Issue 587 CRS Opens with Honors CRS 2018 Kicked Off This Afternoon with Laughs, Tears and Honors
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February 5, 2018, Issue 587 CRS Opens With Honors CRS 2018 kicked off this afternoon with laughs, tears and honors. Sony’s Cam led the Opening Ceremonies performing the national anthem alongside the USMC Color Guard. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry welcomed attendees to Music City, con- gratulating CRS on the biggest attendance record in 15 years. As reported in this afternoon’s Breaking News, Barry’s speech was followed by the announcement of the 2018 Country Radio Hall of Fame inductees, who will be honored this June. Country Radio Hall of Famer and Red Cross volunteer Dan Halyburton was rec- ognized with the Tom Rivers Award for his generous contributions. Dierks Bentley was also honored with the Artist Humanitarian Award for his charitable work. More on the CRS kickoff and what’s ahead in Tuesday’s edition of the Daily Buzz. Fall Harvest: Diary PDs See Growth Nielsen’s Fall 2017 diary ratings are out and Country Air- check is examining some of the book’s most notable gains through the lens of happy programmers. Mountain Men: CRB’s Kurt Johnson, Dierks Bentley and WSLC/Roanoke: Success isn’t new to PD/morning host Brett CRB’s Bill Mayne (l-r) ahead of Bentley receiving the Artist Sharp (the station has been No. 1 for 20 consecutive books in Humanitarian Award and speaking about his career in the this two-book market), but that doesn’t mean Climbing The Mountain Session today (2/5) at CRS. he isn’t excited about it. The station was up “pretty much across the board in all dayparts and demos,” he says, thanks in part to holiday Brantley Gilbert’s New Tour programming. “We Christmas’d it up,” he “Anyone who goes to see this tour needs to be offers. “We didn’t play wall to wall Christmas ready to rock out all night!” That’s from our on-site music, but we certainly played more. We aired reporter attending Brantley Gilbert’s The Ones four to five titles an hour, as opposed to one to That Like Me Tour open outside Boston Thursday Brett two per hour in previous years.” Verbiage like (2/1). Country music’s favorite tough guy kicked Sharp “more Christmas music than ever before” was off the run at Worcester’s DCU Center in front of a heavily utilized, as adds were presented as near-capacity crowd with help from special guests being “unwrapped just in time for Christmas.” The station round- Josh Phillips and Aaron Lewis. The night most ed out the effort with Christmas definitely belonged to Gilbert, however, as WBWL/ (continued on page 5) Boston’s Jessica Callahan explains. Brantley Gilbert ©2018 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] February 5, 2018 Page 3 MY TUNES: MUSIC THAT SHAPED MY LIFE Brantley Gilbert WKTI/Milwaukee PD Ryan Wild discusses his most influential music: 1) “Record Year,” Eric Church: That song quickly became an infectious earworm. I am the guy who finds comfort at all times in music, and truly believes it can be your greatest friend when you need it. This song speaks my love language. Ryan Wild 2) “The Way I Tend To Be,” Frank Turner: It could be my life story. We are perfectly imperfect, so why try to be perfect? We are all a work in progress. 3) “The Luckiest,” Ben Folds: My wife and I danced to this at our wedding. It’s a constant reminder that love fills in all the holes in your life. We get one life, and when you find love, don’t push it away. In today’s world, we should be looking for more opportunities to love one another. 4) Andrew McMahon’s The Glass Passenger: He was told he was going to die from cancer. The album is a deep dive into the battles and, ultimately, the victory. It fuels my passion to never give That’s not to say Phillips and Lewis didn’t bring it. “They really up, even when the chips might not be in your favor. were perfect openers,” Callahan says. Phillips, who wears a 5) Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison: Johnny was an icon working-class tough image every bit as well as Lewis or Gilbert, who marched to his own beat. This is probably the most honest performed first. Then came Lewis, who promptly brought the au- album I have ever heard. It taught me a lot about never being dience to its feet. “Aaron opened with the ‘Pledge of Allegiance,’” afraid to take a risk, to reach across the divide to connect with Callahan explains. “And