Jason Aldean sold out two more stadium shows on Friday, after selling out Fenway Park in Boston in a record 7 minutes. The second Fenway Park show and the show at Athens, GA’s Sanford Stadium were both sell-outs in under an hour on Friday. Jason says it’s a testament to how hard his band and crew work, plus the loyalty and passion of country music fans.

The post-CMA parties in Nashville have ended, and the winners are probably still staring at their trophies in amazement. Here’s what a few of them had to say about their wins:

Blake Shelton, on winning Entertainer of the Year: “I didn’t think about that tonight. I was thinking well...there’s Taylor Swift right there. I mean, really? This is pretty dumb that there’s anybody else even nominated, you know? So, I didn’t even really think about it.”

Miranda Lambert, on being named Female Vocalist of the Year: “You know, I’m one of those girls right now that’s on top and I’m so thankful to be able to be the reigning vocalist three times in a row and be standing here but I know it’s gonna be time to pass that trophy on to the next and I hope there’s enough females to put into that category and there’s some great talent out there and we’re gonna accept it. I kicked the door open and I’m gonna hold my leg in there! I’m gonna keep the door open for all these amazing female singer-songwriters.”

Eric Church, on “Chief” after winning Album of the Year: “We didn’t plan it. We didn’t talk about it. There’s as much unrehearsed magic on the record as we’ve ever had.”

Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, after winning Vocal Group of the Year and Single of the Year: “We just really always kept showing up and believing and dreaming and working really hard and it happened! It’s happened for us. You never know what’s around the corner.”
Country music won big last Thursday night, as the CMA Awards show was the most-watched show during it’s time slot. Nearly 14 million viewers watched, making it ABC’s best ratings of any show this season. 
Tim McGraw releases his new album, “Two Lanes of Freedom,” on February 5th. It includes the song he performed at the CMA’s, “One Of Those Nights.” 

You’ll soon see Miranda Lambert sporting a milk mustache in the latest flight of the “Got Milk?” ad campaign. How does she manage to look sulky and sultry at the same time?
Blake Shelton is on The Voice tonight and Jerrod Niemann is on Marie! on the Hallmark Channel.

Luke Bryan’s “2012 Farm Tour” continues this week with stops in Florida and Georgia. This is Luke’s favorite of the year: “We just love getting out in the fields and in each location we pick the local college and give a scholarship to a kid that comes from a farming background. And we give ‘em a scholarship to the college. And that’s the least that I feel like we can do to give back.”

It’s his highest chart debut yet, and Brad Paisley is spilling the beans about his “Southern Comfort Zone.” He says that when he’s out of his southern comfort zone, he loves Europe: “I love the culture. I love the food. And I love the fact that old to them is thousands of years as opposed to, ‘look at this old house from 1943.’”

Thomas Rhett took a little advice from his dad, hit songwriter Rhett Akins, when he wrote the song, “Beer With Jesus.” Asked what he’d do if he had the chance to really tip one back with the Son of God, Thomas said, “If Jesus was here today walking in the flesh like he was back when he was here, I mean, I would probably take him down to the Flying Saucer and order up a Newcastle and just pick his brain about life and ask him if I’m doing alright and ask him how some of the people in my life that are close to me that have died how they’re doing in Heaven. So, it’s just a very personal song to me.”

Tomorrow night on CMT, Jake Owen gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the music on his Endless Summer EP before he goes out on the CMT On Tour run, which kicks off Wednesday. How does he feel about the tour? “You know, in the last five years I’ve come far enough to where now not only am I headlining the tour, but I’ve got two acts below me playing. It’s a really, really cool feeling.” Love and Theft and Florida Georgia Line hit the road with Jake for the fall tour.

Jerrod Niemann is the latest country star to get the PS22 treatment. He stopped by the Long Island school to share some tunes with them, and they blew him away…check out the video…
 
Country artists came together to raise money to save the boyhood home of the late Johnny Cash. Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley, the Civil Wars and Rosanne Cash performed at the Johnny Cash Music Festival in Arkansas. The money raised will be used to restore the home Johnny Cash lived in with his 6 brothers and sisters in Dyess, Arkansas. So far, about half a million dollars has been gathered for the restoration project. 
Grace Potter is a Man In Black fan – she’ll be part of “Johnny Cash: Song By Song,” along with Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Shooter Jennings and Billy Bob Thornton, and says about Johnny Cash, “I was always attracted to his voice. There’s something—it’s not just the depth in that very signature sound of his voice—it’s something about his phrasing and the way he delivers a line that is so irreverent! It’s so rich and full of attitude. You just feel like he owned every lyric.” The miniseries kicked off last night on the Ovation network.

Easton Corbin released his sophomore album a week ago today, and “All Over the Road” debuted at #2 on the country charts. Easton doesn’t take something like that for granted: “I’m very thankful that I’m still out here doing what I’m doing. These careers you just don’t know – you could be here one day and gone tomorrow. Still could be you never know. So you just have to appreciate everyday you’re out there and thank the Lord for blessing you.” His latest single, “Lovin’ You Is Fun,” is inside the top 10 and headed for #1. If it gets there, it’ll be his third #1 song, joining “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It.”

Are you a Hunter Hayes fan? You can get a free copy of a previously unreleased song, “Light Me Up,” by visiting his Facebook page. Once you’ve liked the page, click here to be taken to the post with the download link.
Jana Kramer is making her first splash on the country music charts with the song “Why Ya Wanna,” but she says she’s encountered some resistance along the way: “You know, in the very beginning I was getting so criticized like, ‘Oh gosh, another actress coming into the country format.’ And I kept just saying, ‘You know what? When they hear the music, they’re gonna get it. They’re gonna understand that this is my passion that this is what I want to do and they’re gonna see that it’s real.” It is, and so are her acting chops – she’ll star in “Heart of the Country,” due out in 2013. This isn’t a TV project, like her previous acting work – this is a feature film and here’s a sneak-peek: 



Ethel Kennedy is very hopeful – either that, or that’s her standard answer to nosey reporter questions! A Boston Herald writer asked her if she hoped that her grandson Conor Kennedy and Taylor Swift get married. She replied, “I hope so!” He went on to ask her if Taylor really bought the house across the street from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, and the Kennedy matriarch had the same response – “I hope so!”

Blake Shelton’s “Cheers, It’s Christmas” and Jerrod Niemann’s “Free the Music” are both out today.

It’s the year of the bus fire, apparently. Joe Diffie has joined Chris Young, Jerrod Niemann, Lee Brice and Randy Houser on the list of artists whose buses have caught fire this year. Joe’s went up in flames in the early hours of the morning last Friday while they were traveling between shows. The driver safely stopped it, evacuated it and a nearby truck stop helped them get back on the road after the damage was repaired. No injuries – same as with all of the other bus fires.

