Day two, Sunday, brought that AGM to my surprise, a full house. Typically these meetings are pretty dry and boring but this is the new ACMA. As they transition to bigger, better and innovative, everyone wants to be part of the build. Financials, discussion, questions, answers and a new Board of Directors took the meeting till afternoon. With FanFest set to start, it was a quick bite and shoot over to Parkland Mall where a full house of Alberta country music fans took in a mini concert. On stage, one after another for non stop entertainment; Drew Gregory, Hailey Benedict, Justin Hogg (his new single, Just Drive, hit radio this week), Martina Dawn, Megan Dawson, Renegade Station, The Orchard and The Prairie States.
The part people have been waiting for, The Red Carpet, started late afternoon and into cocktail hour. Dinner was one of those standard hotel buffets but it was the show people had been waiting for. Hosted by Aaron Goodvin, the show had surprise performances by country greats, Duane Steele and Gord Bamford showing that the new producer of the Awards, Tera Lee Flaman, has some pull, knows what she's doing and was indeed the right person for the job. From my point of view, the ACMA Board would do well to lock her down for as many years as she wants. The event has been televised in the past with marginal success. Though the numbers are not in yet, another step forward saw the Awards show streamed LIVE on YouTube. Some had technical glitches at the beginning but I saw nothing but great video and crystal clear audio. This is for sure the way of the future as it took Albert country music and made country wide a possibility. The After Party again took place everywhere. The fourth floor, the twelfth floor, the bar and the lobby were even, Gord Bamford sat and took part.