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.

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)

The media Frankenstorm that is a Taylor Swift album release continues this week - “We’ve ended a really, really busy week but we still have so much more to do. We’re gonna go and perform on Dancing with the Stars and then the CMAs and then we’re going all over the world to Australia and Japan and I cannot wait.” She’s on Dancing with the Stars tonight.

Taylor Swift is working on her 2013 Red tour, and is struggling: “I’m trying to figure out what to do about this tour to make it different and like a spectacle but a different kind of spectacle.” Could that be a clue – will it be in 3D and everyone will have to wear 3D “spectacles?” We’ll see…tickets start going on sale November 16th for the tour that begins on March 13th, 2013.

Carrie Underwood’s hubby Mike Fisher is currently out of a job – sort of. The NHL owners have locked their players out over contract issues, so there’ll be no hockey games before November 30th, at the earliest. So Carrie’s working hard on her Blown Away tour and Mike’s days are pretty casual: “I’ll call him and [ask], ‘How was your day?’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, good. I worked out. I skated and then I went fishing.’ And I’m like, ‘Aww, that just sounds terrible!’ I get...I get frustrated because I’m jealous [laughs].” At least they’ll get some time together this week, as Carrie’s back in Nashville to co-host the CMA Awards show Thursday night.

Darius Rucker says his song, “True Believers,” might sound like just a love song, but the lyric means so much more than that to him: “The reason I wanted the ‘two true believers’ as a hook was ‘cause—no matter where you made it in life, there was one person in your life I’m sure that was that person that you can go, ‘I made it because that person believed it in me’. And even if it’s not one person, even if it’s ten persons—with that individual person, you are the two true believers. It’s you two believing this could happen.”

Today is release day for Toby Keith’s new album, “Hope on the Rocks,” which features his new song, “I Like Girls That Drink Beer.” Not coincidentally, he’s announced that he’s opening a new location of his I Love This Bar & Grill restaurant, this time in Pittsburgh near the Steelers’ Heinz Field. Not only does Toby like girls that drink beer, he’s a huge Steelers fan, so look for this location to be one that Toby drops in on a lot. No word on when it will open.

The CMA Awards happen Thursday night, and Nashville is already making preparations for the event at Bridgestone Arena. Streets started closing Saturday, so if you’re planning to be there, be prepared for some traffic troubles. Just added as presenters are Reba and Tim Allen. Reba’s new TV show, Malibu Country, premiers Friday night. 

Rascal Flatts is about to release a new DVD – Rascal Flatts: All Access & Uncovered features an intimate look at the relationship between the trio, their families and some hot performance video. Joe Don says of the project and of their latest album: “Its complete heart, 100% heart and soul in this album and you know, we cut it at Jay’s house and...everything feels so great right now in our career.” The DVD drops November 19th. 

Keith Urban is traveling the country with the American Idol crew, going from city to city for the audition phase of the show. It’s a far cry from his life in Australia, and Keith is very appreciative: “I come from nothing, you know? Very, very working class family, and I’ve been blessed with this extraordinary life. And it’s the fans and the audiences that like the music and come to the concerts, and that’s—it’s just changed my life.” He’ll perform this week on the CMA Awards show.

The Jason Aldean/Miranda Lambert concert at Boston’s Fenway Park sold out in seven minutes Friday morning, so they decided to add a second show. July 12th and 13th are the dates that the Green Monster goes country in a big way. Jason’s already working on the experience for his fans: “You know, it’s just kind of a thing where you sit down and you kind of figure out what you want to do and how you want to change it up from this year. You sit down and you start drawing it out on paper what you want your stage to look like.” Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett will also be part of those two shows.
Miranda Lambert will be sporting a new hairdo for the CMAs – she tweeted a photo of herself with a long shag, complete with bangs. Cute! 

The video for Taylor Swift’s new song, “Begin Again,” was shot in Paris. Really? For a country song? Taylor explains: “You know when you’re going through a break up and you need to just reflect, be alone and walk around – and see a beautiful place? I think it’s like that. It’s wondering around exploring a new city and kind of trying to find yourself again – and meeting a hot guy in a café.” Here it is… 
 
Apparently the Taylor Swift – Conor Kennedy romance is kaput. According to a close friend of Taylor’s, “they quietly parted ways a while ago.” No hard feelings, just a crazy schedule right now for Taylor, as she’s working the release of “Red” and has no time off until Christmas. 
New music out tomorrow from Toby Keith – “Hope On The Rocks” is the title. 
Reba is on Live With Kelly & Michael today, and Blake Shelton is on The Voice tonight.

