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Honky-tonk music hits
Big Apple Country's popularity sparks nightlife, bands in Brooklyn;
radio station is MIA Listening to Loretta Lynn's "Fist City," a tale of
jealous love, used to be a guilty pleasure for Manhattan resident Emilee
Hickert, one that made her feel "good, feisty and sassy." But the native of El Segundo, Calif., had to rely on an iPod to
get her fix of honky-tonk in New York. Not anymore. After years of quiet neglect, country music is making
some noise in New York. The scene, whose epicenter is in Brooklyn, is enjoying
an explosion of new venues, the launch of at least three major festivals and
even the emergence of its own brand of music: cow punk. To cap it off, the city
will host the Country Music Awards in two weeks. This surge is making businesses of all kinds dance the two-step. "This is a now a very strong market," says Rick Murray,
senior vice president of strategic marketing for the Country Music Association.
"There is truly an underground movement among fans here to discover new
releases and new artists." The Country Music Awards are expected to generate a total of at
least $30 million in revenues for local businesses, including The Baggot Inn in
Greenwich Village, which will feature two weeks of country and bluegrass music
leading up to the event. The show has also generated a flurry of advertising opportunities
for New York industry sectors such as Broadway. The city, via the New York
Marketing Development Corp. and NYC & Company, has arranged sponsorships
and other promotional deals with more than a dozen major corporations,
including General Motors. Advertisers are drawn to the brand loyalty, youth and
affluence of country fans. "Country music fans tend to be a little more generous,"
says Alex Battles, front man for The Whisky Rebellion and co-organizer of two
new country music festivals in Brooklyn. "They're willing to do a lot to
support this gentle, simple melodic music." The trend has perhaps had the most significant impact on New
York's nightlife business. Nearly two dozen country, Western and
roadhouse-themed bars, restaurants and nightclubs have opened in the five
boroughs over the past year or so, says Erin Donnelly, a senior editor at New
York nightlife guide Shecky's. Notable examples include Aces & Eights,
Daddy's and Moonshine. Broader horizons Many other establishments have opened their arms to the scene by
regularly featuring country acts or launching events tailored to fans: Gonzalez
y Gonzalez in the Village hosts regular line dance parties. "This scene is going to be big," declares Ms. Donnelly.
Even corporate event planners are getting into the act, she says, with
mechanical bulls among the most-sought-after items for office parties. Still, significant growth in this market has been stymied by New
York's lack of a country music radio station. Despite the fact that the city is
the No. 2 market in the nation for country music CD sales--behind only Los
Angeles--it hasn't had a country station since WYNY-FM signed off in 1996. The broadcast void discourages national performers from coming
here, because they have no outlet to help promote their shows. The gap also
curtails record sales. By other measures, country music is humming along here. The
ascendance of New York cow punk can be attributed to country's crossover into
pop culture, thanks to acts such as Faith Hill and Garth Brooks, who played in
Central Park in 1997. The local popularity of the 2000 George Clooney film O
Brother, Where Art Thou? and its soundtrack album gave the music genre
another boost. No Nashville cats New York's performers and organizers have started pushing beyond
the misperceptions about city-based country acts. Challenging the notions that
they are Nashville clones, local bands such as the Gowanus Corral and the
Cobble Hillbillies have embraced their Gotham roots. "There is no shortage of lonely people or heartbreak in this
city," says musician Jack Grace, who touts his urban connection as The
Martini Cowboy. "There is no reason why we shouldn't be able to write
country music, too." Brooklyn, which is also enjoying a broader cultural renaissance,
has become the center of New York's country music movement. Loretta Lynn fan
Ms. Hickert recently saw Hank III perform "I'm a Hellbilly" at
Williamsburg bar Northsix. "It was one of those music genres that New Yorkers loved to
hate," says Ms. Hickert, an online advertising sales executive who lives
in Hell's Kitchen. "But for me, this is my comfort music." Last year, Brooklyn saw the birth of three country music events:
The Brooklyn Country Music Festival, The Kings County Opry and The CasHank
Hootenanny Jamboree. The events struck a chord with fans from as far away as
Connecticut. They loved the stark, edgy music of the bands, many of whom were
influenced by country singers of the 1940s and 1950s. None of the local bands has achieved national prominence, but
musicians say that will change. Now that New York performers have built a
brand, celebrities will crop up sooner or later. For example, Staten
Island-based The Nashville Attitude was recently featured on CBS's morning news
program and at Fleet Week. "Wherever we go, being from New York is now seen as a badge of honor," says Nashville Attitude guitarist Marc Vincent Sica. "It's all coming together."
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