• VALENTINE’S DAY 2024

    Each year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers with their special someone. The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century.

    Over 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion.

    We’ve got some thoughts and feelings and more about love, romance and marriage from several of your favorite country artists. A few are new and some have become our favorites over the years. Which country stars are romantic? Which ones have a good reason to celebrate the holiday that’s all about love?

     

    Reba McEntire teams up with Sonic to bring a limited edition Sweetheart Meal — complete with her favorite Tater Tots — for Valentine’s Day.

     

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his love for wife, Denise, over the years.

    Download

    AJ (Valentine’s Day) OC: …continue to. :24

    “We got a lot of history together now, and we’re happier than we’ve ever been. So, she’s still beautiful, and she’s always inspired songs. I mean, one of my early hits was a song called ‘I’d Love You All Over Again,’ I wrote for her for our 10th anniversary. I mean, there’s been a zillion songs that have pieces of our good days and bad days inspired, and they continue to.”

    Audio / Billy Currington recalls his first real Valentine’s Day.

    Download

    Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day memory) OC: …took off running. :21
    “Yeah, I remember my first girlfriend. I was in first or second grade, but anyway, I remember it was Valentine’s Day and your mom going, ‘You’ve got to give your girlfriend something, and you’ve got to go give it to her.’ I’ll never forget — we got her a box of chocolates or whatever it was. I remember going down to her classroom and knocking on the door, getting her to come to the door. I remember handing it to her, and then I took off running.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood is all about the chocolate most couples give each other on Valentine’s Day.

    Download

    Carrie Underwood (Valentine’s Day-chocolate) OC: …white chocolate. :14
    “Chocolate’s every woman’s friend – in their time of need or in their time of happiness or in their time of sadness or madness, chocolate is my friend. Anything with caramel in it, ooooooooh. White chocolate’s good too. You can’t beat some good white chocolate.”

    Audio / Before tying the knot with wife Cassady, Dierks Bentley says Valentine's Day wasn't always a pleasant holiday for him.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 1 OC: …want to. :19

    “Well, before, as a single guy in the past, if you were dating someone, it’s that holiday that comes along where you have to really like stamp out on paper exactly where the relationship really stands. You don’t want to undershoot it ’cause then you’ll be in trouble, you know, if you don’t give the right present or don’t say the right things, you’re gonna be in the doghouse. But then if you overstate your hand, then you’re moving the relationship way faster than you actually want to.”

    Audio / DIERKS BENTLEY SAYS THE MOST INTERESTING GIFT HE AND HIS WIFE CASSIDY HAVE GIVEN EACH OTHER WERE MIXTAPES OF SONGS.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day-most interesting gift he’s given his wife) OC: …formulate yourself. 1:19
    “When ‘What Was I Thinkin’’ was released in 2003, I didn’t know what my life would look like, and all of a sudden, I found myself out on the road full-time, just gone. So, the place where I was staying, I had some friends pack it up and move it into a storage facility…and in there I found some letters that she and I had written back and forth when we were dating. I was working at The Nashville Network and she was working out in San Francisco and found some letters I had written her and I’d gotten back and some stuff she’d sent me, including a CD of songs she’d been listening to, back when you made CD mixes and there’s like these three hearts on that CD. I just found that it was so meaningful for me those gifts you give each other before any money, before anything else was going on, just music, giving of mixtapes was so cool. She reminded me of a mixtape that I had sent her. I’d sent it to her via FedEx, because it was so important she get this as quickly as possible. This was sadly before, I guess we had internet back then, but you really couldn’t send songs over the internet. I think the most interesting thing I’ve given her and she’s given me was just mixtapes, because there’s nothing like music to put into words and the thoughts you have in your head that you can’t formulate yourself.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the love you have for your children.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 2 OC: …could before. :28

    “You get married and that’s a long-term, bigger image of what love can be. Then you have a child, and your heart gets spread so thin and it’s so vulnerable, like it’s a really tough, tough feeling, and it can kill you. It can really be painful at times, and at the same time, it’s so great. But it definitely stretches your heart…and it doesn’t change anything, it just makes your heart, I think it just makes it bigger. I think you just find that you can love more than you ever thought you could before.”

    Audio / Eric Church says his wife, Katherine, loves him in spite of, and for, his fallibilities.

    Download

    Eric Church (Valentine’s) OC: …love song is. :19

    “True love to me is when you love a person in spite of all their fallibilities, and for me, I have a lot of ‘em. I’m definitely at times hard to love, and that’s what’s great about Katherine and the way she loves me. She loves me in spite of those things and really for those things.”

    Audio / George Strait talks about love.

    Download

    George Strait (Love) OC: …go ‘round. :14
    “If you don’t have love, I mean what do you have? You know, you have love for your wife or your husband or your children or your dogs or your horses or your golf clubs, you know? Love is what makes the world go ‘round.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi says he has learned a lot about love and about Valentine’s Day from his wife, Summer.

    Download

    Jon Pardi (Valentine’s Day – Summer) OC: …for you. (laughs) :35
    “One thing Summer has taught me is that gifts are cool, diamonds, blah, blah, blah, but to take your time and clear your mind and write something about what she means to you on a card is probably the most least expensive and the biggest price you can give her is just to write and tell her how much you love her on a little card. That’s what she taught me for Valentine’s Day, so I just do that. It’s way cheaper. (laughs) And of course, I always say to her, ‘Babe, every day is Valentine’s Day for you.’” (laughs)

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about meeting his wife in New Orleans. They were both there attending separate weddings.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (meeting wife) OC: …here we are. :47
    “My college roommate was getting married in New Orleans. My wife was in New Orleans for a totally separate wedding. Both wedding parties were staying at the same hotel, so we met, the first time, in the lobby of the hotel. I’m actually wearing a necklace that has the coordinates to that hotel. Then the next day, me and my brother walk into a bar in New Orleans, and her and her friends were sitting in the corner, and I was like, ‘Hey-that’s the girl from the lobby.’ She was actually dating somebody at the time. But we kind of exchanged numbers and stayed in contact, and about two months later, a month later, she came into town for CMA Music Fest and told me that she no longer had a boyfriend, and here we are.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis reveals the Valentine’s Day tradition he and his wife enjoy every year, however THIS year, he’s touring overseas, so it might be a little hard to find an Olive Garden in Europe.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Valentine’s Day tradition) OC: …happy Valentine’s. (laughs)
    “When it comes to Valentines, Kristen is way more romantic than I am. I’m not a very romantic guy. I have worked on it.  I’ve tried to get a little bit better over the years. Kristen loves chocolate so she’s good for a big chocolate box, but here’s our thing about Valentine’s Day, and this is the God’s honest truth. We’ve been going to Olive Garden on Valentine’s Day since we met. We’ve continued that tradition. I think it started with her and a friend, they used to always go to Olive Garden on Valentine’s Day before they started dating, or before they got in a relationship. So, we have carried that out, so this year will be our, I believe our eighth Valentines in a row where we go in for endless salad and bread sticks. So, if its Valentine’s Day, and you’re at an Olive Garden, we could be next to each other. So, yeah, hope to see somebody out there at the table next to us just hammering on some breadsticks. So, happy Valentine’s.” (laughs)

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about a couple of his favorite love songs.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (love song) OC: …well done! :25
    “I guess Valentine’s Day gets you to thinking about love songs. You know, me and my wife’s first dance was ‘I’m Gonna Lose You’ [by] John Legend and Meghan Trainor. I think that’s just an amazing love song. I think also a love song that I heard the other day? ‘Strawberry Wine’ from Deana Carter? Great love song. I listened to that a lot. Ooooh Deana Carter. Well done.”

     

    Audio / Josh Turner says his wife would call him a romantic, but since they have four children, it takes a bit of work to make time for each other.

    Download

    Josh Turner (Romantic) OC: …long time to come. :26
    “If you ask my wife Jennifer if I was a romantic, she would definitely say, ‘Yes,’ but she knows that sometimes my hectic schedule and our busy lifestyles can kind of interfere with the romantic side of things. But we do try to make efforts towards being together and having adult conversations and taking time away from the children and doing things that husbands and wives do, so we’ll definitely try to continue that for a long time to come.”

    Audio / KEITH URBAN TALKS ABOUT THE SUPPORT HE AND HIS WIFE, OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS NICOLE KIDMAN, GIVE EACH OTHER, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN TWO CREATIVE ARTISTS ARE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER.

    Download

    Keith Urban (Nicole support) OC: …very important. :17
    “I feel very blessed that I have the support of my family like I do. It’s a beautiful thing having two artists because we understand the passion and the responsibility of what we get to do. It’s very important.”

    Audio / KYLIE MORGAN SAYS HER HUSBAND JAY ALLEN IS THE MOST ROMANTIC PERSON SHE'S EVER MET.

