Today's Country Tidbits

Tickets for the Taylor Swift dress rehearsal/benefit concert "Speak Now...Help Now" go on sale Thursday morning at 11 Eastern. The show is May 21st at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena and is the final dress rehearsal before her "Speak Now" tour kicks off in North America. Each ticket is $50 and includes a commemorative t-shirt for those who go to the concert.

This Thursday night's benefit concert for tornado victims just got a few more stars. Joining Hank Williams Jr, Alabama, Ronnie Dunn, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Sara Evans and Alan Jackson are Trace Adkins and Little Big Town. The show, "Music Builds: CMT Disaster Relief Concert" airs at 9 Eastern on CMT and CMT.com. All money collected during the benefit concert goes to the American Red Cross. You can donate $10 now by texting REDCROSS to 90999.

David Nail is hosting a flood relief concert in Missouri on May 27th.

Dierks Bentley reveals some of his pre-show rituals...

Chris Young's next album, "Neon," streets July 12th. It includes his current hit song, "Tomorrow."

Tonight is the night that Reba joins Blake Shelton on "The Voice," adding another coach to his team.

The tweet of the day is from Trent Tomlinson: "I just found out that the building I live in has a restaurant that delivers food to your condo till 5 in the morning! #winning"

Today's Country Tidbits

Last night on Celebrity Apprentice, there were supposed to be three firings. There were actually only two, because Nene Leakes quit. She said she couldn't deal with Star anymore. LaToya Jackson and Star Jones got their walking papers, so John Rich is still hanging on. Lil Jon, Marlee Matlin and Meat Loaf are the final four who are competing to be Donald Trump's celebrity apprentice.

Taylor Swift will use a band dress rehearsal as a fund-raiser for the people whose lives were tossed around by tornadoes in the southeast. Her May 21st rehearsal at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville is being called "Speak Now...Help Now." "I was watching the coverage of the tornadoes backstage at rehearsals, and I wanted to do something for the families affected by the damage," Taylor said. "I've never opened a rehearsal to the public before, but I felt that inviting my fans to the last rehearsal for the Speak Now Tour would be a great way to raise money ... We'll probably still be doing some fine-tuning to the show that night, since this will be a true rehearsal ... but I feel like it is so important for me and my fans to help if we can." The on-sale date will be announced today, and about 13,000 tickets will be available for the rehearsal.

Reba and Blake Shelton added a second tornado-relief benefit concert in Durant, Oklahoma. The first one on May 26th sold out in less than two hours last week, so they announced a show on May 25th. The shows will be held at the Choctaw Casino Resort.

Toby Keith is back home after 12 days touring the Middle East on his 9th USO mission. He visited 11 installations, was the honorary catapult "shooter" for an F-18 launch and successfully dodged a mortar attack. He entertained about 18,000 military men and women and was in country when Osama bin Laden was killed. On Monday he said, "It's a great day to be an American. I've been telling you for a decade that the U.S. military would hunt down and kill world enemy No. 1. While traveling abroad I am blown away by the positive coverage by the world media. There is a consensus in the world media I have never seen before. Thanks to our commander in chief for having cojones to finish this job, but the mission is far from over." Here's Toby's visit with the US Navy's Big E - check out what Toby writes on a piece of ordinance at the end...

Zac Brown Band is doing some shows with Kenny Chesney this year, and is enjoying time on the road with one of his musical heroes. “Having some mentoring from folks like Kenny and Buffet and Dave Mathews and Willie…Just a lot of the people that are really iconic. Just to have those people that you can call and say, ‘How did you handle this when it came to this point?’” The "Goin' Coastal" tour stops in Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky this week.

Hank Williams Jr. is set to host a benefit concert for the people affected by the tornadoes, and he's not shy about his motivation for doing it. “That really ticked me off. Who gives a damn about the royal wedding? We’ve got three hundred people, over three hundred people that have died. That made me hot. We won’t be showing the royal wedding on this special! We’ll be showing the royalty of country music.” Joining Hank are Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Alabama, Keith Urban, Sara Evans, Ronnie Dunn and Lady Antebellum. Look for more artists to show up that night, too. The show will air live on CMT and cmt.com this Thursday night at 9 Eastern.