Even superstars have guilty pleasures, and Lady Antebellum fessed up to theirs in their latest webisode – they’re enthralled by Honey Boo Boo. Charles Kelley says it’s his favorite show on tv, and Dave Haywood says sometimes they have to take a Honey Boo Boo break, even while recording their fourth studio album! No word on when the album will be out – if they keep watching trash tv, it could be a while!



Dierks Bentley just celebrated his 10th #1 song in Nashville at the Tin Roof. He showed up in his ’67 Camaro and told the crowd, “I can’t believe there’s 10 of them, but um...it’s just, I think you put ‘em all together they tell a nice story of my music, my sound and my career so far. But, um...it’s weird. I can’t believe it!”

Darius Rucker has five #1 country songs so far, and just released “True Believers,” the first single from his third country album, due out early next year. About the song, Darius says, “It’s such a defiant song for me. It’s just a song of, ‘I’m gonna make my life work no matter what you all say or think.’ And I’ve lived my life like that for 46 years now.”

Josh Turner’s summer was very busy, what with touring, putting out a new album, “Live Across America,” in partnership with Cracker Barrel, and trying to keep up with his three boys during their summer vacation. What sorts of things does a famous Dad do with his sons? “Sports things or basketball or baseball or just playing outside. You know, anytime we have good weather or even when we don’t we’re trying to get outside and go down to the creek or walking through the pasture or fishing in the pond or whatever it may be so a lot of different things we can do just at home.”

This morning, Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum announce the final nominees for the CMA Awards on Good Morning America.

Zac Brown Band stays on the road a lot more than other bands and they enjoy themselves while they’re out. But Zac himself says it’s not all fun and games: “Sometimes you’ve just gotta do a little bit of time for yourself. I know every minute I’m away from my kids, I feel guilty about it...every minute. So, that’s a tough balance...tough thing.” They’ll take a couple of weeks off the road next month to unwind with their families.

Between touring and taping, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton haven’t seen much of Oklahoma lately. According to Miranda, “We’ve been just kinda crazy; I mean we’ve been basically living in L.A. So, we’re ready to go home, we really are. We’re ready for some country time.” They spent a week at their Oklahoma property, but it’s back to work for Miranda this weekend as her On Fire tour stops in Alaska.

Justin Moore has been combining work and pleasure, though this week it’s all play. When his shows are at fairs, Justin takes daughters Ella and Kennedy along for the fun, and Daddy Justin is pretty good at the midway games. He has won a bunch of Dora the Explorer blow-up dolls for Ella. This week they’re at a family reunion in Florida, and Justin is specializing in sandcastles with Ella.

Meanwhile, Hunter Hayes is chomping at the bit to hit the road, because he’s going out with Carrie Underwood on the fall leg of her “Blown Away” tour starting in September. According to Hunter, “I just want to get back in the bus and keep playin’ you know? Umm...working a little bit towards the next album a little at a time. I’m not thinking about it too much, I can’t. Umm...I want the next album to happen very naturally.”

Do you like to know how a song came to be: Jerrod Niemann’s new song, “Shinin’ on Me,” is climbing the charts this summer, but it was written last summer, when Jerrod and Lee Brice played AquaPalooza in Austin, Texas with Brad Paisley. Jerrod explains, “I think they said there were 70,000 boats there and estimated over 100,000 Texans. So I thought, ‘Well, if that’s not a great day, what is?’ So we went to the bus, and I think every window on the bus was open, this beautiful breeze, evening breeze, comin’ through the windows, and we just wrote ‘Shinin’ on Me.’” You can feel that Texas breeze in the song…



Dierks Bentley will add another job to his resume: he’s been chosen to host the 6th Annual ACM Honors show in Nashville. The event recognizes those who won ACM awards in the non-televised portion of the show earlier this year and will be held at the Ryman Auditorium on September 24th. Tickets go on sale at the Ryman box office on August 17th.

Willie Nelson has been tapped to play the Republican National Convention in Florida. The concert will be August 29th in Tampa.

Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw wrapped up rehearsals in Nashville this week and are chomping at the bit to hit the road on the Brothers of the Sun tour. June second is the first show, and Kenny says, “I think it’s going to be very special for us. But the people that are going to benefit the most are the people that have lived with our music for a while now. And see that we’re being all mixed into one stage, everything we’ve been through to get to that point in our lives and our career. That doesn’t happen in everybody’s life and career.” This tour reunites two really good friends on what is sure to be this summer’s hottest ticket.

Lady Antebellum played a show in Augusta, GA and were surprised by a high school marching band…check out the video!



In an interview with W magazine, Miranda Lambert gave props to Taylor Swift, saying, “When she hit, I was thinking, ‘Thank God Taylor’s out there to show people we’re not cheesy...I thought if they’re looking for Taylor’s videos or songs, they might see or hear other people they like. If her fans are watching for her, they might like me too.” There’s a pretty cool photo shoot, too.

Up and comer Hunter Hayes has caught the ear of Martin Guitars, and Hunter is now the official spokesperson for the brand. He’s doing small-venue shows, where he’s blowing people away with his musical talent, songwriting ability and charisma. About the little shows, Hunter says, “We’re doing a ton of Most Wanted tour dates and they’re kind of my headline show – my chance to get into small venues and kind of do my own show. It’s a blast, check out the website and check out what shows you can come to.” Hunter will be playing some larger venues with his Martin 42 this fall as he joins the Carrie Underwood Blown Away tour.

Speaking of guitars, Hank Williams Jr. had a valuable one stolen in 2010. It’s been missing since then, but the culprit may have been nabbed: Adam Braoch was arrested on Sunday (5/20), after allegedly giving a member of the Wayne Mills Band the 1968 Les Paul guitar as a gift. Adam has been charged with first-degree theft of property. Hopefully Bocephus will have his axe back soon.

Jerrod Niemann is touring with Miranda Lambert, and she likes the feeling to be “one big happy family” backstage. According to Jerrod, “She wants everybody to hang out, before and after the show – I mean religiously. If you’re not there, you get a text that says, ‘Hey get over here!” Don’t mess with Miranda…she can shoot!

Jennifer Nettles is on Duets tonight, and Montgomery Gentry will be on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning.

