James Akenson
Jerry Lee Lewis claimed there’s a Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On. COVID-19 keeps shakin’ on. This COVID-19 mountain railway on which we’re riding bids us to watch for dangers of all sorts that may be just around the flattened curve. So…let’s see what kind of things have been shakin’ since the previous COVID-19 #1 International Country Music piece (ICM)a couple of months ago.
Sadly, at the end of May the U.S. passed the 100,000 deaths. Deaths will continue to increase although the U.S. continues to return to phased in normal life.
I’ve always wanted to use the word REDUX in some way. It sounds so important. So sophisticated…even though it just means again. COVID-19 continues to hang around. We can revisit or REDUX COVID-19. Paraphrasing Gene Autry I’m back in the COVID-19 saddle again. Maybe it should be I’m REDUX in the COVID-19 saddle again for ICM.
Charles Darwin wants to contribute since COVID-19 arrived and introduced us to masking, social distancing, and Stay Safe. That means for Country Music it’s all about adaptation. Under the best of circumstances it isn’t easy. So many artists cancelled performances and tours. It takes a lot creativity to adapt to the COVID-19 lifestyle. Country Music artists and fans find the New Normal a challenge to say the least.
Let’s see how adaptation occurs with Country Music. Live music isn’t what it used to be…and probably won’t be for several months…. whether you’re an established star like Keith Urban or aspiring artists like Wild Fire. Keith Urban according to The Tennessean performed in Watertown, Tennessee in a socially distanced concert.
No contact? No problem! Keith Urban threw the first socially-distanced drive-in concert in North America last week. Urban performed a private concert for Vanderbilt Medical Center workers at the Stardust Drive-In, about 40 miles east of Nashville.
Now that’s adaptation of the Country Music species. Not exactly an intimate Honky Tonk setting like Tootsie’s or a big stadium communal experience like Nisssan Stadium, you say. Yes, but still Keith Urban performed live. And the cute and wholesome….a word my mother loved along with the term nice girl…. Wild Fire offered a live Release Party for their new album on their FaceBook page. Now that, too, is adaptation.
Let’s check out further adaption using the Drive-In idea. In fact, Drive-In theaters at one time were the latest cutting edge entertainment in the U.S. Alan Jackson takes it to another level during COVID-19. According to Country Music Tattle Tale.
Country Music icon Alan Jackson will perform a pair of shows next month in Alabama as he launches his first-ever “Small Town Drive-In” concerts…bringing three decades of hits to music fans in a unique “drive-in meets concert” experience, giving attendees a quality-of-life activity during this current time of isolation and uncertainty.
Jackson will stage two shows – June 5 in Cullman, AL (on the open-field site of the long-running Rock the South festival) and June 6 in Fairhope, AL (on the grounds of Oak Hollow Farm).
General admission costs $99.99 for two person per vehicle, or per ute, we might should we say. Each additional person is $39.99. Ya think some folks might try the old sneak in trick by hiding in the boot? How about VIP seating in the front rows close to the stage for $199.99? Looks as if the Meet and Greet plus a buffet aspect of VIP tickets might not be in the works. Yet…these aren’t big city prices. It’s Down South in Alabama and fits his Small Town Southern Man image and beliefs just fine.
Lesser known Colt Ford continues the Drive-In concept with his 19 and 20 June Georgia Grown Summer Concert Series at two different Drive-Ins. Yes. The will be compliant with both local and state regulations while following social distancing guidelines. Both Jesup and Tiger, Georgia are small towns. Price? How about $125 per car. Sound good, mate? Sounds good to me! And…let’s not forget that Craig Campbell will also be performing at the Tiger and Jesup Drive-Ins.
The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville began in the mid 1920s and is officially closed through early June 2020. BUT…the Opry…always nimble on its feet …adapted immediately to COVID-19 continuing to function and make Country Music accessible all over the world. The Opry’s rich history shows adaptation after adaptation. From making certain that Opry cast members wore farm inspired clothing, adopted country style names for the bands…Dr. Humphrey Bate and his Possum Hunters… and joining a national radio network presence to supporting World War 2 and allowing drums on stage the Opry changed and adapted.
