Country Fans' Love for Music and Artists On Display at CMA Fest (Again!)

06/11/2018
Posted by: Mike O'Malley
Category: country music, country radio programming

It could have been just another Uber ride to the airport.

Instead it turned into a wide-ranging, fun, and insightful conversation between Donnie, the driver, and me.

As we wove our way around the Nashville streets closed for CMA Fest, Donnie revealed that he had recently retired from his long career of “driving Ms. McEntire.”

He shared a few stories including one that involved a lot of “whooping and hollering” in the back of the car following an Entertainer of the Year win. There was also the uplifting personal encounter Donnie had while driving Taylor Swift to and from one of her Nashville shows.

But we spent most of our time talking about the passion country fans have for their music and artists.

Even after all the years of working in the midst of the format’s biggest stars, the collective excitement and passion that the fans have for the music and artists was still impressive to Donnie.

So was the way artists made themselves accessible to the fans.

I’m with you Donnie. It’s something special indeed.

CMA Fest 2018 is in the books now. Soon there will be new figures for attendance and the impact on the economy.

But in the meantime, here are some interesting talk-abouts from recent CMA Fests that demonstrate how passionate our fans are.