Today's Country Tidbits

Zac Brown can hardly wait for their new album, “Uncaged,” to come out on Tuesday. Zac says of it, “This is the best record we’ve ever made – hands down. People that are fans of ours that I have played it for have been like, ‘Wow’ We have gelled as a band more. We’ve matured – we’re better musicians, we’re better writers, we’re better as a band and as a unit and it reflects in the music.”

Lady Antebellum take their “Own the Night” tour to the UK and Australia, after eight months of touring North America. During that time over a million fans saw the show. Hillary Scott noted, “As a songwriter, it's so cool to hear the lyrics you wrote with your best friends in the back of a bus echoing back to you by so many people.”

Pistol Annies is getting hotter than a two-dollar pistol. The trio, comprised of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, released a song and album last year, and Ashley and Angaleena have joined Miranda on some of her “On Fire” tour stops to sing a set. And according to Ashley, things are going well: “It’s funny because when we first went on the road with her, no one knew ‘Hell on Heels’ – nobody knew us. So we’d come out and everybody would tilt their head like, ‘Who is this? What does this mean? And then gradually we’ve seen their response – it’s deafening sometimes. It’s just awesome to part of something like that.” September will be a month of Pistol Annies shows, so look for them at a stage near you.

Jake Owen celebrated his impending fatherhood with his wife – and random fans! He tweeted that he and Lacey were going to see the new movie, “Ted,” and invited fans to join them – his treat! Dozens of people showed up to enjoy the movie with the happy couple.

One of the hottest young stars in Nashville got to meet his musical hero recently. Twenty-year-old Hunter Hayes and Keith Urban had a chat, and Hunter says, “We talked about music for a while. Then of course we talked about cars- I instigated that conversation. But, then he asked me, ‘What kind of music did you listen to growing up.?’ I looked at my manager and I looked back at him, and I go, ‘Well, you.’ It was so cool – and I’m still star-struck by him.” Hunter will hit the road with Carrie Underwood on the fall leg of her “Blown Away” tour in September.

It’s two weeks in a row for Luke Bryan – his “Drunk on You” is at the top of the country charts again this week. About the experience, Luke says, “It’s totally the ride of a lifetime, you know. To have number ones and things like this going on in my life, we’re certainly so blessed.”

Happy birthday to Toby Keith, who turns 51 on Sunday.