    Download

    Kylie Morgan (Valentine’s Day) OC: …I’ve ever had. :33
    “Man, I will say my husband Jay Allen, who is also a country music artist if you guys haven’t heard of him, he is the most romantic person I’ve ever met in my entire life, truly. For Valentine’s Day, gosh, two years ago, I came home to the entire house being lit with tiny candles, a whole dinner made with my favorite bottle of wine, and this was even before he proposed. So, a lot of people thought that he was gonna pop the question that night, but he saved that for a later time. But it was the most magical Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman says falling in love with her husband, Stephen Schlapman, came as a big surprise.

    Download

    Little Big Town (Kimberly falling in love) OC: …healed me. 1:20
    Kimberly: “Well, I wasn’t planning on falling in love, at all. I didn’t want to…I wasn’t sure that I ever would.  So, my husband now and I were just really good friends, and after my late husband died all my friends were calling me, all the time. Just checking up on me. He was just an old friends. We had known each other for about six years and he started calling me just like everybody else did.  But, he started calling me more than everybody else did [laughs]. We had both been through similar losses, he hadn’t lost a mate but he had lost a close friend, so we kind of bonded over that. I grieved, kind of, at him a lot. He took my grief, I had a lot of grief left, and he just took it and listened and accepted it and was so understanding and let me talk about my late husband all the time. We still talk about him a lot, and he’s totally fine with it. He says that, that made me who he fell in love with and he never minds if I bring anything from the past up which is just really sweet. I was shocked, I remember when I first realized that I was having feelings. I just thought, OK, this is so weird.  What is this?  I haven’t felt this in a long, long, time. This is weird. But, eventually I allowed myself and it’s been the most beautiful gift of my life. It pulled me out of the deepest hole that I’ve ever been in and healed me.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook had a chemistry performing together, but it wasn’t until they each found themselves single…at the same time…that sparks flew romantically. The pair, who wed in 2006, have a son, Elijah.

    Download

    Little Big Town (Jimi & Karen fell in love) OC: (Kimberly) …to be together. :48

    JIMI: “We were in the band a long time before there was ever anything which is interesting. I think there was always something underlying there that we were kind of trying to ignore. And then when the opportunity came, when all of us, ended up single kind of at the same time, a very strange turn of events for the band in a lot of different ways. And those feelings, you were able to come out with them finally. It was like, we’re single. Let’s get together. And, you know, she has a beautiful heart and she’s absolutely gorgeous and I just love her dearly.”

    PHILLIP: “Get a room!” [laughs]

    KIMBERLY: “They’re a perfect match. They really are. They were meant to be together.”

    Audio / LITTLE BIG TOWN’S PHILLIP SWEET WAS READY FOR LOVE WHEN HE MET REBECCA, HIS WIFE SINCE 2007.

    Download

    Little Big Town (Phillip – reasons fell in love) OC: …real love. :17
    “I think everything that I had gone through before had prepared me to be ready to see that there was genuine love there for me, and my Rebecca.  So, it was just a great time, I wouldn’t have been ready before I met her…Now it’s just been a really great journey to heal through the past and to know real love.”

    Audio / LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT MARRYING CAROLINE, HIS COLLEGE SWEETHEART.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (married college sweetheart) OC: …married. :27
    ”I married my college sweetheart. We dated back in college and broke up for nearly six years, and while I was off doing my Nashville stuff and touring and writing songs, she was finishing getting her career kind of going. Man, we just kinda bumped into each other one night, and it was like bam, here we are married.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about his favorite love song.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (love song with Caroline) OC: …That’s it! :11
    “Caroline and I, we had a love song in college. It was Lenny Kravitz’ [starts singing] ‘I just can’t get you off of my mind.’ That’s it!”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae’s Taylor Kerr talks about her husband, songwriter Josh Kerr. The pair are just about to celebrate their fourth anniversary as a married couple (they got married February 21st, 2020).

    Download

    Maddie & Tae (Tae talking about husband Josh) OC: …that way, you know? :45
    “From the moment I met Josh, he never shied away from sharing what’s on his heart. For me, sharing what’s on my heart is sometimes hard, but he always created the environment and dynamic of it’s totally normal to open up and let people to see that side of you. And so, the more we spent time together, the more I kind of adopted that mindset of like, ‘Okay, I can be vulnerable. I can take risks. I can put myself out there and maybe get rejected, but maybe it could be awesome.’ Our relationship is that to a T. I was skeptical at first and I was scared, and he was scared. And we both just, we went all in, and I felt so safe to go there with him and he’s always made me feel that way, you know?”

    Audio / Travis Denning wrote two songs about his now-wife Madison Montgomery and released them ahead of their wedding last year – “Second Best Thing” and “New Year’s Kiss.”

    Download

    Travis Denning (writing 2 songs for Madison) OC: …that way. :40
    “I had the title ‘Second Best Thing’ I think right when me and Madison started dating and really started getting serious. It’s funny to look back that I wrote a song about getting married that early in our relationship, but for as creepy as that might sound (laughs), I mean, it’s just the truth. I knew really fast that we were going to spend the rest of our life together, and then I later wrote ‘New Year’s Kiss’ just recalling that kind of initial moment that I knew we’d probably end up being more than just friends. I recorded them a while ago and have just been holding on for the right moment to put them out, and I wanted this to kind of feel like a gift to her, and I hope it comes off that way.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Eric Church, Josh Ross, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves, Alan Jackson

    Eric Church will perform the post-race concert on July 13th during the IndyCar Weekend taking place July 12th – 14th at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.

    Josh Ross has released a performance video for his song, “Truck Girl.”

     

    Reba McEntire just loves her Tater Tots. In fact, she and her boyfriend, actor Rex Linn, have nicknames for each other: she is Tater Tot and Rex is Sugar Tot. So, Sonic Drive-In has partnered with the Queen of Country on a new combo meal, Reba’s Sweetheart Meal, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The special meal will be available beginning Monday (February 12th) at participating restaurants. The limited-edition meal, which includes a Sonic cheeseburger with everything on it, a side order of Tots and a new Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shake, will be available through March 3rd.  “My boyfriend Rex and I have known each other since 1991,” she says in a press release. “After getting reacquainted in 2020 at a dinner, he found out I love tots! That started my nickname, ‘Tater Tot.’ My little sister, Susie, gave Rex the name ‘Sugar Tot.’ So now, we’re The Tots! Sugar and Tater. We both love tots, especially at SONIC! They are our absolute favorite. We even spent our most memorable Valentine’s Day dinner at SONIC and will do the same this year. We encourage others to make special Valentine’s memories at SONIC this year too! Just like Sugar and Tater.”

     

    Kacey Musgraves just announced her new album, Deeper Well, which will come out March 15th. Now she’s offering a special Zine packaging that has photos, lyrics, thoughts behind the songs and the album CD. It will be available on her website, at Barnes & Noble Bookstores and Indie record stores.

    New merch for Deeper Well is also available.

     

    Kacey Musgraves will appear on NBC’s TODAY Show on March 15th.

     

    Alan Jackson announced on his socials that he and his wife Denise will become grandparents for the second time later this year. His daughter Mattie and her husband Connor Smith are expecting their first child — a boy — in June. Daughter Ali gave birth to a son — Jackson Alvie Bradshaw — in 2022.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Mickey Guyton, Maddie & Tae, Kacey Musgraves, The War And Treaty, Alan Jackson, Chris Stapleton, Jordan Davis, Brothers Osborne

    Mickey Guyton and Maddie & Tae performed during Thursday night’s (November 30th) National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse, on the grounds of the White House in Washington, D.C. Mickey, who hosted the ceremony, also helped President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden flip the switch to light the tree. The ceremony dates back to President Calvin Coolidge in 1923 to kick off Holiday celebrations in the Nation’s Capital.

    Kacey Musgraves performed an achingly beautiful rendition of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” during the NBC special, Christmas at Graceland, in the first-ever live concert from Elvis Presley’s iconic home earlier this week. Other performers included Post Malone, Lainey Wilson, Kane Brown, John Legend and Lana del Ray, and also featured never-before-seen home movies and photos. Elvis’ granddaughter, Riley Keough, hosted the event.

    The War And Treaty (Michael and Tanya Trotter) performed a powerfully stunning version of “If I Can Dream” during the special. Elvis performed the song at the end of his famous ’68 Special to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was killed in Memphis just a few months prior.

    Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Chris Stapleton, Jordan Davis and others have donated items to The ASCAP Foundation’s annual online auction. The charitable organization is dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Carly Pearce, Old Dominion, Kelsea Ballerini, Olivia Rodrigo, Selena Gomez, Travis Barker, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Chicago also donated items to the auction which runs through December 14th. Click HERE to make a bid.

