Forbes Magazine is out with their list of “The World’s 25 Highest-Paid Musicians 2012” and country music artists fare pretty well. Taylor Swift is tied with Sir Paul McCartney for the #8 spot on the list, each raking in $57 million for the year. Toby Keith is at #10, tied with Justin Bieber with $55 million in earnings. Kenny Chesney landed at #17, with a $44 million paycheck for 2012.
Zac Brown Band has had an incredible run since hitting the charts in 2008 with “Chicken Fried,” and Zac himself credits their character and work ethic for their success: “We’ve matured. We’re better musicians and better writers, we’re better as a band and as a unit and it reflects in the music. We spend hours and hours writing the songs and hours and hours arranging them and recording them and everything. We work harder than a lot of other bands, I think. And I think that’s what sets us apart.” Their new song, “Goodbye In Her Eyes,” is evocative and sad, but the video shows us the magic in they lyrics…
Carrie Underwood’s new song, “Two Black Cadillacs,” started out with just a song title from co-writer Josh Kear. “He came in with the title ‘Two Black Cadillacs’. Didn’t’ know what it was about. Wasn’t really sure of the storyline, and had the loop that was just, you know, ‘Two black cadillacs’, and that was it! So we were like, ‘Well, what could this be about? Why would you be in a cadillac? AH! Funeral! Ahh, okay!’” The story they told in the song is dark, and apparently the video will be even darker when it comes out in January. Here’s a sneak-peek…
Think putting up the Christmas tree is an ordeal at your house? Well, country artists are no different – Keifer and Shawna of Thompson Square put their sup this week, and apparently managed to stay married in spite of it: “3AM she about drove me crazy with this thing! We had to drive an hour to even get the tree. We probably spent a cumulative of 10 hours shopping for bulbs and Christmas ornaments and stuff. [Shawna] It was a little much, but we got it done. [Keifer] It was too much, but yeah we got it done. [Shawna] Actually, it’s not completely done. [Keifer] Now she wants to add some more stuff.”
Florida Georgia Line is enjoying their first taste of success, and met Cyndi Lauper at the American Music Awards. Brian Kelley says that she’s a role model to the duo, and she gave them some amazing advice: “She told us one thing – don’t conform, continue to be yourself and always to challenge yourself to continue to get better and continue to try to get the best music out there as you can. She is so inspiring, she was having a great time and what an amazing artist. If anybody acts herself it’s her. She stood out and didn’t care – it was cool.” Their debut album comes out on Tuesday.
Tomorrow, Shania Twain debuts in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace, and will continue doing shows there for the next two years. About the theatre, Shania says, “There is no other venue where the possibilities are endless as they are at Caesars Palace. That is for sure - I’ve seen a ton of shows in Vegas myself over the years, and I’m a great fan of going to live shows whenever I’m in Vegas. People go there for a trip – and I hope I become part of their trip.”
Sounds like Randy Travis is trying to get his life back in order after a few drunken arrests. He says he’s “eliminated alcohol from his daily life,” eats a high protein diet and takes lots of vitamins. According to gossip website TMZ, he was in a recording studio in Texas last week, working on new music.
Showing posts with label Kenny Chesney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenny Chesney. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2012
Kenny Chesney is psyched about his 20th anniversary tour – 20 years of touring and he vows to make it the best tour yet for his fans because of the mutual admiration they have: “I’m glad there’s anticipation I’m glad there’s a certain energy there. To be honest with you, the idea of that energy drives me to be even better. I think any entertainer will tell you this, because I do wear my feelings out on my sleeve a lot. So that being said, the more love we get, the more we throw back at them.” Tourmate Eric Church is thrilled to be part of the fun, so he can build a relationship with new fans: “We got this night, I’m not going to see you for a while and you’re not going to see me for a while, you know? And I love being able to capitalize on that moment and trying to live in that moment and get as much energy exchanged between myself and the crowd as we can. I love that! That’s my favorite part of what we do. I love being around people…I’m very passionate about my music and I love people who are passionate about the music too, and I love playing a show for that type of crowd.” He’ll join the tour on select stadium shows, as will Zac Brown Band. Eli Young Band and Kacey Musgraves are the regular tourmates, signed up for at least 17 stadium shows with Kenny next year.
Jake Owen has set a record for the most consecutive sold-out shows for the CMT on Tour effort. He knows why people keep coming back to see him – he’ll all about giving value for that ticket price: “That’s all you ever try to do - is try to please the people that were there. Make sure they go home and tell their friends who weren’t there about it. The next time around they bring them back – and your crowd progressively gets bigger.”
Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean spent the weekend hunting in Kansas with the crew of Buck Commander. Also on the hunt are baseball stars Adam LaRoche, Ryan Langerhans and Tombo Martin. Luke admits that the deer could be safe from him and Jason: “Who knows – we’re both pretty awful. I haven’t killed anything on this past trip. I got a deer down in Texas – but I’m still waitin’.” The show will air this fall or winter on the Outdoor Channel.
Miranda Lambert spent her birthday weekend at home in Oklahoma, working on her new boutique, The Pink Pistol. It’ll open the day after Thanksgiving. Since she’s busy with that, plus her tour, plus her work with Pistol Annies, and Blake’s busy with The Voice, the subject of children doesn’t come up between them – they’re too busy, and Miranda says her dogs are like children to her.
Martina McBride just shot a video for “Please Come Home For Christmas” in Franklin, Tennessee. Her crew spent a week decorating the town, including adding snow, so it would be in the holiday spirit. The song will be part of “A Very Special Christmas” benefit cd this year, and the video featured 12 Special Olympians.
There’ll be a Hurricane Sandy benefit concert in New York at Madison Square Garden on 12/12/12. The performers are still being lined up, but there should be a country artist or two in the mix.
Jake Owen has set a record for the most consecutive sold-out shows for the CMT on Tour effort. He knows why people keep coming back to see him – he’ll all about giving value for that ticket price: “That’s all you ever try to do - is try to please the people that were there. Make sure they go home and tell their friends who weren’t there about it. The next time around they bring them back – and your crowd progressively gets bigger.”
Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean spent the weekend hunting in Kansas with the crew of Buck Commander. Also on the hunt are baseball stars Adam LaRoche, Ryan Langerhans and Tombo Martin. Luke admits that the deer could be safe from him and Jason: “Who knows – we’re both pretty awful. I haven’t killed anything on this past trip. I got a deer down in Texas – but I’m still waitin’.” The show will air this fall or winter on the Outdoor Channel.
Miranda Lambert spent her birthday weekend at home in Oklahoma, working on her new boutique, The Pink Pistol. It’ll open the day after Thanksgiving. Since she’s busy with that, plus her tour, plus her work with Pistol Annies, and Blake’s busy with The Voice, the subject of children doesn’t come up between them – they’re too busy, and Miranda says her dogs are like children to her.
Martina McBride just shot a video for “Please Come Home For Christmas” in Franklin, Tennessee. Her crew spent a week decorating the town, including adding snow, so it would be in the holiday spirit. The song will be part of “A Very Special Christmas” benefit cd this year, and the video featured 12 Special Olympians.
There’ll be a Hurricane Sandy benefit concert in New York at Madison Square Garden on 12/12/12. The performers are still being lined up, but there should be a country artist or two in the mix.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Brad Paisley is gallivanting around in Europe this week, playing shows in Sweden, Norway and Ireland. But as he says in the song “Southern Comfort Zone,” there’s no place like home: “There’s this circle of wood at the Opry, and it’s back here in Tennessee where everything is as I remember it. And everything is…it’s just…it’s the Shire in Lord of the Rings, it’s the place that’s this beautiful, ideal place to live, which I appreciate more now after having seen the world.”
When Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney toured together this past summer, what was their favorite part of the shows? Kenny starts the reminiscence: “It’s just special, you know, it was special for me, it was special for Tim. I think it was special for the fans to get to see us. To get to sing this song together every night and you know that’s something that doesn’t happen every day in this business and we were very excited to do it and this is just icing on the cake, really. [Tim] For me, it was seeing Kenny naked on those videos during the show.” Hey, Tim – that was “shirtless,” not naked!!
Taylor Swift has the #1 album in the country again this week with “Red.” It sits atop the Billboard Country chart and the Billboard 200 chart. As is her custom, Taylor either wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, and one of her collaborators is long-time writing buddy, Liz Rose. Taylor says, “It was really cool to get back with her, and tell her what was going on in my life and to just kind of walk her through this experience I had. We wrote a song called ‘All Too Well’ which is basically the story of a relationship from beginning to the ending. It’s pretty sad actually.” When the two sat down, Taylor had the song written, but it was over ten minutes long.
Luke Bryan has the #1 country song in America again this week, but if you ask him about other songs, he’ll dish. Favorite make-out song for him and Caroline? “Can’t Get You Off My Mind” by Lenny Kravitz. Favorite Karaoke song? Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” The song he wishes he’d recorded? Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking?” About his #1 song, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” co-written by Luke, Jeff Stevens and Shane McAnally, Luke says, “I think the chorus of that thing is some of the best writing that I’ve ever been a part of and I love the simplicity of the verses…I just love ‘Girl, rest your head.’ I love all that -- the melodies and all that through the song.” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” is Luke’s sixth #1 song, and the third from “Tailgates & Tanlines.”
We know what the guys in Zac Brown Band will be doing this holiday season – resting! They blocked out their calendars for some serious family time, but they won’t be resting long. By March, they’ll have new music written, a new touring rig and the production mapped out for their 2013 tour.
Sunday, Jo Dee Messina is running 13.1 miles at the Rock n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon & ½ Marathon. Not content to just run, she’s playing the post-race show at the Alamodome.
Tracy Byrd is frying up turkeys again this year. His 7th Annual Mission Possible Turkey Fry happens Tuesday, November 20th at the Nashville Rescue Mission. He and his cohorts will fry 500 birds, providing meals for the homeless and unemployed. It’s open to the public, so go pitch in if you’d like. Donations are appreciated.
When Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney toured together this past summer, what was their favorite part of the shows? Kenny starts the reminiscence: “It’s just special, you know, it was special for me, it was special for Tim. I think it was special for the fans to get to see us. To get to sing this song together every night and you know that’s something that doesn’t happen every day in this business and we were very excited to do it and this is just icing on the cake, really. [Tim] For me, it was seeing Kenny naked on those videos during the show.” Hey, Tim – that was “shirtless,” not naked!!
Taylor Swift has the #1 album in the country again this week with “Red.” It sits atop the Billboard Country chart and the Billboard 200 chart. As is her custom, Taylor either wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, and one of her collaborators is long-time writing buddy, Liz Rose. Taylor says, “It was really cool to get back with her, and tell her what was going on in my life and to just kind of walk her through this experience I had. We wrote a song called ‘All Too Well’ which is basically the story of a relationship from beginning to the ending. It’s pretty sad actually.” When the two sat down, Taylor had the song written, but it was over ten minutes long.
Luke Bryan has the #1 country song in America again this week, but if you ask him about other songs, he’ll dish. Favorite make-out song for him and Caroline? “Can’t Get You Off My Mind” by Lenny Kravitz. Favorite Karaoke song? Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” The song he wishes he’d recorded? Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking?” About his #1 song, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” co-written by Luke, Jeff Stevens and Shane McAnally, Luke says, “I think the chorus of that thing is some of the best writing that I’ve ever been a part of and I love the simplicity of the verses…I just love ‘Girl, rest your head.’ I love all that -- the melodies and all that through the song.” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” is Luke’s sixth #1 song, and the third from “Tailgates & Tanlines.”
We know what the guys in Zac Brown Band will be doing this holiday season – resting! They blocked out their calendars for some serious family time, but they won’t be resting long. By March, they’ll have new music written, a new touring rig and the production mapped out for their 2013 tour.
Sunday, Jo Dee Messina is running 13.1 miles at the Rock n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon & ½ Marathon. Not content to just run, she’s playing the post-race show at the Alamodome.
Tracy Byrd is frying up turkeys again this year. His 7th Annual Mission Possible Turkey Fry happens Tuesday, November 20th at the Nashville Rescue Mission. He and his cohorts will fry 500 birds, providing meals for the homeless and unemployed. It’s open to the public, so go pitch in if you’d like. Donations are appreciated.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
If you’ve been inside a Walgreens store lately, you probably noticed a Taylor Swift display, selling her new album, “Red.” How did that happen? Taylor’s dad had the idea: “He comes in and he’s like, ‘Walgreens has like 8,000 stores. That’s more than anything out there. Do you think they would sell music?’ And we’ve been working on it ever since. We’ve been working on it for ages partnering with Walgreens and we are finally opening the doors to the stores inside Walgreens where they’re gonna sell my music now and it’s amazing to me that that was just something, an idea out of thin air that my dad had.”
Jason Aldean has announced the first leg of his Night Train tour. It’ll kick off February 21st in Louisiana and visit 23 cities through May. Jason says his fans are in for a treat: “We’ve kind of made it a point to go out and make our shows, you know, as good as we can possibly make ‘em. You know, when people come out to our show, that’s what they’re gonna get.” Meanwhile, former tourmate Luke Bryan and Jason are making plans for right now: “[Jason] It’s huntin’ season. [Luke] Go deer hunt a little bit! [Jason] ...huntin’ season and just kinda gives us some time to take a couple months off and get ready for next year.”
Eric Church’s family was with him in Nashville when he accepted the CMA Album of the Year award for “Chief.” Eric’s dad and brother went back home after the show, but his mom hit the road with him for shows on the West Coast. He’s working on songs for his next album, but doesn’t really know when that one will be out, as he’s in no hurry: “I think there’s a lot of reasons to make records. The one thing I won’t do is I won’t make records for an economic reason. It won’t be because a label needs to make a quarterly number or we need to promote a tour.” If you need an Eric Church fix, a live album recorded last month in Chattanooga will be out in early 2013.
Miranda Lambert is getting into the retail spirit on Black Friday this year – she’s opening her new store, The Pink Pistol, in the small Oklahoma town where she and Blake Shelton live. The new boutique will sell, according to Miranda, “antiques, gifts, boots, jeans and pretty much everything you can imagine.” She says she wants to turn Black Friday, the huge shopping day after Thanksgiving, into Pink Friday.
Kenny Chesney fans, heads-up! He’ll announce details of 2013’s tour, including dates, opening acts and the tour’s name, on Thursday.
Chris Young is People Magazine’s Sexy Man of the Week, meaning he’s up for the annual Sexiest Man Alive award. Miranda and Blake are on the cover of the current issue.
Jason Aldean has announced the first leg of his Night Train tour. It’ll kick off February 21st in Louisiana and visit 23 cities through May. Jason says his fans are in for a treat: “We’ve kind of made it a point to go out and make our shows, you know, as good as we can possibly make ‘em. You know, when people come out to our show, that’s what they’re gonna get.” Meanwhile, former tourmate Luke Bryan and Jason are making plans for right now: “[Jason] It’s huntin’ season. [Luke] Go deer hunt a little bit! [Jason] ...huntin’ season and just kinda gives us some time to take a couple months off and get ready for next year.”
Eric Church’s family was with him in Nashville when he accepted the CMA Album of the Year award for “Chief.” Eric’s dad and brother went back home after the show, but his mom hit the road with him for shows on the West Coast. He’s working on songs for his next album, but doesn’t really know when that one will be out, as he’s in no hurry: “I think there’s a lot of reasons to make records. The one thing I won’t do is I won’t make records for an economic reason. It won’t be because a label needs to make a quarterly number or we need to promote a tour.” If you need an Eric Church fix, a live album recorded last month in Chattanooga will be out in early 2013.
Miranda Lambert is getting into the retail spirit on Black Friday this year – she’s opening her new store, The Pink Pistol, in the small Oklahoma town where she and Blake Shelton live. The new boutique will sell, according to Miranda, “antiques, gifts, boots, jeans and pretty much everything you can imagine.” She says she wants to turn Black Friday, the huge shopping day after Thanksgiving, into Pink Friday.
Kenny Chesney fans, heads-up! He’ll announce details of 2013’s tour, including dates, opening acts and the tour’s name, on Thursday.
Chris Young is People Magazine’s Sexy Man of the Week, meaning he’s up for the annual Sexiest Man Alive award. Miranda and Blake are on the cover of the current issue.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Here's a complete list of CMA Award winners from last night's show:
Entertainer of the Year
Blake Shelton
Female Vocalist of the Year|
Miranda Lambert
Male Vocalist of the Year
Blake Shelton
Vocal Group of the Year
Little Big Town
Vocal Duo of the Year
Thompson Square
Musical Event of the Year
“Feel Like a Rock Star” – Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw
New Artist of the Year
Hunter Hayes
Single of the Year
“Pontoon” – Little Big Town (Producer: Jay Joyce)
Song of the Year
“Over You” – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton (songwriters)
Album of the Year
Chief - Eric Church (Producer: Jay Joyce)
Music Video of the Year
“Red Solo Cup” – Toby Keith (Director: Michael Salomon)
Musician of the Year
Mac McAnally (guitar)
Entertainer of the Year
Blake Shelton
Female Vocalist of the Year|
Miranda Lambert
Male Vocalist of the Year
Blake Shelton
Vocal Group of the Year
Little Big Town
Vocal Duo of the Year
Thompson Square
Musical Event of the Year
“Feel Like a Rock Star” – Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw
New Artist of the Year
Hunter Hayes
Single of the Year
“Pontoon” – Little Big Town (Producer: Jay Joyce)
Song of the Year
“Over You” – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton (songwriters)
Album of the Year
Chief - Eric Church (Producer: Jay Joyce)
Music Video of the Year
“Red Solo Cup” – Toby Keith (Director: Michael Salomon)
Musician of the Year
Mac McAnally (guitar)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Keith Urban has been nominated for CMA Awards 25 times so far in his career. He’s won Male Vocalist of the Year three times, and is nominated for it again tomorrow night. So, is he more excited about maybe winning, or about performing? “I look forward to being able to play on awards shows. That is the absolute moment that matters most to me, is getting to play. 'Cause the other stuff is, I don't know about the other stuff. I know about playing, that's the only thing I know about.” The show airs at 8pm Eastern on ABC tomorrow night.
Kenny Chesney has Thanksgiving Day plans, but not like yours or mine. While we’re either cooking, eating, traveling or cleaning up, he’ll be performing in front of hundreds of millions of people world-wide. He’s been picked to play the halftime show at the Washington Redskins/Dallas Cowboys game. The event is the official kick-off of the Salvation Army’s 122nd Annual Red Kettle Campaign, so get out your bells and ring along. You even have a chance to win a trip to be at the game live. All the fun will air on FOX on Thanksgiving Day.
Last night, the Grand Ole Opry raised awareness about breast cancer, and raised money to help find the cure. As part of the Women Rock for the Cure events, Kellie Pickler, The Farm, Kristen Kelly, Sarah Darling, Little Jimmy Dickens and other Opry notables entertained in front of a pink, not red, barn. Nashville newcomer Kristen Kelly talks about the 6th time she’s performed on the Grand Ole Opry: “This will be my sixth appearance on the Opry since May. If it’s the last thing I do – I’ll die a happy woman. I just love everything the Opry stands for. To get to be invited back, and to get to play on October 30th and it be for the Opry Goes Pink for breast cancer awareness – it’s something I’m really excited to be part of.”
Tomorrow night is the CMA Awards show, and some of the winners will be announced on Good Morning America tomorrow morning! Musical Event and Music Video of the Year will be revealed, live from outside Bridgestone Arena during the show. Reba will also be performing tomorrow morning.
Look for “Nashville” stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiera to present awards tomorrow night. Brad Paisley’s wife Kimberly will also be a presenter, along with Reba, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, Jana Kramer, Lisa Marie Presley, comedian Tim Allen and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson.
