Hot, Hot, Hot!

I don't have any meteorology experience, but I can predict the weather for CMA Music Festival week with 50/50 chances: It's either going to be HOT, or it's going to rain.

This year, it's hot. Really hot. And I think it's going to get hotter as the week wears on. A little while ago I popped outside of our studios here at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Musuem to watch the Chevrolet Parade. I'm pretty sure that most of the people lining the streets were there to see Jon Anthony in the XM Vehicle, but it was also fun to see stars like Pam Tillis in the back of a convertible, and Van Zant in the back of a pickup truck.

From there I walked across the street to the Chevy Block Party, happening in front of the Sommet Center (which you might know as the Gaylord Entertainment Center, or the Nashville Arena, depending on how long it's been since your last trip to Music City.) Jon is emceeing the event, and it was wall to wall people. Hot, sweaty people! I caught a little bit of Jason Michael Carroll's set - I love his deep growly voice.

We've gotten to meet a lot more listeners who have come by the studio or stopped us on the street. The whole XM Crew is decked out in XM shirts and usually carrying these awesome tote bags we're giving away, and we LOVE hearing from subscribers about how much XM has changed their life. Yesterday I had one of my favorite listener experiences yet, at the Hall of Fame.

I was in the live studio, talking to Jay Thomas, when this woman came into the gift shop and got all excited to see the XM booth. You could see her getting really animated and she starts waving and talking to her friend and gesturing towards us. She was pointing at me and trying to ask me something through the glass. I see a lot of fans from year to year at CMA Music Festival, and I'm racking my brain trying to figure out why I don't recognize her, or how she'd know me. I'm just the producer, most people could care less about meeting me!

So she very goes around to the entrance to our booth where our intern opens the door and we hear her ask excitedly "Is that really Amy Paige?"

I hated disappointing her, but I knew I couldn't for even a minute pull off Amy's east coast accent. She'd only missed Amy by 20 minutes too! But she's going to come back Thursday and hopefully get to meet her. And I know Amy is working on a blog for this spot, so keep checking in, and you can meet her too!

- Joyce Rizer

The fun is just beginning!

Monday was a travel day for me...going from Washington, DC to Nashville for the annual CMA Music Festival. And already after just one afternoon/night in Music City, I can tell you that this year's festivities are off to a great start.

We met a lot of great XM subscribers who've also made the trek to Nashville to share in the fun this week. Our XM crew gathered at the historic Ryman Auditorium for the 40th annual IFCO (International Fan Club Organization) concert. And what a show from folks like Joe Diffie, Aaron Tippin, Ty Herndon, Chris Young and many others. There's always something special about hearing live music from inside the Ryman. That's a true experience!!

On Tuesday we'll begin to cover the first of several artist fan club parties when the XM gang heads to Mark Wills' event. He's supposed to be coming out with a new CD this summer, so I bet we'll get a chance to hear some of the new music...including that terrific new song you hear on Highway 16 called "Days of Thunder."

So much to see and so much to do this week!! If you're already in Nashville be sure to find us. If you're heading to town later in the week be sure to plan for hot, sticky weather. It's supposed to be 95 degrees or better by week's end...so pack the sunscreen and the shorts and bottled water! And if you're not able to make it this year, no worries. XM has you covered with live music, fan club parties, and more on Highway 16, US Country, America, and Bluegrass Junction.

Jay Thomas

Come on Down!

The best part about CMA Music Festival to me is getting to meet all the XM listeners who come to town. Like Mark and Cindy from Barrie, Ontario, Canada - who DROVE down to Nashville, listening to Highway 16 the whole way. Can you imagine THAT drive without XM? No thanks!

Mark and Cindy came in while Jon was on the air live, so he put them on the radio! That's the great thing about having studios at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum - you can just knock on the glass and meet your favorite DJ. Tonight I met a bunch more listeners at the Ryman Auditorium, where we broadcast the IFCO show. I always like to ask people what their favorite XM channel is, and tonight the predominant answer was "Willie's Place!"

Tomorrow night it's my favorite event of the week - Chely Wright's 7th Annual Reading, Writing & Rhythm Benefit Concert - hear it LiVE from the Wildhorse Saloon on Highway 16 at 9pm Eastern!

- Joyce Rizer

CMA Music Fest is here!

Here we are again -- CMA Music Fest week in Nashville! I sure hope I get a ton of rest this weekend, because I'm gonna need it! We're PACKED with great events to broadcast -- 8 full days of CMA Music Fest madness! I'm telling you ... we're really proud of the lineup of broadcasts this year! Of course, we at XM pride ourselves on bringing fans great content that they can't hear ANYWHERE else, especially on their local FM radio stations! To that end, it always amazes me why radio stations all over the country do the same thing for every big country music event -- they send out their morning shows to broadcast from a big hotel conference room and play "musical chairs" with artist after artist. All the broadcasts sound exactly the same! Honestly, it doesn't matter whether it's the ACM Awards, CMA Awards, or CMA Music Fest -- it's all the same sound on FM radio.

You XM subscribers know that we try hard to bring the essence of each event to our fans. And there's no better example than CMA Music Fest week! NOWHERE else can you hear exclusive Fan Club parties and the star-studded benefit concerts! It's truly what "Fan Fair" week is all about -- artists getting as close as they can get to their fans. And for those fans who can't make it to Nashville, we're proud to be able to bring them those events through the magic of XM Radio!!

Even though the "official" CMA events don't start until mid-week, we get started on MONDAY this year with our first-ever broadcast of the IFCO Fun Fest Concert at the Ryman, a benefit for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. It's their 40th Anniversary show, and we're proud to be part of the celebration! This show can really be considered as the original "Fan Fair" concert and we hope they're around for 40 more! Listen for live performances from Joe Diffie, Chris Young, Trick Pony, Aaron Tippin, and many more! It's a GREAT way to kick off our week!

Later in the week, we'll air Chely Wright's 7th Annual "Reading, Writing, & Rhythm" Benefit Concert, a TON of Fan Club Parties (Dierks Bentley, Phil Vassar, Rodney Atkins, Keith Anderson, Jo Dee Messina ... just to name a few), and another new event for XM -- the "Rhythm On The River" Concerts to benefit Musicians On Call. We'll talk more about each event here on this blog as the week continues.

So here we go ... buckle up and enjoy this ride with us! It's going to be a great one!

- Jon Anthony