     

  • CHRISTMAS LINERS 2023

     

    Audio / LINER AJ (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Alan Jackson, and I’m wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Happy Holiday Season)

    Download

    “Hi! Billy Currington here, wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Seasons Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings, folks, it’s Brad Paisley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Happy Holidays) 2

    Download

    “Brad Paisley here. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (12 Days of Christmas would include)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. If I were to re-write the ’12 Days of Christmas,’ I would include things like chocolate, Bourbon, guitars and maybe not French Hens or Geese a’laying.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Penguin James Penguin)

    Download

    “Hi, this is Brad Paisley. Make sure you’re good this Christmas, ‘cause Santa’s got a secret agent bird. Penguin James Penguin is watching.”

    Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Seasons Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings. This is Brenda Lee, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Merry Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi, I’m Brenda Lee with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Here's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree)

    Download

    “Hi, this is Brenda Lee, and here’s my favorite holiday song, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is T.J., and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas) 2

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Carrie Underwood. From our house to yours – Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Seasons Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Merry Christmas, y’all.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Christmas) 2

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Christmas) 2

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Happy Holidays, everybody!”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Chrissy Metz, wishing you Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover. Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Christmas) 2

    Download

    Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Season's Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings. I’m Dalton Dover.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! This is George Strait, wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Hootie & The Blowfish (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey Everybody, we’re Hootie & The Blowfish, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey y’all this is Jon Langston, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Jon Langston. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Jon Pardi, wishing you a Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Season’s Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings, everybody! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas) 2

    Download

    “Hey! This is Jon Pardi. Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Happy, Happy, Happy Holidays, everybody. I’m Jordan Davis.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey, y’all, this is Josh Ross, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Season’s Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings, I’m Josh Ross.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Josh Turner, wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Seasons Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings—I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Merry Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi, I’m Josh Turner with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays) 2

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Josh Turner. May your days be merry and bright. Happy holidays from my family to yours!”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. Wishing you peace, love and joy this holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Christmas sweater)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. May all your sweaters be ugly and bright!”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Kassi Ashton (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone listening a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi folks, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Holiday season)

    Download

    “Hi everyone, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and all your family the very best this holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey guys, this is Kip Moore, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Kip Moore. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Very Merry Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town, and we just want to say Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Season's Greetings)

    Download

    “Seasons Greetings, I’m Luke Bryan. Hope your holidays are filled with joy and happiness.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (eggnog)

    Download

    “It’s Luke Bryan, and may your eggnog be spiked with plenty of rum to get you through this holiday season!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (gifts of the season)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan, wishing you the gifts of the season — Peace, Joy, and a case of beer.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey, I’m Parker McCollum, and I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Priscilla Block wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

     

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey-Reba here-hoping you have a very Merry Christmas. Ho, Ho, Ho.”

     

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey, this is Reba, wishing you a Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Shania Twain, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Taylor Swift (Happy Holiday Season)

    Download

    “Hey, this is Taylor Swift, wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Travis Denning. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Seasons Greetings)

    Download

    “Season’s Greetings. This is Travis Denning, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Christmas) 1

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard. Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Christmas) 2

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard. Happy Holidays.”

     

     

     

  • THANKSGIVING 2023 SOUNDBITES

    The Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth, in the state that’s now known as Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s. People now celebrate the holiday by giving thanks for their blessings over the past year, as well as feasting on turkey and other festive goodies.

    Some festive fun facts about Thanksgiving:

    • President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3rd, 1863.
    • Harry Truman is often credited with being the first president to pardon a turkey, but that’s not quite true. He was the first to receive a ceremonial turkey from the National Turkey Federation – and he had it for dinner. John F. Kennedy was the first to let a Thanksgiving turkey go, followed by Richard Nixon who sent his turkey to a petting zoo. George H.W. Bush is the president who formalized the turkey pardoning tradition in 1989.
    • The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4,500.
    • Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions via their Butterball Turkey Hotline each November and December.
    • The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.
    • The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has become known as “Drinksgiving.” Bars experience a huge boom the night before the holiday.

    Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 23rd, and most people might be enjoying time with a group of their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Catie Offerman, Caylee Hammack, Dalton Dover, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley,  Jon Langston, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire, Sam Hunt, Travis Denning, Tyler Hubbard and more. They share their thoughts of thanks this year, their lessons in gratitude, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his favorite Thanksgiving dish.

    Download

    AJ (Thanksgiving) OC: …enjoy it. :19
    “My favorite Thanksgiving dish would be the homemade dressin’ that we, cornbread-based kind of dressin’ that we always have with turkey. That recipe is a kind of a combination of my mama, and Denise has taken it and perfected it over the years, so that me and my children really enjoy it.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Thanksgiving tradition – a Misfits Thanksgiving -- that they started when they moved to Nashville because they couldn’t afford to go home for the holiday.

    Download

    Brothers Osborne (Misfits Thanksgiving) OC: (TJ) …Happy holidays, y’all. 1:02
    “What’s up, y’all? It’s Brothers Osborne here. And a Thanksgiving tradition that we did for so many years. John and I would host what we would call a Misfits Thanksgiving, and we would have everyone, I mean we must’ve done this for 15 years or so and it really started because we didn’t have enough money to go back home to see our family, so we would hang out in Nashville. And so everyone that was kind of in our same shoes, we’d all end up at our house, and it really turned into really blossoming some of our most cherished relationships. We would be there with Kacey Musgraves. It was the first time I really got to hang out with Mickey Guyton (JOHN: “Maren Morris.”) Maren Morris. They would come over and we just became like family to each other because we couldn’t get home to see our own families. And that’s a Thanksgiving tradition that we still to this day try to keep, and it’s a revolving door of who’s there or who’s not there, but yeah, it’s a wonderful tradition. And let me tell you, spending it with our friends in Nashville, there’s a little less arguing than back home. (laughs)” JOHN: “We’re still arguing, but we get over it faster.” (laughs) TJ: “Anyways, Happy Holidays, y’all.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she’s grateful for her family.

    Download

    Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving 2023) OC: …we all are. :30
    “I am grateful for so many things this Thanksgiving. I think the thing I’m most grateful for, though, is family. I mean, that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what this life is all about. I’m blessed to have two incredible boys that I get to take care of and that love on me daily, and they’re just giant blessings in my life, and of course, my extended family, as well. That’s what this time of year’s all about – getting together and just realizing how blessed we all are.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she and her family don’t have too many Thanksgiving traditions.

    Download

    Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving) OC: …the other one. :34
    “We don’t have too many set-in-stone Thanksgiving traditions. I find myself a lot of times working on or around Thanksgiving or unable to get home or whatever. We try to be together, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out. But yeah, I mean, I think it’s just about we eat. I eat a lot every year on Thanksgiving. [laughs] I never skip THAT tradition. But yeah, that’s the gist of it, and I’m kind of lucky. I get two Thanksgivings, because I also get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, so if I don’t hit one, I’ll definitely be able to get the other one.”

    Audio / Catie Offerman

    Download

    Catie Offerman (Thanksgiving) OC: …what I do. :17
    “I am so thankful for a lot of things. I think my family, the gift of being able to put music out this year has been huge for me. I think that’s something I’ve waited on for a really long time, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for my health and just being able to keep playing music and doing what I do.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, because she gets to just spend time with her family.

    Download

    Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving) OC: …favorite holiday. :27
    “Thanksgiving is the one holiday where we stay at home. We stay at my family’s house, and it’s just me, my mom and dad, my brother and sister and their families. We all sit around and just eat all day. And I love Thanksgiving because you don’t have to worry about getting gifts for people; you don’t have to worry about wrapping them. You just show up and you eat all day with the people you love. So, I absolutely love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack talks about her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

    Download

    Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …cranberry jelly. :15
    “My favorite Thanksgiving meal (dish) is definitely cornbread dressing. My mom makes the best, er, some people call it stuffing, but I’ve always called it dressing for some reason. But I love that with canned cranberry jelly.”

    Audio / Dalton Dover says this one dish HAS to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.

    Download

    Dalton Dover (Thanksgiving eats) 1 OC: …at Thanksgiving. :04
    “Like I’m a big deviled eggs guy, so they got to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / We asked Dalton Dover who makes the deviled eggs at Thanksgiving.

    Download

    Dalton Dover (Thanksgiving eats) 2 OC: …best. :02
    “My grandma, and she makes the absolute best (deviled eggs).”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about his favorite part of Thanksgiving.

    Download

    Darius Rucker (favorite part of Thanksgiving) OC: …my family. :17
    “My favorite part of Thanksgiving is easy – it’s food. It’s eating. It’s hanging out with family and getting some great food, ‘cause that’s really what Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for all of the great things you’ve got, and I always give thanks for the greatest thing I’ve got and that’s my family.”

     

    Audio / Zealous football fan Darius Rucker says Thanksgiving is his favorite sporting day of the year.

    Download

    Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving Day favorite sporting day) OC: …big for me. :10
    “Thanksgiving Day is my favorite sports day of the year. It’s crazy how much football you get to watch (laughs) on Thanksgiving Day, so I really like that a lot. Thanksgiving is big for me.”

