Details Clarified in The Midnite Jamboree Suspension
On Monday, fans of of the 68-year-old radio show The Midnite Jamboree were disappointed to learn that the radio program broadcast Saturday nights at midnight on WSM had been suspended due to financial concerns, and was in jeopardy of going away. The owner of the Midnite Jamboree and the Ernest Tubb Record Shops in Nashville named David McCormick could no longer support the show’s production. Among other expenses, the rent that had to be paid for the Texas Troubadour Theatre where the Jamboree is held was cited as one of the reasons the costs were too prohibitive to continue the show.
The property on Music Valley Drive near the Grand Ole Opry where the Texas Troubadour Theatre and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop #2 are located is owned by the Rudy family. T. Clark Miller, who has managed the property for the last 10 years and is also the President of the Music Valley Merchants Association reached out to Saving Country Music to clarify that they do not want to Midnite Jamboree to move, and have offered the show free rent for the last year to help keep the radio show going.
“The landlord’s fully support The Midnite Jamboree happening and staying in that area,” says T. Clark Miller. “We’ve done all we can to help Mr. McCormick out, and have gone as far as free rent for the Midnite Jamboree for the past year. A year ago, Mr. McCormick came to us and told us he couldn’t manage the theater and pay the rent for that space anymore. So I said that I would take over management, and we kept the current shows that are in there. We told David he could do the Midnite Jamboree there for no charge, because we believed that event needed to stay because of its history, and its impact on the area. From the landlord’s perspective, we’ve done everything we could to keep the Midnite Jamboree, and to make it cost effective. We even pay the utilities. We can’t do anything more than give it away, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Though some reports have the Midnite Jamboree attempting to relocate to Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville where the jamboree was staged originally at the original Ernest Tubb Record Shop, T. Clark Miller explains the theater is not going anywhere.
“Every week we have the ‘Tribute to the King’ Elvis show, we have the ‘Cowboy Church’ every Sunday morning with Harry Yates and Joanne Cash Yates which is Johnny Cash’s sister, and we have other events that happen there from time to time. It rents to events on a per case basis. We’ve had a very good past year for rentals and shows.”
There were also reports that the Ernest Tubb Record Shop #2 adjacent to the Texas Troubadour Theatre had shut down, but according to the landlord, they have received no notice of such action, and the location currently remains open. The free rent extended to David McCormick was for use of the Texas Troubadour Theatre, and did not include the record shop. “The shop is open now,” said Peggy, who answered the phone when Saving Country Music called Tuesday afternoon, and again on Wednesday. “I’m not sure what David [McCormick’s] plans are. You will have to talk to him.”
Saving Country Music has attempted to reach owner David McCormick, and has been told by numerous sources that he is “ungetaholdable.” Subsequently David McCormick did reach out to Saving Country Music via email with a simple “NO COMMENT.”
“I do think it’s tough for him. I do think that record sales have slid,” says T. Clark Miller. “That’s kind of obvious. I do think that classic country is tougher to market these days. That theater was built beside the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, from what I understand from the previous owners, to house the Midnite Jamboree. They had an opportunity to have it out there, and it would be near the Opry again. The green Ernest Tubb bus that’s in the record shop? That strip mall and that building were built around that bus being there when it was built in 1995. The building is literally built around it. They framed it in, and finished the interior of the building. The Texas Troubadour trademark as far as I know is owned by David McCormick. But that theater is not going anywhere, and does good revenue without the Midnite Jamboree happening there.”
The specific issue that appears to have taken the Midnite Jamboree off the air is not the rent at the Texas Troubadour Theatre, but the fees owed to radio station WSM-AM to broadcast the show every Saturday night. According to numerous sources, those fees are delinquent, and the radio station pulled any new broadcasts until they are paid. Saving Country Music has made multiple attempts to contact WSM, and calls have not been returned.
An organization called the Midnite Jamboree Association has been set up to help support The Midnite Jamboree, and is seeking donations to help restore the radio show. Saving Country Music reached out the Association’s founder, Ken Mosher.
“The Midnite Jamboree was all supported by David [McCormick] out of the record shop, but records aren’t selling like they used to and he was paying out of his own savings,” says Mosher. There are costs beyond the rental of the space, including paying artists scale and the WSM broadcasting fees. “We’re a little over a month old is all. The dues will go to keeping the Jamboree and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop open.”
As for moving the Midnite Jamboree, Ken Mosher says, “There of course is that possibility. We’re going to have to get together and look at our options, but the option of moving is one. Downsizing the record shops is another option. That part is really up in the air right now. But we will definitely be putting the Midnight Jamboree back on the air. We are also going to be involved in diversifying the record shop.”
The Midnite Jamboree was started in 1947 by Ernest Tubb as an unofficial afterparty to the Grand Ole Opry’s Saturday night shows. It has always been a free show, supported by the record sales made when patrons flocked to the Ernest Tubb Record Shop to take part in the presentation.
April 1, 2015 @ 12:34 pm
Well this is definitely better than the original news, but still sad. It’s sad that the Midnite Jamboree will exist as a historical novelty, operated on charity, instead of the relevant, viable Country music show, that it should be.
Peggy’s a sweet lady. She’s been there a long time. She was there way back when I worked there.
April 9, 2015 @ 12:17 am
the midnite jamboree has never nor will ever be run on charity. too bad that good
folks jump to such a conclusion. you’ll hear us again beginning in june. clint, i
wonder if you have ever had any financial trouble?
April 1, 2015 @ 1:06 pm
Perhaps the record shop should open an online store. That seems like the best way to salvage business.
