Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Today's Country Tidbits

Oh dear, it's getting nasty between Tim McGraw and his long-time label, Curb Records. The honchos at Curb have filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Tim, claiming that the tracks for his upcoming album, "Emotional Traffic," were delivered too soon after his last cd, "Southern Voice." They say that his contract calls for new music no more often than every 12 to 18 months. Tim's attorneys maintain that the master recordings for the new album complete Tim's contractual obligation with Curb Records. For the fans, this means that a release date for the project probably won't be set for a while.

Hungry for more details of the Blake & Miranda nuptials before tomorrow's release of US Weekly, with the official scoop? Ok, here goes - wedding attendees had to surrender their cell phones and other electronic devices before being bused to the ranch for the wedding and then on to the reception. The country-royalty wedding attracted three media helicoptors hovering overhead, trying to catch a glimpse of something. The wedding was in a well-decorated barn described as "country shabby-chic" and was officiated by a Baptist preacher. Neal McCoy performed for two hours, and then karaoke broke out, which is when some of the star-guests got to shine. Reba and Kelly Clarkson duetted, with Reba and the bride duetting on "Little Rock." The reception featured beef tenderloin, gorditas, venison quesadillas and other southwestern delights. Once the guests got their phones back, they took to Twitter...

"So I went to Miranda Lambert's and Blake Shelton's wedding last night, and it was the greatest wedding I've ever been to! I feel as though they should renew their vows every year and throw a party, as well, because everything about it was awesome! The cutest couple ever!" — Kelly Clarkson

"Just leaving Miranda's and Blake's wedding. It was unreal awesome sauce crazy, crazy fun. Congrats to such a rad couple!" — Josh Kelley

"Last night I witnessed the union of two of the best people on the planet. Such a beautiful wedding and fantastic party. Honored to be there." — Martina McBride

"What a wedding and especially a reception! Beautiful wedding of my friends Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert. Fun, energetic reception. Best to both of them!" — Neal McCoy

"Best wedding ever. Ever, ever, ever!" — Ashley Monroe

"Congrats to Miranda and Blake on their big day! Wonder if Blake will catch hell for changing his last name to Lambert?" — James Otto

"Best wishes Blake and Miranda." — Brad Paisley

"Just got back from one helluva party ... I mean wedding. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Shelton! Luv y'all!" — Kellie Pickler

Taylor Swift is in this week's issue of InStyle magazine, gracing the cover and discussing her love life inside. She's been linked with a bad boy or two, and was asked about why she chooses guys who end up not being right for her. "There are no rules when it comes to love," Taylor replies. "I just try to let love surprise me because you never know who you're going to fall in love with. You never know who's going to come into your life – and for me, when I picture the person I want to end up with, I don't think about what their career is, or what they look like. I picture the feeling I get when I'm with them." The magazine is on newsstands this Friday.

John Rich is telling a little bit about what will happen on this Sunday's finale of "Celebrity Apprentice," where he and Marlee Matlin are the last two contestants standing. He asked Donald Trump if he could perform "For the Kids" on the show, and not only did The Donald agree, he got Marlee to agree to sign the lyrics as John performs them. As John Rich said, "It will be a big moment." John has a busy week this week, filming the video for "Fake ID," the first new Big & Rich song in years, and then he heads for New York to be on The View, The Today Show and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

June 9th, the third annual Guitars of the Stars benefit auction will be held at Hall of Fame Park in the midst of the CMA Music Fest. Fans will have a chance to bid on acoustic guitars decorated by stars like Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts and Jerrod Niemann. All proceeds go to the Opry Trust Fund, which helps members of the country music community when they're in need. A concert goes along with the auciton, and Josh Thompson and Steve Wariner will be performing, as well as donating autographed guitars.

June 14th, many of Nashville's biggest stars team up in a tornado relief concert in Birmingham, Alabama. "BAMA Rising: A Benefit Concert for Alabama Tornado Recovery" will be held at the BJCC Arena in the center of a state very hard-hit by the freakish tornado outbreak last month. Alabama is spearheading the event, and so far Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, Rodney Atkins, Luke Bryan, Martina McBride, Montgomery Gentry, Darius Rucker, Kellie Pickler, Little Big Town, David Nail, Jake Owen, Ashton Shepherd, Bo Bice and Taylor Hicks. Tickets go on sale Friday morning at 10 Eastern through Ticketmaster. Prices range from $25 to $150.

This Friday and Saturday, Toby Keith's 8th annual Golf Classic happens in Oklahoma, and the list of one-of-a-kind auction items is growing. Miranda Lambert has offered up a package that includes several bottles of her private label wine, Jimmy Johnson autographed a champagne bottle and racing helmet, Mohammad Ali donated an autographed boxing glove, Peyton Manning delivered a signed jersey and Alex Rodriguez signed a baseball to be auctioned off. All proceeds go to the Toby Keith Foundation, which is raising money to build the OK Kids Korral, a home-away-from-home for families of kids being treated for serious illnesses at the Oklahoma University Medical Center's Children's Hospital.

Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown tour just got a bit cooler. Joining Willie, Randy Houser, Craig Campbell and Lee Brice is Jamey Johnson. The tour kicks off May 27th in Philadelphia.

Oprah's last show will feature an appearance by Rascal Flatts.

Shania Twain is on The Talk, and Little Big Town is on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Happy birthday to George Strait, who turns 59 today, and to David Nail, who is 32.

The tweet of the day is from Jake Owen: "I wish I could tweet in cursive. My tweet would be so elegant."