Today's Country Tidbits

It was such a hit last year that it'll happen again tomorrow night. During the ABC broadcast of "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock," several country artists will be tweeting their observations and behind-the-scenes stories. Be sure to be following Julianne Hough (@JulianneHough), Lady Antebellum( @ladyantebellum), Reba (@Reba), Tim McGraw (@TimMcGrawArtist), Blake Shelton (@BlakeShelton), Keith Urban (@KeithUrban), and Zac Brown Band (@ZacBrownBand) on Twitter for the CMA Tweet-N-Greet tomorrow night from 8-11 eastern.

Some of the CMA nominations were announced today, and Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum have the early lead. In three categories, Miranda is competing with herself - for single of the year, song of the year and for music video of the year, she's nominated for "The House That Built Me" and "White Liar." Here are the nominations announced this morning. The rest will be revealed tomorrow morning on Good Morning America.

New Artist

Luke Bryan

Easton Corbin

Jerrod Niemann

Chris Young

Zac Brown Band

Vocal Group

Lady Antebellum

Little Big Town

Rascal Flatts

The Band Perry

Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo

Brooks & Dunn

Joey & Rory

Montgomery Gentry

Steel Magnolia

Sugarland

Single of the Year

(Award goes to artist and producer.)

"A Little More Country Than That"

Easton Corbin

Producer: Carson Chamberlain

"Hillbilly Bone"

Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

Producer: Scott Hendricks

"Need You Now"

Lady Antebellum

Producers: Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

"The House That Built Me"

Miranda Lambert

Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

"White Liar"

Miranda Lambert

Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

Song of the Year

(Award goes to songwriter.)

"A Little More Country Than That"

Songwriters: Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress and Wynn Varble

"Need You Now"

Songwriters: Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Josh Kear

"The House That Built Me"

Songwriters: Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin

"Toes"

Songwriters: Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins and Shawn Mullins

"White Liar"

Songwriters: Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby

Music Video

(Award goes to artist and director.)

"Hillbilly Bone"

Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

Director: Roman White

"Need You Now"

Lady Antebellum

Director: David McClister

"The House That Built Me"

Miranda Lambert

Director: Trey Fanjoy

"Water"

Brad Paisley

Director: Jim Shea

"White Liar"

Miranda Lambert

Director: Chris Hickey

Musician

Paul Franklin -- Steel Guitar

Dann Huff -- Guitar

Brent Mason -- Guitar

Mac McAnally -- Guitar

Randy Scruggs -- Guitar

The show will air live November 10th and will be hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.

And now we know why Robin Roberts was at the Brad Paisley stadium show in Massachussetts - footage from that will be part of her pre-CMA Award special, "In The Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville." Featured along with Brad Paisley will be Carrie Underwood and an inside peek at the homes of some of country's biggest stars. The special airs November 9th, the night before the CMA's.

Zac Brown Band has a new cd coming out, and here's what they have to say about it, straight from the horses' mouths!

Daniel Pritzker wrote the hit song "Lover, Lover." Jerrod Niemann took the song to the top spot on the country charts, and Daniel was very appreciative. How appreciative? So much so that he gave Jerrod the guitar that "Lover, Lover" was written on - a 1957 Gibson J-185 guitar, very vintage and very valuable. Jerrod quipped, "I said, 'Thank you,' and 'Are you crazy?' I do not deserve this guitar. If he asks for it back, I'd definitely give to him because it's just that awesome of a guitar. But in the meantime, I'm going to be picking and grinning and giggling and whatever else you do with a guitar that is worth more than your car."

Trace Adkins will have a double-disc greatest hits package out this fall. Look for "The Definitive Greatest Hits: Til The Last Shot's Fired" on October 12th.

If you either missed Taylor Swift's half-hour special and her video premier last Friday night or you just want to see it again, you're in luck - CMT has the full episode on line.

Congrats to Blake Shelton, whose "All About Tonight" is #1 again for the third week in a row. Oh, and that part of the song about red Gatorade being a hangover cure? Blake says it really works, and I'm guessing he'd know!

Merle Haggard is on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, and Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert are on Good Morning America tomorrow, announcing the CMA nominees. Then tomorrow night, it's "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" on ABC.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "Found out 2day that there really is no way 2 b glamorous while n the dr.s office getting a physical. Starting w/ all the questions..not cute"

Today's Country Tidbits

Toby Keith has taken his songwriting high-tech. He used to write with pen and paper, then with a digital voice recorder, which he lost often. Now he uses his iPhone, where he claims to have an entire library filled with completed songs and song ideas. He jokes that he carries a gun to protect his iPhone!

