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  • DIERKS BENTLEY, BROTHERS OSBORNE, LUKE BRYAN, ERIC CHURCH, MICKEY GUYTON, ALAN JACKSON, LITTLE BIG TOWN, CHRIS STAPLETON, KEITH URBAN AND CARRIE UNDERWOOD ARE AMONG THE ANNOUNCED PERFORMERS AT THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

    Press
    Alan Jackson / Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Chris Stapleton / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Keith Urban / Little Big Town / Luke Bryan / Mickey Guyton

    Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Mickey Guyton, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood are among the performers at this year’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Kelsea Ballerini, Lee Brice, Kane Brown, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Ryan Hurd, Jack Ingram,  Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, Jon Randall, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, The War and Treaty, CeCe Winans and Chris Young.

    Over 25 artists will perform more than 30 songs from three iconic Country Music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. Additional details on the exciting performances including unprecedented collaborations and surprising moments will be announced in the coming weeks. First-time ACM Awards performances from many of the legendary artists in the lineup can be found HERE.

    The health and safety of the artists, fans, industry, staff and partners involved in the ACM Awards is the number one priority. All guidelines set forth by national, state and local health officials will be closely followed and implemented during the production along with additional safety measures to be instated by dick clark productions and the Academy of Country Music.

     

    For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.

    The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, will air Sunday, April 18th beginning at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

  • ERIC CHURCH, DARIUS RUCKER AND ASHLEY McBRYDE PARTNER WITH ACM LIFTING LIVES, THE AD COUNCIL AND COVID COLLABORATIVE FOR COVID-19 VACCINATION EDUCATION PSA.

    Press
    Darius Rucker / Eric Church

    ACM Lifting Lives®, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music®, is set to premiere a public service advertisement (PSA) during the upcoming ACM Awards together with the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative in an effort to encourage all Americans to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines at GetVaccineAnswers.org and get a vaccination when it’s available to them.

    Featuring Eric Church, Ashley McBryde and Darius Rucker at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium and Grand Ole Opry House, the new PSAs are part of the national campaign, “It’s Up to You,” and emphasize the important role education about COVID-19 vaccinations plays in a return to live music.

    “We are so grateful to Eric, Ashley, Darius and the team at ACM for lending their talent for this extraordinary partnership. Together, we will help increase awareness about the COVID-19 vaccines and connect audiences to resources where they can get answers to their top questions,” said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council. “Millions of Americans are looking forward to getting back to seeing live music again, and getting educated on the vaccines is one of the best steps to getting there.”

    “ACM Lifting Lives is proud to partner with the Ad Council in educating the public on the COVID-19 vaccinations and how they can play a role in ending the pandemic,” said Lyndsay Cruz, ACM Lifting Lives Executive Director. “With the support of the Country Music industry and artists, we have worked tirelessly this past year to provide over $3.5 million in financial aid to families in need within the Country Music community. By joining the Ad Council and this campaign, we are continuing our commitment to providing a brighter future for these families and fans. We would like to thank each of the artists for making this message impactful and supporting us in achieving this goal.”

    According to Ad Council research fielded by Ipsos in February, approximately 40% of the American public remain undecided about getting a COVID-19 vaccination. Of that undecided population, only 56% say they feel confident they have enough information to guide their decision about getting a COVID-19 vaccination, compared to 96% of those already committed. A majority (over 80%) are eager to get back to the moments and people they miss.

    First launched in February, the “It’s Up To You” initiative is the largest and most significant communications effort in U.S. history. Developed pro bono by ad agency Pereira O’Dell, the new PSA will direct audiences to GetVaccineAnswers.org for the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccines.

    ACM Lifting Lives continues to support the Country music community during the ongoing pandemic with the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund, which has distributed more than $3.5 million to those in the industry suffering a financial crisis during this time, made possible with support from both corporate sponsors and individual donors.

    Broadcasting live from Nashville on the CBS Television Network, the “56th Academy of Country Music Awards” hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton will feature exciting performances, unprecedented collaborations, surprising moments and more to be announced in the coming weeks.

    The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+, ViacomCBS’ global streaming service.

    For more information, visit ACMcountry.com and ACMLiftingLives.org. Fans can also like the Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.

  • ERIC CHURCH: “IF IT’S NOT BROKE, YOU BREAK IT” “BREAK IT KIND OF GUY” OUT NOW.