Where was Little Big Town when they heard they had their first #1 song? Karen, Phillip and Jimi spill the beans: “[Karen] We were grilling out with Rascal Flatts. It was Saturday. [Phillip] College football Saturday and all of the sudden we all got the text and I immediately got off the bus and went looking for Jimi. [Jimi] Yeah, Phillip and I ran and hugged each other from across the parking lot and slapped each other five!” They had a #1 party in Nashville on Friday, and day after tomorrow they’ll be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, performing their next single, “Tornado.” By the way, Kimberly Schlapman now has her own cooking show on GAC. “Kimberly’s Simply Southern” kicked off Saturday morning and continues for 12 more weeks.

Hunter Hayes just had his first #1 song with “Wanted,” and the song is a favorite of Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott: “[Hillary] When I got that album, that was the song that I had on repeat that I listened to over and over and over. He’s just such a breath of fresh air, he’s such a cute guy. And my little sister is the biggest fan of his! And he’s a great talent! He has all of the chops you’d ever need to back it up. [Dave] Uh-huh!” Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood had a writing session with Hunter and were blown away by his talent. Hunter co-wrote, sang, played all the instruments and co-produced his self-titled debut album. He’s opening for Carrie Underwood on her Blown Away tour.

Starting tonight at midnight, a new Taylor Swift song from her upcoming album “Red” will be released weekly. “Red” comes out October 22nd. Catch Taylor on Good Morning America, revealing the next song each Monday morning.

Brad Paisley released a new song on Friday, but it won’t be available on an album until April 9th, 2013. “Southern Comfort Zone” is a song Brad says he hopes makes people see all the amazing things the world has to offer, and then appreciate their own comfort zone, wherever it may be.

Toby Keith is excited about the success of his current single, “I Like Girls That Drink Beer.” About the song and about girls that drink beer, Toby says, “I think she just makes a statement, because you don’t see many ya know? Most of the time it’s an umbrella. You just don’t see a girl drink with the guys, so it was just funny to me when you see that all the time. It used to be more common and now it has gotten where it isn’t.” His next album, “Hope On The Rocks,” comes out October 30th.

Faith Hill is getting set to release her 8th studio album, just released a new single, “American Heart,” and will hit the stage with hubby Tim McGraw in Vegas for a series of concerts. But it wasn’t always bright lights and fame for Faith, who celebrated her 45th birthday on Friday: “I don’t even remember how many years ago this was, but I sold t-shirts for Reba. I worked for that fan club. I boxed merchandise up and stuff and I just remember that more vividly than I even remember the beginnings of my career. It was just kind of embedded in my brain!”

Brantley Gilbert just wrapped up his opening slot on Toby Keith’s “Live In Overdrive” tour, and is taking a few days off before kicking off his own “Hell On Wheels” tour later this week. What does he do when he gets home? According to Brantley, “I’m spending a lot more time away from home, but I think in a way it’s really showing me how much those people I’m missing mean to me. I’m in a hurry to get back and when I do get there, I’m always going to the next place, seeing my mom or my dad or going to see the guys I ride with and spending all that time on my motorcycle, which is a big plus!”

Congrats to Jason Aldean, who just got another gold record for “Take A Little Ride.”



More country music news on my blog every weekday – just click the “sandy’s blog” button at moby in the morning.com. yeah baby!

What can we expect from the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concerts in Las Vegas? Apparently they won’t be doing their individual hits, but will do a show full of duets. But, you say, they haven’t done a whole show’s worth of duets in their career – will it be a short show? Oh, no – they’re apparently thinking Loretta and Conway, Tammy and George – according to Tim: “We’re going to do some different stuff, there’s a list of those kind of songs that we want to figure out what’s the coolest thing for us to do and the most fun that we’ll have doing the things the audience will enjoy hearing the most. But, I mean, God, there’s so many great duets out there that are fun to do.” The first show is on December 7th at the Venetian.