Blake Shelton has been co-hosting the ACM Awards with Reba for a couple of years, but Reba announced she’s not going to be part of the show anymore. Will Blake fly solo, or is he looking for a tiny, talented, not-afraid-of-a-glass-of-whiskey co-host? Would Martina McBride do it? “Yeah! I think it’d be fun. Definitely. I mean, you know, it’s something a little bit different and I’m...I think it’d be a lot of fun.” Nothing official yet…
Blake Shelton is adding to his TV credits, this time with his own holiday special. Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas is set for December 3rd at 10pm on NBC. Apparently it’s going to be star-studded, and because Blake has a Christmas album out, will probably also include some songs from “Cheers, It’s Christmas.” No details have been revealed yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
Congratulations to Lee Brice – “Hard to Love” is his second #1 song in a row, following in the footsteps of “A Woman Like You.”
Kenny Chesney has Thanksgiving Day plans, but not like yours or mine. While we’re either cooking, eating, traveling or cleaning up, he’ll be performing in front of hundreds of millions of people world-wide. He’s been picked to play the halftime show at the Washington Redskins/Dallas Cowboys game. The event is the official kick-off of the Salvation Army’s 122nd Annual Red Kettle Campaign, so get out your bells and ring along. You even have a chance to win a trip to be at the game live. All the fun will air on FOX on Thanksgiving Day.
Last night, the Grand Ole Opry raised awareness about breast cancer, and raised money to help find the cure. As part of the Women Rock for the Cure events, Kellie Pickler, The Farm, Kristen Kelly, Sarah Darling, Little Jimmy Dickens and other Opry notables entertained in front of a pink, not red, barn. Nashville newcomer Kristen Kelly talks about the 6th time she’s performed on the Grand Ole Opry: “This will be my sixth appearance on the Opry since May. If it’s the last thing I do – I’ll die a happy woman. I just love everything the Opry stands for. To get to be invited back, and to get to play on October 30th and it be for the Opry Goes Pink for breast cancer awareness – it’s something I’m really excited to be part of.”
Tomorrow night is the CMA Awards show, and some of the winners will be announced on Good Morning America tomorrow morning! Musical Event and Music Video of the Year will be revealed, live from outside Bridgestone Arena during the show. Reba will also be performing tomorrow morning.
Look for “Nashville” stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiera to present awards tomorrow night. Brad Paisley’s wife Kimberly will also be a presenter, along with Reba, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, Jana Kramer, Lisa Marie Presley, comedian Tim Allen and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson.
Blake Shelton has been co-hosting the ACM Awards with Reba for a couple of years, but Reba announced she’s not going to be part of the show anymore. Will Blake fly solo, or is he looking for a tiny, talented, not-afraid-of-a-glass-of-whiskey co-host? Would Martina McBride do it? “Yeah! I think it’d be fun. Definitely. I mean, you know, it’s something a little bit different and I’m...I think it’d be a lot of fun.” Nothing official yet…
Blake Shelton is adding to his TV credits, this time with his own holiday special. Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas is set for December 3rd at 10pm on NBC. Apparently it’s going to be star-studded, and because Blake has a Christmas album out, will probably also include some songs from “Cheers, It’s Christmas.” No details have been revealed yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
Congratulations to Lee Brice – “Hard to Love” is his second #1 song in a row, following in the footsteps of “A Woman Like You.”
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Dierks Bentley has new music in the works, but not before he finishes what he started with “Home.” “I’m working on trying, you know...wrapping up this year so I can start working on some new music. We’ve been touring pretty hard and I’ve been writing some stuff. I’m gonna start working on a new record probably in January, but just wrapping up the year up. We’ve been rockin’ really hard.” This Sunday is the Nashville stop for his “Miles and Music for Kids” motorcycle ride and concert to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.
Apparently, Brad Paisley’s new album will have a lot of heart: one track features a heart monitor beating a rhythm track through the second verse, and another song features an actual recorded human heart as part of the instrumentation. Maybe he’ll give us sneak-peeks before the album drops in April of 2013!
It’s not easy being a superstar, especially when you’ve added a TV show to your schedule. Listen to the week that Keith Urban had recently: “Sunday started with the Emmys, of course. Monday and Tuesday nights we played in Vegas. Tuesday and Wednesday we shot American Idol in Chicago...had a great time there. And Thursday I got on a plane and I came to the south of France.”
Jake Owen’s CMT On Tour tour kicks off tomorrow night, with Love & Theft and Florida Georgia Line. Jake’s new “Endless Summer” EP features a song called “Summer Jam” that he and his buddies in FLG co-wrote, and Jake can’t wait to get onstage and do it live with them: “They were a big part in writing that song. Not only am I huge fans of theirs, and I really try to be very supportive of my buddies, but they’re gonna go out on our CMT On Tour, so I just thought it would be a really cool moment to bring them back out and do that song with them.”
After three years of camping out in Las Vegas, Garth Brooks pulls up stakes and heads back to Oklahoma next month. His final show at the Wynn Las Vegas will be November 17th, and Garth says he’s “thoroughly enjoyed [his] time” there, and has had some of the best audiences in the world.
Even though the tour is over, “Brothers of the Sun” is still atop the Pollstar Top 20 Concert Tour list. Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw averaged $4.4 million at the box office in each city of the tour, with an average ticket price of $87.96. Other country artists on the list include Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts and Jason Aldean.
In Kenny Rogers’ new memoir, “Luck or Something Like It,” you can read all about his life, his career and stories behind his music, but you won’t be reading anything about his plastic surgery. Unlike Dolly Parton, Kenny isn’t being open about his nips and tucks, saying that the publisher asked him to keep that part out of his book. You can read all the rest that he did put in there – the book’s available now online and in bookstores.
Apparently, Brad Paisley’s new album will have a lot of heart: one track features a heart monitor beating a rhythm track through the second verse, and another song features an actual recorded human heart as part of the instrumentation. Maybe he’ll give us sneak-peeks before the album drops in April of 2013!
It’s not easy being a superstar, especially when you’ve added a TV show to your schedule. Listen to the week that Keith Urban had recently: “Sunday started with the Emmys, of course. Monday and Tuesday nights we played in Vegas. Tuesday and Wednesday we shot American Idol in Chicago...had a great time there. And Thursday I got on a plane and I came to the south of France.”
Jake Owen’s CMT On Tour tour kicks off tomorrow night, with Love & Theft and Florida Georgia Line. Jake’s new “Endless Summer” EP features a song called “Summer Jam” that he and his buddies in FLG co-wrote, and Jake can’t wait to get onstage and do it live with them: “They were a big part in writing that song. Not only am I huge fans of theirs, and I really try to be very supportive of my buddies, but they’re gonna go out on our CMT On Tour, so I just thought it would be a really cool moment to bring them back out and do that song with them.”
After three years of camping out in Las Vegas, Garth Brooks pulls up stakes and heads back to Oklahoma next month. His final show at the Wynn Las Vegas will be November 17th, and Garth says he’s “thoroughly enjoyed [his] time” there, and has had some of the best audiences in the world.
Even though the tour is over, “Brothers of the Sun” is still atop the Pollstar Top 20 Concert Tour list. Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw averaged $4.4 million at the box office in each city of the tour, with an average ticket price of $87.96. Other country artists on the list include Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts and Jason Aldean.
In Kenny Rogers’ new memoir, “Luck or Something Like It,” you can read all about his life, his career and stories behind his music, but you won’t be reading anything about his plastic surgery. Unlike Dolly Parton, Kenny isn’t being open about his nips and tucks, saying that the publisher asked him to keep that part out of his book. You can read all the rest that he did put in there – the book’s available now online and in bookstores.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has started a “Hey St. Jude” fund and awareness drive, and country stars lend a hand, of course. Randy Owen, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Big & Rich, along with a host of sports and entertainment stars, show up in the video. To watch it and to donate, visit the video’s home page, and you can get one of the cool t-shirts featured in the video for a $35 donation.
Kenny Chesney’s “El Cerrito Place” keeps leaping up the chart, rising faster than his past smash hits. He thinks the song is striking a deep chord in fans for a couple of reasons: “I understand that sense of searching and longing in that song. It just felt very real to me. And that’s what Grace sang on. You know, to have her on ‘El Cerrito Place’ and sing in that high harmony is just...she just makes that searching and longing come to life.”
Jake Owen is having loads of success with his “Endless Summer” EP, which was released last week. How does he feel about these four songs? “You know everybody has got an iPod mix that says, ‘Summer Playlist.’ I’ve got mine. If I was making one, these songs I would put on there. I just felt honored to be able to put my voice on them, and put it out there – I think it’s kind of cool.” He’s getting set to hit the road with Love & Theft and Florida Georgia Line – the tour kicks off next Wednesday in New York City.
George Strait may be hitting the road for the last time, but he’s doing it in style, touring with Martina McBride. About her, George says, “She’s just incredible...an incredible singer and a great person. We have a lot of fun out there with her. We were out with her last year and we’re gonna go out with her again this year, and so we’re happy about that.” His “Cowboy Rides Away” tour happens in 2013 and 2014, and after that, George says he’s not going to tour anymore.
Rascal Flatts is in the current issue of Variety Magazine, and Jay DeMarcus remembers when the country music super group first hit the scene and reporters compared them to the Backstreet Boys. They were pretty stylish for country music in the early 2000’s, but held on to their look despite the digs. Gary, Jay and Joe Don just got their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, something the Backstreet Boys haven’t done yet.
Kenny Chesney’s “El Cerrito Place” keeps leaping up the chart, rising faster than his past smash hits. He thinks the song is striking a deep chord in fans for a couple of reasons: “I understand that sense of searching and longing in that song. It just felt very real to me. And that’s what Grace sang on. You know, to have her on ‘El Cerrito Place’ and sing in that high harmony is just...she just makes that searching and longing come to life.”
Jake Owen is having loads of success with his “Endless Summer” EP, which was released last week. How does he feel about these four songs? “You know everybody has got an iPod mix that says, ‘Summer Playlist.’ I’ve got mine. If I was making one, these songs I would put on there. I just felt honored to be able to put my voice on them, and put it out there – I think it’s kind of cool.” He’s getting set to hit the road with Love & Theft and Florida Georgia Line – the tour kicks off next Wednesday in New York City.