     

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, who is thankful for his wife, two daughters and son, talks about his Thanksgiving must-have! It’s an oldie, but a goodie!

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving must-have) OC: …for Thanksgiving. :34
    “You gotta have a big turkey. Thanksgiving is not possible without a turkey. We cook it traditionally, but when we’re in, a couple of Thanksgivings ago, we were here in Nashville, we did the whole fry the turkey up, and it was great. It just tasted so good; all those juices get locked in there, and I love that too. You really can’t, to me, cook a turkey wrong. I’m gonna eat it any way, and I have over the years. Trust me, I’ve played a lot of county and state fairs, where I’ve seen gigantic turkey legs, you know, I’ve had the flat meat. I’ve done turkey every way you could do it. I’m pretty good any way you want to cook it up, but you’ve got to have a turkey for Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about his Thanksgiving tradition.

    Download

    Jon Langston (Thanksgiving) OC: …pretty cool. :21
    “We always watch football on Thanksgiving. It was pretty cool in high school. It was a big deal in high school if you had practice on Thanksgiving Day because you made third round of the playoffs. So, in high school we always had practice on Thanksgiving, so I guess that was pretty cool. Everybody’s waking up on a cold Thanksgiving morning going to football practice, but yeah, pretty cool.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about his childhood Thanksgiving traditions.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving) OC: …lot of football. :12
    “When I was growing up at Thanksgiving, we just got all the family together. You know, did the traditional turkey, ham, all the sides, but it was always at either one of my grandparents’ house. Just a lot of family, a lot of food and a lot of football.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis says his favorite Thanksgiving side dish makes him happy all year round.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving side dish) 2 OC: …Cheese guy. :09
    “My favorite Thanksgiving side dish – Macaroni and Cheese – anytime. Thanksgiving, a random Tuesday. I don’t care. I’m a Macaroni and Cheese guy.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis says one of his new favorite Thanksgiving traditions is frying a turkey.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving turkey) OC: …most forward to. :11
    “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me? I just recently got into frying the turkey, so I’m the turkey-frying guy, and I’m getting pretty good at it. So, I would have to say that’s my thing that I look most forward to.”

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about the Davis family Thanksgiving.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving memory) OC: …really special. :17
    “A typical Thanksgiving in the Davis household growing up – we would always go to East Texas to my grandparents’ house. You know, during the day, me and my grandfather would always go fish. My grandma would always have a huge spread, and just get to spend time around a lot of family members I don’t get to see a lot of, so they were always really special.”

    Audio / Josh Turner shares his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

    Download

    Josh Turner (fave side dish) OC: …’em myself. [laughs] :24
    “Uh, deviled eggs! [laughs] Where I’m from in South Carolina, I don’t think I’ve tasted a bad deviled egg. It’s like everybody has their own twist on it, but they’re all good, but I always loved it when my mama made ‘em. I’m learning as I get older, making deviled eggs is no easy task. It’s more complicated than it looks, and so that’s probably why I never made ‘em myself.” [laughs]

    Audio / Josh Turner explains what he enjoys about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

    Download

    Josh Turner (holidays) OC: …the peace and quiet. :38
    “I love being outside in nature and the outdoors, and the holidays is a great time for me to go and partake in that part of my life. A lot of times, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a little cold to go fishing, but when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a great time to go hunting, especially in South Carolina, that’s when the temperatures are starting to drop and the conditions are getting right, and especially in November, kind of the tail end of the rut, as far as deer season. So, it’s a good time to get in the deer stand whether you kill anything or not, it’s just a great time to just get away from everything and get away from the noise and the lights and the diesel fumes [laughs] and just relax and just enjoy the peace and quiet.”

    Audio / Keith Urban gives thanks for many things, including his wife and two daughters.

    Download

    Keith (Thanksgiving) OC: …for me. :21
    “Thankful that, well, my marriage is just, it’s life-giving, not just life-changing, it’s been life-giving for me. And from there, we created life, and that’s just beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And the effect that all of that has had in my work, has given life to it too, given it a sense of purpose and really deepened the experience for me.”

    Audio / The members of Little Big Town love Thanksgiving since they get time off to be with their families.

    Download

    LBT (Thanksgiving) 2 OC: (Kimberly) …and eat. :31
    KIMBERLY: “Thanksgiving—we love Thanksgiving, ‘cause we get to be with our families and we don’t often get to spend time with our families, our extended families, until the holidays. I love being around the table with my family and talking and laughing and cooking and eating…” JIMI: “And eating and eating and eating and eating…” PHILLIP: “The laughter around the eating, the good cheer, the celebration, the music…” JIMI: “The eating, going taking a nap, then coming back and eating.” KIMBERLY: “Go to bed with a full belly, take a nap, and then get up and eat.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about their Thanksgiving traditions.

    Download

    Maddie & Tae (Thanksgiving) OC: (TAE) …I do. :41
    MADDIE: “I love Thanksgiving because I get to see my family, and it’s not as much pressure as Christmas I feel like because there are no gifts exchanged. It’s just all about quality time and I love quality time. My favorite dish is some broccoli-cheese casserole and Tae’s favorite dish, I know, is cranberry sauce, just plain. Just plain ole cranberry sauce, no turkey, just cranberry sauce.” TAE: “She knows.” MADDIE: “That’s it.” TAE: “I genuinely feel there’s something wrong with me. (MADDIE: “Out of the can.”) out of the can. My parents know just to have cranberry sauce for me, like no one else can touch it. There’s a home video where my brother Mason tries to eat it, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? This is mine.’” MADDIE: “She eats it out of the can.” TAE: “I do.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton talks about one of her favorite Thanksgiving traditions.

    Download

    Mickey Guyton (Thanksgiving traditions) OC: …Thanksgiving traditions. :17
    “One of my Thanksgiving traditions is playing charades after Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not the most competitive person in the world, but as soon as you put some Charades in the picture, I am crazy, and you will definitely want to be on my team if we’re playing Charades. I’m just saying. So, that’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions.”

     

    Audio / Mickey Guyton reveals her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

    Download

    Mickey Guyton (favorite Thanksgiving dish) OC: …both so much! :39
    “My favorite Thanksgiving dish that has to, has to, has to be at Thanksgiving dinner is dessert. Dessert is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. I mean, it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s sweet. My mom actually makes an Italian cream cake that’s absolutely awesome. It’s homemade, and the entire family, that’s the first thing to go at Thanksgiving dinner. And my Grandma D, she makes a pecan pie that is awesome. She taught me how to make them when I was little, and I just love them, and that’s the other thing that I look forward to at Thanksgiving dinner, and I love them both so much!”

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about his family’s Thanksgiving tradition.

    Download

    Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving tradition) OC: …go there. :27
    “I mean, my parents have been split up for a long time, but they’re all from the same town. My mom and dad went to high school together and all that stuff and all the family still lives back there on both sides. So, we kind of do a Thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family, but all my life, we’ve always gone to my mom’s parents’ house on Thanksgiving, and they got a big ole house and a bunch of property and it’s really where I grew up is right there. That’s kind of home for me, so that’s kind of our thing. We always go there.”

    Audio / One of Parker McCollum’s favorite dishes at Thanksgiving is his Aunt’s creamed corn.

    Download

    Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …creamed corn. Mmm hmmm. :04
    “My Aunt’s creamed corn is pretty bomb. I love creamed corn. Mmm hmmm.”

    Audio / Priscilla Block describes a typical Thanksgiving holiday with her family.

    Download

    Priscilla Block (Thanksgiving) OC: …so much. :34
    “Thanksgiving has always been chaos, actually any holiday that my entire family is there is straight chaos. But for Thanksgiving, we all try so hard to be together and it’s such a fun holiday to, my family’s a little cheesy. Like, we actually still go around the table and being like, ‘What are you thankful for?’ ‘What are you thankful for?’ So, that means a lot where it’s not about presents, it’s not about anything else. It’s just about truly being thankful, and that’s why I love Thanksgiving so much.”

     

    Audio / Reba McEntire explains what she's most thankful for this year.

    Download

    Reba McEntire (Thankful) OC: …happy camper. :39
    “Omigosh I wake up in the morning grateful that I can, that I’m alive, I can breathe, I can move, I can get out of bed on my own. (I’m) very grateful for the lifestyle that I have and if anybody needs help, please Lord please, direct me in what you want me to do. Just grateful for getting Rex in my life, my family being healthy and happy, my friends being healthy and happy. I’ve got a great job and people I love and get to work with, and I’ve got a huge faith. So, no matter what happens to me, I know where I’m going, so I’m a happy camper.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his favorite Thanksgiving eats.

    Download

    Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …disappears. :12
    “When I pile my plate up, it’s mostly turkey and then I’ll put a little dressing on the side, and I’ll usually go ahead and grab my dessert on the first run [laughs] and have it ready before it all disappears.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about a typical Thanksgiving holiday growing up.

