From Rockingham to Nashville

(We had a gap in submissions this morning, so I snuck my own idea into the mix for this short-airtime post. But some truly gorgeous graphics came in this afternoon and evening--be sure to drop in Friday for a stunning set of covers from a very talented artist as the "Bucky Covington CD Cover Un-Contest" continues.)

Edited to add an important post from the official boards:

Hi Bucky fans! This is Erin's mom. We would love for you to come to Erin's Victory Dance in Greensboro, NC on Saturday, October 14th!!! YOU ARE ALL VERY WELCOME TO COME! PLEASE MAKE A RESERVATION BY THE 7TH SO WE CAN TELL THE CATERER HOW MUCH FOOD WE NEED. Let's give Bucky a huge Southern welcome!

You can make your reservations directly from this page at the Erin's Victory Dance site. Make your plans early, and help out a worthy cause.

Well, the word is officially out, courtesy of RockyCovington.com--Bucky, Rocky and Caddy Wampus will play at Hugo's in Rockingham on October 13th, the night before the Erin's Victory Dance benefit in Greensboro. (And quite a few fans from all over the country will be there, too--there's a planning thread in progress at the Fox boards. Looks like they're going to have that packed house they've been asking for...)

It's exciting news, laced with a little bit of bittersweet feeling. Soon, Bucky will be far away from Rockingham and busy in Nashville, recording that debut CD and chasing that dream. What could be on the road ahead for him?

As we did earlier this year, it might be a good idea to look into the experience of another singer who made the transition from Idol finalist to Nashville success. Josh Gracin (who didn't tour with the Season Two finalists due to miltary commitments, but is on tour even as we speak) had this to say about his time as an ex-Idol in Nashville:

"The record deal came about when Marty [Marty Williams, co-producer of Rascal Flatts' first two hit albums] had me come out to Nashville to sing for several labels," says Josh. "I felt the trip had gone well and I was getting ready to go back to California when Lyric Street's Doug Howard (Sr. VP, A&R) called--it was literally hours before I was supposed to go to the airport and take off to go back--but Doug gave me the chance to audition for them.

I got a call about a week later saying they were interested in signing me. I flew back to Nashville to meet with Lyric Street President Randy Goodman and Doug. It was just me singing and with a guitar player. It was a lot smaller crowd than I was used to singing for on the show and after I sang one song, they had me stop and pulled more people into the room. Afterwards, Randy said, "Let's do a deal."

Josh, of course, is making good use of that deal--his first single, "I Want to Live", hit #4 on the Billboard Country charts, the follow-up, "Nothin' to Lose" was his first #1, and his album Josh Gracin made it to #2.

Bucky, like Josh, comes to Nashville with a solid producer/mentor at his side. (And another great quote from Josh sums up how important this is: "Anyone who says that they can do this without the help of anyone is just going about it all wrong. You don't have to know someone in the business to get noticed and speed things up, but it certainly doesn't hurt if you do. ") Both Mark Miller and Bucky are keeping maddeningly mum on specifics, (such as the much-sought-after name of Bucky's label) but it's fair to imagine that the progression from catching the ear of a good producer to signing with a supportive label to--fingers crossed--chart hits and beautifully filmed CMT videos might be similar.

And what about future tours and venues? One of the nicest things about country music is that while the business--and the names--are big, the performers can and do stay in touch with their fans in a way that pop fans can only dream about. Chances are good that by this time in '08 or sooner (or next weekend!) Bucky will be packing the house much too tightly for Hugo's to hold. But like many country performers, chances are also good that he'll try to incorporate both larger venues and the occasional smaller, more intimate spaces into his touring plans. As Pat Green of "Wave on Wave" fame puts it, "As far as playing faithful clubs and dancehalls, I'll quote my friend Darrell K. Royal [former football coach at the University of Texas], "You've got to dance with the one that brought you."

So if you're going to North Carolina to enjoy Bucky's performances next weekend, have a wonderful time and savor the moment--he might be a very, very busy man from that point on.

Back with news--and more about the fans' plans to celebrate Rocky and Bucky's birthday in a way that really matters--next post. See you then!