Priscilla Block has a new song “Hey Jack” dropping on Friday (November 10th). She even wore a gorgeous chocolate brown outfit with a long flowing cape featuring the title of the song on the back to the BMI Awards on Tuesday night (November 7th).
Mickey Guyton appeared on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon performing “The Tree” with Maren Morris and Brittney Spencer.
The War And Treaty performed at the 17th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit, spearheaded by ABC Correspondent Bob Woodruff, who was severely injured by a roadside bomb several years ago. The event helps shed a light on PTSD and other conditions caused by war. ABC’s David Muir spotlighted Michael and Tanya (pr. Tonya) prior to the event. Michael is an Iraq War veteran who suffers from PTSD after losing so many friends. He taught himself to play piano in Iraq in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces. Check out the profile from World News Tonight below.
George Strait is nominated for Top Country Touring Artist at this year’s Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), along with Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen. You can watch the BBMAs November 19th on Billboard social channels, as well as via BBMAs.watch.
Mickey Guyton will perform the National Anthem at Game Four of the World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks the Texas Rangers on Tuesday (October 31st). FOX’s coverage of the 2023 World Series presented by Capital One begins at 7pm ET for all games and will include National Anthem performances at approximately 7:45pm ET.
Darius Rucker teamed up with rapper/singer Dax for a remix of the breakout star’s remix of “To Be A Man.” The pair filmed the official music video in Nashville.
Shania Twain‘s Come On Over album has been R.I.A.A. certified TWO TIMES Diamond, which is the highest-certified album for a female artist in the country genre.
Chris Stapleton chatted with Willie Geist on NBC’s Sunday Sitdown to chat about his rehearsal space, guitars, his new album “Higher” and his Super Bowl performance that brought grown men to tears. Check out the interview below. Stapleton’s new album will be available November 10th.
Halloween is Tuesday, October 31st, and the spooky, eerie holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costume, while others are recalling their favorite Halloween candy or memories of Halloweens past.
Billy Currington (Halloween) OC: …Halloween. :17 “You know, when I was a kid, I loved the trick and the treat. I loved dressing up. I was always wanting to be Dracula. That was my favorite guy. But, of course, who doesn’t love going door-to-door and getting these buckets of candy? [laughs] So, love, love Halloween.”
Audio / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne loves Halloween.
Brothers Osborne (Halloween) OC: …I love it! :20 “Halloween’s awesome! Halloween reminds you of when you’re a kid. Every year when it starts getting cold and the leaves start turning, and I think it’s just something that we carry from childhood, is carrying around that bag of candy and carving pumpkins and dressing up like whatever in the world you want to dress up as and walking around. I love it!”
Audio / Brothers Osborne’s TJ and John Osborne talk about dressing up like zombies for Halloween.
Brothers Osborne (zombie costume) OC: (John) …was so fun! :29 TJ: “Literally, you can dress up like a zombie and drag your foot behind you all day and make weird noises, and everyone finds that completely acceptable.” [laughs] JOHN: “One year I dressed up as a ‘90s redneck zombie with a mullet wig and an Alan Jackson denim coat. I never once broke character. That’s part of the thing — you can actually not break character and get away with it. And everywhere I went, even when I ordered a drink, I ordered it like a zombie that was falling apart. [laughs] It was so fun!”
Audio / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne talks about carving pumpkins with their dad when they were growing up.
Brothers Osborne (carving pumpkins) OC: …or something. :25 “With our dad every year, we would go looking for pumpkins, and we would all get our own pumpkin to carve, and he would buy the biggest pumpkin that they had. It was huge. I mean, it was way too big for any one person, but he would love carving. He’s kind of an artsy guy. He was a great drawer and stuff, and he would carve the most terrifying, vicious looking, scary pumpkin you’d ever seen in your life, and it would be massive. It would be like on a 50-pound pumpkin or something.”
Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Halloween candy.