On May 17th, Shania Twain fans can see her on the cover of Redbook Magazine and read her interview inside. She discusses her new book, her new marriage, raising her son and more.

The Today Show summer concert series has confirmed a few hot country acts. Kenny Chesney will perform on June 17, Blake Shelton on July 8 and Zac Brown Band on August 12.

It was on this day one year ago that Blake Shelton proposed to Miranda Lambert in the woods near her home in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. She said "yes" and this Saturday they seal the deal.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "Had a great day.Breakfast in bed, hanging out all day, out for dinner. I was spoiled rotten ! :}"

Today's Country Tidbits

The first of what will surely be many benefit concerts for the southeast in the wake of the historic tornado outbreak happens May 12th on CMT and cmt.com. The telethon won't have a studio audience, but will be star-studded, as Hank Williams Jr. rallied Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Sara Evans, Ronnie Dunn and Alabama to perform with him. The proceeds will go to the American Red Cross for tornado disaster relief, but you don't have to wait until the 12th to help. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross.

This time last year, Nashville was still awash with flood waters and the community was rallying together to clean up and rebuild. Country artists had a lot of personal losses in the flood and did a lot of work to make the city clean and new again. Here's what some of the artists have to say about the area and the experience:

"The Opry is a metaphor, really, of Nashville. What the Opry did, I think the city has done to a large degree, which is rebuild itself and better than before ... I couldn't be prouder of this place or this town." - Brad Paisley

"It's amazing when you consider just how far the whole city has come ... The fact that we're standing here today and it looks the way it does. It's just perfect out here." — Luke Bryan

"Being a Grand Ole Opry member, you're a member of a family. When I saw the photographs and the video of what this place looked like that day, I was heartbroken because as a family, this is our house ... To see the restoration and the resurrection, it was nothing short of miraculous. This building and institution is a testament, it's a monument to this city and the backbone we have and the perseverance we have." — Trace Adkins

"I remember being on the road and seeing footage of the door right over there with the water halfway over the door sign – just total heartbreak. Just thinking about the stage and the circle and all the dressing rooms and Porter Wagoner's pictures just makes me really sad. Looking back on it now, and to see the Circle and backstage area better that it's ever been, it feels more homey than it ever has." — Dierks Bentley

Tennessean.com has a photo gallery from the Play On Nashville benefit concert.

Pranks are a way of life on the road for many artists. Last week, Miss Willie Brown pranked Dierks Bentley by wrapping his Jeep in plastic. You know what they say about paybacks...

In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, some street art featuring the likeness of Keith Urban has gone missing. A large fiberglass hand painted with images of Keith in concert was spirited away under cover of darkness. The owner of Urban Style, the salon outside which the sculpture resided, got a call from Keith, offering four concert tickets and VIP passes for the reward fund. Officials suspect college students are behind the prank and hope that the sculpture will be returned unharmed.

Miranda Lambert will have her bachelorette party in Kentucky this weekend. She's at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, and it's a girlfriends weekend. She and Blake will be married next weekend in Texas.

Blake Shelton caused a little dust-up with a Tweet he posted Wednesday night. He wrote new lyrics to Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine" that read, “Any man that tries Touching my behind He’s gonna be a beaten, bleedin’, heaving kind of guy….” He said the post was intended to be read from a woman's point of view and asked the Gay and Lesbian Aliance Against Defamation to help him spread the word that he's not anti-gay. All is forgiven, because we all know that Blake will be Blake.

Martina McBride's next cd will be out August 23rd, and she's working on plans to tour next year. “It takes a lot of time to put that together and I wanna really do something that’s really different and new and a whole new experience. Because when you’ve been touring like I have for 18 years and people spend their hard earned money on a ticket. I just want them to be able to show up and say, ‘Wow, that’s something we have never seen from her before.’”

