Nashville, TN (FULLY DRESSED COMMUNICATIONS) - For Nashville event planners, CMA week is clearly the Super Bowl of partying in
Music City. While it's a chance for the music industry to gather and celebrate its accomplishments, from performing rights organizations ASCAP, BMI and SESAC to all the major record labels and publishers, it's also an opportunity for the town's top event planners to strut their stuff in front of a who's-who of musicians, music-business decision-makers and influential members of the media.
Randi Lesnick, president of Hospitality Consultants and Nashville's 'Party Planner to the Stars,' has been dealing with the pressure of this week for ten years. There's never a dull moment for the Franklin, TN resident, and this year's post-CMA bashes will include Lesnick-designed events for Lyric Street Records, Warner Brothers Records and a joint-event for Big Machine Records and Equity Records - all in one night.
'I'm busy all year long,' says Lesnick, who was recently profiled in The Tennessean. 'But CMA week is definitely crunch time in my office. Every client's requirements are different, and every event has to capture that client's unique vision and aesthetic. This is the music industry's week to celebrate, from the people who run the companies to the artists they represent, and it's my job to make sure they all have a good time.'
Making sure artists like Faith Hill, Little Big Town and Jack Ingram enjoy themselves at their respective parties might fluster the average event planner, but for Lesnick it's familiar territory. She's designed events honoring some of Music City's biggest stars, like Tim McGraw, Wynonna, Shania Twain and Reba McIntire, and she's worked with some of the town's top entertainment names, like Leadership Music's Pat Embry, Lyric Street's Doug Howard and William Morris's Greg Oswald.
'Sometimes the person who hires an event planner, whether it's the head of the event committee or the president of the company, has a hard time enjoying the event themselves because they are worried about so many things details, ' says Lesnick. 'Whether it's a wedding or a corporate entertainment event, we always assure our clients that they'll be able to go to the party and experience it like one of the guests.'
As far as who she's rooting for at this year's County Music Association Awards, Lesnick isn't revealing much. 'I love them all,' she says. 'They're all so talented and work so hard. Whether they win or lose, when they walk through the door to one of my events, they'll be treated like the Entertainer of the Year.'
The Country Music Association Awards take place on Monday, November 6 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville.
