Luke Bryan’s “2012 Farm Tour” continues this week with stops in Florida and Georgia. This is Luke’s favorite of the year: “We just love getting out in the fields and in each location we pick the local college and give a scholarship to a kid that comes from a farming background. And we give ‘em a scholarship to the college. And that’s the least that I feel like we can do to give back.”
It’s his highest chart debut yet, and Brad Paisley is spilling the beans about his “Southern Comfort Zone.” He says that when he’s out of his southern comfort zone, he loves Europe: “I love the culture. I love the food. And I love the fact that old to them is thousands of years as opposed to, ‘look at this old house from 1943.’”
Thomas Rhett took a little advice from his dad, hit songwriter Rhett Akins, when he wrote the song, “Beer With Jesus.” Asked what he’d do if he had the chance to really tip one back with the Son of God, Thomas said, “If Jesus was here today walking in the flesh like he was back when he was here, I mean, I would probably take him down to the Flying Saucer and order up a Newcastle and just pick his brain about life and ask him if I’m doing alright and ask him how some of the people in my life that are close to me that have died how they’re doing in Heaven. So, it’s just a very personal song to me.”
Tomorrow night on CMT, Jake Owen gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the music on his Endless Summer EP before he goes out on the CMT On Tour run, which kicks off Wednesday. How does he feel about the tour? “You know, in the last five years I’ve come far enough to where now not only am I headlining the tour, but I’ve got two acts below me playing. It’s a really, really cool feeling.” Love and Theft and Florida Georgia Line hit the road with Jake for the fall tour.
Jerrod Niemann is the latest country star to get the PS22 treatment. He stopped by the Long Island school to share some tunes with them, and they blew him away…check out the video…
Country artists came together to raise money to save the boyhood home of the late Johnny Cash. Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley, the Civil Wars and Rosanne Cash performed at the Johnny Cash Music Festival in Arkansas. The money raised will be used to restore the home Johnny Cash lived in with his 6 brothers and sisters in Dyess, Arkansas. So far, about half a million dollars has been gathered for the restoration project.
Grace Potter is a Man In Black fan – she’ll be part of “Johnny Cash: Song By Song,” along with Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Shooter Jennings and Billy Bob Thornton, and says about Johnny Cash, “I was always attracted to his voice. There’s something—it’s not just the depth in that very signature sound of his voice—it’s something about his phrasing and the way he delivers a line that is so irreverent! It’s so rich and full of attitude. You just feel like he owned every lyric.” The miniseries kicked off last night on the Ovation network.
Showing posts with label Willie Nelson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Willie Nelson. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2012
Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean have a few things in common: they’re both from Georgia, they both put on great country music shows, and they’re both die-hard Georgia Bulldog fans. They’re on record as saying that the team has a shot at playing for the National title, or at least for the SEC Championship. While on the road, the satellite dish on the bus is always tuned to college football for those two, so you know what they’ll both be watching tomorrow!
Speaking of the home of the Bulldogs, Dierks Bentley shot his “Tip It On Back” video in Athens, GA and really wanted a college-town party feel to it. “It turned out great. The fans are great! We just put a little word out on the street that we were shooting a video and people came down in the middle of the day and filled the place up…had some beer onstage, like props… pretty soon the props starting getting drunk [Laughs], and the crowd got into it, too. It was a long day, it was really like doing two shows in one day. You know, we did a show basically for that video.” Dierks even does a bit of crowd-surfing in the video – catch it on CMT.
Easton Corbin is enjoying a top 10 single with “Lovin’ You Is Fun” off of his just-released album, “All Over the Road.” How did Easton and his band pick the songs that would be on the album? “We found songs that I love and I relate to, and that spoke to me. I feel like that translates to the audience out there.” I guess that’s one way to do it!
Justin Moore is working hard to find the right songs for his next album: “I have been writing a ton and I’ve been listening to a lot of songs. I listened to more songs this go around than I ever have. But we are in the very early stages of discussing things. But I am very excited to get new music out to fans.” He’s on the road with Eric Church right now, and his latest single, “Til My Last Day,” is speeding up the charts.
Brad Paisley has a new album coming out, but we’ll have to wait until April 9th to get it. But in addition to his newly-released single, he’ll also be part of Colbie Caillat’s upcoming Christmas album. He sings and strums on “Merry Christmas Baby” – the album comes out October 23rd.
Hanson has covered Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” How does she like it? Really, really well – she tweeted that she loveloveloved it!
Willie Nelson is releasing a memoir entitled “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” the same title as his current song release. In the book, he’ll share his greatest musical and life influences, his thoughts on poker and Texas and will offer up some rare family pictures. His son Micah created the book’s cover art, and the book comes out November 13th, just in time for your holiday shopping.
Speaking of the home of the Bulldogs, Dierks Bentley shot his “Tip It On Back” video in Athens, GA and really wanted a college-town party feel to it. “It turned out great. The fans are great! We just put a little word out on the street that we were shooting a video and people came down in the middle of the day and filled the place up…had some beer onstage, like props… pretty soon the props starting getting drunk [Laughs], and the crowd got into it, too. It was a long day, it was really like doing two shows in one day. You know, we did a show basically for that video.” Dierks even does a bit of crowd-surfing in the video – catch it on CMT.
Easton Corbin is enjoying a top 10 single with “Lovin’ You Is Fun” off of his just-released album, “All Over the Road.” How did Easton and his band pick the songs that would be on the album? “We found songs that I love and I relate to, and that spoke to me. I feel like that translates to the audience out there.” I guess that’s one way to do it!
Justin Moore is working hard to find the right songs for his next album: “I have been writing a ton and I’ve been listening to a lot of songs. I listened to more songs this go around than I ever have. But we are in the very early stages of discussing things. But I am very excited to get new music out to fans.” He’s on the road with Eric Church right now, and his latest single, “Til My Last Day,” is speeding up the charts.
Brad Paisley has a new album coming out, but we’ll have to wait until April 9th to get it. But in addition to his newly-released single, he’ll also be part of Colbie Caillat’s upcoming Christmas album. He sings and strums on “Merry Christmas Baby” – the album comes out October 23rd.
Hanson has covered Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” How does she like it? Really, really well – she tweeted that she loveloveloved it!
Willie Nelson is releasing a memoir entitled “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” the same title as his current song release. In the book, he’ll share his greatest musical and life influences, his thoughts on poker and Texas and will offer up some rare family pictures. His son Micah created the book’s cover art, and the book comes out November 13th, just in time for your holiday shopping.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
It’s fall, and so a certain superstar’s thoughts turn to – baking? Yep, Taylor Swift loves to log a little kitchen time, especially in the fall: “It’s about to be baking overdrive, because fall is when you start baking cinnamon type things – pumpkin type things. So there’s going to be pumpkin bread that I make a lot of, and give it to people. That’s what I do in the fall, and also Starbucks gets the pumpkin spice lattes which I’m really excited about.” She should also be excited to have the #1 and #2 songs on iTunes – at #2, her current single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and at #1 is the song she sang on the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon, “Ronan.”
Keith Urban’s song, “For You,” is headed for the top of the charts. Written for the soundtrack to the movie, “Act of Valor,” Keith says the scene in the movie where the Navy SEAL dives onto a live grenade to save a platoon of men was the inspiration: “He sacrificed his life for everybody else, and that seemed like the most profound moment in the film of sacrifice, and that’s really what the song is about. But we couldn’t figure out where to write the song from. Sort of out of the wonderful heavens I said to my co-writer, ‘What would the soldier say, the second after he died? Let’s write the song from that perspective.’” The song is at #6 with a bullet on the Billboard Country chart.
With a CMA nomination for Musical Event of the Year, Willie Nelson is hoping that he can get onstage with Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson and Snoop Dogg to perform “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” on the CMA Awards show: “Well I hope so! I’m up for it. And all the other guys—you know Jamey lives there so that wouldn’t be hard to get in there. We gotta get Snoop and Kris over there, so—it shouldn’t be a problem.” Snoop now calls himself Snoop Lion instead of Snoop Dogg – what does Willie call him now? “Yeah I’m gonna wait and see if he changes it again. I’ll just keep calling him Snoop – whatever.” The CMA Awards are November first at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Josh Turner’s song, “Time is Love,” has sold half a million copies and has been certified gold. That tickles Josh, not just for him but also for the songwriters – Tony Martin, Mark Nesler and Tom Shapiro. According to Josh, “I really love their work, and I just really understood where they were coming from with this song. It was a message I wanted to say, and I felt like it would showcase my voice in a great way.” That’s not the only heavy metal Josh got this week – “Your Man” and “Would You Go With Me” have both been certified platinum for selling a million copies each.
Rascal Flatts have been at this hit-making thing for over a decade, and will get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday. They join other country artists like Garth Brooks, Reba and Brooks & Dun, and credit those artists with their success: “We really learned, too, by watching people like Garth Brooks through the years, Reba McEntire and their productions and their shows, and being on tour with Brooks and Dunn, and people like that that have taught us that there’s more to live shows than just playing music—there’s a lot more to it to make the experience really whole.” Walk of Fame‘s website will stream the ceremony live Monday at 11:30 Pacific time, and Monday night, catch them on the Tonight Show, performing “Come Wake Me Up.”
