• DARIUS RUCKER KICKS OFF HIS EUROPEAN TOUR ON SATURDAY (April 27th).

    Darius Rucker is set to kick off the European leg of his Starting Fires Tour 2024 on Saturday (April 27th) in the United Kingdom at the O2 Apollo Manchester, followed by dates in Newcastle, Birmingham, London, Bristol and Leeds, before going to Scotland, Ireland and more. He’s set to wrap up his European dates in Belfast on May 11th.

    Darius says he’s toured across the pond more than 20 times, and every time he’s there, he experiences something new.

    “The thing I enjoy most about going to Europe is just being over there. I mean, there’s so much to see, there’s so much to do, and I’ve been there probably over 20 times touring, and I still find new great things to do every time I go,” he says. “You know, I just love being over there, and the crowds are amazing. The crowds are amazing. They know every word to every song. They dance and party the whole time and they know they’re not going to see you again soon, so they get the most of out it. They have a blast. I love playing over there.”

    Darius really enjoys being a tourist in-between shows when he’s overseas. “We’re going to some great places on this tour. We’re going to some amazing places on this tour – Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, the U.K. We fill our time with sightseeing still. We go on sightseeing and tourist stuff, like Amsterdam is my favorite walking city in the world. You just walk around and then pop into some museum that looks amazing and see things that you never thought you’d get to see. I love it.”

    Darius just released his new song, “Never Been Over,” featuring Jennifer Nettles.

    Audio / Darius Rucker loves playing overseas.

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    Darius Rucker (European Tour) 1 OC: …playing over there. :29
    “The thing I enjoy most about going to Europe is just being over there. I mean, there’s so much to see, there’s so much to do, and I’ve been there probably over 20 times touring, and I still find new great things to do every time I go. You know, I just love being over there, and the crowds are amazing. The crowds are amazing. They know every word to every song. They dance and party the whole time and they know they’re not going to see you again soon, so they get the most of out it. They have a blast. I love playing over there.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about the amazing places he gets to play and visit on his European Tour.

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    Darius Rucker (European Tour) 2 OC: …I love it. :23
    “We’re going to some great places on this tour. We’re going to some amazing places on this tour – Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, the U.K. We fill our time with sightseeing still. We go on sightseeing and tourist stuff, like Amsterdam is my favorite walking city in the world. You just walk around and then pop into some museum that looks amazing and see things that you never thought you’d get to see. I love it.”

  • DARIUS RUCKER SET TO RELEASE NEW SONG, “NEVER BEEN OVER,” FEATURING JENNIFER NETTLES TONIGHT.

    Darius Rucker is set to release his new song, “Never Been Over,” tonight at midnight ET. The song is a duet with Jennifer Nettles (from Sugarland), and when he wrote the tune with John Osborne and Lee Miller, he wanted it to be a duet at some point.

    “I wrote it with John Osborne and Lee Miller, and we cut it. We talked about doing a duet, talked about a doing a duet. We just got deep in the record and never did it,” says the South Carolina native. “It was the first song that I ever went to the label and said, ‘Will you make this a single?’ And they said yeah, and I wanted to make it a duet so bad. And we talked about folks and talked about it, and somebody said Jennifer, I think my manager said, ‘How about Jennifer Nettles?’ And I instantly I went, ‘Absolutely,’ because ever since ‘Stay,’ I’ve wanted to sing with her, and I’m so glad I finally got to.”

     

     

    Darius is currently on tour across the pond. On Saturday, he’ll be performing at the O2 Apollo in Manchester, England followed by dates in Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol and London before wrapping up his European tour May 11th in Belfast.

     

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about wanting to make "Never Been Over" a duet.

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    Darius Rucker (Never Been Over) 2 OC: …finally got to. :27
    “I wrote it with John Osborne and Lee Miller, and we cut it. We talked about doing a duet, talked about a doing a duet. We just got deep in the record and never did it. IT was the first song that I ever went to the label and said, ‘Will you make this a single?’ And they said yeah, and I wanted to make it a duet so bad. And we talked about folks and talked about it, and somebody said Jennifer, I think my manager said, ‘How about Jennifer Nettles?’ And I instantly I went, ‘Absolutely,’ because ever since ‘Stay,’ I’ve wanted to sing with her, and I’m so glad I finally got to.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Never Been Over with Jennifer Nettles)

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    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Never Been Over feat. Jennifer Nettles)

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Tyler Hubbard, Darius Rucker, Sam Hunt

    Eric Church led an all-star singalong to the late Jimmy Buffett with “Margaritaville” at a recent tribute to the iconic Parrothead at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Other big names included Paul McCartney (holding and sipping a margarita), Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Don Henley, Jon Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown, Pitbull, Dave Grohl, Jack Johnson, Judd Apatow, Harrison Ford and others.

