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  • THE MEMBERS OF LITTLE BIG TOWN HIT THE SMALL SCREEN THIS WEEKEND.

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    Little Big Town

    The members of Little Big Town hit the small screen this weekend. The band will appear on HBO’s Sesame Street on Saturday (April 29th) and on Sunday Today With Willie Geist on NBC on Sunday (April 30th).

    Video / Little Big Town on Sesame Street

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  • DIERKS BENTLEY ANNOUNCES THE GMA BLOCK PARTY CONTEST.

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    Dierks Bentley

    Dierks Bentley was on hand to help announce Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series. The Arizona native has a twist on the whole idea, and that is to provide the entertainment for one lucky winner and their friends. If you want to have Dierks play at your own block party, you can enter the “GMA” Block Party with Dierks Bentley Contest! “GMA” and King’s Hawaiian are sending country music superstar Dierks Bentley to one block in America for the ultimate concert block party event. You do have to submit an essay in 200 words or less explaining why your block is special, how you throw the ultimate block party and why you deserve to have “GMA” and Dierks Bentley help throw your next block party. You must also submit a picture or a video that shows just how fun your block parties are. Click here for all of the details.

    The entry period closes at 3 p.m. ET on July 4, 2017.

     

  • LITTLE BIG TOWN HONORS MUSIC EDUCATORS AT EVENT IN NASHVILLE.

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    Little Big Town

    The Country Music industry came together Wednesday evening to honor 31 music educators as the 2017 CMA Music Teachers of Excellence. Five-time CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town hosted the event at Nissan Stadium, and more than a dozen other artists attended the ceremony, as well as CMA and CMA Foundation Board members, community leaders, and CMA Foundation beneficiary programs.

    CMA Music Teachers of Excellence, now in its second year, honors music educators and their indelible impact on students and school communities through the power of music. The program was created in partnership with Metro Schools’ “Music Makes Us” initiative, which was formed as a result of a 2015 study that highlighted the challenges of local music teachers.

    Twenty-five Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) teachers were recognized. Additionally, six recipients from other cities were acknowledged by Give a Note Foundation’s “Music In Our Schools Tour” presented by Radio Disney. Each honoree receives a stipend from the CMA Foundation in recognition of their commitment.

    “These educators are building and inspiring a generation, equipping students with tools they will continue to use throughout their lives,” said Joe Galante, CMA Foundation Chairman.

    “Music City is Music City because of the Country Music Association,” said Dr. Shawn Joseph, MNPS Director of Schools. “[The CMA Foundation] has set the bar high and established new standards for public/private partnerships between Metro Schools and business partners in Nashville and Davidson County.”

    In addition to Little Big Town members Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook, Country artists and songwriters Kix Brooks, Chase Bryant, Kristian Bush, Lindsay Ell, Seth Ennis, David Fanning, Chelsea Gill, Hunter Hayes, Olivia Lane, Dustin Lynch, Scotty McCreery, William Michael Morgan, Jerrod Niemann, and Corey Smith were in attendance.

    CMA Foundation funds are generated by CMA Music Festival ticket proceeds and presented on behalf of the artists who donate their time. Nissan Stadium is home to the Festival’s Nightly Concerts.

    “We are living proof that dreams do come true. Our teachers always reminded us that anything is possible with hard work, dedication, and patience,” said Little Big Town’s Schlapman.

    “Learning music gives students the ability to achieve success, build self-esteem and self-confidence, while teaching them the importance of working as a team,” added Little Big Town’s Sweet.

    In a surprise, emotional pre-event gathering, Little Big Town was reunited with their childhood music teachers Sarah Glover and Jim Walker of Alabama (Westbrook), Billy Jack Green of Georgia (Fairchild), and Julia Lansford of Arkansas (Sweet). Earlene Rentz of Kentucky and Robert Ivey of Georgia, who taught Schlapman, shared heartfelt video and written messages in their absence. Fairchild serves on the CMA Foundation Board of Directors.

    The City of Nashville showed its support by lighting up downtown landmarks Ascend Amphitheater, Bridgestone Arena, Korean Veterans Boulevard Bridge, Omni Hotel, and Westin Hotel in CMA blue lights, in honor of the event.

    “Nashville is a city that is committed to our music teachers and values the impact that they have on our Metro Nashville Public Schools students,” said Nashville Mayor Megan Barry in a video message. “CMA has worked alongside our school district in an effort to provide the best music program for our community, our state, and the country.”

    Throughout the evening, videos of well-wishes were shared from entertainers Cam, Brad Paisley, Cassadee Pope, Darius Rucker, Zac Brown Band, and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” announcer Dicky Barrett and musical director Cleto Escobedo III.

