happened. :) I may get to it tonight.. if not, sometime this weekend for sure! Maybe going back through pictures will ease the pain of the "breakup" ok.. probably not. :)
I almost have no words for the amazing time that I've had the past couple days! Saturday and Sunday night's concerts were beyond amazing!!! This city is famous for throwing in surprises and Saturday night was no exception! Josh Turner brought out Scotty and Martina McBride brought out Lauren Alaina! I can not imagine what they were thinking when they saw nearly 70,000 fans cheering for them. Martina probably but on the best show Saturday night. Her voice never gets old and gives me chills every time! Saturday after the concert we went down to Broadway to a dueling Piano Bar called Big Bang. It was a very cool place & the pianist played every genre! It was great! Columbia needs to get one! Very cool atmosphere!
On Sunday Leslie and Katie left, so Daniel and I went and did a super "touristy" thing. We visited Barbara Mandrell's mansion. We ate lunch out there too, it was like an old country cookin restaurant. I had the best collard greens I've ever eaten (besides my dads), broccoli and mac & cheese! The mansion itself was cool too, it's the largest log cabin, and neat to see some memorabilia. After that we drove over to Centennial Park just so I could see the remake of The Parthenon. I'd seen it before but he doesn't live far from it, so he drove me by.
Fontanel Mansion
Finally it was time to head to the final night of concerts! It was truly the best night and included The Jane Dear Girls, The Band Perry, Eli Young Band, Tracey Lawrence, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, and Taylor Swift!! I think I sang every word to every song at the top of my lungs!! Seriously, I had a sore throat afterwards and I don't have much voice today! :) So, like I said on facebook last night: WOW! What a weekend! Plane tickets: $215.40, CMA Fest Concert Tix: $200, not having a voice & having a constant ringing in my ears: worth it, seeing ALL of my FAVORITE country artist LIVE & singing every word along with them and 50,000 other people: PRICELESS!!!! Trip of a lifetime, something I'll never forget!
Well, keeping up with the blog on the trip has proven to be a bit difficult! I've been SUPER busy! So I'll update you from Thurs through this afternoon (saturday).
On Thursday I took a cab (which was an experience in itself, not a bad one, just not use to having to do that) down to Broadway. When I got down there I walked down to Riverfront park to see a few concerts. I saw Gary Allen, Jake Owen, and Steel Magnolia. Not all at once but spread out throughout the afternoon. I ate lunch at the Wildhorse Saloon. I had a yummy pulled pork BBQ sandwich and kettle chips and about 5 glasses of water. It's RIDICULOUSLY hot here!!! It's been in the upper 90s every day and LOTS of humidity, sometimes there is a breeze but not much! I also just walked around Broadway in and out of shops during the afternoon. Bought another poster from Hatch Print Shop as my souvenir & tried on a cute pair of boots, but they were nearly $300 so I decided that my one pair of boots that I bought here 3 years ago for $50 was plenty! Thursday evening was the first night of concerts, Daniels sister and friend came into town and went to grab a bit to eat before walking 20 blocks to the concert. Thursday night's show was great! We saw Zac Brown Band who brought out Randy Travis and Alan Jackson, Easton Corbin, Sara Evans, Jason Aldean, and Brad Paisley! GREAT SHOW!!!
Friday- Me and the other girls went downtown again and walked around the convention center where it was nice and cool! There we saw Corey Smith, Joe Nickels, Steve Azar, HLN Anchor Robin Meade, and Thompson Square. Then Scotty and Lauren from American Idol showed up. VERY hard to see them in the crowd and through all the media that was following them, but I got a glimpse and I was in the same room! :) I did see both of their mothers though! The process for meet and greets is a bit ridiculous and you'd spend most of your time only standing in line for one. You have to get a ticket to see them, which we couldn't figure out how to if it was a lottery or if you had to buy them. Or you could standing in a hopefuls (hopeless) line. We just chose to get as close as we could and take pictures! It worked for the most part! After that we watched a young (maybe 15) singer/songwriter perform. She was pretty good, and good to see a fresh face getting started in the business! We went to happy hour and then out for the concerts.. Friday night was great too! We saw Ashton Shepherd, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban (with Jake Owen), Sugarland, Lady A and REBA! After the concert we went out on Broadway with some of Daniel's friends, we bar hopped a bit, fun but VERY crowded this week! We got in late, and then slept in late.