    Download

    Travis Denning (typical Thanksgiving holiday) OC: …a lot of people. :22
    “A typical Thanksgiving growing up was essentially and the men of the family – Dad and Uncle Mike and my granddaddy — watching football, while grandmama and my mom pretty much yelled at each other in the kitchen the whole day. But they threw down and made the best food you could ever imagine, which you know is kind of how it is for a lot of people.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about his ideal Thanksgiving menu.

    Download

    Travis Denning (Thanksgiving menu) OC: …then beer. :17
    “The ideal Thanksgiving menu to me is a little bit of turkey, but definitely prioritizing ham. I’m a firm believer in ham at Thanksgiving. Squash casserole, broccoli casserole, stuffing and then beer.”

    Audio / Tyler Hubbard talks about his favorite Thanksgiving traditions.

    Download

    Tyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving) OC: …I love it. :22
    “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me is probably just getting together with family, having a big meal and watching a little football and taking a nice long nap. I mean, we didn’t reinvent the wheel with Thanksgiving by any means. But my Nanny (grandmother) does make a pretty mean sweet potato casserole, so that’s one of my favorites that I look forward to and I don’t know if that’s a tradition or not, but in my head it is. I love it.”

     

     

     

  • CMA AWARDS 2023

    The 57th Annual CMA Awards take place on Wednesday (November 8th), and UMG Nashville will be represented in many of the night’s categories, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist, Group, Duo, Single, Song, Music Video, Musical Event and New Artist.

    With three nominations, Chris Stapleton, the reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, returns to both Entertainer and Male Vocalist categories, marking his seventh Entertainer nod and ninth Male Vocalist nomination. He is also up for Musical Event with Carly Pearce on the song “We Don’t Fight Anymore.” Chris has 34 career nominations.

    Jordan Davis is nominated for Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for his multi-week No. 1 smash, “Next Thing You Know.” The song, produced by Paul DiGiovanni, was written by Jordan, Greylan James, Chase McGill and Josh Osborne.

    Carrie Underwood is once again nominated for Entertainer of the Year, while Parker McCollum is up for New Artist of the Year.

    Last year, Brothers Osborne picked up their fifth CMA Award for Vocal Duo of the Year and are once again nominated in the category.

    Brothers’ John Osborne is also nominated as producer AND Mix Engineer of Ashley McBryde’s album, Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville. 

    Maddie & Tae return to the Vocal Duo of the Year category, while The War And Treaty earn their first CMA nod in the category.

    Little Big Town earns their 18th nomination in the Vocal Group Of The Year category, which they’ve taken home six times. This is their 32nd CMA nomination overall.

    CMA PERFORMERS INCLUDE:
    Luke Bryan – a medley of his hits, including “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” “One Margarita,” “That’s My Kind Of Night,” “Play It Again” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),”
    Chris Stapleton — performing his latest single “White Horse”)
    Jordan Davis – multi-week No. 1 smash “Next Thing You Know”
    Little Big Town will join newly-minted Country Music Hall of Famer Tanya Tucker on her iconic hit “Delta Dawn.”
    Alan Jackson – the 16-time CMA Award winner will perform during a tribute to recently passed singer-songwriter icon Jimmy Buffett. The tribute will also feature Kenny Chesney, longtime Coral Reefer Band member Mac McAnally and the Zac Brown Band.
    The War And Treaty, first-time nominee this year for Vocal Duo of the Year, will perform their song “That’s How Love Is Made.”

    Other artists who will take the stage to perform include previously announced performers — Jelly Roll, Old Dominion, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce, Tanya Tucker, K. Michelle,  Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, HARDY, Cody Johnson, Post Malone, Ashley McBryde and Morgan Wallen.

    CMA PRESENTERS INCLUDE:

    Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Jordan Davis, Parker McCollum, Nate Bargatze, Bill Anderson, Paula Abdul, Chris Young, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Hailey Whitters, Craig Morgan, Lady A, Brian Kelley, Tony award-nominated actor currently starring in the hit Broadway musical “Shucked,” Kevin Cahoon, Emmy and Tony award-winning and Oscar-nominated actress, singer, author and producer, Cynthia Erivo, 2023 World Series MVP, Corey Seager and “The Golden Bachelor,” Gerry Turner.

    The 57th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and NFL great Peyton Manning, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 8th at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC and the next day on Hulu.

     

    CMA AWARDS NOMINATIONS:

    Entertainer of The Year:

    • Luke Combs
    • Chris Stapleton
    • Carrie Underwood
    • Morgan Wallen
    • Lainey Wilson

    Female Vocalist of the Year:

    • Kelsea Ballerini
    • Miranda Lambert
    • Ashley McBryde
    • Carly Pearce
    • Lainey Wilson

    Male Vocalist of the Year:

    • Luke Combs
    • Jelly Roll
    • Cody Johnson
    • Chris Stapleton
    • Morgan Wallen

    Vocal Group of the Year:

    • Lady A
    • Little Big Town  
    • Midland
    • Old Dominion
    • Zac Brown Band

    Vocal Duo Of The Year:

    • Brooks & Dunn
    • Brothers Osborne  
    • Dan + Shay
    • Maddie & Tae
    • The War And Treaty

    Single of the Year:

    • “Fast Car”; Luke Combs; Producer: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathon Singleton; Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews
    • “Heart Like A Truck”; Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
    • “Need A Favor”; Jelly Roll; Producer: Austin Nivarel; Mix Engineer: Jeff Braun
    • “Next Thing You Know”; Jordan Davis; Producer: Paul DiGiovanni; Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley
    • “Wait In The Truck”; Hardy f/Lainey Wilson; Producers: Hardy, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells; Mix Engineer: Joey Moi

    Album of the Year:

    • Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville; Producers: John Osborne, John Peets; Mix Engineers: Gena Johnson, John Osborne
    • Bell Bottom Country; Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
    • Gettin’ Old; Luke Combs; Producers Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Mix Engineers: Michael H. Brauer, Jim Cooley, Chip Matthews
    • One Thing At A Time; Morgan Wallen Producers: Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi, Cameron Montgomery Mix Engineers: Josh Ditty, Joey Moi, Eivind Nordland
    • Rolling Up the Welcome Mat; Kelsea Ballerini Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym; Mix Engineers: Dan Grech-Marguerat, Alysa Vanderheym

    Song of the Year:

    • “Fast Car”; Songwriter: Tracy Chapman
    • “Heart Like A Truck”; Songwriters: Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson
    • “Next Thing You Know”  Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, Josh Osborne
    • “Tennessee Orange”; Songwriters: David Fanning, Paul Jenkins, Megan Moroney, Ben Williams
    • “Wait In The Truck”; Songwriters: Renee Blair, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt

    Musical Event Of The Year:

    • “Save Me”; Jelly Roll w/Lainey Wilson; Producers: Zach Crowell, David Ray Stevens
    • “She Had Me At Heads Carolina (Remix)” Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina; Producer: Zach Crowell
    • “Thank God”; Kane Brown w/Katelyn Brown; Producer: Dann Huff
    • “Wait In The Truck”; Hardy f/Lainey Wilson; Producers: Hardy, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells
    • “We Don’t Fight Anymore”; Carly Pearce f/Chris Stapleton; Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Carly Pearce

    New Artist of the Year:

    • Zach Bryan
    • Jelly Roll
    • Parker McCollum
    • Megan Moroney
    • Hailey Whitters

    Musician of the Year:

    • Jenee Fleenor
    • Paul Franklin
    • Rob McNelley
    • Derek Wells
    • Charlie Worsham

    Music Video of the Year

    • “Light On In The Kitchen”; Ashley McBryde; Director: Reid Long
    • “Memory Lane”; Old Dominion; Directors: Mason Allen, Nicki Fletcher
    • “Need A Favor”; Jelly Roll; Director: Patrick Tohill
    • “Next Thing You Know”; Jordan Davis; Director: Running Bear
    • “Wait In The Truck”; Hardy f/Lainey Wilson; Director: Justin Clough

     

     

    Audio / LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT CO-HOSTING THE CMA AWARDS WITH PEYTON MANNING FOR A SECOND YEAR.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (co-hosting with Peyton for second time) OC: …great night. :48
    “I thought we did a great job together. I think he is a crazy – no pun intended – he’s a crazy pro-preparer and he knows his brand; I know my brand. He’s a little drier humor, and I’m a little more slapstick, I guess, maybe that’s the way to say it. So, I think the partnership of he and I and when we wrapped after the show, all the producers, everybody was raving, and obviously the ratings were great, and the show was great. And I think we just gotta take what Peyton and I learned from last year and build upon it and make a great show. And like I said, I knew we did a good job when they were trying to lock me and Peyton down that night for the following year. So, it was a great night, and we were excited about it. So, it’s gonna be another great night.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about co-hosting the CMA Awards with Peyton Manning.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (co-hosting CMAs with Peyton) OC: …stress away. :50
    “The thing about co-hosting with Peyton is all gloves are off. We can cut up with one another, have a little fun, roast each other a little bit, but it takes a little pressure off during the night – even if I’ve got a performance, then Peyton can do one of the segments while I get a little more time to get ready for the performance and coming back in and out. But the bottom line is it’s gonna be a fun thing to share with Peyton, it’s gonna be fun to be backstage, kind of toasting right before we go out and he’s a pro and hopefully I’m a pro at this point. I still try to be a kid about all this, but I do have to take it serious now and then. But, yeah, I think having someone else to share some of the duties takes a little bit of the stress of it all being all on me, takes a little bit of the stress away.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about hosting this year’s CMA Awards.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (hosting the CMA Awards) OC: …chance to do. :31
    “To be a representative of the music that I love, to be someone to carry on a tradition and to be the host and conduct this show with elegance, class, humor, reverence, to really make the show an example of country music and to represent the show to the best of my ability to the people watching at home is a big task and it’s something I’m so honored to have the chance to do.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton, who is up for three CMA Awards including Entertainer of the Year, says he’s always grateful for the moment of recognition.

