Wait, The Country Hall of Fame Held an Induction Ceremony This Weekend?
This story has been updated.
It was a big weekend for music in the United States, with both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame holding their induction ceremonies for their 2024 inductee classes.
But where the Rock and Roll Hall dominated conversation throughout the English-speaking world and beyond with wall-to-wall media coverage, the permeation of social media feeds with photos and videos of the incredible collaborations and performances from the event, and an online streaming feed that was accessible to fans, the Country Music Hall of Fame induction was a gross afterthought that slid scandalously under-the-radar.
Did you know that Keith Richards came all the way from England to pay tribute to James Burton as the instrumentalist inductee? Or that Post Malone was there to pay tribute posthumously to Modern inductee Toby Keith? Or that Lucinda Williams showed up to help pay tribute to Veteran inductee John Anderson?
Chances are, you probably didn’t know that the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted anyone at all, or even held an event on Sunday, October 20th. Why? Because unless you were part of the power elite in Nashville that was invited to be in the tiny CMA Theater, you weren’t allowed to participate whatsoever, let alone observe. Instead, all you got was one tweet.
I’d love to share official video with you from the event. I’d love to share transcripts of the incredible speeches that were made. I’m sure at some point, snippets of this stuff will surface, or if you know where to go searching, someone in the audience shared it on their personal Facebook page. This stuff will trickle out in the coming days, but in purposely abridged form—because God forbid anyone that wasn’t in attendance gets the opportunity to experience what it was like to be there.
With their hands regularly out asking for alms from the public, The Country Music Hall of Fame takes the most singular event they could use to raise funds and awareness for the institution each year, and makes it virtually inaccessible like it’s still the 1960’s, and country music is a closed off walled garden that won’t let outsiders in. If there is one final element of “gatekeeping” in the genre, it’s not The Grand Ole Opry or even the rosters of major labels. It’s the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Medallion Ceremony.
In some aspects you want to respect the Country Music Hall of Fame and CMA for not turning this into a raucous party or a big commercial spectacle. The Country Music Hall of Fame induction experience and the Medallion Ceremony is a sacred and weighty moment that should be taken with reverence. But it doesn’t have to be the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s induction to find the right balance between honor and accessibility.
Country music is music for the people, not for the power elite who are connected enough to secure tickets. At the absolute least, this ceremony should be moved from the 776-seat CMA Theater to the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium across the street, with 2,362 seats, and plenty of balcony space for an ample media presence. At the least, the event should be streamed. If the Americana Music Awards can do this, so can the Hall of Fame.
We know there was a streaming feed of the event, because about 100 ticket holders were denied entry when they showed up to the event, but were told they could watch remotely in the Hall of Fame’s other venue, the Ford Theater. Hazel Daniels—the widow of Charlie Daniels—showed up to the ceremony with her son and his wife wearing Charlie’s Hall of Fame medallion. They had tickets to the ceremony, but were denied due to lack of seating. They eventually left.
Though the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and the Country Music Hall of Fame induction usually happen in the fall, they rarely happen back to back like they did in 2024. It really helped illustrate the stark contrast between how the two institutions handle this business. On Monday morning, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was the water cooler talk of America. Again, did you even know the Country Hall of Fame inducted anyone?
Every year, the Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony passes like a fart in the wind. Last year and in previous years, at least the Hall of Fame offered a “Red Carpet Experience” to fans who wanted to buy tickets simply to see their favorite artists walk into the building. In 2024, they didn’t even have that. Last year by midday on the day after the ceremony, we at least had some performance/speech clips. At the time of this post, there’s nothing. This is the only post Saving Country Music can compose in the vacuum of information and media.
The Country Music Hall of Fame loves to boast about how as an institution, it’s forwarding inclusivity in country music by giving floor space and attention to a wide array of performers, including people who probably don’t deserve it, but fit their corporate inclusivity requirements. Meanwhile, its induction ceremony is going back in time, and becoming even more restrictive each year. It’s also becoming more irrelevant by the minute.