Brothers Osborne (Halloween candy) OC: (John) …go stale. [laughs] :34 TJ: “I would say, Snickers, Baby Ruth, Kit Kat and Reese’s too.” JOHN: “I always hated those houses that would give you bad candy, though. You’re like, ‘C’mon. Step it up.’ Spend the extra dollar on a bag, you know?” TJ: “A house when we were growing up used to give out whole candy bars. It was the best. You were like, ‘That house – that’s the honey hole of candy.’” JOHN: “I love it, and I love like at the end, like three or four days after Halloween you would see what candy was left, and it was always like those crappy cheap candies, and they would just go stale.” [laughs]
Audio / Dalton Dover talks about his favorite Halloween costume as a child.
Dalton Dover (Halloween costume) OC: …and everything. :09 “One year I dressed up as a Whoopie Cushion, and like I just walked around. I had the tongue up here and the body was all round and stuff. It was really cool. I had fart noises and everything.”
Audio / Dalton Dover reveals his favorite Halloween candy.
Dalton Dover (Halloween candy) OC: …for sure. :10 “My favorite Halloween candy…hmmmm…I don’t like candy corn, but I would have to say probably I love when I find Reece’s Cups in my kids’ baskets. For sure.”
Audio / Darius Rucker talks about his favorite Halloween costumes.
Darius Rucker (Halloween costumes) OC: …was very funny. (laughs) :41 “My favorite costume was easy, and I bet, from the time I was six to the time I was 13, of those seven years, I went as a football player because you’re coming from football practice to go out (laughs) and trick-or-treat. So, instead of like, you know, putting on some other costume. Just put your pads back on and go as a football player. So, most years I went as a football player. And I don’t dress much anymore, but my favorite costume I ever had was (son) Jack dressed up as Darth Vader and I was Luke Skywalker. And he just, I guess he was six and he was walking along telling everybody I’m his father. It was very funny. (laughs) It was very funny.” (laughs)
Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the Halloweens of his childhood.
Dierks Bentley (Halloween) OC: … …around home. [laughs] :23 “Oh, when I was a kid, I was all into fireworks. Growing up in Arizona, we couldn’t get ’em, so we’d have ’em shipped in illegally. I still remember the name of the guy we’d call. His name was Joe, and he’d bring in, ship ’em in a package with no writing on ’em. We were all about M-80s in the mailboxes and bottle rocket wars. To me, as a kid, Halloween was fireworks, was blowing up stuff around home. [laughs]”
Audio / Eric Church recalls his favorite Halloween costume.
Eric Church (Halloween) OC: …Franklin Street. 1:18 “My favorite Halloween costume really came, I remember when I got a little older my first year of college, there’s this thing they do every year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Halloween on Franklin Street. We drove down from Boone, North Carolina. I had a bunch of friends that went to University of North Carolina, and we didn’t have costumes and didn’t realize until we were on the way that we had to have costumes. So, we stopped at a costume place in Greensboro, North Carolina. It’s Halloween, so there’s a run on everything and couldn’t find anything. And we end up getting sent around, driving around town. We end up finding this hole in the wall place, but they had the full costume, Sesame Street outfits. The real deal. The real ones [with] feathers and fur. We were Elmo, Cookie Monster and I was Big Bird, and the Big Bird was the actual Big Bird. It’s about 7-foot-4, and yiou looked out of the body and then you had these straps that went on since the head was a lot higher. There’s a lot of beer involved in Franklin Street, so we get down there and as the night went on, my straps broke, so the head would pivot. And so, I would be walking one way and the head would be facing the other, and it just became this funny…I didn’t know the head was on backwards. I had no idea. I see out of the body, so I’m just kinda walking around and people were talking to my ass-end. [laughs] The whole time peiople’d come up and start talking and go, ‘Hey, turn around.’ And I’d turn around, and they’d go, ‘No turn around.’ It was a mess. That year, there was no other Big Bird on Franklin Street.”
Audio / JON LANGSTON TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN SHOW A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN HIS BAND SURPRISED HIM ON STAGE.
