Nashville Gears Up for Country Radio Seminar 2018

(Nashville, Tenn. – Feb. 5, 2018) – Country radio’s biggest event of the year, Country Radio Seminar (CRS) kicks off today, Monday, Feb. 5 in downtown Nashville, Tenn.  This year’s three-day agenda is packed full of entertainment, networking, and educational opportunities, and includes panels, mentoring events, instructive discussions, and exciting performances from the most talked about emerging acts of today to country music’s biggest superstars. Some of the seminar’s most anticipated events are back again and include Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley, Team UMG at The Ryman, Big Machine Label Group’s Luncheon Show, and the New Faces of Country Music Show and Dinner. 

Two exciting new events have also been added to this year’s CRS including the Amazon Music & CRS Monday Night Showcase featuring the Radio Ink Best Country PD Awards and the New Faces After Party: #NextUp Showcase presented by Radio Disney Country on Wednesday evening.

Country Radio Seminar Executive Director, Bill Mayne comments, “I truly believe CRS 2018 will empower you with an incredible array of new innovating ideas to improve your skill sets and perspective to create sustainable results for your business. You will also experience more stellar Country Music performances than ever before!”

As part of its tradition of taking care of the individuals who make up the music industry family, Country Radio Seminar is offering 2018 attendees a menu of healthy living opportunities including Shatki Power Yoga sessions, the Shakti Meditation Room, the HOCATT Ozone Sauna, the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Juice Bar and a special seminar by Miles Adcox, a nationally-recognized leader including in the fields of emotional wellness, mental health, and entertainment.

To view an advance CRS 2018 agenda, visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com or download the official mobile app, which is now available for download on all mobile devices as well as laptops.  The CRS 2018 app, powered by Country Aircheck, provides attendees with an expanded CRS agenda, panel descriptions, speaker bios, integrated calendar upgrades, CRS after-hour activities, CRS TV video clips and other event news. To get the app, interested parties must go to the app store on their mobile device and download “Crowdcompass AttendeeHub.”  They must search for “CRS 2018” and click download.  When trying to access the CRS 2018 app, they will be required to open the Crowdcompass AttendeeHub on the home screen.

The $699 final registration rate for Country Radio Seminar 2018 is available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.  Single-day passes are also being made available.  Single-day passes (limited to two-day passes per person) are $200 per pass.

MONDAY, FEB. 5:

Before the seminar’s kick-off, CRS registrants can enjoy complimentary tours of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum from 9:00 a.m.- 3 p.m.

At 12:15 p.m., the official CRS 2018 Kick-Off party will be held, in collaboration with Encore Technologies. DJ Ty Street will host the event in the Broadway Pre-Function Room which will also feature performances by Macy Martin, Gabe Marshall, Brad Puckett and Barry Brown.

At 3 p.m. CT, one of Country Music’s rising stars, CAM, will jumpstart the CRS 2018 Opening Ceremonies, sponsored by Sarah Cannon, by singing the national anthem. A Color Guard presentation from the United States Marine Corps and a welcome from Nashville Mayor, Megan Barry will follow all in Legends Ballroom.

Shortly after, around 3:30 p.m., multi-platinum singer/songwriter Dierks Bentleywill be honored with the CRS 2018 Artist Humanitarian Award, presented by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and Dan Halyburton, Owner of Falls Media Group, will be recognized as the recipient of the CRS 2018 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award. Location is Legends Ballroom, D-G.

From 4 – 5:00 p.m. CT, Dierks Bentley will be the featured speaker in “Climbing the Mountain” spotlighting his rise to superstardom. The panel is sponsored by DAV and is located in the Legends Ballroom, D-G.

At 5:30 p.m. CT, attendees will gather to enjoy music by DJ Sinister in the Broadway Ballroom for the Opening Welcome Reception, sponsored by CMA and Live Nation.

Immediately following in the same location, from 7-9:30 p.m., is the Amazon Music & CRS Monday Night Showcase featuring Radio Ink Best Country PD Awards.Powered by Live Nation, this year’s show will feature performances by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Jason Aldean (Broken Bow) as well as rising stars Jordan Davis (UMG) and Jimmie Allen (Broken Bow).

TUESDAY, FEB. 6:

Tuesday, Feb. 6 kicks off at 7:30 a.m. CT with the Programming Mentoring Breakfast, Sales Mentoring Breakfast, and Label Mentoring Breakfast all in the Cumberland Ballrooms.

At 8:30 a.m., CEO/Owner of Onsite and CRS featured speaker, Miles Adcox, will discuss intentional thinking and centering one’s self. Miles Adcox: Intentional Living, How to Get Control of Your Life Back will take place in Legends, D-G.  Adcox is a nationally-recognized expert in many areas, including emotional leadership, inspiration, communication, organizational health, creative flow, family systems, trauma, and emotional wellness.

At 9:30 a.m., a presentation titled Country Radio is at Home with Smart Speakers, will be presented by Edison Research. The presentation will look at the new devices from the perspective of the Country listener in order to understand how they are already using Smart Speakers and how they use the technology to connect with their favorite radio stations. Edison Research will present ideas on how to use Smart Speakers to strengthen the already strong relationship between the listener and Country Radio. Legends Ballroom, D-G.

Team UMG at the Ryman will take place at 11:30 a.m. CT, and will include performances by Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town, Kassi Ashton, Jordan Davis, Travis Denning, Brandon Lay, Maddie & Tae, Kip Moore and Jon Pardi.