The tweet of the day is from Tim McGraw: "I'm just excited for the fans because we've got one hell of a show planned for them!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Jake Owen is a married man. He and his new bride, Lacey, were wed in Vero Beach, Florida, barefoot in the sand by the ocean. Jake’s uncle officiated over the sunrise ceremony yesterday morning, and the happy couple will honeymoon before Jake hits the road on the Brothers of the Sun tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw next month.

Jason Aldean is enjoying touring with Luke Bryan, and has noticed that Luke’s adding some moves to his set: “He’s becoming a bit of a dancer lately. I think he’s started to realize that if he gets up there and swivels his hips around or whatever, you know, all the girls start screamin’ and so...he’s kind of incorporated that into his show! But, he’s awesome man...he’s one of my favorite people to be around and he and I are really good friends.” The “My Kinda Party” tour continues in Illinois and Indiana this week.

Toby Keith is prepping his “Live in Overdrive” tour, kicking off June 14th. He’ll take along Brantley Gilbert and will have more video & more pyrotechnics this time. About the extra glam, Toby says, “I’ve got the worst seat in the house ‘cause I never get to see any of it. My back’s to it...I’m out there workin’, I see the audience and it looks like it always did, so from my view...you know the old saying, if you’re not the lead horse in the wagon train, the view never changes. My view never changes, so the audience gets the bang off the video screen and the pyro and all the effects. I rarely see any of it.”

Carrie Underwood is taking her show to Australia and the United Kingdom this summer. It’s her first time headlining in either place, and she’s excited to “blow away” her fans across the ponds. The UK show on June 21st sold out in less than 90 minutes. The Australian dates aren’t on sale yet, but expect them to sell out quickly, too. By the way, Carrie’s on the cover of Glamour magazine, talking about her married life and what it was like to win American Idol.

Brad Paisley is sharing the love on his Virtual Reality World Tour, bringing along some Nashville newcomers. Kristen Kelly, Jana Kramer and Love and Theft will appear on the outdoor plaza “Escape” stage, in front of a virtual Grand Ole Opry backdrop. Nice opportunity for them all!

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton pull no punches on Twitter, making them fan favorites to follow. According to Miranda, she and Blake like having no secrets: “We are exactly who you would think we would be on and off stage. You know, there’s not really a difference. And we don’t have a lot to hide. Both of us are pretty open and honest and our fans pretty much know everything about us, and we like that about our relationship with our fans.” What do she and Blake do when not on the road? Ride four-wheelers, hunt and fish in Oklahoma.

Chris Young and his grandmother are teaming up to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Each month his Nanny is donating one of her hand-made quilts and Chris is putting it up for auction on his website. No word on how many quilts Nanny is willing to make, but as long as her fingers hold out, the auction will happen, with all of the money going to St. Jude.

Alan Jackson is on the Grand Ole Opry tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Jerrod Niemann: “Beautiful day in LA…screw this “map of the stars.” I want a map of the bars”

Today's Country Tidbits

Keith Urban is the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. There were stars on stage for the induction - Vince Gill did the inviting earlier this month, and Trace Adkins and Josh Turner were on hand Saturday night. What does being in the Opry family mean to Keith? “What it means to me to be inducted into the Opry is probably no more than just a feeling of they know where my heart is. That’s what it means to me to get this induction. This is exactly where my heart is...always has been.” His wife, Nicole, was there Saturday night for the festivities. In case you missed it, here it is again, including a special message from Keith...

Trace Adkins will perform at the PBS National Memorial Day Concert on May 27th. The show honors our military men and women and takes place on the west lawn of the US Capitol. The show will air live on PBS at 8pm Eastern.

Lee Brice hit the top of the charts with "A Woman Like You" and is looking forward to sharing his new album with fans tomorrow. How is "Hard 2 Love" different? According to Lee, “This album is definitely two things: It’s definitely more true to where I’ve been in a section of my life, a year of my life, last year. And it’s also just a more mature...you know, me.” His new tour sponsor is Bud Light, and Lee jokes, "It looks like all the years I spent supporting Bud Light are paying off.”

Taylor Swift is looking at being part of another big-screen project. "Girls Like Us" explores the careers of Carole King, Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell, and Taylor's name keeps popping up as a contender for the Joni Mitchell role. If the movie goes forward, it'll go into production later this year.

Jerrod Niemann is part of Miranda Lambert's "On Fire" tour and has been trying his new songs out on the audiences. He's also working on his second album, and according to Jerrod, “I’ve just really been concentrating on what the fans care to hear, because in my opinion, country music fans do know everything, and that’s why they’re the best. So, this next album, I’m very excited. We have put so much work into it and passion, and I’m just thrilled to see what everybody else thinks.”

Miranda Lambert's 5th Annual Cause for the Paws will happen on June 22nd in Beaumont, Texas. It raises money to build animals shelters across the country. Wade Bowen and the Josh Abbott Band will join her for the show.

Little Big Town is getting set to tour with Rascal Flatts this summer, and both groups share a love of the movie "Anchorman." They're planning at least one big viewing party during the tour: “[Karen] I think we quoted almost every line from Anchorman, cause they love it as much as we do! [Kimberly] And there’s a sequel coming! [Jimi] Yes, there is a sequel coming. [Karen] So we talked about having an Anchorman party backstage one night with big plasma TVs and margaritas…you know the Little Big Town ‘ritas!”

The tweet of the day is from Trace Adkins: "It was an honor to hand the Opry Statue to keith urban last night. I also kissed Nicole on the cheek. Damn good night!"

Today's Country Tidbits

The Band Perry is on an amazing climb to the top, with a quadruple-platinum single ("If I Die Young") a two-week chart-topper ("All Your Life") and now the news that they have to top-selling single of any artist in the last 18 months with "If I Die Young." Kimberly Perry says it's all by design: “We’ve spent our whole lives working toward this moment. I mean, we’ve dedicated every minute to music since I was 15, Reid was 10 and Neil was 8. So, you’re talking about a 13-year journey towards the last 12 months. And it’s just been really, really wonderful to see all the blood, sweat and tears that we’ve dedicated for so many years in life really come to fruition.”

Garth Brooks will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum this fall as the "Modern Era" inductee. Connie Smith will be honored as the "Veterans Era Artist" and in the "Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980" category, Hargus "Pig" Robbins will join the Hall. Garth is, not surprisingly, humble about the honor: “This is a wonderful day...a day of joy, a day of honor. I still can’t believe it. It’s kind of a funny day ‘cause you mix it with a lot of humbleness...guilt...for being here among these names.”