    Chris Stapleton teamed up with Slash, guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, on “Oh Well,” a Fleetwood Mac cover for the rocker’s upcoming album, Orgy of the Damned. “His singing cadence and that drawl that he has for this particular song, in my mind’s eye, it sounded perfect,” Slash tells Rolling Stone. “I had to get his number and cold call him. And he was really gracious about it and really bent over backwards to help me get it done.”

     

    Tyler Hubbard performed the song “Wish You Would” from his brand new album, Strong, on ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday (April 15th). Watch HERE.

    Darius Rucker, who is a huge golfer, will host the 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airing live June 10th at 7pm ET live on the Golf Channel.

     

     

     

    Sam Hunt has been announced as one of the artists taking place in the Folds of Honor Celebrity Softball Game in Nashville on June 3rd during CMA Music Fest Week. Jelly Roll, Brett Young, Mitchell Tenpenny, Riley Green, Chris Lane and Charles Esten will also play in the event, with proceeds going to scholarship funds for America’s fallen and disabled service members and first responder families.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town

    Don’t forget to catch Chris Stapleton on NBC’s Saturday Night Live this weekend (April 13th). He is the musical performer on SNL with Barbie actor — and apparently a big fan of Stapleton’s — Ryan Gosling as the host.

     

    Keith Urban‘s #1’s Volume 1 and Volume 2 will be available on two different vinyl albums beginning April 26th. The collection features Keith’s very first No. 1 song to his latest and includes duets with Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Julia Michaels, as well as a special limited-edition poster with each vinyl.

    Keith Urban #1’s Vol. 1- VINYL (Cola Bottle Clear)

    SIDE A

    1)- Somebody Like You

    2)- Days Go By

    3)- The Fighter (featuring Carrie Underwood)

    4)- Grace Of God

    5)- You Look Good In My Shirt

    6)- Blue Ain’t Your Color

    SIDE B

    7)- Wasted Time

    8)- Long Hot Summer

    9)- You’ll Think Of Me

    10)- Sweet Thing

    11)- Better Life

    12)- Raise ‘Em Up (featuring Eric Church)

     

    Keith Urban #1’s Vol. 2- VINYL (Grape)

    SIDE A

    1)- John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16

    2)- Break on Me

    3)- We Were Us (with Miranda Lambert)

    4)- Little Bit of Everything

    5)- Without You

    6)- You Gonna Fly

    SIDE B

    7)- Coming Home (featuring Julia Michaels)

    8)- Kiss A Girl

    9)- Only You Can Love Me This Way

    10)- Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me

    11)- Making Memories of Us

    12)- Once in A Lifetime

     

     

    You can now pre-order Darius Rucker’s new memoir, Life’s Too Short, which comes out May 28th. He says there are some stories in the book that people who know him would be surprised about, and it’s stories he’s always wanted to tell. Pre-order here: dariusrucker.lnk.to/LifesTooShort

     

    Little Big Town recently sat down with CBS Mornings to talk about going on tour with their pals Sugarland. Click here to watch the interview. More with LBT in the coming weeks.

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke Bryan, Parker McCollum, The War And Treaty, Darius Rucker

    Luke Bryan and R&B singer Ne-Yo will headline FanDuel’s inaugural Kentucky Derby Party, which will take place on Friday, May 3rd at Paristown Arts and Entertainment District in Louisville, Kentucky. “Partnering with FanDuel for the Kentucky Derby party is an absolute honor,” said Luke Bryan in a press release. “It’s such an iconic event filled with tradition and history, and I hope fans are ready for an unforgettable night – it’s going to be a party!”

