Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong
Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay
It’s Independence Day
-“Independence Day,” Martina McBride
Country music never sounded any sweeter.
Sure, the crying of a steel guitar and twin fiddles playing may have been missing for the traditionalists among us, but “Country Music’s Biggest Night,” the Country Music Association’s 53rd annual CMA Awards, was more than a tribute to the best of mainstream country music and artists. It was nirvana.
By honoring and celebrating the legendary women of county music as well as the up-and-comers, it might well have marked a new era in which the ladies of the genre not only took over center stage but placed a tight grip on the future.
For the first time in CMA history, women were nominated in every single category they're eligible for, and after two years with no women nominated for entertainer of the year, Carrie Underwood was one of the five finalists.
Call it Independence Day for the women of county, who were there in force and led by royalty, the “first ladies of county music,” Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. There was star power in Reba McEntire and the current reigning queen, Underwood. Megastars of the past—Tanya Tucker, Sara Evans, Gretchen Wilson, Terri Clark, Crystal Gayle—and an ensemble currently on the charts or up-and-coming stars—Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Jennifer Nettles, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires—all celebrated the power of women and their songs, coming together for a spectacular finale on Martina McBride’s classic “Independence Day.”
The CMAs were special, as well, for a group of nearly two dozen meeting planners who participated in MPI’s Experiential Event Series. They were able to go behind the scenes the day before the show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, getting insight from the live events team. The meeting planners even had extended face time with another group of powerful women that included Sarah Trahern, CEO of the CMA; Emily Evans, senior director of strategic partnerships; and Catharine McNeely, senior director of communications.
The access to CMA leaders was meaningful to participants, especially so close to show time.
“I was extremely impressed with the level of access and transparency we experienced with the CMA team,” said meeting planner Darci Motta (MPI Northern California Chapter). “To have the CEO, senior director of communications and key members of their teams available to answer our questions a mere 28 hours prior to their nationally televised event was inspiring.”
“The made it look as easy as any good professional does in any industry,” added Cindy Maso (MPI Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter), a meeting planner at BI Worldwide in Frisco, Texas. “However, as planners we know it takes a tremendous amount of time and hard work. It makes me think of the swan who is smooth on the surface and paddling hard under the water.”
The education element, and particularly the behind-the-scenes access, resonated with the attendees, said Annette Gregg, senior vice president of experience at MPI.
“Being able to experience the production behind large-scale and premier events like the CMAs is powerful for meeting professionals,” she said. “Immersive education like these events isn’t common, and it gives senior planners a unique learning experience that they can’t find everywhere. We all need to continue learning at all stages of our career and adding elements like this to our learning journeys helps us keep growing.”
If Trahern and her team had pre-show jitters, it didn’t show. She kicked off the behind-the-scenes experience in the media room—there were about 200 credentialed media expected—and was openly candid, sharing information on the history of the show, the CMA’s strategic goals, overall show logistics, finances, TV contracts and sponsorships and even what may be the biggest challenge—allocating limited dressing room space for so many stars.
“Oh, you wouldn’t believe,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s something we’re used to having to manage.”
The group went on the main floor, where Evans and Jillian Ellis, with TV production, explained various elements of the broadcast on ABC, which ended up drawing the network’s largest audience of the 2019-20 prime-time television season. The three-hour ceremony averaged 11.28 million viewers, rising 11.7 percent from last year’s average of 10.1 million.
The CMA team, which must work with the National Hockey League to finds dates for an extended road trip for the Nashville Predators, began loading materials into the arena on Nov. 3, and only had 48 hours after the show to clear out a massive stage and 574 rigging points, about 150 more than last year.
The meeting planners continued across the street to the Music City Center, where the stars would walk the red carpet. Another meeting was in the center and moving out as workers were still putting down carpet and going through final details.
“We’re not given special treatment,” McNeely said. “This is one of the top areas in the building and we’ve got to work around a lot of schedules.”
Nanci Gandy (MPI Texas Hill Country Chapter), executive director for enterprise events and protocol at USAA, came from the production world and said “the ability to go behind the scenes on an event like the CMAs opened my eyes to new options for set design, collaboration and overall production of a show of this magnitude.
“When I signed up for the experience, I don’t know that I realized just how much behind-the-scenes access we would actually have—still amazed at everywhere we had the opportunity to go and everyone we had the opportunity to meet and talk to. It was a wealth of information and knowledge packed into two-and-a-half days. At the after party, several of us were commenting on the breadth and depth of our access and interactions.”
The other big star was the city of Nashville, which continues to elevate itself as a top meeting and event destination. The city is adding more hotel space—currently it has nearly 5,900 guest rooms—with about 3,000 coming online by the end of 2022 and another 6,000 in planning or prospective planning stages.
“The CMAs is one of the biggest days of the year for us outside of July 4 and New Year’s Eve,” said Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
He shared Nashville’s rags-to-riches story, a testament to his commitment, his team and the cooperation of local officials to recognize the power of meetings and events.
“We got into the event business by necessity,” he said. “We’re still looking for more.”
Kate Page, CMP (MPI New England Chapter), director of services, Fenway Park Events at Boston Red Sox, added her appreciation for access to CMA executives during the event. She attended a previous MPI experiential event, the Venice Film Festival.
“It is clear that this is a team that prioritizes communication, strategic planning, trust and accountability, and that they all are incredibly passionate,” Page said. “The CMA Awards is Country’s Biggest Night and is a blue chip event for the city of Nashville, but it was interesting to learn that it’s still a puzzle fitting it into a date with ABC broadcasting, the long production build and teardown at Bridgestone Arena and the red carpet at Music City Center—as well as avoiding completely different industries like going head to head with Major League Baseball’s World Series or next year with the presidential election.”
Photo courtesy John Russell/CMA.