Toby Keith was flattered to be under consideration for a seat at the judge’s table on American Idol, but he turned it down. Why? “Ten years ago, I’d of said ‘yea.’ I’ve done enough movies and television now to know how time-consuming those things are. It was a wonderful number. I mean, they offered me incredible dollars to do it, but it’s probably better suited for somebody who’s got the time on their hands I don’t have.” Meanwhile, he’s seeing the average age of concert attendees drop, and he believes that “Red Solo Cup dropped my average age down from about 35 down to about 25 I think. We got a lot of youth. And that’s what you gotta do, you know, you’ve been around 18, 19 years, you’ve gotta find a way to reinvent or regenerate or do something, and it did!”

With their new album, “Tornado,” coming out tomorrow, Little Big Town has had a great week before the release. What did it sound like when they heard they were nominated for three CMA Awards this year? “[SCREAMS] [Jimi] “We were freaking out! It kinda sounded like that.” [Kimberly] “Yeah, it did.” [Karen] “We’re so thrilled and so honored. The Group of the Year category is fierce, fierce. We’re so honored to be a part of it.” [Phillip] “We literally were jumping up and slapping and high fives and hugging each other. I mean, we’re so thrilled. This is the best. Living on cloud nine right now.” They’re nominated for Music Video of the Year, Single of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year, in the same week that they scored their first #1 song. How did they feel when “Pontoon” hit #1? They’re dancing in the streets…check it out!



Lee Brice has co-written a fight anthem for his alma mater, Clemson. The song is called “Orange Empire” and you can get it on iTunes.

The politics of ugly got hung out on Twitter this week. Bocephus apparently tweeted something not very nice about President Obama, to which Alec Baldwin responded, “If Hank Williams Jr wasn't such a pathetic, wheezing fossil, I'd have a talk with him.” He then tweeted, “I think we need to call Hank Williams Jr what he is.... A broken-down, senile, racist coot.” Hank Jr. has been uncharacteristically unresponsive to Alec’s rant.

Little Big Town is on Good Morning America this morning, Blake Shelton is on Live With Kelly, “The Voice” returns tonight, with Blake Shelton in the big revolving red chair and Martina McBride is on Opening Act on E!.

Justin Moore – crime-fighter! Well, sort of. Justin and his band played at the Shenandoah County Fair in Woodstock, Virginia over the weekend and a theft occurred during the show. Justin’s sound engineer got his laptop stolen, and Justin took to Twitter to try to get it back. He tweeted, “If you did it, or know who did, please do the right thing. Nobody will be mad.” He went on to say it’s not fair his sound guy has to part with hard-earned money for a new one “because of a poor lack of class on 1 persons part.” He’s hoping someone will direct-message him on Twitter soon and the laptop will be recovered. Um, Justin – you have to be following someone in order for them to direct-message you. What are the chances of that??

Billboard Magazine is out with their annual list of “The Most Powerful Music Couples” and country music is well-represented. Topping the list are Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Tim and Faith and Blake and Miranda show up, too. Here’s the list:

1. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
2. Jay-Z and Beyoncé
3. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
4. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon
5. Chad Kroeger and Avril Lavigne
6. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale
7. Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz
8. Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez
9. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
10. Skrillex and Ellie Goulding

Toby Keith has spilled the details about his new album. “Hope on the Rocks” drops on November 13th and will come out in two versions – regular, with 10 cuts, and deluxe, with 14. “I Like Girls That Drink Beer” is the first song from Toby’s new album.

Carrie Underwood had a #1 party in Nashville this week, celebrating the first #1 song from her new album, “Blown Away.” Carrie loves “Good Girl” and says it was the first single for a lot of good reasons: “To me, I like the thought of having something up-tempo and fun because I go sing it everywhere. I’m on a lot of TV shows and things like that. So when I first heard it I thought this would be a great one to kick everything off with because it’s just fun, and kind of spring summertime.”

THE reaction record of 2012 is climbing the charts, and Thomas Rhett says that “Beer With Jesus” was an easy song to write. “The song is basically about questions you and other people would as Jesus if they had 30 or 40 minutes to talk to him. Just because he probably wouldn’t have a lot of time, if he did have time, to talk to you.” You heard the song first as the hymn of the day last week here on the Moby show.