     

    Grammy Award-winning vocal group Little Big Town’s critically-acclaimed new album, The Breaker, recently debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200, marking the group’s fourth Top 10 project on the Billboard 200 chart. “Better Man,” the hit lead single from The Breaker, recently spent two weeks topping the Country airplay charts (Billboard, Mediabase) and is the group’s second two-week No. 1 at Country radio. The reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year continues to make headlines with their historic, year-long artist residency at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium – the first ever artist residency in the venue’s 125-year history – with additional dates announced for May, July, September, and November. For more information on Little Big Town, visit littlebigtown.com.

  • SAM HUNT SPENDS A THIRD WEEK AT NO. 1 WITH ‘BODY LIKE A BACK ROAD.’

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    Sam Hunt

    Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” spends a third week atop the Billboard Country Airplay chart and a second week at No. 1 on the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart.

    He performed the song, which he co-wrote with producer Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, on this year’s ACM Awards and surprised his love Hannah Lee Fowler by sitting down next to her in the audience. “Involving her with that performance was fun. She was a little uncomfortable about being there and a little overwhelmed, and she may not agree, but I thought that would warm her up a little bit to the whole experience and she may not admit it, but I think it did,” says Sam.

    At the beginning of the performance, he was sitting on a little bench, and when he got up, the wires from his audio pack got caught in the cushions, so he lost the audio to his monitors to hear what he was singing. It didn’t really matter, though. “When I stood up off the little bench seat I was sitting on, I lost my (audio) pack and then I thought, ‘Shoot, I can’t hear anything,’” recalls Sam. “I get concerned about little details a lot of times and things going wrong or not going wrong and having her there just made it all go away. So, that’s another reason I wanted to go down and sit with her and made sure she knew that she’s really what matters, you know.”

    Sam returns to the road May 9th to perform at The Players Championship in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida and at The Preakness in Baltimore, Maryland on May 28th before his 15 in a 30 Tour kicks off June 1st in Cleveland, Ohio.

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his ACM Performance of “Body Like a Back Road.”

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    Sam Hunt (ACM Performance) 1 OC: …think it did. [laughs] :35
    “We have a relationship where I, the character from that song, I’m not really that character with many folks, but with her I am. So, when I am playing that character, I feel like it’s kind of a her and I thing, she and I thing, so involving her with that performance was fun. She was a little uncomfortable about being there and a little overwhelmed, and she may not agree, but I thought that would warm her up a little bit to the whole experience and she may not admit it, but I think it did.” [laughs]

    Audio / Sam Hunt had a small mishap during his ACM performance of his No. 1 hit, “Body Like a Back Road,” but said the presence of his love, Hannah Lee Fowler, made all his anxiety go away.

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    Sam Hunt (ACM Performance) 2 OC: …motivating me. :39
    “Having her in my life is so meaningful, and when I stood up off the little bench seat I was sitting on, I lost my

    pack and then I thought, ‘Shoot, I can’t hear anything.’ I get concerned about little details a lot of times and things going wrong or not going wrong and having her there just made it all go away. So, that’s another reason I wanted to go down and sit with her and made sure she knew that she’s really what matters, you know. All this other stuff is fun and I enjoy it and we’ll have a good time playing some music and folks will have a good time coming to see us, but she’s what, yeah, is motivating me.”

  • KEITH URBAN’S ‘RIPCORD’ GETS THE HEAVY METAL TREATMENT.

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    Keith Urban

    Keith Urban’s 2016 release RIPCORD, which has been #1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart the last two weeks, is making history yet again by propelling him into the country music record books.

    Keith is one of only two country artists whose 2016 album release was certified platinum by the RIAA. RIPCORD also places him as the second country artist (amongst artists with nine or more platinum releases) to currently have every album certified platinum or multi-platinum.  This platinum streak of nine also places Urban at #8 on the all-time list of country artists with consecutive platinum albums.

    Upon its release, Keith yet again did what no other male solo country artist in history has been able to do, celebrating a #1 all-genre album chart position simultaneously in the U.S., Australia and Canada.  RIPCORD has also been certified platinum in Australia and Gold in Canada.

    RIPCORD has also produced four #1 country radio singles bringing Urban’s career total #1 singles to twenty two (on Mediabase). This also brings his record-breaking, historic run of consecutive Top 10 songs to an incredible 37 and places Urban at #8 on Billboard’s all-time Country Airplay Chart.

    Keith’s significance in the streaming marketplace is undeniable, as his worldwide streams have topped 3.4 BILLION, with over 524 million on RIPCORD alone.  His latest #1 song “Blue Ain’t Your Color” has over 160 million streams and it spent 13 weeks as the most-streamed country song.