    Press
    Eric Church

    Since first revealing that he was working on new music in early 2020, reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Eric Church has slowly peeled back the curtain to reveal his forthcoming Heart & Soul triple album born from a month-long session during which he wrote and recorded a song from start to finish each day in an effort push the limits of creativity. With “Break It Kind Of Guy,” available everywhere today, March 26th, as the final instant grat track off the forthcoming project, that unconventional method informed the lyrics of the song itself.

    “I was writing with Luke Dick and Casey Beathard – who had never written together before, which was another cool thing about this process,” shares Church of the song’s creation. “Luke was talking about how refreshing it was and how creative he felt in that setting, and then he said ‘I’m so surprised you would do it this way because normally people are like ‘if it’s not broke’ – and when he said that, I went ‘you break it.’ We’ve got three songwriters in the room so immediately it turned into ‘if it’s not broke, I’m a break it kind of guy.’ It was a neat thing for the song to be born in that moment.”

    With a twangy guitar driven by an uptempo beat and a playful banter between Church and longtime backing vocalist Joanna Cotten during the falsetto chorus, “Break It Kind Of Guy” is signature defiance and rebellion from the Chief:

          Hold up on rollin’ up the streets in this town
          I got a bucket full of paint left and a match to burn it down
         When it comes to raisin’ hell I’m ‘bout to take you all to school
         Ain’t big on all your laws and don’t care about your rules

         Yeah, I tell my eagle where to fly
         If it’s not broke, I’m a break it kind of guy

    “Break It Kind Of Guy” is featured on Church’s forthcoming Soul album, set for release Friday, April 23 following the release of Heart which kicks off the three-part collection on Friday, April 16. In keeping with his longtime commitment to put fans first, Church created the middle album of the trilogy, &, specifically for the Church Choir and will make it available exclusively to those fans and only as a vinyl record on Tuesday, April 20.

    For the latest information and to learn how to join the Church Choir, visit www.EricChurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    Heart Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Heart On Fire (Eric Church)
    2. Heart Of The Night (Eric Church, Jeremy Spillman, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell, Travis Hill)
    3. Russian Roulette (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
    4. People Break (Eric Church, Luke Laird)
    5. Stick That In Your Country Song (Davis Naish, Jeffrey Steele)
    6. Never Break Heart (Eric Church, Luke Dick)
    7. Crazyland (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Michael Heeney)
    8. Bunch Of Nothing (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde)
    9. Love Shine Down (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeffrey Steele)

    & Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Through My Ray-Bans (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Barry Dean)
    2. Doing Life With Me (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeffrey Steele)
    3. Do Side (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    4. Kiss Her Goodbye (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    5. Mad Man (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    6. Lone Wolf (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell)

    Soul Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Rock & Roll Found Me (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Driver Williams)
    2. Look Good And You Know It (Eric Church, Jonathan Singleton, Travis Meadows)
    3. Bright Side Girl (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Scotty Emerick, Clint Daniels)
    4. Break It Kind Of Guy (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick)
    5. Hell Of A View (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
    6. Where I Wanna Be (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeremy Spillman, Ryan Tyndell)
    7. Jenny (Eric Church)
    8. Bad Mother Trucker (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick, Jeremy Spillman)
    9. Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones (Casey Beathard)

    About Eric Church
    Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and 10-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church has spent the past year releasing new music at a relentless pace; providing a glimpse into the results of a marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day – including current single “Hell of a View” – while sequestered in a rural North Carolina cabin, and fueling speculation of his highly anticipated new three-part project, Heart & Soul, set for release this April.

    Just as unique as Church’s approach to recording and releasing music is his tenacity on the road. During his most recent outing, 2019’s Double Down Tour, Church played back-to-back nights of two unique shows in each market sans opening act, giving every city’s fans six-plus hours of his iconic music. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where he broke the venue’s concert attendance record with more than 56,000 fans in attendance and became the first artist to sell out the venue with a solo lineup. Church also recently took to the field at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium to perform the National Anthem with R&B star Jazmine Sullivan ahead of Super Bowl LV.

    A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner, and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Church has amassed a passionate fanbase around the globe known as the Church Choir as well as a critically acclaimed catalog of music. His most recent album, Desperate Man, earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and produced his most recent No. 1 hit, “Some Of It.” Previous releases include the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”), as well as 22 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified singles.

    Video /

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  • ERIC CHURCH PUSHES THE CREATIVE ENVELOPE FOR HIS NEW THREE-ALBUM PROJECT, HEART & SOUL.

