Garth Brooks begins a 9-show run in Nashville this Thursday. Tickets sold out in just a few hours, raising millions for flood relief. Now Garth has partnered with Toys for Tots and the Marine Corps to be an official collection point for toy donations. If you're going to one of the shows, take a new, unwrapped toy or two and help make sure every child has a Christmas gift this year.
Good news for Willie Nelson, for a change. The city of Austin, TX will soon be sporting a larger-than-life sculpture of Willie, holding his well-worn guitar. A group called Capital Area Statues has commissioned a sculptor in Philadelphia to make the bronze statue, which will be presented to the city of Austin as a gift.
Universal Music Nashville has a holiday promotion going on called "Give Country, Get Country." If you buy one cd, you get 2 free holiday tracks, plus $2 off of purchases of $20 or more. Plus they've got 100 Christmas songs and are inviting you to make your own holiday mix. While you're there, check out the special bonuses they're throwing in when you purchase music from Jamey Johnson, Sugarland and more.
Don't forget to go to thisiscountrymusic.com and get Brad Paisley's new song of the same name. It's available for free all week long.
And a third shopping alert, this one for cooks who love Joe Diffie. He's out with a cookbook this holiday season called "Homecoming: The Diffie Family Cookbook." It's a collection of recipes handed down in his family, and it includes a copy of Joe's "Ultimate Collection" cd. Pick it up on Joe Diffie's website or on Amazon.com.
Dierks Bentley and his wife Cassidy are expecting their second child right around Christmas, and according to the new-daddy-to-be, the baby will either "be a girl or a very disappointed boy!" She joins her big sister Evie Bentley when she makes her debut.
This Saturday night, Trace Adkins teams up with World Wrestling Entertainment for a tv special. "NBC's Tribute to the Troops" will also feature Diddy-Dirty Money, Cedric the Entertainer and The View's Sherri Shepherd.
Gwyneth Paltrow gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today, and her "Country Strong" co-star, Tim McGraw, will be on hand to celebrate. He'll be a guest speaker during the event.
Larry Gatlin is on Hannity today.
Happy birthday to Randy Owen of Alabama fame, who is 61 today, John Anderson, who is 56 and Taylor Swift, who turns 21 today.
The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Alright I just got the song for free for myself at Thisiscountrymusic.com ...It worked. Try it for yourselves. Check it out."