Saturday- We got ready and went down and ate at a place on Broadway, I had really good turkey club on pretzel bread! Then we walked on down to Riverfront and watch Corey Smith. It was SOOOO hot we decided to go in to a restaurant and sit and talk and drink.. I had the biggest glass of water! I can't drink enough of it these days! Now we are about to get ready, eat dinner then go to tonight's concert. Tonight's performers are Chris Young, Little Big Town, Josh Turner, Trace Adkins, Martina McBride & Rascal Flatts! Should be another great night!
Sorry there are no pics with this post.. too much work! I have pictures on facebook, catch them there!
Yesterday I decided to stay near Daniel's apartment for the day which is in Hillsboro Village. It's really a cute side of town! I walked about 4 blocks down to a little shopping/eating area and went to the famous Pancake Pantry! Apparently, famous people eat here and there is always a line to get it. I waited maybe 6min to get in. I was a party of one and passed a party of 7 & a party of 5. #Winning! haha The pancakes were AMAZING!!! I love pancakes and these were THE BEST I've ever had!! :)
After breakfast I walked around in that little area and went into some cute and unique shops. Then I walked on another 4 blocks or so to the grocery store to grab me some breakfast items for the rest of the week! I can't live w/o my Simply Orange OJ! :)
On my way to the store I realized how LOUD the Cicadas are! Oh.My.Word. Everyone says they have almost all died or are mostly gone, but it's still loud in the middle of the day and they fly around and almost hit you in the face! I saw a bird catch one mid-air on my walk yesterday which was kinda cool. Anyways here is a picture of a DEAD cicada, the one that almost smacked me in the face was NOT dead! GROSS!!! Apparently, they are making their own music in Music City! ;)
Yesterday afternoon I decided to walk about a mile to Belmont University and tour the Mansion. I learned a lot and I like to do education things on vacation. Or maybe I'm just a dork who has an obsession with old houses. Anyways, it was a beautiful place and then I walked around campus. I couldn't take pictures on the tour, but the outside of the house is stunning. I really liked the inside, however it has been restored, so only about 30% of the furnishings are original. It has been in the hands of many over the years, but they are almost done preserving it to it's original state. However, the college uses parts of the house as offices. The owner of the mansion was a woman, which was rare. And she named it "Belmont" because it was on the highest hill and she could see the city from the top, "Belmont" meaning "Beautiful Mountain."
Today I plan to head on down to Broadway & see what I can get into... there are of course concerts going on today, but if it's too hot or it's nobody I'm interested in, then I can shop, go to Hatch Print or visit the Ryman or Country Music Hall of Fame.. some or all of that is up for today! :)
The week has definitely gotten off to a great start! The Grand Ole Opry never disappoints and last night was definitely no exception!! We had great seats, 3rd row of the balcony! The performers for the evening were Little Jimmy Dickens, Darius Rucker, Jerrod Neiman, Martina McBride, The Oakridge Boys, Lady Antebellum, Singer/Songwriter Bill Anderson, and Carrie Underwood. There was even a little surprise-- see the pics below! They all sang great songs and being apart of a live radio broadcast is always fun! Here are a few pictures from the night! :)
Little Jimmy Dickens
Darius Rucker
Jerrod Neiman
Martina McBride
The Oakridge Boys
Lady Antebellum
Bill Anderson
Carrie Underwood
And SURPRISE... Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery !!
My Friend Katie came down to help me back last weekend and then we went and took a few pictures in the field! I LOVE the hay and had a "vision" for these pics! :) I love how they turned out! Thanks Katie!! I don't know of another friend who'd cross a busy road, go into a field, get bit by an ant and sweat to death just to take silly pictures! LOVE YOU!!
Also... Just wanted to Thank ALL the people who helped make this trip possible! If I hadn't babysat my way through the year I don't think I would have financially been able to take this adventure! So thanks to the Escoe's, the Asbill's, the West's, my parents and of course everyone who is praying for safe travels!
