The so-called \u201cNashville Big Bash\u201d has always featured a few good acts, lots of pretty terrible ones, and some stuff in-between. But this year felt especially clownish after they buffoonishly mismanaged a technical glitch, and set a new low with the public when looking through the sentiments of online comments and the ratings numbers. <\/p>
There were some bright spots. It\u2019s always great to see Dwight Yoakam getting some love on the screen, especially in close proximity to the Country Music Hall of Fame that continues to stiff him. Same goes for Zach Top, though the song he performed \u201cI Never Lie\u201d felt distinctly like last year\u2019s hit. <\/p>
Ditto for Stephen Wilson Jr.\u2019s rendition of \u201cStand By Me.\u201d Yes, it\u2019s a super powerful and emotive performance, but he\u2019s already done that bit on national television now half a dozen times. You can only saw the lady in half so much before the crowd catches on. <\/p>
And CeCe Winans was also killer. The Gospel star was a much better diversity pick compared to Breland or Jimmie Allen who they\u2019ve had on that show in previous years. But the Big Bash organizers still seem somewhat clueless that there are actual Black artists who make actual country music who can be entertaining to a wide audience as opposed to scraping the bottom of the barrel of the mainstream just to find a Black performer, and treat them like a token. <\/p>
But aside from a few bright spots, the hosts Hardy and Bert Kreisher were neither funny nor entertaining. Bert can be funny, but seem weighted down by Hardy, who seems to have gained as much weight as Jelly Roll has lost, and has the camera presence of a potted fern. <\/p>
Bailey Zimmerman is truly a national embarrassment, and a poster boy for the epidemic of mediocrity. TEMU Morgan Wallen had no business being featured in prime time. Putting Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts on the presentation felt so stale, especially with the piped-in crowd applause and fake enthusiasm from the audience inside the clubs. It\u2019s 2025. Nobody falls for that plastic banana stuff. <\/p>
What passed for the evening\u2019s big stars were Lainey Wilson and Jason Aldean. But despite Lainey\u2019s trophy for Entertainer of the Year, she\u2019s arguably the 3rd most popular woman in country behind Ella Langley and Megan Moroney, and in a genre that barely pays attention to women. In the decentralized culture we live in now, people might recognize these names, but they\u2019re far from superstars, especially with the political polarization surrounding someone like Jason Aldean. <\/p>
But where the 2025 Nashville Big Bash lost the audience both figuratively and literally is when about 45 minutes in, the entire presentation went dark for over a dozen minutes right in the middle of a Lainey Wilson performance. Hey, technical glitches happen, and sometimes are completely out of the control of production staffs. Co-host Bert Kreisher later said they \u201clost power.\u201d <\/p>
But it was CBS\u2019s extremely strange decision to cut into the middle of a rerun of the new Matlock<\/em> series starring Kathy Bates that sent the moment completely off the rails. The few million country music folks who\u2019d tuned into the presentation all of a sudden saw themselves staring at two Asian lesbians in some sort of heated, sexually erotic discussion for what felt like an eternity with no context of why it was on their screens, and no real indication they were even watching a scene from the new Matlock<\/em> reboot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n #cbsNashvilleNYE<\/a> CBS and Nashville are trying to approach the Nashville Big Bash like one big infomercial for Nashville, and that\u2019s why it feels flawed, forced, and weak. Nobody\u2019s going to put on a space diaper and stand for 12 straight hours like they do in Times Square to see Baily Zimmerman perform. <\/p> Country music is hot right now and boasts a lot of great stars of the present and past. But if it wants to compete, it needs to be a real, authentic presentation that represents America\u2019s overlooked heartland. <\/p> Stop coaching the club audiences to act hyper excited to see Gretchen Wilson perform \u201cRedneck Woman\u201d for the millionth time, find some hosts who are actually funny, and present artists whose music is actually resonating with the public as opposed to who major labels are trying push upon the masses. <\/p> \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you found this article valuable, consider leaving<\/em>\u00a0Saving Country Music A TIP<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>