    In Australia, RIPCORD was 2016’s #2 selling album on the all-genre chart behind Adele’s 25.  It spent 27 weeks in the Top 10.  The album also produced Urban’s first Top 10 and over 6.4 million streams. In Canada, with over 29 million streams, RIPCORD has produced four No. 1 country radio singles, all of which have held the No. 1 spot for 3 weeks or more.

    Keith is scaling the country charts with his latest single, “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood.

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about his album, Ripcord.

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    Keith Urban (Ripcord album) OC: …this record. :37
    “There’s songs on the record that probably feel, having not skydived myself, but my wife has done it many, many, many times. There’s definitely songs that sound like that free falling at an incredibly rapid speed. The adrenaline rush of that. The pulling of the cord and suddenly just sort of cruising and coasting and floating and the combination of all those speeds, energies, exhilarations, euphoria, the view, how that changes, all of it, I think, hopefully will be captured in the diversity of songs on this record.”

  • JOSH TURNER GETS READY TO RELEASE HIS LATEST SINGLE, ‘ALL ABOUT YOU.’

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    Josh Turner

    Josh Turner is getting ready to hit the airwaves with his new single, “All About You,” the follow-up to his recent No. 1 single, “Hometown Girl.” The song goes for adds at radio on Monday (May 15th).

    Written by Craig Wiseman and Justin Weaver, the tune “is a fun, hillbilly kind of song, you know, with very, more new, updated, fresh production,” according to Josh.

    Later this week, the North Carolina native is headed to Minnesota to play a pair of shows, followed by a date in Orlando, Florida May 23rd.

    Audio / Josh Turner says new single, "All About You," is a fun song with fresh production.

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    Josh Turner (All About You) OC: …production. :09
    “‘All About You’ is a fun, hillbilly kind of song, you know, with very, more new, updated, fresh production.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (All About You) 1

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    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (All About You) 2

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  • CARRIE UNDERWOOD IS HONORED BY BMI.

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    Carrie Underwood
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    Carrie Underwood was honored at the 69th annual BMI/NAB Dinner held this week at the Wynn Encore in Las Vegas. Carrie was recognized with the BMI Board of Directors Award for the impact her music has had on the broadcast industry, as well as her many contributions as a songwriter. With her string of radio hits, groundbreaking videos and television performances, Underwood was the ideal recipient of the BMI/NAB honor.
    In addition, BMI took the opportunity to present Underwood with the latest three of her 14 career BMI songwriting awards for “Heartbeat,” “Little Toy Guns,” and “Smoke Break.” These awards are traditionally given out at BMI’s Country Awards Dinner in November, which Underwood was unable to attend due to her hosting preparation for the CMA Awards.  She was also presented with nine BMI “Million-Air” Certificates, which are acknowledgements of songs that have achieved one million or more spins on radio. Underwood now has a career total of 14 BMI “Million-Air” certificates. (Full list below)
    Hosted annually by the BMI Board of Directors, the annual NAB dinner salutes the Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and celebrates the longstanding partnership between the songwriting community and the broadcast industry.  
    Mike O’Neill, BMI’s President and CEO, spoke to the room of industry heavy-hitters about Underwood’s impressive career and commented that, “Not every superstar is a songwriter, but Carrie is. She has earned the respect of her colleagues, not only for her singing, but also for her brilliant songwriting and storytelling, and that is an accomplishment that cannot be overstated.”
    In accepting the award, Underwood remarked, “I am beyond blessed to get to do what I do, and am grateful that I am surrounded by such incredible people. I love the people that I get to work with — it’s a joy, a pleasure, and a privilege. Thank you so much BMI for everything that you have done for me and my music.” After her remarks, Underwood performed several songs from her impressive repertoire including “Two Black Cadillacs,” “So Small,” “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” and “Smoke Break.” 
    Past recipients of the BMI/NAB honor include Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Graham Nash, Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, and John Williams, among others.
    Carrie Underwood emerged from the promise of her 2005 American Idol win to become a true multi-format, multi-media superstar, spanning achievements in music, television, and film. A seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner, she has amassed over 100 major honors, sold 64 million records worldwide, and recorded 25 #1 singles, 13 of which she co-wrote, with a catalog of songs that have been streamed more than 2.6 billion times worldwide. The first female artist to be twice named the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, Underwood was recognized by Pollstar as the top female country touring artist for each of her headlining tours in 2008, 2010, 2012, and for 2016’s “The Storyteller Tour – Stories in the Round.” Underwood also topped Billboard’s Top 25 Tours of 2016 as the leading female country artist and was the leading female artist on Country Aircheck’s top country radio performers list for her success in both 2015 and 2016. All five studio albums, Some Hearts, Carnival Ride, Play On, Blown Away and Storyteller – are certified Platinum or multi-Platinum, and each an American Music Awards winner as Favorite Country Album – and tallied an incredible 40 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.  The RIAA’s highest certified country album artist to debut this century, Underwood also holds the distinction of the highest album certification of any country artist to emerge since 2000 with the 8x Multi-Platinum success of her 2005 debut, Some Hearts.  She is the all-time Top Country Artist (male or female) on RIAA’s Digital Single Ranking, also placing her among the Top 5 females in the history of RIAA’s Digital Single Program across all genres.  In December of 2014, she released her Platinum-certified Greatest Hits: Decade #1, which produced two new #1 hits co-written by Underwood, including the RIAA-Platinum, GRAMMY-winning “Something in the Water.” 2016 marked Underwood’s fourth season as the voice of primetime television’s #1 program, Sunday Night Football, and in November, she returned for a ninth consecutive year as co-host of the CMA Awards. The Grand Ole Opry member also demonstrated her diversity in 2013, starring as Maria von Trapp in NBC’s three-hour holiday blockbuster, the Emmy®-winning The Sound of Music Live!, whose airings attracted 44 million viewers. The reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Underwood recently claimed her fourth win in the category amid the ongoing success of her chart-topping fifth studio album, Storyteller – the only country album to launch to Platinum certification since the time of its release in October of 2015. 
     **   Underwood received the nine Million-Air Certificates for the following songs:  “Cowboy Casanova” (2 million plays),  “Last Name” (2 million), “Undo It” (2 million), “Heartbeat” (1 million), “ Little Toy Guns” (1 million), “See You Again” (1 million), “Smoke Break” (1 million),  “Something in the Water” (1 million), and “Two Black Cadillacs” (1 million). She has already received “Million-Air” Awards for the following songs: “All American Girl” (2 million), “Good Girl” (1 million), “Mama’s Song” (1 million), “So Small” (1 million), and “Temporary Home” (1 million).