Jon Langston (Halloween) OC: …memorable Halloween. :59 “So we played a show a few years ago in Baton Rouge and I go off stage and I come back on stage for the encore. I don’t know this until midway through the song, I’m just into the crowd, like I’m engaged. I’m in the zone, and I just see everyone, like everybody else behind me but me and I’m like what’s going on. I turn around and each of them has a different huge mask on, like one of those stuffed animal masks, like my drummer has a dinosaur head on. My guitar players, one of ‘em has monkey head on, the other has a unicorn head on. And my bass player has like a, I think a dog or cat head or something like that. I couldn’t finish the song I was laughing so hard just seeing them playing with these like oversized huge mask heads on Halloween night. That was funny. It was a good prank, so that was probably the most memorable Halloween.”
Audio / JON PARDI TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES AS A CHILD.
Jon Pardi (Halloween) 1 OC: …the Superman. :15 “Man, I went through phases of costumes – the Superman costume, then it was a ninja, then I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one year. I remember rockin’ the Superman.”
Audio / JON PARDI REVEALS HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.
Jon Pardi (Halloween candy) OC: …during Halloween. :06
“Man! The candy corn is pretty good, and that’s seasonal, so it only kinda pops out during Halloween.”
Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES OVER THE YEARS.
Jordan Davis (Halloween) OC: …jet black. :49 “I can remember being really big into Power Rangers. I always liked the Red Ranger. I remember being Red Ranger one Halloween. I remember me and my br4other being big into the Ninja Turtles. I was Donatello one year, which I think was the purple turtle. I think, though, my favorite Halloween was I was in college and I went as Luigi from Mario and Luigi, and I actually grew a legit mustache and dyed it jet black and ran into an ex-girlfriend at the costume shop and completely forgot I had the mustache on. So, when Is saw her, she was like, ‘So, you’re going with a mustache nowadays, huh?’ [laughs] I remember being like, ‘I swear this is part of my Halloween costume.’ [laughs] When I dyed my mustache, my top lip was black for a week. Like I really did dye it jet black.”
Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.
Jordan Davis (Halloween candy) OC: …some Starbursts. :21 “My favorite Halloween candy [is] probably Reese’s or M&M’s, although I love the variety of Starburst. It’s one that I feel like I only eat at Halloween, because I feel like at Halloween one of the popular ones is the two-piece Starburst things. So, probably Reese’s, M&Ms and throw in some Starbursts.”
Audio / CANDY CORN IS A PRETTY POLARIZING CANDY THAT ONLY COMES OUT AROUND HALLOWEEN. SOME LOVE IT; SOME HATE IT AND NEITHER OPINION IS WRONG. JORDAN DAVIS SIDES WITH THE FOLKS WHO DON’T APPRECIATE THE SUGARY SWEET (DON’T BLAME HIM), SINCE HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO CANDY CORN.
Jordan Davis (no candy corn) OC: …they’re awful. :05 “You know what I never got? The candy corns. I’ve never been a candy corn guy. I think they’re awful.”
Audio / JOSH TURNER AND HIS FAMILY (INCLUDING WIFE JENNIFER AND THEIR FOUR SONS) ENJOY DRESSING UP AS A FAMILY FOR HALLOWEEN. THE MULTI-PLATINUM SELLING STAR SAYS HIS FAVORITE FAMILY COSTUMES WAS A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN THEY DRESSED UP AS STAR WARS CHARACTERS.
Josh Turner (Halloween costumes) OC: …pretty classic. :27
“My favorite family costume was from a couple of years ago when I had my six-and-a-half-month-old beard going, and me and the whole family dressed up as Star Wars characters. So, I was a young Obi Wan Kenobi, Jennifer was Princess Leia, Colby and Marion were Storm Troopers, Hampton was Darth Vadar and Hawk was, I guess, pretty much still a baby, and he dressed up as Yoda. It was pretty classic.”
Audio / Josh Turner talks about his favorite Halloween candy.
Josh Turner (Halloween candy) OC: …can’t beat ‘em. :09 “My favorite Halloween candy…hmmmm…that’s a tricky one. I’m going to have to go with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Can’t beat ‘em.”
Audio / Luke Bryan says you can tell a lot about your neighbors from what kind of Halloween candy they hand out.