Didn't get enough of Brad Paisley's Virtual Reality World Tour 2012? No worries - he's continuing the tour from May 18th through October 20th, adding new bells and whistles to keep the show fresh for fans. According to Brad, “It’s all about content. It’s really about, what do we do on these songs. How do we make something like ‘American Saturday Night’ look a little different than last year? What do we do? And that’s where my video company is so great at that. I mean they showed me animation that they’d done, this 3-D looking graphic stuff that’s different from what we were using.” The Band Perry and Scotty McCreery will continue on most of the tour, with Miranda Lambert joining the fun for some July and August shows.

Luke Bryan hit a lick in front of his biggest audience - 71,000 at RodeoHouston. He was awed by the experience: “It was an amazing sight, an amazing thing to be a part of and definitely a big dream...you know, Houston Rodeo was something I’ve always dreamed of doing and to be on that stage and look up and see 71,000 with their hands up jumping up and down it was a surreal experience.” He closed out the show with "Country Girl (Shake it for Me)" getting off the stage and dancing with the audience.

Bad night last night for Jerrod Niemann - he and his band were playing a benefit for St. Jude in Chattanooga, TN. As they wrapped up their show at 10:45, the alarm went up - their tour bus was on fire. Lee Brice was also part of the show last night, and you'll remember that his bus went up in flames in January.

Been waiting for new music from Lee Brice? Mark April 24th on your calendar - that's when "Hard 2 Love" comes out.

Congrats to Randy Houser and his wife Jessa Lee - they welcomed a baby boy to their family yesterday. It's the first child for both of them.

The tweet of the day is from Jerrod Niemann: "To be honest, thank the good Lord that @leebrice was here tonite or I'd be freddy Krueger"

Today's Country Tidbits

Zac Brown Band get back out tonight after their holiday break, and Zac is excited by what he has planned for fans this year: “We’ve got a great year coming up for touring. There’s a lot of big milestones we met this last year with a lot of collaborations that we’ve gotten to do and this year there’s a whole new slate—so there will be new collaborations in our live show playing this new record. You know we’re gonna start playing this new record out live and getting it dialed in.”

Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan hit the road tonight, too, and Luke is happy with where his career is now. “I am so excited that 95% of my show will be hits that I’ve done, and I don’t have to throw some cheesy cover that I’ve been doing for ten years in the set, I can go out there and hit ‘em with my music.”

Rascal Flatts' seventh studio album has a drop date - April third. The cd is called "Changed" and their first single, "Banjo," is roaring up the charts. Since their debut in 2000, the guys have sold over 46 million units and had 13 #1 songs.

Taylor Swift will be at the Sundance Film Festival today, but in her mind, there'll be a bigger star there - 83-year-old Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy. Taylor is attending the screening of the HBO documentary, Ethel. She spent an afternoon with the mother of 11 and came away star-struck.

Jerrod Niemann's song "Lover Lover" was certified platinum for over a million downloads. How did he feel about that? “To have a Platinum single is mind blowing, because you do realize that you’re just the vehicle for the song, and that that many people, you know, have thought, ‘Man, I care about this enough to own it.’”

Looking for a sweet little Florida retreat? Alan Jackson is selling his Jupiter Island home for only $14.9 million. It's 8700 square feet, and the Jacksons have had it for over 10 years. If you'd like to take a virtual tour, here you go. Plan to spend some time - there are 190 images!

Nashville is about to get a new theme park, courtesy of Dolly Parton. She's teaming up with Gaylord Entertainment to produce a park with a split personality - a water park in the warm months and a snow park in the colder months. It's the first park in the country to sport a split personality, depending on the season. The announcement came on Dolly's 66th birthday and the park is due to open in the summer of 2014.

Happy birthday to John Michael Montgomery, who is 47 today, and to Teddy Gentry of Alabama, who turns 60 on Sunday.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "There's one thing I've learned this week... The only thing that's stronger than a broken heart is opening your heart. I love you dad..."

Today's Country Tidbits

People are buzzing about the Brad Paisley/Carrie Underwood video for "Remind Me." It's a hot video in more ways than one, and Carrie wanted to be very careful about the treatment for the song, saying, “We had to go very delicate in how we did it because, obviously, we’re both separately married to other people, and it would be weird with our friendship. Like being in this love-y, smushy, gushy, story.” Extra went behind the scenes of the filming, and you can see it here.

In August, tons of country artists will band together to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh. Jason Aldean, Kix Brooks, Jason Michael Carroll, Terri Clark, Ronnie Dunn, SAra Evans, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Steel Magnolia, Jewel, Whitney Duncan and Edens Edge will all support the Month of Giving.

Jerrod Niemann is on tour with Brad Paisley, a well-known prankster. Jerrod's trying hard to avoid the dreaded on-stage pranking, and has developed what he hopes is a fool-proof plan. He changes his set list every night, and according to Jerrod, “Part of it’s just to keep it fresh but, really, the main reason I change my set list every night is just in case Brad decides to prank me, and he says, ‘Hey, after this song is when we’re going to go out.’ There’s no telling if I’ll even play that song. So, it’s kind of a defense mechanism as well.”

The 10th annual Charlie Daniels Band & Friends benefit concert for Christmas 4 Kids will happen November 21 at the Ryman Auditoum. Phil Vassar and Sawyer Brown will be part of the show.

Congrats to Randy Houser, who got engaged over the weekend. He and Jessa Lee Yantz, a singer-songwriter, will tie the knot in the Dominican Republic. According to Randy, "I finally found the person that I can’t be without. Jessa makes me a better person every day, and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with her.”

Miranda Lambert is busy building a music empire - too busy, it seems, to pursue a different dream. She's a huge fan of the show "Law and Order: SUV" and would love to make a guest appearance someday. But not today. According to Miranda, “I have a real strong drive to build an empire. That’s what I’m trying to do, so, to build an empire you don’t take off work.” Her girl-group debut cd, Pistol Annies' "Hell on Heels," is out August 23rd and Miranda's 4th studio album, "Four the Record," drops on November first.

According to the LA Times, Blake Shelton being compared to George Clooney is "not an entirely irresponsible comparison." I hope they mean that in a good way!

Loretta Lynn was well enough to return to the concert stage this weekend, gracing the Grand Ole Opry with her presence Saturday night.

Today is the one-year anniversary of Jimmy Wayne's "Meet Me Halfway" walk across America. He arrived at HomeBase Youth Services in Phoenix, Arizona, walking the last few miles on a broken foot.

The tweet of the day is from Justin Moore: "Had a blast at the brickyard today. Got to present Paul Menard with the trophy in victory lane alongside Reba. Be jealous!"

Today's Country Tidbits

It's Independence Day, a commemoration of the very brave Founding Fathers, who risked their life, liberty and happiness in order to build an independent nation. Those signers of the Declaration of Independence epitomized the bravery and can-do spirit of America.