Well.. just a few days to go!! I CAN NOT believe it's finally here!! It seemed liked it'd never get here and now I'm just days away! Holy cow! I have so much to do to get ready! I've made TWO to do lists. That's crazy! The first is all the stuff I need to take care of around my house before I leave so that when I come home I don't walk into a dirty cluttered house! The other list is everything I need to pack! It's quite ridiculous! I've always been an "extreme packer," to put it nicely, I'm sure my dad would say I generally tend to take everything but kitchen sink, but I'd prefer to say I'm a "generous packer." One time when my family went to Boca Raton, FL my bag weighed more than the 50lb limit (this was before the institution of paying for baggage) and they put a bright red tag on it that had a stick figure struggling to pick up and object and said "Caution: HEAVY!" Made me laugh! :) I will try (with the help of my best friend) to pack only what I need... HA. I feel like I need it ALL, I mean, you need to have choices, what if you don't feel like wearing exactly what you packed for that day on that day? That could be a major problem! ;) I'm flying Southwest (which by the way I hope the plane is your typical "colored" Southwest plane-- I've never flown in a plane that wasn't white or silver!--It's the little things!) Anyways, Southwest allows me TWO FREE CHECKED BAGS!!! I'm a girl, I WILL take advantage of this! :D
Pretty Colored Plane! :)
Oh how I wish I could fit everything in 2 bags this size...
I did buy a new carry on bag from Vera Bradley.. it's the Get Carried Away bag, how appropriate right? Anyways it came yesterday and it is going to be PERFECT!!! I think it will be my new "go to" bag for every little excursion! :)
This picture doesn't do it justice.. it's got great pockets inside and out!
My only other hope for my flights to and from is to run into someone famous at the airport.. hey it could happen there will be plenty of famous people having to get to Nashville from other places.. so there is a small chance I could have a close encounter! :)
I can't believe it.. EighTEEN days away from putting my toes on the ground in MUSIC CITY!!! It's crazy to think!! I'm starting to get a little nervous about packing.. I even had a dream last night about traveling and packing and what I forgot. I've had breakfast so I can tell this story and not worry about it coming true, so here it goes.. I dreamed I flew, but the plane wasn't going fast enough so we had to land somewhere in TN, and then I had to take a train or a bus into Nashville, but we had to wait over night to get on the train so we spent the night in a cheap (nasty) hotel. I had a room to myself (I guess since I'm traveling alone) and the only thing on TV was the movie "She's All That," which I was excited about because it's one of my favorite movies from high school, I mean really, who can resist a young Freddie Prinze Jr.? And ironically, I've heard the song by Sixpence None the Richer "Kiss Me" 3 times this week, from that movie. Alright, back to the dream... anyways, I don't know that I ever made it to Nashville before I woke up, but in the hotel I realized that I'd forgotten several items that I definately need to remember to pack... like my purfum (SJPNYC), other toiletree items and several cute dresses I've purchased esp. for this trip & MY COWGIRL BOOTS!! Seriously, in my dream how in the world did I forget those?? haha Well atleast I know for sure I'll remember those items now! :)
AMERICAN IDOL RECAP!
So can I just say how excited I am for Lauren and Scotty!! Two TEENs who have it goin on! :) They are great singers and performers with humble personalities who will no doubt be in Nashville in the near future no matter what the outcome of Idol next week! I'm so excited for both of them! Scotty just has my heart! <3 I have to admit I screamed a loud shrill when they announced the top 2! yea... I'm that girl! Now... who to vote for next week??? It really depends on what they perform (really hoping Scotty sings Josh Turner's "Long Black Train" & Lauren Alaina sings a Taylor song) and how well it goes but who am I kidding, either can win & I'll be happy! :D Ps. It was great Idol featured a Band Perry song & a Thompson Square song this week! Awesome that two up and coming groups were featured on a national television show! Made my little country music lovin' heart happy!
Well.. so far I'm loving this blog world. I have found several cute blogs to follow from girls all over the country that I don't know at all, but I like to read their thoughts and see their posts about fashion, music, "southern-ness" and other such ramblings. Maybe I just don't quite understand blog world well enough yet, but how do I get as many followers as some people have?? Anyways, I hope you will enjoy posts from the weeks to come and especially the week I'm in Nashville. I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity! :D
Well I can't believe after counting down since September 10th I'm only a month away from being in Nashville for the CMA Fest!! I remember in January when I started counting down by 10s and there were like 140 days until and now there are only 30!! It seemed to creep by but I know this last month will FLY by! For the most part I'm ready just trying to babysit as much as possible to make some extra money for the trip! I've had at least two babysitting jobs a week so that is helping! :)
Now, moving on to some things I'm into here lately! A couple weeks ago I bought Sara Evans new CD & Thompson Square's debut album! Both a great! I can't quit listening to Evans new CD, every song is great! I think my favorite song is the cover of Rod Stewarts' "My Heart Can't Tell You No." I've always liked that song (because previous to country I listened to 70s,80s, & 90s pop) and I just love her voice singing it. I actually think the song sounds better coming from a female perspective because it's so often a lot easier for a woman to give in or have heartache towards a guy rather than vise versa.