And that ain’t country.
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Editor’s note: This story was updated to include the story of Charlie Daniels’ widow Hazel being denied entry to the Hall of Fame Medallion ceremony, verified by Hazel Daniels’ driver.
October 21, 2024 @ 10:06 am
3 well deserved inductees deserved more!
October 21, 2024 @ 10:34 am
FYI, just updated the story. After posting it, the driver for Charlie Daniels’ widow Hazel reached out to me to say they were denied entry, despite Hazel having a ticket, and despite her wearing Charlie’s Hall of Fame medallion. THAT is how exclusive this thing has become, and it’s ridiculous.
They need to move this to a bigger venue, they need to make the live feed available to the public, and at the least, make video and transcripts of the speeches available so that the people who can’t be there in-person has an opportunity to share in these important moments.
This is about the fans, not the power donors and well-connected of Nashville society who have the ability to buy their way into this event.
October 21, 2024 @ 7:04 pm
Moving the Country Hall of Fame ceremonies to the Ryman, as you suggested, Trigger, seems to me to be the most logical and make the most sense, as it is the Mother Church of the entire genre, and was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1924 to 1974. It would be, in the words of Bob Dylan, “bringin’ it all back home”.
There are three other things they also have to do, however, in my opinion. They have to actually make this a public event again, because you are putting folks in there who deserve the attention for all they’ve given to the genre. Second of all.they have to get this backlog of artists who have been waiting in the wings for years, if not indeed DECADES, removed. And third, they should restructure the induction ceremonies to include at least five artists, the same average number that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does, and not worry which era they belong in. Without these changes, I think they are making not only the Hall irrelevant, but they may also be making the entire country music genre itself irrelevant.
October 21, 2024 @ 11:30 am
The story made me wonder if there’s a reason why Charlie Daniels’ widow would be so set on attending the H-o-F induction of Toby Keith, John Anderson and James Burton.
I discovered that Jimmy Burton was Charlie Daniels’ long-time road manager and was also a pallbearer at Charlie Daniels’ funeral.
https://obituaries.wilsonpost.com/obituary/charlie-daniels-1083738539
James and Jimmy appear to be two different people, but perhaps Hazel and her son were a tad confused.
October 21, 2024 @ 12:49 pm
I’m sure that James Burton and Charlie Daniels appeared on countless songs together as studio musicians, and certainly knew each other, and each other’s families.
But regardless of the circumstances, if Hazel Daniels gets all gussied up and shows up to the ceremony with a valid ticket and Charlie’s Hall of Fame medallion around her neck, she should be allowed to get in. That’s what this whole thing is supposed to be about. That’s why they call it the “Medallion Ceremony.”
I understand wanting to keep this thing somewhat intimate. You don’t need to move it to the Bridgestone Arena. But the Ryman is literally right down the street with 3X the capacity. If there is already a live feed available to someone, make it available to everyone, or at least make it available to the media so they can report on it as opposed to what the Hall of Fame wants the media to report on.
It’s 2024, and if the Country Music Hall of Fame wants to broadcast its existence to the world and attract attention, there would be no better opportunity than this. Moreover, the fans of these artists deserve to be able to live through these moments.
October 21, 2024 @ 1:57 pm
The issue here is that some members and attendees, especially the representatives of those who have passed away, show up with half a dozen guests and they just let them in.
October 21, 2024 @ 2:29 pm
Well, if you have people getting in without tickets, and others not getting in with tickets, that’s a logistical problem that you would think the Hall of Fame could solve. No ticket, no seat, and you make that clear from the very beginning of the process. But when you have big donors and big dignitaries showing up, sometimes it’s very hard to say “no.”
To me, this is a pretty easy issue to solve. If you have a supply/demand issue, you increase the supply. If you move this to the Ryman, you triple the amount of seats available. If you make a live stream available, you lessen the amount of people cramming to get in because right now if you don’t witness it in-person, there is no other way to experience it.
