Today's Country Tidbits

The Tuesday night Grand Ole Opry show went on last night, in spite of the flooded-out theatre where it's usually held. For the first time in over 60 years, the show was held on the stage of the War Memorial Auditorium, a former home of the Grand Ole Opry. Chris Young was part of the evening's entertainment, and remarked, "I think the most special thing about tonight is it needed to happen. They didn't say, 'Oh, the Opry House is flooded, we're not going to do it.' We pulled together, and we're here to do it. That means a lot — as a region, it's what we do." Other performers were Suzy Bogguss, Restless Heart, Marty Stuart, Jimmy C. Newman, Jack Green and Jeannie Seely, who lost everything except her dog in the flood. She even had to borrow a pair of shoes to wear to last night's show.

The Cumberland river through Nashville finally crested, and the waters are starting to subside. CNN's coverage of the flood included an interview with Keith Urban about the event.



The Army Corps of Engineers is calling this a thousand-year flood for Nashville. You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

One of the stars totally missing out on the flooding in Nashville is Jimmy Wayne, who's still walking across America. He's in New Mexico now, headed for Phoenix, which was to be the end of his walk. Now he's decided that he probably needs to walk from Phoenix to the Pacific ocean, collect a jar of sand, and when he gets back to Nashville, walk from Nashville to the Atlantic ocean. He says he wants to dump the Pacific sand into the Atlantic. Jimmy is over two-thirds of the way on his 1,600 mile journey, spotlighting the plight of homeless teens.

Zac Brown Band did a benefit concert last October in Atlanta, to raise money to rebuild the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA. "Pass the Jar" is a CD/DVD recording of the concert, featuring Kid Rock, Little Big Town and more stars who showed up to help. It's on sale now.

Well, it was just a matter of time - Taylor Swift has launched her own tv channel online. TaylorTV.net features exclusive content, her video blog and more.

Are you a fan of the CMA Music Fest? How would you like to win free tickets for life? The CMA is giving away the Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience passes, which include all festival events and access to the lower level of LP Field for the nightly concerts. The prize is valued at $400 per year, and the last day to enter is June 12. By the way, the number one question on the CMA phone line is whether the festival will go on as scheduled this year, and the answer is a resounding "yes!"

Wanna be at BamaJam, but can't be there the whole three days? Single day tickets go on sale this Saturday. Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band and Hank Williams Jr. are the headliners.

Willie Nelson is on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, and he'll be on The View tomorrow.