    Audio
    Eric Church

    On every album, Eric Church seems to disturb the status quo and doesn’t write or record the same way he did on previous records. He took that further with his new three-album project, Heart & Soul, by disrupting the entire process and taking everyone out of their comfort zone including himself, his band, his co-writers and his producer Jay Joyce. The collection was born from a month-long session in the mountains of North Carolina during which he wrote/co-wrote and recorded a song from start to finish each day in an effort to push the limits of creativity for everyone involved.

    “I committed to — I will get up in the morning and we’re going to write a song or create a piece of work that we are going to record that night, and then we’re going to do it again and again and again,” says the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year. “And I think that there’s something about the commitment to the 24-hour period and then the forget-ability of the next period that made this work. So, when we’re in the studio and I’ve been – somebody, I remember Jay (Joyce) asking him one day he said, ‘Well, hey, how does the bridge go?’  And I went, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ’I just wrote it an hour ago. I have no cl…– where do you think the bridge goes?’ But being in that moment, that creative moment and not choking it out– this is the end of the creative moment, let’s evaluate it. We let the creative moment continue to the players, to the songwriters.”

    The first release, Heart, will be available April 16th. He created the middle album of the trilogy, &, specifically for the Church Choir (his fan club), which will be available exclusively to them only as a vinyl record on April 20th. The third installment, Soul, is set for release April 23rd.

    Eric is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Hell of a View.”

     

    Heart Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Heart On Fire (Eric Church)
    2. Heart Of The Night (Eric Church, Jeremy Spillman, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell, Travis Hill)
    3. Russian Roulette (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
    4. People Break (Eric Church, Luke Laird)
    5. Stick That In Your Country Song (Davis Naish, Jeffrey Steele)
    6. Never Break Heart (Eric Church, Luke Dick)
    7. Crazyland (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Michael Heeney)
    8. Bunch Of Nothing (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde)
    9. Love Shine Down (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeffrey Steele)

    & Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Through My Ray-Bans (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Barry Dean)
    2. Doing Life With Me (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeffrey Steele)
    3. Do Side (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    4. Kiss Her Goodbye (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    5. Mad Man (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    6. Lone Wolf (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell)

    Soul Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Rock & Roll Found Me (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Driver Williams)
    2. Look Good And You Know It (Eric Church, Jonathan Singleton, Travis Meadows)
    3. Bright Side Girl (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Scotty Emerick, Clint Daniels)
    4. Break It Kind Of Guy (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick)
    5. Hell Of A View (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
    6. Where I Wanna Be (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeremy Spillman, Ryan Tyndell)
    7. Jenny (Eric Church)
    8. Bad Mother Trucker (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick, Jeremy Spillman)
    9. Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones (Casey Beathard)

     

    Audio / Eric Church explains his commitment to writing and recording a song a day for his new triple album collection, Heart & Soul.

    Download

    Eric Church (recording in 24 hour period) OC: …the songwriters. 1:00
    “One of the big things people may not understand is when I invited these people to come up — I want people to understand the process – So, I committed to I will get up in the morning and we’re going to write a song or create a piece of work that we are going to record that night, and then we’re going to do it again and again and again. And I think that there’s something about the commitment to the 24-hour period and then the forget-ability of the next period that made this work. So, when we’re in the studio and I’ve been – somebody, I remember Jay (Joyce) asking him one day he said, ‘Well, hey, how does the bridge go?’  And I went, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ’I just wrote it an hour ago. I have no cl…– where do you think the bridge goes?’ But being in that moment, that creative moment and not choking it out– this is the end of the creative moment, let’s evaluate it. We let the creative moment continue to the players, to the songwriters.”

    Video /

    View

  • ERIC CHURCH RELEASES “NEVER BREAK HEART,” EARNS 3 ACM NOMS.

    Press
    Eric Church

    For 10-time GRAMMY nominee and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Eric Church, the month-long session during which he wrote and recorded a song from start to finish each day was meant to push the limits of creativity and the resulting project, his highly anticipated triple album Heart & Soul set for release this April, proved the unconventional method a success.

    What the songwriters and musicians sequestered in rural North Carolina during the early months of 2020 didn’t know, however, was just how drastically the world was about to change. And yet, several songs on the project offer an almost prescient message of resilience and hope that fans are eager to hear amidst the ongoing pandemic. With “Never Break Heart,” out today, February 26, Church delivers that encouragement earnestly:

             Don’t let fear steal your brave heart
             Don’t let doubt take your faith heart
             It’s ok to cry, but don’t never break heart

    Church first shared the song nearly a year ago, just two months removed from its creation, when he performed a stripped back version celebrated by Billboard as a “dazzling performance” and by Stereogum as “gracefully growly” on the “ACM Presents: A Salute to Our Country” television special.