At some point this week, the producers of American Idol are expected to announce the judges for the upcoming season. Randy Jackson - probably. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith fame - probably. Shania Twain - probably, though she's keeping the lowest profile about it. But last week, Jason Owen announced his departure from the Senior Vice President's spot at Universal Music Group to become Shania Twain's new manager. If that's not gas on a fire I don't know what is!

Wanna own a dress that Reba wore on the CMT Awards? She's donated one to charity and the eBay auction is on now. There's still over 3 days to go before the auction closes, so if you've got some bucks to spare and you're a Reba fan, here's your shot!

In Nashville baby-boom news, Josh Turner and his wife Jennifer have discovered that their third child will be a boy, like his older siblings Hampton and Colby. Their son is due late this year or early 2011. Here's the clip of Josh Turner co-hosing the Today show last Friday morning.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And while we're in a video mood, here's Taylor Swift's video for "Mine," which premiered Friday night.

Friday night in Washington state, Keith Urban and Dave Mayer hit the stage and wowed the crowd with their guitar antics.

Think this was a rowdy crowd? Friday night at Montgomery/Gentry's concert, the venue sold out of beer and Jim Beam!

Kenny Chesney's football documentary aired on ESPN yesterday afternoon. Did you see it? It got rave reviews, and was a great tease for the dvd, which is scheduled for a November release.

Here's an early reminder - the three-hour CMA Music Festival special hosted by Tim McGraw airs Wednesday night from 8-11 eastern on ABC. "Country's Night to Rock" features the best performances from the CMA Music Festival, and includes a private, super-secret performance of Taylor Swift's "Mine," done at her marathon autograph signing session.

Happy birthday to Kitty Wells, who turns 91 today.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Quote of the day.... "Wouldn't you rather be motorboatin' than showboatin'?!!!" - Miranda Lambert"

Today's Country Tidbits

Toby Keith has taken his songwriting high-tech. He used to write with pen and paper, then with a digital voice recorder, which he lost often. Now he uses his iPhone, where he claims to have an entire library filled with completed songs and song ideas. He jokes that he carries a gun to protect his iPhone!

At some point this week, the producers of American Idol are expected to announce the judges for the upcoming season. Randy Jackson - probably. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith fame - probably. Shania Twain - probably, though she's keeping the lowest profile about it. But last week, Jason Owen announced his departure from the Senior Vice President's spot at Universal Music Group to become Shania Twain's new manager. If that's not gas on a fire I don't know what is!

Wanna own a dress that Reba wore on the CMT Awards? She's donated one to charity and the eBay auction is on now. There's still over 3 days to go before the auction closes, so if you've got some bucks to spare and you're a Reba fan, here's your shot!

In Nashville baby-boom news, Josh Turner and his wife Jennifer have discovered that their third child will be a boy, like his older siblings Hampton and Colby. Their son is due late this year or early 2011. Here's the clip of Josh Turner co-hosing the Today show last Friday morning.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And while we're in a video mood, here's Taylor Swift's video for "Mine," which premiered Friday night.

Friday night in Washington state, Keith Urban and Dave Mayer hit the stage and wowed the crowd with their guitar antics.

Think this was a rowdy crowd? Friday night at Montgomery/Gentry's concert, the venue sold out of beer and Jim Beam!

Kenny Chesney's football documentary aired on ESPN yesterday afternoon. Did you see it? It got rave reviews, and was a great tease for the dvd, which is scheduled for a November release.

Here's an early reminder - the three-hour CMA Music Festival special hosted by Tim McGraw airs Wednesday night from 8-11 eastern on ABC. "Country's Night to Rock" features the best performances from the CMA Music Festival, and includes a private, super-secret performance of Taylor Swift's "Mine," done at her marathon autograph signing session.

Happy birthday to Kitty Wells, who turns 91 today.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Quote of the day.... "Wouldn't you rather be motorboatin' than showboatin'?!!!" - Miranda Lambert"

Today's Country Tidbits

Carrie and Brad are a couple again - at the CMA Awards, that is. The two of them will co-host the awards show for the third year in a row, live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on November 10th. The nominees will be revealed next Tuesday and Wednesday mornings on ABC's Good Morning America.

Billy Currington got to live a dream while recording his upcoming cd, "Enjoy Yourself." He took the title seriously, moving the recording session to Key West when Jimmy Buffett's Shrimpboat Sound Studios became available. He would go from the beach to the studios, then back to the beach. Nice work if you can get it!

