Did anyone catch the first episode of CMT’s new reality program “Gone Country” on Sunday evening?  I happened on it by accident and I don’t usually watch much of CMT, because the channel typically has nothing to do with music anymore.  Same for MTV.  And many reality shows are junk.

I was engaged by the concept and ended up watching the entire hour, half of which was terrible advertising (that will be blog rant later, trust me).  I like that the show has welcomed individuals of diverse musical styles and cultural backgrounds.  On the other hand, this show could end up being a train wreck.  Either way, entertaining.

There are a few good things going on here:  John Rich is a pretty decent host, Nashville is being shown off in a good light (so far), and the audience is being introduced to some heavyweight Music Row songwriters.  There are also a couple of not so good things going on:  Another contrived reality show and the messages it sends about the current state of the country music format.  It will be interesting to see where the show goes and how the industry will react, if at all.  I don’t know if I will plan to watch every episode, but I’m intrigued by it.

Check it out or Tivo it (so you can miss the barrage of ads).  CMT is actually doing a show with music, so that in itself is worthwhile.  But do yourself a favor and please stay away from the ridiculous “My Redneck Wedding” that follows.  That does none of us any good.