Front page news, revisited

Well, look what happened while we were out! Bucky's presence on the GAC Country Christmas tour is now on the front page news section of AmericanIdol.com. A big congratulations to all the fans who worked so hard to get that happy announcement where it belongs, and to Marnie at AI.com for being so receptive to the idea! (You can read the full article here.)

And speaking of the tour, there's another great recap of Sunday night's Murray show here (link fixed); Dixiegirl's well-written and absolutely terrific description will make you wish you were there. Be sure to check it out. (And thanks, y'all--you are way too kind.)

Here's a bonus from a non-fan perspective; a fun blog post (complete with a whopping big photo) from a local Murray resident who attended last night's concert. Sounds like she had a good time...

Dixiegirl also mentioned that the Murray show was much, much better attended than the snow-challenged Wichita and Tulsa concerts. Of course, we'd like to see the venues packed full! To that end, here are a couple of things y'all might want to do help make sure that everyone who'd want to know will know that Bucky, Deana, Steve, Julie and Blue County are on tour...

The first thing is the simplest--speak up. "Tell your friends" sounds pretty corny in this day and age, but word of mouth advertising still works just fine. Coworkers, relatives, your friendly neighborhood fill-in-the-blank--they probably already know you're a big Bucky Covington fan. (Yeah, we're talking about the same folks you asked for voting help a few months back.) The ticket price for this tour is very reasonable (far more reasonable than the Idol tour!) for five great acts, and they'll probably be quite receptive to finding out what the fuss is all about.

As we said earlier, call up your local country radio station, request Blue County, Steve Azar, Julie Roberts, or Deana Carter, and be sure to mention you're excited about seeing them--and Bucky Covington--live in concert soon. (If this is a truly local station that still puts callers on the air--rare now, but some still exist--so much the better. And requesting now is a good way to practice for later, when Bucky's single is out...)

Post, post, post. Since we all know that everyone at our favorite hang outs (the Fox board, Rocky's site, Bucky Country, etc.) is already holding a ticket, it's time to branch out, y'all. That scrapbooking board? That fashion blog you comment on? The HDTV site where you debate specs? People in your non-musical online worlds love music, too. Busy "off topic" sections are a good place to share the news that there's a great country Christmas concert comin' to town. If you're too shy to start a separate topic about your concert plans, a simple sig link to the GAC page will work. Another fun way is one of those silly/cheesy Ticker Factory countdown graphics (scroll down for mine.) Count the days until your concert in plain sight and strike up a conversation!

Your local newspaper should at the very least have a concert calendar going; ideally, they'll also have a feature story to tie in with the concert. If there's a local connection, there's a good chance of more than a blurb; Steve Azar's fans (and the area residents who might not have known of the show otherwise) got a great treat with this Paducah Sun article spotlighting Steve's friendship with Larry Stewart, a Paducah native. If you know of a local connection to any of the acts on the tour, a quick email to the Entertainment editor of your daily paper could pay off nicely. Otherwise, simply ask if they're planning to review or preview the show. If they aren't--we'll do it ourselves! Papers with "Speak Out" sections like this one in the Southeast Missourian are a perfect way to talk about what's happening around town. The important thing is, of course, to speak honestly and from the heart. You're not writing an advertisement; you're telling your neighbors about something you appreciate and enjoy. The letter about Bucky in that section is certainly from the heart--and it's wonderful. (Edited to add a big thanks to Hildi--what a lovely tribute!)


I'm not done yet (just sleepy), but there are bound to be lots more ways to get the word out about this excellent group of artists coming to your town. If you've got some tips, please feel free to drop them in the comments box, and let's talk.

News post in a few hours--see you later!