The golden grapevine

(Edited to post a quick link to a couple of excellent recently-added Hugo's photos by the very talented Honeygirl--be sure to check out her beautiful Flickr photoset!)

It looks as though Bucky's fans at the official American Idol boards lost a few threads today; most notably, the long-running "Special Mother" thread, where the news of Bucky's Friday 11/3 appearance with Sawyer Brown first surfaced last night. While it's true that Season 6 is coming up shortly (time flies, doesn't it?), Season 5's idols--even the ones who aren't signed with 19--are still very much helped by having a presence on the official Idol boards.

What isn't talked about much is that Idol itself is helped, too--not only do the boards help promote the Idol name, logo and products, but the very fact that there's still so much interest in Bucky and his peers gives weight to the "search for a superstar" claims. The collective charisma of this year's Idols will make a lot more people curious about next year's!

But when all is said and done, Bucky will be best served in the long run by his own dedicated official site--and perhaps an official forum to go with it. There's much beauty and generosity in the way the online Bucky fan grapevine operates--think of the current Victory Junction donation drive in honor of Bucky and Rocky's birthday, those terrific conference calls from Hugo's and the Erin's Victory Dance benefit in mid-October, or the Country Weekly cyber-poll. (It's fairly safe to say we rock. Imagine what we'll be able to accomplish without mystery deletions and BLEEPs...)

And speaking of rocking (awkward segue alert!) if you're among those who've decided to check out Sawyer Brown live for the first time this Friday, you're in for a fun, fun evening. The band has released a live CD to rave reviews, so if you're eager to enjoy a preview, check out those sound clips and enjoy.

If you're curious about the rest of Sawyer Brown's tour schedule, here's the list on their official site. We've posted about that Christmas for Kids benefit at the Ryman Auditorium before, and there's some curiosity about it at the Fox boards, too. Could there be another short-notice "special guest" appearance in the works for Bucky? There's been no (repeat, no) indication that he'll be there...so far, anyway. Could it hurt, though, to keep your schedule flexible and be ready to help a sweet and deserving cause? Recent history shows that it's best to expect the unexpected...

More soon!