Name Dropping

There are two times of the year that Nashvillians hate.

The first is Fanfare, or CMT Music Fest or whatever the heck it is called now. This week long festival has live concerts and meet-and-greets with country music artists. But wait! There's more! Not only do you get to meet country music artists, but soap opera stars too! There is a God in heaven! This is the main reason that I do not miss working downtown.

You can usually tell when Fanfare has invaded Nashville, because of the multitudes of country music lovers that fill the streets of downtown. They are easy to spot. They are wearing a camera around their neck, sunglasses, some sort of fan club tank top, shorts, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat…..usually with accent feathers and black scribble autographs all over it.

Unless they are on stage or signing autographs at a table, you usually don't see the singers at this time. They hide. With good reason.

But this week is the opposite. This is the other week that we hate. This is the week of the CMA awards. Country music singers and bands flood the streets of downtown. Roads are blocked off for limousines and photographers. If you want to meet a singer, this is the week to do it. They will be on Broadway, sitting at the end of a bar, critiquing the entertainment and laughing like everyone is looking at them.

I don't mean to bash celebrity; I just don't have much use for it. Celebrities are a dime-a-dozen in Nash-Vegas and I think that they lost their awe a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, I have had my fair share of run-ins with some good ones. I let Vince and Amy in front of me in a traffic jam and he waved a 'thank you' wave to me. (Big bonus points in my book!) I rode to a Titans game with Billy Dean. I have talked on the phone with Gene Simmons (even though I didn't know who he was). There were several others. Birddog is on a first name basis with several artists from his years of playing on the road. Jake and Elwood love Craig Morgan, because he called them handsome and loved their names.…..and stopped to talk to Kyle about the dogs and music for a while.

But then there are the bad ones too. When you live in Nashville, you hear all the horror stories. How a singer was rude to a friend or how they had a better-than-thou attitude. And believe me, they are completely offended when you don't know who they are. It doesn't help that the evening news covers every DUI and minor altercation. Poor Mindy McCreedy will never have a music career again due to all of her bad publicity. I have heard more stuff about Faith Hill and Lee Ann Womack than I care to mention.

So friends, I am asking…….what is your celebrity story? Good or bad……..who have you had a run-in with? Were they nice? Were they an airhead? Or a big head? Or a creep? Were they as sweet as icing? Fill me in! I am all ears!