During COVID-19 The Opry continued its adaptation of virtual weekend performances. Saturday evening 23 May 2020 the Opry provided a special Memorial Day salute…think ANZAC day for Aussies…to U.S. armed forces. Country Music went out to fans all over the world. The Opry House had none of the usual 4,000 fans in attendance. But they could enjoy the likes of Craig Morgan, Kellie Pickler, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Now that’s adaptation of the Country Music species. Check out the circle in the logo in the Opry graphic. The circle references the Carter Family’s iconic Can, will the circle be unbroken. The circle of wood in the current Opry House came from the Ryman Auditorium The Mother Church of Country Music. COVID-19 will not break the circle of Country Music history, its purpose, its meanings, its vitality.
Virtual Tips, another adaptation, have become a way to provide Country Music Artists to earn desperately needed income. You can give online through services similar to eBay. Country Music artists now put on concerts on line. LP Mickie (life partner) and I paid $10 to view a performance by Granville Automatic. Besides paying $10 admission the virtual tip feature allows the virtual audience to show further appreciation and provide the Country Music artists with extra income. Erin Enderlin even announced on FaceBook that her cat Anna died and she would use virtual tips to support the Nashville Humane Association.
My sweet baby girl. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. It’s been a tough week y’all – I’m looking forward to be able to hang with y’all tonight and play some songs. All virtual tips from tonight’s Facebook Live at 8pm Central will be donated to the Nashville Humane Association in honor of my precious Anna – I’m so grateful that I got to be your human – I’ll miss your tiny Teradactyl meow, your 4am head butts, and every part of your sassy little personality.🖤🖤
Virtual tips and virtual concerts seem very much like adaptation of the Country Music species to me. Two plus months ago in COVID #1 I predicted there would be more COVID-19 songs as time went on. More artists did came out with COVID-19 themed songs. Some of them advocated for the Stay Safe features. Others didn’t.
Dolly Parton set a positive tone with When Life is Good Again. John Rich of Big and Rich fame supported the Social Distancing concept despite having to close down his Redneck Riviera restaurant and bar on Broadway in Nashville. Take a look at his video. The Zac Brown Band’s Knee Deep Quarantine Video played off of their original Knee Deep hit and melody. Vintage Blue Duo created a clever parody of Dolly Parton’s Jolene based on the stresses of life at home during Social Distancing. Luke Combs, currently one of the hottest Country Music acts, told about life at home in Six Feet Apart. If you don’t like any of the restrictions and don’t trust the science… then this ditty is for you! Chad Prather’s Take Six Feet and Shove It says it all about doubting science and the Stay Safe restrictions. Yes, indeed, he’s using Johnny Paycheck’s melody and attitude from Take This Job and Shove It.
The U.S. in slowly trying to reopen and get back to normal. In Nashville, John Rich’s Redneck Riviera is reopened as part of Nashville’s phased back to normal, but there are lots of limitations including only two musicians onstage, groups no bigger than twenty-five, and social distancing required.
Overall, did anything positive….besides the Adaptation of the Country Music species…happen during the worst of the COVID-19 crisis? Well maybe. People tended to listen to Country Music more than usual. Billboard Magazine quoted Spotify Nashville executive Beville Dunkerley about some interesting news.
As Americans continue to shelter in place, they are turning to country music to keep them company in record numbers.
Over the last two weeks, country music has enjoyed a streaming bonanza, with on-demand audio streams growing 10.7% to a record high 1.26 billion for the week ending April 23. The next week ending April 30, a new record was set as streams grew 14.3% to 1.3 billion. This is versus the baseline weekly audio average of 1.138 billion for the eight-week period Jan. 17 through March 12…
Dunkerley indicated that “People are looking for country music to be their therapy and to motivate them to see the silver linings and hold out for hope…” Yes. Country Music continues to adapt via streaming. We can count on Country Music to always talk to people where their lives are lived. Just think Merle Haggard Are The Good Times Really Over. Country Music always gets us through a crisis.
The impact of COVID-19 on Country Music…and on the entire U.S. and world economy…might linger on longer than anyone would like. Country Music 2020, though, showed one Mr. Charles Darwin that it is a very adaptable species. Merle Haggard can be paraphrased to say the best of the pre COVID-19 life’s not behind us. The good times aren’t over and gone.
The Country Music circle remains unbroken…stressed, yes…but ready, willing, and able to continue being the music of our lives…From the Honky Tonks to the stadiums. From the great Atlantic Ocean to the wide Pacific shore… From the Great Dividing Range to the Nullarbar Plain…From the Murray’s green basin to the dusty outback. Stay Safe, y’all. We don’t want to revisit COVID-19 ever redux.
