The year known as 2010 is about to be placed on the shelf with all the other years before it. It was a good year for our little festival event in Mesquite. We topped the 25,000 mark in attendance at the RTF and we expect even greater things in 2011 -- the fifth anniversary event.
It was an eventful and tumultuous year for music. This past year saw the record industry struggle under the transformation of how people buy music. Internet sources and streaming music sources became the present ... not the future, but the here and now.
Limewire was sued and order to shut down -- giving way to Frostwire. Sony is launching a streaming music site. As far as the way music is purchased in 2011, Apple and Itunes will continue to reign supreme. Others will come and others will go. Itunes will still be king when the dust settles.
On the Texas music front, 2010 marked the end of an era. Cross Canadian Ragweed ended a 16-year run as the 800 pound gorilla of the Red Dirt music scene. The 2010 Real. Texas. Festival. was among the final shows the group played.
That being said, as we look forward to 2011, I would submit to you that one of the top groups to watch will be The Departed. It's a super group featuring Cody Canada and Jeremy Plato of CCR, blues roadhouse rocker Seth James and road warrior drummer Dave Bowen of Stoney Larue and Jason Boland fame.
We also see the new year being a year of girl power in the Texas music scene, and perhaps mainstream country for that matter. Texan Miranda Lambert enjoyed a monster year with several awards and well-deserved critical acclaim for what may be her seminal album, "Revolution."
It would seem logical that there will be a number of Texas female artists and groups seeking to capitalize on Lambert's success.
That said, here are a few locally to check out. When you get a chance, to go to one of their shows.
Lantana -- Three moms from north Texas who bring a Dixie Chick-type of harmony and approach to their sets. They've been a fixture at festivals and fairs all over the region ... including the State Fair of Texas.
Sara Jaffe -- One of the most unique styles and voices out there. Think Allison Krause meets Days of the New and you have Sara Jaffe. The song "Clementine" might be one of my favorite singles released in 2010.
Blacktop Gypsy -- A guitar-slinging, mandolin-shredding, fiddle-sawing duo who play, produce, write, arrange all of their music. They are true artists who are not only great players and singers, but technicians.
The Trishas -- It's very rare when four solo artists can be brought together to form a cohesive group. Normally, you have over-singing and upstaging going on as one of the members of the group try to establish him or herself as the dominant performer. Not so with The Trishas -- and I know from personal experience Liz Foster has a huge voice. Still, Liz, Kelley Mickwee, Savannah Welch and Jamie Wilson have it figured out. The result is a soulful, bluegrass almost gospel sound.
The Courtyard Hounds -- Hardly a breakout or new artist like the great female artists mentioned previously, but look for even greater things from this group in 2011. The Courtyard Hounds are comprised of some very familiar faces -- Emily Robison and Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks. Their debut album is getting rave reviews.
There are others who should and probably will make an impact on the local and national music scene in 2011, but alas, we've run out of time. Here's to a wonderful and save start to the next decade.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Stop the insanity
What do college football bowl games and entertainment awards shows have in common.
There are way too many of them.
Pretty soon, you'll have to be a pretty sorry entertainer or musician to NOT win an award somewhere.
It's like there are awards shows being created for the sake of awards shows. They are being created so that everyone ... particularly the big name entertainers ... can have some kind of accolade to attach to their resumes.
Case in point. Easton Corbin was nominated for Best New Artist for the CMA or the ACM ... it's hard to remember. It doesn't matter.
He didn't win.
Well, the other night at the American Country Awards he was named the Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Same award, just a different wrapper. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the concept that Easton Corbin wasn't good enough to win the best new artist for one awards show criteria but was in another.
Carrie Underwood lost out on Entertainer of the Year awards at the Country Music Association awards. She was named Entertainer of the Year at the American Country Awards. Now, some of these are fan-voted awards and some are not.
But, all of the awards seem to carry the same weight.
Remember when the Grammy Awards used to be the be all end all. Man, if you won a Grammy, that was really something.
In some cases, it was enough to say you were Grammy-nominated. It was good just to be nominated for a Grammy. Now, there are artists who are placing their American Music Awards, their American Country Awards, their Country Music Television belt buckles, their MTV video awards, their VH1 awards, their Country Music Association awards, their ESPY awards and all other awards they can secure right alongside the Grammy.
OK ... that was a test. I wanted to see if everyone caught that. The ESPY isn't a music award. It's the waste of television time from ESPN every year when they hand out the sports awards.
I don't know. It would seem a Super Bowl championship, an NBA title, a Stanley Cup, the World Series trophy, a PGA major tournament championship or any other championship for that matter would carry a little more weight that some stupid statue. But I digress.
What happened to prestige? Back in the day, there were four pretty big-time awards shows. The Grammies, the Oscars, the Emmies and the Tonies.
Of course the Tony awards recognize Broadway performances in musicals and whathaveyou. It's the best stuff not very many people have ever heard of.
Now, the Emmy awards have even been fragmented. You have the daytime Emmys that honor talk shows and soap operas.
Oh well. I guess it's just everyone making sure they get theirs.
What are ya gonna do?
There are way too many of them.
Pretty soon, you'll have to be a pretty sorry entertainer or musician to NOT win an award somewhere.
It's like there are awards shows being created for the sake of awards shows. They are being created so that everyone ... particularly the big name entertainers ... can have some kind of accolade to attach to their resumes.
Case in point. Easton Corbin was nominated for Best New Artist for the CMA or the ACM ... it's hard to remember. It doesn't matter.
He didn't win.
Well, the other night at the American Country Awards he was named the Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Same award, just a different wrapper. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the concept that Easton Corbin wasn't good enough to win the best new artist for one awards show criteria but was in another.
Carrie Underwood lost out on Entertainer of the Year awards at the Country Music Association awards. She was named Entertainer of the Year at the American Country Awards. Now, some of these are fan-voted awards and some are not.
But, all of the awards seem to carry the same weight.
Remember when the Grammy Awards used to be the be all end all. Man, if you won a Grammy, that was really something.
In some cases, it was enough to say you were Grammy-nominated. It was good just to be nominated for a Grammy. Now, there are artists who are placing their American Music Awards, their American Country Awards, their Country Music Television belt buckles, their MTV video awards, their VH1 awards, their Country Music Association awards, their ESPY awards and all other awards they can secure right alongside the Grammy.
OK ... that was a test. I wanted to see if everyone caught that. The ESPY isn't a music award. It's the waste of television time from ESPN every year when they hand out the sports awards.
I don't know. It would seem a Super Bowl championship, an NBA title, a Stanley Cup, the World Series trophy, a PGA major tournament championship or any other championship for that matter would carry a little more weight that some stupid statue. But I digress.
What happened to prestige? Back in the day, there were four pretty big-time awards shows. The Grammies, the Oscars, the Emmies and the Tonies.
Of course the Tony awards recognize Broadway performances in musicals and whathaveyou. It's the best stuff not very many people have ever heard of.
Now, the Emmy awards have even been fragmented. You have the daytime Emmys that honor talk shows and soap operas.
Oh well. I guess it's just everyone making sure they get theirs.
What are ya gonna do?
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