    Download

    Chris Stapleton (grateful for awards) OC: …grateful for the moment. :30
    “Well I’ll take ’em home with me I guess once they send ’em. Yeah, I guess you have to at some point, but it still is a very… I’m thankful for it and it’s very nice and there’s a lot of great people doing a lot of great things making a lot of great music and working really hard and so when you get this kind of a thing going, I don’t think anybody deserves it. It’s a lot of luck and a lot of stars lining up so, I’m grateful for the moment.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood is honored to be nominated for CMA Entertainer of the Year.

    Download

    Carrie Underwood (CMA Entertainer nod) OC: …that category. :47
    “It is, I mean, obviously such an honor to be nominated in Entertainer of the Year. Obviously, that’s such a tough category to be in, ‘cause there’s just so, I don’t even want to call it competition, there’s just so many hard-working artists out there that are just you know pouring themselves and their time and their energy and their love and their artistry into what they do. You know, obviously just to even be in the final category is just absolutely amazing and hopefully, above all, we can all just remember that it’s a celebration of a great year in country music and in our careers as artists, so we’ll just see what happens, but definitely excited to be in that category.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis is nominated for three CMA Awards including Single, Song and Music Video of the Year.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (CMA 2023 reaction) OC: …home an award. :28
    “So, when I found out about my nominations for ‘Next Thing You Know,’ I was on the road. It was early. My buddy woke me up and gave me the news. I mean, I was shocked. I did not expect to be up for three CMAs. This song has just really taken on a life of its own. I’m super grateful and humbled to have three nominations at the CMA—biggest night in Country Music, and really excited to be a part of it and pumped to see if this song can bring home an award.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne talks about the pair’s nomination for Duo of the Year.

    Download

    Brothers Osborne (CMA Awards) OC: …awesome family. :49
    JOHN: “The Duo category can go any which way. I mean, you look at us, comparatively speaking, we’re kind of maybe somewhere in the middle in terms of the numbers and I don’t know (laughs) what it is. I don’t really know why we’re holding these up here and it’s super rad and I’m definitely going to be putting this on my mantle. I think one of the most amazing pieces of advice I was ever given was to work hard and be nice to people, and I think that’s why we have these. We work really hard, and we try to be respectful to everyone around us. And one of the things that I love about the country music genre is that it’s a family and we’re all really, really close. We’re all a bunch of misfits thrown together. We’re all a little different, but we love one another and respect one another. I’m just honored for the both of us to be a part of this awesome family.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne talks about his CMA nomination for Producer and Mix Engineer for Album of the Year for Ashley McBryde’s Lindeville.

    Download

    Brothers Osborne (John’s nomination with Ashley McBryde) OC: …means the world. :55
    “It means the world, you know. We didn’t know when making that album if it would do anything, and for it to have been nominated, well it was nominated for a Grammy for Country Album as well. It’s awesome. I mean, we worked really, really, really hard on that, and we were doing it at a time where we were also working, so I spread myself way too thin, but I love, I love going out and playing our shows, I love writing our songs, but I love everything. I cannot make enough music. I I’ve always been like that since I was a kid. And then to get recognized for it is amazing. You don’t ever make it, that’s not your intended purpose. Your intended purpose is to make something that you love and are proud of, but to have the industry show their love, it means the world too. It’s just I love, just as much as touring and playing shows, I love getting in the studio and tinkering as well, and I wish there were more hours in the day to do both more. I just cannot get enough of it, so it’s certainly a high honor. It means the world.”

    Audio / LITTLE BIG TOWN’S KIMBERLY SCHLAPMAN SAYS SHE VIVIDLY REMEMBERS WINNING THEIR FIRST CMA AWARD IN 2012.

    Download

    LBT (1st CMA Award) OC: …person there. :42
    “I remember almost everything about winning our first CMA Award. I remember being on the stage, our name is called, we’d been waiting a long, long time for that one. I think we made fools of ourselves pretty much because we were so crazy excited. I remember most vividly as we were standing up there, all of our friends in Nashville standing up on the floor giving us a round of applause, and I think that’s one of the most humble moments we’ve had in the band, ‘cause so many people have cheered us on for so many years and it was like, the whole town of Nashville was part of that award, not just us, but we shared that with every single person there.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae's Taylor Kerr talks about awards nominations.

    Download

    Maddie & Tae (Awards nominations) OC: …makes sense. :49
    “Nominations are so cool, whether it’s fan-voted or industry-voted. I think the weight it carries for Maddie and I is just like validation. I think when you’re head-down working on something and (it’s) kind of hard to look at it from a broad perspective and kind of see what other people are seeing. So, whenever you get a pat on the back with a nomination, it’ just like hey, you know, we’re doing something notable. We’re doing something that people are noticing and appreciating. So, we must be doing something right, and it definitely feels good. It doesn’t carry the weight of make or break, because we’ve had to sort of let that go, ‘cause obviously, we would love to win, but if that doesn’t happen for us, we know we’re still meant to be where we are, if that makes sense.”

     

    Audio / The War And Treaty (CMA 2023 reaction) OC: (MICHAEL) …This is crazy. :24 NOTE: quick cutoff at the end

    Download

    TANYA: “I can’t believe you got up and you gave me the phone (Michael laughs). The first thing you did, you passed me the phone and I started crying.” MICHAEL: “Text messages from everyone. Like to think, Oh My God, this is our first CMA nomination.” TANYA: “That’s insane.” MICHAEL: “WE.ARE.NOMINATED.FOR.A.CMA.” TANYA LAUGHS: “That’s crazy.” MICHAEL: “Are you serious?” TANYA: “I mean, all I can say is thank you to the fans and everybody. Thank you so much.” MICHAEL: “This is crazy.”

    Audio / CMA New Artist of the Year nominee Parker McCollum says he’s truly humbled and grateful for his success.

    Download

    Parker McCollum (grateful for his success) OC: …part of it all. :48
    “You know, not really like giddy about it or anything, but you know I’d just be flying home or something and be like damn, not bad for a kid from Conroe, Texas and no college degree and told everybody he was moving to Austin to be a country singer. Everybody looked at him like he had two heads. It’s certainly humbling and trying to be intentionally grateful. You know, I’m just incredibly blessed and done more and made more and been more places than I ever thought I would by 30 years old. So, it’s crazy, and you know truly the biggest thing for me is making my family proud and that’s a pretty cool feeling to see like how like they can’t believe it.  It’s crazy.  And that really is like the dopest part of it all.”

     

  • JORDAN DAVIS, ALAN JACKSON AND THE WAR AND TREATY ADDED TO THE LIST OF PERFORMERS AT THIS YEAR’S CMA AWARDS.

    Jordan Davis, Alan Jackson and The War And Treaty have been added to the list of performers at next week’s CMA Awards. Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, HARDY, Cody Johnson, Post Malone, Mac McAnally, Ashley McBryde, Morgan Wallen and Zac Brown Band will also perform.

    Jordan, who is nominated for Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for “Next Thing You Know,” will perform the multi-week No. 1 smash. The song, produced by Paul DiGiovanni, was written by Jordan, Greylan James, Chase McGill and Josh Osborne.

    16-time CMA Award winner Alan Jackson will perform during a tribute to recently passed singer-songwriter icon Jimmy Buffett. The tribute will also feature Kenny Chesney, longtime Coral Reefer Band member Mac McAnally and the Zac Brown Band.

    The War And Treaty, first-time nominee this year for Vocal Duo of the Year, will perform their song “That’s How Love Is Made.”

    Previously announced performers include Luke Bryan, who will perform a medley of his hits, including “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” “One Margarita,” “That’s My Kind Of Night,” “Play It Again” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” Chris Stapleton (performing his latest single “White Horse”), Little Big Town will join newly-minted Country Music Hall of Famer Tanya Tucker on her iconic hit “Delta Dawn.” Other previously announced performers include Jelly Roll, Old Dominion, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce, Tanya Tucker and K. Michelle.