On this day, country music artists reminisce about what the 4th of July means to them.

Josh Turner: “All the individual families kind of had a lot of competition with each other and they tried to outdo each other to try and see who had the biggest and baddest fireworks and all that. My daddy I think was the smartest one. He just went out and bought maybe 25-dollars worth of fireworks and let everybody else put on the big show. So, he saved a lot of money!”

Carrie Underwood: “America really is, you know, the land of opportunity. It’s the only place in the world that I could try out for some show and win and…amongst hundreds of thousands of people…and go on to do great things. I mean, it’s just the land of ‘anything could happen.’ The people in it are what makes it great.”

Chris Young: “Fourth of July is always a big day with me and my dad. I think we spend, like, four-hundred dollars, five-hundred dollars on fireworks alone during Fourth of July. And we go do a cookout at the house, and then we set off fireworks. And we’ve almost blown ourselves up a couple times, but you know, it’s somethin’ that me and my dad just love gettin’ out there and doin’. It’s a lot of fun for us.”

Jerrod Niemann: “Well, as a kid, I loved Fourth of July because I could shoot Roman candles at my siblings. But then when you finally understand what it stands for, and you’re old enough to grasp that the only reason you can shoot Roman candles at your siblings is because there’s people out there that are sacrificing their lives and allowed all of us to continue to be free and do the things that we love.”

Kenny Chesney: “You know what? I was usually playin’ little-league baseball on the Fourth of July. You know, I was big into sports, and the summertime in east Tennessee consisted of playin’ baseball, and that’s what I did on the Fourth of July. And they had a big fireworks display after all the games, and I was usually, you know, tryin’ to win the affection of some little girl over at the concession stand. And, you know, things don’t change very much!”

Miranda Lambert: “I love holidays in general, but Fourth of July is…summer is my favorite time of year, so Fourth of July is probably one of my favorites because…my favorite firework is sparklers. Always it brings out the little girl in me. I always ask for sparklers for Fourth of July”

Billy Currington: “My best memories would be hanging out with my mom and brother and sister on the beach of Tybee Island, right off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. We’d go there pretty much every year and we’d light our own fireworks and watch the ones they had for us. Those were some of the best times of my life.”

Jake Owen: “Fourth of July is my weekend, man to relax. Every year, we do a big boat party and just a lot of my friends, family...cook a lot of food, do a lot of wakeboarding, water skiing, hang out, get sunburnt…get a little buzz…and have a good time.”

Darius Rucker: “Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

No matter how you spend your day, have fun, be safe and remember the bravery that made our nation possible.

I'm on vacation for the rest of the week...see you on July 11th!

Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney's "Goin' Coastal" tour is going wide open, with fans agog at the experience. But Kenny is, too, saying "That’s kind of a odd existence to be in front of 20,000 people, and that’s where you feel the most comfortable. But that’s where my life is. You know, when I’m up there with my band, and we’re in the zone and playin’ music, and me and the band and the crowd, thousands of people that are in front of us, are all in sync, that’s a very special thing to feel.” The tour hits Ohio and indiana this week.

After the opening weekend of Flatts Fest, people who've seen the show say don't be late - the opening is incredible. Here's video of it, which doesn't really do it justice but is pretty cool!

And Keith Urban had fun with the audience during his tour opening weekend. Here are a couple of videos...first, Keith "getting closer" to his audience and falling off the stage...

Check out this singing (?) contest...

Jerrod Niemann roped in a few of his friends to be in the video for his new single, "One More Drinkin' Song." Their vehicle of choice? The Nashville Pedal Tavern, a 16-person rolling bar. Jerrod explains it's attraction like this: "It's this bar on wheels that you pedal from bar to bar and pick up friends. I like it because it's cardio and consuming alcohol at the same time." In on the beer and the video shoot were Lee Brice, Jake Owen and Tyler Farr. The video will be out in the next week or two.

This summer, Live with Regis and Kelly will have some country performers in their line-up. On July 13th, Blake Shelton visits, on the 19th it's Lady Antebellum and on August 9th Luke Bryan stops by to chat and sing.

Friday night on CMT, watch the newest CMT Crossroads, featuring Luke Bryan and the Doobie Brothers. Taping this show was a bucket-list experience for Luke: "I thought it was cool that one of the coolest night of my life was really gonna be documented. I grew up with a classic rock station—I think everybody had this big, classic rock station in your hometown, and you turn it on, and the Doobie Brothers—you heard ‘em four times a day!”

Watch Dierks Bentley on the 2011 National Hockey League Awards on Versus and CBC tonight. Alison Krauss & Union Station will be on Conan.

Happy birthday to Kris Kristofferson, who turns 75 today.

The tweet of the day is from Trent Tomlinson: "It sucks that Natalie couldn't keep her mouth shut cuz the Dixie Chicks made some great records. No telling where they'd be now."

Today's Country Tidbits

It's the kickoff of CMA Music Festival Week in Nashville, so if your country-music-loving co-workers are missing this week, you probably know where they are. Every year, nearly half a million people descend on Nashville to meet their favorite stars up close and personal, see the sights and attend great concerts. This year, four hundred country artists will be on hand to party with their fans and friends. The festival officially runs Thursday through Sunday, but unofficial events start today.

A fire that started on a workbench in the garage destroyed Trace Adkins' Brentwood, TN home on Saturday afternoon. Trace and his wife Rhonda weren't home, but two of their daughters were, along with family friends who were watching the girls while Rhonda ran errands. She was about three minutes away from the house when a neighbor called to let her know the house was on fire, and by the time she made it home, the house was fully engulfed and her daughters and friends were at their designated emergency meeting place. According to reports, no family members or pets were injured in the fire, which gutted the home. One neighbor was bitten trying to rescue one of the Adkins' dogs but the injury was minor and the neighbor and dog both got out of the fire safely. Trace was landing in Alaska for concerts when he heard the news in a voicemail from Blake Shelton, and he turned around and took the first flight back to Nashville. Rhonda said that the family lost a lot of items with sentimental value including most of Trace's awards, but added, "It's just stuff. You can replace things, not people. I’m just glad that my children are safe." Moving vans were at the Atkins home on Sunday, salvaging the things that weren't destroyed by the fire, water or smoke. A few awards were ok, some musical instruments were salvaged, and some furniture can be saved. Rhonda was grateful to the Brentwood Fire Department for teaching fire safety seminars in school, which helped their daughters be clear-headed and stay safe during the emergency. According to Rhonda, she and the family will stay at their Eagleville, TN farm for the time being.

