The Whole World's in Their Hands: CMA Global Artist Party Opens CMA Music Festival Week
June 2, 2008
The scene was pure Nashville: a long line of fans winding down Lower Broadway, most of them in jeans and T-shirts, waiting for admission to The Stage, one of the hottest venues in the Downtown district.
Inside, though, the vibe was a little different, beginning with the two Australian flags draped over the railing of the balcony above the bar. Then there was the buzz of conversation, in which an occasional pronunciation or unfamiliar phrase suggested that this wasn’t your typical honky-tonk Saturday night.
It was, actually, Monday night, June 2, and the occasion was the fifth annual CMA Global Artist Party, the unofficial launch of the CMA Music Festival.
The international flavor of the crowd symbolized Country Music’s appeal beyond the borders and shores of the United States. And that message was stamped, sealed and delivered by the artists who took to the stage, several of them making their American debuts on this delightfully cool evening.
Jeff Walker, President, AristoMedia/Marco Promotions and CMA CEO Tammy Genovese welcomed attendees and then brought Australian Country Music veteran Troy Cassar-Daley onto the stage to accept CMA’s 2008 Global Country Artist Award. Reflecting on the significance of the honor, he mused, “I grew up at home in Australia, listening to a lot of great old Country Music that was made in Nashville, Tenn. The Country Music tradition is really strong back home in Australia, and it’s nice to be able to come over here and play some music for you folks. Thank you so much.”
With that, the festivities began, hosted with characteristic wit by singer/songwriter Jace Everett. Nine artists took their turn, most of them backed by a band of Nashville musicians – steel guitarist/Dobro player Tim Lusby, fiddler/vocalist Lisa Manning, keyboardist Weston Mays, drummer Ken Slucher, bassist/vocalist David Spicher and guitarist Shane Sutton, whose mastery of each artist’s material after just one rehearsal was breathtaking in its own right.
Shea Fisher opened with a spirited performance that drew a wall of photographers to the front of the stage by the time she began her last tune, “Just the Excuse.” Though just 20 years old, she possesses a fully developed stage presence – and can already look back on an award-winning career as a rodeo competitor both in her native Australia and the United States.
Tall and rangy, with a warbling tenor voice reminiscent of Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Wim van de Vliert dominated the spotlight and surprised listeners with original and cover tunes that drew deeply from the honky-tonk well. “I felt like I was in Fort Worth, that whole set,” said Everett as the two-time winner of the Dutch Country Music Association and Country Gazette’s “Male Singer Gram Award” made his exit. “That was good music, brother.”
Describing herself as “a little girl from a little country,” Belgium’s Kat’Lee Jones put a lot of Country into her delivery of original tunes that culminated in a dreamy ballad, “Lay Down,” whose lyrical hook – “lay down, for just one more lie” – is especially impressive, considering that English is this artist’s third language, after Flemish and French.
The diminutive Jasmine Rae dove right into “Unbelievable” even as her Australian supporters were still cheering her entrance. As winner of this year’s Telstra Road to Tamworth talent competition, she came to Nashville to sing at The Stage and on Saturday, June 7, at the Greased Lightning Riverfront Daytime Stages and then to finish recording her debut album for ABC Music in Australia, with Nashville-based, Australian-born producer Mark Moffatt at the board. (Moffatt was also acknowledged frequently onstage for reprising his ongoing role as Music Coordinator of the CMA Global Artist Party.)
Following a set by Everett and guitarist Chris Raspante that featured a rendition of the Josh Turner hit “Your Man,” written by Everett, Adam Gregory seated himself on a stool and, playing a guitar borrowed from Everett, sang three tunes from his upcoming Midas Records debut. A gifted writer, he is also an exceptional vocalist with a talent for infusing urgent emotion into his singing. With a timbre that’s equal parts sandpaper and velvet, he infused the spiritual imagery of “When I Get There” with a rare intensity.
One of Ireland’s foremost family acts, The Murphy Band, showcased the talents of Pat Murphy and his three daughters. Hailing from County Kerry, they opened with resonant four-part harmonies on “Why Can’t He Be You,” after which Cindy, Candy and Katie Murphy took turns as vocal or instrumental soloists before joining voices again on “I Don’t Need the Words.”
Jessie Farrell displayed the sharp crossover sensibility that elevated three singles into the Canadian Top 20 from her first album, Nothing Fancy, in 2002. She segued easily from the foot-stomp rhythm of “Prettiest Things” to the power-ballad “Best of Me,” never missing a beat or failing to connect with the crowd along the way.
Cassar-Daley returned, to a thunderous ovation. Blessed with pleasant rather than matinee-idol features, dressed casually with untucked shirt and worn jeans, he radiated charisma throughout his performance, his voice at times echoing that of Merle Haggard, his face warmed by a half smile and his eyes gazing somewhere beyond the confines of The Stage.
At one point, prefacing his song “Sleeping in Yesterday’s Bed,” he paused and then spoke thoughtfully. “You know, I love traditional Country Music,” he said. “That’s what brought me back to Nashville, every time I’ve come here. So this song is my tribute, I suppose, to these people.” He gestured toward the mural of Country legends that decorates the wall to the audience’s left. “Merle, Johnny and Willie: This song goes out to them right now.”
Where Cassar-Daley left an impression of artistic depth, Scottish-born Johnny Reid, now a resident in Canada, brought the show to a rousing finale with a double-shot of showmanship and soul. Speaking in a brogue that’s as impenetrable in some parts of the world as a Dixie drawl, Reid announced, “Obviously, you can tell I don’t come from Nashville, but it’s nice to be here this evening. A big thank-you to CMA for putting on such a wonderful event. And now we’re going to sing a few songs. If you enjoy them, please clap. If you don’t, clap anyway because I’m very sensitive.”
With that, Reid, backed by his own band, slammed through four tunes whose incendiary blend of Country, pub-rock and old-school R&B speak loud and clear in any language. With spiky hair, holey jeans, loosened tie and rumpled jacket, Reid sang with a fervor that brought even the Aussies in the balcony to their feet. By the end of the night, borderlines had melted away, leaving only a roomful of onetime strangers united by music.
The CMA Global Artist Party was co-sponsored by Digital Rodeo and Diamond Coach.
-- Bob Doerschuk