The Thompson Square CD has several good songs, and I hope they do well. I think the fact that they are married is sweet and plays a major part in their music.
I've also been watching American Idol this season! My two favorites from the beginning have been Scotty McCreery & Lauren Alaina. It could be because they are the only country singers on there, but there are so talented and young! Scotty is a cutie patootie and his deep voice is amazing, reminds me of Josh Turner and Chris Young. Lauren Alaina did a Carrie Underwood song this past week and did it justice! I know neither may win, but they will end up in Nashville for sure!!
On a note not related to music, but my other love-- FASHION! I'm officially addicted to Lilly Pulitzer! I've liked it since I was in high school, but of course couldn't afford it, heck what am I talking about I STILL can't afford it, BUT I've made a hobby out of finding it on sale or consignment! Last week I got a skirt and a dress from Platos and only spent $55 on BOTH! How awesome is THAT?? A few weeks ago I went to a consignment store in Greenville called Labels and bought a skirt, shorts and a shirt ALL for $90!! Again, AWESOME!! Also, the shorts are my new favorite shorts and I plan on finding some more at the end of the season for next year! LOVE them!! I have also splurged and bought a pair of Jack Rogers. I've heard people rave about these for the past two summers and just couldn't bring myself to break down and buy $100 sandals, but I can wear them to work and they match all my Lilly clothes to a tea and they are extremely southern, therefore I couldn't live without them!
Ok, finally it was announced this week that T.Swift will close the CMA fest on Sunday! So excited to see her perform again and what an amazing way to end it all! :) Alright, that's all for an update for now.. I'm sure more will come before I depart! So ready! ONE MONTH!! :D
Today they announced the lineup of who will be playing at Riverfront Park. Starts at 9am Th-Sun! :)
Thursday
Gary Allen
Emerson Drive
Colt Ford
Jack Ingram
Sammy Kershaw
Craig Morgan
James Otto
Jake Owen
Randy Rogers Band
Steel Magnolia
Friday
Frankie Ballard
Bucky Covington
Brett Eldredge
Jo Dee Messina
Randy Montana
Heidi Newfield
Sawyer Brown
Phil Vasser
Darryl Worley
Saturday
Crystal Bowersox
Jason Michael Carroll
Billy Ray Cyrus
Steve Holy
Lonestar
David Nail
Corey Smith
Mel Tillis
Chuck Wicks
Sunday
The Bellamy Brothers
Terri Clark
Locash Cowboys
Jerrod Neiman
Troy Olsen
Sunny Sweeney
Less than 50 days away now!! So excited about my country music adventure! :) Some of these people I probably won't go see, but there are definately some that I am looking forward to! Have a great Easter Weekend!
The CMA Music Festival has announced the nightly lineup of performers at LP Field during this year’s celebration… Just thought I'd post it... not to make you jealous or anything! ;) Thursday, June 9:
Jason Aldean
Easton Corbin
Sara Evans
Brad Paisley
Zac Brown Band Friday, June 10:
Sheryl Crow,
Lady Antebellum,
Martina McBride,
Ashton Shepherd,
Keith Urban
(More to be announced soon) Saturday, June 11:
Trace Adkins
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Reba
Josh Turner
Chris Young Sunday, June 12:
The Band Perry,
the JaneDear girls,
Miranda Lambert,
Darius Rucker,
(More to be announced)
Ps. Following country music people etc. on Twitter is actually fun! :) Otherwise... I think Twitter is a bit ridiculous! You can follow me, but it's boring! :) @morganegrant
It's been a couple of weeks since an update! Haven't really done any more "prep" for the trip other than getting more and more excited by the day! Today it was nearly 90 degrees here in Columbia and it gave me a little taste of summer! I'm busy here lately with new responsibilities at work, I'm in a wedding this weekend, and every spare second I have I spend outside in the sun trying to get a tan! :) Also, hit the gym today for the first time in a month. I've just been walking/jogging outside, but I believe me and the elliptical are going to become reacquainted from now until when I leave!