Luke Bryan (Halloween) OC: …your teeth. :21 “You can find out a lot about your neighbors by what kind of candy they put out. So, well, like full bars of Snickers bars, that’s what, and Reese’s cups, [but] the old chocolate popcorn ball of stuff, that’s no good either, like Dots – you get Dots one time of year and they pull your teeth.”
Audio / LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT HIS HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS.
Luke Bryan (Halloween) 2 OC: …with all that. :33 “My tradition for Halloween is Caroline picks the outfit. I never know what I’m wearing. So that day, I’ll talk to the neighbors ‘cause I have a tractor back there and I’ll go get my tractor and get a big long trailer, and then I’ll run down to…a couple miles from the farm, we’ve got a big hay farmer that keeps hay and you run in there and pay him for his hay bales. And I’ll load the hay up and get the hayride ready and we’ll take all the kids behind the tractor and have a fun Halloween with all that.”
Audio / LUKE BRYAN SAYS HIS WIFE CAROLINE USUALLY PICK OUT HIS HALLOWEEN COSTUMES.
Luke Bryan (Halloween costumes) OC: …always has. :20 “Me and Caroline did one year where I dressed up as the old lady, and she dressed up as, she called herself a dirty old man. So, she went around acting like an old man saying snide comments to everybody. That was a fun one. The main thing is Caroline is a big, she loves Halloween and always has.”
Audio / Maddie & Tae's Taylor Kerr talks about the costumes that the duo will be wearing for Halloween this year.
Maddie & Tae (Halloween 2023) OC: …in that costume. :56 “Halloween is my favorite season of all-time. I live in spooky season all year round. I’m like a scary movie fanatic. If you need a good horror movie recommendation, I’m your girl. So, I have a lot of fun with costumes and stuff. One year my husband and I were Dwight and Angela (from The Office) for Halloween, and then we just like have so much fun with our costumes. So, last year, actually for Halloween we were a little family of hedgehogs (laughs) ‘cause we put a little hedgehog costume on Leighton, at the time she loved hedgehogs, so Josh and I got hedgehog onesies. And this year, Josh and I are gonna be park rangers because Leighton is going to be a pink dinosaur. She’s going through a major dino phase; she calls ‘em dinos. And it’s gonna be adorable. And Maddie actually just told me her family’s costume theme. Forrest is going to be little E.T., and then Jonah’s gonna be Elliott and Maddie’s going to be Gertie. I cannot wait to see them in that costume.”
Audio / MADDIE & TAE SIT ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FENCE WHEN IT COMES TO SCARY MOVIES.
Maddie & Tae (Halloween) OC: …princesses. :24 TAE: “Oooooh, Halloween [is] my favorite holiday. Anyone who knows me knows I love all things scary and gory, so especially on Halloween all the scary movies that come out in theaters, I am there every single time.” MADDIE: “And I never go with her because I hate scary things.” TAE: “You know what’s funny? As little girls, everyone wants to dress up as princesses, and I think I was a witch like six years in a row. I just wanted to be scary.” MADDIE: “Girl, I was like Jasmine and you know [other] princesses.”
Audio / MICKEY GUYTON WAS RAISED IN A VERY RELIGIOUS HOUSEHOLD, SO SHE DIDN’T REALLY CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN AND ONLY WENT TRICK-OR-TREATING ONE TIME.
Mickey Guyton (Halloween) OC: …the costumes. :50 “Growing up, my parents were very, very conservative Christian, and so they viewed Halloween as a pagan holiday. BUT, I got to go trick-or-treating once in my life, and I dressed as a clown because my mom made me this clown suit and that was the best. We were in Moody, Texas. It was all three of my siblings and myself and we had so much candy that it lasted for months and months. My parents eventually had to throw it away because we had so much candy. And it was one of the most amazing, magical experiences I’ve ever had, because I never got to celebrate freaking Halloween. I tell you what, this son of mine is gonna definitely going to be celebrating trick-or-treating. Like I can’t wait to dress him up in all of the costumes.”
Parker McCollum (favorite Halloween candy) OC: …so good. :07 “What I can eat like 6,000 of are Tootsie Rolls. If I eat one Tootsie Roll, I’m gonna eat 30. Man, they’re so good.”
Audio / PRISCILLA BLOCK SAYS SHE’S NOT A HUGE CANDY/SWEET PERSON, BUT INSTEAD, GIVE HER ALL THE CARBS.
Priscilla Block (Halloween) OC: …you’re cooking. :52 “You know what’s so funny about me? I’m not a huge candy girl. Is that shocking? Hit me with all the carbs! Hit me with all the pasta! Don’t love treats. It’s really crazy. I’m not a huge chocolate girl. I would say my favorite candy is a Cow Tail. I love to get them from the gas station. Yeah, it’s usually in a little long package and there’s like cream on the inside. Love it! That’s my favorite candy. Give me that and a piece of pizza. Trick or Treat do you have any pizza ‘cause it smells like pizza in this house. (laughs) That’s me going to the door. It smells like steak. Don’t want the Twizzler. Want the steak that you’re cooking!”
Audio / REBA MCENTIRE SAYS HER HALLOWEENS AS A CHILD INVOLVED LIPSTICK, WALKING, MILK, COOKIES AND HER BROTHER SCARING THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF HER AND HER SISTERS.
Reba McEntire (Halloween as a child) OC: …right there. :35 “The way we used to celebrate it when we were kids – we were out in the country; our nearest neighbor was a couple of miles away from us, so we’d gotta get dressed up and put on lipstick or whatever we could. We didn’t have Halloween costumes, and we’d walk down in the dark to Mr. and Mrs. Winslet’s house, and she’d feed us cookies and milk and then we’d walk back up in the dark. But Alice, Susie and I weren’t attentive enough to realize that Pake wasn’t with us in the group, and Pake would get up on the road going to the house and crawl up in a tree and scare the crap out of us. So, that was my Halloween memories right there.”
PLAYER ERROR
Audio / TYLER HUBBARD REVEALS HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.
Tyler Hubbard (Halloween candy) OC: …of childhood. :20 “Ooooohhh—I’m a chocolate guy, so I do love just a good ole Reese’s or a good ole Snickers, but when it comes to classic Halloween candy, I still, I like ole candy corn. I do. I like candy corn. Well, it only comes around once or twice a year, well I guess once a year. Maybe it’s nostalgic, all that sugar, a couple of good cavities, remind you of childhood.”
Reba McEntire‘s new book, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Life, Love, Eating and Dusting Off Your Boots, has landed on the New York Times Best Sellers List.
Wow! Thanks to y'all, I'm so excited to share that #NotThatFancy is officially a @NYTimes Bestseller!
Jon Pardi appears on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown talking about his new single, “Cowboys And Plowboys” with Luke Bryan. Tune in on Saturday (October 21st) and Sunday (October 22nd) at 9am ET/8am CT.
Darius Rucker appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday (October 23rd). He talks about his new album, Carolyn’s Boy, his favorite Halloween costume, Halloween candy and if he believes in ghosts. Check your local listings for times.
Brothers Osborne will perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday (October 23rd). NFL greats and sports commentators Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long, as well as actor-comedian Ronny Chieng, will also appear on the show. (check local listings for times)
George Strait and Jon Pardi will take part in a tribute show celebrating the late singer-songwriter-musician-producer Keith Gattis at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl November 28th. Sheryl Crow, Wade Bowen, Randy Houser, Dean Dillon, Jack Ingram and Kendell Marvel, among others will also perform.
Tickets to The Keith Gattis Tribute show with this incredible lineup go on sale today at 10am central @bbowlnashville.
Comedian Nate Bargatze appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show on Monday to talk about his first time hosting Saturday Night Live (this weekend), his Be Funny comedy tour and much more.
Grammy-nominated stand up comedian @natebargatze joins TODAY to discuss performing in the largest arena for a comedian, his history with clean comedy and preparing to host "Saturday Night Live." pic.twitter.com/YSfA0NNYdw
Mickey Guyton recorded a new holiday duet with Michael Bolton. “Christmas Isn’t Christmas” is out now and will be featured on the pop singer’s new album, Christmas Time, which will be available November 3rd.
