Today's Country Tidbits

When Carrie Underwood hits the stage to open her "Play On" tour in Pennsylvania tonight, fans are in for a lot of surprises. For one, Carrie will fly over the audience, something she's been practicing for the last couple of weeks. In the midst of this tour, Carrie and fiance Mike Fisher will be married. They've set a date, but haven't even told family and friends, in an effort to keep their ceremony as private as possible. Carrie says, "Not to say even anybody would care to show up, but just in case. I'm not going to be Carrie Underwood the entertainer walking down the aisle. I'm just Carrie and I'm going to marry Mike. I feel like that's kind of a right everybody deserves to have."

Kenny Chesney will spend a little quality time in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee on April 14th. That's where he'll hold a premier of "Summer in 3D" as a benefit for an area childrens charity. Tickets are $25 each, which includes a catered reception with Kenny in attendance.

Congrats to Jamey Johnson, who's about to be recognized by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. The Enterprise, AL native will be presented the State's Rising Star award. At the same ceremony, Mac McAnally will receive the Arthur Alexander songwriter's award. The March 25th ceremony at the Montgomery Convention Center will include performances by all of the inductees and is open to the public.

Lady Antebellum played the Ryman last night, and will do another show there tonight. USA Today featured them in a great article about where they've been and where they're going. Their second album, "Need You Now," is sitting atop the Billboard Country chart again this week.

In other chart success, Blake Shelton had an amazing first week for his "Hillbilly Bone" six-pak. He landed at #3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart and at #2 behind Lady A on the Billboard Country chart. That's Blake's highest career debut so far.

The new season of Celebrity Apprentice starts this Sunday night, and one episode will feature a country music challenge. Tapped to help with the challenge, where the two teams try to figure out what it takes to make a country music superstar, are Luke Bryan and Emily West. The air date hasn't been set yet, but Luke says, “I’m hoping that I do Nashville, country music and myself proud. I can’t wait to see how it turns out on TV.”

Martina McBride wants to know how your child shines. In partnership with her tour sponsor, SunnyD, she's offering ten grand and a VIP trip to Nashville for the grand prize winner, and monthly winners get scholarships and other prizes.

Fan voting for a handful of ACM awards is still going on, and those up for fan-voted awards are taking to the internet to ask for votes. Today's featured video is from Joey + Rory, nominated in the New Vocal Duo category.



That one's good, but it's hard to top Luke Bryan's imaginative video (and awful wardrobe malfunction!) in his quest for Top New Solo Artist. Scroll down to Wednesday March 3rd to see that one. And Steel Magnolia is offering you a free download of an acoustic version of "Keep On Lovin' You" if you're on Twitter, in the hopes that you and your followers will vote for them. See all the nominees and cast your vote today. Vote soon, though...tomorrow is the last day to cast votes.

Even the parents of country stars are fans. Justin Moore took his parents backstage to meet Reba, and just look at the grins on their faces!

Dolly Parton fans, rejoice! A collection of gospel songs she recorded in the early 70's will be reissued on CD and digitally May 4th. The project is called "Letter to Heaven: Songs of Faith and Inspiration" and includes a never-before-released cut, "Would You Know Him?"

And look for Johnny Cash's Columbia Records albums to hit digital retailers this month and next.

Today's Country Tidbits

The last stop on Brooks & Dunn's Last Rodeo tour, their last concert together ever, they're saying, will be Aug. 10 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The show will be a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, with all tickets selling for $25. They go on sale a week from tomorrow through Live Nation, Ticketmaster and Brooks & Dunn's website.

All the stars are in Nashville, and last night found some interesting duets being performed on the Sony Music boat ride on the General Jackson. Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert sang the old Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Travelin' Man," then Miranda and Josh Thompson duetted on his song, "Sinners." Brad Paisley and Brian Adams hit the stage for "Cuts Like a Knife" and then Carrie joined Bryan to close out the show with "It's Only Love." Brad also announced plans for his summer tour, the H2O Tour, kicking off in May and including Darius Rucker, Josh Thompson, Miranda Lambert, Steel Magnolia, Easton Corbin and Justin Moore as the opening acts.

