Indianapolis Star (Nov. 28th 2004)

Music cities, USA musicians cite their favorite places to perform

The day-to-day life of a touring musician has been described as the inside of a darkened arena followed by the inside of a hotel room followed by the inside of a dressing room followed by the inside of darkened arena.

But the stars know one city from the next -- even if a Columbus, Ohio, audience occasionally hears an onstage greeting of, "Hello, Cleveland."

During the past year, The Star posed the following question to a variety of artists:

"What's America's best city for music?"

Musicians responded with examples of inspiration, gratitude and energy they've drawn from their homes away from home.

Blake Shelton makes an unapologetically predictable choice of Nashville, Tenn.

"I'm a hardcore country music fan, and that's the heart of it all," he says.

Raised in Oklahoma, Shelton issued his third album, "Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill," in October.

He says life in "Music City USA" is different before and after an artist breaks through with hits such as his "Austin" and "The Baby."

"I think it's more of a struggle to stay once you have those couple of hits," he says. "The hardest thing is to keep the success.

"Before it happens, you have no baggage. You're somebody who has all the potential in the world. Once you start having some success, then you have to find some way to build on it."