Posted: May 18, 2007

What's News

All I can say is … Viva Las Vegas baby! What an honor to have been one of the five songwriters picked by the Academy of Country Music and Broadjam (the world's largest indie music website) to attend the ACM Awards in Las Vegas! And what great hosts the ACM and Broadjam are. Not only did my wife Sharon and I get to help country music take over Las Vegas as invited guests at all of the various ACM parties and functions, but the ACM also arranged important meetings for me with publishers, songwriters and record labels while everyone was in Vegas! Even better, I got to hang out and talk shop with several of country music's brightest stars including Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery-Gentry, Phil Vassar, Eric Church, Dusty Drake, Mika Roberts, Phillip Sweet (of Little Big Town) and many others. I was also lucky enough to see and hear performances by Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Big&Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Terri Clark, Montgomery Gentry, Miranda Lambert, Rodney Atkins, The Wreckers, Taylor Swift, Pat Green, Steve Holy, Jack Ingram, Craig Morgan, Joe Nichols, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Racsal Flatts, Sugarland, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, and many others! If that wasn’t enough, I was also front and center for the private "Hit Men of Music Row” performance by Nashville’s top songwriters, including Craig Wiseman, Jeffrey Steele, Bob Dipero, and Tony Mullins. GAC was there for that one and I understand it will be on national tv sometime this fall (I'm the big goofy starry-eyed guy at the front table). Last but not least was the chance to meet the four other writers who were picked for this honor. Believe me, we had a blast! I just wish my co-writer Liz Miller and her husband could have joined us … but they had an important wedding anniversary to celebrate. Hopefully next time they will be able to make it…. and it will be one of our songs that is up for “ACM Song of the Year.” Hey, might as well think big! Thanks again to all of the great folks at the ACM and Broadjam for such a great opportunity.