Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney is so happy that his current song, “Feel Like a Rock Star,” is doing well on the charts. It is, he says, exactly his life: “We’ve always lived by the theory of we work really hard and play harder. And it seemed to work for us. But I think that defines a lot of the people that have spent a lot of summers with us out there on the road. And the first time I heard ‘Feel Like a Rock Star,’ I knew I was gonna record it because it just defined everything that we’re about out there on the road.” He and Tim McGraw kick off the Brothers of the Sun tour June 2nd in Florida.

After years of raising money for it, Toby Keith’s dream becomes a reality starting a week from today. Groundbreaking on the OK Kids Korral in Oklahoma City will kick off the 9th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic on the 18th. The building on the grounds of the OU Medical Center will house children and their families while the kids are undergoing treatment at OU Med. In addition to the golf tournament, there’s also a banquet and auction, with everything from Three Stooges memorabilia to a trip to Africa included in it.

Coming up on June 5th is the date of the first Tug McGraw Foundation Celebrity Clay Shootout at the Nashville Gun Club. This event will raise money for service men and women suffering from traumatic brain injuries, to help improve their lives. Scheduled to be part of the fun are Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Troy Gentry, Eddie Montgomery, The Warren Brothers, Josh Gracin and several other Nashville notables.

John Rich of Big & Rich met Jimmy Fallon last year while he was busy winning Celebrity Apprentice. Jimmy pitched in to help John’s charity, and the two became great friends. No surprise to find that Big & Rich are featured on Jimmy Fallon’s album, “Blow Your Pants Off.” The track is “Cougar Huntin,” and the album will be out June 12th. No dummy, Jimmy also lined up Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Paul McCartney and other music luminaries to help with his music debut. 

Carrie Underwood has a plan for her look, as well as for her music: “I felt like ‘Good Girl’ and several of the other songs on the album, as well as the title Blown Away kinda allowed me to be a little more fierce for this one. I want every album to have a different feel to it, so I feel like you can look at the album covers and every single one occupies its own space, and none of them look the same.” 

BamaJam is coming up soon, and the ticket prices go up on Monday. If you don’t have yours yet for the mid-June festival, get em quick! 

Thompson Square debuted the newest addition to their family: a terrier puppy named Etta. Here she is, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Our dogs should be so lucky!  

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” has reached double-platinum status for sales of over 2 million copies.

Happy birthday today to Kevin Fowler, and to Mark Herndon of Alabama. Kix Brooks celebrates tomorrow, and Darius Rucker’s birthday is Sunday.

The tweet of the day is from Josh Gracin: “One of the worst feelings is meeting the perfect person at the wrong time.”