The character name 'Connie Black' is a tip of the hat to Robert Altman's Nashville (1975), in which Karen Black memorably portrayed a country-western queen named Connie White, which, in turn, was an homage to Opry icon Lynn Anderson.
Another nod to Nashville (1975) is the character of Hunter Hamilton, "the king of country," apparently an appropriation of Henry Gibson's character in the Altman film, Haven Hamilton.