Taylor Swift fans will be glued to their TVs tonight as CMT, VH1 and MTV simulcast the premier of her new music video for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” CMT will air a 30-minute special starting at 7:30 Eastern, and all three networks will simulcast the premier at 8pm. About the video, Taylor’s not saying much except that it had to be shot in only one take and “It was unbelievably fun because it was like a marathon and it was a lot like live performance, you know? You only have one chance to get it right when you’re on stage and I only had that one opportunity to get it right.”

Heavy metal alert – Jana Kramer’s “Why Ya Wanna” has been certified gold, Hunter Hayes’ “Wanted” has gone platinum and Zac Brown Band is celebrating the triple-platinum status of their album, “The Foundation.”

Jason Aldean is daddy to daughters Keeley and Kendyl. Their summer vacation is their daddy’s busy time, but he’s excited about them going back to school: “I love having my two daughters’ home. Usually when I get home, I’m home Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and when they’re out of school I get to spend a lot of time with them during the day. But also starting school, gets us all back in our normal routine. I think they’re kinda ready to get school started again.” So, how did back to school clothes shopping go this year with his 5 and 8 year olds? “As far as the back to school shopping goes – momma handles all that stuff.”

Twenty years ago, Brooks & Dunn debuted as a new country duo, manufactured by a producer who thought they might be good together. Kix Brooks reminisces about the early days with Ronnie: “Our big dream was a Gold record. That was like almost unreachable, but it was just kind of a goof. If we could pull that off, it was worth getting together and seeing what we can do. We didn’t even talk in those lofty terms until that first single took off. We went, ‘Gosh we might actually have something for six months or a year, ya know! This could be a gig while we’re trying to get the rest of our lives together.” They did alright for themselves, didn’t they?

Lynyrd Skynyrd has been added to the list of performers at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. They’ll take part in a fundraiser for Citizens Helping Heroes on August 26th, and kicks off the four-day event that also includes Trace Adkins and Kid Rock. You can catch Lynyrd Skynyrd before that on FOX & Friends All American Concert Series this Friday morning.

Congratulations to Love and Theft for their first #1 song, “Angel Eyes,” which has just been certified gold for half a million paid downloads. The guys are marveling at how things are working out for them: “To get to see the song climb the charts, have people singing it back to us at our live shows—it’s really cool. It puts a big smile on our face and helps us realize we’re in the right spot!”

Dolly Parton has also just been awarded a gold plaque, for half a million in sales of her “An Evening With Dolly” double-album set, sold only at Cracker Barrel. Where will that award go? According to Dolly, “I’m lucky I have the Chasing Rainbows Museum up at Dollywood, and that’s going to go in a special place. I’m very proud to be working with Cracker Barrel – they’re the best people in the world.”

Carrie Underwood will be on the Today Show tomorrow morning.

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.

Brad Paisley is apparently still considering sitting at the judge’s table on American Idol. His tour is taking a short hiatus until August 10th, and apparently meetings are set for next week to discuss whether or not he can make his schedule mesh with A’s. The Band Perry has been opening for him, and when Kimberly Perry was asked about Brad and reality TV, she threw out another reality show idea: Celebrity Apprentice. According to Kimberly, “He’s always thinking, that guy. And um—so I’d have to—yeah, ‘BP’ on that one!” Perhaps there’ll be an answer, one way or the other, soon about Brad and his TV future.

Gloriana’s new cd, “A Thousand Miles Left Behind,” is out today. Band Member Mike Gossin says their sophomore project is pretty personal: “We’re very very proud of it. I think this album is much more organic and has a more mature sound to it. There was a lot of emotions and heart that went into making this record. It’s really the story of the past three years of our lives.” “A Thousand Miles Left Behind” includes Gloriana’s top-5 hit, “(Kissed You) Goodnight.”

Miranda Lambert’s new single finally has a video, and Danica Patrick is part of it. It’s fun – here you go, but buckle in!



Luke Bryan has been touring with Jason Aldean this year, but he’s planning for 2013, when he’ll head out on tour as the headliner: “We’re already getting our game plan together and thinking about stuff we can do to really set ourselves apart and be—you know, to come out with a really big bang for my first run at headlining. We’re really excited about everything that we’ve talked about thus far.”

