• HALLOWEEN 2016

    Halloween is Monday, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes and recalling memories of Halloweens past.

    Audio / Billy Currington reminisces about his childhood Halloween memories.

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    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 TJ and John Osborne talk about dressing up like zombies for Halloween.

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    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 (Halloween candy) OC: (John) …go stale. [laughs] :34

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    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 / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne talks about carving pumpkins with their dad when they were growing up.

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    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 / Canaan Smith says his Halloweens of today have changed dramatically since he was a child.

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    Canaan Smith (Halloween) OC: …cornfields. :37
    “I grew up in a Christian family. We went to a private Christian school for a while, so they didn’t allow us to celebrate Halloween like I do now. We did what was called a Hallelujah Party instead, and you still dress up and still get all the candy, but  you go to the high school gym. You play games, you just do, like cornhole and the dunking booth and all kinds of stuff and win prizes, but it was nothing ever scary. I think they had like rules about what outfits you could and couldn’t wear. But now I just love freaking myself out and going to, I love going to haunted houses and haunted cornfields.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker loves Halloween, especially because it’s his kids’ favorite holiday.

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    Darius (Halloween) OC: …I’m into. :06
    “Halloween’s big for me, because the kids love it. It’s my kids’ favorite holiday, so anything they’re into, I’m into.”

    Audio / David Nail talks about his favorite part of Halloween.

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    David Nail (favorite part of Halloween) OC: …it better. :14

    “My favorite thing about Halloween was just the excitement about picking out your costume and talking to your friends and fighting over if you’re going to be this or if they stole the idea from you and if you can do the idea better.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the Halloweens of his childhood.

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    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 / Easton Corbin says one of his favorite costumes as a kid was made by his grandmother.

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    Easton Corbin (Halloween) OC: …pretty warm. :26

    “My grandma made a werewolf outfit for me, and I wore that one year. She got this fake hair and glued it to sweatpants and a sweatshirt. That was a hot outfit. I mean, it got pretty warm.”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his favorite Halloween costume.

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    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 Pardi talks about his favorite Halloween costumes as a child.

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    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 / Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley reveals one costume he’s always wanted to wear on Halloween.

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    Lady A (Charles costume) OC: …an apple. :19
    CHARLES: “I want to be a banana. I think there’s something so funny and understated about a banana, especially when you’re 6’6” and like your little head’s popping through and you’re a banana.” DAVE: “Do they make ‘em your size?” CHARLES: “I’ve been known to sew a thing or two.” HILLARY: “That’s really random.” CHARLES: “I know. I’ve always wanted to dress up like something, just kind of funny like a banana or an apple.”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood recalls one of his most embarrassing Halloween costumes.

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    Lady A (Dave Haywood costume memory) OC: …50 feet. :20
    “I was a die (1/2 of a pair of dice) for Halloween. I had a big cardboard box that I had painted white and had the polka dots and stuff. And I remember I was walking up this hill to go to this hill and literally fell back down the entire hill [laughter], rolling in this giant cardboard box that I couldn’t do anything about, because I rolled down about 50-feet.” 

    Audio / Luke Bryan says you can tell a lot about your neighbors from what kind of Halloween candy they hand out.

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    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.”

  • HALLOWEEN LINERS 2016

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Trick or Treat, baby)

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    “Trick or Treat, baby.” [laughs]

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Halloween)

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    “Hey! What’s up guys? I’m Canaan Smith. Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Clare Dunn, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER David Nail (Halloween)

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    “Hey guys! It’s David Nail. Happy Halloween!”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Halloween)

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

     

    Audio / LINER Lady A (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody! We are Lady Antebellum. Have a safe and Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Halloween)

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

  • ERIC PASLAY SURPRISES THE CROWD AT GARTH BROOKS SHOW AND WILL APPEAR ON THE TODAY SHOW THIS WEEK.