    “The hardest thing about this for me as a dad, as a husband, as a business leader, as a citizen, has been the unknown. I believe we fear the unknown,” Church shared that evening. “Here’s what I know: I have hope and you should have hope, because since the beginning of time, people have gathered… and we will gather again. The important thing to remember is to not fear, to be brave, and to endure. That’s what this song is about.”

    Now, a full year into the pandemic, Church has been recognized for continuing to push creative boundaries and for persistently releasing new music through this unprecedented time, earning nods in the Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year categories at the upcoming ACM Awards, as announced this morning. Church also received a third nomination, in the Music Event of the Year category, for his chart-topping “Does To Me” performance with Luke Combs. He is also a nominee at the upcoming GRAMMY Awards, earning a nod for Best Country Solo Performance with “Stick That In Your Country Song.”

    “Never Break Heart” is featured on the Heart album, set for release Friday, April 16. In keeping with his longtime commitment to put fans first, Church created the middle album, &, specifically for the Church Choir and will make it available exclusively to those fans and only as a vinyl record on Tuesday, April 20. Rounding out the trilogy is Soul, available everywhere on Friday, April 23.

    For the latest information and to learn how to join the Church Choir, visit www.EricChurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    Heart Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Heart On Fire (Eric Church)
    2. Heart Of The Night (Eric Church, Jeremy Spillman, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell, Travis Hill)
    3. Russian Roulette (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
    4. People Break (Eric Church, Luke Laird)
    5. Stick That In Your Country Song (Davis Naish, Jeffrey Steele)
    6. Never Break Heart (Eric Church, Luke Dick)
    7. Crazyland (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Michael Heeney)
    8. Bunch Of Nothing (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde)
    9. Love Shine Down (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeffrey Steele)

    & Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Through My Ray-Bans (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Barry Dean)
    2. Doing Life With Me (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeffrey Steele)
    3. Do Side (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    4. Kiss Her Goodbye (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    5. Mad Man (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
    6. Lone Wolf (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell)

    Soul Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1. Rock & Roll Found Me (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Driver Williams)
    2. Look Good And You Know It (Eric Church, Jonathan Singleton, Travis Meadows)
    3. Bright Side Girl (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Scotty Emerick, Clint Daniels)
    4. Break It Kind Of Guy (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick)
    5. Hell Of A View (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
    6. Where I Wanna Be (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeremy Spillman, Ryan Tyndell)
    7. Jenny (Eric Church)
    8. Bad Mother Trucker (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick, Jeremy Spillman)
    9. Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones (Casey Beathard)

    About Eric Church
    Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and current GRAMMY nominee Eric Church has spent the past year releasing new music at a relentless pace; providing a glimpse into the results of a marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day – including current single “Hell of a View” – while sequestered in a rural North Carolina cabin, and fueling speculation of his highly anticipated new three-part project, Heart & Soul, set for release this April.

    Just as unique as Church’s approach to recording and releasing music is his tenacity on the road. During his most recent outing, 2019’s Double Down Tour, Church played back-to-back nights of two unique shows in each market sans opening act, giving every city’s fans six-plus hours of his iconic music. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where he broke the venue’s concert attendance record with more than 56,000 fans in attendance and became the first artist to sell out the venue with a solo lineup. Church also recently took to the field at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium to perform the National Anthem with R&B star Jazmine Sullivan ahead of Super Bowl LV.

    A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner, and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Church has amassed a passionate fanbase around the globe known as the Church Choir as well as a critically acclaimed catalog of music. His most recent album, Desperate Man, earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and produced his most recent No. 1 hit, “Some Of It.” Previous releases include the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”), as well as 22 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified singles.

    Video /

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  • THE ACM AWARDS NOMINATIONS 2021 HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!

    Audio
    Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Caylee Hammack / Chris Stapleton / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Keith Urban / Lauren Alaina / Little Big Town / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Mickey Guyton / Parker McCollum / Reba McEntire / Travis Denning

    With six each, Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris lead the list of nominations at this year’s ACM Awards.

    Chris earned nods in the categories for Entertainer, Male Artist, Song (for “Starting Over”) and Album of the Year (Starting Over) as artist, songwriter and producer.

