NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- (June 13, 2007) -- As the sounds of country music superstar Brad Paisley echoed through the streets of Nashville, and fireworks peppered the skies bringing down the curtain on the 2007 CMA Music Festival, Great American Country (GAC) television network throttled up its wide-ranging coverage of the annual fan-centered event that drew a record 191,000 country music devotees.
Visitors flock to the GAC Booth at CMA Music Festival, where fans gathered autographs from more than 40 artists (Photo: Lee Hall/GAC)
By the time Paisley, who will star in his first GAC music special on Father’s Day, June 17, closed the festival’s final concert at Nashville’s LP Field Sunday night, GAC cameras and crews had already captured hundreds of hours of the sights and sounds of the 2007 event, the biggest CMA Music Fest on record.
“It is our intention to â€کown’ coverage of CMA Music Festival and to provide both the fans who attended, and those who could not make it to Nashville the most complete and comprehensive reporting available,†says Ed Hardy, GAC president.
Record crowds gathered at Nashville’s Riverfront Park as GAC cameras rolled on dozens of hours of concert footage. A 13-part series showcasing the top performances premieres on GAC on August 9.
The GAC Booth inside the Nashville Convention Center welcomed more than 40 artists who signed individual autographs for thousands of fans and posed for thousands of personalized photographs. GACTV.com cameras documented booth activity with video clips and a massive photo gallery.
The GAC Bus, parked outside Nashville’s Sommet Center, played host to thousands of fans at CMA Music Festival (Photo: Crystal Martin/GAC)
The GAC Bus, prominently displayed outside Nashville’s Sommet Center, greeted thousands more fans, as GAC staff distributed network premiums, “GAC Fast Pass†tickets to permit fans to bypass lines for autographs at the GAC Booth and signed up thousands of fans for future prize drawings. Inside the Sommet Center, the GAC Information Center provided kiosks where fans accessed the Internet to check personal e-mail and gathered information about Nashville and the music fest.
GAC will once again present the popular CMA Celebrity Close Up series, premiering July 18. Hosted by GAC’s Lorianne Crook, the programs will feature revealing conversations with popular country music artists Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry, Josh Turner, Neal McCoy, Terri Clark and Charley Pride.
GACTV.com added to music fest coverage with concert highlights and a Nashville travel guide with video clips to steer visitors to the city’s hot spots.
GAC’s commitment to CMA Music Fest is just beginning. Each night this week, the primetime program GAC Nights (8 p.m. ET) will take fans inside the music fest with fan and artist interviews and wrap-up coverage of the week’s activities.
About Great American Country (GAC)
Great American Country is America’s main street for the widest variety of country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence. In addition to country music videos, GAC features original programming, special musical performances and live concerts, and is the exclusive television home of the Grand Ole Opry. GAC is available in more than 46 million households and online at http://www.GACTV.com
