As Puxatony Phil so egregiously reminded us a few weeks back, spring is not quite here yet, but country music is kicking off festival season early. This week Nashville plays host to the biggest event in country radio. Thousands of industry professionals along with radio personnel have descended upon our fair city in a deluge of excitement for the Country Radio Seminar (CRS).
CRS is an annual convention designed to educate and foster the exchange of ideas pertaining to the country music business with a focus generally on country radio. The three day event beginning Wednesday 2/25 offers networking opportunities, educational seminars as well as panels and performances by some of country’s top talent and runs till Thurs. 2/27.
The 26 presentations will feature numerous topics concerning country radio varying from The Power Of The Connected Car to Social Media Bootcamp and Coolest Gadgets and Gizmos For 2015. This year’s special guest speakers include Keith Urban and a panel with Lady Antebellum.
Wednesday’s opening ceremonies begin at 3pm and include the National Anthem by Capitol recording artist Mickey Guyton and the U.S. Marine Corps members. The event will feature a slew of special announcements and guests not the least of which is Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. The keynote speech is to be delivered by Content Partners, LLC founder and co-chairman Todd Wagner, followed by the opening night welcome reception sponsored by CMA and Live Nation.
For anyone who is still standing after the reception, ( we are talking about radio industry people here), the Grand Ole Opry is putting on a special show for CRS attendees at the Nashville Convention Center. Lee Brice, Mickey Guyton, Eli Young Band and Lady Antebellum are just a few of the names to cross the stage that night.
The following days entail a bevy of insightful panels and seminars. For the sixth year running UMG will host it’s Artists Performance and Luncheon at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Little Big Town, Darius Rucker, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Easton Corbin, Dierks Bentley and the list goes on. Other panels focus on some of country music’s top songwriter’s and feature Rhett Akins, Chris DeStafano , Hillary Lindsey, Casey Bethard and Bob DiPiero.
But alas, as the term “music business” implies, all of this comes at a cost. On-site registration is $599. Daily tickets can be purchased for $200 and individual panels go for $40. The good news for you plebeian fans is that you don’t really need to attend. If you happen to be in Nashville this week just go down to your favorite watering hole and enjoy meeting all the famous people.
For a full schedule of events go to CountryRadioSeminar.com and #CRS2015 on Facebook and Twitter
5 Responses
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