More news from the Nashville baby boom - Zac Brown and his wife Shelley are expecting their 4th daughter early next year. Justice, Lucy and Georgia are the other three girls. Hope Zac at least has a boy dog in the house - he's way outnumbered!

Kenny Chesney stopped by his old high school on Wednesday to give the students a sneak-peek of his documentary, "The Boys of Fall." A one-hour version will air Sunday afternoon at 2 eastern on ESPN.

Trisha Yearwood co-hosted the Today show yesterday morning, and in case you missed it, here she is!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This morning, Josh Turner co-hosts the Today show, Lady Antebellum plays the Good Morning America summer concert series, and tonight, it's the big premier of Taylor Swift's video for her new song, "Mine," on all of the music channels starting at 8 eastern. Can't wait til then? Here's a sneak-peek at the video.

And here's a behind-the-scenes look at it.

Happy birthday to Jeff Cook of Alabama today and Shania Twain tomorrow.

The tweet of the day happened at 4:22 this morning, and is from David Nail: "So the countdown is underway for the fall tour with @ladyantebellum! So blessed for this, so lucky, so many other adjectives! Goodnite!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Carrie and Brad are a couple again - at the CMA Awards, that is. The two of them will co-host the awards show for the third year in a row, live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on November 10th. The nominees will be revealed next Tuesday and Wednesday mornings on ABC's Good Morning America.

Billy Currington got to live a dream while recording his upcoming cd, "Enjoy Yourself." He took the title seriously, moving the recording session to Key West when Jimmy Buffett's Shrimpboat Sound Studios became available. He would go from the beach to the studios, then back to the beach. Nice work if you can get it!

More news from the Nashville baby boom - Zac Brown and his wife Shelley are expecting their 4th daughter early next year. Justice, Lucy and Georgia are the other three girls. Hope Zac at least has a boy dog in the house - he's way outnumbered!

Kenny Chesney stopped by his old high school on Wednesday to give the students a sneak-peek of his documentary, "The Boys of Fall." A one-hour version will air Sunday afternoon at 2 eastern on ESPN.

Trisha Yearwood co-hosted the Today show yesterday morning, and in case you missed it, here she is!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This morning, Josh Turner co-hosts the Today show, Lady Antebellum plays the Good Morning America summer concert series, and tonight, it's the big premier of Taylor Swift's video for her new song, "Mine," on all of the music channels starting at 8 eastern. Can't wait til then? Here's a sneak-peek at the video.

And here's a behind-the-scenes look at it.

Happy birthday to Jeff Cook of Alabama today and Shania Twain tomorrow.

The tweet of the day happened at 4:22 this morning, and is from David Nail: "So the countdown is underway for the fall tour with @ladyantebellum! So blessed for this, so lucky, so many other adjectives! Goodnite!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Yesterday in Nashville, Brad Paisley and Jimmy Dickens were part of history. They placed the circle of pine stage from the original Ryman stage into the Grand Ole Opry House stage, symbolizing the continuity of country music through the decades. Brad Paisley brought his guitar, and everyone joined in for a rendition of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." The Grand Ole Opry House will be ready for a show on September 28th, and country music's biggest stars are lining up to celebrate. The work of cleaning and rebuilding after the flood is nearly done, and Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry, Charlie Daniels Band, and more country stars will be on hand to perform in the circle. Tickets are on sale now for the Grand Ole Opry homecoming show.

Zac Brown Band has made it even easier for you to send a letter to a service member overseas. The Letters for Lyrics campaign has moved online, and it's easy for you to invite friends to participate, too. Write a letter, get the free ZBB compilation, Breaking Southern Ground, or you can have the cd sent to a soldier. More information, along with the 6th installment of the band's documentary, "For Those Who Serve," is online, too.

Blake Shelton's having a great week. Not only is he celebrating having the #1 album last week and the #1 song for two weeks in a row, he also had fiancée Miranda Lambert join him onstage for their duet, "Dragging the River." Look at the love on that man's face in this video!

Did you miss John Rich co-hosting the Today Show yesterday? Here he is now!

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Trisha Yearwood was today's co-host, and Josh Turner co-hosts the Today show tomorrow. Luke Bryan is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight. Little Big Town plays the Good Morning America summer concert series tomorrow morning, and here's a TiVO alert - Kenny Chesney's documentary, "The Boys of Fall," has been whittled down to a one-hour feature that will air on ESPN Sunday afternoon at 2 eastern. The full-length documentary is due out on DVD in November.

Blake Shelton will be the focus of a GAC special airing on September 8th. Called "Blake Shelton Live: It's All About Tonight," it will feature Blake onstage and behind the scenes. Knowing Blake, there'll be some outrageous stuff on that show!

