My favorite Time of Year - CMA Fest week and Fan Club Parties!
Even though I am not a big country music fan (yes, I said it), I still have a huge appreciation for all genres of music and the fans who love it. That's why my favorite time of the year is in June, during CMA Fest week. During this week, we hold our annual fan club parties. 2010 will be my fourth year helping organize the parties and coming from a background in PR, this is the highlight of my job! Don't get me wrong, I love the other 51 weeks of the year as well, but this is my chance to get out, meet the fans, and provide an atmosphere for fans to feel like they're having a one on one experience with the artist. On top of all that, the craziness of CMA Fest is booming in downtown Nashville, and our parties are right in the middle of all the action. It's a sight to see!
The first year I helped with the parties, I was blown away. I had never been to a fan club party before, and I was astonished at how devoted and loyal the fans were. I find it's easy to get jaded in this industry, being around it every day - that one week every year, though, when fans come from all over, even from other countries, to hang with us for a few hours is heartwarming. Each year has gotten better and better for me, becoming more involved and being one of those famliar faces that fans can relate to when they show up each year. It's a lot of work, from planning, promoting, setting up and executing, but we have a blast doing it.
Favorite fan club party to date? Definitely Lady A's first fan club party in 2008. Lady A's success was just beginning to explode and we decided to throw a late night party after their show at LP Field. If you were there, you understand why it was so amazing. The energy, the excitement, the love for a new breakout group in the air - it was a great party!
We're very excited about our 2010 parties coming up in just a little over a month! We hope to see you there, and please be sure to come say hi to us! We're not all just work - we like to play too!
