The Steel Guitar Forum

I didn't watch the CMA Awards Show tonight but was wondering how many steel players were seen on the show. Anybody know and if so,- who were they?

It was the ACM Awards, not the CMA.

I recorded it, haven’t watched yet because I don’t have the patience to sit through an awards show in real time to be able to catch a few good segments among all the bad stuff along with having to sit through commercials.

The DVR with the ability to fast forward might be the best invention for television since the remote control.

You didn't miss much. A lot of T&A. More Dobro than steel.

Some channel hopping and my attention wasn't fixed to the TV, but I recall having seen maybe 3 or 4. They were basically all in the shadows so I'm not sure who.

Alan Jackson, Blake Shelton and a couple more I can't recall at the moment had steel on stage.

What a lot of them call country IS Not IMOP. Wes

ACM, CMA, whatever. Don't make much difference if there's no steel.

I haven't watched any in years. No taste for all the fluff. It's more of a glamor show than music.

Alan Jackson had his steel player and kept it real.

Lol we all sound like a bunch of old men.. told my wife that I felt like a crabby old man watching it... I saw one steel player, unfortunately he left a lot to be desired .. but then it could have been because of all the back ground noise ..

I try to keep myself from being a crabby old man by not watching these.

Me: "Doctor, it hurts when I do that."

Doctor: "Then don't do that."

Henny Youngman rim shot!

Wally Pfeifer wrote:ACM, CMA, whatever. Don't make much difference if there's no steel.

It's all sort of melded together over the years, but there was a time when there was a distinct difference between the CMA and the ACM.

The ACM was more of a western states answer to a lot of the Nashville Countrypolitan stuff Chet Atkins and others were pushing decades ago.

The ACM was originally more about Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell etc.

And the likes of Don Rich, James Burton, Tom Brumley, Ralph Mooney, etc.

I wish they had kept the original name: Academy of Country & Western Music.

Doug Palmer wrote:You didn't miss much. A lot of T&A. More Dobro than steel.

I like T & A and dobro...

Mark Eaton wrote:

Doug Palmer wrote:You didn't miss much. A lot of T&A. More Dobro than steel.

I like T & A and dobro...

T&A????? Tacos & Asparagus???? 😲

Sad to say Country Music is no longer Country Music

you guys actually WATCH that crap???????

I can think of one reason to watch (besides the TNA of course).

If you want to be a well rounded musician (or at least try to stay current), shows like this are a capsulized, condensed, concentrated sampling of what is (or may be) going on.

You may not like it, but some day you may be called upon to play it.
At least then you may be familiar with what is asked.

I agree with most posters here in that I'm (cough) not a big fan either.
But there is a flip side to the coin.

The same is true of PBS shows and other similar features.
I remember one time years ago there were a couple of Soundstage or something shows of a couple of performers that I was not real familiar with.
So, OK, I'll get my dinner ready and watch while I eat. This is a good chance to give them an hour of my time and get acquainted.
Boy was I glad I did that instead of paying money to buy a couple of CDs.
It was all I could do to make it through the hour.
But I gave them a chance.

And even more...........
There are other artists that I have been and still am to some extent big fans of in the past.
But I have seen recent PBS one hour concerts of them.
Sadly, IMO, they seem to have run out of ideas.

So wait - it was the Artificial Country Music awards, or the Country My A$$ awards?

I stopped watching a long time ago. It was obvious that even groups who were big name country acts went out of their way to be NOT country when on the show. I know we all define "country" differently, and I DO like non-country music. And yes, each show usually had a few songs which were good. But it just got so artificial that even the T&A were not enough to get me to watch.

I know what to expect and we all should. It's an awards show for the music you hear over today's so-called country radio. We shouldn't expect anything else.

There are always some moments that make it worthwhile for me. The main reason I watch is to, in some way, support my fellow steel players and heroes. I love the steel guitar in any context and enjoy how the pros make it fit any situation.

The music is what it is....only representing the current state of the art and it's artists...nothing more.

Quite a bit of this show was acoustic stool sitting duets or otherwise what I describe as coffee house offerings of which I am not a fan in any grand event.

I stopped watching some time back. For me it got to be all about how much the female singers could show skin and get away with it. What has trying to sell sex have to do with a Country Music Show? bOb may delete this but I just had to say it, (sorry sir if this bad).

Wouldn't waste my time on that garbage.

Ron Funk wrote:Alan Jackson had his steel player and kept it real.

Robbie Flint playing his Derby D-10 steel with Alan, and I saw Chad Jeffers playing his red Mullen G2 steel with Carrie Underwood. Kevin Post played his Emmons with Blake(Prior to joining Blake's band, Kevin and Jenee-fiddle player, had played in Terri Clark's road band.

Hey, Mark, from Northern California!

I sent you a private message.

Lee, from South Texas

J R Rose wrote:I stopped watching some time back. For me it got to be all about how much the female singers could show skin and get away with it. What has trying to sell sex have to do with a Country Music Show? bOb may delete this but I just had to say it, (sorry sir if this bad).

Amen! I think of Linda Ronstadt, Loretta Lynn, and Brenda Lee, all of whom avoided the girl-parts emphasis and are icons today.

Then I think of Cher, whose voice is as iconic as any of the above, but who went with the girl-parts....

"Lol we all sound like a bunch of old men.. told my wife that I felt like a crabby old man watching it... I saw one steel player, unfortunately he left a lot to be desired .. but then it could have been because of all the back ground noise .."

Go listen to Tyler Coe's podcasts about the history of country music and current trends. He is young but is much more critical of modern country music than any of us. And he has done an incredible amount of research on the topics he discusses and is quite intellectual in his approach. He has a whole podcast on Ralph Mooney's importance to country music.

And Tyler Coe's information on his pod cast is the Best you will ever read, bar none. He has done his Homework!!