Darius Rucker and his rock band, Hootie and the Blowfish, have several tour dates set for August, and according to Darius, there’s still one more Hootie record and tour left in them. He doesn’t know when, but enjoys the four or 5 dates a year they always do.

Fans of Scotty McCreery and Christmas have some celebrating to do – apparently he’s in the studio right now, recording a Christmas album. No release date or title yet – I’ll keep you posted.

Precious metal has been earned: Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This” has been certified platinum, and “Ladies Love Country Boys” has gone gold. Also getting gold certification are Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” and Toby Keith’s “She Never Cried in Front of Me.”

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.

Jason Aldean was proud to be part of the show Opening Act last night, giving 16-year-old Kylie Morgan a chance to open for him on one of his My Kinda Party tour stops. Jason had help from Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins and Keith Urban when he was a baby act, and knows what that kind of support can mean: “For a new artist, it’s so important and such a big deal for your career and to help get your career of the ground, so it’s a big deal.” He goes on to say, “To be able to kinda pay it forward and do that for another new act, it’s cool. I mean, that’s the way it should be...helping other artists, other acts reach their goal of becoming a country music star.”

Taylor Swift now has a collection of 20 surfboards. What will she do with them all? She’s not telling yet, but it’s a safe bet that they’re not all hanging on her condo walls. With the five surfboards she won at the Teen Choice Awards Sunday night, she’s now the most-awarded female ever in the Teen Choice Awards’ 13-year history.

Keith Urban finds inspiration in a lot of places. He’s working on his next studio album and says this about where he is in country music right now: “There really is something particular that’s in—of all things—a Waylon Jennings song. There’s a song he wrote called, ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.’ And that song for me has always been like the perfect summation of what I love about playing country music.”

Phil Vassar’s Canadian fans got way more than they bargained for at the Craven Country Jamboree in Saskatchewan. He played his scheduled 90 minute set on stage, went backstage to the VIP tent, which was filled with people who wanted more. He sat down at a piano and played for another two hours, then he and his band went back to the main stage and played another 45 minutes for those who were camping at the festival. At 3am!! His manager finally dragged him off-stage so they could make it to the airport for their 6:40am flight to Nashville.

Love & Theft’s new cd is out today, and here’s what they have to say about the sound of it: “I think it sounds more organic and raw than our first album. The vibe we were looking for is better suited for a live tracking session in a room where you’re singing live and going back and fixing vocals as opposed to trying to make it sound polished and perfect.”

Red Solo Cup is on fire! Toby Keith now has his first double-platinum single ever. The song went platinum for a million paid downloads in January and has now been certified double-platinum. Congrats to Toby, who was such a natural in the video.



Craig Morgan is on the “Road Warriors” segment of Morning Express With Robin Meade on HLN.

Blake Shelton is busy filming season 3 of The Voice, and is enjoying the success of his new song, “Over,” from his Red River Blue album. He didn’t write it, but appreciates the vagueness and the vividness of the lyrics: “It’s one of those lyrics that when you listen to it, you know, ‘Wait a minute,’ ‘cause there’s lines in there about you know burnin’ the world down and sittin’ in the glow...it’s like so romantic and out there that you’re like, ‘Well, I guess that’s cool.’ You could have a different melody and it would be like a threat...that song [laughs] you know? But, that’s the cool thing about that song is just you kinda interpret it however you want to.”

Toby Keith is in the studio, working on his 17th studio album. He’s recorded more than two dozen songs so far and his current single, “Beers Ago,” will be the last from his Clancy’s Tavern album. Toby’s hinting that two tracks that’ll probably make the album and could be singles include “I Like Girls that Drink Beer” and a song that he says “puts everything into perspective for all the golf players of the world.”

Justin Moore lives the outdoor lifestyle he sings about in his hit songs, so much so that Cabela’s outdoor outfitter partnered with him to be his tour sponsor, the first time they’ve done that with any singer. While he spends his summers playing shows all across America, what he really loves is the triple-B: boats, bait and beer: “Summer is awesome...the best time of the year for me. My favorite way to spend a day in the summer is on the lake, whether I’m fishin’ or tubin’ or just kinda hanging out on the boat having a cold Bud Light.”

