Today's Country Tidbits

Carrie Underwood is getting ready to go out on her “Blown Away” tour, and she’s taking along new artist Hunter Hayes. Why? She’s blown away by him: “Hunter Hayes...I mean what a phenomenal talent – he can play – everything. He’s a prodigy. I don’t think people really quite know that about him yet, how absolutely amazing he is. Not just a singer and writer, but also as a musician.” Carrie will donate a dollar per ticket to American Red Cross disaster relief efforts. Tickets go on sale May 11th for these shows:

5/26 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
6/21 London, England
8/12 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
9/14 Manchester, New Hampshire
9/15 Bridgeport, Connecticut
9/17 Providence, Rhode Island
9/19 Worcester, Massachusetts
9/20 Reading, Pennsylvania
9/22 Louisville, Kentucky
9/23 Nashville, Tennessee
9/26 Green Bay, Wisconsin
9/27 Minneapolis, Minnesota
9/29 Fargo, North Dakota
10/1 Saskatoon, SK, Canada
10/2 Calgary, AB, Canada
10/4 Vancouver, B.C.
10/6 Seattle, Washington
10/7 Portland, Oregon
10/10 West Valley City, Utah
10/12 Reno, Nevada
10/13 Sacramento, California
10/14 San Jose, California
10/16 Los Angeles, California
10/18 Bakersfield, California
10/20 San Diego, California
10/21 Glendale, Arizona
10/24 Dallas, Texas
10/25 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
10/27 Wichita, Kansas
10/28 Springfield, Missouri
11/3 Charlotte, North Carolina
11/4 Greensboro, North Carolina
11/7 Baltimore, Maryland
11/9 Atlantic City, New Jersey
11/10 Hartford, Connecticut
11/13 University Park, Pennsylvania
11/15 Grand Rapids, Michigan
11/16 Moline, Illinois
11/20 St. Louis, Missouri
11/21 Tulsa, Oklahoma
11/24 Indianapolis, Indiana
11/25 Auburn Hills, Michigan
11/27 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
11/28 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11/30 Long Island, New York
12/1 Newark, New Jersey
12/4 Albany, New York
12/6 London, Ont.
12/8 Kanata, Ont.
12/11 Columbus, Ohio
12/12 Chicago, Illinois
12/14 Des Moines, Iowa
12/15 Kansas City, Missouri
12/18 Memphis, Tennessee
12/19 Duluth, Georgia
12/21 Orlando, Florida
12/22 Sunrise, Florida

This Tuesday night, Alan Jackson will perform on the Grand Ole Opry, and he’ll debut a few songs from his upcoming album, “Thirty Miles West.” The album will be out June 5th, and it’s his first new music from his own record label, Alan’s Country Records. Little Big Town, Thompson Square and Chris Young will be part of the Opry show that night, too.

Chris Young thought he was immune to the siren song of reality tv – until he watched an episode of “The Voice.” Then he was hooked! According to Chris, “I watched it and really loved it. I was like, ‘Man this is fun!’ It’s cool to watch and...just how they have everything set up and you know Blake’s funny as hell. So, it’s just cool to watch him get on there and be himself, ‘cause his personality is just so cool.” May 8th is the season finale of “The Voice,” and it will be star-studded. Lady Antebellum will be performing on the show, along with Hall & Oates, Justin Bieber and Flo Rida. Lady A will perform “Wanted You More” from their “Own the Night” cd.

Toby Keith is back in the States after his USO tour to the Middle East. It was his 10th time over there, and he said the shows were great and the troops were awesome.

Love country artists & their music? Want to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society? There’s an auction on eBay that runs through May 7th – check it out!

If you’re looking for a special Mother’s Day card and your mom is a Taylor Swift fan, Taylor’s got the perfect card!

Roseanne Cash has written and recorded a song that will be used to promote US tourism. Check out “Land of Dreams”…
  

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: “I finally figured out which vegetable goes best with hummus. Pita bread.”