George Strait may be hitting the road for the last time, but he’s doing it in style, touring with Martina McBride. About her, George says, “She’s just incredible...an incredible singer and a great person. We have a lot of fun out there with her. We were out with her last year and we’re gonna go out with her again this year, and so we’re happy about that.” His “Cowboy Rides Away” tour happens in 2013 and 2014, and after that, George says he’s not going to tour anymore.
Rascal Flatts is in the current issue of Variety Magazine, and Jay DeMarcus remembers when the country music super group first hit the scene and reporters compared them to the Backstreet Boys. They were pretty stylish for country music in the early 2000’s, but held on to their look despite the digs. Gary, Jay and Joe Don just got their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, something the Backstreet Boys haven’t done yet.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Last night at the ACM Honors show in Nashville, Kenny Chesney received the Crystal Milestone award, in recognition of his promotion of country music world-wide. Asked who his musical heroes are, Kenny cited Kix Brooks as a big influence: “Kix and I have been friends a long time and I really respect him a lot as a survivor in a business that’s hard to survive in and I think the reason that he’s done that is because his foundation is from the songwriting end of it and he treats people very well and he’s treated me great. And I look up to Kix a lot.”
Also last night at the Ryman, Luke Bryan had a very special night. He and Dallas Davidson hit Nashville in the early 2000’s, and both were songwriters. They struck up a grand friendship, co-wrote two of Luke’s #1 songs – “I Don’t Want This Night to End” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and continue to pal around together all these years later. Dallas was honored at the show for winning ACM Songwriter of the Year earlier this year, and according to Luke, “The fact that Dallas and I are in this business together, we still, we’ll go fishing or hunting and shake our heads and giggle. The history between he and I is just so deep. It’s amazing, I mean, that I can have the opportunity to honor him on that night and do some of our songs, and the fact that, gosh, the fact that he and I have even written big hits is just borderline comical.”
Meanwhile, over at ABC, Taylor Swift has a gig for several weeks – she’s introducing a 30-second clip of new music from her “Red” album each Monday, and then Tuesday morning at 12:01, that song goes on sale at iTunes. About this week’s song, Taylor says, “This one is such a bold statement. It’s a bold sounding song and I think that’s why I ended up picking it. It’s a bold record in different ways – not in the same way as ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ is. But, every song has its own boldness.” In case you missed yesterday’s announcement about the song, “Begin Again,” here’s a sample of it…
Jake Owen is extending summer with the release of his Endless Summer EP today. On it, you’ll find a cover version of Ben Harper’s hit, “Steal My Kisses.” How did Jake decide to record that one? “Believe it or not, I always loved that song and then I kind of forgot about it. Then I was in a T.J. Maxx, and through the speakers I heard, ‘Always got to steal my kisses from you.’ I caught myself singing along and I felt like, ‘Wow this is the perfect summertime feel kind of song.’ So we did a really cool version of it and put it on there – so hopefully people dig it.” The EP is out now – go get it from iTunes, Amazon.com or wherever you like to buy music.
Also last night at the Ryman, Luke Bryan had a very special night. He and Dallas Davidson hit Nashville in the early 2000’s, and both were songwriters. They struck up a grand friendship, co-wrote two of Luke’s #1 songs – “I Don’t Want This Night to End” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and continue to pal around together all these years later. Dallas was honored at the show for winning ACM Songwriter of the Year earlier this year, and according to Luke, “The fact that Dallas and I are in this business together, we still, we’ll go fishing or hunting and shake our heads and giggle. The history between he and I is just so deep. It’s amazing, I mean, that I can have the opportunity to honor him on that night and do some of our songs, and the fact that, gosh, the fact that he and I have even written big hits is just borderline comical.”
Meanwhile, over at ABC, Taylor Swift has a gig for several weeks – she’s introducing a 30-second clip of new music from her “Red” album each Monday, and then Tuesday morning at 12:01, that song goes on sale at iTunes. About this week’s song, Taylor says, “This one is such a bold statement. It’s a bold sounding song and I think that’s why I ended up picking it. It’s a bold record in different ways – not in the same way as ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ is. But, every song has its own boldness.” In case you missed yesterday’s announcement about the song, “Begin Again,” here’s a sample of it…
Jake Owen is extending summer with the release of his Endless Summer EP today. On it, you’ll find a cover version of Ben Harper’s hit, “Steal My Kisses.” How did Jake decide to record that one? “Believe it or not, I always loved that song and then I kind of forgot about it. Then I was in a T.J. Maxx, and through the speakers I heard, ‘Always got to steal my kisses from you.’ I caught myself singing along and I felt like, ‘Wow this is the perfect summertime feel kind of song.’ So we did a really cool version of it and put it on there – so hopefully people dig it.” The EP is out now – go get it from iTunes, Amazon.com or wherever you like to buy music.
Friday, September 14, 2012
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It came out in May, but Carrie Underwood’s album, “Blown Away,” tops the Billboard Country chart again this week. That’s seven weeks it’s held the top position. Carrie’s getting ready to kick off her tour, but stopped by the Checotah Oklahoma animal shelter while she was visiting her mom and found a lapful of love. She tweeted this photo of herself covered in kittens and asked her Twitter followers if anybody wanted one. Carrie’s a big supporter of her hometown shelter.
Love and Theft are up for two CMA Awards this year – Vocal Duo of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Their debut single, “Runaway,” hit the top 10, and the follow-up, “Angel Eyes,” was their first #1 song. They’re getting set to join Jake Owen on tour this fall, and Stephen Barker says that King George is his idol: “George Strait’s one of the reasons I moved to Nashville. I had, like, every single album, especially in high school, I had ‘em all, and then, junior year, someone stole all my CDs out of my football locker, but…so I used to have almost every George Strait CD up to that point. So I haven’t restarted building my catalog just because it’s kind of depressing ’cause I had so many, but yeah, George is one of the reasons I’m here right now.”
Do you have a great story about how one of the CMA-nominated songs has impacted your life? The Band Perry has partnered with RIAA and NARM for the second annual Countdown to the CMA Awards contest. The winner gets $1,000 and two tickets to the November first CMA Awards show in Nashville. Good luck – enter before October 12th!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Brad Paisley pranked his tour openers, Scotty McCreery and The Band Perry, over the weekend. He shortened the stage on Scotty, causing him to fall off, then the next night, put up cones and caution tape. For The Band Perry, he took it a step farther, changing their opening-song video to Canadian kids show, The DoodleBops. Aside from regularly checking out the screen to see what was going on, TBP didn’t miss a beat. Check out the performance, along with Brad’s video work…
Last year, Kenny Chesney broke the record for the biggest crowd at a ticketed event in the New York City area. This year, he broke his own record, selling 56,285 tickets at the show Saturday night at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Taylor Swift is set to release her 4th studio album, “Red,” on October 22nd. According to Taylor, “All the different emotions that are written about on this album, they’re all pretty much about the tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships that I’ve experienced in the last two years.” You can bet there’ll be some discussion over which song goes with which ex-boyfriend. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is available on iTunes and Google Play.
Trace Adkins takes on a new role starting a week from today: television star. GAC premiers a new series, Great American Heroes, and each week the show follows Trace on his Songs & Stories tour. At each stop, he honors local heroes hard at work in their communities, making their part of the world a better place. According to Trace, “This show does more than tell some good stories, it affirms our faith in others.”
Road trip alert: Dierks Bentley will host his 7th annual Miles & Music for Kids charity motorcycle ride and concert on October 14th in Nashville. Along for the ride and show are Chris Young, Brantley Gilbert and Craig Campbell. Dierks says, “I want it to be about awareness, I want it to be about community, I want it to be about families—at the same time that we’re raising awareness and raising money for the children’s hospital. It’s a bigger picture than just numbers, you know?” So far he’s raised over $2 million for the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood will all be part of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Labor Day Telethon, live on September 2nd.
Carrie Underwood is on the Today Show this morning.
Last year, Kenny Chesney broke the record for the biggest crowd at a ticketed event in the New York City area. This year, he broke his own record, selling 56,285 tickets at the show Saturday night at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Taylor Swift is set to release her 4th studio album, “Red,” on October 22nd. According to Taylor, “All the different emotions that are written about on this album, they’re all pretty much about the tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships that I’ve experienced in the last two years.” You can bet there’ll be some discussion over which song goes with which ex-boyfriend. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is available on iTunes and Google Play.
Trace Adkins takes on a new role starting a week from today: television star. GAC premiers a new series, Great American Heroes, and each week the show follows Trace on his Songs & Stories tour. At each stop, he honors local heroes hard at work in their communities, making their part of the world a better place. According to Trace, “This show does more than tell some good stories, it affirms our faith in others.”
Road trip alert: Dierks Bentley will host his 7th annual Miles & Music for Kids charity motorcycle ride and concert on October 14th in Nashville. Along for the ride and show are Chris Young, Brantley Gilbert and Craig Campbell. Dierks says, “I want it to be about awareness, I want it to be about community, I want it to be about families—at the same time that we’re raising awareness and raising money for the children’s hospital. It’s a bigger picture than just numbers, you know?” So far he’s raised over $2 million for the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood will all be part of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Labor Day Telethon, live on September 2nd.
Carrie Underwood is on the Today Show this morning.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
First it was Garth Brooks. Then it was Shania Twain. Now, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are setting up house in Vegas for a stint at the Venetian Theatre. They’ll do a ten-weekend run of shows beginning December 7th, calling the shows “Soul2Soul,” the same name as their two successful tours together. Those tours happened in 2000 and 2006, and the two have not performed a full concert together since the last tour. Tim says that the residency arrangement in Vegas will be good for their family and he’s been looking for a way to work with Faith onstage, and this fits the bill. Presale tickets will be available tomorrow and the general public can start buying them on Monday the 13th at the hotel box office. This announcement comes on the heels of the mega-successful “Brothers of the Sun” tour with Kenny Chesney and being inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Tim was born and raised in Delhi, Louisiana.