On a happier note, Trace Adkins and his youngest daughter, Trinity, star in the video for his latest song, "Just Fishin'." The video debuts today, and Trace says of it, “I’m proud of it. I think it’s gonna serve its purpose. I think we should’ve been deep sea fishin’, landing some big Marlin, but you know…we had to go for the Brim. We don’t have that kind of budget anymore. I mean, she had a life-jacket on, surely she’d have had enough sense to let go of the rod.”

Tonight is Darius Rucker's second annual Darius and Friends charity concert at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Who are the "friends?" Rodney Atkins, Easton Corbin, Justin Moore and Jerrod Niemann. Proceeds from the sold-out show go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Jerrod Niemann and Darius Rucker are part of tomorrow's Grand Ole Opry celebration, which also includes Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride and more. Jerrod is the featured performer on the free Opry Plaza Party stage tomorrow afternoon.

Carrie Underwood took time after the finale of American Idol to talk with Lauren Alaina about how her life is about to change. According to Lauren, “She invited me back into her little area and I talked to her for probably an hour and she just was telling me about her life and she said now the real like…career’s gonna start. And she said that she’s a big fan of mine and that she thinks I’m gonna do great.” Lauren and Scotty McCreery will make their debut at the Grand Ole Opry this Friday night and will play in the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge on Saturday.

At the Blake Shelton/Miranda Lambert wedding last month, three of Miranda's dogs were part of the ceremony. Wearing their own wedding finery decorated with rhinestones, Chihuahua Cher, Chihuahua/Pug mix Delta and Terrier mix Delilah walked down the aisle with one of the bridesmaids. Miranda's Mom said the dogs were a big hit, garnering lots of attention and a few laughs.

Congratulations to Brad Paisley, whose "Old Alabama" holds the #1 slot again this week.

Happy birthday to Uncle Kracker (real name Matthew Shafer) who turns 37 today. Joe Stampley is 68.

The tweet of the day is from Jake Owen: "Greatest day ever. I get to play country music... At a NASCAR race.. Then watch the race.. And to top it off my twin bro surprised me!!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Well, looks like rumors of Taylor Swift buying a house in Beverly Hills were true. Settlement papers show that the person who attended the closing and signed all of the paperwork is none other than a business manager known to work for her. The three bedroom, 3.5 bath house is in the 90210 zip code, sits on about an acre and a half and has a small guest house on the property. Here are the real estate flier photos for the house...

Must be nice to be able to afford a $3.5 million house at any time in your life, much less when you're just 21. Good for Taylor!

While the world holds its collective breath waiting for the Royal Wedding this weekend, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton are focused on their wedding on May 14th. Specific details haven't been shared, but Miranda's not sweating any of those details, either, saying “Everything’s done pretty much except little details that I’ve, you know, been thinking of at the last minute. But I have a great planner because I couldn’t have possibly done it without her.” She goes on to say that the little details don't really matter because she's found the right man and that's the truly important part.

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian were married Friday night at a private, surprise ceremony in Malibu, California. The two invited their closest family and friends, telling them it was an engagement party. Everyone was surprised when a wedding ceremony happened instead, and made the event a wedding reception instead of an engagement party.

John Rich survived another week of Celebrity Apprentice as the men's team beat the women's team and La Toya Jackson got sent home. John was the project manager and sang the praises of rapper Lil Jon: “Lil Jon is one of the smartest dudes. I know he’s got the gold teeth and he’s a rapper and all that but that’s just part of his schtick, you know. That’s what he does. But, in real life he’s a very successful business guy and marketer. This guy is no joke. And, he and I are becoming really good friends actually.” Wonder if Lil Jon will join the Big & Rich tour this summer? Wouldn't surprise anyone, that's for sure!

Tim McGraw and Curb Records, his long-time label, are at an impasse on the release of his next album. "Emotional Traffic" will be his last on Curb, as he's made clear, and he says the album is done and the label has it. The label is apparently hanging on to Tim for as long as they can, as there's still no release date for the record. Nevertheless, Tim is on tour through August in support of the project.

Blake Shelton knows when his next album will be out - July 12th. It will include his latest song, "Honeybee," which is the fastest selling song every by a country male vocalist. Blake's new tv show, "The Voice," kicks off tomorrow night on NBC.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has a new exhibit: "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power." Featured in it is Faith Hill's Versace outfit worn during a Thanksgiving special in 2000, Loretta Lynn's pink gown worn during the "Portland, Oregon" video and Taylor Swift's handwritten lyrics for the song "Change." The exhibit opens May 13th and shows how women have influenced music from the early 1900's to the present.

Jake Owen is on a roll - his new song "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" sold 20,000 downloads in its first week of sales, which is a really good number. To what does Jake attribute the song's success? A great song: “Literally two days after I heard it, I went in and recorded it. And it was cool. Organic. We tracked the whole rest of the record with great musicians and great players but that song we did it ourselves.”

Congratulations to Colt Ford, who collected platinum and gold certifications for digital downloads of singles and albums, respectively. That's a million songs sold and half a million albums. Nice hit!

And Jerrod Niemann has his second gold single in only 8 months. First to go gold was "Lover, Lover" and now his second song, "What Do You Want," has also sold half a million units. According to Jerrod, “Man, you know I’ve dreamt my whole life to have this opportunity. So really, everyday really doesn’t feel like a vacation or anything but it’s like I don’t really care for any time off. I mean, I’m sure I’ll change, probably eat those words.”

Happy birthday to Glen Campbell, who turns 75 today, and Kellie Coffey, who is 40.

The tweet of the day is from James Otto: "As it turns out the Easter Bunny left no eggs for me.......just brightly colored rum drinks. Thank you Easter bunny!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Lady Antebellum is in Australia with Keith Urban's tour and made a stop at Australia's Today Show. After they performed, Keith Urban also joined the fun, answering questions ranging from music to fitness to family.

Jerrod Niemann went back to his roots Monday night, showing off his waiter skills at the "Waiting for Wishes Celebrity Waiter Dinner" in Nashville. The event is hosted by Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus and NFL great Kevin Carter. Also taking orders and hoisting trays were Joe Don Roony and Olympic skater Scott Hamilton. The waiters also gave out autographs and collected donations, with all tips going to the charity. According to Jerrod, “One of the best parts about being able to have music out there that people are kind enough to support is you can actually help people for once. So, it’s really cool to get to do that and all those other artists, just to be part of a cool event.” When he first moved to Nashville, Jerrod supported himself by waiting tables, so he was right at home. Proceeds from the evening went to the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Kevin Carter Foundation.

