And the winner was...

STURGILL SIMPSON! Who excoriated Nashville and the ACM and CMA for embracing Merle Haggard posthumously when they pushed him aside during his lifetime.

Sturgill Simpson is an outsider.

And people love him for it. Whenever I write about country music I hear his name most, my inbox overflows, he's got rabid fans, and they're the ones spreading the word. There's a fiction that old media still works, radio and print. But print is dying on the vine, the "Wall Street Journal" just laid off staffers and is merging sections and the "New York Times" saw a double-digit decrease in print advertising. Madison Avenue has fled print, because it no longer reaches and converts the public. Advertising may look like a public service, with all the image ads, but it's really all about the SELL!

And for years Nashville has been about selling out.

I truly wonder if all these entertainers are friends in real life. Watching on television you felt this was a giant high school party thrown by the cool kids professing togetherness before they went to the bathroom and bullied those not in the club.

Not that there weren't highlights.

Despite the tacky, over-the-top outfits, the CMAs were more genuine than the Grammys, there was less sheen, the music breathed, it evidenced some humanity. But it was all in service to a TV network paying the bills. Whether it be hype for upcoming shows displayed via on-screen bugs or scrolling news info it was clear the musicians were not in control, money was. What does Jennifer Garner have to do with country music? Peyton Manning? As for hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley...it's time to give someone else a chance. One thing was clear during this 50th anniversary telecast, the new plow over the old. You had hits once and now your power has been usurped. Give someone else a chance.

And playing to the television audience a grit was absent that is key at live shows. When you're playing to everybody, you're playing to nobody. Whereas when you're in the arena for a live show supported by fans the excitement is palpable, when the attendees roar, the performers take it up a notch.

The highlight for me was Eric Church thanking his fans. He sent his new LP to them first and it won Album of the Year. Some things are right in this universe, as opposed to all the acts shilling for Chevy. Does anybody really want a Chevy, other than a Corvette? Isn't that what you settle for when you can't afford a Honda, Toyota or Nissan, never mind a Mazda or an Audi? But if Chevy is paying the bills, these court jesters will perform for them. Pretty creepy.

Then again, that's the era we live in. It's not that the younger generation is fine with selling out, it's just that it never lived through an era where people didn't. Which is why Sturgill Simpson taking a stand is so important.

And I've got to laud Kenny Chesney for wearing his t-shirt, albeit a highfalutin' one. Once upon a time, when music burgeoned, it was about what was inside as opposed to the trappings. Kenny was the only one who came in his regular clothing. He bucked tradition. Kudos.

But there was the Apple Music ad for his new album. That's what an exclusive will buy you, promotion. But does it even work? Sure, there's a level of awareness, but we've already established word of mouth is king. As for Apple offering three months free... Is there anybody interested who hasn't already used up their free trial? Who is this appealing to? Certainly not hard core music fans.

And speaking of taking a stand, isn't it funny how Spotify is more Steve Jobs than Apple Music. It was Jobs who set the iTunes price and wouldn't budge, wouldn't accede to the major labels. It's Spotify that's fighting the labels to keep a free tier, it wants no part of exclusives. Once again, you stand for something or you stand for nothing.

And nobody in this telecast would stand for anything other than the Dixie Chicks.

I'm stunned they let them back in the building.

My viewpoint is they should have fought back, just like the Republican bulldozers who commit faux pas, like Bill O'Reilly. They should have stayed in country music, continued to make Nashville uncomfortable instead of exiting the format. By bringing Beyonce on stage, by performing with the pop queen, they showed country music to be what it now is, a big tent. Hell, half of the stars rap. Well, maybe not that many, but plenty.

And that's today's brouhaha, how the CMAs killed Bey's publicity. Or not. You can decide.

But the truth is watching this show I felt very uncomfortable. Like we live in a nation divided. Like the south is a completely different country. Enough with the religion, Jesus didn't help you win that award, the unheralded songwriter on Music Row did. As for Carrie and Brad being tired of politics... They could take a stand, but they won't, it might hurt their pocket book.

But you know who did take a stand?

KATY PERRY! She's been in the trenches for Hillary Clinton since day one. And even though I wavered and went over to Bernie I came back. Because I'm sick of the right wing vilifying Hillary. It's a social media scrum. And the way you win is to stay in the game, unlike Taylor Swift who was K.O.'ed by Kanye and Kim and turned tail never to return, Clinton has stayed in the game. Is she imperfect, sure...BUT SO ARE YOU!

You see we have to take a stand, we cannot hang back. Read Frank Rich in the new issue of "New York." He posits there will be consequences for those who did not stand up to Trump.

There are consequences for those who play the game, refusing to do what's right.

There's a lot right in Nashville right now. The records are made with real instruments, the songs are singable and they're about subjects people can relate to. That's the essence of country music, but not only country, BUT ALL MUSIC!

But we've gotten so far from the garden.

The CMA performances slid right off of me. They didn't have gravitas. There was too much stunting, too many duets. But a lot of these numbers, when it's just me and I hear them streaming through the headphones...

Unfortunately, Dierks Bentley sang to hard drive, but if "Different For Girls" doesn't ring true to you, you're probably a groper.

There's truth in that song. It resonates.

There was very little truth in last night's show.

But some of the songs keep me alive.

You're building a resume, a body of work. You only answer to yourself. And when you look inward and reveal your truth people are drawn to you. Which is why it's so important to avoid doing what's expedient, going along to get along. Especially in art. The hacks come and go, the legends live on.

And Merle Haggard, although six feet under, will live longer in the culture than almost any winner tonight.

"The first thing I remember knowing
Was a lonesome whistle blowing"

Lonesome. Sometimes I feel that way so much I could cry, and do. Remember when songs penetrated your soul? That's why people clamor for Jason Isbell, he's trying to get it right. You need to try and get it right.

"And a young 'un's dream of growing up to ride
On a freight train leaving town"

Now everybody just stays where they was born and goes nowhere. Used to be you wanted to get out of Dodge, have new experiences. Today the acts base themselves in Nashville and fly home after many gigs. And the audience never ventures above the Mason-Dixon Line.

But music can take you far away.

And Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried" was carried by the wind all the way to San Francisco, where the Grateful Dead covered it on their legendary live album commonly known as "Skull and Roses."

That's music history for you right there.

Play a little less to the crowd and a little more to yourself.

That's when people embrace you, that's when you become a big star.

Too many of tonight's stars were small.

But Sturgill Simpson, who was not even nominated, is quite big.

You can be big too.

Sturgill Simpson on Merle Haggard: bit.ly/2bR2lKx

"New York Times Co. Reports an Advertising Drop, Though Digital Results Grew": nyti.ms/2enfZqo

Frank Rich: "Trump's Appeasers - Charles Lindbergh was a national hero, then a fascist sympathizer. History will be just as brutal to more than a few current Republican leaders": nym.ag/2ek17cg

"Mama Tried": spoti.fi/2eFy1lg

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