I have a ton of respect for the Country Music Hall of Fame. But their thinking on this matter has been archaic for years now. As Waylon Jennings once said, “We need a change.”
October 21, 2024 @ 4:52 pm
I attended the event in 2022 and met and spoke with Mrs. Daniels. She is a sweet lady who attends, I believe, because her husband was a beloved icon who supported the Hall of Fame and is an inductee, and she wants to honor his memory and passion for the genre.
To deny ticket holders entry is abominable. People fly to attend, and if you can’t accommodate them, you need to advise them in advance.
This article is spot on. The event hall is intimate, which does contribute to the reverence that the ceremony is afforded, but it is too small. The Ryman would be a better location once the private Circle Ceremony is done in the rotunda.
October 21, 2024 @ 11:51 am
Nashville in a nutshell.
October 21, 2024 @ 1:58 pm
Alan’s induction was Loretta’s first public appearance after the stroke and it was the same thing. I would’ve liked to see Jr’s and Jerry Lee’s too. I liked when they would announce it on the CMA’s & the inductees were usually genuinely surprised. It wasn’t the medallion ceremony but I was happy with it. Wasn’t excited with this class, though James Burton deserved it. Mixed about the timing and categories for the other 2. Shame Hazel wasn’t let in. I’d like to see a list of who was
October 21, 2024 @ 3:05 pm
So wonder how many times Trisha has showed up on the arm of Garth?. Poor Hazel got all ready to have a great time and was shut out. They need to play catch up and get some more overdue artists in there before they pass.
October 21, 2024 @ 3:06 pm
Excellent ideas. I would love to see the Hall of Fame induct more than one in each of the three categories. Artists like Linda Ronstadt will never be inducted at this rate. A larger venue, more media attention and more artists will only bring more attention to the awards. I would say air the awards on CMT, but….
October 22, 2024 @ 7:00 am
And what about Dwight Yoakum?!
October 21, 2024 @ 3:29 pm
I was there. It was a fantastic ceremony. Eric Church held the room spellbound, Blake Shelton had it rollicking, the Emmylou/Rodney/Vince trip was as majestic as you would expect, and that doesn’t mention Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, Lucinda Williams, Shawn Camp….all in one night. The speeches were all so touching, the introductions so moving…it was a perfect ceremony. I don’t know why it was in that tiny theatre – I assume Kyle wants it under his own roof, But I agree that it was a disservice to the inductees in the world that’s so few people saw this ceremony. The video clip of James Burton with Elvis Presley was heart stopping. Everyone should see it and know how revered and influential he was.
October 21, 2024 @ 4:13 pm
The HOF could fuck up a wet dream with how badly it’s organized and the gatekeeping it does
October 21, 2024 @ 5:26 pm
So happy to hear Lucinda was there to honor John. He deserves more recognition than he gets, imo.
October 21, 2024 @ 6:05 pm
Trigger, I am probably dreaming given the Nashville-centricity of the CMHOF, but do you think they would ever consider a 4th lane for nontraditional country influencers? People talk about it all the time, that you have to earn your stripes on Music Row to get there, but how much richer would the story be if it included Woody Guthrie, John Prine, maybe Bob Dylan or Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Billy Joe Shaver, Dwight Yoakam, Steve earle, There’s ten years of inductees who would fit right in and give the whole story such added depth and texture because it’s told only through the narrow lens of Nashville.
October 21, 2024 @ 7:29 pm
I definitely think there needs to be a lane for songwriters who were also performers like John Prine, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, etc. They will never go in as dedicated performers, while the every-3rd-year songwriters are almost always career Nashville songwriters known mostly for hit songwriting exclusively.
As far as Dwight Yoakam, Linda Ronstadt, Woody Guthrie, and Gram Parsons, they should already be in anyway.
The same exclusivity we see in the narrow window of inductees each year is reflected in the narrow, exclusive audience who get to attend the induction ceremony. I don’t want to throw the barn doors wide and start letting everyone in. But just going from 3 inductees a year to 4 would be massive, as would moving the induction ceremony to a slightly bigger venue and streaming it online for everyone.