     


    Brothers Osborne     and Kelsea Ballerini, along with ET‘s Rachel Smith revealed the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards nominees today (February 26th) on CBS This Morning.

    The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Eric Church earned three category nominations for Entertainer, Male Artist and Music Event of the Year for Luke Combs’ “Do to Me.”

     

     

    Luke Bryan picks up a pair of nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year for Born Here Live Here Die Here, while Dierks Bentley also is nominated for two including Male Artist of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “Gone.”

     

     

     

     

    Brothers Osborne are nominated for both Duo of the Year (an award they’ve won twice before) and Album of the Year for Skeletons. Keith Urban also picks up two nods…in the same category – Music Event of the Year for both “Be a Light” with Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin, as well as his latest single, “One Too Many” with P!nk.

     

     

    Carrie Underwood earned a nod in Music Event of the Year with John Legend for “Hallelujah,” while Lauren Alaina is also nominated in Music Event of the Year for Hardy’s “One Beer,” along with Devin Dawson.

     

    https://twitter.com/Lauren_Alaina/status/1365342084824203268

     

    Little Big Town picks up a nomination for Group of the Year, while Maddie & Tae scored a nomination for Duo of the Year.

     

     

    https://twitter.com/MaddieandTae/status/1365320131132407808

     

    Mickey Guyton and Caylee Hammack are both nominated for New Female Artist of the Year, while Travis Denning and Parker McCollum are up for New Male Artist of the Year.

    https://twitter.com/MickeyGuyton/status/1365330487636594694

     

     

     

    https://twitter.com/Travis_Denning/status/1365305014068129801

     

    The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards will air live from Nashville April 18th beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on the Paramount+.

    Entertainer of the Year

    Luke Bryan
    Eric Church
    Luke Combs
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton

    Female Artist of the Year

    Kelsea Ballerini
    Miranda Lambert
    Ashley McBryde
    Maren Morris
    Carly Pearce

    Male Artist of the Year

    Dierks Bentley
    Luke Combs
    Eric Church
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton

    Duo of the Year

    Brooks & Dunn
    Brothers Osborne
    Dan + Shay
    Florida Georgia Line
    Maddie & Tae

    Group of the Year

    Lady A
    Little Big Town
    Old Dominion
    The Cadillac Three
    The Highwomen

    New Female Artist of the Year

    Ingrid Andress
    Tenille Arts
    Gabby Barrett
    Mickey Guyton
    Caylee Hammack

    New Male Artist of the Year

    Jimmie Allen
    Travis Denning
    Hardy
    Cody Johnson
    Parker McCollum

    Album of the Year

    Born Here Live Here Die Here, Luke Bryan
    Mixtape Vol. 1, Kane Brown
    Never Will, Ashley McBryde
    Skeletons, Brothers Osborne
    Starting Over, Chris Stapleton

    Single of the Year

    “Bluebird,” Miranda Lambert
    “I Hope,” Gabby Barrett
    “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
    “More Hearts Than Mine,” Ingrid Andress
    “The Bones,” Maren Morris

    Song of the Year

    “Bluebird,” Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby
    “One Night Standards,” Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally
    “Some People Do,” Jesse Frasure, Matt Ramsey, Thomas Rhett, Shane McAnally
    “Starting Over,” Chris Stapleton, Mike Henderson
    “The Bones,” Jimmy Robbins, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz

    Video of the Year

    “Better Than We Found It,” Maren Morris
    “Bluebird,” Miranda Lambert
    “Gone,” Dierks Bentley
    “Hallelujah,” Carrie Underwood and John Legend
    “Worldwide Beautiful,” Kane Brown

    Songwriter of the Year

    Ashley Gorley
    Michael Hardy
    Hillary Lindsey
    Shane McAnally
    Josh Osborne

    Music Event of the Year

    “Be A Light,” Thomas Rhett f/Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban
    “Does To Me,” Luke Combs f/Eric Church
    “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
    “Nobody But You,” Blake Shelton f/Gwen Stefani
    “One Beer,” Hardy f/Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson
    “One Too Many,” Keith Urban f/P!nk

     

    Audio / Chris Stapleton, who is nominated for 6 ACM Awards including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist and Album of the Year (among others), talks about the theme of his latest album, Starting Over.