Keith Urban’s song, “For You,” is headed for the top of the charts. Written for the soundtrack to the movie, “Act of Valor,” Keith says the scene in the movie where the Navy SEAL dives onto a live grenade to save a platoon of men was the inspiration: “He sacrificed his life for everybody else, and that seemed like the most profound moment in the film of sacrifice, and that’s really what the song is about. But we couldn’t figure out where to write the song from. Sort of out of the wonderful heavens I said to my co-writer, ‘What would the soldier say, the second after he died? Let’s write the song from that perspective.’” The song is at #6 with a bullet on the Billboard Country chart.
With a CMA nomination for Musical Event of the Year, Willie Nelson is hoping that he can get onstage with Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson and Snoop Dogg to perform “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” on the CMA Awards show: “Well I hope so! I’m up for it. And all the other guys—you know Jamey lives there so that wouldn’t be hard to get in there. We gotta get Snoop and Kris over there, so—it shouldn’t be a problem.” Snoop now calls himself Snoop Lion instead of Snoop Dogg – what does Willie call him now? “Yeah I’m gonna wait and see if he changes it again. I’ll just keep calling him Snoop – whatever.” The CMA Awards are November first at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Josh Turner’s song, “Time is Love,” has sold half a million copies and has been certified gold. That tickles Josh, not just for him but also for the songwriters – Tony Martin, Mark Nesler and Tom Shapiro. According to Josh, “I really love their work, and I just really understood where they were coming from with this song. It was a message I wanted to say, and I felt like it would showcase my voice in a great way.” That’s not the only heavy metal Josh got this week – “Your Man” and “Would You Go With Me” have both been certified platinum for selling a million copies each.
Rascal Flatts have been at this hit-making thing for over a decade, and will get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday. They join other country artists like Garth Brooks, Reba and Brooks & Dun, and credit those artists with their success: “We really learned, too, by watching people like Garth Brooks through the years, Reba McEntire and their productions and their shows, and being on tour with Brooks and Dunn, and people like that that have taught us that there’s more to live shows than just playing music—there’s a lot more to it to make the experience really whole.” Walk of Fame‘s website will stream the ceremony live Monday at 11:30 Pacific time, and Monday night, catch them on the Tonight Show, performing “Come Wake Me Up.”
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Hollywood tabloids are still buzzing about who the next American Idol judges will be, and two country artists’ names keep coming up: Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. There has to be a decision soon, as audition rounds are scheduled to start in just a couple of weeks. Word is the show is desperate to have a country artist…who will it be? Speaking of Brad Paisley, he’ll be playing a show in Paradise this fall – Atlantis resort in Nassau, to be precise, and he’ll be there November 18th. Save your pennies and make plans – that’ll be an event!
It’s seven in a row for Blake Shelton – 7 #1 songs, that is. His latest song, “Over,” from “Red River Blue” has topped the country chart, and Blake knows it’s they mystery, as well as the melody, that made it a hit: “That’s one of those that just—the energy and the melody had me. And it’s one of those lyrics that when you listen to it, you go, ‘Man, wait a minute, what?’ cause there’s lines in there about burning the world down and you could have a different melody, and it would be like a threat, that song…you know?” This marks Blake’s 12th career #1 song, proving he knows how to pick ‘em.
Still have some waiting to do before Jason Aldean’s next album comes out. October 16th is the magic day for “Night Train,” and Jason is as excited as you are: “I think something that we did with this album, I think we found some great songs on the record - some things that I think are kind of things that people are used to hearing from us. And then there’s also some things on there that are kind of different – like the last album. I’m really proud of it, I know there’s a lot of anticipation for this record from a lot of people, just because of what our last album did.” Jason’s road band plays on the album, and tour-mates Luke Bryan and Eric Church show up on one track, called “The Only Way I Know” and fans are haunting YouTube and Jason’s Facebook page for a sneak peek at that one. “Night Train” is the follow-up to Jason’s 2010 release, “My Kinda Party.”
Lee Brice’s latest album, “Hard 2 Love,” is out and Lee admits that the title cut takes a pretty hard jab at men: “If we’re gonna categorize people, if we’re gonna say all women are crazy, then we have to say all men, we’re all idiots. We just do stupid stuff all the time. And you’re like, ‘Why did you do that?’ and we’re like, ‘I have no idea why I did that.’ I’m an idiot.’ That’s the truth, you know it?” Ummmmm…no comment!
Jake Owen is excited to headline the CMT on Tour fall tour this year. Five years ago, he was the opening act when Sugarland headlined and Little Big Town had the middle slot. The line-up this fall will be Florida Georgia Line up first, Love and Theft in the middle slot and Jake Owen headlining. Tickets go on sale Friday.
There’s a new, star-studded version of Little Big Town’s “Pontoon.” Check it out and see if you can figure out who all the stars are…cheat sheet at the end of this blog post!
Chris Young has admitted to an addiction – to a game! “I’m addicted to Golden Tee. It’s a golf game you can find it in most any bar where you would also run into neons, and I am addicted to it. I actually custom-built a road case into a Golden Tee video game, like to the point that the guys from Golden Tee actually sent me a bunch of the equipment for it, and I had to, like, take a picture next to it and show ‘em the finished product.” Chris can celebrate the platinum status of his song “Tomorrow” and the gold status of “The Man I Want to Be” with a rousing game of Golden Tee, but will probably have a party, too.
Willie Nelson’s breathing easier, apparently, after cancelling a show Saturday night in Colorado. His show in Dallas Texas went off without a hitch last night, and his manager says the breathing issues that forced Saturday’s cancellation were altitude related.
Update on Wynonna’s husband, Cactus Moser, who had a head-on collision with a car as he was riding his motorcycle this past Saturday. He lost his left leg, which was severed above the knee and had surgery on one of his hands. Wynonna was on another motorcycle and wasn’t injured, but has cancelled shows in Canada next week to remain at his side in the hospital. Cactus was cited for not having a license to operate a motorcycle and driving on the wrong side of the road.
Congrats to the new crop of inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tony Arata, Larry Henley and Kim Williams. The ceremony will be October 7th in Nashville.
(Here's your cheat-sheet for the Pontoon video: Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Pistol Annies, Jake Owen, Hunter Hayes, Sara Evans, Wynonna, Thompson Square, several CMT show hosts and many more.)
It’s seven in a row for Blake Shelton – 7 #1 songs, that is. His latest song, “Over,” from “Red River Blue” has topped the country chart, and Blake knows it’s they mystery, as well as the melody, that made it a hit: “That’s one of those that just—the energy and the melody had me. And it’s one of those lyrics that when you listen to it, you go, ‘Man, wait a minute, what?’ cause there’s lines in there about burning the world down and you could have a different melody, and it would be like a threat, that song…you know?” This marks Blake’s 12th career #1 song, proving he knows how to pick ‘em.
Still have some waiting to do before Jason Aldean’s next album comes out. October 16th is the magic day for “Night Train,” and Jason is as excited as you are: “I think something that we did with this album, I think we found some great songs on the record - some things that I think are kind of things that people are used to hearing from us. And then there’s also some things on there that are kind of different – like the last album. I’m really proud of it, I know there’s a lot of anticipation for this record from a lot of people, just because of what our last album did.” Jason’s road band plays on the album, and tour-mates Luke Bryan and Eric Church show up on one track, called “The Only Way I Know” and fans are haunting YouTube and Jason’s Facebook page for a sneak peek at that one. “Night Train” is the follow-up to Jason’s 2010 release, “My Kinda Party.”
Lee Brice’s latest album, “Hard 2 Love,” is out and Lee admits that the title cut takes a pretty hard jab at men: “If we’re gonna categorize people, if we’re gonna say all women are crazy, then we have to say all men, we’re all idiots. We just do stupid stuff all the time. And you’re like, ‘Why did you do that?’ and we’re like, ‘I have no idea why I did that.’ I’m an idiot.’ That’s the truth, you know it?” Ummmmm…no comment!
Jake Owen is excited to headline the CMT on Tour fall tour this year. Five years ago, he was the opening act when Sugarland headlined and Little Big Town had the middle slot. The line-up this fall will be Florida Georgia Line up first, Love and Theft in the middle slot and Jake Owen headlining. Tickets go on sale Friday.
There’s a new, star-studded version of Little Big Town’s “Pontoon.” Check it out and see if you can figure out who all the stars are…cheat sheet at the end of this blog post!
Chris Young has admitted to an addiction – to a game! “I’m addicted to Golden Tee. It’s a golf game you can find it in most any bar where you would also run into neons, and I am addicted to it. I actually custom-built a road case into a Golden Tee video game, like to the point that the guys from Golden Tee actually sent me a bunch of the equipment for it, and I had to, like, take a picture next to it and show ‘em the finished product.” Chris can celebrate the platinum status of his song “Tomorrow” and the gold status of “The Man I Want to Be” with a rousing game of Golden Tee, but will probably have a party, too.
Willie Nelson’s breathing easier, apparently, after cancelling a show Saturday night in Colorado. His show in Dallas Texas went off without a hitch last night, and his manager says the breathing issues that forced Saturday’s cancellation were altitude related.
