Fan Fair 2011 Recap (CMA Music Fest)
Every year, country music fans flock to Nashville, TN for CMA Music Fest (formerly called Fan Fair) for 4 plus days for the opportunity to meet their favorite country singers and catch show after show after show! This year, Fan Fair lasted an entire week for me. I performed 8 different shows with 7 rehearsals, and I had to learn 73 songs just for that week. So I thought for fun, I'd recap the entire week to give a quick insight into how wild and awesome this week was.
On the Saturday, June 4th, I had 6 songs to learn for a show with Kelly Ann Hocter at Hotel Indigo. The band met up a few hours before the show for a short rehearsal then played a 30 minute set that same evening. And so Fan Fair begins! I also got a phone call from David Lee Murphy's management asking if I could perform with David on the main River Stage on Saturday, but it was the same time as Julie Roberts' fan party so I couldn't do it. I really wanted to try to work it out, but there was just no way. It's not the 30 minute set that becomes the issue, it's literally how to get across town, even just 5 or 6 blocks, in enough time. Maybe next year!
On Monday, June 6th, Billy Yates was the featured songwriter at a songwriter's night that happens every Monday at Dan McGuinness. Billy asked me to perform with him so we met up and played 5 songs. What I thought was going to be a short night turned into a late night partly because we were hanging out and having fun, but then my car got blocked in by 2 motorcycles who parked in my same space in front and behind me. I couldn't get out and had to wait for them to come back and leave, so I ended up getting home around 12:30am.
The next afternoon, I met up with the rest of the guys in the band for Billy Yates' "Countriest of the Country" show! This show is one of my favorites of the entire week. I've been fortunate enough to be part of it and be the band leader for the past 4 years. It's a multi-artist show that runs a lot like the Grand Ole Opry where artists each play a couple songs. The show lasts 4 hours, and the proceeds benefit an organization called Christmas For The Children. We ran through the 6 songs for Billy's set for the show, but I had a total of 21 songs I had to learn for this year's show.
On Wednesday, we loaded into the Ernest Tubb Texas Troubadour Theater at 1pm and began run throughs for the big show! Each artist drops by and we run the songs through one time each before the show, then the show begins at 6pm. It's really hard to describe the show and how much work and fun it is! But I do have one video posted on my Video link and others on YouTube at this point. Please check them out! You can search under my name on YouTube, and I'll work on getting more links posted to take you directly to them. This year's list of artists that I performed with were: Opry legend, Jeannie Seely, Darryl Worley, Trent Tomlinson, Tammy Cochran, Adam Gregory, Julie Roberts, Buddy Jewell, and Hall of Fame member and former Statler Brother, Jimmy Fortune!! After the show, we stayed for the meet & greet with the artists and didn't get home until after 2 am.
Thursday morning, I had a writing appointment and wrote a new song with a couple friends. I left the offices at The Song Factory and found out it was "Hot Dog Day" on Music Row. SunTrust Bank hosts Hot Dog Day every year where writers and artists can eat free hot dogs, chips, and beer. I got there right before it ended, but sat down with the one and only, Phil Kaufman. It was a little surreal and a lotta cool all at the same time. Phile spent 25 years working with EmmyLou Harris (who I love so much!) and of course, is known for carrying out Gram Parson's final wishes. If you don't know the story, watch the movie Grand Theft Parsons. Then I left the row to head to a 3 hour rehearsal for Julie Roberts which included 22 songs that we had to prepare for her Fan Appreciation party, then left that rehearsal to do 2 more rehearsals that same night with Vickie Raye and Crystal Hoyt who each had 7 songs each to learn. It was a very long day.
Friday morning, I had another writing appointment. We didn't finish a song, but we found some really good ideas to work on next time we get together. Then headed over to rehearse with Julie Roberts again. That was all I had going on Friday, but it was still a solid 8-10 hour day.
