ACM Awards 2013 Nominations Google Hangout

CMchatLIVE and CMNB Present the ACM Awards 2013 Nominations Google Plus Hangout! Wednesday morning February 13th, the Academy of Country Music took to social media to release the official list of ACM Awards 2013 nominations! We really get into the whole awards thing around here at CMNB, and this year we teamed up with CMchatLive to give you a little extra insight into the nominations. Check out our live “reactions” Google + hangout discussing and otherwise hashing out all the fun details on the categories, the nominees and the upcoming events surrounding the awards festivities in Vegas in April!  Get ready to let it all “Twangout,” and check out the complete list of ACM Awards 2013 Nominees! Tune in to the ACM Awards Google Hangout NOW! You can always follow along on Twitter with #CMchat and #BlogRodeo! The 2013 ACM Awards will be hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan and air LIVE on CBS from Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7th at 8pm.

Country Music Blog Rodeo February 2013 Announced

Country Music Blog Rodeo February 2013: Looking at the Mainstream Love Affair with Country Music Happening Now. The first ever Country Music Blog Rodeo launched last month, and it was a huge success! We received awesome feedback from readers, were the #1 trending topic on twitter, and managed to highlight some big trends for country music in 2013! Now we’re getting to get back in there to weigh in on some more interesting topics! For the February 2013 installment, we will be taking a closer look at why the mainstream from reality TV to artists in other genres and beyond seem to have all fallen in love with country music! Check out the schedule below, and get ready for some fun and insightful arguments from the participating blogs. Blog Rodeo February 2013 Schedule: Individual blog articles will go live on Monday, February 25th at 9:00am CT Twitter Chat will take place Tuesday, February 26th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm CT Follow #BlogRodeo and #CountryMusic Participating Blogs: CMchatLive.com CountryMusicPride.com CountryMusicTattleTale.com FocusOnThe615.com ForTheCountryRecord.com KeepinItCountryBlog.com ukCOUNTRYmusic.net UrbanCountryNews.com

BlogRodeo Recap – January 2013

Well, it came and went; the inaugural BlogRodeo country music collaboration event. The posts were great, the turnout was astounding and the twitter chat was a chart-topping success! No, really… we topped the Twitter Trending list for over an hour with the #BlogRodeo hashtag, which is no small accomplishment for ANYONE. I personally would like to thank each and every blogger, fan and artist SO MUCH for your participation! It’s easy to forget that while we work and play in our own little corners of the internet, we are still part of one very large and supportive family. I cannot WAIT to see what we accomplish in February’s BlogRodeo event. Now on to the nitty gritty! At the beginning of the year we reached out to fellow bloggers and asked one simple question: What are we most excited for in 2013? The answers we got back in the form of posts on each participants’ blog were as varied as the blogs themselves, so after sharing our posts, we took to Twitter to get a little more in depth on our predictions. (Note: With so many people chiming in, it’s difficult to cover everything, so for the full list of BlogRodeo tweets and stats check out #BlogRodeo on Twitter.) With over 200 unique participants posting over 1,200 tweets, and reaching almost 1.5 MILLION followers, here’s what Country Music Bloggers see happening in 2013: New artists to watch out for this year: Pistol Annies – While they’re not exactly new, they’re certainly establishing themselves as a full act on their own rather than a side project of the participating artists. Connor Christian – Nobody in today’s chat could deny the presence of the Connor Christian fanbase! Bloggers and country fans alike just kept slippin his name off their tongue (or tweets) like so much honey in a cloverfield. Backroad Anthem – This Ozark country favorite jumped in and participated in the BlogRodeo, did a few interviews with some of our fellow bloggers and ourselves, AND pulled off a handful of killer shows all in the last few days. Dedication and participation like that is what it’s going to take to get to the bigtime and we think these guys’ve got it! A few honorable mentions go out to Rose Falcon , Kacey Musgraves, Katie Armiger, Whitney Duncan, Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr. It seems quite a few of these have been on the cusp of mainstream success for a while, but they’re all poised to make some big noise this year. Hottest Headliners: Kelli Pickler – Now it’s been a bit since we’ve heard anything REAL big out of little Miss Pickler, but we’re all waiting with baited breath. She’s got the talent, and the strong and loyal fanbase so we can only guess that she’s being really careful about her next move. Randy Houser – CMNBlog calls Randy Houser’s new album “the bomb”, while UrbanCountryNews says the new project’s one to get, with the song “Like A Cowboy” being their favorite Continue reading BlogRodeo Recap – January 2013