    Download

    Chris Stapleton (theme of Starting Over album) OC: …as humans. :54
    “I’ve never really looked at records necessarily as having a theme.  I’ve never made a record in that kind of a constraint necessarily. And there are a lot of great records that have this theme and this overlying thread that kind of runs through them.  Maybe the thread for me is just I’m singing. I wrote a bulk of the songs. It’s the same guys playing all the songs. If there’s a theme – if there’s a theme it’s hopefully there’s a theme of truth somewhere in it. And what I mean by that is hopefully we’re conveying in the songs some experiences that feel real and hopefully people can find themselves in those songs and in the album. And for me if I’m looking for a theme it’s that kind of, I don’t know, that thing that binds us all together as humans.”

    Audio / Eric Church, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, is nominated for Entertainer (among others) at this year’s ACM Awards. Backstage at last year’s CMA Awards, he talked about his first Entertainer of the Year win.

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    Eric Church (CMA 2020) 1 OC: …next year or two. :31
    “There’s not really been winners this year. I mean, nobody’s played. Nobody’s done the things we normally do. It’s been a year, to me, about losses. It’s about loss of life. It’s about loss of education for your kids. It’s about loss of time playing. It’s been a year of managing those losses. But I really meant what I said (during my acceptance speech) that we were in a room together as country music, and that’s not happened this year. So, I think that that was a win for country music, and I think it was a win for where we’re gonna go in the next year or two.”

    Audio / Before releasing his latest album in August of last year, Luke Bryan talked about what fans can expect on BORN HERE LIVE HERE DIE HERE.

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    Luke Bryan (fan expectations for BHLHDH) OC: …something for everybody. :37
    “I think fans can expect a little something of everything. They can expect a love song, a dancing song; obviously, ‘One Margarita’ being a big ole fun summer drinking song. And I think we have songs that will make you cry, touch your emotions, and I think, like I said there are songs that you can fall in love to out there. And there are songs that talk about the true meaning of life when you think about a song like ‘For a Boat,’ and you got a father teaching his son about the important things in life. So, I’m just proud of the way the album come together, and I feel like there’s something for everybody.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about his latest single, "Gone," for which the music video is nominated for an ACM Award.

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    Dierks Bentley (Gone) 2 OC: …would enjoy it too. :18
    “You know, the song, ‘cause I didn’t write it I can only brag on it, is just really well-written. It’s catchy, it’s fun. It’s metaphorical about what’s happening right now. It reminds me a little bit of some stuff we’ve had out in the past, but it feels like new territory in other ways and I don’t know, I just enjoyed it. I enjoyed singing it and I enjoyed playing it, and I wanted to put it out there and I thought our fans would enjoy it too.”

    Audio / KEITH URBAN TALKS ABOUT RECORDING “ONE TOO MANY” WITH P!NK.

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    Keith Urban (P!NK duet) OC: …it together. :29
    “This song was written as a duet, and I sent the song to her and luckily she loved it. I loved the song and I was really hoping she would love it, because she’s truly one of the great singers of our generation. So, to hear her voice on this song was phenomenal. We had such a great time getting to do that. I wish we could’ve done it in the same space, but you know with the situation we’re in, of course, we couldn’t do that. So, she recorded her vocal at her house and I did mine at my house, and we put it together.”

    Audio / CARRIE UNDERWOOD TALKS ABOUT THE SONG, “HALLELUJAH,” WHICH JOHN LEGEND WROTE AND IS FEATURED ON.

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    Carrie Underwood (Hallelujah) OC: …cool collaboration. :37
    “’Hallelujah’ is a song that touches on many different topics and feelings. It’s a love song, it’s a Christmas song, it’s a celebrating the time of year song. It’s you know, still wanting that joyfulness – it was written by John Legend and Toby Gad. When I listened to it, it had John’s voice on it, and it’s just beautiful. I knew I wanted to sing it – we asked if John, you might want to sing it with me. The perfect song, the perfect person, John Legend sounds amazing on it and I was like wow, I can’t believe that this just all came together like this, and just kind of a really cool collaboration.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about being nominated for his first ACM Award…for New Male Artist of the Year.

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    Parker McCollum (1st ACM Nomination) OC: …So grateful. :36
    “What does it mean to be nominated for an ACM Award? I can’t even explain it. I’ve watched these awards shows from the time I can remember listening to country music or watching television. It’s been my whole life. And so to be nominated for an ACM, something like New Male Artist of the Year – an absolute honor and a dream come true and so cool to see how proud my family is of me getting nominated for something like this. It’s just, there are no words, man. So grateful.”

