Philip Nelson

TriCaster powers historic webcast for Midnight Jamboree with Rhonda Vincent

by Mike Manning
recordmike@aol.com

Philip Nelson and his trusty TriCaster at the Midnight Jamboree

We set up in the hot, crowded but musically cool Roberts Western World to stream the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree to the world. The scene on Saturday night reminded me of the old pictures I’ve seen of hundreds of people crammed into the record shop located across the street from Roberts.

The host of last night’s show was Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. Rhonda’s band members have changed over the years but her sound remains steeped in traditional bluegrass and country music. Steel guitar great Mike Johnson sat in last night to add his sound to some of the country tunes performed like Connie Smith’s classic “Once A Day.” Grand Ole Opry star George Hamilton IV made a guest appearance accompanied by the number one country singer from Poland Michael Lonestar. Robert’s owner and Brazilbilly bandleader Jesse Lee Jones opened the show with the western classic “Cattle Call.” WSM TV’s morning traffic girl Jennifer Herron served as announcer pitching the record shops latest sale items. The show was broadcast on radio station WSM AM-650 and has been since 1947 and to internet viewers all over the world in HD thanks to the TriCaster. It was fun and a bit crazy to set up in this crowded honk tonk but the crowd didn’t seem to mind at all.

Rhonda Vincent at the Midnight Jamboree

It was neat to see this 67 year old radio show in a different location with a capacity crowd, in the middle of a festival that is mostly centered around today’s modern country music while thousands tuned in by radio and online to hear traditional country music. It just felt right!

David McCormick (Owner of Midnight Jamboree), Philip Nelson, Rhonda Vincent & Mike Manning (Country Music Hall of Fame)