it immediately fired the crowd up.” everyone. No one is beyond redemption. Soon, it was Gilbert’s turn. Anticipation hung in the air as fans • Highly regarded music you’ve actually never heard: waited for him to take the stage. “There was a countdown as they I love Chris Stapleton, but I haven’t dug deep enough into his did,” Callahan recalls. “And when he opened the show with ‘My library. I plan on taking a deep dive soon. And I just got a taste Kinda Party,’ they went nuts.” Dressed in a black cap, black shirt of Lindsay Ell’s “Criminal.” It was my gateway song and I need and black jeans, Gilbert grabbed his trademark brass knuck- to hear more! le-styled microphone and went to work. “Modern Day Prodigal • “Important” music you just don’t get: Christmas Son,” “Country Must Be Country Wide,” “My Baby’s Guns N’ Ros- instrumentals drive me insane. Sing the songs! A tuba can’t es,” “Just As I Am,” and “Dirt Road Anthem” made the set list, as replace an iconic voice. did an emotional “One Hell Of An Amen.” A set of video boards • An album you listened to incessantly: Coldplay’s A Head essentially turned the stage into a church pulpit complete with Full Of Dreams. My wife has to take it out of the CD Player every towering stained glass windows as Gilbert used the song to salute time she wants to listen something else. the U.S. military and those battling cancer. Gilbert’s current single • An obscure or non-country song everyone should “The Ones That Like Me” proved poignant as well, particularly for listen to right now: Frank Turner’s “The Next Storm.” I think Country radio pros in attendance. “You could hear how much that he writes all of his songs about my life. one means to him,” Callahan offers. “And before he performed it, • Music you’d rather not admit to enjoying: Can’t say I he thanked Country radio for always sticking by him.” have guilty pleasures. I love listening to everything. Artists and One of the night’s most-talked-about moments came with Gilbert’s songwriters, keep telling your stories and never be afraid to be delivery of “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do.” “He had a nice slideshow real, because this world can use it! ©2018 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] February 5, 2018 Page 5 of photos of him and his wife on the screen throughout the perfor- mance,” Callahan recalls. “I saw some girls crying because it was so KWNR/Las Vegas MD/afternooner Wayne “Big D” Dan- emotional.” Truth be told, Gilbert was a bit softer this time around, too. ielson was named PD. (2/2) “This was his first show as a dad,” Callahan observes, noting that he Alpha KUPL/Portland PD Joe “MoJoe” Roberts was and wife Amber welcomed their first child in November. named Country Format Captain. (2/1) Callahan saw an openness from Gilbert Thursday night she KORA/Bryan-College Station, TX PD/morning co-host hadn’t in the past, something that serves him well, she says. “Fans Carly Evans is leaving. (1/31) can easily relate to Brantley because he is so real and has opened Former KYGO/Denver morning host David Mueller joined up so much about his personal life,” she explains. “He’s a tough Delta’s WMYQ/Greenwood, MS. (1/30) guy who isn’t afraid to tell an entire arena how much he loves his wife and his baby boy. And I feel like every guy at the show looks at Brantley like a friend.” Fall Harvest: Diary PDs See Growth The final verdict? “Brantley is a rock star who had the crowd’s (continued from page 1) attention for the entire show,” Callahan says. As for future shows, jingles and contesting largely offered Christmas-themed prizes. fans can expect at least one more special guest to make appear- “Creating the ‘Christmas feel’ was the goal to keep listeners from ances – “once he has a crib built for the bus,” Callahan teases. leaving us. Our air staff did a fantastic job.” See where Brantley Gilbert’s The Ones That Like Me Tour lands Things were interesting on the morning show, too. “[Co- next here. –CA Staff host] Boomer and I traded up from a fidget spinner to a Ford, then gave it away on the air as part of a four-week morning show bit. We did a different trade at the same time each week- Chart Chat day morning.” Congrats to Chris Young, Steve Hodges, The numbers were strong, of course, but Dennis Reese and the RCA promotion staff on Sharp says it’s difficult to attribute that success landing this week’s No. 1 with “Losing Sleep.” to any one move.