     

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  • ERIC CHURCH RELEASES STUDIO VERSION OF THE SONG, “NEVER BREAK HEART.”

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    Eric Church

    Eric Church has released the studio version of his song, “Never Break Heart” from his upcoming Heart album a day after he premiered the clip for his Church Choir.

     

     

    Eric wrote and recorded this song, plus many more, for his three-album collection, Heart & Soul, last January when he, his band and co-writers took over a restaurant nestled in the mountains of North Carolina.

    The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year is releasing three different albums next month. The Heart album will be available April 16th. In keeping with his longtime commitment to put fans first, Church created the middle album, &, specifically for the Church Choir and will make it available exclusively to those fans and only as a vinyl record on Tuesday, April 20th. Rounding out the trilogy is Soul, available everywhere on  April 23rd.

    The North Carolina native is nominated for three ACM Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year, in addition to Music Event of the Year with Luke Combs for “Does to Me.” He is also a nominee at the upcoming GRAMMY Awards, earning a nod for Best Country Solo Performance with “Stick That In Your Country Song.”

     

  • THE 63RD GRAMMY AWARDS HAVE SET THE STAGE FOR SUNDAY NIGHT’S SHOW.

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    Brothers Osborne / Eric Church / Little Big Town / Mickey Guyton / Vince Gill

    This year’s Grammy Awards have set the stage for this Sunday (March 14th), and several UMG Nashville artists are in the running. Little Big Town picked up two nods for Best Country Album for Nightfall, as well as one for Best Country Duo/Group for “Sugar Coat,” along with Brothers Osborne for “All Night,” their sixth career Grammy nomination.

    Eric Church’s “Stick That in Your Country Song,” Vince Gill’s “When My Amy Prays” and Mickey Guyton’s “Black Like Me” are nominated for Best Country Solo Performance.

    Mickey, the first Black solo female artist to be nominated in a Grammy country category, will perform her nominated song “Black Like Me” on Sunday’s show, and she says it will be very emotional for her, as is her first Grammy nomination.

    “Getting my first Grammy nomination for ‘Black Like Me’ means the absolute world to me,” she says. “I’ve been pursuing music for a very, very, very long time, and there are many times that I thought I was going to quit. And my music journey didn’t change until I stopped running away from who I really am, embracing who I really am, and opening the door for other people, other people that are marginalized.”

    Of significant note, Taylor Swift earned six nominations. folklore, a follow-up to her Lover album, was nominated for best pop vocal album. The album’s lead pop single, “cardigan,” was also recognized in the overall Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance categories. Her collaboration with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, “exile,” received a nod in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. If that wasn’t all, the “betty” artist earned a nomination for best song written for visual media for her collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Cats’ “Beautiful Ghosts.”

    The 63rd annual Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah, will broadcast live on Sunday, March 14th beginning at 8pm ET/5pm PT on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

    Best Country Album

    Lady Like, Ingrid Andress
    Your Life Is a Record, Brandy Clark
    Wildcard, Miranda Lambert
    Nightfall, Little Big Town
    Never Will, Ashley McBryde

    Best Country Solo Performance

    “Stick That in Your Country Song,” Eric Church
    “Who You Thought I Was,” Brandy Clark
    “When My Amy Prays,” Vince Gill
    “Black Like Me,” Mickey Guyton
    “Bluebird,” Miranda Lambert

    Best Country Duo / Group Performance

    “All Night,” Brothers Osborne
    “10,000 Hours,” Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber
    “Ocean,” Lady A
    “Sugar Coat,” Little Big Town
    “Some People Do,” Old Dominion

    Audio / BROTHERS OSBORNE'S JOHN OSBORNE SAYS THEY HAD THEIR FANS AND LIVE SHOWS IN MIND WHEN WRITING AND RECORDING THEIR LATEST SINGLE, "ALL NIGHT."

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    Brothers Osborne (All Night) 2 OC: …what we did. :15
    “‘All Night’ is a song we wrote with our friend, Andrew DeRoberts. We wanted to write a song that just felt good. We didn’t want to think too hard about it. We wanted to write a song that no matter what happened we knew that our fans at our shows were gonna love to sing along to (it), and that’s what we did.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton, who will perform “Black Like Me” on this year’s Grammy Awards, said her performance will be emotional because it’s not just about her.