Speaking of Garth Brooks, he’s been added to the list of performers on the Teachers Rock special on CBS. He joins Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley as the country performers. The show tapes on August 14th and will air on August 18th.
Keith Urban is working on a new album, and is laying down tracks all around the world. He’s planning a tour next year, so feels the pressure to get new music out, but wants it to feel fresh and different. Check out a tiny piece of his new song, “Tidal Wave,” in this video…
Blake Shelton worked hard to make his Christmas album a very special one. He’s co-written a song with his mom, Dorothy Shackleford, and she sings on it. He and Michael Buble re-worked the song “Home” into a holiday tune and for the first time ever, Blake Shelton and Reba duet on a song. “Cheers It’s Christmas” drops on October second.
Other country artists got in the Christmas spirit, lending their voices to the 25th anniversary of the Very Special Christmas project, a benefit for Special Olympics. Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry and Vince Gill all have cuts on this double-album project, which streets October 16th.
Miranda Lambert and Pistol Annies will kick off the new season of Say Yes to the Dress! Angaleena Presley and her hubby Jordan Powell eloped in May, but went dress-shopping at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta with her band members Ashley Monroe and Miranda Lambert. The episode airs on August 24th at 9pm on TLC.
Congrats to Kenny Chesney, who has the #1 country song in America with “Come Over.”
Zac Brown Band is on Jimmy Kimmel tonight – it’s a rerun.
Speaking of Garth Brooks, he’s been added to the list of performers on the Teachers Rock special on CBS. He joins Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley as the country performers. The show tapes on August 14th and will air on August 18th.
Keith Urban is working on a new album, and is laying down tracks all around the world. He’s planning a tour next year, so feels the pressure to get new music out, but wants it to feel fresh and different. Check out a tiny piece of his new song, “Tidal Wave,” in this video…
Blake Shelton worked hard to make his Christmas album a very special one. He’s co-written a song with his mom, Dorothy Shackleford, and she sings on it. He and Michael Buble re-worked the song “Home” into a holiday tune and for the first time ever, Blake Shelton and Reba duet on a song. “Cheers It’s Christmas” drops on October second.
Other country artists got in the Christmas spirit, lending their voices to the 25th anniversary of the Very Special Christmas project, a benefit for Special Olympics. Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry and Vince Gill all have cuts on this double-album project, which streets October 16th.
Miranda Lambert and Pistol Annies will kick off the new season of Say Yes to the Dress! Angaleena Presley and her hubby Jordan Powell eloped in May, but went dress-shopping at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta with her band members Ashley Monroe and Miranda Lambert. The episode airs on August 24th at 9pm on TLC.
Congrats to Kenny Chesney, who has the #1 country song in America with “Come Over.”
Zac Brown Band is on Jimmy Kimmel tonight – it’s a rerun.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Congrats to Kenny Chesney, who has his 24th #1 song with “Come Over.” It tops the country charts this week, after only 11 weeks on the chart. About the song, Kenny says, “It is a very emotional and it’s a…more of a comfortable song being with someone that you’re just used to being with because you just…the idea of moving forward is scarier than the idea of staying in what’s comfortable, and I think we all relate to that.”
Good news for Miranda Lambert and her fans – she’s feeling better after some enforced rest, both physical and vocal, and is ready to get back out and chew up some stages. About her doctor-ordered rest, Miranda said she’d “been going 90 to nothin’ and it caught up” with her. While on vocal rest, she received a plaque for her latest gold record, “Baggage Claim.”
Toby Keith has rescheduled his Army Concert Tour at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin because he has to have his gallbladder removed. It’s an outpatient procedure, but it will sideline him for a little while. Gretchen Wilson will fill in for him tomorrow.
Cracker Barrel is teaming up with Josh Turner to release “Live Across America” on August 27th. The 12-track collection was recorded live at 12 different tour stops on his 2012 tour. Are you sensing a theme?
Gloriana will perform Friday morning on FOX & Friends as part of their summer concert series. Their new album, “A Thousand Miles Left Behind,” is out, and Tom Gossin explains the title: “A Thousand Miles Left Behind signifies how much we’ve toured – being that we’ve stayed on tour for about five years now and been around the world a couple times. It’s been crazy, so it has a literal meaning. Figuratively speaking – just all that we’ve learned. You know, it’s like every mile we learned a new lesson on the road.”
He’s being hailed as the boy version of Taylor Swift, and like Taylor, Hunter Hayes knows where the magic is in country music –it’s the song: “You know when I write a song, I definitely want it to be from me – definitely want it to be a real life thing. My favorite songs are songs that I relate to, songs that mean something to me – because someone else wrote from their heart. So, I wanted a record full of those songs.” His self-titled debut album has spawned his first gold record – the current single, “Wanted.”
Little Big Town is on the syndicated show, Better TV, today.
Good news for Miranda Lambert and her fans – she’s feeling better after some enforced rest, both physical and vocal, and is ready to get back out and chew up some stages. About her doctor-ordered rest, Miranda said she’d “been going 90 to nothin’ and it caught up” with her. While on vocal rest, she received a plaque for her latest gold record, “Baggage Claim.”
Toby Keith has rescheduled his Army Concert Tour at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin because he has to have his gallbladder removed. It’s an outpatient procedure, but it will sideline him for a little while. Gretchen Wilson will fill in for him tomorrow.
Cracker Barrel is teaming up with Josh Turner to release “Live Across America” on August 27th. The 12-track collection was recorded live at 12 different tour stops on his 2012 tour. Are you sensing a theme?
Gloriana will perform Friday morning on FOX & Friends as part of their summer concert series. Their new album, “A Thousand Miles Left Behind,” is out, and Tom Gossin explains the title: “A Thousand Miles Left Behind signifies how much we’ve toured – being that we’ve stayed on tour for about five years now and been around the world a couple times. It’s been crazy, so it has a literal meaning. Figuratively speaking – just all that we’ve learned. You know, it’s like every mile we learned a new lesson on the road.”
He’s being hailed as the boy version of Taylor Swift, and like Taylor, Hunter Hayes knows where the magic is in country music –it’s the song: “You know when I write a song, I definitely want it to be from me – definitely want it to be a real life thing. My favorite songs are songs that I relate to, songs that mean something to me – because someone else wrote from their heart. So, I wanted a record full of those songs.” His self-titled debut album has spawned his first gold record – the current single, “Wanted.”
Little Big Town is on the syndicated show, Better TV, today.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Toby Keith has turned down a chance to be a judge on American Idol. He told FOX producers that he was “too busy” to take on the judges role for season 12, but he would have been a great choice. Toby isn’t one to pull punches and is known for saying just what he thinks, kind of like Simon. Still no official word of who the third judge will be, and no further word on whether Brad Paisley is still being considered. Lauren Alaina is all for Brad being the choice: “I think that would be really cool. He has a great personality and every time I’ve talked with him he’s been super nice. He is really cool. I think that would be a good move for the show.”
Oh, to have had an invitation to this dinner: Reba invited Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Jennifer Nettles and her new hubby over for a night of food, drink and story-swapping: “Yeah, we were hanging out and they came over to the house for dinner. It’s just great to have friends that are in the business that you can talk about. We all sat around after dinner telling road stories. It’s just fun! Jennifer Nettles was over there with her husband Justin just having a great time.” That’s not all Reba and Blake have shared recently: “Blake is a character! I got to sing with him on his Christmas album...a single that he asked me to sing on for his Christmas album.” That album should be out in a couple of months.
Dierks Bentley has decided to release just four songs in his next project, an EP called Country & Cold Cans. It’ll be out on August 21st and was produced by rocker Jaren Johnston of the band Cadillac Black. That group will be part of Dierks’ Country and Cold Cans: Back to College Tour, which kicks off next month. The tour stops at UGA on August 20th, University of South Carolina on the 21st and The Grove at the University of Mississippi on August 22nd.
Kenny Chesney will be part of the Farm Aid concert on September 22 in Hershey, PA. He credits his small-town upbringing to his desire to help America’s family farmers. Willie Nelson, John Mellenamp, Dave Matthews and Neil Young are also part of the show.
Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood are the country celebrities participating in CBS’s benefit concert special, Teachers Rock.” It will tape on August 14th and air on August 18th. Proceeds from the event benefit Teach For America, Feeding America and DonorsChoose.org.
Sugarland will be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on October 14th this year. They’re going into the hall in the Performer category – there will be eight other inductees from other areas of Georgia’s music industry.
Heads up on an event that always sells out fast: the 11th Anniversary of the Charlie Daniels Band & Friends Concert happens at the Ryman in Nashville on November 19th. Phil Vassar and Thompson Square are already confirmed to be part of this benefit for Christmas 4 Kids.
Miranda Lambert co-hosted The View last week, and brought along Pistol Annies to perform their new song, “Takin’ Pills.” Watch the whole episode if you’d like.
http://abc.go.com/watch/the-view/SH559080/VD55222128/the-view-725
Gloriana is on Good Morning America and Martina McBride is on Opening Act tonight.
Oh, to have had an invitation to this dinner: Reba invited Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Jennifer Nettles and her new hubby over for a night of food, drink and story-swapping: “Yeah, we were hanging out and they came over to the house for dinner. It’s just great to have friends that are in the business that you can talk about. We all sat around after dinner telling road stories. It’s just fun! Jennifer Nettles was over there with her husband Justin just having a great time.” That’s not all Reba and Blake have shared recently: “Blake is a character! I got to sing with him on his Christmas album...a single that he asked me to sing on for his Christmas album.” That album should be out in a couple of months.
Dierks Bentley has decided to release just four songs in his next project, an EP called Country & Cold Cans. It’ll be out on August 21st and was produced by rocker Jaren Johnston of the band Cadillac Black. That group will be part of Dierks’ Country and Cold Cans: Back to College Tour, which kicks off next month. The tour stops at UGA on August 20th, University of South Carolina on the 21st and The Grove at the University of Mississippi on August 22nd.