Update on Wynonna’s husband, Cactus Moser, who had a head-on collision with a car as he was riding his motorcycle this past Saturday. He lost his left leg, which was severed above the knee and had surgery on one of his hands. Wynonna was on another motorcycle and wasn’t injured, but has cancelled shows in Canada next week to remain at his side in the hospital. Cactus was cited for not having a license to operate a motorcycle and driving on the wrong side of the road.
Congrats to the new crop of inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tony Arata, Larry Henley and Kim Williams. The ceremony will be October 7th in Nashville.
(Here's your cheat-sheet for the Pontoon video: Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Pistol Annies, Jake Owen, Hunter Hayes, Sara Evans, Wynonna, Thompson Square, several CMT show hosts and many more.)
Friday, August 3, 2012
Zac Brown Band stays on the road a lot more than other bands and they enjoy themselves while they’re out. But Zac himself says it’s not all fun and games: “Sometimes you’ve just gotta do a little bit of time for yourself. I know every minute I’m away from my kids, I feel guilty about it...every minute. So, that’s a tough balance...tough thing.” They’ll take a couple of weeks off the road next month to unwind with their families.
Between touring and taping, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton haven’t seen much of Oklahoma lately. According to Miranda, “We’ve been just kinda crazy; I mean we’ve been basically living in L.A. So, we’re ready to go home, we really are. We’re ready for some country time.” They spent a week at their Oklahoma property, but it’s back to work for Miranda this weekend as her On Fire tour stops in Alaska.
Justin Moore has been combining work and pleasure, though this week it’s all play. When his shows are at fairs, Justin takes daughters Ella and Kennedy along for the fun, and Daddy Justin is pretty good at the midway games. He has won a bunch of Dora the Explorer blow-up dolls for Ella. This week they’re at a family reunion in Florida, and Justin is specializing in sandcastles with Ella.
Meanwhile, Hunter Hayes is chomping at the bit to hit the road, because he’s going out with Carrie Underwood on the fall leg of her “Blown Away” tour starting in September. According to Hunter, “I just want to get back in the bus and keep playin’ you know? Umm...working a little bit towards the next album a little at a time. I’m not thinking about it too much, I can’t. Umm...I want the next album to happen very naturally.”
Do you like to know how a song came to be: Jerrod Niemann’s new song, “Shinin’ on Me,” is climbing the charts this summer, but it was written last summer, when Jerrod and Lee Brice played AquaPalooza in Austin, Texas with Brad Paisley. Jerrod explains, “I think they said there were 70,000 boats there and estimated over 100,000 Texans. So I thought, ‘Well, if that’s not a great day, what is?’ So we went to the bus, and I think every window on the bus was open, this beautiful breeze, evening breeze, comin’ through the windows, and we just wrote ‘Shinin’ on Me.’” You can feel that Texas breeze in the song…
Dierks Bentley will add another job to his resume: he’s been chosen to host the 6th Annual ACM Honors show in Nashville. The event recognizes those who won ACM awards in the non-televised portion of the show earlier this year and will be held at the Ryman Auditorium on September 24th. Tickets go on sale at the Ryman box office on August 17th.
Willie Nelson has been tapped to play the Republican National Convention in Florida. The concert will be August 29th in Tampa.
Between touring and taping, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton haven’t seen much of Oklahoma lately. According to Miranda, “We’ve been just kinda crazy; I mean we’ve been basically living in L.A. So, we’re ready to go home, we really are. We’re ready for some country time.” They spent a week at their Oklahoma property, but it’s back to work for Miranda this weekend as her On Fire tour stops in Alaska.
Justin Moore has been combining work and pleasure, though this week it’s all play. When his shows are at fairs, Justin takes daughters Ella and Kennedy along for the fun, and Daddy Justin is pretty good at the midway games. He has won a bunch of Dora the Explorer blow-up dolls for Ella. This week they’re at a family reunion in Florida, and Justin is specializing in sandcastles with Ella.
Meanwhile, Hunter Hayes is chomping at the bit to hit the road, because he’s going out with Carrie Underwood on the fall leg of her “Blown Away” tour starting in September. According to Hunter, “I just want to get back in the bus and keep playin’ you know? Umm...working a little bit towards the next album a little at a time. I’m not thinking about it too much, I can’t. Umm...I want the next album to happen very naturally.”
Do you like to know how a song came to be: Jerrod Niemann’s new song, “Shinin’ on Me,” is climbing the charts this summer, but it was written last summer, when Jerrod and Lee Brice played AquaPalooza in Austin, Texas with Brad Paisley. Jerrod explains, “I think they said there were 70,000 boats there and estimated over 100,000 Texans. So I thought, ‘Well, if that’s not a great day, what is?’ So we went to the bus, and I think every window on the bus was open, this beautiful breeze, evening breeze, comin’ through the windows, and we just wrote ‘Shinin’ on Me.’” You can feel that Texas breeze in the song…
Dierks Bentley will add another job to his resume: he’s been chosen to host the 6th Annual ACM Honors show in Nashville. The event recognizes those who won ACM awards in the non-televised portion of the show earlier this year and will be held at the Ryman Auditorium on September 24th. Tickets go on sale at the Ryman box office on August 17th.
Willie Nelson has been tapped to play the Republican National Convention in Florida. The concert will be August 29th in Tampa.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
The Hollywood rumor mill is running hot and heavy that Brad Paisley will be the next new American Idol judge. Could be – if they don’t need him before January. Here’s what he’s up to between now and then: 26 stops on his Virtual Reality World Tour, probably co-hosting the CMA Awards, heading to Sweden and Norway for some shows, spending a couple of weeks with his family during the holidays and recording his next album. Phew! In contrast, the newest American Idol judge, Mariah Carey, has nothing scheduled between now and the end of the year, according to her website. Ultimately it’s up to Brad – can FOX dangle enough dollars in front of him to jam one more thing into his jam-packed schedule? I’ll keep you posted.
Steven Tyler vacated an American Idol seat, but has been busy with Aerosmith’s new album…and with Carrie Underwood. She and Steven recorded “Beautiful” together several months ago, and the cut landed on the new project, “Music from Another Dimension!” which drops November 6th. About working with Steven Tyler, Carrie said, “He’s a wonderful guy and I look for any opportunity possible to just be in his company, you know, because he’s just so talented and so cool.”
Maxim magazine’s next issue is a salute to the military, and Kellie Pickler graces the cover in a pin-up style photo. She’s a proud supporter of the military, making multiple trips to the Middle East and adding a star tattoo for each trip. Kellie says, “It’s so wild the sacrifices that they make that we don’t even know about. And not just our service men and women, but their families as well, you know? To sit and know that your husband or wife is in Afghanistan fighting a war...it makes it hard to sleep at night.” Maxim’s August issue hits newsstands next Tuesday.
Jake Owen’s new song, “The One That Got Away,” has spawned some new swag. According to Jake, “We have t-shirts we sell on the road that say, ‘I’m the One That Got Away,’ but yeah, my wife…she probably will…she’ll scratch part of that out and say, ‘I’m Not the One That Got Away.’”
Willie Nelson and Jamey Johnson have teamed up for the 2012 Railroad Revival Tour. They’ll travel in vintage rail cars from Georgia to California, playing eight shows along the way at outdoor venues near the tracks. Joining them are the rock group Band of Horses and actor/musician John C. Reilly. Here’s where the train will stop…
Oct. 20: Duluth, Ga.
Oct. 21: TBA
Oct. 22: Memphis, Tenn.
Oct. 23: Oklahoma City
Oct. 24: Old Town Spring, Texas
Oct. 26: Tempe, Ariz.
Oct. 27: San Pedro, Calif.
Oct. 28: Oakland, Calif.
Jay DeMarcus finally got to spend some time with his new son this week. Allison had an emergency c-section Friday afternoon, and Jay was able to fly home from Detroit in time for the delivery. As soon as Dylan was born, Jay had to fly back out for concerts last weekend. When he got home Monday he says he held his son all day long. When their daughter Madeline met Dylan, the 18-month-old said “Hi baby!” and kissed him on the cheek. Awwww….
Did you miss Love and Theft on FOX & Friends? Here you go…
Steven Tyler vacated an American Idol seat, but has been busy with Aerosmith’s new album…and with Carrie Underwood. She and Steven recorded “Beautiful” together several months ago, and the cut landed on the new project, “Music from Another Dimension!” which drops November 6th. About working with Steven Tyler, Carrie said, “He’s a wonderful guy and I look for any opportunity possible to just be in his company, you know, because he’s just so talented and so cool.”
Maxim magazine’s next issue is a salute to the military, and Kellie Pickler graces the cover in a pin-up style photo. She’s a proud supporter of the military, making multiple trips to the Middle East and adding a star tattoo for each trip. Kellie says, “It’s so wild the sacrifices that they make that we don’t even know about. And not just our service men and women, but their families as well, you know? To sit and know that your husband or wife is in Afghanistan fighting a war...it makes it hard to sleep at night.” Maxim’s August issue hits newsstands next Tuesday.
Jake Owen’s new song, “The One That Got Away,” has spawned some new swag. According to Jake, “We have t-shirts we sell on the road that say, ‘I’m the One That Got Away,’ but yeah, my wife…she probably will…she’ll scratch part of that out and say, ‘I’m Not the One That Got Away.’”