    In an interview with CMT Hot 20 Countdown’s Cody Alan, Parker McCollum played “Light It Up or Burn It Down.” Parker was also surprised to find out his “Burn It Down” video was No. 1 on the countdown.

     

    The War And Treaty were special guests at the WWE’s Smackdown and Wrestlemania 40. One-half of the duo, Michael Trotter, Jr., got to meet one of his idols, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In one social post, Michael wrote, “In the 90s, the height of the bullying almost took me out of the race. My mom was so tired of seeing me come home and lock myself in my room to cry. I needed something strong. I needed a new attitude so I did what I knew to do and that was go to WWE to get strength, to get courage, to get me the proper tools to start ‘opening up a can of whoop ass’…If you told that bullied kid that he’d be singing at one of the BIGGEST WRESTLEMANIAS EVER! If you told him he’d meet Triple H and The Rock, and so many others, I’d laugh and say ‘yeah right.’ You’re never too old to see childhood dreams come true.” The Grammy-nominated duo also performed at the huge event.

    Darius Rucker was spotted in the stands in Cleveland, Ohio for the women’s final four to watch the South Carolina Gamecocks win Friday night (April 5th) to advance to Sunday’s (April 7th) championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. He wasn’t the only famous face in the crowd; Ted Lasso‘s Jason SudekisMachine Gun Kelly and Kylie Kelce, the wife of Super Bowl star and Cleveland Heights native Jason Kelce.

  • DARIUS RUCKER ANNOUNCES THE LINEUP OF THE THIRD ANNUAL RIVERFRONT REVIVAL.

    For the third year in a row, Charleston native Darius Rucker has curated an all-star roster of talent for his hometown music festival, Riverfront Revival set to take place on Friday, October 11th, and Saturday, October 12th at scenic Riverfront Park in North Charleston. Fans can now purchase daily tickets in addition to weekend passes and get a first look at the talented lineup, featuring a melody of nineties, Americana, rock and country tunes.

    Riverfront Revival is thrilled to announce its two headlining acts at this year’s festival: multi-Diamond, two-time GRAMMY Award-winning and internationally acclaimed band Hootie & the Blowfish, of which Rucker is a member, and GRAMMY Award-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band. Tedeschi Trucks Band will headline Friday night to kick off the two-day affair, and Hootie & the Blowfish will cap off the festival on Saturday as they officially end their 2024 “Summer Camp with Trucks” tour with Riverfront Revival festival-goers. Guests can expect the last show of Hootie & the Blowfish’s tour, their first since 2019, to culminate in emphatic fashion in their home state of South Carolina along the backdrop of the Cooper River in a can’t-miss performance.

    “I can’t think of a better way to close Riverfront Revival out with a bang than next to my Hootie & the Blowfish bandmates,” shares Darius. “Charleston and the band both mean so much to me and are an integral part of who I am, so I’m thrilled to bring these two parts of my life together for everyone to celebrate and enjoy.”

    The Revivalists, Paul Cauthen, Southall, Grace Bowers & the Hodge Podge and July Moon will also grace the stage on Friday night with can’t-miss performances. On Saturday, guests can expect performances by Jamey Johnson, Collective Soul, Arrested Development, Hailey Whitters, Sister Hazel, Shane Profitt, Gritty Flyright, Brady Smith and Elizabeth Covington.

    Tickets can be purchased at RiverfrontRevival.com. A portion of the proceeds will again be donated to the Arts in Healing program at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and local nonprofit Just Be You.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke Bryan, Reba McEntire, Jon Pardi, Darius Rucker, Toby Keith, Mickey Guyton, Jordan Davis

    Luke Bryan, Reba McEntire, Jon Pardi, Darius Rucker, Toby Keith and many others are featured on Hardy’s latest HIXTAPE: Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE in tribute to the late Joe Diffie. Using Joe’s archived recordings for the album, several country artists joined forces to bring Joe’s recordings back to life.

    Luke is  joined by Randy Houser on “Honky Tonk Attitude,” which Joe originally released in 1993.

    Reba, along with Jake Worthington, recorded “Is It Cold In Here?,” while Jon Pardi and Old Dominion collaborated on “Bigger Than The Beatles.” Darius and Hailey Whitters are featured on the song “Home.”

    For his final recording, Toby, along with Luke Combs, joined forces with Joe on “Ships That Don’t Come In.”