Blake Shelton has chimed in on the pranking that's going on during Brad Paisley's tour, and as Miranda Lambert's boyfriend, he's in a position to know what her reaction might be. “You know Miranda, she’s not a big prankster. She truly does not like that stuff because she’s all about her show going smoothly and looking like a rock star. And I told Paisley’s booking agent, I saw him on the airplane the next day, and he told me about it and I said, ‘Man, the thing about her is she won’t try to get even with him. She’ll just walk up and kick him in the nuts, ya know.”

Congrats to Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline - they're expecting baby #2. Their first child, Bo, turns 2 in March and is already excited about his new baby brother or sister.

Josh Turner wants to meet you at the Grand Ole Opry. Make a video of yourself dancing to "Why Don't We Just Dance" and submit it. On March 12, six finalists will be chosen, and then there'll be fan voting for two weeks to decide the winner. So get creative to get a trip to Nashville to meet Josh Turner at the Opry.

You can help decide who wins the ACM awards in the three newcomer categories, Solo, Vocal Duo and Group. Online voting starts tomorrow and ends on March 12. The awards will be handed out on April 18th.

One of the events leading up to the CMA Fest in June is the Nashville Celebrity Softball Challenge. Two players have been announced: Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. The game is on June 7 and is a benefit for the City of Hope. Tickets for the 20th anniversary game are on sale now.

Big Kenny has a new song and video in memory of his friend, lost in the rubble after the earthquake in Haiti. It is a very beautiful song and the video is a moving tribute, as well as a strong reminder that Haiti still needs us all. Tomorrow night in Nashville, the Ryman Auditorium is the site of a benefit concert for Compassion International's Haiti disaster relief fund. Performers include Big Kenny, Alison Kraus and Union Station and more. The concert will be streamed live online.

Steel Magnolia will be on the CBS Early Show tomorrow.

Monday night is a big one for country stars on tv. The episode of How I Met Your Mother guest-starring Carrie Underwood will air on CBS, Brad Paisley will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Josh Turner will be on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show.

The late Johnny Cash would have been 78 today, and birthday wishes to Jason Aldean, who turns 33 on Sunday.

Today's Country Tidbits

Don't miss the People's Choice awards tonight on CBS. Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift will all be part of the show, and country music is represented well in the nominations.

Is it legal or isn't it? Country Crossing, the country music and lifestyle venue near Dothan, Alabama, also includes gambling machines, which developers, owners and the county officials say are legal. The Governor of Alabama sent in his anti-gambling task force in the wee hours of this morning to put a stop to what they believe is illegal gambling. A judge quickly ordered the task force to stand down, and it's unclear exactly what will happen next. The venue is the location for a three-day country music festival scheduled for January 15, 16 and 17th, so they need to get this all ironed out pretty quickly.

Jimmy Wayne's walk across America to bring attention to homeless teens is going well. He crossed the Tennessee River yesterday, and says he's blown away by small-town America. All along the way, people are bringing him coffee, donuts, bottles of water and when he stops for a meal, people buy it for him.

Meanwhile, Justin Moore didn't have a great day yesterday. His wife was driving their car in Nashville, and an officer pulled her over because she was driving on expired tags. Justin was not amused, and made his feelings perfectly clear via Twitter. He said he's convinced that "99% of cops in Nashville got beat up in high school." He went on to use an expletive related to their parentage, saying they "don't look big & bad by pickin on a girl 8 mts preg." Today he's back-pedaling a little bit, saying that there are a lot of great officers out there and he appreciates what they do, but knows of at least one that needs to chill. The baby girl is due later this month, while Justin will be on the road with Brad Paisley.

John Rich and his wife Joan are ready, and it's a good thing. Their son, Cash, has a due date of tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.

Sound and Speed motors through Nashville this weekend, with two shows Friday night at the Ryman. Jason Michael Carroll is the featured performer on the 7pm show, and Hank Williams Jr. and his daughter Holly are sharing the stage at 9:30. Chris Young, Danny Gokey and Kyle Petty are part of both shows.

