Nashville - Embracing Country Music
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==== ==== Country music is the most enjoyable to relax and dream. www.countrymusic.web44.net ==== ====
The CMA Music Festival, hosted by the Country Music Association (CMA), encompasses four days of country music concerts, as well as musician and fan interactions. Despite its emphasis on country music and country music artists, the festival also showcases selected artists in other musical genres. In 2007, rock 'n' roll revivalists Los Lonely Boys and '70s heavy rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd made appearances. Over 200 artists attend the event each year to hold up to 30 hours of autograph sessions and "meet-and-greet" sessions with their fans at the Nashville Convention Center. Many artist fan clubs also hold gatherings in the area during the festival. The festival usually begins the day after the Tnn/CMT Country Music Award show, the only fan-voted country music awards. During the festival, attendees can choose from the 100 hours of concerts that are offered on stages at Riverfront Park and LP Field. Up until 2001, the evening concerts were organized by record labels, with each label choosing which of their artists would be able to perform, and for how long. However, beginning with Fan Fair 2001, these main concerts were grouped instead by record distribution group. This allowed for four main concerts, for Sony, WEA/EMI, UNI, and BMG. Artists are held to very strict timeframes for their performances, with Martina McBride noting in 2007 that she was expected to be on stage for exactly 34 minutes. The artists are not paid to attend the festival or for their performances during the festival. Half of the proceeds from the festival each year (estimated at US$200,000 in 2001) are donated to charity, while the other half is earmarked by the CMA for "the advancement of country music". The inaugural Fan Fair was held in April 1972 in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium, and 5000 fans attended. The following year, the event was moved to June in the hope of finding better weather conditions, and attendance doubled to 10000 fans. In the third year, the first non-country musician, Paul McCartney, was invited to perform, and Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner performed a duet for the last time. In 1991, singer Kathy Mattea attended Fan Fair despite being under doctor's orders not to speak so that her injured vocal cords could heal. She used a computer to type messages for her fans to read as she held "conversations" with them. Two years later, Shania Twain met her future husband, producer Mutt Lange, at the festival. Fan Fair underwent large changes in 2001. For the first time, the event was held over a long weekend instead of during the week. At the same time, the festival moved from its long-time home at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds to several sites clustered in downtown Nashville. In 2004,
CMA renamed the festival the CMA Music Festival in order to change negative perceptions, embrace the CMA brand and to expand the appeal of the event. In 2008, the CMA Music Festival will take place from the 5th to the 8th of June, and tickets are available now. Hotels in Nashville are expected to get booked up quickly, so if you're keen to get you dose of country, make sure you book ahead.
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Regan
==== ==== Country music is the most enjoyable to relax and dream. www.countrymusic.web44.net ==== ====
The CMA Music Festival, hosted by the Country Music Association (CMA), encompasses four days of country music concerts, as well as musician and fan interactions. Despite its emphasis on country music and country music artists, the festival also showcases selected artists in other musical genres. In 2007, rock 'n' roll revivalists Los Lonely Boys and '70s heavy rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd made appearances. Over 200 artists attend the event each year to hold up to 30 hours of autograph sessions and "meet-and-greet" sessions with their fans at the Nashville Convention Center. Many artist fan clubs also hold gatherings in the area during the festival. The festival usually begins the day after the Tnn/CMT Country Music Award show, the only fan-voted country music awards. During the festival, attendees can choose from the 100 hours of concerts that are offered on stages at Riverfront Park and LP Field. Up until 2001, the evening concerts were organized by record labels, with each label choosing which of their artists would be able to perform, and for how long. However, beginning with Fan Fair 2001, these main concerts were grouped instead by record distribution group. This allowed for four main concerts, for Sony, WEA/EMI, UNI, and BMG. Artists are held to very strict timeframes for their performances, with Martina McBride noting in 2007 that she was expected to be on stage for exactly 34 minutes. The artists are not paid to attend the festival or for their performances during the festival. Half of the proceeds from the festival each year (estimated at US$200,000 in 2001) are donated to charity, while the other half is earmarked by the CMA for "the advancement of country music". The inaugural Fan Fair was held in April 1972 in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium, and 5000 fans attended. The following year, the event was moved to June in the hope of finding better weather conditions, and attendance doubled to 10000 fans. In the third year, the first non-country musician, Paul McCartney, was invited to perform, and Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner performed a duet for the last time. In 1991, singer Kathy Mattea attended Fan Fair despite being under doctor's orders not to speak so that her injured vocal cords could heal. She used a computer to type messages for her fans to read as she held "conversations" with them. Two years later, Shania Twain met her future husband, producer Mutt Lange, at the festival. Fan Fair underwent large changes in 2001. For the first time, the event was held over a long weekend instead of during the week. At the same time, the festival moved from its long-time home at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds to several sites clustered in downtown Nashville. In 2004,
CMA renamed the festival the CMA Music Festival in order to change negative perceptions, embrace the CMA brand and to expand the appeal of the event. In 2008, the CMA Music Festival will take place from the 5th to the 8th of June, and tickets are available now. Hotels in Nashville are expected to get booked up quickly, so if you're keen to get you dose of country, make sure you book ahead.
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Regan
==== ==== Country music is the most enjoyable to relax and dream. www.countrymusic.web44.net ==== ====