Congrats to Trace Adkins, who's "Cowboy's Back in Town" is the number 1 country album this week. It's Trace's 4th #1 album and his first for Show Dog-Universal, Toby Keith's record label.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "The circle is back in place at the Opryhouse. And the world is right."

Today's Country Tidbits

James and Amy Otto's daughter, Ava Katherine, made her arrival just before midnight last night. As he was touring with Toby Keith and Trace Adkins, he tweeted that he feared he wouldn't get home in time to be there when she was born. Plenty of time, James...he got home Sunday, and his first child was born late Tuesday.

Randy Travis will celebrate 25 years in country music by releasing a duets cd, featuring songs with Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson and Josh Turner. Randy notes that he and Carrie had great success with their first duet, "I Told You So," but haven't decided which song to do for their second. No release date for the project has been announced yet.

The annual Charlie Daniels Band & Friends concert, a benefit for Christmas 4 Kids, will happen on November 22nd at the Ryman in Nashville. Joining CDB will be Montgomery Gentry, Jake Owen and Sawyer Brown. Tickets are available September 1st for fan club members and September 15th for everyone else.

Darius Rucker's video for "Comeback Song" is on CMT and it's here, too.

Darius Rucker More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Martina McBride will be part of the huge "Stand Up to Cancer" 17-network telethon on September 10th. She'll perform with Natasha Bedingfield, Queen Latifah, Aaron Neville and Dave Stewart. The all-star musical collaboration will be led by Stevie Wonder and will air at 8pm eastern time.

Did you miss Martina McBride co-hosting the Today show yesterday morning? Never fear - here she is.

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John Rich got the co-host chair today, Trisha Yearwood gets it tomorrow and Josh Turner co-hosts the Today show Friday. In other tv-country star news, Little Big Town will be on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning and Luke Bryan will wrap up the day on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Did you ever want a sneak-peek into Reba's bedroom? She's designing bedding for Dillard's now, and tweeted that she likes the new Gramercy Park line so much, she's got it in her own bedroom.

The country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is about to have a growth spurt. A $250 expansion will include a hotel built by Omni Hotels & Resorts, and an expansion of the museum. It will connect to the new Music City Convention Center, which is already under construction. It's all scheduled to open in 2013.

Congrats to Blake Shelton, who has the #1 song in the country for the second week in a row with "All About Tonight."

Happy birthday to Billy Ray Cyrus and Jo Dee Messina today.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Honored 2 be @ Opryhouse refurbed circle of wood reinstalling. The circle is unbroken. Well unless yours truly trips carrying it..."

Today's Country Tidbits

One of the hottest tours out there this summer is Sugarland with Little Big Town. One of the songs they do together is "Walkin' In Memphis." Wonder what it looks like when singers are working up who will sing what and how? Wonder no more.

If summer didn't feel like summer to you this year, maybe it's because Kenny Chesney didn't tour. Never fear - he's already planning his 2011 tour schedule. There's a 3-D rendering of his stage set on his computer that he can look at from all angles, he's planning on doing at least 60 shows, including stadium tours, and will include a healthy dose of songs from his upcoming cd, "Hemingway's Whiskey," due out September 28th.

The release date is no longer a secret - Jason Aldean's "My Kinda Party" will drop on November 2nd. It's his fourth studio album, featuring 15 songs, a duet with Kelly Clarkson and a little bit of rap influence in "Dirt Road Anthem."

Walking 1700 miles sure gives you a lot of time to think, and apparently Jimmy Wayne was thinking about writing a book. Along the walk, he took time out to sign a book deal, and he's currently working with co-author Travis Thrasher on "Paper Angels," a book inspired by his childhood in and out of the foster care system. It's due out next fall. He's also in talks to have his road journal published, mis-spellings, cross-outs, ink blobs and all.

Carrie Underwood is on the current issue of WebMD magazine, which can be found in most doctors' offices. If you're healthy as a horse, you can read the article here.

Now here's an interesting pairing - Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah will co-star in a movie about gospel music. The two will play strong-minded women who are forced to work together to save a small-town gospel choir. According to Dolly, "I'm sure we'll have our fun behind the scenes." The movie, "Joyfun Noise," will start filming in January and will feature songs Dolly has written just for the project.

Did you miss Blake Shelton co-hosting the Today show yesterday? Here he is now.

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Today was Martina McBride's turn, and tomorrow John Rich will be in the co-host seat. And tomorrow, Little Big Town will be on Good Morning America.

Congrats to Luke Bryan, who's "Rain is a Good Thing" has been certified gold.