Country Music Blog Rodeo Twitter Chat January 24

Mark Your Calendar: The Country Music Blog Rodeo Twitter Chat Happens Tomorrow January 24th! The first ever Country Music Blog Rodeo kicked off yesterday with some of the top independent country music blogs chiming in with their thoughts on the biggest and best trends for country music in 2013! Topics ranged from the impact of social media to artists on the rise to new festivals and tours to the influence of roots and Americana on mainstream country to the power of local communities on the wider industry and so much more! The participating had some really great insight, and it was really exciting to read through all the posts! Well, the blog rodeo continues tomorrow, and now, its YOUR chance to share YOUR thoughts on what the most exciting thing for country music will be in 2013! CMNB will be hosting a special twitter chat Thursday, January 24th from 12pm – 1pm CST, and you’re invited to join in! We’ll doing a follow-up Q&A on all the topics raised by each blog, offering an open discussion for readers (that’s you!) to throw in their two cents, and also giving away some pretty awesome prizes! There will even be a few country music artists stopping by to join the fun! Find the complete details below, and we hope to see you there! Blog Rodeo Twitter Chat: Date – Thursday, January 24th Time – 12pm – 1pm central (US) Join – #BlogRodeo #CountryMusic Host – @CMNBlog Blogs – @FocusOnThe615, @CMTT, @CMchatLive, @OfficialUKCM, @FTCountryRecord, @CountryMusicPri, @UrbanCountryNws, @KeepinItBlog, @TwangNation, @cmilove Prizes Include: Two (2) tickets to see Little Big Town April 19th at The Amp in Fayetteville, AR, a signed copy of Love and Theft‘s current album, a copy of Connor Christian & Southern Gothic‘s upcoming New Hometown, a signed 8×10 photo from up and comer Rose Falcon, passes to an upcoming Backroad Anthem show in Fayetteville, AR, a Backroad Anthem t-shirt and more to be announced! Don’t have Twitter? Sign up here. Country Music Blog Rodeo Participants: CountryMusicTattleTale.com: 2013 Will Bring A New Sound to Country Music! CMchatLive.com: 2013 – Insights From Country Music Industry Experts! FocusOnThe615.com: Artist to Watch in 2013! TwangNation.com: Americana’s Influence On Country Music! UrbanCountryNews.com: Roots On The Rise – The Most Exciting Music Trend of 2013! UkCOUNTRYmusic.net: Country2Country Festival-A Potential Turning Point for US Country Music In The Uk! KeepinItCountryBlog.com: 2013 The Year of Country Crossover! CountryMusicPride.com: Country Music In 2013! ForTheCountryRecord.com: Country Music & Twitter! CountryMusicNewsBlog.com (HaleighT): Word of Mouth in 2013! CountryMusicNewsBlog.com (WhiskeyChick): 2013 – The Year of Social Media In Country Music! CountryMusicNewsBlog.com (MissMolly): 2013 North of Nashville – The Ozarks Go Country! CountryMusicIsLove.com: Country Artists Passing The Torch In 2013!

Country Music Blog Rodeo: Word Of Mouth In 2013

How Word Of Mouth Can Impact Artists In 2013. 2013 is in full swing, and I couldn’t be happier. There are so many things that I want to do both for work and as a fully devoted country music fan. One of my big goals is to introduce people to new music. I am a fan of mainstream country, but I also really enjoy some artists, that I feel, don’t get enough attention. This is not to say that I discovered someone or was listening to someone years before they became popular. It just means that if someone is good, then I think they should get to be heard by as many people as possible. Nothing irritates me more than when somebody says, “I was listening to such and such for years and now everybody listens to them.” People say that as if it is a bad thing. Why would you want to keep something good from everyone else? If anything, I would think it would be a compliment on your taste in music. I think that word of mouth is a huge asset for musicians and artists. Without it, a lot of national acts wouldn’t be where they are today. So in 2013 I will continue to share my opinions on artists I listen to and come across, and I hope more than anything that fellow country music fans will do the same thing. Blog Rodeo Roundup: See What Everyone Else Is Saying About Country Music in 2013! CountryMusicTattleTale.com: 2013 Will Bring A New Sound to Country Music! CMchatLive.com: 2013 – Insights From Country Music Industry Experts! FocusOnThe615.com: Artist to Watch in 2013! TwangNation.com: Americana’s Influence On Country Music! UrbanCountryNews.com: Roots On The Rise – The Most Exciting Music Trend of 2013! UkCOUNTRYmusic.net: Country2Country Festival-A Potential Turning Point for US Country Music In The Uk! KeepinItCountryBlog.com: 2013 The Year of Country Crossover! CountryMusicPride.com: Country Music In 2013! ForTheCountryRecord.com: Country Music & Twitter! CountryMusicNewsBlog.com (WhiskeyChick): 2013 – The Year of Social Media In Country Music! CountryMusicNewsBlog.com (MissMolly): 2013 North of Nashville – The Ozarks Go Country! CountryMusicIsLove.com: Country Artists Passing The Torch In 2013!

