by Taylor McKnight | Apr 9, 2020 | Arts and Entertainment, COVID-19, News Slider
COVID-19 has pretty much eliminated the month of June for music festival goers in Middle Tennessee and around the country. And the rest of the summer is in question as well. Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, the massive four-day celebration of all forms of music and entertainment had been scheduled to take place June 11-14 down at The Farm in Manchester. But this year, because of the pandemic, the festival was moved to September 24-27, in hopes the virus will have run its course by then. Tickets for the festival, which generally reaches near-sellout (80,000 or so proportions), will be honored for September’s new date. “Please continue to radiate positivity through this uncharted time in our world. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you on The Farm (the pastureland where the annual festivities are held) this fall,” reads a message posted on the festival’s web site. Even more disastrous to Nashville economy and for fans of country music is the news that the annual CMA Fest was canceled completely for this summer, ending a 48-year run. “As the world is still greatly affected by the spread of COVID-19, we cannot in good conscience risk the health and well-being of our fans, artists, staff and country music community,” is the statement from the Country Music Association. More than 40,000 fans annually attend each of the four nights’ “big concerts” in Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. But there are many other fans who come to the city and fill up hotel rooms and honky-tonks for affiliated activities —...
by Mckenzi Harris and Erika Plunkett | Aug 5, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, Galleries, News Slider
Tune into ABC channel 2 for CMA Fest, “the music event of the summer” hosted by Lipscomb Alums, Thomas Rhett, Kelsea Ballerini as well as radio host Bobby Bones. Tonight’s television special is sharing performances from the festival artist on the main stage; Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Old Dominion and many others. Make sure you tuned in, and if you’ve missed it, check out our other festival coverage here. Co-managing editor, Erika Plunkett has photos from the festival here. Rain Falls, but CMA Fest still shines with Lipscomb Alums Ballerini and Rhett hosting Nissan stage. Gallery: CMA Fest 2019 daytime festivities overview & The Brady Bunch ...
by Kelly Dean | Mar 11, 2013 | News Slider
It’s not every day that a college student gets to spend time “babysitting” hundreds of children before those kids took the biggest stage of their young lives. And the opportunity for Lipscomb students surely wasn’t taken for granted. “The best part about coalescing with the Country Music Association for this benefit concert was witnessing the dreams of these children reaching a platform to the community. Especially that of Nashville’s renowned, unique community of music, and camaraderie of dedicated country music stars, like Scotty McCreery,” sophomore Linnea Berg said. The Country Music Association annually sponsors the Keep the Music Playing All Stars concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. This year the event is hosted by young country music phenom, Scotty McCreery. The fund-raiser featured the best elementary, middle and high school singers from the Metro Nashville public schools. Several Lipscomb students were a part of these kids’ big day because of a volunteer opportunity provided by CMA. They were able to volunteer because of a new club on campus known as CMA EDU, which supports students interested in the music industry by providing networking opportunities and experience in the world of country music. Freshman Alex Justice, sophomore Berg, juniors Kelly Dean (the author of this piece) and Teresa Piquette were among the CMA EDU members representing Lipscomb. Volunteers got there at 11:30 a.m. to prepare for the rush of kids one hour later. Volunteers were divided into groups and assigned a school. Since the performance didn’t start until 6 p.m., there was plenty of down time for the students. Volunteers were in charge of watching the kids and providing the...
by Crystal Davis | Nov 9, 2012 | News Slider
The 2012 Country Music Awards wasn’t just for recognizing country music stars. Lipscomb’s own Caitlin Selle was honored with the 2012 CMA Close Up Award of Merit backstage at the show. The award was created in 2007 to honor the student journalist or photojournalist who demonstrated the most creativity, dedication, and promise in covering the CMA Music Festival on assignment from CMA. This was the second year Selle, a junior, interned for CMA. She was selected among nine others to be on the “Team of Merit.” The CMA staff voted on which intern from the team had the best work, and the staff chose Selle’s work over all of the others. Bob Doerschuk, editor of CMA Close Up, presented her with the award during the backstage press conference coverage of the 46th Annual CMA Awards on Thursday, Nov. 1, at Bridgestone Arena. After the press conference, Selle said she was asked to stay and cover the event for CMA. “CMA is proud to foster up-and-coming music journalists and photojournalists by offering them the tools and opportunities to hone their skills,” said Wendy Pearl, CMA Vice President of Corporate Communications. “Caitlin has solid journalistic skills, with plenty of impressive clips in her catalog,” said Doerschuk. “And as a photographer, she shows a rare gift for capturing everyday images, whether of live music or quiet landscapes, with originality and poetic sensibility. The fact that she works extremely well under pressure, with poise, confidence and patience under demanding circumstances, makes her an ideal candidate for our award.” Selle spoke modestly about her accomplishment, mentioning the talent of the other photojournalists. “I didn’t think...
![[Photos] CMA Fest 2012](http://luminationnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/7382675540_7eabd1fcde_b-300x2001.jpg)
by Whitney Jarreld | Jun 17, 2012 | News Slider
Cowboy hats, cutoff blue jeans, cowboy boots, country music stars, street performers, locals and people from out of state and out of the country. Each summer country music fans flock to Nashville for the CMA Fest. With a record of 71,000 daily patrons, this year’s CMA Fest attendance jumped over nine percent from last year. Here are some photos from the Riverfront and Broadway festivities. ...
