It has now been over 24 hours since the inaugural Tate Music Group 'Artist of the Year Contest' ended. And boy did it end with a bang! So many of us put in countless hours of planning, talking, changing, running, organizing, hoping, and praying to try and make this event a success. What we experienced Friday night was more than I think any of us, if we were truly honest, could have thought possible.
Don't get me wrong...we know we have tremendous artists and a 1st rate staff to put everything together...but, you have to look at the fact that this was the 1st, the inaugural, 'Artist of the Year Contest' and we were running in the dark (so to speak). I don't think we thought it could turn out as flawlessly (and wildly successful) as it did. Please hear me, I am in no way trying to throw out negativity...I am trying to shine light on our incredible staff, artists, and production team that put together an unforgettable performance event that will be very hard to beat in the following years.
Besides the incredible planning, production, and execution of the night's event...one of the things that I will take with me forever was the support and comradery I saw between all of our artists. That was truly a special thing. Sure, each of the finalists wanted to win the contest and take home the biggest prize...but you could tell that they were all routing for each other as well. At one point I heard that a few of the artists were in one artist's hotel room, playing an acoustic guitar and singing the songs that influenced them. That kind of connection is special...especially since it happened within about 36 hours.
In case you haven't heard, Jeff Chandler was the winner and is the Tate Music Group 'Artist of the Year.' We are so happy for Jeff and his family and we are excited about what this year is going to bring him. We are also excited about the other finalists: SallyJane, Ron Walters, The Cliftones, and Sarah Scharff. They are all tremendous talents and have very, very bright futures ahead of them.
Standing around after the show, I was able to hear some of the commentary made by our judging panel (which consisted of some very influential music industry professionals). The consensus was the same. It was hard to pick a winner because every one of the artists gave a tremendous performance. It was also unanimous that the future for these artists is as bright as they want it to be.
I am so glad that Tate Music Group can be a major part of helping them shine.
(If you missed the show...you can check out a replay here. Enjoy.)
No comments:
Post a Comment