    Last night (October 23rd), EMI Records Nashville recording artist Eric Paslay was a surprise guest for Garth Brooks’ “World Tour with Trisha Yearwood” concert in Charleston, West Virginia. The pair recently met for the first time before Eric’s performance at the William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) party for the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA) conference, where Garth personally invited him to open a show.
    “This past weekend was one for the books,” said Eric. “I got to hang with and open for a musical hero of mine. I can’t thank Garth Brooks enough for the incredible experience. No one does it better than him and it was a real honor.”
    This Wednesday, October 26th,  Eric is set to perform “Angels In this Town” on NBC’S TODAY before resuming his headlining tour “Angels In this Town 2016” later this week. The tour runs through November and features special guests Adam Sanders and Courtney Cole.
    “Angels in This Town Tour 2016” Fall dates:
    October 29                  Pensacola, FL              Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds
    November 3                Cleveland, OH              House of Blues**
    November 4                Tiffin, OH                      Ritz Theatre**
    November 5                Carlisle, PA                 Carlisle Theatre**
    November 6                Columbus, OH            The Bluestone**
    November 10              Patchogue, NY           The Emporium***
    November 11              Clifton Park, NY          Upstate Concert Hall***
    November 12              Rochester, NY              Anthology***
    **Adam Sanders special guest
    ***Courtney Cole special guest
     About Eric Paslay
    EMI Records Nashville breakout country artist, Eric Paslay, delivers a powerful punch as a renowned, Platinum-selling, hit songwriter and dynamic performer. Paslay has celebrated five No. 1 hits including “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (Eli Young Band), “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” (Jake Owen), “Angel Eyes” (Love & Theft), “Rewind” (Rascal Flatts) and “Friday Night,” the smash lead single from his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. The Temple, Texas native earned nominations for GRAMMY Best Country Song, ACM Song of the Year and CMA Song of The Year for “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” in 2013 and earned his first GRAMMY nomination as an artist in 2016 for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “The Driver”- a collaboration with friends Charles Kelley and Dierks Bentley. Most recently Eric was honored with an ACM Song of the Year nomination for “She Don’t Love You” at the 2016 ACMs in Las Vegas. A true artist’s artist, USA Today calls Paslay “flat out-brilliant” and American Songwriter names him an influencer of country music. Paslay has joined friends Chris Young, Brad Paisley and Toby Keith on tour this past year.
    For the latest information on Paslay go to:
  • LUKE BRYAN CELEBRATES SEVEN CHART TOPPERS.

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    Luke Bryan, along with his co-writers, celebrated seven consecutive No. 1 songs, including “Roller Coaster,” “Play It Again,” “I See You,” “Kick the Dust Up,” “Strip It Down,” “Home Alone Tonight” and “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Monday (October 24th). Two-Time CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year Luke and the writers spoke to the press before taking the stage to perform all of the feted songs in front of family, friends, fans and members of the music industry.

    “It’s an amazing situation that I’ve been blessed to be in,” says Luke. “I truly do appreciate what’s going on and understand the rarity of having success to where your number-ones are kind of outrunning the abilities to have the parties. [We] had an album listening party for Kill the Lights and we celebrated that and we had fun. Now we get to celebrate here going on I guess 16, 17 months later, we get to see the product of everybody’s hard work and the product of everybody’s dreams coming true and moving to Nashville and doing everything we dreamed we’d do when we get here – have success in the music business. I don’t think anybody in these chairs, they clock in every day and we’re all clocking in every day and we don’t take a second of it for granted. It’s the best job in the world.”

    At the close of the performances, Mike Dungan, UMG Nashville’s Chairman & CEO, surprised Luke with two sales plaques- one commemorating the seven #1’s have sold over 7 million tracks and over 600 million total combined streams and the second is the official RIAA Platinum certification of Kill The Lights album including 3.5 million tracks sold and over 400 million streams.

