Tuesday, January 20, 2009 The New Era Is Here
What a day! I've been glued to the TV and didn't make it into the district to partake in today's historic Inauguration festivities. Not to mention that we partook last night, and frankly, I don't often get home at 4 am anymore!
It was a glittering night at the Black Tie & Boots ball in celebration of the orderly passage of power that makes America so remarkable. Extra special thanks to the folks at the Texas State Society and to the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. You know there were a lot of people there, but things were remarkable orderly, and everyone, workers and attendees alike, had a smile on their face. Ben and Beans get the "Snark Award" of the evening for the post about the coat check, but really, when you have 12,000 people, even that ran surprisingly well! Note to the boys: Washington insiders have long know that you should leave your coat in the car, and brave the walk inside in shirt sleeves. Honestly, it will only hurt for a minute! And for those of you attending a function in winter in your town, this is a hot tip - or a cold one! And I am always up for a cold one!
We had a blast catching up with so many artists and running into friends. Our evening ended with a chance encounter with Jack Ingram and Charlie Robison, and then a surprise gift was given to me, a cowboy boot with yellow roses of Texas. Makes me smile when I look at it.
We shared the media room with a band of intrepid reporters, photographers, and videographers. They all seemed to know each other, and made us feel welcome. I love the camaraderie. Because in fact, what Music Fog does, is bridge entertainment content with news coverage. And with everything heading to the web these days, heck, there just aren't any rules and nothing is static.
Which brings me back to the event of the day: It is time to think creatively, to reinvent, to assess, and to make it work. Please let us know what you would like to see, hear, read, and experience. We intend to bring you the best of the Americana world, wherever artists gather, where there is music to be mined, and a great event to chronicle.
As President Barack Obama has tasked all of us with writing the next great chapter in America's history, we have tasked ourselves with nurturing the next chapter of Americana Music. Yes we can.
-Jessie Scott
Reader Comments (4)
Great job to all on the Musicfest coverage!
It would be great to be able to read whats new, and going on in the Americana world. Since Nov 12th the X Nation has been in the dark and have not had any new artist/music discovery.
Keep up the great work.
JosePS. Jessie we all miss you.
I just found this web site today, and I will conttinue to follow it on a regular basis.
Like Mark and Jose, I really miss your leadership and the wonderful programming at X-Country. Your creation opened a whole new world of music to my ears, and it was thanks to X-Country that I subscribed to XM in the first place. That said, as soon as I inventory all of the X-Country tunes I recorded on my Inno, I will be cancelling my XM subsrcription -- since sadly, subscribing to XM now equates to having a Sirius subsription, which in turn is nearly equivalent to paying for FM.
I like Mark's suggestion of posting a rotating list of recommended Americana recordings that we should check out, since "if Jessie likes it, I will listen".
Thank you, and best wishes,Jim MacDanielOakland, CA
I miss the Great Music you brought to X-Country on XM, Outlaw is just not the same. I just found the Music Fog site, it looks promising, is there plans to bring it to FM or Satilite Radio?
Wish you the best success, that's the only way we will get real music back on the radio.