Forbes Magazine is out with their “Top-Paid Celebrities Under 20” list and Taylor Swift graces the #1 position. According to Forbes, she raked in $57 million between May 2011 and May 2012, grossing more than $65 million on her 65-stop tour.

That “vocal rest” prescription is contagious in Nashville – Gloriana’s Tom Gossin has been ordered to be quiet for a while, meaning that so far two of the band’s concerts have been rescheduled. According to Tom, he’ll be quiet for as long as the doctors tell him to – he’s trying to avoid having surgery.

Zac Brown Band will play Madison Square Garden on November 17th. Zac is hoping for a sellout, saying “When you can sell out the Garden, you’ve made it!”

David Nail got such a great reception to his rendition of Adele’s song, “Someone Like You,” that he’s decided to release it on his ep, “1979,” out tomorrow. About doing a cover of someone else’s hit he says, “I think anytime you do something like that, you’re scared to death. The last thing you want to do is get on your Twitter, and see Adele going, ‘Who in the hell is this redneck singing my song?’ But it hasn’t happened yet. So, either she likes it – or you know, she’s like, ‘Don’t bother me with this stuff!’” This video has been on this page before, but here it is again so you can see what all the fuss is about…

Today's Country Tidbits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.”

Today's Country Tidbits

Yesterday was Father’s Day, and here are some country music Dads with their thoughts on fatherhood:

Jason Aldean: “My girls are 9 and 4. I’m the Dad that’s gone a lot, and I think my wife’s more the disciplinary. Then when I get home I’m kinda the cool parent, because I take up for them and save the day. She hates me for that but they love me for it – that’s all that counts.”

Keith Urban: “The first thing is probably just having someone call you dad. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m her dad! That’s amazing.’ That’s probably the first thing to me. I don’t know, I mean, the different personalities that our two daughters have, that’s amazing.”

Randy Houser: “I really, really love being a daddy. I mean, I’ve done a lot of cool things before, but there is nothing that compares. And I don’t expect anything, I don’t care. I got the gift of my little boy every day, so I don’t need a Father’s Day, to be honest.”

Ok, so Carrie Underwood’s not a dad, but she has one, and about him she says: “My dad’s the kind of person that most likely he’ll never, you know, look at me or my sisters and say, ‘Hey, I’m proud of you,’ or ‘You’re doing a great job,’ or anything like that, but I catch him, like, watching things that he’s taped of me on TV and stuff like that. You know, that means a lot.”

Zac Brown Band is teaming up with ESPN and Major League Baseball for the State Farm Home Run Derby on July 9th. They’ll do a medley of “America the Beautiful” and “Chicken Fried,” along with their new song, “The Wind.

Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith and Brad Paisley are ponying up some concert tickets to support charity. ACM Lifting Lives and Tickets-for-Charity.com will be handling the contests, with proceeds going to the stars’ favorite charities: Camp Southern Ground for ZBB, The Toby Keith Foundation and St. Jude Target House for Brad Paisley.

The Band Perry is working with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who is best known in Nashville for his work with Johnny Cash, but he’s also produced award winning albums for Adele, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails and the Beastie Boys. They’re about halfway through the work the new album and Kimberly Perry says they’re wearing Rick out with questions about Johnny Cash.

Some heavy metal has been earned: Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem” is triple-platinum, his duet with Kelly Clarkson, “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” is double platinum and Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl” is platinum.

Kenny Chesney’s “Welcome to the Fishbowl” is out tomorrow.

Happy 36th birthday to Blake Shelton today!

Today's Country Tidbits

Next week is the 3rd Annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp in Nashville, and some of music city’s stars will be there working with the developmentally disabled kids. Luke Bryan, Big & Rich, David Lee Murphey, Lauren Alaina and Paul Worley are just some of the names associated with this event. Campers participate in a songwriting workshop, recording session and get a live show at the Grand Ole Opry just for them. 

Kenny Chesney has a new pal – a puppy named Pancho. A friend gave him the dog in the hopes he might “learn to attach to something.” Kenny says he’s getting very familiar with pet supply stores and that Pancho will be the four-legged crew member on the Brothers of the Sun tour this summer. 