Taylor Swift will be on the Ellen DeGeneres show May 11th, and they want to fill the audience with the "ultimate Taylor Swift fans." Good luck!

Still looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift? One of the Taylor Swift cards being offered by American Greetings features a song Taylor wrote for her Mom, called "The Best Day." And Ashton Shepherd posted a free acoustic performance of "I'm Just a Woman" from her upcoming album, "Where Country Grows" that your Mom might like.

Zac Brown Band has taken their "eat and greets" to another level, teaming up with Kingsford Charcoal for Supper Clubs before the band's shows. There'll be live music from some of Southern Ground's up-and-coming acts, dinner featuring some of Zac's best recipes and a chance to win dinner with Zac Brown Band.

Do you like Phil Vassar? He wants to give you his new song for free. Hit the CMA Facebook page, "like" it and then click the link on the left that says "Phil Vassar Download." You'll get "Let's Get Together" for free.

Keith Urban and Bill Anderson will be inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame on May 15th.

Sunday night, John Rich is on "Celebrity Apprentice" where three people will be fired. The three-hour episode begins at 8 Eastern. Also Sunday night, "The Judds" concludes on OWN, and Shania Twain's show, "Wy Not? With Shania Twain" debuts immediately after the Judds finale.

The tweet of the day is from Josh Thompson: "Up writin a song with Phillbilly n Chris Wallin. Tryin to keep the S off the front of hits."

Today's Country Tidbits

One year after the Nashville floods, Nashville's stars are making noises about a benefit concert for those affected by the tornado outbreak in the southeast last week. So far, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley are in. No announced date or location, but I'll keep you posted!

Tonight's the night that Lady Antebellum is on American Idol, performing their new song "Just A Kiss." Here's the story of how the song came to be...

Lady Antebellum on WhoSay

Ronnie Dunn's next single will be "Love Owes Me One." Here's the video...

Luke Bryan is on the "Emotional Traffic Tour" and is blown away that he gets to tour with his idol, Tim McGraw. But he's even more blown away that Faith Hill knows who he is. According to Luke, “To be out there on tour, and to be walking around backstage, and you’re like, ‘Hey, Faith!’ and she’s like, ‘Hey Luke!’ And I’m like, it’s just so weird, you know? It’s like, the fact—the day that walking by and saying ‘What’s up?’ to Faith is comfortable to me, it’s like ‘…how did I get here?!’”

Steve Holy performed an intimate little show in Kansas City on Tuesday, and posted an acoustic "Brand New Girlfriend" from the show.

The Rapids Jam Throwdown Hold 'Em Benefit Poker Tournament is the start of the three-day weekend of country music and fun in Roanoke Rapids, NC on June 16th. Playing poker and country music are Lee Brice, Craig Campbell, Brantley Gilbert, Randy Houser, Lukas Nelson and Drake White. If you sign up to play poker, too, you'll get a VIP pass to the opening night of the festival and a barbeque lunch with the artists. There'll be live and silent auctions and the proceeds benefit Unite the United Foundation and MusiCares Foundation.

The Grand Ole Opry is teaming up with Gibson Guitars to give you the ultimate country music tour of Nashville, plus a Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar. You can enter once a day this month for a trip for four to Nashville, a long weekend at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, use of the Gibson tour bus to get around town, tickets and backstage passes to the Grand Ole Opry, tours of the Ryman, Gibson USA factory, the Country Music Hall of Fame and lots more.

If you're a fan of the Chicken Soup books, be on the lookout for the newest one - "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music." In it, you'll find the stories behind some of your favorite country songs, as told by the songwriters.

Sunday is Mother's Day, and Taylor Swift has a card for that. Actually, there are 18 Taylor-designed Mother's Day cards in the American Greetings line. She also might like the Taylor Swift prize package being offered up on Mother's Day. Check out The Best Day sweepstakes on American Greetings' Facebook page.