     

    Mickey Guyton received a special delivery from Beyoncé on the day her Cowboy Carter album was released. Mickey posted photos of a huge bouquet of flowers and a card that read, “Thank you for opening doors for me, queen. Love and respect, Beyoncé.”

     

    Jordan Davis has some famous fans, including Peyton Manning, NFL great Jason Kelce and new Philadelphia Eagle Jordan Davis. Another famous fan — actor Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar, Designated Survivor, House) was on the Kelly Clarkson Show recently, and said he was really into Jordan’s music. Take a look at the video clip below.

     

  • EASTER LINERS 2024

    Easter is this Sunday (March 31st), and we’ve got liners from some of your favorite country “peeps.”

    Audio / LINER Anne Wilson (Easter)

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    “Hey, it’s Anne Wilson, wishing you a Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Easter)

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

     

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Easter)

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    “Hey, we’re Brothers Osborne. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Easter)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Carrie Underwood, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Easter)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Easter)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Easter)

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    “Hi, it’s Chrissy Metz, and I’m wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Easter)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Dalton Dover. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Easter)

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    “Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Easter)

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    “Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Easter)

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    “Hey everybody, it’s Eric Church, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Easter)

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    “Hi, I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Easter)

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    “Hi, it’s Jon Pardi. Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Easter)

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    “Hey, I’m Jordan Davis. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS EASTER HOLIDAYS WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP IN LOUISIANA.

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    Jordan Davis (Easter) OC: …that holiday was. :53
    “We would always have the Easter Egg Hunt before church. You know, my mom, she would dress us in these ridiculous, pastel-colored, gosh, good Lord, I’m sorry for saying this, but the worst part about Easter for me is some of the photos I have of what my mom dressed us in. It was hideous! But yeah, that was it growing up. We would have our Easter Egg Hunt, and I think for me early on, and probably like a lot of kids, Easter was another Sunday where it was a very mini, mini Christmas. We’d get some candy, every once in a while, we’d get a present, something that we wanted, we’d go to church, and everybody looked great. It was like the day to wear the new dress or the guys had these crazy ties on or something like that. And it really wasn’t until, I think, I was able to kinda hit my high school years and kind of start to strengthen my faith that I realized how special that holiday was.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Easter)

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    “Hey! I’m Josh Ross. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Easter)

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

     

    Audio / LINER LBT (Easter)

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

     

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Easter)

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    “Hey, it’s Maddie & Tae, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT EASTERS WHEN THEY WERE KIDS.

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    Maddie & Tae (Easter) OC: (Maddie) …hope and joy. :51
    TAE: “Easters growing up for the Dye fam, my side, is  when I was younger, we’d go to my grandparents a lot and we’d do the whole Easter egg hunt and we’d go to church. My parents would always dress us up in these really cute springy outfits. But, yeah, Easter with family is always so much fun.” MADDIE: “Our Easter was very similar. My grandma would always get us this white chocolate cross with little flowers on it. It was so delicious. And me and my sister typically had matching dresses, which annoyed me at the time, but looking back it was precious. But Easter for us, Tae and I love us some Jesus! That is our favorite dude ever! (TAE: “That’s what Easter means.”) And so Easter is all about praising Jesus for his sacrifice so that we can know God and Him and just live a life full of purpose and hope and joy.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Easter)

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    “Hey, this is Parker McCollum. Happy Easter, everyone.”

     

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Easter)

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    “Hey, it’s Priscilla Block, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Easter)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Easter)

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    “Hey y’all, I’m Travis Denning. Happy Easter.”

  • CMT MUSIC AWARDS 2024:

    The nominations for the 2024 CMT Music Awards have been announced, and Universal Music Group Nashville is represented in nearly every category with nods for Anne Wilson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Kacey Musgraves, Luke Bryan, Mickey Guyton, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire and The War And Treaty (check out the complete list of nominees below).

    The fan-voted award show, hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, will air live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday, April 7th at 7pm CT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. Performers, presenters and additional details about the show will be announced soon.

