Country Mike Blog

Is CMA Fest getting better?

Mike Sudhalter  |  June 7, 2012

It's the multi-millionaire dollar question - Is the CMA Festival getting better

Every one has an opinion, and we ask you to share them with us.

It depends on your perspective. A lot of fans like to come to CMA Festival and stand in line for autographs. Now, there's a drawing to get autographs at the Nashville Convention Center.

Those who don't like the new procedures argue that the festival is becoming less fan-friendly than it once was.

I have to seriously disagree, but also note as a disclaimer that I'm not one to spend a day, or even an afternoon, waiting in line for autographs. An hour is probably the most I'd wait.

When I was 8 years old in 1988, I attended the NBA All-Star Game and got photos and autographs of everyone, including Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

But the world has changed, and there's so much demand to meet celebrities that they're not as accessible as they once were. And that's understandable.

One fan told me last night, "why would people come here if they can't get autographs. They could stay in their home state and see music festivals?"

Where else are you going to see this many artists perform in one place?

So if you're just in Music City for autographs, maybe it's a disappointment.

But for everyone else, the CMA Festival is amazing. More stages, more shows. Lots of parties and events in addition to the Festival. It seems like there are more things every year.

Are there things that the CMA could improve? For instance, the photo line at the LP Field shows. People wait in the photo lines and miss entire performances to get photos of the artist of their choice. In the case of Taylor Swift last year, people waited in the photo line for hours and came back without a photo, because ABC was filming for a television special. The CMA staff let people know in advance that they might not get a photo.

Enjoy this week and be sure to follow @countrysuds on Twitter.