Anyways, the reason for the post is to post a list of the song and artist I constantly have stuck in my head! I listen to the radio at work because I have to drown out the typing, talking, coughing, sneezing, printer, copier, etc. I listen to Nashville 11 which is a Sirius/XM station but also on iheartradio.com. They are great! They play new artist and songs not played on the typical country stations! I listen to it in the car too! I'm addicted, but it's my escape. So here is the list in no particular order, and most of the artist and songs can be found on youtube. I will more than likely post some lyrics at some point, but I'm tired of carrying random pieces of paper around with these songs on them, so I wanted to get them down on something that couldn't get tossed in the trash! :)
SONGS IN MY HEAD Jake Owen-Barefoot Blue Jean Night Luke Bryan- Country Girl (Shake it for Me) Eric Church- Homeboy Tobacco Rd- Stiff Drink Georgia- Richer Lowcash Cowboys- Keep In Mind Ashley Gearing- 5 More Minutes Josh Kelly- Baby Blue Eyes, Learning You, Naleigh Moon, 2 Cups of Coffee JB & the Moonshine Band- I'm broke Eli Young Band-Crazy Girl, Radio Waves, Guinevere Stealing Angels-Girls Gotcha Back, Paper Heart Thompson Square- Glass
JaneDear Girls- Shotgun Girl
Rascal Flatts- Red Camero
Brad Wolf- I Make a Difference (it's about a teacher so teacher friends find the lyrics!)
Randy Houser- In Gods Time
Sarah Turner- Youngstown
Keith Urban-Without You
Taylor Swift-Beautiful Eyes
Frankie Ballard- Buncha Girls
Doug McCormick-Watch Your Mouth
Brantly Gilbert- My Kinda Crazy
Blue Broussard Band- Dance Alone
Outshyne-Country Boy in Me
Mark Cooke-I Love It
Brad Paisley- Old Alabama
Josh Abbott Band- Oh, Tonight
Yep, long list. But these are some of my current favorite songs. LOVE when they come on the radio, I can turn it up and belt it out (well when I'm in the car atleast! :) )
So on Day 69 (before I leave) I got an email from Carrie Underwood's website stating that she would be performing at the Grand Ole Opry on June 7 along with Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, Jerrod Nieman and others. So.. I quickly decided that this would be a great way to kick off the trip the first night I am there. My flight arrives at 2pm, so why not hit the ground running! ;) Very excited to be going back to the Opry. It was my favorite experience from the last time I was in Nashville. What a feeling to be in the same room that so many "greats" have been in! I was there before the Nashville flood, so I assume they restored it to almost it's original but it will be neat to see if there are any changes.
On another note:
The Academy of Country Music Awards are this Sunday! I will unfortunately miss the first hour or so of it, but my DVR is already set! :) The following are the nominees... I have highlighted my picks! We'll see how close I come to getting it right! ;)
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Toby Keith
Miranda Lambert
Brad Paisely
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban
TOP MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Keith Urban
TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR *Sidenote* SOO hard for me to pick one here! :)
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack
TOP VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
the JaneDear girls
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
TOP VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR (again hard for me to pick)
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Randy Rogers Band
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (TIE)
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville) Produced by: Lady Antebellum, Paul Worley
The Guitar Song - Jamey Johnson (Mercury) Produced by: Arlis Albritton, Dave Cobb, The Kent Hardly Playboys
Speak Now - Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records) Produced by: Nathan Chapman, Taylor Swift
Up On The Ridge - Dierks Bentley (Capitol Records Nashville) Produced by: Jon Randall Stewart
You Get What You Give - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Roar / Bigger Picture / Atlantic) Produced by: Zac Brown, Keith Stegall
SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (TIE) (again hard to pick!!)