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    Mickey Guyton (Grammy performance) OC: …right now. :33
    “My performance at the Grammys is going to be so special and emotional, like it’s not just about me, there’s it’s the song Black Like Me. It is so many people’s stories. And that was my goal in this performance. There’s representation as well, which is really important to me in this performance. But I just wanted people to feel like they’re coming together. This is a huge moment for black people in country music, and I just feel so honored to stand in these shoes right now.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton talks about her first Grammy nomination and what it means to her.

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    Mickey Guyton (Grammy nomination) OC: …are marginalized. :29
    “Getting my first Grammy nomination for ‘Black Like Me’ means the absolute world to me. I’ve been pursuing music for a very, very, very long time, and there are many times that I thought I was going to quit. And my music journey didn’t change until I stopped running away from who I really am, embracing who I really am, and opening the door for other people, other people that are marginalized.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet talks about the band’s ninth studio album, Nightfall.

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    LBT (Nightfall) OC: …proud of it. :23
    “Nightfall is our ninth studio album, and we poured our hearts into this project and we’re so proud of it. We feel like it makes a beautiful statement about where we are right now as a band and how much we love making music together and also that the album takes you on a journey. It will transport you hopefully into a beautiful place, because we love it and we’re very proud of it.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman talks about the band's Grammy-nominated song “Sugarcoat,” a tune that appears on their new album, Nightfall.

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    LBT (Sugarcoat) OC: …what’s going on. :20
    “I love ‘Sugarcoat.’ It’s a story about a woman who is putting up all these fronts to live a perfect life, and actually what is happening behind closed doors is the opposite of perfect. It’s really devastation, but she’s covering it up at every time but then she realizes that she needs to let her man know she knows what’s going on.”

    Audio / Eric Church talks about his song, "Stick That In Your Country Song."

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    Eric Church (STIYCS) OC: …found itself. :56
    “I’ve never had a song in my career that was a harbinger of things to come. When we recorded ‘Stick That in Your Country Song,’ we had a booming economy and a pretty great world going on. And I remember thinking when I did it, ‘Wow, I’m not sure this, I’m not sure how relevant this is for right now. I love the song. I love the sentiment, but I’m just not sure.’ And within about 30 days, the world changed, and it changed for a while, and this song just became more and more real and more and more relevant. And truth be told – 100% honesty – I had a different single picked out as the first single, and then the world kept changing and it kept bringing itself almost like a magnet back to this song and back to this moment. So, this song found itself. It wasn’t me finding it, it found itself.”

    Audio / Vince Gill talks about his song, "When My Amy Prays."

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    Vince Gill (When My Amy Prays) OC: …give myself. :15
    “To me the real beauty of that song is the light that I paint her in, obviously. But the, golly, how is the right way to say this? Maybe the emotion comes from the vulnerability that I give myself.”

  • ERIC CHURCH TAKES FANS BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF THE MAKING OF HIS HEART & SOUL PROJECT.

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    Eric Church

    Eric Church wanted to shake things up for his new album project, Heart & Soul. So, he took his producer, band, musicians and songwriters to the mountains of North Carolina and turned a restaurant into a studio for a month-long retreat.

    Eric just released a new video taking fans behind-the-scenes of the making of his three-album collection.

     

    He is set to release all three albums in April — Heart & Soul. The & album will only be released to members of his fan club, the Church Choir, on April 20th. Heart will be released April 16th, while Soul will be available April 23rd.

    The North Carolina native is making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Hell Of A View.”

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and more

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    Chris Stapleton / Eric Church

    Eric Church and Chris Stapleton are among the artists to appear during the CBS two-hour special, A Grammy Salute to the Sounds of Change, next week. The program, which will also feature Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Patti LaBelle, Andra Day, Sheila E., Gloria Estefan, Gladys Knight and John Fogerty, among others, will air Wednesday (March 17th) beginning at 9pm ET/PT on CBS and via livestream and on-demand on Paramount+.

    Reba McEntire returns to the CBS show, Young Sheldon, again tonight. Check out the action beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT.

     

    Eric Church released a video of the first pressing of his new trilogy of albums, Heart & Soul. Thanks to United Record Pressing in Nashville, the first edition black vinyl pressing of all three albums are now available in the official Chief Merch store for pre-order.

     

    Chris Stapleon has joined forces with Buffalo Trace Distillery’s E.H. Taylor Jr. to help raise funds for the natural disaster relief efforts in Texas and Kentucky. He is auctioning off autographed bottles of their Single Barrel bourbon through his charitable fund, Outlaw State of Kind.