Kenny Chesney will be part of the Farm Aid concert on September 22 in Hershey, PA. He credits his small-town upbringing to his desire to help America’s family farmers. Willie Nelson, John Mellenamp, Dave Matthews and Neil Young are also part of the show.
Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood are the country celebrities participating in CBS’s benefit concert special, Teachers Rock.” It will tape on August 14th and air on August 18th. Proceeds from the event benefit Teach For America, Feeding America and DonorsChoose.org.
Sugarland will be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on October 14th this year. They’re going into the hall in the Performer category – there will be eight other inductees from other areas of Georgia’s music industry.
Heads up on an event that always sells out fast: the 11th Anniversary of the Charlie Daniels Band & Friends Concert happens at the Ryman in Nashville on November 19th. Phil Vassar and Thompson Square are already confirmed to be part of this benefit for Christmas 4 Kids.
Miranda Lambert co-hosted The View last week, and brought along Pistol Annies to perform their new song, “Takin’ Pills.” Watch the whole episode if you’d like.
http://abc.go.com/watch/the-view/SH559080/VD55222128/the-view-725
Gloriana is on Good Morning America and Martina McBride is on Opening Act tonight.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Jason Aldean is about to make history. His new song, “Take a Little Ride,” debuted at #19 on the Billboard country single chart, and they predict it’ll make history as the top-selling digital song ever by a male artist in it’s first week out. So far, after just a few days, it’s sold more than 200,000 digital copies. Just how hot is his career right now? He sold out a 20,000 seat theatre in Cleveland, Ohio in 30 seconds!
Lady Antebellum has been touring, but that’s not all they’ve been doing. While on the road, the trio makes good use of their down time by writing, and according to Charles Kelley, they’re rarin’ to hit the studio once the tour is over: “We’re going to start working on new material in the fall. We’ve been touring so much this year, and now I think we’re writing all these songs, and can’t wait to get in there and see what it turns into. I’m actually really anxious about it and excited.”
With the American Idol judge turnover, it’s only natural that country stars might want to see one of their own in the judge’s role next season. Kelly Clarkson has gone public with her support for Carrie Underwood as an AI judge, and Scotty McCreery thinks Garth Brooks would be the perfect choice. There’s still one seat to fill on the show – no word on who FOX is considering.
Kenny Chesney has new heavy metal for his walls – “Come Over” has been certified gold and “Don’t Blink” received platinum certification. “Come Over” went gold faster than any other single of his, and Kenny knows why: “When you get to a point in your career that I am, you have to search for melodies that are just different. You just do. So I think that it was a perfect song for me, and it’s a song that I needed at this point in my career, and it was an incredible way to kick off the record, I think production-wise and emotionally ’cause it does set a tone.” It’s #2 on the country charts this week – watch it take over the #1 spot next week.
Dierks Bentley is a good guy to tour with, apparently. Eli Young Band was his opening act on the Country & Cold Cans Tour, and when it wrapped, EYB had some nice swag: “Dierks Bentley was nice enough, after we finished the tour with him, he bought us a big outdoor tent, chairs and travel grill. We can grill out on those long days where we don’t have a lot to do so. It was a really nice gift.”
Dierks Bentley has the #1 country song in America this week with “5-1-5-0.” He’s happy with fan reaction to it: “They’ve been great, the song’s definitely taken a life of its own and that’s what you want. You want people to hear it and just, you know, bring as much out of it as they possibly can.” It’s his 10th #1 song and the third in a row from his “Home” album.
Congrats to songwriter-extraordinaire Sarah Buxton. She and hubby Tom Bukovac are expeting their first child in December. You know her by her songs for Keith Urban, “Stupid Boy,” “Put You In A Song,” and the new Big & Rich song, “That’s Why I Pray.”
Pistol Annies are on The View today, and John Rich is on Live With Kelly.
Lady Antebellum has been touring, but that’s not all they’ve been doing. While on the road, the trio makes good use of their down time by writing, and according to Charles Kelley, they’re rarin’ to hit the studio once the tour is over: “We’re going to start working on new material in the fall. We’ve been touring so much this year, and now I think we’re writing all these songs, and can’t wait to get in there and see what it turns into. I’m actually really anxious about it and excited.”
With the American Idol judge turnover, it’s only natural that country stars might want to see one of their own in the judge’s role next season. Kelly Clarkson has gone public with her support for Carrie Underwood as an AI judge, and Scotty McCreery thinks Garth Brooks would be the perfect choice. There’s still one seat to fill on the show – no word on who FOX is considering.
Kenny Chesney has new heavy metal for his walls – “Come Over” has been certified gold and “Don’t Blink” received platinum certification. “Come Over” went gold faster than any other single of his, and Kenny knows why: “When you get to a point in your career that I am, you have to search for melodies that are just different. You just do. So I think that it was a perfect song for me, and it’s a song that I needed at this point in my career, and it was an incredible way to kick off the record, I think production-wise and emotionally ’cause it does set a tone.” It’s #2 on the country charts this week – watch it take over the #1 spot next week.
Dierks Bentley is a good guy to tour with, apparently. Eli Young Band was his opening act on the Country & Cold Cans Tour, and when it wrapped, EYB had some nice swag: “Dierks Bentley was nice enough, after we finished the tour with him, he bought us a big outdoor tent, chairs and travel grill. We can grill out on those long days where we don’t have a lot to do so. It was a really nice gift.”
Dierks Bentley has the #1 country song in America this week with “5-1-5-0.” He’s happy with fan reaction to it: “They’ve been great, the song’s definitely taken a life of its own and that’s what you want. You want people to hear it and just, you know, bring as much out of it as they possibly can.” It’s his 10th #1 song and the third in a row from his “Home” album.
Congrats to songwriter-extraordinaire Sarah Buxton. She and hubby Tom Bukovac are expeting their first child in December. You know her by her songs for Keith Urban, “Stupid Boy,” “Put You In A Song,” and the new Big & Rich song, “That’s Why I Pray.”
Pistol Annies are on The View today, and John Rich is on Live With Kelly.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw sit atop Pollstar’s Top 20 Concert Tour list and their Brothers of the Sun tour has earned the moniker “top-grossing summer tour.” So far they’ve taken in over $4 million in ticket sales. Other country acts making the list include Lady Antebellum at #14, taking in $490,000, Miranda Lambert at #16, making $432,000, and Eric Church at #20 with $320,000 in concert earnings.
Tornado warning! Little Big Town’s fifth studio album, Tornado, will be out September 11th. Kimberly Schlapman knows the album is special and has a new energy – here’s why: “This time we decided to use the guys that travel with us on all our shows, and it gave it such a fresh spirit. Everybody was just out there having fun and just putting out the very, very best that they had, and it was so creative. I think you can hear the spontaneity and the energy and the freshness in the music.” The first single on the album, “Pontoon,” has already gone gold.
Gloriana has hit a milestone – they have their first top-5 song with “(Kissed You) Good Night.” It’s the first single from A Thousand Miles Left Behind, which drops on July 31st. Tom Gossin says the project is a hint at the band members’ personal lives: “It’s really the story of the past three years of our lives...different experiences that we went through on the road, different experiences that we were experiencing in our own personal lives and our lives with each other and we’re very, very proud of it.”
Colt Ford is out with a new song, and it features Jake Owen. “‘Back’ is me doing what I do. It’s Jake Owen doing what he does. It’s me at my best –being honest and real, and open with the fans – which is what I’ve always tried to do.” Check it out…
College football season hasn’t even cranked up yet, but Lady Antebellum has already signed to perform at the FanFest just before the Belk Bowl on December 27th in Charlotte, NC. All three Lady A’ers are huge football fans – they even watch games on their tour bus when they’re on the road.
DVR alert – September 17th at 8pm Eastern on ABC, the CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock will air. Co-hosted by Kimberly Perry and Luke Bryan, the show will feature all the best performers from the CMA Music Festival this year: Zac Brown Band, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts and tons more…Kix Brooks, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Scotty McDreery, Jake Owen, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Hank Williams, Jr.
Tornado warning! Little Big Town’s fifth studio album, Tornado, will be out September 11th. Kimberly Schlapman knows the album is special and has a new energy – here’s why: “This time we decided to use the guys that travel with us on all our shows, and it gave it such a fresh spirit. Everybody was just out there having fun and just putting out the very, very best that they had, and it was so creative. I think you can hear the spontaneity and the energy and the freshness in the music.” The first single on the album, “Pontoon,” has already gone gold.
Gloriana has hit a milestone – they have their first top-5 song with “(Kissed You) Good Night.” It’s the first single from A Thousand Miles Left Behind, which drops on July 31st. Tom Gossin says the project is a hint at the band members’ personal lives: “It’s really the story of the past three years of our lives...different experiences that we went through on the road, different experiences that we were experiencing in our own personal lives and our lives with each other and we’re very, very proud of it.”
Colt Ford is out with a new song, and it features Jake Owen. “‘Back’ is me doing what I do. It’s Jake Owen doing what he does. It’s me at my best –being honest and real, and open with the fans – which is what I’ve always tried to do.” Check it out…
College football season hasn’t even cranked up yet, but Lady Antebellum has already signed to perform at the FanFest just before the Belk Bowl on December 27th in Charlotte, NC. All three Lady A’ers are huge football fans – they even watch games on their tour bus when they’re on the road.
DVR alert – September 17th at 8pm Eastern on ABC, the CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock will air. Co-hosted by Kimberly Perry and Luke Bryan, the show will feature all the best performers from the CMA Music Festival this year: Zac Brown Band, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts and tons more…Kix Brooks, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Scotty McDreery, Jake Owen, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Hank Williams, Jr.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Lady Antebellum is in Great Britain and on one of their tour stops, they opened for Bruce Springsteen. Of that experience, Charles Kelley says, “I’ve seen him several times, every time he comes to Nashville I see him. It is a huge honor...big influence and one of the best songwriters of all time.” Lady A got to complete their set, but Bruce Springsteen’s set was cut short because of a strict curfew at the Hyde Park location.
