Tim McGraw
While the annual “New Faces of Country Music” show at COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR (CRS) typically focuses on up-and-coming artists, this year’s event also brought two superstars to the stage — TIM MCGRAW and KEITH URBAN. During the show, held FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH at NASHVILLE’S OMNI HOTEL, MCGRAW made a surprise appearance in recognition of the 50th anniversary of CRS, and sang his first #1 hit, 1994’s “Don’t Take The Girl.” He concluded the performance by telling radio attendees, “Ya’ll have changed my life. Thank you.”
URBAN’s appearance was also a surprise as he turned up to honor retiring COUNTRY RADIO BROADCASTERS Executive Director BILL MAYNE. After watching a video tribute that showed photos of a young, long-haired, and mustachioed MAYNE, URBAN quipped, “I had no idea he was the lead singer of MIDLAND.” In honoring MAYNE, URBAN recalled a poster he saw at his daughters’ school that read: “Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?” The poster made him think of MAYNE’s positive spirit, which URBAN said “is so worth catching.”
First performer RUSSELL DICKERSON eschewed the typical video introduction, instead offering a simple message noting that he would be making a donation to ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL in honor of those who helped get his career off the ground. He then offered a high-energy set that included hits “Yours,” and “Blue Tacoma,” as well as snippets of pop hits “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” plus a selection of dance moves that included what is likely the first instance of “flossing” on the “New Faces” stage.
The unlikely pop song snippets continued into LINDSAY ELL’S set when she sang a bit of U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name.” ELL also had with is likely a “New Faces” first when she enlisted a megaphone to briefly amplify some of the lyrics in her song, “Criminal.” And she debuted a new song she said even her label hadn’t heard yet.
JIMMIE ALLEN was adorably introduced in a video package by his young son and, during his set left the stage and ran through the length of the ballroom, even jumping on a chair at one point while he sang. For his closing number, “All Tractors Ain’t Green,” he was joined onstage by a group of six backing vocalists.
LANCO offered up a mix of familiar and new music in their set, including hits “Born To Love You” and “Greatest Love Story,” and showed off the performance chops they’ve honed over the last several years on the road.
DYLAN SCOTT closed the show with a performance that included his hits ”Hooked” and “My Girl,” current single “Nothing To Do Town,” plus a cover of KEITH WHITLEY’S “Don’t Close Your Eyes” that left the country traditionalists in the room smiling.
During the show, WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE Chairman/CEO JOHN ESPOSITO was named “Supreme and Exalted Leader Of CRS 2019” after beating out COX MEDIA GROUP Dir./Operations JOHNNY CHIANG in a voting campaign (NET NEWS. 2/8).
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