    photo credit: Mike O’Neill, President and CEO of BMI, Carrie Underwood, and Paul Karpowicz, Chairman, BMI Board of Directors & President, Meredith Local Media Group Present Underwood with the BMI Board of Directors Awards at the 69th Annual BMI/NAB Dinner

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Chris, Shania, Dierks, Keith, Kip, Lauren, Lady A

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    Chris Stapleton / Dierks Bentley / Keith Urban / Kip Moore / Lady Antebellum / Lauren Alaina

    Chris Stapleton will appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday (May 8th) and Howard Stern on Tuesday (May 9th).

    Chris Stapleton and Shania Twain will perform during NBC’s Today Show summer concert series. Shania will take the stage in Rockefeller Plaza June 16th, while Chris, who just released his album From A Room, Volume 1, is scheduled to perform July 18th. Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran are also scheduled to perform throughout the summer.

    Dierks Bentley appears on ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday (May 9th) to announce the lineup for this year’s GMA Summer Concert Series.

    Keith Urban earned platinum certification for several of his albums, including Ripcord, Fuse, Get Closer and Greatest Hits-18 Kids.

    Kip Moore and Lauren Alaina will take part in the fourth annual Georgia on My Mind concert, hosted by the Peach Pickers (songwriters Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip), on May 16th at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The event is a fundraiser for the Georgia Music Foundation and will also feature performances by Michael Ray and Chris Janson.

    Lady Antebellum will take part in a multi-artist episode of CMT Crossroads featuring Earth, Wind & Fire. The latest installment will film in downtown Nashville during this year’s CMA Music Festival.

  • JON PARDI RETURNS TO SCHOOL.

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    Jon Pardi

    Jon Pardi made a surprise visit to his alma mater, Dixon High School, on Wednesday (April 26th). The California native addressed the 2017 graduating class as part of the school’s Decision Day festivities and also performed for the entire student body.

     

    Jon is starting to hit the airwaves with his new single, “Heartache on the Dance Floor,” which is the follow-up to two No. 1 songs, “Head Over Boots” and “Dirt on My Boots.”

    He has a string of four tour dates beginning Thursday (April 27th) in San Jose, followed by stops in Indio on Friday (April 28th) at the annual Stagecoach Festival, in Fresno on Saturday (April 29th) and in Reno on Sunday (April 30th).

  • LADY ANTEBELLUM PERFORMS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM DURING GAME 6 OF ROUND 2 BETWEEN THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS AND ST. LOUIS BLUES.

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    Lady Antebellum

    The members of Lady Antebellum are the latest country superstars to perform the National Anthem before Game 6 of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues on Sunday (May 7th).

    The trio follow Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and Vince Gill with daughters Jenny and Corrina in singing the Anthem during the Preds Stanley Cup Playoff run.

    The Preds made history by winning 3 – 1, clinching the series 4-2 and moving them into the semi-finals for the Stanley Cup. For the first time in their nearly two-decade history, the Predators are headed to the Western Conference finals

     

    Dierks Bentley and his band are pretty happy about the Preds  win.