Eli Young Band is basking in another week at #1, and knew all along it would be a hit: “‘Even If It Breaks Your Heart’ is kind of one of those songs we knew right away that we wanted to record it. For us and the road we have been on the last 10 years, it kind of felt like our story and it felt like we could have or should have written it...it felt right.” It’s looking like Dierks Bentley will take the #1 slot away from Eli Young Band, but I doubt it will break their hearts.
Chris Young likes to box, so when he posted a picture of himself with a black eye, fans assumed for a moment that he got it sparring with someone. No – he tells the real tale: “I actually hit myself in the eye with a guitar the other day. For a second, I wanted to get on Twitter and say ‘Ah, I got punched in the face’ but I didn’t. I just hit myself with my own guitar...not quite as cool, but it’s still funny.”
Going to be in Nashville on September 24th? Slide by the Ryman for some red-carpet fun. The non-televised award winners of ACM awards this spring will be honored at the 6th Annual ACM Honors. Award recipients include Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill and Bobby Braddock. They’ll receive special awards, plus the Industry, Musician, Bandleader and Instrumentalist award winners will be recognized.
Tracy Byrd and his wife Michelle were in a wreck in Texas and were both hospitalized. A woman pulled out in front of the car they were in, and she was also taken to the hospital. Michelle has undergone two surgeries on her left foot since the accident early Tuesday afternoon. The driver of the other car was ticketed for failure to yield the right of way. The extent of Tracy’s injuries hasn’t been disclosed, other to say that they’re “non-life-threatening.”
Glen Campbell’s US tour is going well, but he’s cancelled the Australia and New Zealand legs of the tour. Those six dates will be carried by Kenny Rogers and local country artists. Glen’s people feel that the long plane ride would be more than he could handle as his Alzheimer’s disease progresses.
Tonight is the finale of ABC’s Duets, and the odds favor Jennifer Nettles to have a winner, as her partners J Rome and John Glosson are both in the top three. Kelly Clarkson’s partner, Jason Farol, rounds out the contenders for tonight’s show.
Congratulations to the Zac Brown Band, whose new album “Uncaged” debuted at the top of the Billboard Country Chart and also at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200. Nearly a quarter of a million copies were sold in its first week of release.
Heavy metal alert – Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” has gone double-platinum and Billy Currington’s “Good Directions” was awarded platinum certification.
Eli Young Band is basking in another week at #1, and knew all along it would be a hit: “‘Even If It Breaks Your Heart’ is kind of one of those songs we knew right away that we wanted to record it. For us and the road we have been on the last 10 years, it kind of felt like our story and it felt like we could have or should have written it...it felt right.” It’s looking like Dierks Bentley will take the #1 slot away from Eli Young Band, but I doubt it will break their hearts.
Chris Young likes to box, so when he posted a picture of himself with a black eye, fans assumed for a moment that he got it sparring with someone. No – he tells the real tale: “I actually hit myself in the eye with a guitar the other day. For a second, I wanted to get on Twitter and say ‘Ah, I got punched in the face’ but I didn’t. I just hit myself with my own guitar...not quite as cool, but it’s still funny.”
Going to be in Nashville on September 24th? Slide by the Ryman for some red-carpet fun. The non-televised award winners of ACM awards this spring will be honored at the 6th Annual ACM Honors. Award recipients include Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill and Bobby Braddock. They’ll receive special awards, plus the Industry, Musician, Bandleader and Instrumentalist award winners will be recognized.
Tracy Byrd and his wife Michelle were in a wreck in Texas and were both hospitalized. A woman pulled out in front of the car they were in, and she was also taken to the hospital. Michelle has undergone two surgeries on her left foot since the accident early Tuesday afternoon. The driver of the other car was ticketed for failure to yield the right of way. The extent of Tracy’s injuries hasn’t been disclosed, other to say that they’re “non-life-threatening.”
Glen Campbell’s US tour is going well, but he’s cancelled the Australia and New Zealand legs of the tour. Those six dates will be carried by Kenny Rogers and local country artists. Glen’s people feel that the long plane ride would be more than he could handle as his Alzheimer’s disease progresses.
Tonight is the finale of ABC’s Duets, and the odds favor Jennifer Nettles to have a winner, as her partners J Rome and John Glosson are both in the top three. Kelly Clarkson’s partner, Jason Farol, rounds out the contenders for tonight’s show.
Congratulations to the Zac Brown Band, whose new album “Uncaged” debuted at the top of the Billboard Country Chart and also at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200. Nearly a quarter of a million copies were sold in its first week of release.
Heavy metal alert – Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” has gone double-platinum and Billy Currington’s “Good Directions” was awarded platinum certification.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
It’s as American as baseball – country music stars lining up to be part of the All-Star Break fun. Tonight, Zac Brown Band will play a show at the Home Run Derby, and tomorrow night, Luke Bryan will sing the National Anthem and Kellie Pickler will sing “God Bless America” as part of the All-Star Game festivities. It all airs on FOX.
Heat waves are bad for bus engines, and Chris Young knows that first-hand. He and his band narrowly averted the bus-fire issues that Jerrod Niemann and Lee Brice have had in the past year. According to Chris, “We were in Charlotte, North Carolina, and my tour manager ran on the bus, was like, ‘Off the bus now. Grab what you need, and get off.’ It was like, engine glowing red, smoke comin’ out of the back of it, and we hit it with a fire extinguisher and turned the bus off, and that’s probably…my bus driver was like, ‘Man, that’s the only thing that kept it from being in flames.’” Fortunately there were no injuries, and they’ll be back on the road this coming weekend.
Carrie Underwood is back state-side after a successful foray into the Great Britain and Australian concert venues. Her album, “Blown Away,” was released in the two nations to coincide with her visits and debuted at #1 in both places.
Miranda Lambert had to sit out her shows this past weekend. Gretchen Wilson and Sawyer Brown filled in for her on Friday’s show, and Saturday’s show was postponed. She hopes to be back on stage this coming weekend.
Dierks Bentley has his own Martin Guitar – a signature, custom six string. It’s taking a little bit of getting used to, though: “The guitar I have that I play all the time has a big hole in it from playing it so much, so it’s kinda weird...everything I have is kinda beat up a little bit. So, it’s weird to have this nice shiny guitar. It’s kinda freaking me out a little bit, but I’m gonna do my best to get it all beat up here pretty soon [Laughs]!” The Dierks Bentley Custom Signature Artist Edition Martin guitar retails for around $5,000 and if you want one, you’d better snap one up quickly – it truly is a limited edition.
Kix Brooks is ready to release his first solo album, “New to This Town.” It’ll be out September 11th, and he’s happy to dish some details about it: “I’m not sure how many songs I started with, but I recorded 49 songs in three weeks. I just got my favorite pickers over at Sony Tree Studio – where we recorded our first Brooks & Dunn album there. It’s our publishing company, and there’s a studio in there that’s kind of like home to me.” Kix and Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts co-produced the project.
Taylor Swift and the man she was named for, James Taylor, hit the stage together last week. Here’s video of their duet of “Fire and Rain.”
Congrats to Kenny Chesney, whose “Welcome to the Fishbowl” is the top country album again this week. About the album, Kenny says, “A lot of artists, when they’re done with a record, they’ll say, ‘This is my favorite record that I’ve ever done,’ no matter if it is or not. I’m not sure it is, but I can tell you this record took me on an emotional journey that none of them have.”
Happy birthday to David Ball, who turns 53 today.
Heat waves are bad for bus engines, and Chris Young knows that first-hand. He and his band narrowly averted the bus-fire issues that Jerrod Niemann and Lee Brice have had in the past year. According to Chris, “We were in Charlotte, North Carolina, and my tour manager ran on the bus, was like, ‘Off the bus now. Grab what you need, and get off.’ It was like, engine glowing red, smoke comin’ out of the back of it, and we hit it with a fire extinguisher and turned the bus off, and that’s probably…my bus driver was like, ‘Man, that’s the only thing that kept it from being in flames.’” Fortunately there were no injuries, and they’ll be back on the road this coming weekend.
Carrie Underwood is back state-side after a successful foray into the Great Britain and Australian concert venues. Her album, “Blown Away,” was released in the two nations to coincide with her visits and debuted at #1 in both places.
Miranda Lambert had to sit out her shows this past weekend. Gretchen Wilson and Sawyer Brown filled in for her on Friday’s show, and Saturday’s show was postponed. She hopes to be back on stage this coming weekend.
Dierks Bentley has his own Martin Guitar – a signature, custom six string. It’s taking a little bit of getting used to, though: “The guitar I have that I play all the time has a big hole in it from playing it so much, so it’s kinda weird...everything I have is kinda beat up a little bit. So, it’s weird to have this nice shiny guitar. It’s kinda freaking me out a little bit, but I’m gonna do my best to get it all beat up here pretty soon [Laughs]!” The Dierks Bentley Custom Signature Artist Edition Martin guitar retails for around $5,000 and if you want one, you’d better snap one up quickly – it truly is a limited edition.
Kix Brooks is ready to release his first solo album, “New to This Town.” It’ll be out September 11th, and he’s happy to dish some details about it: “I’m not sure how many songs I started with, but I recorded 49 songs in three weeks. I just got my favorite pickers over at Sony Tree Studio – where we recorded our first Brooks & Dunn album there. It’s our publishing company, and there’s a studio in there that’s kind of like home to me.” Kix and Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts co-produced the project.
Taylor Swift and the man she was named for, James Taylor, hit the stage together last week. Here’s video of their duet of “Fire and Rain.”
Congrats to Kenny Chesney, whose “Welcome to the Fishbowl” is the top country album again this week. About the album, Kenny says, “A lot of artists, when they’re done with a record, they’ll say, ‘This is my favorite record that I’ve ever done,’ no matter if it is or not. I’m not sure it is, but I can tell you this record took me on an emotional journey that none of them have.”
