Front and Center

Front and Center is an American television series that aired on public television in 2012, presented by PBS member station WLIW.^[1] The series was originally called Front Row Center and was developed by the producers of Soundstage.^[2] The show features Grammy Award winners, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, chart topping artists, and emerging artists.^[3] Front and Center profiles some of the music world's better known artists and combines behind the scenes interviews with intimate performances.^[4]

In 2014, Front and Center joined with the Country Music Association (CMA) to present two separate hour-long concert specials, featuring Nashville country artists. The first episode featured Lady Antebellum and the second was a 10th Anniversary CMA Songwriters Series celebration and featured Dierks Bentley, joined by songwriters Jim Beavers, Ross Copperman, Brett James and Jon Randall.^[5] The idea came to fruition when Don Maggi, executive producer of Front and Center, paid a visit to one of the Songwriter Sessions in New York City at Joe's Pub, featuring Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn alongside several songwriters. "Hearing the passion and the stories that surround [the songs] was something that captured us and, for lack of a better word, was so real," Maggi told Rolling Stone Country, "That's something that we always try to capture on Front and Center."^[6]