April 1, 2015 @ 1:37 pm
They already have one, although it’s pretty archaic:
http://etrecordshop.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?
April 2, 2015 @ 12:27 pm
Wow, they definitely could use some website designers.
I also agree with Applejack’s suggestions about a greater social media presence and the featuring of new artists.
April 2, 2015 @ 9:32 am
I left a comment on the previous article on this subject about how I think the “Midnite Jamboree Association” needs to set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account to help spread the word about this movement, and I will reiterate that once again here. Whether anyone likes it or not, social media is where people go to get their news and information these days, and those platforms are essential for galvanizing support and spreading information, even all that entails is simply posting a link to an article.
Regarding the current situation with the Midnite Jamboree itself, I have a couple of thoughts:
1) I don”™t want to beat a dead horse, but speaking of social media, I notice that The Ernest Tubb Record Shop, which as everyone knows hosts the weekly Midnite Jamboree, doesn”™t have a Twitter account, and although it does have a Facebook page, it hasn”™t been updated in a month and a half. Why is that? Obviously Ernest Tubb”™s and the Midnite Jamboree are both old school, traditional institutions, and I wouldn”™t want or expect that to change, but I”™ve noticed that the Grand Ole Opry and WSM-AM have both fully embraced social media like Twitter and Instagram in recent years, and I”™ve heard that it”™s paid big dividends for them in terms of generating interest and keeping those institutions alive and in the forefront of people”™s minds. I think a big part of the problem is that a lot of folks who might be interested in listening to the Midnite Jamboree simply are not aware of the program or who is going to appear on the show on a given week. In my opinion, the Jamboree should at least set up a Twitter account and send out information about who is going to be on the show each week, post pictures of the event in progress, and whatever else is necessary to create a buzz and let people know the show is happening. People are actually hungry for live and local content, and in my experience when an artist people are excited about appears on the Grand Ole Opry, or live on local radio, or performs in a local record store, people love to chatter about it, online and elsewhere. For example, Sturgill Simpson recently performed live on Lightning 100 in Nashville, and it generated a huge amount of buzz at the time. Maybe the Midnite Jamboree could find a way to tap in to a little bit of that kind of excitement. And the good news about the Jamboree being on WSM is that they already have a top notch streaming apparatus on their website, which makes it easy for folks to tune in online.
2) I think the Midnite Jamboree should do more to pursue up-and-coming independent country artists on its program. The current mainstream country crowd may not seem to care about the show, but I think a lot of the artists in the independent scene would be happy to participate, first and foremost because they actually need the exposure, especially if the Midnite Jamboree can make it worth their while by promoting the event online and creating a little excitement about it, thus bringing attention to the artists. I think this is especially needed in Nashville, which, although it is arguably the epicenter of the current wave of independent country, oddly lacks an adequate country music club scene, thus forcing the local independent country music artists to look for gigs at rock music venues and such. Also, younger artists attract younger fans, and younger fans are more willing to stay up late to listen to and / or attend the show. I think this could also do a lot to help the Jamboree be a more exciting event, and avoid having the feel of a “living museum,” as another commenter mentioned. And I would imagine that if Ernest Tubb were alive, he would want to have relevant, up-and-coming artists on the show that people are excited about. (As long as they are actually country, that is. ;)) All of this is also why I personally would rather see the Midnite Jamboree move back to Ernest Tubb’s location on Broadway. Currently, Music City is Tourist City, and Ernest Tubb’s is right smack dab in the heart of it all. In my mind, having the show there would be another step toward making it more relevant again. I understand that there would be complications and expenses involved with moving the show, and a lot of people have fond feelings for the current location; this is just my opinion.
April 3, 2015 @ 8:17 am
Well said. I totally agree about the social media presence. It’s funny, not too long ago I can recall the Facebook page would post daily updates about country star birthdays, and updates like that, and that’s completely gone away.
April 2, 2015 @ 9:54 am
In a weird way, I think the Midnite Jamboree”™s current struggles may actually present an opportunity to revive people”™s interest in the program. After the well publicized fight to save RCA Studio A from getting bulldozed and turned into an cheesy, appallingly trendy apartment complex, I actually think more people (especially young people) are now aware of the studio and its history than they were before the conflict. Similarly, the Midnite Jamboree is currently in the news for the first time in who knows how long, with stories in Rolling Stone, The Tennessean, Taste of Country, All Access, and more. (And Saving Country Music obviously.) If the show were somehow to actually come back stronger than before, I think it would be a big news story that people would want to embrace.
I don’t know. With the huge interest in tourism in Nashville, the iconic nature of Ernest Tubb’s, the resurgence in vinyl sales, and the hunger for live and local radio programming, I just think there has to be a way for Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop and the Midnite Jamboree to remain viable in the 21st century. I think there are a lot of practical ideas and different ways of approaching this problem that are worth giving a shot. Also, I read somewhere that Marty Stuart is volunteering to do whatever he can to get the Jamboree back up and running again, which is very encouraging news. That guy is so on the ball, and obviously has a lot of connections in Nashville.
April 2, 2015 @ 3:52 pm
I don’t know much about East Nashville, but moving the Music Valley store and the Jamboree to a location there having less rent than it currently pays, and more pedestrian and drive-up business may turn things around with it.
April 20, 2015 @ 11:29 am
I remember visiting the jamboree as a child some 40 years ago when it was downtown. It was wonderful. Since then I have visited numerous times over the years. I believe it is a tradition in Nashville and somehow someway needs to be revitalized. True country music is very difficult to find in Nashville, its more contemporary now a days. Nothing like the sound of a howling steel and fiddle. Lets all find a way to help bring this great show back to the radio.