Oh, look – it’s another award for Taylor Swift! She’s been named the first recipient ever of the Canadian Country Music Association’s Generation Award. They are recognizing her for pushing country music forward to new audiences and bringing awareness of country music to places all across the globe. She’ll be given the award during the September 9th CCMA Award Show in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. And her new song is the first song ever by Taylor to go #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She credits her fans for that accomplishment: “It’s been absolutely amazing this week with the new single coming out and having it go to #1 on the Hot 100. I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so the fans have just yet again out done themselves. It’s amazing.”

Sometimes being on tour gets monotonous. Not the performances, the down time between the shows. Little Big Town is on the road with Rascal Flatts, and while they can’t have a pontoon with them, they do bring along the next best thing, according to Phillip Sweet: “The kiddie pool really works when you don’t have anywhere to go, and you’re surrounded by not much of anything. The kiddie pool can just be our own little paradise right there. It’s kinda of funny you’ll see some big crew guy go by and go, “I wanna get in that thing!’”

Kix Brooks is getting excited about his “New To This Town” album release on September 11th. What’s got him excited? Fan reaction when he plays the new songs live: “They’re getting to hear them for the first time and there’s nothing that makes you feel better than before the song’s over, they’re singing it with you. And there’s a couple of those songs like “My Baby Ain’t Comin’ Back,” and before the song’s over you just look out there and they’re singing it. They’ve got their hands in the air and you’re goin’...it’s connected! It’s fun! And I really do kinda feel new to this town.”

Darius Rucker has a new song out, “True Believers.” It’s the first single from his next album, which has no title or release date yet, though it will be out in early 2013. Darius explains that the song is a defiant song, and the message is that he’s doing what he wants to be doing, whether you agree or not. Darius promises that the next album will be something a little different and “True Believers” is a great sample of what they’re working on.

Congrats to Hunter Hayes, who has a new platinum song with “Wanted.”

Blake Shelton has the #1 song this week with “Over.”

Tomorrow, Zac Brown Band takes the stage at the Republican National Convention.