Let’s do this. The Country Music Hall of Fame is a great place and an important institution. Let’s use these opportunities to engage the public with the history and beauty of country music.
October 22, 2024 @ 1:57 pm
Gram Parsons has no business being in any Hall of Fame especially the Country Music HOF except the Bad Decisions one.
October 22, 2024 @ 11:01 pm
I’ll second that.
The Country Music H-o-F is generally for artists who create works of quality and achieve success in country music.I’d support Ronstadt and John Denver, who certainly did both.
If a roots rock act belongs in the CM H-o-F, I’d vote for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who pulled off the “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” albums and became country hitmakers in their own right in the ’80s with “Fishin’ in the Dark,” “Long Hard Road,” “Partners, Brothers and Friends” et al.
October 23, 2024 @ 5:48 am
Denver put on an amazing concert at I.U. Assembly Hall in October of ’74.
It was stunning.
October 23, 2024 @ 6:30 am
https://imgflip.com/i/97npsa
October 23, 2024 @ 11:47 am
Trigger mentioned Parsons. I responded.
If you are going to post a lame meme, be factual.
October 23, 2024 @ 12:21 pm
“post same tired-ass gram parson hot take whenever he is mentioned in any context”
my meme is factual.
October 23, 2024 @ 1:27 pm
No more comments on this tangent.
October 22, 2024 @ 12:58 am
FYI. The CMHOF had a fairly good write-up of the Medallion Ceremony with lots of pictures on its website. See https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/induction-ceremony.
October 22, 2024 @ 9:38 am
For the record, that write-up was posted after I posted this article. One of the things that inspired this article is I was literally trolling social media Sunday night looking for anything on the ceremony, and I saw nothing, while seeing TONS of stuff on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The next morning I woke up looking for information to make a report on it. Nothing. I don’t know exactly when that recap was posted, but it wasn’t in enough time to be timely with secondary reporting. You will also notice that all the photos used are attributed to Getty. They own those photos, so they are not made available widely to the press. You can perhaps use a few of them without hearing from their legal department, but you run that risk.
The Hall of Fame wants to control the narrative here, and the press should resist this. A few years ago, Hank Jr. had some pointed things to say, and this stuff was conveniently left out of the Hall of Fame’s recap. You had to dig to find it. They’re still acting like it’s 1998, and they can control every aspect of what gets out about these kinds of events. It’s archaic thinking, and needs to end.
October 22, 2024 @ 11:45 am
Trigger- I wasn’t suggesting that this CMHOF article was available when you made your original blog post; I just thought that others might be interested in the additional info and photos it contained, including who sang what to honor the three inductees. I strongly agree with you that it’s foolish of the CMHOF to restrict access to and information about the Medallion ceremony.
October 22, 2024 @ 12:52 pm
No worries Arlene. I was more using your comment to get that info out there than a commentary on your comment specifically. I’m glad they did put up something.
October 22, 2024 @ 1:06 am
…the bottom of the publicity problem is that there just is too big a gap between the announcement of the new inductees and the ceremony. christmas season ain’t taking place six month after holy night for a reason. furthermore, it is also kinda hard to make a big bash out of an event that quite often honors already dead people unfortunately.
October 22, 2024 @ 3:37 am
The fans are a part of it because fans are a major driver for the artist being who they are. Both are contributors to the art of music. The musicians to create the songs and the fans to critique and boogie down to’em!
October 22, 2024 @ 4:16 am
I saw about 30 seconds of Keith Richards jamming with Vince Gill on You Tube
October 26, 2024 @ 8:37 am
Somebody has the whole thing uploaded now. Keith surprising everybody
At 81 years old. It’s about a 6 minute video really cool.
October 22, 2024 @ 4:51 am
It’s always annoyed me how you can’t watch the speeches or performances from these events. You hear about these cool collaborations or tributes being done but all you ever see is 15 second snippets. For a genre that’s always supposed to appreciate the common man they always find a way to make it all about them.
October 22, 2024 @ 6:42 am
Country(TM), Inc, Ltd., LP
October 22, 2024 @ 5:33 pm
All Rights Reserved.
October 22, 2024 @ 5:39 pm
LLC
October 22, 2024 @ 7:43 am
For those too young to remember, once upon a time the Country Music Hall Of Fame inductions were included as a regular segment of the annual CMA Awards Show. Back then the new members were not revealed prior to the live announcement on that broadcast. It was a major highlight of the program for many years due to that added touch of drama. Inductees were ostensibly kept in the dark about their pending inclusion. They were invited to the show under false pretenses usually to pay tribute to a fellow performer. When their names were announced the TV camera captured the shocked & surprised look on their faces creating a priceless and emotional TV moment.
But as the new millennium arrived and Nashville was completely taken over by the pop/rock weasels, the CMA diminished the HOF slot on the show. God forbid that country music should acknowledge it’s roots & heritage. In 2003 when Carl Smith was inducted to the HOF the best that the show could do was to allow him to wave from his seat in the audience. What an indignity for one of country music’s biggest stars of the 1950s.
Ultimately any mention of the HOF was completely banished from that broadcast.
Your point is spot-on that coverage of the HOF event needs to be significantly improved. No excuse for the lack of extensive access or publicity in the digital age. Or that the ceremony is sequestered to a facility with a very limited seating capacity. Further it is even harder to believe that there is no cable TV network or potential digital partner anywhere in this country that would be interested in carrying this important musical event to make it widely and easily available.
Dozens of country music awards shows contaminate network TV today celebrating the mediocre “achievements” of today’s country-in-name-only acts. It is a shame that there is no room to pay tribute to country music’s heritage performers with REAL talent that paved the way so that today’s anemic posers can reap the benefits.
October 22, 2024 @ 9:43 am
Look at how the Grand Ole Opry has made their Opry member invites and Opry debut invites into “moments” that capture the zeitgeist and get people talking. This stuff used to happen backstage with a handshake. Now it’s an opportunity to broadcast to the public just what this institution means to performers. You can see some of those Hall of Fame announcements at the CMA Awards on YouTube.
I actually think the CMA/Hall of Fame does a decent job announcing the new inductees. It’s a press conference, lots of press are invited, and the word gets out well. I still think it would be cool to do it at the CMA Awards, but it’s functional. This Medallion Ceremony is completely dysfunctional, and detrimental to the Hall of Fame, and the induction process. Open it up, move it to a bigger venue, stream it live, and broadcast it at some point on television so everyone can be involved. This shouldn’t be about the exclusive 700 people connected enough to get a ticket. It should be about the fans who made these performers famous. It’s time.
October 22, 2024 @ 10:36 am
Is there any money in doing so? The deeper problem is that no one cares about the actual musicians. And no one cares because so few people actually know how to play. Music education was banished from schools long ago as an extra-curricular, never mind pesky brain science. So apart from musical weirdos who learn why, to take one of ten thousand possible examples, James Burton’s “chicken pickin'” was so influential, there just is too small an attention market for it. But how small is “too small”? I have to believe, especially in Nashville, that this Musicians award would appeal to more than 2,000 people. If not Nashville, where? And it’s a chance to film the damn thing and put it in the YouTube archive, where over time it will get a million views.
What they’re doing is pitiful.
October 22, 2024 @ 10:36 am
One of the most ridiculous aspects of the current HOF induction schedule is that inductees are announced in MARCH but the ceremony is not held until OCTOBER, SEVEN MONTHS later! Whatever excitement or momentum that occurs at the time of the announcement is long forgotten by the time of the Medallion Ceremony. Because most of today’s country radio stations ignore heritage artists and the Country Hall Of Fame (unless they have an exhibit for a current country act) they do not bother to publicize the event.
Shortening the window from the announcement to the Medallion Ceremony would be an excellent start. Not to mention that some of the older inductees could potentially pass away during that ridiculously excessive waiting period.
October 22, 2024 @ 9:58 am
Right on Country DJ and right on Trigger! Absolutely true. Cannot agree more. What’s with this secretive nonsense, it’s almost like they are ashamed of themselves….?
October 22, 2024 @ 11:14 am
When anything becomes corporate and establishment, this is the outcome. I remember when I was a kid we lived 20 miles outside Eugene, Oregon. It was the late 60’s/early 70’s and hippies were everywhere (I was too young and not a participant but I remember it nonetheless). That group started something now called the Oregon Country Fair that took place about a mile from our house, and it was hippy heaven. Ken Kesey, Jerry Garcia, and that whole scene. 50 plus years later it is a ticketed event that reeks of corporate, rather than hippy stank. I live in South Texas now. Much like Nashville, Austin has become corporate; you have to go to Floore’s or Gruene to get anything real and organic.
October 22, 2024 @ 12:04 pm
A footnote; it’s the hippies that now runs the corporations.
The irony of our culture turns satirical, and everything suffers from it, be it the music or AstroTurf lawns; it’s all corporated, even the nature.
I recommend James Talley’s Nashville City Blues. An excellent song. Maybe Kyle will put up a YouTube link?
October 22, 2024 @ 6:12 pm
Re corporate: I’ve worked for non profits that were thoroughly evil. If you think corporate is bad know that that no less extends to any other sanctioned body that exists in our society. It follows.
October 22, 2024 @ 8:50 pm
Oh, I know that very well.
95% of donations goes to “administration”.
October 22, 2024 @ 8:56 pm
Well, this has nothing whatsoever to do with country music, but why should billionaires use non profits to funnel money to “the developing world” and world build while at the same time getting tax deductions.
I also worked for AARP. More like JEEZ why are you a non profit? lol
October 22, 2024 @ 4:14 pm
Dare I say the hall of fame is classy to a fault? They could have tried to milk the Toby Keith induction as a feel good/feel bad story but, for better and worse, they are classy (same could be said of the Judds induction).
I can’t believe I’m defending the hall of fame for being too conservative…but here I am. That will surely change when next year I “stan” for Johnny Paycheck.
October 22, 2024 @ 7:56 pm
Hey, they put Jerry Lee and Hank Jr in finally. And lets be honest, the media and other pearl clutchers would say both of those candidates were “problematic”. Haha…
Paycheck could be a possibility I do think. Although, his actual hits were not as substantial as others, you could do it on the basis of songwriting strength, consider those Little Darlin era songs that are still blowing peoples minds today. And songs like Apartment 9. And I dont care who argues with me, I love the Billy Sherrill production on Paycheck. A lot of great material came out of him in those years. And not to forget Old Violin, man that one was stone cold hardcore writing at its best!
And lets not overlook how insanely popular he was after Shove It came out. He probably did more to unintentionally sell the Outlaw image than anybody else.
Now Coe on the other hand…not as likely, though he should be there. Coe honestly probably terrifies the powers that be.
October 22, 2024 @ 8:33 pm
Oops, tried to reply, missed, see below if interested.
JB
October 22, 2024 @ 8:32 pm
Hey Kevin,
I think Paycheck belongs just for being one of the true greats…in this respect I do wish the country music hall of fame was more like the rock and roll and others…I think Rodney Crowell should be in but he doesn’t fit neatly into a stupid category (ie modern or songwriter or producer).
Going back to my original point about the hall being “classy”, I think the Nashville elite has always been a bit stuffy and looked down on country music…don’t know exactly how this translates to the hall of fame and so forth but I’d imagine that overall the hall of fame crowd kinda follows the Nashville crowd that only goes to the “real” Opera (as opposed to Opry).
October 22, 2024 @ 11:53 pm
Paycheck should have gotten in to the H-o-F, but it’s probably getting harder to jam him through, now that the most of the musicians and label and radio executives adn media figures who worked with him and should be championing him have mostly died off.
As far as Coe, I don’t believe the industry is going to go out of its way now and bestow a top honor on the guy who made those vulgar n-word recordings.I know that DAC has his supporters, and some may argue that the recordings were meant to be satiric and should not be taken at face value, but I’ll just say that it’s a nonstarter in the environment and climate of today. Heck, if it did happen, I’d bet that it would lead do some CMA H-o-F mainstays boycotting that year’s ceremony or even resigning–whether out of sincere or virtue-signaling motives.
October 23, 2024 @ 3:25 pm
Yes Lucky, Coe ain’t getting in. I have not ever gotten in to the infamous underground recordings, not my kinda thing. To understand Coe, you gotta understand prison culture in the 60s and biker culture in the 70s. He’s a product of all of that and more. My comment mentioned the gatekeepers would be terrified of him and his bad reputation, for good reason. Yet, he is a genius songwriter and had enormous influence in Country music, particularly later Ourlaw music.
October 23, 2024 @ 7:24 am
Technically you can buy and ticket and this is an event that supports the Hall since those that donate at the Honor Society level get invited to the ceremony. Just like a really expensive concert ticket.
October 23, 2024 @ 10:07 am
Sorry but I think a lot of you are missing the point.
It’s not that CMHOF is just making a bad choice of venue.
If my memory serves me correctly, 10-15 years ago the live streams were available.
Even if my memory is not correct, how does this group not realize it is meaningless without the fans.
Every one of these goons (particularly the back office executives) would be working in a factory if they weren’t fortunate enough to hustle the listening public.
Listen to a lot of the older acts on the opry. Little Jimmy Dickens ALWAYS expressed deep gratitude to the fans. “The house that YOU built” or something to that effect he would always say.
Anyone can buy a $2000 bronze plaque. It’s what the plaque represents that has meaning.
October 25, 2024 @ 6:09 am
Ms. Ronstadt’s smooth transition from hippie pop (“A Different Drum,” 1967 with two lads;the trio was called the Stone Poneys) to Country should have long ago earned her Country Music Hall Of Fame status,while Mssrs. Guthrie,Parsons,Prine and Yoakum,to name four men,should be enshrined for showing fans how Country rock and pop fit the authentic Country mold .
October 25, 2024 @ 6:10 am
I can absolutely understand not having the ceremony in a large venue that lets in the general public. I know everyone wants to see it, but do you really want to have a bunch of bearded,tattooed goons standing around the stage blocking the view and trying to get autographs and interrupting speeches yelling “we love you Vince!” or “we want Johnny Paycheck! We want Johnny Paycheck!” Keith Richards is there? Oh! Garth is there! 2,000 tickets sold in minutes to people who could care less about John Anderson or Larry Gatlin or Guy Clark or whomever the focus is on. On the other hand, yes I think it should be available to watch, but I doubt the hall of fame folks are sitting around laughing because they know people want to see it and they aren’t letting it happen. There has to be a logical reason, it’s just many of us would like to know why we can’t even hear a speech or see highlights.
October 25, 2024 @ 6:57 am
Nobody is advocating for this ceremony happening at the Bridgestone Arena, or even a large venue of any kind. If you have the widows of Country Music Hall of Famers with their husband’s Hall of Fame Medallions around their necks and a ticket to the event and you can’t get them in, that’s a problem. The Ryman Auditorium is 2,300 people. If they moved this from the 700 capacity CMA Theater, that would given the event more space to facilitate all the people who deserve to be there to be there. There still would not be enough space to sell general admission tickets. Nobody is saying this should be open to all fans. But if you had it in a slightly bigger space, it would also facilitate more press being there, who could report on the speeches verbatim, as opposed to whatever the Hall of Fame wants to feed out.
October 25, 2024 @ 8:36 am
I agree. I was more trying to state I understand why they don’t offer this as a big event open to the public, but more trying to understand why they don’t livestream or even televise or at the least offer highlights of speeches and performances.