Willie Nelson and Jamey Johnson have teamed up for the 2012 Railroad Revival Tour. They’ll travel in vintage rail cars from Georgia to California, playing eight shows along the way at outdoor venues near the tracks. Joining them are the rock group Band of Horses and actor/musician John C. Reilly. Here’s where the train will stop…
Oct. 20: Duluth, Ga.
Oct. 21: TBA
Oct. 22: Memphis, Tenn.
Oct. 23: Oklahoma City
Oct. 24: Old Town Spring, Texas
Oct. 26: Tempe, Ariz.
Oct. 27: San Pedro, Calif.
Oct. 28: Oakland, Calif.
Jay DeMarcus finally got to spend some time with his new son this week. Allison had an emergency c-section Friday afternoon, and Jay was able to fly home from Detroit in time for the delivery. As soon as Dylan was born, Jay had to fly back out for concerts last weekend. When he got home Monday he says he held his son all day long. When their daughter Madeline met Dylan, the 18-month-old said “Hi baby!” and kissed him on the cheek. Awwww….
Did you miss Love and Theft on FOX & Friends? Here you go…
Friday, June 22, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
Zac Brown Band has a new song out – “The Wind” – and Zac loves what it does for the band and the radio: “It gets to showcase everybody’s musicianship in the band. Very quickly, it’s a real fast and short song. I think it’s the most country thing that has been on the radio in a long time. It’s got a little bit of bluegrass and pickin’ and everything in it. But there is still great song lyrics buried in that speed of the tune.” All the guys in the band share their thoughts on “The Wind” in this video:
Miranda Lambert is having a blast with her girl group, Pistol Annies. “We are doing just a Pistol Annies tour in September. The girls are out with me all summer – but then all of September is just Pistol Annies. Then we are doing a new record in November!” While they’re out with Miranda, the trio is writing material for that album.
She’s named after him – she invited him to join her onstage during her Madison Square Garden Speak Now tour stop, so it’s not a huge surprise that Taylor Swift will be the guest star at James Taylor’s concert in Lenox, MA on July 2nd. They’ll perform a few songs together, and Taylor will do a solo or two. No word on the set list. You might still be able to get a ticket.
In other cross-genre news, Grace Potter isn’t going country, but she’s adding some country flavor to the deluxe edition of her new album, “The Lion The Beast The Beat.” Kenny Chesney duets with her on “Stars” and Willie Nelson sings and plays on “Ragged Company.” Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are part of the Brothers of the Sun tour with Kenny and Tim McGraw.
Faith Hill hasn’t released any new music in seven years, but she’s been having fun working in the studio on a new project. It doesn’t have a name or release date yet, but Faith is tipping her hand on what the music might sound like: “My love of country music – that has been my backbone. I was raised with country music, but I am a soul singer. So to bring those two worlds together in a way that is authentic and that is true – to me – that is the most important thing. I want to have a good time and I want my music to be truthful.”
They’ve been married 12 days and somehow managed to keep it a secret – Wynonna and long-time boyfriend Cactus Moser were married June 10th in a very private sunset ceremony on her farm in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. Us Weekly has the story and pictures.
Wall bling for Eli Young Band - “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” has been certified gold. Eric Church’s “Chief” album has been certified platinum. Now here’s a weird coincidence: 28 years ago on the very same week that Eric’s single “Springsteen” went to #1 on the country charts, Bruce Springsteen had his only #1 song on the pop charts - “Dancing in the Dark.”
Congrats to Josh Turner on the #1 debut of his new album, “Punching Bag.” It’s the second time he’s accomplished a #1 album debut – the first was in 2006 with “Your Man.” About the title cut on this album, Josh says, “Everybody has those kinds of days. So, I want this song to motivate people to not get discouraged and just take those punches. Make something good out of it, keeping moving forward and just be tough.”
Miranda Lambert is having a blast with her girl group, Pistol Annies. “We are doing just a Pistol Annies tour in September. The girls are out with me all summer – but then all of September is just Pistol Annies. Then we are doing a new record in November!” While they’re out with Miranda, the trio is writing material for that album.
She’s named after him – she invited him to join her onstage during her Madison Square Garden Speak Now tour stop, so it’s not a huge surprise that Taylor Swift will be the guest star at James Taylor’s concert in Lenox, MA on July 2nd. They’ll perform a few songs together, and Taylor will do a solo or two. No word on the set list. You might still be able to get a ticket.
In other cross-genre news, Grace Potter isn’t going country, but she’s adding some country flavor to the deluxe edition of her new album, “The Lion The Beast The Beat.” Kenny Chesney duets with her on “Stars” and Willie Nelson sings and plays on “Ragged Company.” Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are part of the Brothers of the Sun tour with Kenny and Tim McGraw.
Faith Hill hasn’t released any new music in seven years, but she’s been having fun working in the studio on a new project. It doesn’t have a name or release date yet, but Faith is tipping her hand on what the music might sound like: “My love of country music – that has been my backbone. I was raised with country music, but I am a soul singer. So to bring those two worlds together in a way that is authentic and that is true – to me – that is the most important thing. I want to have a good time and I want my music to be truthful.”
They’ve been married 12 days and somehow managed to keep it a secret – Wynonna and long-time boyfriend Cactus Moser were married June 10th in a very private sunset ceremony on her farm in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. Us Weekly has the story and pictures.
Wall bling for Eli Young Band - “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” has been certified gold. Eric Church’s “Chief” album has been certified platinum. Now here’s a weird coincidence: 28 years ago on the very same week that Eric’s single “Springsteen” went to #1 on the country charts, Bruce Springsteen had his only #1 song on the pop charts - “Dancing in the Dark.”
Congrats to Josh Turner on the #1 debut of his new album, “Punching Bag.” It’s the second time he’s accomplished a #1 album debut – the first was in 2006 with “Your Man.” About the title cut on this album, Josh says, “Everybody has those kinds of days. So, I want this song to motivate people to not get discouraged and just take those punches. Make something good out of it, keeping moving forward and just be tough.”
Monday, May 14, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
Love her or not, one thing’s for sure – Taylor Swift takes care of her fans. One fan, 13-year-old Summer, had waited nearly a year to see her idol, Taylor. On the way to the concert at the sold-out Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California, the car she was riding in was hit by a drunk driver. Summer ended up in the emergency room instead of in her seat at the show. The responding officer, Mike Lowry, couldn’t help but notice what a great attitude Summer had, putting on a brave face in spite of her injuries, so her parents wouldn’t worry. Officer Lowry decided to make it his mission to let Taylor know what happened. When Taylor’s managers heard the news, they set aside tickets for the next show Taylor does in Sacramento, and sent some personalized, autographed merchandise to help Summer feel better. Here’s the local news coverage of the story:
Jake Owen is getting set to hit the road with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw on the “Brothers of the Sun” tour. He’s had a roller-coaster few months, and hasn’t kept himself as toned as he would like, and he says he can’t take the stage looking soft. “I’m really trying to get myself back into shape because for like three months, I wasn’t able to do anything. I had shoulder surgery after I broke my collarbone. I couldn’t go to the gym, I couldn’t run, I couldn’t do anything. I just felt worthless, and I’m like a really active outdoorsy guy, and I like to do a lot—and when I had to sit inside and cancel shows, and not be able—it was bad.”
Lady Antebellum played Radio City Music Hall, and while doing the sold-out shows, Charles Kelly decided to take their show to new heights – literally! He climbed up to the highest point in the building, even “borrowing” a beer from the audience. Check out the fun…
The John Rich & Friends benefit concert for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will happen on June 5th and will include Darius Rucker, Kellie Pickler, Jeff Foxworthy and of course, Big & Rich. The concert kicks off the FedEx St. Jude Classic golf tournament and celebrates the 50th year St. Jude has been leading the fight against childhood cancer.
Willie Nelson has a new album out. “Heroes” is his fifty-somethingth album (even he’s lost count!) and much of what’s on them, Willie wrote. That’s a lot of songs! Has he ever hit a rough patch? According to Willie, “Well, occasionally, you go through dry spells where you don’t write anything and Roger Miller was a good friend of mine and one of the greatest writers ever. And he used to say, ‘Well sometimes you just gotta, when the well goes dry, you have to wait a while til the well fills up and you can write some more,’ and I’ve always kept that in the back of my mind and never worried too much whether I was producing too much or too little.”
Congrats to Justin Moore, whose “Flyover States” is the #1 song on the country charts this week.
Carrie Underwood will be on “Dancing With the Stars” tonight, performing “Good Girl.” Alanis Morissette will also be on the show.
The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: “Sitting outside and the temperature just literally dropped 5 degrees. Looks like we might get some rain or a thunderstorm. Love it!”
Jake Owen is getting set to hit the road with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw on the “Brothers of the Sun” tour. He’s had a roller-coaster few months, and hasn’t kept himself as toned as he would like, and he says he can’t take the stage looking soft. “I’m really trying to get myself back into shape because for like three months, I wasn’t able to do anything. I had shoulder surgery after I broke my collarbone. I couldn’t go to the gym, I couldn’t run, I couldn’t do anything. I just felt worthless, and I’m like a really active outdoorsy guy, and I like to do a lot—and when I had to sit inside and cancel shows, and not be able—it was bad.”