In Nashville, musicians take care of each other. Jan Grantt, wife of session musician Kevin “Swine” Grantt, has ovarian cancer and no health insurance. Kevin is part of Toby Keith’s Incognito Bandito band, and they’ll be performing at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley on June 19th. It’s a benefit show to help pay for Jan’s treatments, and Craig Morgan, Josh Thompson, Darryl Worley and Carl Jackson will all be part of the show. A quick peek at Toby’s tour schedule shows he’s off from the 16th through the 22nd of June. Hmmmmmm…think he might show up?

There are fans, and then there are FANS. Paul Eckhart hasn’t missed a single show at the Grand Ole Opry in 40 years. Obviously he lives in Nashville, making it easier for him to go, but this is an incredible streak that the Opry will celebrate tomorrow night. Paul, along with his wife and family, will sit on the front row and be honored with the first-ever Opry Fan Award. He’ll be gifted with some other surprises, too, so watch the live show to see history made.

Blake Shelton is in his red chair, taping another season of The Voice. Can he keep up the hectic pace? “The reason that you want the four of us is because we’re viable artists right now –current. We can’t do both if we do back-to-back seasons and I’ve been hammering them about it. But, I look forward to it and I love it. I can’t imagine not being part of The Voice ever. I’d love to do it from now on, but it just needs to work. So something has gotta give, ya know?” Blake celebrates his 36th birthday on Monday.

Carrie Underwood’s song “Good Girl” is already platinum – wow, 16 weeks to sell a million downloads...amazing! Her next single is “Blown Away” and it’s already doing well, even before being officially released. “‘Blown Away’ the single it’s already doing really well, as far as whatever - numbers and all that. But, it’s exciting to see people get behind it. And it’s exciting to see people like what we’ve done – because we did work hard.”

Sara Evans will sing the National Anthem at the NBA Finals Game Two tonight between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder. It airs on ABC.

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean decided to see if his concert is big enough to sell out a stadium yet, and the answer is a resounding “yes.” Tickets for the August 5th concert at Columbus Ohio’s Crew Stadium are already sold out, well in advance of the show. It’s the first concert to sell out this far in advance in Crew Stadium History. Says Jason, “Columbus, Ohio, hope you’re ready to throw down with us!”

Rumors are flying that Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler are going to do a duet for the next Aerosmith album. When asked about the truth to those rumors, Carrie is pretty coy: “I worked with him quite a bit in the past. We obviously have a great working friendship – working relationship. We look for opportunities to hang out together whenever we can. I’d never count anything out with us.”

The CMA Music Festival in Nashville is being blessed (so far, anyway!) with the best weather in recent memory. Bright blue skies, highs in the mid 80’s and not too much humidity are making for good times for the record crowd. Last night, Brad Paisley and Lady Antebellum performed at LP Field, and Brad Paisley explained the fans this way: “That’s what this festival is all about. These are the hardest core, of the hard core. They’re the people that come out – they’re the first to buy tickets to your concerts. They’re the first to buy your album. They don’t take any convincing. They love you sort of no matter what.” Lady A’s Charles Kelly says of the experience, “You’ll sit there and talk to them by name, give them a hug...I just can’t think of any other genre that has that kind of connection and people that come back the same time every year. You know where they’re gonna be. It’s really kind of a funny thing, you know? It’s really cool.” One of today’s highlights is a singing competition at the Caesars Entertainment Total Rewards booth in Fan Alley. The winner gets a trip to Las Vegas to see “Shania: Still the One.” Can’t be in Nashville today but still want a shot at the prize? You can enter online from June 18th through July 15th. Good luck!

Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more awards comes the 2012 Big Daddy Awards. Given out by a national prostate cancer awareness group, nominees include Keith Urban, Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley. The winners will be chosen by your vote.

If you’re in or around Mobile, Alabama, be on the lookout for a movie set with a tall country star in the midst of it. Tracy Lawrence is in Mobile, filming L.A. Dirt, a move about a young man’s dream to become a champion dirt track racer. Tracy plays the role of the lad’s uncle. Filming starts Saturday and should run through the end of this month.

Jennifer Nettles is on “Duets” tonight on ABC.

