The Shake Up

Now we don’t like to brag, nevermind yes we do, and we are going to. Because SIX of the upcoming performers at the Kentucky State Fair in August are nominated for a CMT Music Award. Most are nominated for MORE than one award and THREE are performing at the awards show itself!

The handsome and ever-charming Jason Aldean is nominated for Video of the Year, Male Video of the Year and Web Video of the Year for “My Kinda Party”. A song he wrote about being at the Kentucky State Fair. Okay, that may not be true, but we like to act like he did.

Aldean’s opening act for the fair, Thompson Square made-out with two nominations: Duo Video of the Year and USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year for “Are you Gonna Kiss Me or Not”. Get it, made-out?

Lady Antebellum, the talented trio who formed in our neighbor state to the south is nominated for Video of the Year and Group Video of the Year for “Hello World” and Web Video of the Year for “Stars Tonight”. Both are great, so if you haven’t seen them, you should probably go do that, as soon as you’re done exploring our blog, of course:

www.cmt.com/videos/lady-antebellum/591891/hello-world.jhtml

 Lee Brice, who is performing with Lady A at the Fair, is standing on his own at the CMT Music Awards with a nomination in the USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year for “Love Like Crazy”.  It’s a beautiful song, and it’s pretty good advice too!

Speaking of loving like crazy, Luke Bryan is nominated for Nationwide Insurance’s On Your Side Award, given to the best new live act. The award is voted on by fans, so if you do love Luke Bryan like crazy, get on CMT. com and vote for him. We don’t think it will violate the restraining order?  Bryan is also nominated for Web Video of the Year for his fun summer jam “Shore Thing”.

Another of our Main Stage performers, Train, an unlikely group to associate with the Country Music Awards, has also snatched a nomination. Maybe they are trying to bond with some other performers before the Fair? Train is nominated for CMT Performance of the Year for their performance with Martina McBride on CMT Crossroads.

Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Luke Bryan will also have live performances during the award’s show. But nothing is quite the same as seeing them live so make sure to catch them and other amazing artists when they come to the Fair in August. Once again, not bragging, but where else can you see all these great concerts in the same week at the same place! Nowhere. We’ve looked.

Foreword: My name is Ryne and I am addicted to musically-enhanced moments. Most of what I will write about stems from moments when music and life intertwine. I’m a sucker for music+video montages and I believe that music has the ability to move us.

In 2003, I was a junior in high school and I got my driver’s license. I know I’m showing my age, but it’s key to the story. And like any teenager knows, the music you play in the car is a direct correlation to the driver’s personality. We stuffed the sun visor CD case with as many discs that would fit and sped off during summer break nights, hosting our own sort of car-karaoke contest. Us guys would sing “Save the Day” by Train to our then-girlfriends and the girls would sing back “Calling All Angels” by Train. Both songs from their My Private Nation album.

Nine years, a wife (not my 2003 girlfriend) and a baby later, I heard “Save the Day” on an oldies radio station and laughed at the antics of my former high school self. The song and the band will continue linger as the perfect soundtrack to summer nights. Luckily for me, I get to make new memories of Train this summer as they co-headline the stage with Maroon 5 during the Kentucky State Fair.

The bands will perform together in Freedom Hall on Aug. 28, the final day of the 11-day event. Train leaped out of a three-year hiatus with its fifth studio album, Save Me San Francisco, which has become the biggest release of their 16-year career. The lead single “Hey Soul Sister” broke records and took over speakers everywhere to become the top selling track on iTunes in 2010. The hit song peaked at No. 1 in the United States and in 15 countries abroad and also garnered the 2011 Grammy Award for Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals this February. Train’s second single “If It’s Love” also hit No. 1 last year, and their current single “Marry Me” continues to move up the charts. The trio is best known for their monster 2002 hit “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” that was nominated for five Grammy awards, winning two, including Best Rock Song.

Maroon 5 will co-headline the Main Stage Concert with Train performing hits from their third studio album, Hands All Over. The album produced their third No.1 hit with “Misery,” topping the charts in the fall of 2010. The band was part of the pregame festivities for Super Bowl XLV in February, performing “Never Gonna Leave This Bed,” the new single from the album. The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005, and their biggest hits include “Won’t Go Home Without You,” “She Will Be Loved” and “Makes Me Wonder”.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on April 18 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, KFC Yum! Center and Kentucky International Convention Center Ticket Offices and all Ticketmaster outlets. Charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com.

The 107th Kentucky State Fair will be held Aug. 18-28 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. For more information and continued updates on the 2011 Kentucky State Fair, visit the official website at www.kystatefair.org.