Lady Antebellum is on American Idol tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Trent Tomlinson: "I fell asleep on the couch last night at around nine and just woke up! WOW I better just go workout or something till the world wakes up!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Brad Paisley played the Grand Ole Opry last night, tweeting that the night was "fantasy camp" for him. The night was dubbed "Play On" and commemorated the one-year anniversary of the floods in middle Tennessee. Joining Brad onstage were Alabama, Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan and Charlie Daniels Band. The performance was a benefit for Hands On Nashville, The American Red Cross and The United Way of Metropolitan Nashville. After the show, Brad let it slip that he is donating all of the proceeds from the sale of the single "Old Alabama" to tornado relief efforts.

Voting continues for the 2011 CMT Music Awards, and some of the performers have been announced. Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum are scheduled to perform on the June 8th awards show.

Shania Twain is making an appearance at the CMA Music Festival this year, and she'll be bringing along an entire audience from the Oprah Winfrey show. When she was on Oprah's show yesterday, she gave each audience member Gaylord Opryland Resort accomodations, two-day festival passes and invited them to a private brunch. There had been a contest to fill the audience with the ultimate Shania fans, so you can imagine how excited they all were with the gifts. The last time she was at the CMA Music Festival, it was known as Fan Fair - 1996. She'll be signing copies of her book, "From This Moment On" but not performing.

John Rich, still in contention on "Celebrity Apprentice," is about to release two six-paks. The mini-albums will be out on May 17th, and one is a fund-raiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "For the Kids" will raise money to support the hospital, which is the charity he's promoting on "Celebrity Apprentice." The other album is "Rich Rocks" and will include "Country Done Come to Town" and collaborations with Kid Rock, Lil Jon, Cowboy Troy and Hank Williams Jr.

Zimbio.com compiled a list of the hottest couples of 2011, based on popularity, success, attractiveness and staying power. Not surprisingly, country stars made the list.

#19 – Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

#22 – Carrie Underwood & Mike Fisher

#26 – Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman

#52 – Julianne Hough & Ryan Seacrest

#75 – Josh Kelley & Katherine Heigl

#100 – LeAnn Rimes & Eddie Cibrian

Maxim magazine is out with its list of the "Hot 100" and a couple of country stars are on it. Taylor Swift checks in at #20 and Julianne Hough is at #48.

Speaking of beautiful, Lee Brice's video for "Beautiful Every Time" is...

Congrats to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose classic "Fishin' in the Dark" was released digitally in 2009 and has been certified gold by the RIAA.

Shania Twain is on the Today show today.

Happy birthday to Randy Travis, who turns 52 today.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "Its a wrap! We just made a FUN video for Teenage Daughters....the whole family was part of it. So proud of my girls (and John)"

Today's Country Tidbits

Sunday night when the President went on TV to let us know that Osama bin Laden had been taken out, Rascal Flatts was on stage at the Stagecoach Festival in California. A member of their crew told them, and Jay DeMarcus announced the news to the 50,000 fans. He said, “I hope I speak for everyone here when I say, ‘Osama bin Laden, I hope you rest in pieces.’” The crowd erupted in cheers of "USA, USA!"

Tennessean.com has a photo gallery from the Stagecoach Festival for your viewing pleasure.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert have recorded another duet. The song is called "Red River Blue" and was written by Ray Stephenson and Buddy Owens. No one is quite sure who's album it will land on at this point. Their last duet, "Draggin' the River," was on a Blake Shelton album. Since both Blake and Miranda are working on new cds now, it could be either one.

Told you yesterday that Lady Antebellum's next single is "Just a Kiss" and that they'll do it Thursday night on American Idol. If you want to hear it right now, you can. You can also buy the song at Wal-Mart stores and on iTunes.

Taylor Swift will play the closing concert at the 2011 CMA Music Festival. She'll take over the LP Field stage on June 12th. And a change was made to the previously announced schedule - Reba is now performing Friday night, not Saturday night.

Congratulations to Sara Evans, who has the #1 country song this week with "A Little Bit Stronger." It's her 5th #1 song.

Jake Owen's "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" gets "drunked" in a Nashville recording studio...