    Play It Again (Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley)
    Roller Coaster (Michael Carter, Cole Swindell)
    I See You (Luke Bryan, Ashley Gorley, Luke Laird)
    Kick The Dust Up (Dallas Davidson, Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley)
    Strip It Down (Luke Bryan, Ross Copperman, Jon Nite)
    Home Alone Tonight (Tommy Cecil, Jaida Dreyer, Jody Stevens, Cole Taylor)
    Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day (Luke Bryan, Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip)

    Luke is currently nominated for two CMA Awards as Entertainer of the Year and Vocal Collaboration with Karen Fairchild for “Home Alone Tonight,” one of the above #1 hits, and also for two American Music Awards as Favorite Male Artist-Country and Favorite Album-Country for Kill The Lights.

    Luke is poised to enter the top of the charts – again – with his latest hit, “Move,” which is from his Kill the Lights album.
    Photo credit: Alan Poizner
    Cindy Mabe/ President, UMG Nashville, Luke, Mike Dungan/UMG Nashville’s Chairman & CEO, Kerri Edwards/ KP Entertainment

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  • LITTLE BIG TOWN’S KAREN FAIRCHILD LAUNCHES CLOTHING LINE AT MACY’S.

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    This month, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild launched her new clothing line Fair Child in select Macy’s stores across the country and on macys.com (mcys.co/2dqwjp0).
    Fair Child follows the same masterful mix of glamorous and effortless design that Karen lives by on and off of the stage. From a luxe overcoat, vest, and biker jacket, to the essential basics of a great t-shirt, vegan faux-leather skinnies, and feminine blouses, Fair Child is everything that is easy to wear, but full of personality. For Karen, fashion is the most fun when it has an element of surprise, and Fair Childreinvents and adapts that “of the moment” style of dressing.
    “The real reason I’m making clothes is because I like clothes…I love clothes,” said Fairchild. “Outside of writing songs and performing, it’s definitely my passion. I view it a lot like telling a story in a song. I think an outfit tells a story, and I think when there’s something interesting or surprising or a little twist, that’s what makes a great song and it’s the same thing that makes a great outfit. I’m so grateful to Macy’s for giving me this opportunity.”
    Fair Child, with pieces priced from $39 to $149, is currently available on macys.com, and at select Macy’s stores in Atlanta (Town Center at Cobb), Austin (The Domain), Chicago (Water Tower Place), Columbus (Tuttle Crossing), Dallas (Northpark Center), Denver (Park Meadows), Detroit (Somerset Collection), Kansas City (Town Center Plaza), Memphis (Wolfchase Galleria) and Nashville (Green Hills).
    Click the below link for exclusive footage featuring the launch of Fair Child: https://youtu.be/V2tLLYc_tL8.

    Video / Fair Child

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  • KACEY MUSGRAVES’ A VERY KACEY CHRISTMAS INCLUDES MANY FACETS OF THE HOLIDAYS.

    Christmas for most is a time of joy and happiness, but for some there’s a sense ofsadness around the holidays. For Kacey Musgraves, she wanted both feelings for her first holiday album, A Very Kacey Christmas.

    “There’s a lot of facets and different sides of Christmas, you know. There’s a very nostalgic, whimsical, childish side of Christmas, you know with ‘Christmas Don’t be Late’ and ‘Let it Snow’ and ‘Rudolph’ and ‘I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,’” says Kacey. “And then, to me, there’s kind of a melancholy, sadder side of Christmas that it definitely exists for me, and I know a lot of other people kind of feel that way too. It can be an intense time, and so songs like ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ or ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ I mean, they’re kind of, they’re beautiful, but they’re also kind of heartbreaking.”

    A Very Kacey Christmas, which includes the single “Present Without a Bow” featuring Leon Bridges, will be released Friday (October 28th).

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about the different facets of Christmas that she included on A Very Kacey Christmas.