Lady Antebellum played Radio City Music Hall, and while doing the sold-out shows, Charles Kelly decided to take their show to new heights – literally! He climbed up to the highest point in the building, even “borrowing” a beer from the audience. Check out the fun…
The John Rich & Friends benefit concert for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will happen on June 5th and will include Darius Rucker, Kellie Pickler, Jeff Foxworthy and of course, Big & Rich. The concert kicks off the FedEx St. Jude Classic golf tournament and celebrates the 50th year St. Jude has been leading the fight against childhood cancer.
Willie Nelson has a new album out. “Heroes” is his fifty-somethingth album (even he’s lost count!) and much of what’s on them, Willie wrote. That’s a lot of songs! Has he ever hit a rough patch? According to Willie, “Well, occasionally, you go through dry spells where you don’t write anything and Roger Miller was a good friend of mine and one of the greatest writers ever. And he used to say, ‘Well sometimes you just gotta, when the well goes dry, you have to wait a while til the well fills up and you can write some more,’ and I’ve always kept that in the back of my mind and never worried too much whether I was producing too much or too little.”
Congrats to Justin Moore, whose “Flyover States” is the #1 song on the country charts this week.
Carrie Underwood will be on “Dancing With the Stars” tonight, performing “Good Girl.” Alanis Morissette will also be on the show.
The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: “Sitting outside and the temperature just literally dropped 5 degrees. Looks like we might get some rain or a thunderstorm. Love it!”
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
Justin Moore had a rough weekend. Early Saturday morning, a car driven by Chicago resident Joseph Taylor crashed into the rear of Justin’s band and crew bus outside of Chicago on Interstate 57. When the 48-year-old Taylor got out of his car to assess the damage, he was hit by another car and was killed. Justin took to Twitter to express his feelings about the tragedy: “Thankful my band and crew guys are all good. They got hit by a car this morning in their bus. Prayers go out to the guy who lost his life and his family. You never know man. You have to be prepared to meet God today, cause it may be your last.”
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and as you would suspect, country artists love their Moms. Carrie Underwood says her mom and dad have had major adjustments to make since she won American Idol, but they’re coping well: “It takes a while to get used to everything but I think they’ve definitely done a great job, and mom and I, even though we don’t see each other as much as we used to, we still talk every single day.” Taylor Swift is very focused on her own mother/daughter relationship, and wrote a special song just for her mom: “‘The Best Day’ is a song that I wrote without telling my mom. I wrote it in the summertime, and I recorded it secretly too. I had this idea that I wanted to play it for her for Christmas. So, when I got the track I synced up all these home videos from when I was a little kid to go along with the song like a music video and played it for her on Christmas Eve. She was crying her eyes out.” Miranda Lambert says the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in her family: “My mom is a riot. She’s like, such a party animal — she loves to be on the road with me. She comes out probably like once a month. And my family is just great – they’re just, you know, they’re really cool. They get it, you know? They’re just like…they know when I need my space, but they also know when I need support. So, it’s really great to have a family like that.” Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelly says about he and his brother Josh: “We were honestly, at times, pretty hard to handle, both of us. And my mom’s just one of those people, she’ll do anything for her family and she sacrificed a lot for us boys. Anytime we needed something, she made it happen. And so, we owe her a lot. She’s definitely the reason we’re playing music.” And Kenny Chesney has a huge appreciation for his mom: “She’s been through a lot in her life. And she’s handled it. And she’s come through it, I believe, with a lot of grace…and a lot of style. And I’ve learned a lot from that. She has taught me a lot directly and indirectly. And she’s a hard worker, but she loves life. And I thank God that I got my love of life from her.”
Did you miss Carrie Underwood on the Jimmy Kimmel Show? They did a spoof music video – check it out and get set to laugh!
We don’t know when it will be made, but we know who will play the lead role. Zooey Deschanel was hand-picked by Loretta Lynn to play her in the musical adaptation of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Loretta introduced Zooey at the Grand Ole Opry last week and the two sang “Coal Miner’s Daughter” together.
Willie Nelson is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight.
The tweet of the day is from Taylor Swift: “Celebrating this Mother’s Day, reflecting back on past matching velvet holiday ensembles.”
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and as you would suspect, country artists love their Moms. Carrie Underwood says her mom and dad have had major adjustments to make since she won American Idol, but they’re coping well: “It takes a while to get used to everything but I think they’ve definitely done a great job, and mom and I, even though we don’t see each other as much as we used to, we still talk every single day.” Taylor Swift is very focused on her own mother/daughter relationship, and wrote a special song just for her mom: “‘The Best Day’ is a song that I wrote without telling my mom. I wrote it in the summertime, and I recorded it secretly too. I had this idea that I wanted to play it for her for Christmas. So, when I got the track I synced up all these home videos from when I was a little kid to go along with the song like a music video and played it for her on Christmas Eve. She was crying her eyes out.” Miranda Lambert says the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in her family: “My mom is a riot. She’s like, such a party animal — she loves to be on the road with me. She comes out probably like once a month. And my family is just great – they’re just, you know, they’re really cool. They get it, you know? They’re just like…they know when I need my space, but they also know when I need support. So, it’s really great to have a family like that.” Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelly says about he and his brother Josh: “We were honestly, at times, pretty hard to handle, both of us. And my mom’s just one of those people, she’ll do anything for her family and she sacrificed a lot for us boys. Anytime we needed something, she made it happen. And so, we owe her a lot. She’s definitely the reason we’re playing music.” And Kenny Chesney has a huge appreciation for his mom: “She’s been through a lot in her life. And she’s handled it. And she’s come through it, I believe, with a lot of grace…and a lot of style. And I’ve learned a lot from that. She has taught me a lot directly and indirectly. And she’s a hard worker, but she loves life. And I thank God that I got my love of life from her.”
Did you miss Carrie Underwood on the Jimmy Kimmel Show? They did a spoof music video – check it out and get set to laugh!
We don’t know when it will be made, but we know who will play the lead role. Zooey Deschanel was hand-picked by Loretta Lynn to play her in the musical adaptation of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Loretta introduced Zooey at the Grand Ole Opry last week and the two sang “Coal Miner’s Daughter” together.
Willie Nelson is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight.
The tweet of the day is from Taylor Swift: “Celebrating this Mother’s Day, reflecting back on past matching velvet holiday ensembles.”
Monday, April 30, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
Carrie Underwood likes kids, but she's not ready to have any yet, so she stopped by PS22 in Staten Island, New York to sing with the school chorus. The kids nailed her song, "Good Girl," and the drummer has mad skills!
Keith Urban is launching a new video feature, and episode one is online. In the first Urban Chat, he's backstage with Seal, Kelly Clarkson and David Foster.
Colt Ford had a rough night last night - he didn't see a bank of speakers, tripped and fell off the stage. He's got "a few broke ribs and hurt knee," as he put it on Twitter, but says he'll be alright. He was doing a show in Danville, Virginia on Friday and kept his date in West Virginia on Saturday night.
Saturday in Nashville it was the St. Jude Marathon, and country music (of course!) was involved. Danny Gokey was one of the runners and Rodney Atkins and Gloriana provided the post-race entertainment.
Blake Shelton performs his new single, "Over," on The Voice tonight.
Tonight, Carrie Underwood will be on the David Letterman show, and Thursday night she'll perform on American Idol. Her cd, "Blown Away," comes out tomorrow.
Happy birthday to Willie Nelson, who is 79 today. He's in Maui, where he likes to spend Monday nights with friends: “We play in Maui, I have a little hideout out in the back of the house next to the ocean out there where we play poker a lot. Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson and a lot of my friends from Maui, we’ll get together on Monday nights or whenever and play poker.”
The tweet of the day is from John Rich: "I'm being very inappropriate right now."
Friday, April 20, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
Tomorrow, Keith Urban will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, after a surprise invitation the night of the All for the Hall benefit concert. About surprises, Keith says, “You know, it’s funny because my wife and I have a very strict rule that we don’t keep secrets, we’re not into surprises. My wife’s like, ‘I don’t like surprises, don’t ever have a surprise—always tell me if there’s going to be a surprise party’—that kind of thing. And so we’ve never surprised each other with anything or kept any secret about anything and this was the rare exception. When I got home she said, ‘Do you wish I’d told you?’ And I said, ‘No!’” Carrie Underwood isn't surprised at all - she says he's the perfect Opry member: “I mean Keith Urban - I can’t believe he’s not an Opry member already. People already thought of him, you know, being associated with the Opry, so it’s only fitting that he is actually a member! What a great addition to our Opry family.”
Lady Antebellum is doing their tornado relief concert up right. "Rebuilding Henryville Charity Ball" in Louisville, Kentucky on May 16th will include the Lady A show and probably a surprise guest or two. A fan-voted poster contest is going on right now at the band's website, looking for the design that'll be featured on commemorative t-shirts. Tickets for the show go on sale April 27th at Ticketmaster.
How do country stars relax before going out on tour? Well, if you're Jake Owen, you buy a new boat and float: “Just went for a little joyride the other day and had a good time. I love, especially when I’m in Nashville, just getting away and getting out on the river and turning the engine off and just floating with the current down the river. It’s just very relaxing. It’s good for your mind and soul.” Jake is getting set to be part of the Brothers of the Sun tour with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney this summer.