Country Music Blog Rodeo: 2013-The Year of Social Media in Country Music

For the first installment of Blog Rodeo, host CountryMusicNewsBlog asks “What are we really looking forward to in 2013?”. My answer: Country music fans truly embracing social media! Over the award show and tour seasons through 2012 we saw artists, news outlets, and record companies dabble with social media sites, trying to figure out that magic formula that pop music seems to have down to a science. We’ve seen award shows and televised performances with twitter hashtags displayed throughout the broadcast. We followed along as Jana Kramer used Instagram to build a buzz about her album release through photo challenges. We’ve gotten to know the sass and crass of artists like Blake Shelton and LeAnn Rimes thanks to their sharing (and sometimes oversharing) across the board. We’ve even seen the rise of Google+ hangouts featuring live interviews from stars as big as Taylor Swift. Heck, just last week Dierks Bentley used facebook to successfully find his lost dog Jake! To put it plainly, country stars want in on social media action and they’re trying hard to get fans to join them! The common thread among all of these things is that the artists are able to be themselves in a public space without losing control over their privacy, and this allows them to reach fans on a more personal level. Never before have fans had such open access to get a message to their favorite artist, or receive a direct response. It’s a power many pop celebrities have built their career around, but country music seems to be just a bit late to the game. There’s a lot of reasons for this, but those reasons are getting less relevant every day. While much of the online interaction between stars and fans has followed a natural growth, 2013 is the year the guys behind the scenes will learn how to take advantage of this limitless guerrilla marketing tool. We’ve had time to tinker and see what fans respond to, and how to best get the attention of the masses, and weigh the results of some not-so-popular online moments. Top Country Music Social Media Engagement Trends to Expect in 2013: So after the disorganized experimentation that our industry has done in the past, what I expect from 2013 is a real focused strategic effort at connecting fans with their favorite stars by directing marketing toward encouraging social engagement. You will see a lot more Easter Eggs, for example, Carrie Underwood’s album Blown Away featured a promotion where if you scanned the album cover with a special app on your iphone, android, or other tablet device, the artwork would “come to life” and conveniently link you to the album purchase options on iTunes. I expect to see a lot more of this Easter Egg kind of content that teaches fans how to use technology in new and innovative ways to get more out of the album-buying experience. You will also see artists making a more genuine effort to express themselves over social media Continue reading Country Music Blog Rodeo: 2013-The Year of Social Media in Country Music

Country Music Blog Rodeo: 2013 North of Nashville – The Ozarks Go Country

2013 North of Nashville – The Ozarks Go Country with New Festivals, More Concerts and Local Talent On The Rise! To answer the question of what will be big for country music in 2013, I decided to look close to home, Fayetteville, AR that is, and the closely surrounding area, the Ozarks, River Valley, etc. With so much already happening this year from big album releases to even bigger tours to country stars new and seasoned shining brighter than ever, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t think the next few months are going to be huge for country music. What has me excited though, is the potential for our area up here, north of Nashville, to become a go to spot for for all things country music! Local Festivals: Thunder On The Mountain. If there is one thing we’re excited about in Northwest Arkansas for 2013, it’s the upcoming and brand new country music festival, Thunder On The Mountain! Nestled into the beautiful Mulberry Mountain, this fest will encapsulate the best of the area: beautiful views, a wonderful landscape and live country music! The festival claims a really impressive line-up that includes Toby Keith, Luke Bryan, JT Hodges, Big & Rich, Montgomery Gentry, Justin Moore, Gretchen Wilson, Easton Corbin and so many, many more. Taking place June 6th – 8th, this festival is going to be one of the major events for the surrounding states of the summer! We’re proud to welcome them to our backyard, and can’t wait to experience the new country fest front and center. Local Venues: The Amp & Georges Majestic Lounge. Truth be told, there are a lot of amazing venues in “our area” (which we broadly claim to be anywhere between the Ozarks, Northwest Arkansas, OKC, Tulsa and everything in between!) from the newly opened Longhorn Saloon in Ft. Smith, AR to the historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tusa, OK, on any given weekend there is going to be a country concert to attend. Today, though, I want to highlight two specific venues, mere miles from our HQ in Fayetteville, The Amp (Arkansas Music Pavilion) and Georges Majestic Lounge. Last year, The Amp hopped locations moving from a concrete spot to greener pastures, and it’s clear they are on the verge of unleashing something big. This something “big” has a whole lot to do with a whole lot more country acts coming to this area. In 2012 they quietly unveiled the 1st ever Taste of Country Festival bringing such popular folks as Miranda Lambert along with the Pistol Annies, Randy Houser, noteworthy songwriter Chris Knight and on the rise Adam Hood. Outside of this one night shindig, they also brought other big names to the area like Hank Williams Jr. and Luke Bryan. Their new concert season will kick off in the spring, and they already have Little Big Town scheduled as the first country act to perform on the new grounds in 2013. If last year is any indication, Continue reading Country Music Blog Rodeo: 2013 North of Nashville – The Ozarks Go Country