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    Kacey Musgraves (different facets of Christmas) OC: …heartbreaking. :34
    “I don’t know if I could pick just one Christmas song, to me there’s a lot of facets and different sides of Christmas, you know. There’s a very nostalgic, whimsical, childish side of Christmas, you know with ‘Christmas Don’t be Late’ and ‘Let it Snow’ and ‘Rudolph’ and ‘I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.’ And then, to me, there’s kind of a melancholy, sadder side of Christmas that it definitely exists for me, and I know a lot of other people kind of feel that way too. It can be an intense time, and so songs like ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ or ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ I mean, they’re kind of, they’re beautiful, but they’re also kind of heartbreaking.”

  • ALAN JACKSON SET TO RELEASE PRECIOUS MEMORIES COLLECTION.

    Alan Jackson will release his Precious Memories Collection exclusively at Walmart on October 28th.  The two disc collection features Precious Memories, Precious Memories Volume II, as well as, two previously unreleased songs – “It’s All About Him” inspired by Denise’s book of the same title and “That’s The Way” which Alan sang to Denise at their wedding. The Precious Memories Collection can be purchased here.

    When asked about writing the song “It’s All About Him,” Alan explained, “Inspired by Denise’s strength and ability [in writing her book], I sat down and wrote a song of the same title hoping to add musically to an already uplifting story.”

    Precious Memories was originally recorded as a Christmas gift for Jackson’s mother, and a handful of copies were shared with close friends. Prompted and urged by family and friends, Jackson agreed to make the music available to fans. Seven years later, Jackson and his wife Denise revisited the list of their favorite hymns they compiled for the first album and Jackson decided to release Precious Memories Volume II.  Both albums went on to sell a combined 2.3 million copies.

    DISC 1

    1.  Blessed Assurance

    2.  Softly And Tenderly

    3.  I Love To Tell The Story

    4.  When We All Get To Heaven

    5.  ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus

    6.  In The Garden

    7.  Are You Washed In The Blood?

    8.  I’ll Fly Away

    9.  What A Friend We Have In Jesus

    10. Standing On The Promises

    11. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

    12. Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

    13. The Old Rugged Cross

    14. How Great Thou Art

    15. I Want To Stroll Over Heaven With You

    DISC 2

    1.  Amazing Grace

    2.  He Lives

    3.  Just As I Am

    4.  Love Lifted Me

    5.  O How I Love Jesus

    6.  Only Trust Him

    7.  There Is Power In The Blood

    8.  Precious Memories

    9.  Sweet Hour Of Prayer

    10. When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder

    11. Wherever He Leads I’ll Go

    12. It’s All About Him **

    13. That’s The Way **

    **New Songs

    About Alan Jackson:
    Alan Jackson is one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters in music.  He is in the elite company of Paul McCartney and John Lennon among songwriters who’ve written more than 20 songs that they’ve recorded and taken to the top of the charts. Jackson is one of the best-selling artists since the inception of SoundScan, ranking alongside the likes of Eminem and Metallica. The man from rural Newnan, GA, who claims he is just a “singer of simple songs,” has sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide and ranks as one of the 10 best-selling vocalists of all-time in all genres. He has released more than 60 singles—registering 50 Top Ten hits and 35 #1s (including 26 Billboard #1s).  He has earned more than 150 music industry awards—including 18 Academy of Country Music Awards, 16 Country Music Association Awards, a pair of Grammys and ASCAP’s Founders and Golden Note Awards. Jackson received the first-ever ASCAP Heritage Award in 2014 having earned the title of most performed country music songwriter-artist of ASCAP’s first 100 years.  He is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry.

  • FOREVER COUNTRY: Alan Jackson, Kacey Musgraves, Lady A, Rascal Flatts

    The video for “Forever Country,” the song and biggest music video in Country Music history, made its international premiere this week at ForeverCountry50.com. The star-studded single is available for streaming and download.

    Featured artists in the video include the following CMA Award winners: Alabama, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke BryanEric ChurchBrett EldredgeVince GillFaith HillAlan JacksonLady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Martina McBrideTim McGraw, Ronnie MilsapKacey MusgravesWillie NelsonBrad PaisleyDolly PartonCharley PrideRascal FlattsRebaDarius Rucker, Blake Shelton, George StraitRandy Travis, Carrie UnderwoodKeith Urban and Trisha Yearwood.