    Presenters for “The 57th Annual CMA Awards” will be announced in the coming days.

    The 57th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and NFL great Peyton Manning, will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 8th at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC and the next day on HULU.

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about “Next Thing You Know.”

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Next Thing You Know) OC: …whole lotta people. :46
    “You know, there’s no chorus to this song. And I think it’s really cool that all we do is repeat ‘Next Thing You Know’ throughout it, but when you’re trying to write songs for a, a job, not putting a chorus on it is a fast way to get it thrown into the garbage can, and I think that makes me more proud of this song in that this is what we wanted to do with it and we just wanted to be as honest as possible in how fast life goes. I remember leaving, telling somebody like when they were like, ‘Did you write today?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ They said, ‘Did you get anything good?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, we wrote a song that doesn’t even have a chorus.’ And I got the look of like, ‘Well, we’ll probably never hear that one,’ and little did I know it would connect with a whole lotta people.”

     

  • HALLOWEEN LINERS 2023

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Halloween)

    Download

    “Trick or Treat, baby.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. Happy Halloween!”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Halloween) 1

    Download

    “Hey y’all, I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all of y’all a Happy Halloween. Boo!”

     

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Halloween) 2

    Download

    “Hey y’all! I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all you goblins and gremlins out there a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Halloween)

    Download

    Hey, y’all, this is Dalton Dover. Happy Halloween!

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey! What’s up, y’all? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Eric Church, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER JON LANGSTON (HALLOWEEN)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey it’s Jon Pardi. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

     

     

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Josh Ross. Happy Halloween!”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey Y’all, I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey everyone, this is Keith Urban, wishing you a very spooky, happy Halloween. Boo!”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a Happy Halloween. BOO!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Halloween

    Download

    “Hey! What’s up, y’all? I’m Luke Bryan, wishing you a very Happy Halloween. Boo!”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, I’m Parker McCollum. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Priscilla Block, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire. Happy Halloween. Ooooooh”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt. Happy Halloween!”

    Audio / LINER The War And Treaty (Halloween)

    Download

    Hey everybody. The War And Treaty here. Happy Halloween!

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Travis Denning. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Halloween)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, The War And Treaty, Alan Jackson

    Chris Stapleton has been announced as one of the performers for the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, along with Elton John, Dave Matthews, Brandi Carlile and H.E.R. This year’s class includes Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott and Sheryl Crow. The event will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on November 3rd and will be livestreamed and broadcast on Disney+ and ABC.

    Little Big Town spent time with TODAY’s Dylan Dryer on a tour of Nashville, for a cowboy boot fitting, a taste of hot chicken and live music ahead of the very first People’s Choice Country Awards tonight on NBC and Peacock. Check it out below.

    Brad Paisley appeared on ABC’s Nightline on Wednesday (September 27th) as he returned home to West Virginia where he’s giving back to the community. He shared his love and heartbreak for his home state and the inspiration behind the songs “Son of the Mountains,” “The Medicine Will” and “Same Here.”

     

    Luke Bryan and The War And Treaty will be featured on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown this weekend. The show will air Saturday (September 30th) and Sunday (October 1st) at 9am ET/8am CT.

    Alan Jackson will release a special green vinyl edition of his 1993 holiday release, Honky Tonk Christmas on October 6th. You can pre-order it now at https://alanjackson.lnk.to/HTC.

    https://twitter.com/OfficialJackson/status/1707409868758429864

     

     

    Video /

  • FOURTH OF JULY 2023 AUDIO

    Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain and tyranny.

    The Declaration of Independence, which is on public display in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., was primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, however, he worked with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to come up with the final document. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776, but the actual signing of the document took place August 2nd, 1776. Now, the Fourth of July holiday is commonly associated with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues and concerts.

    Some of your favorite country stars take time to remember their Fourth of July traditions, memories and what the holiday really means to them.

     

    Brad Paisley is set to headline “Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th” celebration. The downtown event in Nashville will present one of the country’s largest July 4th fireworks show, which will be synchronized to live music from the Nashville Symphony. Brad, who is headlining the show for the second time (his last appearance was in 2021), will be joined on the bill by The War And Treaty, Ben Rector, Tiera Kennedy and singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim. The event is partnering with The Store, a free referral-based grocery store founded by Brad and his wife, Kimberly Williams Paisley. One dollar from the sale of each event T-shirt will benefit The Store.

    https://twitter.com/warandtreaty/status/1673428354714808321

     

    Darius Rucker has been tapped to perform on CNN’s The Fourth In America on July 4th for the 247th anniversary of the United States’ independence. Other musical performances include Alanis MorrisetteThe All-American RejectsDemi LovatoDuran DuranFlo RidaLeon BridgesPost MaloneSheryl CrowSmash Mouth, Zac Brown BandThe Plain White T’s, and more. The special, which will feature performances and firework shows from around the country (including Nashville, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York City and more), will air live from 7pm ET to 1am ET on CNN.

    Maddie & Tae will celebrate Independence Day by performing “This Land Is Your Land” as part of the PBS TV specialA Capitol Fourth. Boyz II Men, Belinda Carlisle, Chicago, Babyface, Renee Fleming, Charles Esten and the Broadway cast of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, among others, will also perform. The live broadcast will air beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT on Tuesday (July 4th) on PBS.

     

    Audio / Alan Jackson recalls one of the coolest Fourth of July memories he’s ever enjoyed.

    Download

    Alan Jackson (fave 4th of July memory) OC: …very cool. :58
    Well, this one is hard to beat. A couple of years ago, maybe longer than that now, I had an old boat in Florida. It’s like an old antique motor yacht, and it was kind of a cool old boat. I had taken that boat, I’ve always wanted to take it up north like to New York and up in that area, up in the northeast where it’s so pretty. So, we took the boat up there and Denise and the girls, we all went up. They like going to New York City, which I don’t really care about going to the city. So, I got to stay in my boat there at the harbor tied up, which was cool anyway. So they spent time in the city a few days and then that was Fourth of July, and we went out in the Hudson River that night and they shot the fireworks off and we were anchored out in front of the Statue of Liberty and New York City was behind us, and the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks were going off sitting on that boat. That was the coolest thing and my girls still talk about that. I mean, that was the coolest thing on Fourth of July I can ever remember. I can’t top that one probably. It was emotional sitting there watching the Statue of Liberty and thinking about all that. It was very cool.”

     

    Audio / Billy Currington talks about his favorite Fourth of July memories.

    Download

    Billy Currington (4th of July) OC: …of my life. :16
    “My best memories would be hanging out with my mom, brother and sister on the beach on Tybee Island right off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. We’d go there every year, and we’d light our own fireworks and watch the ones that they had for us. They were the best times, some of the best times of my life.”

     

    Audio / Carrie Underwood recalls one of her favorite Fourth of July memories.

    Download

    Carrie Underwood (favorite Fourth of July memory) OC: …work out. :51
    “I think my favorite Fourth of July memory would be going to the fireworks stand and picking out which fireworks I wanted to do. I must’ve been like 7 or 8, and I came home and made a list of what order I wanted to do them in, because I wanted to put a show on for Mom and Dad, and of course I couldn’t wait until it was dark outside (laughs). So, I made my Mom and Dad get the lawn chairs and come out to the backyard and watch some not very dramatic fireworks at like six o’clock in the evening, but I was so proud of myself, and I was so proud of the show that I put on. So, I feel like that was a little training for what I do now – putting on shows, figuring out how it’s all going to work out.”

    Audio / Dalton Dover recalls memories of the Fourth of July when he was a young boy.

    Download

    Dalton Dover (Fourth of July) OC: …back then, you know? :17
    “We would go out on the lake. We’d fish all day. I just remember my mom and my uncles and my grandpa, they would all go get fireworks across the Alabama line and we would all just be in the yard shooting ‘em. We’d have sparklers and all kinds of stuff. Even the littlest, cheapest fireworks, we thought were huge back then, you know?”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about what the Fourth of July means to him.

    Download

    Darius Rucker (4th of July) 1 OC: …in the world. :24
    “The Fourth of July to me is a day to celebrate freedom. We get to travel all over the world and see a lot of stuff, and I’ve been to a lot of countries that aren’t like ours and that’s when you really appreciate the fact that you can do whatever you want. As long as you’re willing to deal with the consequences, you can do whatever you want, you know?  [I] appreciate those soldiers who died for us to be sitting here doing this, and we live in the greatest country in the world.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker enjoys setting off fireworks.

    Download

    Darius Rucker (fireworks) OC: …off once. :15
    “Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina, it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says the people of this country are what define America.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (people are America) OC: …all about. :17
    “The definition of America to me, you know, getting a chance to travel across the country on a tour bus, stepping upon stages whether it be county fairs, state fairs, arenas, rock bars, the Opry stage, anywhere across the country and looking out at that crowd and seeing people. The people, to me, are what America’s all about.”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his family activities on the Fourth of July holiday.