Wanna see Taylor Swift doing a karaoke version of Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead?" She really sells it, so there's some kick to go with all of her sugar and spice.

Today's country tidbits...

Congrats to Toby Keith, who has the #1 jukebox song of 2009. Appropriately, it's "I Love This Bar." Zac Brown's "Chicken Fried comes in at #3, and Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" is at number 4.

Lady Antebellum has collected some new wall bling - "Need You Now" has been certified platinum for sales of over a million worldwide. And with 5 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Country single chart, it is the song that spent the most time at number one all year.

Taylor Swift has done what no artist has ever done before. "Fearless" was just released as a single, and had already earned gold certification, due to massive download purchases before the song was released.

There's more than one precocious child in the Swift family. Her younger brother, Austin, applied early to Notre Dame and his acceptance letter arrived yesterday.

Dierks Bentley has partnered with UNICEF, allowing the use of his Grammy-nominated song "Beautiful World" for their public service announcements. Yes, that's Patty Griffin singing with him, though their faces don't show in the PSA.

Brad Paisley's video for "American Saturday Night" taps into his love of animation. A very flat Brad and his band land inside what looks like a video game, and the song unfolds on the screen. Caution - if you get motion sick easily, you might not want to watch this one!

What did Martina McBride do yesterday? Baked 3 dozen brownies for her daughter's Christmas party at school, then braved the stores for more shopping.

And what did Justin Moore do yesterday? He was struggling to put a crib together. He and wife Kate expect their first child - a girl - in February, but with Justin's touring and recording schedule, he said he had about 3 hours to get the crib put together. On a shopping run to get everything a brand-new baby needs, Justin felt lost in the aisles of foreign things. Kate explained items like the infant bath tub, bouncy chair and socks with faces on them, but he laughed and said that there should be a "Babies for Dummies" book for first-time Dads.

If you missed it the first go-round, Joe Nichols' "My Military Diary" re-airs tonight on GAC.

And just for grins, here's Jason Michael Carrol, his wife and four kids sitting on Santa's lap this year. Merry One Week Until Christmas!

Today's country tidbits...

Just how popular is Taylor Swift? She's playing her first stadium show next June in Massachussetts, and the tickets went on sale last Saturday. The show sold out in 20 minutes. That's about 70,000 people who bought tickets that fast. Kellie Pickler and Gloriana will again share the stage with Taylor.

Lady Antebellum is performing the National Anthem this Sunday at the Titans/Rams game. Then they'll do it again at the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in New Orleans, when the University of Florida and the University of Cincinnati slug it out.

The Country Thunder lineup has been announced, and it stars Kenny Chesney. Tickets are available now for the July event in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Also on the bill: Sugarland, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Billy Currington, Craig Morgan, Jo Dee Messina, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Randy Houser, David Nail, Gloriana and loads more great country artists.

Rascal Flatts is playing the Grand Ole Opry this Friday night. Since it's winter weather, the Opry is originating from the Ryman Auditorium, making the shows extra-special. And they're going on tour in 2010 with Darius Rucker. If you have an AT&T Universal Card, you can buy tickets today, before they go on sale to the public.

Remember I told you that Kellie Pickler was going to be part of a large donation to Nashville-area schools at the show she hosted last night? Well, the check was, indeed, quite large: over a million dollars was donated by the Country Music Association so that kids could continue to have music education in their schools. All proceeds from the CMA Music Festival go to this cause, so it was a very good year at the CMA Fest in June!

The Carrie Underwood special on Monday night boosted Fox to #2 on the night, behind CBS. Catch her latest song, "Temporary Home" as it was sung live on the show. She also performed her tribute to her Mom, "Mama Don't Worry," and sang with Dolly Parton.

Jason Michael Carroll loves to perform so much that he told The Tennessean, "They pay us to bring our gear into town and set it up and tear it down. We play for free." He's got a few more stops to make before heading home for Christmas. With four kids, you know there's a lot of shopping and wrapping to do!