    2024 CMT Music Awards Nominees:

    VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration). Top six nominees from the first round of voting, will be announced on April 1. The final three nominees, from the second round of voting, will be announced on show day (April 7). Final voting will be determined via social media and announced as the final category during the live show.
    Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
    Brandy Clark feat. Brandi Carlile – “Dear Insecurity”
    Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
    Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
    Darius Rucker – “Fires Don’t Start Themselves”
    Hardy – “Truck Bed”
    Jason Aldean – “Let Your Boys Be Country”
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
    Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
    Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
    Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)”
    Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
    Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
    Parmalee – “Gonna Love You”
    Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
    Zach Bryan – “Nine Ball”

    FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist.
    Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
    Gabby Barrett – “Glory Days”
    Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
    Kelsea Ballerini – “Penthouse”
    Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
    Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty”
    Reba McEntire – “Seven Minutes In Heaven”

    MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist.
    Bailey Zimmerman – “Religiously”
    Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
    Hardy – “Truck Bed”
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
    Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
    Luke Combs – “Fast Car (Official Live Video)”
    Morgan Wallen “Last Night (One Record At A Time Sessions)”

    DUO/GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a duo or group; awarded to the artists.
    Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
    Dan + Shay – “Save Me The Trouble”
    Old Dominion – “Memory Lane”
    Parmalee – “Girl In Mine”
    The War And Treaty – “Have You A Heart”
    Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

    COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video from a collaboration; awarded to the artists.
    Carly Pearce feat. Chris Stapleton – “We Don’t Fight Anymore”
    Ella Langley feat. Koe Wetzel – “That’s Why We Fight”
    Jon Pardi, Luke Bryan – “Cowboys and Plowboys”
    Justin Moore & Priscilla Block – “You, Me, And Whiskey”
    Lukas Nelson + Promise of the Real (POTR) feat. Lainey Wilson – “More Than Friends”
    Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
    Old Dominion & Megan Moroney – “Can’t Break Up Now”

    BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR, presented by Walt Disney World
    Best video from a female artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist.
    Anne Wilson – “Rain In The Rearview”
    Ashley Cooke – “Your Place”
    Brittney Spencer – “Bigger Than The Song”
    Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

    BREAKTHROUGH MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR, presented by Walt Disney World
    Best video from a male artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist.
    Chayce Beckham – “23”
    Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
    Warren Zeiders – “Pretty Little Poison”
    Zach Bryan – “Oklahoma Smokeshow”

    CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
    Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo).
    Amber Riley – “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” (from CMT Smashing Glass)
    Bret Michaels & Chris Janson – “Nothing But A Good Time” (from CMT Crossroads)
    Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Cody Johnson – “Human” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Dierks Bentley – “Drunk On A Plane” (from CMT Storytellers)
    Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter – “Thinking ‘Bout You” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
    Hozier & Maren Morris – “Take Me To Church” (from CMT Crossroads)
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    The War And Treaty – “On My Own” (from CMT Smashing Glass)

    CMT DIGITAL-FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
    Musical performance from a production, series or livestream created for CMT digital / social channels; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo).
    Chase Rice – “Goodnight Nancy” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    Dylan Scott – “Don’t Close Your Eyes (Keith Whitley Cover)” (from “CMT Digital Campfire Sessions”)
    Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty” (from “CMT Digital Campfire Sessions”)
    Nate Smith – “Whiskey On You” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    Scotty McCreery – “It Matters To Her” (from CMT Stages)
    Stephen Wilson Jr. – “Year to Be Young 1994” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    The Castellows – “I Know It Will Never End” (from CMT Studio Sessions)

     

     

     

     

     

     

    https://twitter.com/warandtreaty/status/1767920192661701009

     

     

     

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about the video for "Fires Don't Start Themselves," in which he plays a detective hot on the trail of a young couple whose passionate love is setting their town ablaze, both literally and figuratively.

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    Darius Rucker (Fires Don’t Start Themselves video) OC: …happy about that. :46
    “I love acting. I love… It’s a lot of fun. And the actors you get to act with are so giving and make it so easy for you and fun and everything. But that video, when they told me I wasn’t going to do any performance, I was so happy, because that’s so the cliché (for) the video. You have other people acting and then you do the performance. But when they told me I was going to play a detective, I put on my inner Stabler, because I’m such a Law and Order and CSI fan, so I put on my inner Stabler and went out and did it. And the girl I worked with, she was so fun; she was so funny. And you know that donut scene, when I see it, there’s no words and it still makes me laugh every time I see it. But yeah, that was a lot of fun and I’d love to do a lot more of that, but, you know, we’ll see if it comes. If it comes, I’ll take it. If not, I’ll keep doing this music thing. I’ll be happy about that.”

    Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR "SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN."

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    Reba McEntire (music video for Seven Minutes In Heaven) OC: …it still hurts. 1:08
    “I picked out the lady to play mama, Eleanor. She did a great job. And she was a sweetheart to get to work with. That is exactly what I thought it would look like if I went to heaven and it was, you know, with the smoke coming in and out, made it look really heavenly. And I thought it would be something familiar, something that you’d feel comfortable with. God thinks of everything. And so, to walk up to the booth, and the next time I walk up and mama’s there and I put my arms on her shoulders, Eleanor’s hands were very similar to mama’s when she was young. So that got me to, they kept saying, ‘Okay, let’s do it again. I said, ‘Okay, let’s take a little break here. Get in here to redo my makeup. Because I would, I just bawled. And Eleanor was sitting across from me at the booth, and she’d see me crying. She’d try to reach for a napkin out of the napkin dispenser on the table. And I’d say, ‘Eleanor, that’s okay. It’s part of the video.’ ‘You don’t want to wipe?’ I said, ‘I’m good. I’m good.’ But she was just like a mother, you know, and they’re trying to make sure everything was all right. It was healing. It was healing for me to do that video and kind of like get it out because it still hurts.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT WRITING HIS TWO-WEEK NO. 1 SMASH, "NEXT THING YOU KNOW."

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    Jordan Davis (writing Next Thing You Know) OC: …song is today. :59
    “There’s a saying that says ‘raising kids – the days are long, the years are short,’ and that’s what this song is to me. I kind of came in wanting to write something like that, you know kind of a slow down time song, and Greylan had this idea. The idea initially was about going to a bar or going somewhere and meeting somebody and then just the progression of a relationship. I kind of hijacked the title and said, ‘Hey man. I love that title, but we’re going to write it in the sense of having kids, watching ‘em grow up and hopefully becoming a grandparent, you know? Chase McGill and Josh Osborne both have kiddos, and I think they kind of grabbed on it. Greylan, hats off to him. He’s the single kid of the group, so he was like, ‘Man, I’ll go there. I don’t know how much input I can be able to say in this, but I’ll go there with you.’ I mean, he’s a great writer, and it was fun to kind of see the title that he threw out evolve into what the song is today.”

    Audio / ON THE SET OF THE FILMING OF HER NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR "RAIN IN THE REARVIEW," ANNE WILSON EXPLAINS THE CONCEPT BEHIND IT.

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    Anne Wilson (BTS RITR video) 2 OC: …in this video. :37
    “So, I love this music video so much. We were working through the idea and concept behind it. It was really about portraying three different versions of myself – the happy version, which is the healed version; the driver, which is kind of plowing through everything and then the one that is sad and kind of looking on the past and reflecting what has come before. And I love the reminder in this music video and getting to work with T.K. McKamy on this treatment of how can we take this song and dive deeper into what it means? And I think in life we all go through different seasons where we’re either fully healed, we’re still looking back and struggling with depression and anxiety from the past or we’re driving in the seat and we’re going ahead for what’s to come. So, I love that we got to portray all three of those in this video.”

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey Musgraves, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town

    Kacey Musgraves just revealed on socials she will be the musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on March 2nd. Actress Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Euphoria, The White Lotus). This will be Kacey’s third musical performance on the long-running show.

     

    Reba McEntire will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 63rd annual Western Heritage Awards at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on April 13th. Reba’s late father, Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer and three-time world champion steer roper Clark Vincent McEntire, was posthumously inducted by Red Steagall (who discovered Reba singing the National Anthem 50 years ago) into the Hall of Great Westerners in 2019.


    Darius Rucker
    ‘s episode of CMT’s Campfire Sessions will air this Friday (February 23rd) at 10pm ET/9pm CT. He performs several of his hits in stripped-down acoustic versions in front of an actual campfire.

    The members of Little Big Town are guest-hosting Apple Music Country’s The Kelleigh Bannen Show this week through Thursday (February 22nd).