Brent Adams, president and owner of Rural Strong Media, recently served as the host for the Country Music Association (CMA) of Texas Awards Show October 18, 2023, in Lubbock, Texas.
Adams has been involved with the country music industry for several years. He spent time working as a publicist for independent music artists before he began his career in farm broadcasting. He noticed several country music singers were being overlooked due to their more traditional approaches to the genre.
“The format of the music started changing a lot during that time, and I saw so many good artists miss their shots,” Adams said. “If they had been singing a decade earlier, they probably would have been big stars. I knew there was an audience in rural America that needed and wanted to hear this music.”
The idea of Rural Strong Media was born, and his goal was to pave the way for these underdog artists and provide a voice for agriculture.
“We use our platform of country music to get the message of agriculture into places where it might not be heard or received,” Adams said. “We’re focused on everything from ag news, ag policy, agronomy, and animal health; and we mix that with traditional country music. It differentiates us from other stations.”
His work in agricultural media caught the attention of the CMA of Texas, and they invited him to serve as the host of this year’s award show. Adams excitedly accepted the invitation.
“It was humbling to host a full-scale award show, and there were so many great artists there that night,” Adams said. “It was an honor to be involved with so many great people and such a fantastic organization.”
CMA of Texas recognized Adams’s company with the CMA of Texas Media Award. Adams plans to continue his hosting career with appearances at events such as the Cowtown Birthplace of Western Swing Festival, which was held last month.
With nearly three decades of media industry experience under his belt, Adams feels he made the right decision when he joined the farm-broadcasting community.
“I was a latecomer to this industry, but it feels like home,” Adams said. “I want to spend the rest of my career here because agriculture is such an important story to tell. That’s why I created my company, and I want to help people tell their own stories better.”