Speaking of Rascal Flatts, Jay DeMarcus is thrilled to have a baby girl. He was convinced that the child his wife, Allison, was carrying was a boy, but one ultrasound put that theory to rest, prompting Allison to tell him, "girls always love their daddy to death. She’ll get mad at her mother, but daddy can do no wrong.”

Sad that Rascal Flatts isn't coming to your town on tour this summer? Don't be - they'll be adding more shows as they go, so keep checking their tour page.

According to eonline, Taylor Swift has purchased a new home for her family, moving them from their 8,400 square foot, six bedroom, five bathroom house into an even more spacious one in Nashville. And if you're wondering if Taylor Swift would consider dressing provocatively for a photo shoot, here's your answer, straight from the blonde one's lips: “I don’t feel comfortable taking my clothes off…I wouldn’t wear tiny amounts of clothing in my real life, so I don’t think it’s necessary to wear that stuff in photo shoots.”

Wondering if Brad Paisley would do an album of cover songs, or just cover a great country classic or two on an album now and then? Wonder no more, and "no" is the operative word! According to Brad, those songs “have already been done as well as they could’ve been done or they wouldn’t have been hits.”

Reba and her record label, Valory Music, threw a party this week. "Turn On the Radio" was Reba's 60th top ten single and 24th #1 song, and that was a huge pair of milestones. With albums dating back to the late 1970's, Reba's been successful in country music longer than any other female performer and she'll be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year. And her Dad is in a rehab facility, doing better after his stroke. If he's where she got her stick-to-it-iveness from, he might just be her date that night!

Steel Magnolia has teamed up with GM's Cell Phones for Soldiers campaign, collecting gently used cell phones to raise money for calling cards for troops overseas. They're working with Florida high schools, challenging them to collect phones to be donated. The school that collects the most get a free live concert from Steel Magnolia.

John Rich thinks Donald Trump would make a good President, and here's why - “He said, why don’t we pump about two trillion dollars worth of oil out of there before we let them have it back. He said we could make gasoline a dollar a gallon in America for the next ten years if we would do that. And by the way, that’s how business works. We come in and save your butt, well you have to pay us for doing that.” Interesting theory on middle east diplomacy, that's for sure!

Happy birthday to Aaron Lewis of Staind, who turns 39 today.

Alison Kraus and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas are on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Trent Tomlinson: "I wish Johnny Cash was still around to grace us all with great tweets of wisdom! Although twitter wouldn't be anything he'd do!"

Today's Country Tidbits

The name of Ronnie Dunn's first solo album in the post-Brooks & Dunn era is "Ronnie Dunn." The release date is June 7th, and according to Ronnie, it's a very autobiographal body of work. "There is something in each song that I've lived or that I'm living. I'm hoping that you'll find something to take with you as you listen, as well. We all bleed red, ya know." Ronnie will sing the first single from the album, "Bleed Red," on the ACM awards.

In addition to Ronnie Dunn, ACM performers just announced include Martina McBride, Reba, Zac Brown Band with James Taylor, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Alabama, Sara Evans and Dierks Bentley. All of the Entertainer of the Year nominees will also perform - Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean and Keith Urban. The show airs live from Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm Eastern on CBS.

Sara Evans would love to welcome child #8 into her life with husband Jay Barker. He has four children from a previous marriage and she has three from her earlier union, and she wants a baby with Jay. The sticking point - she wants a surrogate to carry the baby and Jay says "no way." They rarely disagree, according to Sara, but when they do, she wants a lot of conversation. Said Sara, “I’m like, no. I have to like get it out, and then work it all the way around back to why it happened, how I feel about it, how do you feel about it, are we good? I’m just really that way.” The baby stale-mate continues, apparently.

Shania Twain's show will debut on May 8th on the Oprah Winfrey Network. "Why Not? With Shania Twain" will air at 11pm Eastern, following the season finale of "The Judds."

Remember a few weeks ago when Craig Morgan was returning home, saw a house fire and stopped to put it out, saving at least two people from the burning home? His efforts have been recognized by the Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department. They've made him an honorary lifetime member, giving him a custom helmet, complete with his department ID, number 565. Said Craig, "I'm humbled by this kind of recognition. They are the real hometown heroes."

Congratulations to Luke Bryan for his 3rd #1 song in a row. He held a #1 party yesterday in Nashville, and talked about his vision for "Someone Else Calling You Baby." According to Luke, “I thought it was going to be the lead single so the fact that ‘Someone Else Calling You Baby’ became a number one kind of validates me internally. At least I knew it was good enough to be a number one, so, I was happy about that.”

Congratulations to Billy Currington, who scores his 6th #1 song with "Let Me Down Easy." It's his 4th #1 song in a row, following "People Are Crazy," "That's How Country Boys Roll" and "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer."

Jerrod Niemann was on stage, singing his latest song, "What Do You Want." Carrie Underwood sidled up and lent a hand, making an already haunting song magical.

Up for a country cover of a Madonna song? Check out Sugarland and Little Big Town's version of Madonna's "Like a Prayer."

Foster & Lloyd will release their first studio album in 21 years on April 19th. According to Radney Foster, "We decided to start getting together once a month to write. Soon the songs were pouring out and we knew we needed to get back in the studio." "It's Already Tomorrow" is available for pre-order now.

Josh Kelley's first country album, "Georgia Clay," is out today.

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers are on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight, and Billy Ray Cyrus is on Good MOrning America tomorrow morning.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel: "Windy day, so I'm doing what any sensitive chic-singer would do...Stay inside & clean my hand gun"

Today's Country Tidbits

How popular is Taylor Swift? The video for "Back to December" was posted on YouTube yesterday and as of 6am today already had nearly 700,000 hits.

Miranda Lambert's truly on a roll. She's nominated for three Grammys and is going to be one of the performers on the show. The Grammy Awards air February 13th on CBS.

Faith Hill was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Wednesday night, chatting about her new Teleflora deal, the charity work she's been doing with Tide Loads of Hope, and also about hubby Tim McGraw's movie, "Country Strong." Somehow she found time to do a little bit of snowman-tackling, too.

Lady Antebellum has been invited to headline the annual Dustin J. Wells Foundation Gift of Music concert February 18th at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Proceeds from this show benefit the W.O. Smith Music School in Nashville, and past performers at this benefit include Rascal Flatts and Dolly Parton. Tickets go on sale Saturday morning at 10 Central time and range from $49 to $1,000 per person. Call 615-902-8200 to order.

Lee Brice and Jerrod Niemann, two of Nashville's hottest newcomers in 2010, are headed to college towns all across America for their "Higher Education Tour." They'll kick it off in Columbia, MO on March 10th, and so far have announced the dates for 12 shows, with plans for more.