Happy birthday to David Ball, who turns 53 today.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
What are country artists doing for the 4th of July? Brad Paisley will perform at the annual Salute to the Military USO concert on the South Lawn of the White House. More than 1200 troops and their family members will be there, enjoying not just music but also great barbeque, games and the best seat in the house for the national fireworks display. The entire event will be streamed live here.
Miranda Lambert won’t be doing a show tomorrow but she will be playing with fire: “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 I…my favorite firework is sparklers. Always it brings out the little girl in me. I always ask for sparklers for Fourth of July.”
Josh Turner will be part of the PBS show, “A Capitol Fourth.” It’s a Broadway-style show that features music of all genres, capped off with a full orchestra playing the 1812 Overture as the nation’s fireworks go off in and around the National Mall.
Kip Moore will start off the 4th of July with a performance on Good Morning America. It’s his first time, and he’s excited: “Just the chance to get to play your music that you wrote—I’m not playing ‘Margaritaville’, I’m not playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’—I’m playing something I wrote and on national TV where millions and millions of people get a chance to hopefully gravitate towards me as an artist and make this thing bigger than what it is right now. That’s the part that I look forward to.”
Kenny Chesney had a great time in Pittsburg this past weekend. It was his 6th sellout of Heinz Field, the stadium that the Steelers use, and they’ve won the Superbowl six times, so they decided to make a big dang deal out of the occasion. They presented Kenny with a “Six for Six” plaque commemorating both of their “6” accomplishments, and Kenny also got an autographed team helmet. With two pretty good athletes on tour, who’s the better – Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw? Kenny says, “I'll say I am, and [Tim will] say he is. He can dunk a basketball and I can't. Even on an 8-foot goal. It doesn't make him a better athlete, though.”
Jake Owen and his wife Lacey are expecting a baby girl. They found out about the pregnancy after Jake asked her dad for permission to marry her but before he popped the question. Jake says the baby news is a “bonus on top of the engagement.” The kept the baby news to themselves until they knew the baby’s sex. Married since May, Jake’s learning a lot and says “We bought a house together. I’m learning to say ‘we’ a lot more than ‘I.’ With a wife now and a new house and things to do, my priorities are a bit different than they were a couple years ago.”
You know Dierks Bentley is fond of old things – old boots held together with duct tape, his old pick-up truck, Big White, his tour bus, Goldie and now meet, the SS Grizzled Veteran. He’s had it for a decade or so, and decided to float it for a lake day with the crew…
Luke Bryan has the #1 song again this week with “Drunk on You.”
Tim McGraw is on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today – it’s a rerun, but a good one!
Happy birthday to Sarah Buxton, Aaron Tippen, Trent Tomlinson, and Johnny Lee.
Miranda Lambert won’t be doing a show tomorrow but she will be playing with fire: “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 I…my favorite firework is sparklers. Always it brings out the little girl in me. I always ask for sparklers for Fourth of July.”
Josh Turner will be part of the PBS show, “A Capitol Fourth.” It’s a Broadway-style show that features music of all genres, capped off with a full orchestra playing the 1812 Overture as the nation’s fireworks go off in and around the National Mall.
Kip Moore will start off the 4th of July with a performance on Good Morning America. It’s his first time, and he’s excited: “Just the chance to get to play your music that you wrote—I’m not playing ‘Margaritaville’, I’m not playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’—I’m playing something I wrote and on national TV where millions and millions of people get a chance to hopefully gravitate towards me as an artist and make this thing bigger than what it is right now. That’s the part that I look forward to.”
Kenny Chesney had a great time in Pittsburg this past weekend. It was his 6th sellout of Heinz Field, the stadium that the Steelers use, and they’ve won the Superbowl six times, so they decided to make a big dang deal out of the occasion. They presented Kenny with a “Six for Six” plaque commemorating both of their “6” accomplishments, and Kenny also got an autographed team helmet. With two pretty good athletes on tour, who’s the better – Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw? Kenny says, “I'll say I am, and [Tim will] say he is. He can dunk a basketball and I can't. Even on an 8-foot goal. It doesn't make him a better athlete, though.”
Jake Owen and his wife Lacey are expecting a baby girl. They found out about the pregnancy after Jake asked her dad for permission to marry her but before he popped the question. Jake says the baby news is a “bonus on top of the engagement.” The kept the baby news to themselves until they knew the baby’s sex. Married since May, Jake’s learning a lot and says “We bought a house together. I’m learning to say ‘we’ a lot more than ‘I.’ With a wife now and a new house and things to do, my priorities are a bit different than they were a couple years ago.”
You know Dierks Bentley is fond of old things – old boots held together with duct tape, his old pick-up truck, Big White, his tour bus, Goldie and now meet, the SS Grizzled Veteran. He’s had it for a decade or so, and decided to float it for a lake day with the crew…
Luke Bryan has the #1 song again this week with “Drunk on You.”
Tim McGraw is on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today – it’s a rerun, but a good one!
Happy birthday to Sarah Buxton, Aaron Tippen, Trent Tomlinson, and Johnny Lee.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
Jake Owen may be learning a lot about performing by being part of the Brothers of the Sun tour, but he’s learning something else, too: diet tricks of the big stars! According to Jake, “Kenny pretty much sticks to chicken, salmon and broccoli. And I have been trying to do the same – I’ll mix in an occasional brew here and there. But he’s really good with his diet, and Tim looks amazing. His body looks like he’s 22 years old. I’m just trying to keep up with those guys.”
It’s not the 4th of July yet, but don’t tell Alan Jackson, Easton Corbin and Gloriana. They’re starting early at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, celebrating with military families there. The show’s open to the public and will include a major fireworks display.
It’s lucky 13 for Toby Keith – his I Love This Bar and Grill added a Dallas, Texas location this week. They’re not just a bar and restaurant, they also provide a concert venue as part of the package, and according to Toby, they’re a hit! “They’re really doing well! They’re going like gangbusters.” Well, yeah…have you had the French fries?
Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley have become great friends, and Carrie describes Brad as being like her big brother: “Kim and his kids are just absolutely amazing, and they’ve always been super sweet to me. And it’s just nice to have people that you work with that you really enjoy, and you enjoy being around. And he and Mike [Fisher] have hung out together, and it’s just nice to have that in your life.” Right now, Carrie and Mike are in Australia, where she’s taken her Blown Away tour.
Zac Brown Band has been added to the Road to Ram Jam sweepstakes, where Ram Trucks get a year-long lease to a 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn truck. At the end of the lease, the trucks will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the military charity of the artist’s choice. Other artists include Kellie Pickler, Brantley Gilbert and Easton Corbin.
Kellie Pickler has teamed up with ConAgra foods and Feeding America this summer to provide meals for hungry kids, and she’s very passionate about the project: “This is just a really great way to spread the word and awareness and get people involved in something so important. These are kids, they can’t fend for themselves – they need us. It’s our responsibility, whether they’re our kids or not, it is still our responsibility as human beings to help these children.” Did she have cake for her birthday yesterday? Not home-made – she had to hit the road early yesterday, headed for tonight’s show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Tim McGraw is busy and in-demand – he’s reading scripts for his next movie role, though he hasn’t found it yet, and just turned down an offer to appear on Broadway. Tim says he “can read fifty scripts and not find anything.” He’s had better luck with songs – he’s chomping at the bit to get his new album out to fans.
Congrats to Kenny Chesney – “Welcome to the Fishbowl” debuted atop the country album sales chart, selling nearly 200,000 copies. It was #2 on the all-genre chart. He says he put his heart and soul into the songs: “Bein’ in that driver’s seat to, you know, try to reach inside somebody’s heart live is a great seat to be in. And to figure out which songs of these that you think is gonna do it the most is a balancing act when you’re recording your record and when you’re done with it.”
It’s not the 4th of July yet, but don’t tell Alan Jackson, Easton Corbin and Gloriana. They’re starting early at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, celebrating with military families there. The show’s open to the public and will include a major fireworks display.
It’s lucky 13 for Toby Keith – his I Love This Bar and Grill added a Dallas, Texas location this week. They’re not just a bar and restaurant, they also provide a concert venue as part of the package, and according to Toby, they’re a hit! “They’re really doing well! They’re going like gangbusters.” Well, yeah…have you had the French fries?
Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley have become great friends, and Carrie describes Brad as being like her big brother: “Kim and his kids are just absolutely amazing, and they’ve always been super sweet to me. And it’s just nice to have people that you work with that you really enjoy, and you enjoy being around. And he and Mike [Fisher] have hung out together, and it’s just nice to have that in your life.” Right now, Carrie and Mike are in Australia, where she’s taken her Blown Away tour.
Zac Brown Band has been added to the Road to Ram Jam sweepstakes, where Ram Trucks get a year-long lease to a 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn truck. At the end of the lease, the trucks will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the military charity of the artist’s choice. Other artists include Kellie Pickler, Brantley Gilbert and Easton Corbin.
Kellie Pickler has teamed up with ConAgra foods and Feeding America this summer to provide meals for hungry kids, and she’s very passionate about the project: “This is just a really great way to spread the word and awareness and get people involved in something so important. These are kids, they can’t fend for themselves – they need us. It’s our responsibility, whether they’re our kids or not, it is still our responsibility as human beings to help these children.” Did she have cake for her birthday yesterday? Not home-made – she had to hit the road early yesterday, headed for tonight’s show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Tim McGraw is busy and in-demand – he’s reading scripts for his next movie role, though he hasn’t found it yet, and just turned down an offer to appear on Broadway. Tim says he “can read fifty scripts and not find anything.” He’s had better luck with songs – he’s chomping at the bit to get his new album out to fans.
Congrats to Kenny Chesney – “Welcome to the Fishbowl” debuted atop the country album sales chart, selling nearly 200,000 copies. It was #2 on the all-genre chart. He says he put his heart and soul into the songs: “Bein’ in that driver’s seat to, you know, try to reach inside somebody’s heart live is a great seat to be in. And to figure out which songs of these that you think is gonna do it the most is a balancing act when you’re recording your record and when you’re done with it.”
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