Beside interviewing country stars, I am frequently asked to write portraits of acts in view of an upcoming festival gig. Also, some promoters like to have their festival previewed or reviewed. And sometimes it's just to present an organization, venue or company in order to bring more information to the readers.

So, here's some of what has piled up in recent years. You might be interested in reading one or the other story.

Festivals

Switzerland has a great Country Music scene with many big festivals throughout the year. Many of these events attract each year some of the world's biggest names in Country Music. Examples are:

The World's longest Country Music Festival, which takes place annually in Zurich in February / March and runs for 39 days.

Then there is the biggest weekend party in the Bernese Alps called the Trucker- & Country Festival in Interlaken.

For more than 20 years, the Schupfart Festival hosts a Country Night every year in September.

Also going strong for more than twenty years is the West Fest (formerly known as Westernball) in Central Switzerland.

Switzerland's french speaking part has also a great event. The Lancy En Fete runs for four days in June.

Then there's the prestigeous Country Night Gstaad, a 3-day festival in midst of the Bernese High Society every September.

Some other big events, such as the Grindelwald Festival, Frutigen Singer/Songwriter Festival or the Hallenstadion Festival in Zurich have disappeared over the years.

Organizations / Honky Tonks / Record Labels

Without organizations and event halls around the world, country music would not have the platform it deserves to get the message from the artists to the fans.

There's the CMA, the Country Music Association. At the occasion of the organization's 40th birthday, I had written a trilogy about CMA, the CMA Awards and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

And then there are honky tonks and dancehalls that fulfill their duty by bringing fans and artists together. Some of them are portrayed here too.

Record Labels these days are going "global". Hardly a month without merger news. However, there are some, that do it their way, such as Arizona based Comstock Records, the Texas label Compadre Records, Bluesprings Music Group in Alabama or Smith Music Group in Fort Worth and Nashville.

Artists, organizations, labels and venues:
(homepage links here - for reading the portraits click register cards above)

A to C

Albisgütli Festival; Lynn August; Bellamy Brothers; Stephanie Bentley;
Billy Bob's Texas; Clint Black; Bremgarten Country Night; Chad Brock;
Broken Spoke; Burrito Deluxe; Canadian Country Music; Carlene Carter;
Deana Carter; June Carter Cash; Mark Chesnutt; CMA (Country Music Association); CMA Fan Fair; Compadre Records;
The Old Coupland Inn And Dancehall; Cowboy's Nightmare

D to F

Buddy Dee; Dielsdorf Trucker-Treffen

G to I

Jimmie Dale Gilmore; Tammy Graham; Grunderinseli Bluegrass Festival; Grindelwald Swiss Alps Country Music Festival;
Grindelwald Swiss Alps Country Fun Fair;
Interlaken Trucker- & Country Festival

J to L

Suzanne Klee; Lancy Country Festival

M to O

Reba McEntire; Midnight Rodeo Amarillo;
John Michael Montgomery; Lorrie Morgan;
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

P to R

Ronna Reeves; Margo Rochelle; Russikon Country Weekend;

S to U

Brady Seals; Smith Music Group;
George Strait; Texas International Apple Festival; Texas Music Awards 2009; Top Rail Ballroom

V to W

Warner Western Records; Jennifer Weatherly; Werkstall Music Venue;
Hank Williams III; Lee Ann Womack

X to Z

Trisha Yearwood