The tweet of the day is from Jaron and the Long Road to Love: "What is it called when you wake up with a hangover, but you didn't drink the night before? Just a headache?"

Today's Country Tidbits

Pollstar has compiled its annual list of the top-grossing tours in the world, and country artists scored six of the top 50 slots.

#24 Tim McGraw

#25 Brad Paisley

#26 George Strait/Reba/Lee Ann Womack

#27 Taylor Swift

#31 Carrie Underwood

#47 Rascal Flatts

The top-grossing tour of 2010 was Bon Jovi, who raked in over $201 million with 80 shows.

Darius Rucker is going to pour some sugar on New Orleans. He's part of the Allstate Sugar Bowl celebrations, giving a free concert during the two-day Fan Fest this Sunday and Monday, and then performing the National Anthem before the Arkansas/Ohio State game on January 4th. While he's in New Orleans, he's going to pitch in and help clean up areas still trashed by Hurricane Katrina.

All roads lead to Nashville, especially the road bringing other genres of music into the country fold. Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin is moving to Nashville after tasting a little bit of songwriting success there. He wrote "Stuck Like Glue" for Sugarland, whom he met when Better Than Ezra drummer Travis McNabb decided to take a hiatus from the band to tour with them. Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum have cited Kevin's band as a musical influence for their music. And there's a strong rumor going around that Lindsey Lohan is in talks with Big Machine, home of Taylor Swift, to put out a country album. Hey, y'all...it's not as easy as it looks!!

Zac Brown Band played Bridgestone Arena last night. The show was sold out, and the audience got a special treat, as Alan Jackson joined the guys on stage for "As She's Walking Away."

Bridgestone Arena in Nashville just had the best month in it's history. More people went to more events this month than any month ever before, beating the old record by a long shot. Thanks to nine sold-out Garth Brooks shows, seven heavily-attended Predators games and six other big concerts, 334,917 people visited the arena for 22 separate events. The previous record-setting month was March of 2001, when 248,600 people visited the arena as it hosted the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time.

Happy birthday to Suzy Bogguss who turns 54 today.

The tweet of the day is from Jerrod Niemann: "Wow! U know you've had better days when u get cussed by a guy wearing nothing but a speedo & a gold chain. I feel bad for the hotel employee"

Today's Country Tidbits

It was such a hit last year that it'll happen again tomorrow night. During the ABC broadcast of "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock," several country artists will be tweeting their observations and behind-the-scenes stories. Be sure to be following Julianne Hough (@JulianneHough), Lady Antebellum( @ladyantebellum), Reba (@Reba), Tim McGraw (@TimMcGrawArtist), Blake Shelton (@BlakeShelton), Keith Urban (@KeithUrban), and Zac Brown Band (@ZacBrownBand) on Twitter for the CMA Tweet-N-Greet tomorrow night from 8-11 eastern.

Some of the CMA nominations were announced today, and Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum have the early lead. In three categories, Miranda is competing with herself - for single of the year, song of the year and for music video of the year, she's nominated for "The House That Built Me" and "White Liar." Here are the nominations announced this morning. The rest will be revealed tomorrow morning on Good Morning America.

New Artist

Luke Bryan

Easton Corbin

Jerrod Niemann

Chris Young

Zac Brown Band

Vocal Group

Lady Antebellum

Little Big Town

Rascal Flatts

The Band Perry

Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo

Brooks & Dunn

Joey & Rory

Montgomery Gentry

Steel Magnolia

Sugarland

Single of the Year

(Award goes to artist and producer.)

"A Little More Country Than That"

Easton Corbin

Producer: Carson Chamberlain

"Hillbilly Bone"

Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

Producer: Scott Hendricks

"Need You Now"

Lady Antebellum

Producers: Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

"The House That Built Me"

Miranda Lambert

Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

"White Liar"

Miranda Lambert

Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

Song of the Year

(Award goes to songwriter.)

"A Little More Country Than That"

Songwriters: Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress and Wynn Varble

"Need You Now"

Songwriters: Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Josh Kear

"The House That Built Me"

Songwriters: Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin

"Toes"

Songwriters: Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins and Shawn Mullins

"White Liar"

Songwriters: Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby

Music Video

(Award goes to artist and director.)

"Hillbilly Bone"

Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

Director: Roman White

"Need You Now"

Lady Antebellum

Director: David McClister

"The House That Built Me"

Miranda Lambert

Director: Trey Fanjoy

"Water"

Brad Paisley

Director: Jim Shea

"White Liar"

Miranda Lambert

Director: Chris Hickey

Musician

Paul Franklin -- Steel Guitar

Dann Huff -- Guitar

Brent Mason -- Guitar

Mac McAnally -- Guitar

Randy Scruggs -- Guitar

The show will air live November 10th and will be hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.

And now we know why Robin Roberts was at the Brad Paisley stadium show in Massachussetts - footage from that will be part of her pre-CMA Award special, "In The Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville." Featured along with Brad Paisley will be Carrie Underwood and an inside peek at the homes of some of country's biggest stars. The special airs November 9th, the night before the CMA's.

Zac Brown Band has a new cd coming out, and here's what they have to say about it, straight from the horses' mouths!

Daniel Pritzker wrote the hit song "Lover, Lover." Jerrod Niemann took the song to the top spot on the country charts, and Daniel was very appreciative. How appreciative? So much so that he gave Jerrod the guitar that "Lover, Lover" was written on - a 1957 Gibson J-185 guitar, very vintage and very valuable. Jerrod quipped, "I said, 'Thank you,' and 'Are you crazy?' I do not deserve this guitar. If he asks for it back, I'd definitely give to him because it's just that awesome of a guitar. But in the meantime, I'm going to be picking and grinning and giggling and whatever else you do with a guitar that is worth more than your car."

Trace Adkins will have a double-disc greatest hits package out this fall. Look for "The Definitive Greatest Hits: Til The Last Shot's Fired" on October 12th.

If you either missed Taylor Swift's half-hour special and her video premier last Friday night or you just want to see it again, you're in luck - CMT has the full episode on line.

Congrats to Blake Shelton, whose "All About Tonight" is #1 again for the third week in a row. Oh, and that part of the song about red Gatorade being a hangover cure? Blake says it really works, and I'm guessing he'd know!

Merle Haggard is on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, and Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert are on Good Morning America tomorrow, announcing the CMA nominees. Then tomorrow night, it's "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" on ABC.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "Found out 2day that there really is no way 2 b glamorous while n the dr.s office getting a physical. Starting w/ all the questions..not cute"