At 2:30 p.m. are two panels: Facebook: Still Our Strongest Ally and Small Market 101: Raising Your Bottom Line, One Strategy at a Time.  Facebook: Still Our Strongest Ally will feature Facebook and Instagram influencers discussing how they create great content that drives engagement and what inspired them to start their pages.   Small Market 101: Raising Your Bottom Line, One Strategy at a Time will provide an overview of strategies and tools that help markets of any size create successful promotions and campaigns straight from small market sales and programming teams.  Simultaneously happening, at 2:30 p.m., is the Interactive Workshop #1 – Voice Coaching: Are They Hearing Your Voice. Join John Willyardand Lisa Keys, two of the top most recognizable voice talents, as they share their tips, tricks and success stories.

Cumulus Media’s CEO, Mary Berner, is set to speak at 3:30 p.m. in a Radio Today discussion, sponsored by Parenting Today’s Teens, in Legends D-G.

At 4:30 p.m. in the Networking Lounge (Rebel Engine Lobby Bar), is On-Air Talent Mentoring Happy Hour. The lounge serves as an area for attendees to mingle with on-air talent, managers, and programmers.

At 5:00 p.m. the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will host “Party like an Outlaw,” a private cocktail reception with complimentary access to the museum. Featuring a performance by Warner Music Nashville’s Ashley McBryde, the reception will be held in the museum’s Event Hall, where museum representatives will welcome radio and industry attendees, share info about upcoming exhibits including the recently announced Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ‘70s and guide them towards the museum galleries, which will be open for viewing.

Also held at 5:00 p.m. is Cold River Records’ “Drew’s Disco Party” at Kitchen Notes. Featuring a special performance by Drew Baldridge followed by a disco-themed dance party with a lighted dance floor and guest DJ. Biscuits and booze will be served. 

At 7 p.m., Twelve of the format’s most successful songwriters will perform at Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley, one of the many popular after-hour events taking place during Country Radio Seminar 2018. Corey Crowder, Chris DeStefano, Bob DiPiero, Nicolle Galyon, JT Harding, Lee Thomas Miller, Wendell Mobley, Heather Morgan, Jon Nite, Jimmy Robbins, Matt Rogers, and Cole Taylor are all set to perform in Legends A-C.

WEDNESDAY, FEB 7:

Wednesday will begin with the Women’s Mentoring Breakfast, sponsored by NuVoodoo Media Services, and the Digital Tech Breakfast. The Women’s Mentoring Breakfast provides women with the opportunity to meet, greet, and eat with the industry’s most inspiring and accomplished women of today and to create meaningful connections in radio and records.

At 9:00 a.m. in Legends D-G, Randy Lane will be the daily featured speaker presenting “Talent Coaching with Randy Lane”: 10 Trends That Are Impacting Morning Radio.” Lane will address how 2017 brought about big changes resulting in big modifications to content on morning radio as well as discuss how to create content that addresses America’s desire to escape the fatiguing negative news cycle.

Wednesday’s panel highlights include:

Interactive workshops are returning to CRS with a focus on how to successfully create multimedia experiences for an audience. These interactive, step-by-step, how-to lectures are presented by experts in audio and video with proven records of success. At 10:00 a.m. and 2 p.m., Interactive Learning Workshop: Production for Radio People and Video Creation for Radio People will take place on the Encore Stage in the Broadway Pre-Function area. Rob Chianelli, owner of viral sensation Doug the Pug, will facilitate the later workshop and will have Doug the Pug on-hand for photo ops.  Participants will leave ready to develop a multimedia production plan, apply new skills, and a bag full of low-cost or no-cost resources to take home and use.

At 11:00 a.m. and 2 p.m., Shelley Greenwald: A Conversation About Harassment workshops will take place in Cumberland 1-2.

Before Wednesday’s luncheon, at 11:45 a.m., recording artist Kaylee Rutland will greet constituents in the Pre-Function area with a special performance.

At noon, the Big Machine Label Group luncheon will be held and includes performances by Trent Harmon, Tyler Rich, Drake White, Sugarland, Brett Young and Josh Phillips.

Later in the afternoon, attendees will have a chance to enjoy featured speaker, Brad Paisley: The Art and the Artist which will take place from 3-4 p.m. in Legends D-G and cover how he anticipates the future while continuing to honor country tradition.

At 5:30 p.m., the New Faces Cocktail reception will kick off the evening in Grandview Terrace.

The annual New Faces of Country Music Dinner and Show will commence immediately after the cocktail reception in the Broadway Ballroom. The show will feature performances by Lauren Alaina, Luke Combs, Midland, Carly Pierce, and Michael Ray. The CRB-Country Aircheck Awards will be presented throughout the show. 

CRS will conclude with the New Faces After Party: #NextUp Showcase presented by Radio Disney Country and featuring Abby Anderson, Bailey Bryan, Christina Taylor, Kalie Shorr, Jillian Jacqueline, Tegan Marie, and Temecula Road. The show begins at 10:00 p.m. in the Broadway Pre-Function room. 

Additional event features are highlighted throughout the three-day agenda and include complimentary social media headshots, complimentary of Texas A&M Digital Media Research and Development Lab; the St. Jude Internet Café [Music Row 4]; the Rebel Engine Lobby Bar [Omni Lobby]; and the daily Music Row Rooms [sponsored by Parenting Today’s Teens, in2une Music Nashville and SSM Nashville]. 

Upon checking in, a welcoming gift will be handed out, compliments of Country recording artist James Robert Webb.

Registration for Country Radio Seminar 2018 is available for purchase on-site.