A New Year's greeting from Bucky Covington (link to video) and a little mystery...

Rocky Covington, Kevin Wood and Bucky Covington during soundcheck at Keller's Saloon in Castalian Springs, Tennessee; photo by our gracious friend Happydays.

Bucky Covington wished us all a safe and happy 2013 in a new video posted at Facebook--head on over there now and check it out!

You can enjoy Bucky live, loud and on stage later on this week; he's doing a free 21-up show at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den in Uncasville, CT (directions) on January 6th, and he'll join a big slate of Nashville's notables at Music In Motion: a Benefit for the Mid-South Chapter of the MS Society at 3rd and Lindsley on January 8th (tickets on sale now at TicketWeb.com.)

What's in store for Bucky and his fans as 2013 gets into gear? The new year is full of anticipation and a touch of music-biz mystery, as well. We're pretty excited about--and proud of--the wild viral video splash Bucky and Shooter Jennings made with "Drinking Side of Country" this past fall and winter. (The song and video continue to rock the ballot at CMT Pure's Pure 12 Pack, where Bucky and Shooter currently have the #8 spot...click that red button at right, vote now and keep the ball rolling!)  Bucky also graced GAC's Top 50 Videos of 2012 list; if you missed the airdates for the countdown, check out this list of repeat times.

We loved seeing so much of Bucky on video in 2012...and we also wish we could have heard more of him on the county radio airwaves in 2012, too.  With a trio of excellent recent singles ("A Father's Love", "I Wanna Be That Feeling" and "Drinking Side of Country" are all chart-worthy hits in my admittedly biased opinion), lots of rockin' live shows, the critically-praised (and fan-beloved) new album Good Guys,  and plenty of face time on TV and as the spokesman for Help The Good Guys, Bucky's star is on the rise as 2013 dawns.  But we devoted Bucky Covington fans want it all--and all includes lots of lots and lots of lovely country radio airplay.

Bucky Covington on stage in Hillsboro, IL; photo by the very kind Judy Lang. Thanks again, Judy!

Can we make it happen all by ourselves?  Nope--but we can and do definitely help by letting our local stations know that we want to hear Bucky on the air and at those hot-ticket station-sponsored shows.  We fans are not management or a label, of course, and we don't have the financial resources or the Nashville clout, but we do have something that can't be replaced, and that no country performer can succeed without:  loyalty.

Whether we're going through rough seas or smooth sailing in the music biz (and heaven knows we've seen both sides, and everything in between) we're on this journey for the long haul.  When you really believe in an artist and his or her talents, hanging in there and doing your best to support your favorite is as natural as breathing.  We're not sure what 2013 has in store for us, but we are sure we'll be right here to cheer, vote, request, pack the house and enjoy our "mania" for another 365 and beyond.  It's still good to be us!

See you tomorrow--enjoy the night, everybody!

Quick Saturday news: Bucky Covington in Schaefferstown, chart check, a bonus Shiny Bass update and some "deep thoughts"...

Another great front-row perspective shot by the talented Judy Lang; Bucky Covington on stage in Hillsboro last week. Thanks again to Judy!

Thanks to Anon in comments for the tip on a bonus journal post by Steve Cook--hop on over to Shiny Bass now and read his latest observations on life, pop culture, and the serendipitous lining up of ducks (read closely.) We'll be here when you get back...

I'll spare you the "hot" puns this time (I think I used them all up while speaking about the Fire Jam last week) but Bucky Covington and his excellent band are set to light up the Schaefferstown Fire Company's summer country concert series in fine style tonight. The gates open at 2:00 in the afternoon, food is available beginning at 4:00 pm, and Bucky and the band play at 7:00 in the evening. Sounds like a perfect late-summer day! (Check out the Tour News section in the sidebar at right, and make plans for your perfect summer day with Bucky and company soon...)

Bucky Covington and Scott Saunders enjoy some fun in the Iowa sun at the KJJY Big Country Bash; photo by the very kind Janie. Thanks!

As for the charts...hmmm. Yep, we've got another superstar pole-vault to contend with at Mediabase, and Bucky's single, "I Want My Life Back" [hear it here], is now #36--with a growing bullet. This song's got legs a mile long, even with the exceedingly stormy and frustrating chart scene this spring and summer, and it's an undeniable fact that we long-time fans, and many casual fans and radio listeners as well, are very busy on the request lines and the "Top X at X" polls. If you feel like you're doing all you can to support this beautiful song, you're probably right!

Bucky, and the cluster of fairly new artists in that Top 40 to Top 35 zone at the moment, seem to be in the process of paying their dues. They're not "automatic adds" to radio--yet. It's hard to believe that there was a time when the big names who leapfrogged ahead of Bucky this summer were once standing in those new-artist boots themselves, waiting patiently, with good songs and growing reputations as young performers who could deliver the goods live and in the studio. But that's where they once were--and look where they are now.


Bucky Covington smiles at the crowd at his fan club party in Nashville back in June in this fun photo by the gracious Buckaholic--thank you!

At the risk of sounding like the perennial Pollyanna that I am, I'll say this--the staying power and bulleted showing of "I Want My Life Back" this summer says much for Bucky and for us. He's got all the elements in place for that thirty-year career he's after: a beautiful, distinctive voice, excellent songs, a strong work ethic (look at that tour schedule!), an extremely supportive audience who truly believe in him (and are willing to roll up their sleeves and back that belief up with action and investment) and a clear-eyed and long-term view of the business in general. We can influence lots of local things in small ways--especially on the request lines!--but one thing that's completely out of our hands is time.

As supportive as we are, none of us can turn a "new artist" into a proven hitmaker/automatic radio add overnight. All we, and Bucky, can do is what we are very successfully doing right now--winning people over by conquering and charming one stage, one county fair, one request-line call, one day at a time. It all adds up, and what it's bound to add up to is an enduring career, built on a solid foundation of focused work, faith and never, ever giving up on anything, large or small, that can help make it happen. Big picture, y'all.

Enjoy your Saturday, and I'll see you here soon!--Winnie