• ACM AWARDS 2017

    Keith Urban leads list of ACM Awards nominations with seven in five categories, including his seventh nod for Entertainer of the Year and 10th nod for Male Vocalist of the Year. Keith is nominated twice, as both artist and producer, in the Album of the Year category for Ripcord.  He received an additional two nominations, for both artist and producer, in the Single Record of the Year category for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is also nominated in the Song of the Year category.

    ACM Awards co-host Dierks Bentley received three nominations, including his fourth nomination in the Male Vocalist of the Year category.  Also, Dierks received his third nod in the Album of the Year category for Black, and his second nod in the Vocal Event of the Year category for “Different For Girls,” featuring Elle King, which the pair won at last year’s CMA Awards.

    Reigning ACM Male Vocalist of the Year Chris Stapleton is nominated in three categories. Once again, Stapleton is nominated in both the Male Vocalist of the Year category, and the Song of the Year category with “Tennessee Whiskey.”  Also, Stapleton received a nod in the Video of the Year category for “Fire Away,” which stars actors Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, Inferno) and Margarita Levieva (Revenge, The Blacklist). The video concept, which Chris envisioned, centered on mental health issues and helped raise awareness for the Campaign to Change Direction. The video has also picked up an award in the same category at last year CMA Awards.

    Luke Bryan and Keith Urban are among the Entertainer of the Year nominees, along with Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean.

    The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas April 2nd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

    Following is the list of final nominees and find audio with many of the nominees below.
    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Luke Bryan
    Florida Georgia Line
    Carrie Underwood
    Keith Urban

    MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Dierks Bentley
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Kelsea Ballerini
    Miranda Lambert
    Kacey Musgraves
    Maren Morris
    Carrie Underwood

    VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
    Big & Rich
    Brothers Osborne
    Dan & Shay
    Florida Georgia Line
    Maddie & Tae

    VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
    Eli Young Band
    Lady Antebellum
    Little Big Town
    Old Dominion
    Rascal Flatts

    NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE — WON

    Jon Pardi
    NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE — WON

    Brothers Osborne
    ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Black – Dierks Bentley

    Dig Your Roots – Florida Georgia Line
    HERO – Maren Morris

    Ripcord – Keith Urban

    The Weight of These Wings – Miranda Lambert

    Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Blue Ain’t Your Color – Keith Urban

    H.O.L.Y. – Florida Georgia Line

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw

    My Church – Maren Morris

    Vice – Miranda Lambert

    SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

    Blue Ain’t Your Color – Keith Urban
    Songwriters: Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey, Steven Lee Olsen

    Die A Happy Man – Thomas Rhett
    Songwriters: Thomas Rhett, Sean Douglas, Joe Spargur

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
    Songwriter: Lori McKenna

    Kill A Word – Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens
    Songwriters: Eric Church, Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde

    Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton
    Songwriters: Dean Dillon, Linda Hargrove

    Vice – Miranda Lambert
    Songwriters: Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

    Video of the Year PRESENTED BY XFINITY [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

    Fire Away – Chris Stapleton 


    Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
    Peter Pan – Kelsea Ballerini

    Vice – Miranda Lambert

    Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Different For Girls – Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King

    Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever

    May We All – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw

    Setting The World On Fire – Kenny Chesney Featuring P!nk

    Think Of You – Chris Young Featuring Cassadee Pope

    Audio / Keith Urban, who is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, says he loves playing live.

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    Keith Urban (ACM Entertainer of the Year) OC: …extraordinary. :20
    “I’ve always loved putting on concerts and tours and shows and really trying to put on something that’s incredibly entertaining and engaging, so I probably obsess about that part of what I do equal to making records, for sure. So, to get that nomination, along with the Album at this point, is extraordinary.”

    Audio / Keith Urban’s Ripcord is nominated for Album of the Year at this year’s ACM Awards, and he says he loves making records.

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    Keith Urban (what made Ripcord) OC: …made Ripcord. :17
    “I love making music I love making records. I really do, and I’m curious and passionate and hungry about where my art can go. That’s really what drives me completely and it’s what made Ripcord.”