Darius Rucker sat down with NBC’s Willie Geist for Sunday Today (October 8th), and the talked about dedicating his new album, “Carolyn’s Boy,” to his mother, how an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman” changed the trajectory of Hootie & the Blowfish and embarking on a solo country music career.
Loved this conversation with @WillieGeist! Thank you for helping to tell the story of ‘Carolyn’s Boy’ and so much more.
Reba McEntire premiered the music video for her new song, “Seven Minutes In Heaven,” on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown over the weekend. The clip imagines what it would be like to be able to spend seven minutes in the afterlife with a special loved one, and for Reba, that would be her mother Jaqueline, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 93.
Dierks Bentley will issue a 10th anniversary edition of his 2010 album, Up on the Ridge, just in time for Record Store Day on November 24th. The collection, which will be pressed on orange vinyl, features special guests, including Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Kris Kristofferson.
Mickey Guyton was announced as the featured performer at Helluva Block Party prior to Georgia Tech’s Family Weekend football game against Boston College on October 21st.
Priscilla Block will perform at Tracy Lawrence‘s 18th Annual Mission: Possible Turkey Fry and Benefit Concert at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon on November 21st. Lee Brice and Halfway to Hazard will also perform. The Turkey Fry is set to take place at the Nashville Fairgrounds that morning, followed by the concert that evening. Last year, Tracy’s event fried 1200 turkeys to benefit the Nashville Rescue Mission in helping to feed the homeless in Middle Tennessee.
Dalton Dover will perform the National Anthem prior to Monday’s (October 9th) game in Atlanta as the Braves play host to the Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
Tyler Hubbard will be one of the headliners at next year’s CMC Rocks QLD at the Willowbank Raceway in Ispwich, Queensland March 15th – 17th. Lainey Wilson and Chris Young will also headline during the three-day festival. Priscilla Block, Chase Rice, Megan Moroney, Jackson Dean, Elvie Shane, Drake Milligan, Morgan Wade and Tyler Braden, among others, will also perform.
The GRAMMY-winning duo Brothers Osborne appeared on CBS This Morning on Tuesday (October 3rd). The group spoke to CBS This Morning’s Anthony Mason at their homes in Nashville about their recent self-titled album, produced by Mike Elizondo, and their upcoming special tour dates. John Osborne also spoke candidly about his previous struggles with metal health, and TJ touched on his journey since coming out and how they both received so much support.
Tyler Hubbard performed his latest single, “Back Then Right Now,” when he appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show on Tuesday morning (October 3rd). He chatted with the hosts about the song, saying, “It’s just a fun, carefree song about making the most of each moment, being present, living life.”
Kacey Musgraves teamed up with singer-songwriter Noah Kahan to release a new version of Kahan’s “She Calls Me Back” on Friday (October 6th). He posted a voice recording of Kacey saying, “Hi, you’ve reached the voicemail box of Kacey Musgraves and Noah Kahan. We’ll call you back October 6th.” “She Calls Me Back” was originally included on Kahan’s 2022 album, Stick Season.
On Tuesday (October 3rd), several stars got into the holiday spirit as they took to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House to tape the NBC special, “Christmas At The Opry,” hosted by Wynonna. Performers included Brenda Lee, Kelly Clarkson, Mickey Guyton, Chrissy Metz, Trace Adkins, BRELAND, Mitchell Tenpenney, Lauren Alaina and many others. “Christmas At The Opry” will air December 7th at 8pm ET/PT on NBC.
Mickey Guyton performed at the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative launched by U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Wednesday night (September 27th). According to the U.S. State Department website, the Initiative is “a worldwide effort to elevate music as a diplomatic tool to promote peace and democracy and support the United States’ broader foreign policy goals. The Initiative aims to leverage public-private partnerships to create a music ecosystem that expands economic equity and the creative economy, ensures societal opportunity and inclusion and increases access to education.” Other performers included Dave Grohl, Herbie Hancock, Christopher Jackson, Aimee Mann & Paul Bryan, with a special video message from U-2‘s Bono. Quincy Jones was presented with the first-ever Peace through Music Award
The War And Treaty have released their cover of Chris Stapleton’s “Cold,” which they performed at the recent ACM Honors in Nashville. It’s available to stream on your favorite platform.