Faith Hill is doing a free concert in New Orleans today in remembrance of Hurricane Katrina. Today is the 5th anniversary of the disaster, which destroyed the Mahalia Jackson Theatre. It's been re-built and is the site of today's show.

In a countdown to his new album, you can get a new track from Jamey Johnson's "The Guitar Song" each week from iTunes, then on the release date, simply choose the "complete my album" option and you can buy the rest of the tracks on the double-disc set. This week, "Playing the Part" is the featured song.

New music in stores today from Little Big Town. "The Reason Why" is their 3rd studio album and it features their current hit, "Little White Church." Randy Rogers Band and Marty Stuart also have new projects out today.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Well my fiancé did a fine job on Today. Hoda...you are a good woman for putting up with him.:) see what I deal with!!!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Saturday night, Brad Paisley headlined a huge, sold-out country music stadium festival in Foxboro, Massachussetts. Along with Brad were Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker, Miranda Lambert and Easton Corbin. The show was smokin' hot, and the concert reviews were uniformly glowing. Robin Roberts of Good Morning America showed up, film crew in tow, so some of it will end up on tv, no doubt. Many people think of country music as a "southern thing" or a "midwestern thing" but New England proved that country music fans are everywhere.

Reba and George Strait are about to take their show out on the road again. Next month, they'll embark on a short tour that takes them into some of the country's top arenas, and Reba remembers 40 years ago, when her shows didn't reach quite so many people. “I was on a flatbed truck doing two shows for the same 78 people. So to be in an arena filled with people is a wonderful thing. When you walk out there and hear that audience screaming and clapping and having a wonderful time, it’s great!”

Miranda Lambert will be out with a six-song acoustic dvd, "Revolution: Live by Candlelight" on October 12th. It'll include performances of her favorite songs from "Revolution" and the stories behind the songs. Amazon.com has it available for pre-preorder now.

Congrats to Blake Shelton for topping both the album and single charts last week with "All About Tonight."

The Today Show goes country this week. Blake Shelton co-hosts the 4th hour today, Martina McBride tomorrow, John Rich on Wednesday, Trisha Yearwood Thursday and Josh Turner takes the seat on Friday.

Tonight on CMT, Miranda Lambert's "Invitation Only" episode premiers. She sings all of her fan favorites, and a few of her own favorites, too. And Willie Nelson performs on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Blake Shelton's tip of the week... If you don't think you're insecure, then why do you insist that you're not?"

Today's Country Tidbits

Brad Paisley is playing his first stadium show tomorrow night at Gillette Stadium near Boston. When the show went on sale in January, 50,000 tickets sold out in less than six hours. More tickets have been made available and you can get them while they last at Brad's website.

Put on your golf togs and get set to go to Vegas to see Lady Antebellum perform on "Justin Timberlake and Friends - A Special evening Benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children." The concert is on October 23rd at the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, and concert passes get you in to the final round of the PGA Tour tournament held in conjunction with the show. A pre-sale for American Express card-holders is going on now, and tickets for everyone else go on sale tomorrow morning.

He's had two 6-paks and now Blake Shelton is ready for...a 15-pak? Yep, in November, Blake will release a Greatest Hits album with 15 tracks, including everything from "The Baby" to "Hillbilly Bone." This first greatest hits package will cover his first 11 years of country music hits.

Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" has it's own pre-order site, chock-full of all sorts of Taylor fun, like a Twitter stream, videos and a way to get a wake-up call from Taylor herself. Ok, so it's a recording...it'll still be Talor Swift's voice calling you!

Kenny Chesney's "Hemingway's Whiskey" deluxe edition is truly deluxe. First of all, it's a cd/dvd set which includes bonus tracks and an extra half hour of video, including Kenny discussing the stories behind each of the songs, in-studio video of the recording of "You and Tequila" with Grace Potter. The cd streets September 28th, and I'll let you know when they're ready for you to pre-order.

In other Kenny news, it looks like his long-time girlfriend, Amy Colley, might be his ex. Kenny Chesney was spotted in Cancun vacationing with ESPN college football reporter Jenn Brown, and apparently the two looked pretty cozy.

Tickets are on sale today for the Hank Williams Jr., Gretchen Wilson and Lee Brice concert in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It's designed to help promote tourism in an area largely unaffected by the oil spill, but hugely affected by a drop in summer vacationers. Tickets are $25 for the Saturday, September 25th show at The Wharf's Amphitheater.