Miranda Lambert is now part-owner of the Green Bay Packers football team. Her tour hit Wisconsin on Wednesday, and she was presented with one share of stock in the team. She and 99,999 others own a tiny bit of football.
A little birdie told me that Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera are planning to do a country duet.
When Justin Bieber surprised the audience with a visit on The Voice, Blake Shelton got to see Bieber Fever first-hand, and was impressed, saying, “I never witnessed anything like that, it’s got to be similar to what happened with Elvis when he would come walking into a room...I literally looked at a group of girls that were in the audience and they were crying!”
Today is April 20th, a day many people celebrate as Weed Day. Who else to chime in on this but Willie Nelson, who was asked if marijuana makes him a better songwriter: “I’ve never thought about it that way because I wrote a lot of hit songs before I smoked and I’ve written a lot since I started so I can’t even make that comparison. It doesn’t compute. I think a songwriter will write songs and if he gets too high to write he’ll sober up and write again so I can’t say that it’s affected it one way or another.”
Late night tv is repeats tonight - catch Jason Aldean and Lionel Richie on the David Letterman Show and The Civil Wars on Jimmy Kimmel.
The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Bed. Dogs. Need to wash face and tryin to talk myself into it. Ok... I will. It's not worth a zit :)!"
Today's Country Tidbits
Tomorrow, Keith Urban will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, after a surprise invitation the night of the All for the Hall benefit concert. About surprises, Keith says, “You know, it’s funny because my wife and I have a very strict rule that we don’t keep secrets, we’re not into surprises. My wife’s like, ‘I don’t like surprises, don’t ever have a surprise—always tell me if there’s going to be a surprise party’—that kind of thing. And so we’ve never surprised each other with anything or kept any secret about anything and this was the rare exception. When I got home she said, ‘Do you wish I’d told you?’ And I said, ‘No!’” Carrie Underwood isn't surprised at all - she says he's the perfect Opry member: “I mean Keith Urban - I can’t believe he’s not an Opry member already. People already thought of him, you know, being associated with the Opry, so it’s only fitting that he is actually a member! What a great addition to our Opry family.”
Lady Antebellum is doing their tornado relief concert up right. "Rebuilding Henryville Charity Ball" in Louisville, Kentucky on May 16th will include the Lady A show and probably a surprise guest or two. A fan-voted poster contest is going on right now at the band's website, looking for the design that'll be featured on commemorative t-shirts. Tickets for the show go on sale April 27th at Ticketmaster.
http://ladyantebellum.com
How do country stars relax before going out on tour? Well, if you're Jake Owen, you buy a new boat and float: “Just went for a little joyride the other day and had a good time. I love, especially when I’m in Nashville, just getting away and getting out on the river and turning the engine off and just floating with the current down the river. It’s just very relaxing. It’s good for your mind and soul.” Jake is getting set to be part of the Brothers of the Sun tour with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney this summer.
Miranda Lambert is now part-owner of the Green Bay Packers football team. Her tour hit Wisconsin on Wednesday, and she was presented with one share of stock in the team. She and 99,999 others own a tiny bit of football.
photo
A little birdie told me that Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera are planning to do a country duet.
When Justin Bieber surprised the audience with a visit on The Voice, Blake Shelton got to see Bieber Fever first-hand, and was impressed, saying, “I never witnessed anything like that, it’s got to be similar to what happened with Elvis when he would come walking into a room...I literally looked at a group of girls that were in the audience and they were crying!”
Today is April 20th, a day many people celebrate as Weed Day. Who else to chime in on this but Willie Nelson, who was asked if marijuana makes him a better songwriter: “I’ve never thought about it that way because I wrote a lot of hit songs before I smoked and I’ve written a lot since I started so I can’t even make that comparison. It doesn’t compute. I think a songwriter will write songs and if he gets too high to write he’ll sober up and write again so I can’t say that it’s affected it one way or another.”
Late night tv is repeats tonight - catch Jason Aldean and Lionel Richie on the David Letterman Show and The Civil Wars on Jimmy Kimmel.
The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Bed. Dogs. Need to wash face and tryin to talk myself into it. Ok... I will. It's not worth a zit :)!"
Friday, March 30, 2012
Today's Country Tidbits
Reba and Blake love working together, especially on the ACM Awards Show. They’re getting ready to co-host the show again Sunday night on CBS, and Reba says Blake is a good influence on her: “For me, when I get around Blake it just seems to come out a little bit more. There’s not as many guarded gates that come up – it’s all what you see is what you get. And that’s what I’ve learned being around Blake. He is such a lovable creature – he’s adorable and everybody loves him.”
Taylor Swift is the only female nominee in the Entertainer of the Year category. She won that award last year, but knows that with Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney nominated with her, she’s not a shoe-in. Taylor’s keeping it in perspective, though: “To be recognized for that is such an amazing thing, because not only did you then get to go out and travel the world and play these giant shows, and get the love back from the fans, but then you get nominated for an award for it. It’s kind of wonderful!”
We’re hearing more about the performances we can expect Sunday night: Toby Keith will duet with a surprise guest on “Red Solo Cup,” Rascal Flatts and Steve Martin will shake up “Banjo,” and Blake Shelton, Lionel Richie, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw will team up for “You Are.”
Jason Aldean is second only to Kenny Chesney in number of nominations at the ACMs. Kenny’s up for 9 awards and Jason’s up for 6. What does that feel like? “It’s a good feeling. It makes you excited, and makes you excited to want to go to the show – and look forward to it. It’s a completely different experience when you’re heading out to Vegas and you know you’re up for that many awards.”
Brad Paisley has endowed a scholarship at Belmont University. He says he wouldn’t be where he is now without Belmont, so is providing financial assistance for students in need. The Brad Paisley Endowed Scholarship offers help for students studying in the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. When Brad was enrolled there, he was helped by a scholarship funded by Vince Gill.
Kenny Chesney is nearly finished with “Welcome to the Fishbowl,” his next cd. It’ll be out June 19th, and Kenny says the title came from a real-life experience at a beach bar in Florida. He was mobbed by fans wanting autographs, and when the frenzy finally settled down, a man said, “I didn’t realize your life was like this.” “Welcome to the fishbowl,” Kenny replied, and an album title was born.
Willie Nelson says he and Barbara Streisand are just looking for the right song to sing together. Will it be on his upcoming album? “Heroes” is due out May 15th, so he and Babs better get to singing!
Get well wishes to George Jones. The Possum was admitted to a Nashville hospital yesterday for an upper respiratory infection.
Alan Jackson will be on the Tonight Show tonight.
The tweet of the day is from Carrie Underwood: “Helloooooo Las Vegas! It's good to be back! Got my dresses and I'm ready to get my #ACM on!”
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Today's Country Tidbits
Jukeboxes are still going strong, and country music leads the list of the most-played songs on them in 2011. In the top 10, seven songs are country. Jason Aldean's "Dirt Road Anthem" was the most-played song on jukeboxes this year, and the other country songs people plunked down their cash for were Eric Church's "Smoke a Little Smoke," Kid Rock's "All Summer Long," Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried," Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road," Luke Bryan's "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" and Kenny Chesney's "Somewhere With You."
Jason Aldean spent some time with hip-hop artist Ludacris this week, working on another collaboration. They've hit the stage a few times, performing Jason's "Dirt Road Anthem," and Jason says people shouldn't be surprised: “I think it’s important just to...you know, even though I’m a country artist, and Luda’s a hip-hop artist, I think it’s important to have respect for other types of music. I mean, I grew up listening to everything from hip hop to blues to rock, southern rock, I mean a little bit of everything.”
Last night was the CMT Artists of the Year special, honoring Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley and Lady Antebellum. According to Charles and Hillary of Lady A, the night was more than special: “[Hillary] Just knowing all of the hard work that CMT has put into this, and they really take time to make it so personal to each artist, which means a lot. [Charles] And, knowing you’re gonna go home with an award, it makes the whole night a little bit easier doesn’t it? ...a lot more fun.” If you missed it, you can watch the whole show online.
CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
Gavin DeGraw performed Kenny Chesney’s “Somewhere With You”
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa presented the award to Kenny Chesney.
Lady Antebellum sang “Dancin’ Away With My Heart” from their Own the Night album.
Sara Evans presented Lady Antebellum with their award.
Jason Aldean performed his single, “Tattoos On This Town.”
Lionel Richie presented Jason Aldean his award.
The Avett Brothers presented a romping live version of their song, “Laundry Room.”
The All-American Rejects performed a mash-up of Taylor Swift’s “Mean” with their hit, “Gives You Hell.”
Faith Hill presented Taylor Swift with her award.
Brad Paisley performed “Life’s Been Good to Me” and “Camouflage” with Joe Walsh.
William Shatner presented Brad Paisley with his award.
Keith Urban asked fans to make a commercial for his new fragrance, "Phoenix." The winner, Eric Noffsinger, has the honor of seeing his commercial on The View December 21st on ABC-TV, and wins a slew of other prizes. You can see his work, but be warned...it's just a little bit on the adult side!