    “Forever Country” is a fresh take on three Country classics: John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

    “Forever Country,” the single was produced by CMA Award winner and CMA Board member Shane McAnally, and the video was directed by Grammy Award-winning director Joseph Kahn.

    The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, November 2nd (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC.


    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about “Forever Country.”

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    Alan Jackson (Forever Country) 1 OC: …for somebody. :17
    “Well, I knew it was the 50th Anniversary, so I was hoping they would come up with something interesting to do and something cool that would include a lot of artists. So, that’s what this is and I think they’ve done a good job with it, and it was hard to narrow down three songs and to narrow down all the artists too. It was a tough job for somebody.”

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about the three songs that make up “Forever Country.”

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    Alan Jackson (Forever Country) 2 OC: …very cool. :13
    “When I first heard which songs they were using and I knew they were going to mix them up, I knew it was going to take a lot of thinking for somebody to make all those mesh together but when I heard the track it actually turned out pretty cool, very cool.”



    Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about being a part of “Forever Country.”

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    Kacey Musgraves (Forever Country song) OC: …pretty special. :30
    “This project is crazy. I really respect the roots of the genre, the traditions of it. I just really love it.  So it’s been really fun for me to take that, which inspires me, and mix it with my own new ideas, and me as a 27-year-old girl in 2016 and make it my own thing. So, being a part of this song, a song with my peers but also with these amazing icons and legends is pretty special.”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott explains how they were approached to take part in “Forever Country.”

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    Lady Antebellum (Forever Country) OC: …around us.  :29
    We got approached by Shane McAnally through our management and we thought it was really interesting. Obviously being able to be a part of the 5oth year of the CMAs, the anniversary of that, it’s a huge milestone for country music and to be included was awesome and the songs that they chose, I mean it doesn’t get more iconic and legendary than that and then the company we’re in? Goodness, it’s our heroes all around us.”



    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley talks about the songs that make up “Forever Country.”

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    Lady Antebellum (Forever Country) 2 OC: …massive songs. :51
    “I think I guess it puts our own stamp having three voices on that song which would separate it of course from the original but you know, what I thought was really cool was that all these songs represented are country songs that have also kind of crossed over in a way. They’re big, popular songs. ‘Country Roads’ was actually more of a pop song that turned into a country song and then you’ve got, of course, ‘I Will Always Love You’ which was a country song that then turned into a big pop song so I think that’s very representative too of where country music is right now – a genre that really does skirt the line and it is such a broad appeal and it always has been but it’s really cool to kind of be singing songs that weren’t just country songs. These are just iconic, massive songs.”

    Audio / Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox talks about “Forever Country.”

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    Rascal Flatts (Forever Country) 1 OC: …fun to do. :32
    Gary LeVox:
    “Well we first heard about the project when they, they actually sent us an email and told us what was going on and sent us some lines and who all was gonna be on it and what it was for, and we were just thrilled and honored to be a part of it, you know, with George Strait and all the and Reba and Charley Pride and Willie and you know, but we were thrilled, and it’s just the way that they took these three gigantic songs and made ‘em all mash up so perfectly is just is incredible. So, it’s gonna be really, really fun to do.”



    Audio / Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney talk about singing “On the Road Again” with Willie Nelson.

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    Rascal Flatts (On the Road Again) OC: …so special. :26
    Jay DeMarcus: actually it does fit us because we all started traveling at a really young age, I been on the road playing music since I was 15 years old and we uh certainly were on the same bus for many many years together so it was a thrill to be able to sing that line, in one of the most popular country songs ever.” Joe Don Rooney: “Yeah, it’s special to be a part of that, be in a band, and you know well be in a trio, but still a band, and Willie Nelson, my dad loves Willie, so to have him singing on it, we come in right after him, it’s just so special.”

