Today's Country Tidbits

Dierks Bentley is in love with country music right now. Not just his, but everyone else’s, it sounds like! “As far as the new stuff out there, country stuff, probably just people I’ve toured with – Miranda [Lambert’s] record is great, Eric Church’s record is great. That ‘Springsteen’ song is awesome. Everything Blake [Shelton] is putting out I really enjoy. His last single “Drink On It” just has that classic sound to it. ‘Fly Over States,’ that song is unreal – it’s probably my favorite Jason [Aldean] song.” He’s headed for Washington DC this weekend, where he’ll perform after the Washington Nationals play baseball, hosting the Atlanta Braves.

The Band Perry is wrapping up their debut album’s success with one final single, “Postcard From Paris.” As it climbs the charts, they’ve been writing material for their next cd, which could be out late this year. The trio had a writing session with one of Kimberly Perry’s musical heroes, Sheryl Crow. According to Kimberly, “A huge influence of mine has always been Sheryl Crow. I just love how lyrically she is so creative and completely unique to herself. She’s a strong lady, a fantastic performer and she’s got a little spit fire herself. I’ve always looked up to Sheryl.”

Jake Owen is getting set to hit the road on the Brothers of the Sun tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, and his newest single, “The One That Got Away,” is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. About the song, Jake says, “It’s a true song for me. It’s the one on the record that I wrote, just about my hometown and the way that girls and their families would come to town during the summer and then they’d leave three months later, go back up north, start school. They would always leave, and there’s this one girl in particular I just remember I never saw her again.”

Got a huge Taylor Swift fan in your life? Planning a trip to Nashville this summer or fall? Then you have to stop by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for the “Taylor Swift: Speak Now – Treasures from the World Tour” exhibit. It features costumes, props and even the Juliet balcony Taylor rode in as she flew over the audience singing “Love Story.”

Phil Vassar’s video for “Don’t Miss Your Life” is out and it’s as touching and as personal as you might expect. Tissue alert!



Gary Allen has turned in the final recordings for his next album. We don’t know the name yet, and we don’t know the release date, but Gary says the project covers everything from breaking up to healing. He’s on the road, headlining the Country Throwdown Tour, which is in Michigan on Friday.

Congrats to Kip Moore, who has the #1 song again this week with “Somethin’ Bout a Truck.”

Trisha Yearwood is on a re-run of The View today, and Wynonna celebrates her 48th birthday today.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: “Kids in the pool. Music playing. Making fresh guacamole. Sun shining. It’s summer! #lifeisgood”