The CMA has pledged to donate $10 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's "Working On A Building: Country Music Lives Here" fund. It will more than double the current size of the facility and include a new, 800-seat theatre. According to CMA head honcho Steve Moore, "We are proud to support the growth of the Hall and look forward to using the CMA Theater in a variety of ways that will shine a spotlight on the Country music industry and format."
Willie Nelson, politician? Probably not, though people ask him often: “It’s been thrown at me a couple times, and I’m not interested in that. I think, ‘Why should I split my audience,’ you know? Why should I start singing to the Democrats or the Republicans or anybody. Just one audience is all I need.”
There's a Christmas movie in the works, though it won't be out until next year. Kix Brooks is the executive producer and Trace Adkins and Jay DeMarcus have been on the set this week, working on "Saving Santa." Here's the plot line: a disgruntled politician tries to ban Christmas and the kids in the town work to save Santa. Actors Kevin Pollak and Joey Lauren Adams are part of the project, due out in November of 2012.
Got a child on your shopping list this season? Check out Zac Brown Band's online store for a new book, written by Coy Bowles of the band. The book is called "Amy Giggles" and will help kids understand that it's ok to be different.
Lady Antebellum is on Good Morning America today.
The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Need money, I spent too much in New York! Anyone have a yard that needs mowing? Gutters cleaned? Oh wait, I have both, do I pay myself?"
Monday, November 7, 2011
Today's Country Tidbits
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are hard at work this week, writing and rehearsing for Wednesday night's CMA Awards. They'll duet on the show, co-host the show for the 4th year in a row, and according to Brad, kick a few chuckles out of us, too. “Everything’s pretty -- well no, it’s never just ready -- but we get out there and have a great time and uh, I hope, I hope we make you laugh. I think we have the last few years and, and hopefully we can do it again, uh, we aren’t pulling many punches, it ought to be fun.”
Miranda Lambert is the reigning CMA Female Vocalist, and is nominated again this year, along with Carrie Underwood, Sara Evans, Martina McBride and Taylor Swift. How does she feel about the competition? “Of course we want to win. You know, there’s the disappointment...for a while there I was getting beat out every year by Taylor and Carrie, and I was like, ‘OK, when’s my turn coming?’ You know? But, my turn has come and when it’s somebody else’s turn, I wanna be as gracious as...especially Carrie was to me when I won! You know? It’s not a competition. It’s a family.”
The husband/wife duo Thompson Square is up for New Artist and Vocal Duo. Kiefer and Shawna are pretty amazed to be nominated, saying “To us, it’s like, Ok, now these people take us seriously and accept us into their fold. And to be accepted into this country music family in Nashville is just...it’s a dream come true. It’s why we all move here and to be able to be in that fold is just unbelievable.” The show airs at 8pm Wednesday on ABC.
One of Billy Currington's neighbors needs a time-out. He showed up at Billy's door, inviting him to go fishing and telling him that he'd been watching Billy through binoculors and telescopes for six months! Billy's as calm about it as he can be, but probably won't go fishing with his neighbor any time soon.
Willie Nelson had to cancel a couple of shows last week because he got sick. The Washington DC show will be re-scheduled, but the Akron, Ohio show tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase.
Kenny Rogers will kick off his annual Christmas tour the day after Thanksgiving in Columbus, Ohio. Joining him on the "Christmas and Hits Tour" is Grammy-winner Billy Dean.
Alan Jackson and Kix Brooks both got stars on the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville yesterday...congrats!
The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Can't sleep, changed bunks, it's bumpy and loud in the back bottom right! But it beats listening to people up front snore! G Nite take two"
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Today's Country Tidbits
The opening song of the CMA Music Awards next Wednesday night will be Kenny Loggins and Blake Shelton performing "Footloose." When Blake was pitched the concept of being part of the "Footloose" soundtrack, producers came to him with another song. But it was only the Kenny Loggins classic that Blake was interested in covering. “I wanted to do ‘Footloose’ or I wasn’t gonna be a part of the soundtrack, you know? And, it wasn’t like, ‘By God...’ I just said, that’s the only one I’d be interested in doin’.” Other collaborations that night include Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter, Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts & Natasha Bedingfield, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Lionel Ritchie and Darius Rucker with Rascal Flatts. The show is a sell-out, filling 17,000 seats at Bridgestone Arena for next Wednesday night's show.
Brad Paisley's book, "Diary of a Player," came out yesterday, and the idea of it was born a year ago as he and co-author David Wild were writing the 2010 CMA Award show. “Last year, when we were writing the CMAs...he said ‘You should write a book about some of these things!’ And I realized that I needed to be able to read something like this when I was ten. There wasn’t anything like that that basically said, ‘Here’s what you can do if you practice,’ which is really what this book ought to be called…‘Brad Paisley: Here’s What You Can Do If You Practice.”
Congratulations to Toby Keith, who has the #1 country album this week with "Clancy's Tavern." The album is named after his Grandma Clancy, who had to work hard to raise her family after her husband died. According to Toby, “Nan moved off to Fort Smith, and in the late 40s, early 50s, became the first plant manager at Dixie Cup Factory…dominated a men’s world in the 50s. And then, she worked part-time taking cover charge at Billy Garner’s Supper Club. She bought her first house, she was a widow still, and she was working at that nightclub when she saw the opportunity to buy Billy’s out after working there for years.” And rumor has it that his song "Red Solo Cup" is about to get the Glee treatment - it's going to be featured in an upcoming episode.
Trace Adkins wants you to "like" BC Powder's Facebook page for a chance at prizes and to change the world. For each "like," BC will donate $1 to the Wounded Warrior Project. You can also leave suggestions on how to make the world a less painful place and sign up for prizes, including a VIP trip to see Trace in concert.
Willie Nelson is putting on his way-back hat, covering classics from the 40's, 50's and 60's in a new album, "Remember Me, Vol. 1" coming out November 21st. Willie will give his take on songs made famous by Ernest Tubb, Rosemary Cloony, Kris Kristofferson and many other icons.
The 85th Anniversary Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will feature Rodney Atkins and Scotty McCreery.
Did you miss Brad Paisley on Nightline Tuesday night? He talked about getting pulled over for a suspected DUI with his kids in the car, and what they thought about it. Check it out...
Eli Young Band is on the Late Show with David Letterman and Brad Paisley is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight.
The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "So my husband just texted me "can I cook you dinner tonight?" how awesome is that! Four The Record celebration!"
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Today's Country Tidbits
Brad Paisley celebrated two #1 songs, and he celebrated at the Opry, the first time a #1 party was ever held at the country music institution. The songs were "Old Alabama" and "Remind Me" and the celebration was yesterday afternoon, before Brad Paisley took the stage to perform at the Opry. Alabama was on hand for the celebration, but Carrie's schedule kept her from being able to attend.
If you went to my Facebook page yesterday, you saw Brad Paisley, Southpark style. Here's the scoop - through a friend of a family member, he was invited to tour the Southpark Studios in Culver City, California. They gave him the red-carpet treatment, he got to be the voice of one of the kids on the show, and according to Brad, “I went in and cut a couple voices of little kids. I’m just one of the kids in the background. But, my name is in the credits, you know? And, I’m floored. I can’t believe I got to do that.”
Blake Shelton is in LA as season two of The Voice begins taping. Hey Los Angeles...watch out!
It's tour-announcing time, looks like, as another major winter tour rolls out its schedule. Miranda Lambert kicks off her "On Fire" tour January 12th in Illinois, taking Chris Young and Jerrod Niemann along for the ride. Here are the tour stops - dates still are being worked out.
Rockford, IL
La Crosse, WI
Fargo, ND
Charlotte, NC
Lexington, KY
Greensboro, NC
Baltimore, MD
Charlottesville, VA
East Rutherford, NJ
Huntsville, AL
Tallahassee, FL
Orlando, FL
Amherst, MA
Hershey, PA
Youngstown, OH
Macon, GA
North Charleston, SC
Fayetteville, NC
Sale Lake City, UT
Broomfield, CO
Kearney, NE
Toledo, OH
Saginaw, MI
Louisville, KY
Charleston, WV
Tulsa, OK
Little Rock, AR
Wichita, KS
Columbia, MO
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Green Bay, WI
Fresno, CA
Mountain View, CA
Monday night in Texas, the stars came out to raise over half a million dollars for the families who lost everything in the summer Texas wildfires. George Strait, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Dixie Chicks and Asleep at the Wheel all showed up to perform, with Willie and Lyle actually cancelling shows in order to do the benefit concert. The show was in Austin, and if you're like me, we're both hoping that someone taped it and will issue it on DVD.
Dierks Bentley trots out his patriotic side for the video to his new song, "Home." The song is a tribute to America and the visuals for the video support the tribute beautifully.
Dierks Bentley is proud that he's raised over $2 million for childrens hospitals with his Miles & Music for Kids, but says it's not all about the money. “I don’t want this thing to get out of control where it becomes all about money, money, money, money, money and, like, how can we make it be that? ‘Cause if that’s the case, we’ll just do a big live show and just give the money away. I want it to be about community, I want it to be about the families, and this day to be fun for everyone, at the same time we’re raising awareness and raising money for the children’s hospital. So, it’s a, it’s a bigger picture than just trying to, the numbers, you know?”
More performers have been announced for the 45th Annual CMA Award show on November 9th. New Artist nominees Luke Bryan, Chris Young, Eric Church and The Band Perry will all hit the stage.