Phil Vassar wants to wish you Merry Christmas with music. He's offering a free download of five acoustic Christmas songs, one which features his daughter, Haley. By the way, his new cd, "Traveling Circus," is available next Tuesday.

Today's country tidbits...

Today is the day for the annual Tracy Lawrence Turkey Fry in Nashville. Mission: Possible happens at the Nashville Rescue Mission, and he estimates that his team of volunteers, some of them celebrities, will deep fry between 400 and 500 turkeys today, to benefit Nashville's homeless and hungry. Lorrie Morgan, Jason Aldean and Darryl Worley are all expected to show up and help out.

Sprint Sound and Speed tickets go on sale December 2nd through Ticketmaster for the country-music-meets-NASCAR event on January 8th and 9th. Combo tickets will get you in to one of the two Friday night Grand Ole Opry performances which feature Kyle Petty and his band, and the autograph & special events on Saturday. Taking part in the Saturday festivities are singers Jason Michael Carroll, Josh Turner, Chris Young and members of Diamond Rio, along with drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson and David Stremme.

As expected, the vampire movie, New Moon, beat the Tim McGraw movie, The Blind Side, but the true-life football story finished a strong #2, taking in 34.5 million dollars over the weekend.

Congrats to Lady Antebellum, who own the top spot on the Billboard Hot Country Chart again this week with "Need You Now." Not only is it #1 for the second week in a row, but it's number one with a bullet, meaning that it's still growing in audience.

The Nashville Tennessean has declared 2009 A Year of Swift Success. For photographic proof, check out Taylor Swift's photographic year in review.

Rascal Flatts played a free show in West Virginia last Saturday. If you missed it, here's a little of the show.

Billy Currington is doing a free show in Key West at Sloppy Joe's on December 5th. Road trip!!

Singer Andy Griggs, who had hits with "You Won't Ever Be Lonely" and "She's More" lost his home to a fire over the weekend. He and his family got out without injury, but the home is a total loss.

Yesterday we hooked you up with Dolly Parton's Shop.com store, and today we unveil her brick and mortar store, Trinket & Treasures, in downtown Nashville. It opens today, right next to the Wildhorse Saloon.

Wynonna's on the Oprah show today.

Today's country tidbits...

The first 15 dates that went on sale this past Friday for Taylor Swift's "Fearless 2010 Tour" sold out in two minutes, thanks to extra-beefy phone lines and servers put into place before the onslaught of calls and logins happened.

And how bout Garth Brooks' ticket sales Saturday morning? Tickets for the first 20 Las Vegas shows went on sale, and maximum capacity was reached and breached on the phones and online. The shows took 5 hours to sell out, but that's just because of technology limitations. When a hundred and fourty two thousand people try to call your number at once, how long do you think it would take you to get all those calls answered, once they finally got through?

Craig Morgan and Chris Young left yesterday for a Stars for Stripes tour, entertaining American troops in Europe and the Middle East. GAC's Nan Kelley is with them, filming a special for the network. It will air in December.

Sara Evans has a holiday tour this year. Her three-week Celebrate The Season tour hits the road November 27. On November 3, Sara will digitally release a four-song holiday set, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" featuring "New Again," which she co-wrote and recorded with Brad Paisley. Dates and details here.

This Saturday night, if 6 people all dressed up as different characters from Batman ring your bell for trick or treat, look carefully...it could be Jason Michael Carroll, wife Wendy and his four kids. Jason and his family go all-out for Halloween, decorating the yard in lights and scary scenes and doing theme costumes the whole family can participate in.

Happy birthday, Keith Urban.

New music being released tomorrow includes Taylor Swift with a re-release of "Fearless" in a deluxe edition, which includes six new songs and a DVD with concert footage & pictures. Joe Nichols new cd, "Old Things New" is out tomorrow, as is a huge box set from Dolly Parton. "Dolly" is a set of 4 cds, spanning 5 decades of hits and includes seven previously unreleased songs. There are 99 cuts total in the set. Insert your own "Dolly does everything big" joke here!