    Download

    Eric Church (4th of July) OC: …freedoms. 1:17
    “The Fourth of July for me, growing up we would always go to the lake, we didn’t live on the lake but we would all go to the lake. Had a buddy who had a pontoon and we would always get on the pontoon and you go out and you’d tie all the pontoons together and just have a big time. This was before, I was younger then, the adults were having more fun than we were, you know it was just to go swim in the water and shoot off fireworks. Basically, water tailgating is what it was. And then as we got older, same thing…we would just, us younger kids had our own boat and we had as much fun as the adults.”

    Audio / Jon Langston says his plans for Fourth of July are always different.

    Download

    Jon Langston (Fourth of July) OC: …either way. :17
    “The Fourth of July is usually different every year. We’re usually playing shows, or we’re out on the lake or at the beach, or sometimes I’ve said, ‘I’m staying at home,’ shooting fireworks off the back porch or something. That’s probably not the safest thing, but we have a good time either way.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT SOME OF HIS FAVORITE CHILDHOOD FOURTH OF JULY MEMORIES.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July) 2 OC: …really cool. :17
    “Probably baseball games, firework shows at baseball games. We’d go to Shreveport Captains games, so yeah, we’d do that or barbecues and fireworks. I can remember being on the lake for a couple of Fourth of Julys. We’d take the boat out and we’d watch the downtown fireworks show from the boat, which was really cool.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis has a few days off from the Gravel & Gold Tour, so he plans to cookout for family and friends for the Fourth of July holiday.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July cooking out) OC: …a bunch of food. :29
    “I love cooking for people. I love having people over to the house, grilling hot dogs, cooking/making brisket, just being around the people you want to be around with – drinking beer, watching baseball. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just getting old, but like my idea of having fun now is having people over to the house and just playing host, and so that’s exactly what we’re going to do this year; have some friends and family over and hang out with the kids, let ‘em run around the sprinklers and cook a bunch of food.”

    Audio / Josh Turner talks about the fireworks “wars” his family would have when he was growing up.

    Download

    Josh Turner (fireworks) OC: …of money. [laughs] :20
    “Yeah, we had fireworks around, especially my Daddy’s family. All the individual families had a lot of competition with each other and tried to outdo each other to try to see who had the biggest and baddest fireworks and all that. [laughs] My daddy, I think, was the smartest one. He just went out and bought maybe $25 worth of fireworks and let everybody else put on the big show, so he saved a lot of money.” [laughs]

    Audio / Keith Urban recalls coming over to America for the first time.

    Download

    Keith Urban (coming to America 1st time) OC: …as I could. :39
    “1989 was the first year I came to the States, and it had always been my goal, but I had no plan on how to get here. It was just a case of keep playing, keep getting better at what you do, and then hopefully, somehow, some way I’ll end up over here. The guy who was managing me at the time, we just planned a trip over here – it was actually for the New Music Seminar in New York. And we came over for that, and then we did a trip down to Nashville, and I shopping my little demo around. I think I humored everybody more than anything else [laughs] with my tragic, ill-fitting demo for the time. So, I left there, but I was just so committed to coming back as quick as I could.”

    Audio / Kip Moore says he’s very proud of the U.S. military and can’t imagine having to do what they do to protect the United States.

    Download

    Kip Moore (Fourth of July-soldier) OC: …every day. :32
    “I’m a very, very patriotic person, proud of the country that I live in, and I’m very proud of what those guys do for us each and every day, and I don’t take it for granted one bit. My grandparents were in the military, fought wars, and I’ve seen the battle that they go through, just the horror of remember things. When I start to think that I’m half-way tough, I realize how I’m not one bit when I talk to soldiers when I’m out and realize the things that they go through. I can’t imagine facing what those guys face every day.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (4th of July memories) OC: …we used to. :21
    “Some of my favorite Fourth of July memories were spent on Lake Blackshear down in Georgia with my family. I was always kind of in charge of driving home from Tennessee and picking up all the fireworks and my nieces and nephews always got excited when I rolled in because they knew I had all the fireworks. But, it was always a great memory, and I miss not getting to do that as much as we used to.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan says every year his plans for the Fourth of July include water and fireworks.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (Fourth of July plans) OC: …on the fourth. :15
    “My plans for the Fourth are always to be on the boat somewhere in the water, and buy a few fireworks, send ‘em up in the sky for the boys, but it’s always a boat and water, whether it’s in the Gulf of Mexico, whether it’s in Georgia…we don’t have a total plan yet, but we’ll be having a good time on the fourth.”

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT THEIR FOURTH OF JULY TRADITIONS.

    Download

    Maddie & Tae (Fourth of July) OC: …it’s perfect. :29
    TAE: “One of my favorite Fourth of July traditions – I’d say it’s a tradition ‘cause it happens every year, but I’m not always able to make it – is that we go to my grandparents in Oklahoma, and we all line up lawn chairs right in front of their garage and we just light fireworks. We always do it far away and then we light it, and we always run back and watch the fireworks, but that’s probably one of my favorite memories.” MADDIE: “My birthday is July 7th, so I always get built-in fireworks for my birthday, and sometimes we actually celebrate it on the 4th, because there’s fireworks everywhere, so it’s perfect.”

    Audio / PARKER MCCOLLUM TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE FOURTH OF JULY MEMORIES. NOTE: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

    Download

    Parker McCollum (Fourth of July) OC: …days of my life. :23
    “My favorite Fourth of July memories growing up are actually kind of dangerous now that I think about it, but we used to have fireworks wars where we’d shoot like roman candles and bottle rockets. We’d always go to my grandma’s house, pop fireworks and we’d end up shooting ’em at each other and having wars; no eye protection, no nothing, just shooting bottle rockets at each other’s faces. But it was so fun; some of the best days of my life.”

    Audio / PRISCILLA BLOCK SAYS THE FOURTH OF JULY IS ONE OF HER FAVORITE HOLIDAYS.

    Download

    Priscilla Block (Fourth of July) OC: …we get crazy. :26
    “I love Fourth of July. I usually always have a Fourth of July party. It is known that there is a slip-n-slide at my house on Fourth of July. You know, it’s such a great holiday to just bring friends together and, I don’t know, we get wild on the Fourth. We get crazy.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about what he and his family did over the Fourth of July holiday when he was growing up in Georgia.

    Download

    Sam Hunt (Fourth of July) OC: …good time. :39
    “My granddad on the other side of my family, he would always take a lot of pride…fireworks were actually, I’m from Georgia, and most of them were illegal, I’m pretty sure, growing up. But over in Alabama, that’s where all the firework stands were, and we only had to drive 10, 15 minutes to get to the Alabama line, so we could go get a bundle of fireworks pretty easy. But he would always take a lot of pride in going and finding all the good stuff, and coming back with a  big pile. He’d have his torch out there at the end of the driveway and we’d all eat homemade ice cream and put down towels on the driveway and he’d shoot off fireworks for 30-45 minutes. Such a good time.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING TALKS ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY EVENTS HIS HOMETOWN OF WARNER ROBINS, GEORGIA WOULD THROW EVERY YEAR.

    Download

    Travis Denning (Fourth of July) OC: …will love. :51
    “Fourth of July in Warner Robins, Georgia is an event. It’s something else. In fact, forever they’ve thrown an Independence Day concert, and back in the day, it was huge. It was the biggest thing they did all year. They would actually have the concert in the MAC (McConnell-Talbert Stadium), which was the high school football stadium that Warner Robins and Northside and Houston County shared. I mean, one year they had Wynonna play and then they had Josh Turner one year, Darius Rucker. I mean it was like a big deal, and there’d be 15,000, 20,000 people there, and I think it’s so cool that there’s a little bit of a legacy of people coming together in that town and making something happen, you know? I’ll never forget going to those shows and thinking, I was more proud of what the city had done. I was like, ‘That’s just so cool that they could put together a show like this, an event that everybody will love.”

    Audio / TYLER HUBBARD TALKS ABOUT HIS FOURTH OF JULY PLANS WITH HIS FAMILY.

    Download

    Tyler Hubbard (Fourth of July) OC: …that freedom. :43
    “Yeah, I love the Fourth of July. A lot of great memories growing up, watching fireworks, being with family, hanging out. And even to this day we have a tradition where we try to go to Sun Valley where my wife is from and hang out in the mountains and take the kids and just spend a week out there just kind of enjoying life and taking it all in, and obviously, we still love to do the fireworks and hang out, but also just kind of reflect and be thankful for the country we live in, the sacrifices made so that we can live here and be free and it’s just a special, special holiday. We’re always so grateful and thankful for the people who served this country and the sacrifice that’s made with their families and everything else, and pay honor and tribute to those who fight so hard for that freedom.”