Little Big Town's Phillip Sweet, photo courtesy of Equity Music Group
November 6, 2006--What's it really like during CMA Week? This year, Little Big Town is taking YOU to the CMA Awards! From October 30 through the night of The 40th Annual Country Music Assocation Awards on Monday, November 6, LBT's Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook are keeping a journal exclusively for GAC. Here's the last entry, from Phillip:
What an amazing day ahead! I can hardly wait for the day to start. With all the events going on to keep our minds and bodies busy, it doesn't leave much time to get too nervous about performing.
Being nominated is a dream come true, but getting to perform live is what we live for. We start the day at the "Meet The Artist" Panel with Jo Dee Messina. This will be a great question and answer time. I’m looking forward to the dialogue. Then off we go to CMA dress rehearsal. This is our last chance to define our performance and make it our absolute best. After that, it’s time for the red carpet. Cameras, hot lights and smiling fans all the way down the line. Then we sit back and enjoy the ride. Thanks for making us feel so good this year. See you there!
Peace and Love, Phillip.
Little Big Town's Jimi Westbrook, photo courtesy of Equity Music Group
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November 5, 2006--What's it really like during CMA Week? This year, Little Big Town is taking YOU to the CMA Awards! From October 30 through the night of The 40th Annual Country Music Assocation Awards on Monday, November 6, LBT's Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook are keeping a journal exclusively for GAC. Here's the latest entry, from Jimi:
We rolled into Nashville around 7:00 a.m. It's Sunday morning and we played a show with Alan Jackson last night in New Orleans. We had just enough time to run home, take a quick shower and head downtown to the Hilton to do the MJI radio rounds. This is a huge room set up with radio stations from all over the country. We go to each and do interviews. It's kind of like doing a cross country radio tour in the span of a few hours. Everyone was very sweet and and encouraging about our music and the way things are going for us.
A quick run back to our homes to change into something a little fancier, and then we are headed back to a CMA reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame. When we finish there we will go back to the Hilton and do a couple more hours of radio. This is a crazy busy time, but it is exciting and it feels great to be a part of all of it. This time tomorrow we will be in the final dress rehearsal for the show.
Man, what a ride this year has been. Just want to say how thankful we are to the fans for all their support. We are looking forward to singing "Bones" for all of you tomorrow night. Well, I'm off to grab a cup of coffee and then head down town. Thanks again to GAC for all their support.
Jimi
Little Big Town's Kimberly Roads, photo courtesy of Equity Music Group
November 2, 2006--What's it really like during CMA Week? This year, Little Big Town is taking YOU to the CMA Awards! From October 30 through the night of The 40th Annual Country Music Assocation Awards on Monday, November 6, LBT's Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook are keeping a journal exclusively for GAC. Here's the latest entry, from Kimberly:
Hello you guys!
As I write this, my stomach is doing summersaults because I am thinking about the CMA Awards next Monday night on ABC. I also get a little teary thinking of how far we’ve come this past year and the almost eight years we have been together. We dreamed of the nominations and of singing on the show, but because of the long road we took to get here, we wondered if it would ever really come to pass. We are so blessed and very grateful to all of you for supporting our music and for being such loyal LBT fans.
We got the most amazing phone call last week from our manager who informed us that we had been invited to sing on the awards show and that the executive producer had a special request. He happens to be a fan of our CD, The Road To Here, and his favorite song is "Bones". Because of the spot he chose for us in the show, he wanted us to sing that particular song. We are so happy and overjoyed to be playing on the show that we would sing anything!! Well, almost anything.
"Bones" is 3:48 minutes long, and we only have a 2:30 minute spot, so that means we had to cut the song down a bit – quite a bit. We spent several hours one day with our producer, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and our band running all kinds of variations of the song trying to find that magical 2:30 minutes. We finally came up with a version that is exactly 2:30, and we feel like it includes all the important elements of the song. Now, the challenge is to remember that version! We have been running it several times in soundcheck everyday to try to imbed it into our brains! I think we’ve all got it. I’m just hoping that I am not overtaken by nerves that night and forget what comes next! Tune in to see!
Thanks to GAC for supporting our music and videos. We love their staff and always have fun when we get to work with them. They’re awesome!
Check back for journal entries from Jimi and Phillip!
Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild, photo courtesy of Equity Music Group
October 30, 2006--What's it really like during CMA Week? This year, Little Big Town is taking YOU to the CMA Awards! From now through the night of The 40th Annual Country Music Assocation Awards on Monday, November 6, LBT's Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook are keeping a journal exclusively for GAC. Here's the first entry, from Karen:
Hey everyone!
We are excited that GAC asked us to share a bit of our world as we prepare for the CMA awards on November 6th. Besides getting the music ready, which is the most important thing, we are also getting the clothing ready for the red carpet and the performance.
The guys are fairly easy as far as that goes.....everything looks good on them, and they aren't too concerned about what they are wearing. We are fortunate enough now to be able to work with a stylist, Kim Perrett, and she is fantastic. We give her direction on what we are looking for, and then she takes off on the search. Since we are on the road all the time, shopping is next to impossible. (Although you all know, Kimberly and I love to shop).
We have had three fittings already, and we still have one to go. Kimberly found her dress on the first try. It is stunning, and the shoes are amazing. The guys are mostly finished, just a few last details. I, on the other hand, had a more difficult time for some reason. Being this is our first time to be nominated for a CMA award, I want to love what I am wearing and not settle. We have looked at so many dresses, you wouldn't believe it. We finally found something last week that I
really love. It is completely me and will allow me to be comfortable all night...otherwise I will fidget. Anyhow, enough about the clothing.
Being a part of the CMA night is a dream come true. A few years back, we felt like maybe our pursuit of a music career was futile. The journey from that moment of questioning to now being nominated for a CMA award is not fathomable. Just two years ago, we watched the show from our homes - not at all a part of the landscape of country music.
I remember Kimberly and I speaking on the phone that night, as I was fighting back the tears, discussing the reality of us ever being able to share our music on that stage. We just wanted the chance.
Wow...what a lesson of perseverance this has been for me personally. When you believe in something, stay focused and work really hard, you can see it all happen. There is purpose in everything, the good and the bad that happens along the way. I know there are those of you out there chasing a similar dream, and I want to encourage you to keep going. Don't ever give up. Right when you think about quitting is when it can all turn around. We are living proof.
Please know that we don't take any of this for granted. When we walk down the red carpet and take the stage to perform at the CMA's, we will be taking in every moment, cherishing every minute of this very sweet part of the journey.
Much love to all of you.....
Karen