This weekend was a busy one for the music industry everywhere, with the CIAA basketball tournament in Charlotte, Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, Ocean Springs, Mobile and a number of other coastal cities, and two urban music conferences in Memphis, the Southern Entertainment Awards and the Mid-South Radio and Records Conference.
The SEA’s continued at the Cook Convention Center, with panels and the opening of the exhibit hall, and then at noon, the Mid-South Radio and Records Conference got under way a few blocks away at the Doubletree Hotel. The honored guest at this year’s conference was Al Bell, former CEO of Stax Records, and current chairman of the board of the Memphis Music Foundation. Other notable guests included Ruby Wilson, James Alexander of the Bar-Kays, Toni Green, Skip Cheatham (former program director of Dallas’ K-104), and Melvin “A-Cookin'” Jones.
Saturday night, despite the cold, rainy weather, SEA attendees enjoyed the Welcome 2 Memphis Kickoff Party at the Minglewood Hall, sponsored by Memphis promoter Ty Sanders.
The Frontline 