"A Little More Country Than That" - Easton Corbin (Mercury) Produced by: Carson Chamberlain
"As She's Walking Away" - Zac Brown Band Featuring Alan Jackson (Southern Ground / Roar / Bigger Picture / Atlantic) Produced by: Zac Brown, Keith Stegall
"If I Die Young" - The Band Perry (Republic Nashville) Produced by: Paul Worley
"Love Like Crazy" - Lee Brice (Curb Records) Produced by: Lee Brice, Doug Johnson
"The Boys Of Fall" - Kenny Chesney (BNA) Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
"The House That Built Me" - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville) Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke
SONG OF THE YEAR [Award to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
"A Little More Country Than That" - Easton Corbin Composers: Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress, Wynn Varble Publishers: A Sling And A Prayer Music (ASCAP), Chrysalis One Music (ASCAP), Don Poythress Songs (ASCAP), Precious Flour Music (BMI), Universal Music-MGB Songs (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
"As She's Walking Away" - Zac Brown Band Featuring Alan Jackson Composers: Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette Publishers: Angelika Music (BMI), Weimerhound Publishing (BMI)
"If I Die Young" - The Band Perry Composer: Kimberly Perry Publishers: Pearlfeather Publishing (BMI), Rio Bravo Music, Inc. (BMI)
"Love Like Crazy" - Lee Brice Composers: Tim James, Doug Johnson Publishers: Mike Curb Music (BMI), Sweet Radical Music (BMI), T-Bird's Music (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
"The House That Built Me" - Miranda Lambert Composers: Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin Publishers: Built On Rock (ASCAP), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tomdouglasmusic (BMI)
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Award to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] *(Off Camera Award)
"Hillbilly Bone" - Blake Shelton Featuring Trace Adkins Producer: Randy Brewer Director: Roman White
"Stuck Like Glue" - Sugarland Producer: Tony McGarry Director: Declan Whitebloom
"The Boys Of Fall" - Kenny Chesney Producer: Don Lepore Director: Shaun Silva
"The House That Built Me" - Miranda Lambert Producer: Trent Hardville Director: Trey Fanjoy
VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (Off Camera Award)
"As She's Walking Away" - Zac Brown Band Featuring Alan Jackson (Southern Ground / Roar / Bigger Picture / Atlantic) Produced by: Zac Brown, Keith Stegall
"Blue Sky" - Emily West Featuring Keith Urban (Capitol Records Nashville) Produced by: Mark Bright
"Coal Miner's Daughter" - Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville) Produced by: John Carter Cash, Patsy Lynn Russell
"Cold Beer" - Colt Ford Featuring Jamey Johnson (Average Joes) Produced by: Shannon Houchins, Jared Scuillo, Justin Spillner
"Good To Be Me" - Uncle Kracker Featuring Kid Rock (Top Dog/ Atlantic / Bigger Picture) Produced by: Kid Rock
Well, that's quite a group!! So excited to see the outcome! :) Let's face it... I'm obsessed!
Welcome! As cheesy as it sounds I'm starting a blog about my trip to Nashville, TN in June to the 2011 CMA Music Festival, and a week in Music City. This will be my first "big girl" trip or rather one of the longest trips without my parents tagging along! I went to Nashville for the first time in the summer of 2008. When I was there I realized that I was living in the wrong southern city. I was already obsessed with country music and it's talented artists, but actually seeing and being in the place it was born is incredible! So I'm so excited and greatful for the opportunity to go back! While I'm there I am going to try to update the blog daily. Mainly because my memory may fail me, and I'd like to have written documentation of what I visited, saw, experianced etc.
Gearing Up: In way of preparation I have taken off my week of work! It felt great to put down 8 days of PTO for my "grown up" vacation! :) I have bought my plane ticket! I've actually had it since Jaunuary before the gas prices soared and the tickets got expensive! Glad I made that decision early! I'm flying Southwest out of Greenville/Spartanburg and I'm excited to how the operation goes since the hub is new to SC! So far I'm a fan... I have a direct flight to and from with 2 free checked bags for a decent rate! :) So thankful I do not have to worry about connecting and lost luggage etc. it'll be like getting on a shuttle. Perfect! I have started to buy/get together clothes to take! Of course that would be something important on my list to get taken care of 3 months early! ;) I'm excited that I've lost (and continue to lose) enough weight to buy shorts! Goal accomplished! I've also got a few cute sundresses that match my cowgirl boots perfect to wear! Very excited! :D
Counting Down: Obviously, I'm still 70 days away putting my feet on the ground in Nashville. But I thought I'd use the blog to post other ways I'm getting ready, and my other random ramblings about my obsession with country music! I constantly have a song in my head and hear a new song just about everyday that catches my attention so I thought I'd post lyrics, artist, songs etc. that I am currently interested in. I've tried (and failed) several times to keep a blog, so I am attempting to learn the ins and outs of keeping one before I try to keep one on my trip. Any tips or help with creativity is welcome, so please let me know if you are a blog guru so I can learn from you! So, follow if you like for some "Notes" from Nashville. :) Who knows maybe one day (hopefully sooner than later) I'll live there, not just visit, and the "Notes" will actually come from Nashville, instead of good 'ole SC! ;)