Today's Country Tidbits

Kind of a fun shift for the CMT Music Awards last night, as Brad Paisley, Eric Church and Hank Williams Jr. played their sets on an outdoor stage. It’s the first time this award show has catered to fans who couldn’t get tickets - nice move! Here’s why Toby Keith likes being at this particular show: “I got a lot of CMT Awards in my office at home. But they always put together a great show. It’s different – to me it’s not as sterile as the other award shows. It’s more hang out, hang loose and the whole night’s funner. They’ve got a wonderful package this year.” Jason Aldean feels the same way: “The CMT Awards are always one of those awards shows that are really laid back and loose and a lot of fun and to me I think they got one of the coolest trophies in all the awards shows.” And Zac Brown is even more direct: “I feel like getting to come play on that show and celebrating the kind of glimpse into country music rather than being a political side of country music – I feel like it’s a lot different. You know, I don’t feel the...I don’t feel the politics as much I guess.” 

Billy’s little girl is growing up – Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend of three years, “Hunger Games” co-star Liam Hemsworth, got engaged on May 31st. He gave her a 3.5 carat diamond ring…niiiiiiice! 

It’s now three in a row for Luke Bryan – he’s scored three platinum singles in a row off of his “Tailgates & Tanlines” cd: “Drunk on You” was just certified platinum, following “Country Girl (Shake it For Me)” and “I Don’t Want This Night to End.”

Sheryl Crow, who occasionally collaborates with country artists, just revealed that she found out six months ago there’s a brain tumor in her head. According to her doctors, it’s benign, but it has caused her some memory problems. She battled breast cancer five years ago and has been cancer-free since then.

Miranda Lambert’s next single is “Fastest Girl in Town.” This isn’t the official music video – she hasn’t made it yet – but you can hear the song here…



Love and Theft took on Las Vegas and they think they won…check out these videos and see what you think!





And this is a rock band poised to break big from Nashville. The debut single from Goodbye June has a video featuring two big fans, country star Steve Holy and St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher. The two had a blast playing the good guys/bad guys in this video…

Today's Country Tidbits

Country stars spent yesterday honoring fallen soldiers – here are their thoughts on Memorial Day…

Luke Bryan: “My dad served in Vietnam and it’s so cool that he can always walk around for the rest of his life and say, ‘I went to Vietnam, and I served.’ I hate that I’ll never be able to say that, but I guess kinda my way of serving is getting down here and trying to play for the troops.”

Craig Morgan: “There’s two things that are important in my life and that’s security of my nation, and the security of my family. And the security of my nation comes first. Most people would not appreciate or understand that, but without the security of this nation I can’t take care of my family.”

Kip Moore: “Both of my grandparents, on my mom and my dad’s side, were both in the war and protected this country. So I’ve always had a patriotic side to me, and I don’t think sometimes we grasp how lucky we are.”

Kiefer Thompson of Thompson Square: “We’ve always been big supporters of the military. My dad was in the Army. Shawna’s daddy was a Vietnam vet. Her cousin’s been in Afghanistan and Iraq both – two tours. It’s just...we love our country you know? Every time, if something comes up, if we can do it, we do it!”

And here are some thoughts from country stars on performing for the military…

Toby Keith: “They mean everything to me. They show up at my show every night. Their families show up. I represent a piece of American pie for them. It’s way more special than I ever intended or thought it ever could be.”

Craig Morgan: “I remember being in Korea and having Sawyer Brown and Charlie Daniels. It was very impacting; it takes away a little bit of aggravation and tension for a few minutes. You get a taste of home, and there’s nothing like that.”

Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry: “I just love it more and more every time I go. Me and T we talk about it all the time, every time we go we wanna do more and stay longer. We just don’t thank them enough. When you see our America heroes man, they’re totally awesome.”

George Strait has been named one of the 21 sexiest men over 50 by AARP. Ya think??

Well, they’ve been married a week now – hope all is still well in the newleyweds’ world. Angaleena Presley of Pistol Annies married her boyfriend Jordan Powell one week ago today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The tweet of the day is from Rodney Atkins: “Grateful to the men & women past & present & their families for their courage & many sacrifices not just today but everyday God Bless y'all”