Saturday was another big day! I loaded in at the Listening Room Cafe at 1pm to play Julie Roberts' Fan Appreciation Party. The party was scheduled for 2:30-4:30, and originally, I thought we were going to play from 3-4, but we started at 2:45 and played all 22 songs. Wow, is right! I had to be downtown to play the show with Vickie and Crystal at 6:00 and was supposed to meet up with the others at 4:30 to share a ride downtown. But since we played all 22 songs at Julie's party, we didn't finish until 5:00. The show went great, but I was feeling pretty stressed afterwards thinking that I needed to be downtown by 5 to set up for our show. A friend drove me the 5 blocks downtown and dropped me off, but suddenly, I was standing outside the club and the manager wouldn't let us in because he said it was too crowded. He made us stand outside for an hour, and at this point, we found out they were also running an hour behind. Instead of starting at 6, we didn't start until 7. The setup was extremely rushed and although we played great, the sound system left a lot to be desired. After the show, I got back to my car at 9pm and hadn't eaten since noon, so I stopped off for some sushi!
Sunday was the final day of Fan Fair. I loaded in at Limelight at 4:30p to play Julie Roberts' CD Release party. We took the stage at 5:50 and played 15 or 16 songs. The set ended at 7:20, but I had to be at the Bluebird Cafe by 8:00 to play guitar for a friend as well. I made it to the Bluebird at 7:55, and my friend was the 2nd person on the list so we went on at 8:15.
In the end, Fan Fair 2011 was crazy, fabulous, intense, awesome, and most importantly, FUN!
Thank You!
This morning I woke up to the first frost of the year in Nashville. Each year as the winter holidays approach, Music Row slowly prepares for a little time off. Some people question why the industry takes an extended break between Thanksgiving until about the week after New Years, but it's really a good time to take a break to spend time with family, reflect on the past year, and recharge and plan for the upcoming year.
I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers and help during the recovery after the tragic flooding in Nashville in May of this year. Thank you to friends who mailed packages and who donated money during the telethons. Six months after the floods things are still in recovery but continue to improve.
Reflecting on this past year, I'm truly honored and grateful for the opportunities I've had and the amazing people and friends I shared the stage with: Billy Yates, Julie Roberts, Vince Gill, Gene Watson, Jimmy Fortune, Ray Scott, Buddy Jewell, and so many more, and especially to the musicians that work with me in the various bands we put together. One new thing was forming a small jazz group called, "9 Volt Romeo" with Boyd LeFan and Jim Evans.
Thanks to the artists this past year that cut my songs on their albums: James Lann (She's Water), Jason Clutter (She's Water), and Chuck Floyd (Friendship On Fire). I have another cut on Friendship On Fire pending with a new artist, Brian Martin, which should be available after the first of the year. If you haven't heard them yet, check them out on iTunes or CDBaby.
And most importantly, thank you to you, the fans that continue to support me here on this site, and coming to the shows. Thanks so much for coming to the shows at the Bluebird Cafe - I've had 2 consecutive sold out shows at the Bluebird, and I couldn't be more thrilled.
Also, I just created a Musician Page on Facebook so please come by and "Like" me there. 
There are lots of things in the works for the upcoming year so please stay tuned.
See you on the road or around the Row!
Eddie
Bluebird Cafe 4/16/2010
I just want to thank everyone who came out to the Bluebird Cafe! We received so many compliments on the show, and everyone had so much fun! It's still hard to believe the reservations sold out in less than 45 minutes! A huge shout out to my friends and fellow performers: Arlos Smith, Julie Roberts, Chris Roberts, and Billy Yates!
Tin Pan South 2010
Thanks to everyone who came to our Tin Pan South show this year at the Station Inn. It was an incredible night with the venue at capacity! The response was amazing! Thanks to Julie Roberts, Billy Yates, Chris Roberts, and Greg Biek for performing with me, NSAI for their support, and all the friends and fans that made this one of the best shows of the week! It was so nice seeing Duane Allen of the Oak Ridge Boys and pop star, Tiffany, in the audience along with so many friends and fans.