Jake Owen has done something to his right arm. He posted a photo of what looked like his arm, broken just below the elbow, saying he was headed to the ER. But representatives from his label just say it's swollen due to too much wake-boarding. But he's on prescription pain killers, meaning that "just swollen" is probably not quite the whole truth. Nonetheless, he's giving a show tonight in South Dakota - should be interesting to see if he's in a cast or can play guitar.

Trisha Yearwood has been invited to be part of the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival on October 9th. She'll be cooking up something wonderful from her latest cookbook. Wanna go? You can get tickets, and the proceeds benefit the Food Bank of New York City and Share Our Strength.

Wanna see a concert this weekend but don't want to go out in the heat and thunderstorms? Cozy up to your computer tomorrow night and catch Lee Brice's hometown concert, live from Charleston, SC, at 9pm eastern time.

This morning, Keith Urban hit the Today show and Trace Adkins appeared on Fox & Friends. Tomorrow night at 7 eastern, Darius Rucker performs on Jimmie Jam on the Speed Channel. And on Monday, Blake Shelton co-hosts the Today Show with Hoda Kotb.

The tweet of the day is from James Otto: "Think about this, we drug test our athletes but not the people who run our country. How messed up is that?"

Today's Country Tidbits

The next chapter in Taylor Swift's songbook is due out on October 25th. Called "Speak Now, Taylor

describes the album ths way: "These songs are made up of words I didn’t say when the moment was right in front of me. These songs are open

letters. Each is written with a specific person in mind, telling them what I meant to tell them in person." The cover art was unveiled yesterday, and the video for "Mine" debuts on CMT, MTV, VH1 and MTV International on August 27th, at the same time on all of the networks. What time? 9pm eastern.

Part 4 of Zac Brown's "For Those Who Serve" documentary is available now. Go watch it, but don't forget to write a letter of appreciation to a US soldier while you're there.

CMT.com has Reba's new video, "Turn On the Radio." And now, so do you!

Reba McEntire More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Congrats to Blake Shelton, who not only has the #1 country single this week, but also has the #1 country album with "All About Tonight."

Tuesday night, Blake Shelton was scheduled to be at the Grand Ole Opry, and he was. But the audience got a surprise - Miranda Lambert joined him onstage, too. As she left the stage, Blake told the audience, "That's my future wife." Tomorrow night, it won't be a surprise - both are scheduled to be performing at the Ryman Auditorium when the Opry originates from there.

Kid Rock has a new cd coming out on November 16th, and he's got some superstar help on it. Trace Adkins sing along on the track "Feels Good to Me" and Martina McBride duets on "Care." Kid says the title cut will be the first single, and it's all about how fortunate we all are to be born in a country that is free.

Trace Adkins was on the Today show this morning and will be on The O'Reilly Factor tonight at 8 and 10 eastern on Fox. Then tomorrow morning, catch him on Fox & Friends at 8am eastern.

Happy birthday to Eddy Raven, Lee Ann Womack and Clay Walker today.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "Emma told me she had 2take our trash in 4 for

sumthing they r doing n Soc. Studies. Lots of moms going thru their trash this am, no doubt!"

Today's Country Tidbits

How hot is Kenny Chesney? Not only did he break the record for first-week download sales of a song by a male country artist, he broke his own record. In 2009, his song "Out Last Night" sold more than 71,000 downloads in its first week. His latest song, "The Boys of Fall," sold over 82,000 downloads on it's first week. Kenny attributes the success to the time off he's taken: “I couldn’t have made the same record because I felt like it was time for the music to come first. Instead of trying to make a record and worry about where I was needed to be Thursday night and when I was gonna be able to get back in the studio and try to be creative again. I’d made a lot of records like that, the last four or five, and I didn’t want to do that anymore.”

Dierks Bentley's fifth annual Nashville Miles & Music for Kids motorcycle ride and concert will happen on October 17th this year. It starts at Harley Davidson of Columbia Tennessee and ends with a Riverfront Park concert featuring Dierks, Miranda Lambert, Jerrod Niemann and more. It's a benefit for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

Speaking of Jerrod, congrats to him - his first single, "Lover, Lover," has been certified gold.

Congrats to Blake Shelton, who has two #1 songs within a 5-month period. First it was "Hillbilly Bone" and now this week, his latest song, "All About Tonight," is #1 on the Billboard and Country Aircheck charts. That's a first for him, and he's really thrilled with fan response to his music. Will he rest on his laurels? Nope - “Because I feel like that’s a curse, if I stop and go ‘Hey, screw y’all..it’s goin’ good now’. Then, sure enough, you know, I’ll lose the game. “

Calling all Lady Antebellum fans. Check out iTunes for a seven-song EP from the trio, featuring unplugged versions of their hits and a cover of Tom Petty's "Learning to Fly."

