CMA Music Fest 2009 - Recap

We have had such an amazing time this year at CMA Music Fest! ..we're so sad it's already over. :(

The week started with the St. Jude Celebrity bowling event out at Hermitage lanes, where we got to meet and bowl with friends, fans and country music celebrities. Some of the artists that were there included: Trent Tomlinson, Lonestar, Jeff Bates, Adam Gregory, Sarah Darling, Buddy Jewel, Danielle Peck, Bo Bice and Megan Mullins.
We got to find out who the best bowler of the three us of is - Brad turned in an impressive 143! We won't say who the WORST bowler is, however we will say that Matt bowled a 61 one game. Ouch.
The best part of that event was knowing that ALL the proceeds went to benefit the children of St. Jude's Hospital.

Next up was the Music Row Live remotes over at the Tracking Room, where we did an acoustic performance and gave a dozen or so interviews for some radio stations from around the country, who were in town for Music Fest. We even did a TV interview!
While we were there, we signed about 30 guitars, hats and other stuff for stations to give away.
One of the coolest parts about that day, was the 'gift room' for artists. We got to go into a room with big shopping bags, and pick out boots, sunglasses, jewelry and other stuff - FOR FREE! Wow, we could really get used to this. :)

Later that day was the Chevy Kick-off Parade which routed right down lower Broadway in downtown Nashville. Before the parade, we were walked in, taken care of VIP-style, and got to rub elbows with some of our heroes - like Brady Seals. Being treated like stars is actually very humbling for us; and we are truly grateful for all of this. The actual parade was awesome! Some people were even cheering for us; did they even know us?? :)


Thursday was our autograph signing day at the convention center. Once again we were overwhelmed by the number of 'fans' who showed up to meet us and get a picture with us. VERY COOL. We're already so blessed with such amazing folks, who dig our tunes. Thanks y'all!
When we were leaving the convention center, at the artist VIP entrance, we gave the valet boys a 20-dollar bill and a Due West picture, with the message "best tippers of the day" written on it! :) We wanted Reba, Wynonna, Carrie and the like to catch a little glimpse of our mugs on their way in and out. Ha ha! Do you think they even noticed??

We ended our week's festivities with the GeoQuest scavenger hunt. Jim A. and his folks from the Grass Roots team did such an amazing job putting that whole thing together, and the end result was incredible. Todd Thompson of Hendersonville won the electric guitar; way to go Todd!





All in all, we LOVED CMA Music Fest 2009, and can't wait for next year!

Please tune in to our youtube channel, 'duewestmusictv' to see videos from the week.



Also, check out this slideshow from the Due West GeoQuest. (photos by Debbi Tannock)

Due West makes TOP 50 Tweeters LIST!

Hey everybody, we were so excited to find out that we made the Music Row top country twitter list! The coolest part about it is the company that we're in...

Thanks for all the follows! Spread the Due West / Twitter LOVE! :)

Thanks!

Check it out: http://www.musicrow.com/charts/top-ranking-country-artists/

Follow us on twitter at: http://twitter.com/DueWestMusic

Due West GeoQuest Challenge

Due West announces GeoQuest Challenge navigation game in downtown Nashville

Due West is challenging country music fans to explore the streets of downtown Nashville with their GeoQuest game, set for Thurs., June 11, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Can you follow the clues and complete the trek leading to some of Lower Broadway's historic sites?

Finish the short walking course and you will be invited to a special private event at one of Nashville's historic music spots, plus there will be great prizes.

Who can play? Everyone is invited! (And it's free...)

When? Thursday, June 11 - 1:00-3:00 p.m. (Please allow at least 30 minutes to play!) A special private post-game event will follow at 3:30 p.m. for all players completing the course.

Where? Lower Broadway, downtown Nashville

How do I play? To get your first clue, call 615.656.5636. You'll be instructed on your next step.

Prizes? Yep. Everyone who finishes the challenge will be treated to an exclusive private event at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday and there will be special prizes for all finishers.


615.656.5636. Call. Find. Win.

Where do we stand?

Hey guys, wanted to catch everybody up on what's going on in the world of Due West. Sorry it's been a while since our last blog entry... we boys have been BUSY! :) ..we love it.

Our debut single "I Get That All The Time" continues to make its journey slowly up the charts. We are all very pleased with how things are going so far, and although the process takes a lot of patience and hard work, it will all be worth it.

Currently there are over 200 stations across the country playing our song! That is such an amazing reality for us to comprehend, and it blows our mind every time we think about it. With that number of stations playing it, we've managed to claw our way into the 40's and 50's on the several charts mentioned before ("A Brief Lesson In Radio").

This place we've reached so far is a HUGE success! The next big task will be getting over this 'hump' that we're staring at; because once you break into the top 30's and 40's, especially as a new unknown act, then a larger majority of the remaining stations start to take you a little more seriously.

We like to give the analogy that everyone (radio station programmers) is standing on a big giant line - kinda like a starting line; looking from right to left, up and down the line... they're all wondering who's gonna go first..."you go" "no, you go..." As soon as a few of them take a chance and make that move off the line, then ALL of them will follow suit. At that point it becomes a snowball effect, because as explained in the previous blog, the more stations that play "I Get That All The Time", the higher the song charts...the higher the song charts, the more stations want to play it...and so on, and so on.

What can YOU do?

If you know that your local radio station IS playing our song - even if it's only once or twice a week - call them up and request it..a lot! :) Let them know how you feel about the song.

If your local station isn't playing it yet, or doesn't have it yet, be patient... they will get it when it gets higher on the charts.

Once it does get into the top 30's and 40's, and you DO begin to hear it more frequently, the next major test at THAT point will be finding out how the song connects with the listeners. ...if they can relate, if it speaks to them, if it's catchy, etc. So feel free to call them and RAVE! :)

We can't wait for that stage of our journey with this song! We feel so passionately about this song, and we sing it from such a real and honest place, that we can't help but feel that the listeners out there will 'get it', and identify with the song as well.

Thank you all again for being such great friends and fans to Due West!

Brad, Matt & Tim