Kenny Chesney and John Rich Give Local Bands a Break





Music reality shows like Nashville Star, Gone Country, Can you Duet and GAC Star are popular right now. According to country music starsandthere is room for a couple more and they're just the two guys to make it happen.

Kenny is calling his show The Big Star Competition. Local bands will try out to open for Chesney's show. Kenny is taking the local approach and looking for opening acts to perform during his 2008 Poets & Pirates Tour. There will be several talent contests where bands can audition. The finale will put one of those bands in a tour bus for a week and they will open at his shows in St. Louis, Indianapolis and Tulsa. The winner will also get $25,000 and a chance to audition for Sony BMG Nashville executives.

John Rich has a different idea with his show Get Rich, a talent search held at the Nashville club 12th & Porter. John is partnering up with Charlie Pennachio to look over submissions and choose 10 acts to perform monthly in front of a panel of judges. Each monthly winner will get $300 and a chance to be on the next month's show. Rich had this to say:



Anytime I see an artist out there struggling and I can do something to help them, why wouldn't I do that? The bigger the business gets, the better it is for everybody. I take personal satisfaction in knowing that I had a hand in helping other people's careers."

It sounds like a golden opportunity for some small town bands to get a shot at the big time.