It's almost time to find out who the CMA nominees will be this year, and as with last year, the process will take two days. On August 31st, Chris Young and Justin Moore will reveal some of them, with the help of Steel Magnolia. On September 1st, Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bently will be on Good Morning America during the 8:30 segment to reveal the rest of the nominees. The CMA Awards will be handed out on November 10th in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena, and ABC will carry the show.

Tomorrow morning, catch Trace Adkins on the Today show. He'll also be on the O'Reilly Factor on Fox tomorrow. If you watch "America's Got Talent" tonight on NBC, you'll see LeAnn Rimes performing "Swingin."

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Is is just me or do I have the hottest financy ever?"

Today's Country Tidbits

It was Friday the 13th, and there were about 13,000 tickets sold for a Lady Antebellum concert at the Illinois State Fair. Call it bad luck or just bad timing, but the show had to be cancelled due to a severe lightning storm. You know that wouldn't have happened to Taylor Swift, whose lucky number is 13!

It was Friday the 13th, and Dierks Bentley and his guitarist, Bryan Layson, wanted to see a Billy Idol concert. One problem - the show was sold out. First, Dierks approached crew members near Billy Idol's bus, asking them if they liked country music. "Nope" was the reply. He eventually convinced a security guard to let him and Bryan into the show. Afterwards, he tweeted, "Makes me appreciate all our fans go through to come to our shows." Um, no, Dierks, they usually plunk down some cash, too!

It was in Mississippi on Friday the 13th that Sugarland and Little Big Town hit the stage for another collaboration - this time, it's "Walking in Memphis."

Mike Fisher and Carrie Underwood, whose last name is now legally Fisher, are building a home just outside of Ottowa so they have a place of their own to live in during hockey season. Apparently Mike's great at interior design and the house should be ready for them to move into some time next month.

Blake Shelton's new 6-pak, "All About Tonight," includes the song "Draggin' the River." When Miranda Lambert heard it, just as with "The House That Built Me," she asked Blake to let her record it. His reply? “I go, ‘What are you doing to me? No you’re not going to record that song. Are you kidding?’” About an hour later, she suggested that maybe they could do it as a duet. “Inside of that light bulb or that bubble in my head said, ‘Miranda Lambert Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, millions of fans.’ So I agreed to the duet in hopes that everybody who buys her millions of albums will buy my album.” Good plan, Blake!

The deluxe edition of Toby Keith's upcoming cd, "Bullets in the Gun," will include covers of some of his favorite country songs recorded when he played the Fillmore "Incognito Bandito" show in New York in June. Only a few hundred fans saw that show live, but the show was recorded for this project. Songs include Johnny Paycheck's "11 Months And 29 Days," Waylon Jennings' "I've Been A Long Time Leaving (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone)," Roger Miller's "Chug-A-Lug" and Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown." The cd drops October 5th.

New music out today from Trace Adkins. "Cowboy's Back in Town" is his debut album on Toby Keith's Show Dog-Universal record label. Also new today, Australian sister trio The McClymonts "Chaos and Bright Lights" and iCarly actress Jeanette McCurdy's "Not That Far Away" ep.

What do country stars have for lunch? Well, yesterday Jake Owen ordered a 2-pound hamburger at Big Judd's in Boise, Idaho. Via Twitter, he promised to work it off wakeboarding in the afternoon.

Check out Taylor Swift in the new People Magazine, talking about musical instruments, favorite sports and seaweed, among other things.

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "So the wife is watching Bachelorpad, however I can't force my self to watch such, therefore its me and Twitterland!" He spent the next couple of hours answering questions from followers and fans last night.

Today's Country Tidbits

Country music and social networking go together very nicely, thank you. There are ten country artists who have over a million Facebook fans - Reba, Taylor Swift, the late Johnny Cash, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts and the Zac Brown Band.

Reba's revealed the name of her next cd. It's called "All The Women I Am" and it streets on November 9th. What's life like for Reba, who's been having hit songs for over 30 years? “Narvel and I have so much fun out on the road touring. And then when we’re feeling a little tired and we need to recharge the batteries, we take off and see the world and do a little vacation. So this is a wonderful time in my life and I’m having a blast.”

In more Reba fun, you'll remember that her video shoot for "Turn on the Radio" was not just a long, hot day but also a long, stormy night. Reba chronicles it all for us in this behind-the-scenes video:

There'll be a very special guitar pull in Los Angeles on September 23rd. It'a benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame, and features Taylor Swift, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson and Lionel Ritchie. The evening includes a coctail reception and dinner. Get more info and tickets by calling 800-852-6437.