Rapper Carlton Zeus is claiming that Toby Keith stole his song. In this video, he doesn't mince words:
If you want to see for yourself, check out Carlton's video for "Sharpie Solo." I'll help you out, though...the songs are nowhere near alike, and red Solo cups have starred at many, many parties, so I doubt Carlton has a legal leg to stand on.
Need Toby's video for comparison? Right after the ad runs is Toby's video for "Red Solo Cup."
And speaking of partying and adult fillers for red Solo cups, Colt Ford's "Goodtime Moonshine" and "Goodtime Vodka" hit stores in Georgia and Tennessee today. He had the release party last night in Buckhead.
Taylor Swift is on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today and Scotty McCreery sings the National Anthem at the World Series game tonight.
Happy birthday to Jeannie C. Riley, who turns 66 today.
The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "I'm in the Deer stand and so is Blake. he keeps telling me he can see me from his and to b still. I can't see him tho. Creepy stalker :)"
Monday, July 25, 2011
Today's Country Tidbits
Taylor Swift spent four nights rocking the fans in Newark, NJ and the show even got great reviews from the New York Post. There was one kinda scary moment for Taylor, when the balcony she uses to fly over the crowd while she sings "Love Story" started swaying out of control. The flying Taylor and her balcony made an emergency landing on the stage and she finished the show with her feet on the ground.
Meanwhile, Blake Shelton rocked the world of one fan - Mandy Rolbiecki - before his performance at Country Jam USA in Wisconsin. Seven-year-old Mandy suffers from Crohn's Disease, and the Make-A-Wish foundation reached out to Blake, letting him know that her wish was to hang out with him. Blake obliged, even making sure she was on stage when he sang her favorite song, "Ol Red." How did Mandy describe the experience? "It was awesome meeting him!" she said.
Darius Rucker has been tapped to be part of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Fall Gala on October 29th in Connecticut. He'll do a tribute to Stevie Wonder and also receive the Sprit of Hope Award at the event. Proceeds go towards research and treatment for this incurable blood cancer.
The list of top-earners among American Idol alums is out for 2011, and Carrie Underwood tops it. According to Forbes, she's made $20 million so far this year. Kelly Clarkson comes in at #6 on the list with a take of $2.5 million, and Kellie Pickler is #8 with $1.8 million.
Remember Bucky Covington, the former American Idol? He was doing a show at the Iron Horse Saloon in Ormond Beach, Florida last month when the concert promoter was rushed to the hospital for a suspected heart attack. Later, the promoter called police, claiming that Bucky, his brother and sister-in-law stole a cash box with $1,500 in it from the venue. Bucky says the accusations are false, and police are still looking into the case.
Love Vince Gill? Road trip time - Vince celebrates 20 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on August 30th, and the show will include Martina McBride, John Anderson, Emmylou Harris and of course Amy Grant and Jenny Gill. Next year, Vince gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Congrats to Brad Paisley, who's earned gold certification for "This is Country Music," to Jason Aldean's gold "Dirt Road Anthem" and Luke Bryan's "Country Girl Shake it For Me," Kenny Chesney's "Beer in Mexico," The Band Perry's "You Lie" and Rascal Flatts "I Won't Let Go" which are all gold. Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger" is platinum.
Phil Vassar's new song, "Let's Get Together," has a party vibe. In it, Phil sings about having a crowd of people at his house. When the crew showed up to his house, according to Phil, "So we're shooting a video and a party broke out!"
Willie Nelson will be inducted into the Agricultural Hall of Fame for his support of American family farmers via his annual Farm Aid concert events. He's raised nearly $40 million over the past 25 years, and he'll be awarded the Hall of Fame induction on August 13th in Kansas City, just before Farm Aid #26.
Congratulations to Chris Young on his 4th straight #1 song with "Tomorrow."
Eric Church, Randy Montana and Ronnie Milsap all release albums tomorrow.
The tweet of the day is from The Band Perry: "Sharp knives of short lives. Heartbroken for the Norwegians. Tragic days. Sending warm thoughts and honest prayers."
Friday, July 15, 2011
Today's Country Tidbits
VH1's "Do Something Awards" nominees have been named, and a bunch of country is showing up. Awards will be handed out to those who get the most on-line votes, so if you want to support country, vote early and vote often. Nominated for awards are Blake Shelton, Reba, Taylor Swift and Jimmy Buffett for their benefit concerts in the past year. The awards will be handed out August 18th.
Vogue magazine is out with their annual issue of fashion icons. In a feature called "American Idols: Icons of Stateside Style" Tommy Hilfiger chose Taylor Swift for her stylish casual summer looks as well as her red-carpet glamour.
Willie Nelson is being recognized for his committment to green causes. No, not that kind of green! His long-time support of family farmers, his biodiesel tour bus and his encouragement of others to follow in his footsteps has landed him the "Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance Visionary Award" in San Francisco next Friday.
Blake Shelton is sometimes outrageous, sometimes very thoughtful but always very honest. When questioned about his crazy Twitter behavior and whether he needs to tone it down a little bit, Blake replies, “I hope people learn from me it’s OK to be yourself. It’s OK to offend somebody…If you don’t stand for something, how can anyone respect what you do?”
Craig Morgan's 5th annual Charity Ride and Concert will happen August 6th and 7th in his hometown of Vanleer, Tennessee. The motocross/sporting clay shoot and concert event takes up the whole weekend and benefits Billy's Place, a home for temporarily homeless children. Celebrities confirmed for the weekend include Bucky Covington, Pam Tillis and Sarah Darling.
Blake Shelton was his normal rowdy self on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Miss it? Oh, no you dih-uhn!
Luke Bryan's latest LBTV episode recaps his week, playing a festival in Ohio, the original site of Woodstock and some down-time fun...
Loretta Lynn is resting at home after having to cancel a few shows after treatment for heat exhaustion and dehydration. The Conneticut and Ohio shows will be rescheduled if possible.
Congratulations to Eric Church, who's latest album, "Carolina," has been certified gold. At the party, Eric said, "I have a pretty strong opinion of the identity of who I am and where I'm heading. It may take a little longer, but I promise we're going to kick everybody's ass in the end." Now that's a flaming stake in the ground, but one that Eric can certainly live up to. His new cd, "Chief," comes out a week from Tuesday.
Brad Paisley is on Good Morning America and Billy Ray Cyrus is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Happy birthday today to Linda Ronstadt, who turns 65 today and to Luke Bryan and Craig Morgan, who both celebrate birthdays on Sunday.
The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Anyone who gets up early for the @GMA concert series friday will recieve a limited edition bright warm smile. Don't delay! Act now!"
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Today's Country Tidbits
The CMT Music Awards were last night, and the night was filled with great performances, surprising artist combinations (Kid Rock & Wynonna???) and one big embarrassing moment when Shania Twain fell down while taking the stage to present the Male Video of the Year award to Blake Shelton. She got right back up, flashed her beautiful smile and went on as if nothing happened. She later explained that she didn't need a stunt double, because she can do all of her own stunts, and she's going to auction the shoes off for charity. And in typical Blake fashion, he had to have a smart remark about the event. Scroll down to the tweet of the day to see what he said.
Video of the Year - Taylor Swift "Mine"
Male Video of the Year - Blake Shelton "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking"
Female Video of the Year - Miranda Lambert "The House that Built Me"
Group Video of the Year - Lady Antebellum "Hello World"
Duo Video of the Year - Sugarland "Stuck Like Glue"
Breakthrough Video of the Year - The Band Perry "If I Die Young"
Collaborative Video of the Year - Rascal Flatts with Justin Bieber "That Should be Me"
Just off the red carpet, Martina McBride and her youngest daughter Ava ran into Justin Bieber. Justin was gracious, but Martina's daughter was awestruck and ended up in tears over the whole thing.
The 40th annual CMA Music Festival, the event formerly known as Fan Fest, is officially underway. The parade was yesterday, with more than 30 major artists caravaning through Nashville in souped-up Chevrolets. Grand Marshals Bill Anderson and the Oak Ride Boys joined Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and tons of Nashville's finest for the fun. The music shifts into high gear today with the first LP Field show, which is totally sold-out. By the time this hits the internet, Friday, Saturday and Sunday will probably be sold out, too.
In case you missed it yesterday, Shania Twain will grace the stage at Caesars Palace in Las vegas starting in December of 2012. She's got a two-year deal with the venue which includes 60 shows a year and a deal that lets American Express card-holders get in first. Ticket prices will range from $80 to $750. There'll be a new album out soon, maybe before the end of this year.
Willie Nelson walks away with just a slap on the wrist and a fine after his marijuana bust last fall. Originally, authorities said it was a felony bust, but it turned out to be just a misdemeanor after all. He'll pay a $500 fine, court costs and has to keep his nose clean for a month.
Darius Rucker will headline Nashville's 4th of July Celebration at Riverfront Park.
Congratulations to Brad Paisley, who has the #1 album in America again this week with "This is Country Music."
On this day in history, the man who invented the technology that Brad Paisley uses so well was born. Les Paul would have been 96 today. He passed away in August of 2009.
The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Whoa!!! Not only did I win but Shania Twain is falling for me!!!!"
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