Condolences to Amy Grant, whose Mother, Gloria Dean Napier Grant, passed away on Saturday. She was 80.

There's a new Randy Travis album out today, exclusively at Cracker Barrel. It's a 12-song collection of previously unreleased tracks and solid hits, including "Forever and Ever, Amen," "1982" and "Three Wooden Crosses." Proceeds from the sale of the cd benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. If you can't stop by a Cracker Barrel, you can buy the album online at their site.

Colt Ford's new cd, "Every Chance I Get," is out today, featuring performances by Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Craig Morgan and Josh Thompson.

Shania Twain is on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" today, and Blake Shelton is on "The Voice" tonight.

Happy birthday to Eric Church, who celebrates his 34th birthday today, and also the 5th anniversary of signing his first major record deal. Cactus Moser of Highway 101 is 54 and John Hopkins of Zac Brown Band is 40.

The tweet of the day is from James Otto: "So Pakistan had no idea Bin Laden was in the Country? I'm callin B.S. & I don't mean @blakeshelton"

Today's Country Tidbits

Last night during "Celebrity Apprentice," the President came on tv to announce that Navy Seals had taken out Osama Bin Laden, the founder and leader of al-Qiada and the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Country artists took to their Twitter accounts to share the jubilation. For a list of the best tweets, visit my Facebook page. John Rich tweeted, in response to Celebrity Apprentice being interrupted for the announcement, “Ya'll wanna know who got fired? OSAMA.” By the way, last night's show featured a meltdown by NeNe, who got in Star Jones' face and threatened her, Donald Trump re-hiring LaToya Jackson and adding her to the men's team. Who got fired? Former Playboy Playmate Hope Dworaczyk. Which team won? The men's team, for the second week in a row.

Miranda Lambert enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding and all of the coverage over the weekend, and hopes for a little bit of magic when she and Blake Shelton get hitched in a couple of weeks. Miranda said, “Ours is so different, obviously. But, I think it was gorgeous, I mean…Just the wow factor of the royal wedding was, you know, every bride wants a wow factor and even though ours won’t be in a palace or with 15-hundred guests, I still hope that it has that same wow factor.”

Speaking of Blake Shelton, he's discovering the power of television. In spite of his huge success in country music, it was his role as a coach on The Voice that got him recognized recently. According to Blake, “There was a cute girl that was running the cash register or whatever, and she looked at me—and she kinda made this—not like—she didn’t scream, but it was kind of a ‘…HEY!’ and I was like, ‘…hey.’ And she said, ‘Are you the guy from that show?!’ and I was like ‘Yeah! Ya damn right I am!’ And it shows you the power of television, you know? And she even told me, she said ‘Man, I don’t listen to country music at all, but that’s a cool show, and you’re funny on it.’” Reba will be joining Blake's team on "The Voice" as a coach for his team during the battle rounds.

Country stars have teamed up with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean to raise money for the Iroquois Steeplechase. The luminaries have painted miniature horses, which are being auctioned off with the proceeds going to the event. Artists like Josh Turner, Rodney Atkins and Darius Rucker have painted some ponies you can bid on.

Lady Antebellum will perform on the American Idol results show Thursday night, doing a new song. "Just a Kiss" is the first single off of their next album, which has no announced title or release date yet.

Chris Young will have a hot summer. He's joining Jason Aldean on the "My Kinda Party" tour, his new song, "Tomorrow," is rocketing up the charts and the cd with that song on it will be called "Neon" and it's due out in June.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johsnon will produce and star in a biography of Country Music Hall of Famer Charley Pride. Randy Jackson is reportedly part of the project, too. No word on when production will begin nor when we can expect to see a finished product.

Happy birthday to Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers. He's 63 today.

The tweet of the day is a three-way tie between Martina McBride: "God bless America and our Armed Forces," Blake Shelton: "Re-writing my fav Woody Guthrie song. This land ain't your land This is land our land So take a dirt nap So long Bin Laden" and Brad Paisley: "I really love these rare moments when we feel like one united country."