Dierks Bentley apparenlty has a problem with one of his ears. Early this morning, he tweeted, "the ER doctor this morning: "you have a big a## hole in your eardrum." so in layman's terms you are saying...?" Keeping tabs to let you know what he's got going on, because I sure don't understand that medical terminology!

Congrats to Blake Shelton, who's "All About Tonight" is the #1 country song in America this week.

The tweet of the day is from Chris Young: "I just woke up on a tour bus. Thanks for putting me here guys."

Today's Country Tidbits

If you're Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, you probably need houses in LA, Nashville and New York. They had the first two covered, and now they have the third. They plunked down about 10 million on a Manhatten penthouse with views of the Hudson River from two terraces and lots of space for Sunday Rose to race around inside. Here's the huge perk of the building - it's called the Sky Garage, and is geared for people trying to avoid papparazzi. They drive into the garage, drive into the large elevator, and the elevator delivers them, car and all, to the front door of their home.

Is Zac Brown Band the new Brooks & Dunn? Could be - ZBB's fourth single from their debut cd has reached #1 on the Billboard chart. The only other group to have four #1's from a debut cd is Brooks & Dunn. "Free" is #1 this week, and Zac Brown Band's sophomore cd, "You Get What You Give," is scheduled for a September 21st release. Zac's working hard on the song order - “I want it to be like a, you know, like a good, classic record where you could put it on and listen to it start to finish.”

What happens if you buy Blake Shelton's new 6-pak, "All About Tonight?" What happens if you don't? Blake gives you his best guesses and talks about his upcoming marriage to Miranda Lambert.

What happened at the end of Jimmy Kimmel Live when Luke Bryan visited this week? He played his new single, "Someone Else is Calling You Baby."

Martina McBride and SuddyD juice drink have teamed up to donate free books to classrooms with the SunnyD Book Spree. Send in 20 labels and 20 books will be donated. Martina said, "As a mom, I'm proud to join the SunnyD Book Spree to bring free books to your child's classroom."

Shania Twain's name is coming up again as a potential judge on American Idol. She loves the show, loved the experience of guest-judging and mentoring this past season, and apparently the show's producers loved working with her.

Wednesday, it was tea and crumpets for Lady Antebellum, as they did a show in London, England. Tonight, it's corn dogs and funnel cakes as they perform at the Illinois State Fair. Wow...culture shock!

Sunday morning on A&E, watch "Private Sessions" featuring Brooks & Dunn. The show features an in-depth interview, plus performances of many B&D favorites. The show airs at 9am eastern on A&E.

Happy birthday to Andy Griggs, who turns 37 today.

The tweet of the day is from Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts: "Auto spell on the iPhone can kiss my ASPECT!!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Luke Bryan's family is now one son larger. Tatum Christopher Bryan arrived yesterday, a week earler than expected, but doing fine. Luke said, "All I ever hoped for was one boy and to have two, it's going to be fun. I've already got new fishing spots picked out for us." He had planned to pick up a gift for his wife yesterday, but when she went into labor, that ended his shopping plans. After their son was born, Luke ran over to a nearby Sonic to pick up a lemonberry slush for Caroline. Big brother Bo, who's 2 years old, is excited to meet his new baby brother today.

Lady Antebellum showed London how it's done last night, playing to a sold-out crowd of appreciative country fans. Last Sunday was their last night on the Southern Voice tour with Tim McGraw, and their Webisode Wednesday features footage of Tim & the Dancehall Doctors pranking Lady A.

The Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America performers have been announced. In addition to Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews will be donating their time and talents on October 2nd in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Congrats to Taylor Swift, who is the 2010 International Bowling Hall of Fame inductee. Voting opened about six weeks ago, and your votes took Taylor to the top, besting Justin Bieber by 5,000 votes.

The 2010 CMA Music Festival is barely over, and tickets for the 2011 CMA Music Festival are about to go on sale. Starting Monday, August 23, you can get tickets to next year's fun, scheduled for June 9-12, at any Ticketmaster outlet and from the Country Music Association. Prices range from $115 to $325 plus handling fees, and the cost of the ticket depends on the seats you want at the nightly LP Field concerts.

Blake Shelton had a busy morning this morning, appearing on both Good Morning America and the Today show in support of his new 6-pak, "All About Tonight." Tomorrow morning, David Nail will perform on Fox & Friends.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley, who tweeted this last night about tonight's concert: "BradPaisley: Tomorrow I get to sing the words "Daytona Beach" to Daytona Beach."