Country Music People July 2017 | Seite 4

cmp News Walt Trott in Nashville Duncan Warwick in London Nashville becomes JULY 2017 Volume 48 Number 6 Issue 568 Editor Duncan Warwick Contributors David Allan, Janet Aspley, Donnie Ayers, Craig Baguley, Larry Delaney, Don Cusic, Julie Flaskett, Kelly Gregory, Michael Hingston, Spencer Leigh, John Lomax III, , Douglas McPherson, Stephen O’Hanlon, Roland Purdy, Adrian Peel, Paul Riley, Wayne Smart, Chris Smith, Alison Stokes, Tom Travis, Walt Trott, Jack Watkins Special projects coordinator Kelly Gregory Photographers Helen Parish, Patricia Presley, Ian Tilbury, Barry Dixon, Billie McAleer Left: Alan Jackson whipping up Predator support. Below: Carrie Underwood on National anthem duties. Above: The scene on Nashville’s Lower Broad. Printed by The Magazine Printing Company Mollison Avenue Brimsdown Enfield Middx. EN3 7NT www.magprint.co.uk Distributor Seymour International Press Distributors Ltd. 2 East Poultry Avenue London EC1A 9PT Telephone [phone] Fax [phone] Country Music People is published the last Thursday of each month by KICKIN’ CUTS LIMITED 24 Darley Close, Wittering, Peterborough PE8 6EQ, UK Telephone [phone] - 783689 [email protected] www.cmpcountry.com ©2017 Kickin’ Cuts Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means without the prior written permission of the Publisher. The Publisher accepts no responsibility for statement of fact or opinion expressed by contributors. The views of the contributors are not necessarily those of Country Music People or its editor. 4 cmp - JULY 2017 W e called it Hockey-Tonk Town, at least for the duration of the mix of the Stanley Cup NHL skating championship finals between Nashville’s Predators and Pittsburgh’s Penguins, amidst the annual influx of fans for the Country MusicFest (once dubbed Fan Fair). Apart from being a worrisome record assemblage of folk for security officials, considering worldwide terrorist attacks, Music City cheerfully welcomed both events, with musical talents participating in both happenings. Topping it off, just 60-some miles down the highway in Manchester, was the rockin’ Bonnaroo Festival, that annually attracts some 80,000 far-out fans, giving an idea of the over- crowded check-in at Nashville airport and on the highways, departing June 12. Actually, the National Hockey League anticipated 100,000 hockey-goers in town for the Game Six finale alone, as some coughed up $4,000 or more for a single seat, while nearby parking sites were charging $80 per car. Incidentally, some of these parking places owned by corporations with headquarters as far removed from Music City as London, England, ought to be censored for pure greed. Steve Bradford, 58, didn’t have a parking problem, being an elevator-installation supervisor, his car parked on site of his current downtown building project (and truly it’s a boom town of sorts nowadays), while participating in both events on Lower Broad Street, aglow with numerous bars, clubs and of course the Bridgestone Arena, home to the Predators. Steve, who hails from Johnson City, Tenn., even brought his Mrs. and granddaughter over to share the festive scene: “We love both country music and hockey! This was a real treat!” In addition to being Tennessee’s capitol city, Nashville is now the state’s biggest city, according to a 2016 Census report noting Nashville proper now boasts 660,388 persons, thanks to the current boom taking place here, displacing Memphis, which dropped to 652,717, falling nearly 8,000 short of title status. It certainly was wall-to-wall people downtown here, where some artists were even offering free performances, among them Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Sara Evans, Blake Shelton and Rodney Atkins, who held a “Music City Gives Back” tailgate party all afternoon before the Preds game got underway, inviting such talents as Grainger Smith, Cole Taylor and Brett Young, with Kip Moore closing the set. There were a