Today's Country Tidbits

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were on Anderson Cooper 360 yesterday, showing him the devastation that the Nashville flooding has caused.



Brad Paisley also joined Anderson Cooper on the air.



Add Little Big Town and Terri Clark to the list of country music artists who have lost all of their tour gear in the Nashville flood. Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Keith Urban and now Little Big Town are scrambling to beg/borrow/buy new equipment so that their shows can go on as scheduled.

Last night's flood relief telethon in Nashville raised nearly two million dollars for the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and the Second Harvest Food Bank. Billed as "Vince Gill and Friends," the friends included some of country music's top stars. Country stars, whether on the show or not, helped out, too - Reba donated 100 grand, Vince Gill and Amy Grand also donated $100,000 and Taylor Swift kicked in a cool half-million for flood relief. Dierks Bentley was on stage last night in Boston, and before he went on, he was trying to call in and make a donation. He couldn't get through - the lines were jammed. He even called Alison Krauss on her cell phone, which was busy, too. Most country artists took to their Twitter accounts, posting the phone number to call to donate. A national telethon is scheduled for May 16th on GAC. Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Rodney Atkins and more stars are already on board for the telethon, which will be held at the Ryman Auditorium, and will air from 8-10pm eastern.

The Country Music Association announced that half of the proceeds from the CMA Music Festival will go to flood relief, and the other half, as it always does, will go to music education.

Jake Owen and Jerrod Niemann took over a bar Wednesday night to play and raise money for flood relief efforts. They'd raised over three grand before they hit the stage, and took donations from the crowd in exchange for playing their favorite songs. Elsewhere in Nashville, other stars pitched in: Jake Owen served hot dogs and hamburgers to victims and work crews before he hit the stage, and Kellie Pickler helped a family move their non-flooded belongings to safety as looters tried to steal them.

Jimmy Wayne's walk to raise awareness about the problem of teen homelessness has gotten the attention of FosterClub, who has named Jimmy their national celebrity spokesperson. Jimmy's walked to New Mexico on his trek to Phoenix, Arizona from Nashville.

Dierks Bentley's Miles & Music for Kids motorcycle ride in Atlanta on May 23rd will feature Drivin' N Cryin', Josh Thompson, members of Cross Canadian Ragweed and a few more artists to be announced soon.

Willie Nelson has had to cancel and reschedule a bunch of tour dates because of a torn rotator cuff.

Miranda Lambert is on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on Sunday night.

Today's Country Tidbits

Told you yesterday how the flooding in and around Nashville had disrupted artists' lives and schedules. The Gaylord Entertainment Complex, home of the Grand Ole' Opry, Opryland Hotel and more, had to be evacuated, and the Grand Ole Opry theatre is flooded.



This week's shows have been moved to other venues around Nashville, including the Ryman Auditorium, which was spared in the floods. If you are planning a trip to Nashville for anything Opry related, stay on top of the changes at the official website. The closure of parts or all of the Gaylord Opryland complex may last for months while crews clean up and rebuild.

Soundstage in Nashville is a place where country music artists rehearse, record and store their gear. It's filled with millions of dollars of equipment, and it's filled with water. In the parking lot, gear trailers floated and toppled over.













If you'd like to help those who've lost homes in the Tennessee floods, text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Here are some other ways to help Music City rebuild:
Middle Tennessee Red Cross: Donate online, by phone at 615-250-4300 or by mail at 2201 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203.
Salvation Army: Monetary donations are preferred and can be made online or by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY. Donations of bottled water, mops, brooms, heavy duty work gloves, masks, sponges, squeegees, scrub brushes, plastic gloves, bleach, all purpose cleaner concentrate, trash bags and paper towels can be sent to the 631 Dickerson Pike, Nashville, TN.

Some good news after the flood - Naomi Judd's buffalo are no longer roaming. They got out of her pasture during the flooding Sunday when a fence line collapsed, but all are present and accounted for, back home behind a newly re-built fence.

Keith Urban has a new song coming to radio. It's the 5th single from "Defying Gravity" and is called "I'm In." He's hosting a contest on his website for people to tell him what they're "in" to in their lives:
How you’ve made a commitment to a significant other.
How you’ve dedicated yourself to a charity.
How you’ve made a difference in someone's life.
However you would define being “in.
Prizes include tickets to concerts, backstage passes, Keith Urban music and an autographed guitar.

Sammy Kershaw has thrown his hat in the ring for Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. He's calling his campaign the "Real People Campaign" and is running as a Republican.

Chely Wright has a new cd out today, "Lifted Off the Ground," and is profiled in People Magazine this week, where she talks about her homosexuality. She'll be on the Today show tomorrow morning.

Happy birthday to Randy Travis, who turns 51 today.