Dierks Bentley attended a recent fundraiser, “Gateway to the West,” the U.S. Ski Team puts on every year in St. Louis, Missouri. While performing, he brought up Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic Gold Medalist (twice) skier who also holds the record in alpine skiing for most World Cup wins in the history of the sport, to join him on his song “I’ll Be The Moon.” The event raised over $1 Million to benefit all sports.
Presenters have been announced for the first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards, taking place tonight (September 28TH). Brothers Osborne will present the Country Champion Award to Wynonna, while Blake Shelton will present the Country Icon Award to Toby Keith. Additional presenters include The War And Treaty, Mickey Guyton, Josh Ross, Carly Pearce, Dustin Lynch, Scotty McCreery, Leanne Morgan, Lady A and others.
The People’s Choice Country Awards, hosted by Little Big Town, will air live from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT on NBC and Peacock.
Chris Stapleton is taking part in Peloton‘s All For One Fitness Festival, the fitness brand’s annual celebration of movement, music and community, this weekend, September 7th – 9th. The virtual festival will include live Artist Series classes featuring music from KatyPerr, Skrillex, Hozier and Chaka Khan, as well as on-demand classes including Stapleton, The Black Keys, Dave Matthews Band, Eagles, Ellie Goulding, Gorillaz, LL COOL J, Machine Gun Kelly, Maren Morris, Miguel, Pusha T, Salt N Pepa, ZZ Top and Thirty Seconds to Mars. Check out classes with Chris Here: Logan Aldridge – 20 min Chris Stapleton Arms & Shoulders Strength; Hannah Corbin – 30 min Chris Stapleton Ride.
Mickey Guyton has released the official music video for her single, “Nothing Compares To You,” featuring Kane Brown. The tune was written by Tyler Hubbard, Bebe Rexha and Jordan Schmidt.
Sam Williams will take part in a special concert event celebrating the 100th birthday of his grandfather, the late Hank Williams at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. “Hank’s 100th: A Concert in Celebration of Hank Williams” will be presented by Spotify on September 21st at 3:30pm in the museum’s CMA Theater in Nashville. Artists also performing during the concert include Suzy Bogguss, Rodney Crowell, Delbert McClinton, Chuck Mead, Wendy Moten, Country Music Hall of Fame members Charlie McCoy and Connie Smith and two more of Hank Williams’ grandchildren, Hilary Williams and Holly Williams, among others.
Darius Rucker will be inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville on October 4th at 11am CT. Darius’ favorite all-time wrestler, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, will be in attendance to induct the multi-platinum country superstar. Don McLean of “American Pie” fame, rock and roll guitarist Duane Eddy, and former record-label executive Joe Galante will also be inducted into the Walk of Fame, and the four become the 101st, 102nd, 103rd and 104th stars. Inductees are recognized for their significant work of preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and for contributing to the world through song.
ESPN’s College Game Day new theme song video, featuring Darius Rucker, Lainey Wilson and The Cadillac Three singing “Comin’ To Your City,” premiered last Saturday. Check it out here:
Reba McEntire is being honored with a series of tribute corn mazes. With the release of Reba’s new book, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots, and its companion album, Not That Fancy, 40 farms in 24 states will feature Reba-themed corn mazes. “While l admit being in a corn maze is one of the more unique things I’ve ever been invited to be a part of, I couldn’t be more excited to be involved with some of the things that matter most to me — farming, family, and friends,” says the country icon. “Growing up on a ranch in Oklahoma, I know how important agriculture is, and I love being involved with something that brings more people out to farms across the country for good wholesome fun!” The 5+ acre mazes are scheduled to open Saturday, September 16th, and people can enter to win a chance for a trip to Nashville. Click HEREfor your chance to win and check out the 40 participating farms.