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    Video / Alan Jackson Forever Country

    Video / Kacey Musgraves Forever Country

    Video / Lady Antebellum Forever Country

    Video / Rascal Flatts

  • KEITH URBAN BRINGS OUT NILE RODGERS ON ‘SUN DON’T LET ME DOWN.’

    Keith Urban took his ripCORD World Tour 2016 to the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday night before a sold-out crowd. The 2016 CMA Entertainer of the Year nominee brought out his Grammy Award winning RIPCORD collaborator Nile Rodgers. After Urban’s intro, which included a list of Rodgers’ musical achievements (“Get Lucky”, Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”, David Bowie’s “Lets Dance,” Chic’s “Le Freak,” etc.) Rodgers took to the stage calling Urban “the brother that I’ve never had – the greatest gentlemen in all of music.” The two proceeded to perform their co-written, co-produced song “Sun Don’t Let Me Down” (featuring Pitbull) from Urban’s CMA nominated Album of the Year.

     

    Video / Sun Don't Let Me Down with Nile Rodgers

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    Video / Keith's message about Staples Center show

  • CANAAN SMITH TO JOIN BRITISH COUNTRY DUO THE SHIRES AS PART OF THEIR UK TOUR.

    Canaan Smith is set to join breakout UK country duo, The Shires, on their upcoming tour across the pond later this year. Immediately following his fall headlining Sundown Ready Tour, Canaan will join the critically-acclaimed band for 19 dates spanning through Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland. Fans can purchase tickets beginning today at www.CanaanSmith.com

    Comprised of singer-songwriters Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, The Shires released their Gold-certified debut album, Brave, last year and became the first UK country act ever to have a Top 10 album in their home country. Though based in England, The Shires have deep ties to the country music community in Nashville as they not only worked with several local songwriters for their upcoming sophomore album, My Universe, but also recorded the project at the famed Sound Stage studio on Music Row.

    Having previously toured with the likes of Dierks Bentley and Brantley Gilbert, joining The Shires marks a new and exciting chapter for the Mercury Nashville road warrior. “Touring in the UK will be an amazing way to wrap 2016,” says Canaan. “I couldn’t be more fired up. Making new friends and fans on the road is what my band and I are all about. I’m sure a few pints will be knocked back along the way too.”

    The Virginia native has been named an “Artist to Watch” by The Huffington Post, USA Today, Yahoo! Music, Spotify as well as Rolling Stone and last summer released his debut album, Bronco, which includes the Platinum-Certified No. 1 smash hit “Love You Like That.” Bronco debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart and features 10 additional tracks.

    The Shires UK Tour Dates with Canaan Smith:

    Nov. 15                  Belfast, Ireland                                   Limelight

    Nov. 16                  Dublin, Ireland                                    The Academy

    Nov. 18                  Oxford, England                                  O2 Academy

    Nov. 20                  Basingstoke, England                        The Anvil

    Nov. 21                  Southampton, England                     O2 Guildhall

    Nov. 23                  Northampton, England                     Royal and Derngate

    Nov. 24                  Cardiff, Wales                                     St. David’s Hall

    Nov. 25                  Bedford, England                                Corn Exchange

    Nov. 27                  Cambridge, England                          Corn Exchange

    Nov. 28                  Bristol, England                                  Colston Hall

    Nov. 29                  Brighton, England                              Brighton Dome

    Dec. 2                    Llandudno, Wales                               Venue Cymru

    Dec. 3                    Birmingham, England                        O2 Institute

    Dec. 4                    Manchester, England                        The Bridgewater Hall

    Dec. 5                    Gateshead, England                          Sage Gateshead

    Dec. 7                    Glasgow, Scotland                             O2 ABC

    Dec. 8                    York, England                                      Barbican Centre

    Dec. 9                    Liverpool, England                              O2 Academy

    Dec. 11                  London, England                                 O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire