Brad’s Corner

A while back I read an article that claimed one’s music taste and choices caps out at what they dug around age 17. I incredulously tossed aside the data in the article because it certainly did not apply to me. Long ago, I resigned myself to the fact that I’m an abnormal, obsessive music consumer. I find kindred spirits in people like Mattson Rainer, Shayne Hollinger, Eddie Trunk, Matt Pinfield, Tom Mooney, and William Miller from Almost Famous among others. We don’t just listen. It’s more than that to us. It’s a lifestyle and a dedication. Sometimes to our detriment.

Rodney Crowell once famously wrote “I don’t drink as much as I used to, lately it just ain’t my style…”. As I approach midlife, I find that to be appropriate but more so I find it fashioned into other facets of my life. I don’t waste my time on people, places, things or music that don’t move my needle in a positive direction. I inherited that from my Grandma. She was a no nonsense survivor of the Great Depression who didn’t suffer any fools. I’m a patient, laid-back guy but I know my lanes and tend to stay in them.

If Billy McFarland taught us anything it’s that the paradigm of hosting a music festival in 2019 isn’t what it was in 2009, 1999, 1969 and so on.  He taught us more than that, but as someone who helps throw a very minor music festival, that takeaway from the Fyre Fest fiasco was astounding.  He convinced thousands of people to give him millions of dollars for something that didn’t even exist…or did it?  It existed in the Instagram-tinged minds of the young demos across this country. As real as you believe Kylie Jenner’s talent to be.  It was pure hype

The sun shines on a dreamer Shines a light on you when you listen to your heart The sun shines on a dreamer Shines a light on you through the dim, through the dark -Wade Bowen   Ain’t it funny how music works.  More so than any other artform it is a conduit of emotion.  It can be both time machine and present placeholder.  It speaks when words cannot.  This is never more apparent than it is in the spring.  Coming out of the dearth of winter and feeling the sunshine on you once more is akin to hearing that

January brings renewal, Steamboat and 12 months of high hopes.  The spirit of rebirth and change permeates every aspect of one’s life this time of year.   This is especially true in our little corner of the music industry.  Album releases, festival plans, touring routes and everything feels fresh. Oftentimes, as with most things in life, despite best laid plans, things don’t turn out quite as tidy as you’d like and there are always some curveballs thrown at you along the way. As I sat back this week and watched the events of MusicFest unfold from afar I was proudly reminded