    Audio / Keith Urban explains the first time he heard his multi-week No. 1 song, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is nominated for both ACM Single and Song of the Year.

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    Keith Urban (1st time he heard Blue) OC: …in the studio. :31
    “I just know when I heard ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ for the first time, it just struck me as one of those rare songs that encompass so many things in it. I couldn’t even label what it was, what style it was. It’s got a bit of soul, it’s got a bit of blues, it’s got a bit of country, it’s got just a big mix of all good things. Lyrically, it’s just an incredible song, incredible song. [It’s got] great melody, great lyric. I was so hopin’ I could do the song justice when we got in the studio.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about being named Entertainer of the Year from both the ACM Awards and CMA Awards.

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    Luke Bryan (Entertainer wins) OC: …got it right. :49
    “The title is what it is, you know? I mean, my focus in life when I’m on stage is entertaining these fans. If it’s my smile and my demeanor, if it’s my song that does it, if it’s me picking up a child out of the audience and letting them sing, it’s not being so premeditated that you can see it from a mile away. I mean, my main thing is be a fan up there that just gets to sing. That’s kind of how I’ve always approached it, and being called the Entertainer of the Year makes me want to do that to the best of my ability every night for the rest of my life as long as I’m on stage. I want people to leave my shows and go, ‘You know what? Whoever’s voting him Entertainer of the Year, they got it right.’”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says his ACM-nominated album, Black, shows a lot of growth and maturity.

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    Dierks Bentley (growth in album) OC: …understand it. :56
    “The record when people listen to it, they’re gonna hear right away that it’s about relationships and hopefully, project their own history and storyline and relationships into this particular album. For me, it has a thread of this guy who starts off in this one place with the song ‘Black,’ kind of in the moment with this one girl and then the cracks and the fissures start to show themselves. The next song, ‘Pick Up,’ you have this desperation and then ‘I’ll Be the Moon,’ there’s some deception going on, and then it just kind of goes from there. It’s a real story about just the highs and lows and really the maturity that I guess I go through, this singer goes through, throughout the album. You know the same guy that’s singing ‘Somewhere on a Beach,’ by the end of the record is singing a song called ‘Different for Girls,’ where he’s obviously matured enough to see that there is a different way that girls and guys handle breakups sometimes and there’s also a stereotype that goes along with that unfortunately, as well, too. A lot of growth throughout the record, but it’s all about relationships and this one person’s journey through love and trying to understand it.”

    Audio / Eric Church is nominated for Song of the Year for his recent Top 5 single, “Kill a Word,” Featuring Rhiannon Giddens. He cowrote the song with Luke Dick and Jeff Hyde, and it strikes a chord with how the world is today.

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    Eric Church (Kill a Word) OC: …positive way. :34

    “‘Kill a Word’ is as proud I’ve ever been as a songwriter, not only because of a turn of phrase and the way the lyrics are, but just the message. I think that the society that we live in today, if you don’t hear this song and look around and see how it relates to the world we live in, then I can’t help you, because it’s so true with everything that’s going on. It’s one of those songs that strikes a chord that I know in my career we’ve never struck, and I hope it strikes something for a lot of people in a positive way.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton explains why he recorded his ACM-Nominated Song of the Year, “Tennessee Whiskey,” which appears on his double-platinum album, Traveller.

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    Chris Stapleton (Tennessee Whiskey) OC: …version of it. :41
    “‘Tennessee Whiskey’ is a song that I love, you know I love great country songs and songwriters, and this is certainly one that is a great country song written by great country songwriters and performed by a great country artists. Certainly, if you try to cover a George Jones or David Allan Coe, you can’t try to out-George Jones George Jones or anything like that. So, if you’re gonna cover something like that, you need to try to move away from that and hopefully make it your own. We kind of happened upon this way of playing this song and had fun with it live and felt like it was something to record that was a good tip of the hat to things we grew up on and loved. I think it’s a unique and interesting version of it.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton talks about his ACM-nominated Music Video of the Year, “Fire Away.”

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    Chris Stapleton (Fire Away CMA video) OC: …the video. 1:03
    “The label kept asking me if I was going to do a video for the record, and they kept asking what I wanted to do. We were in this meeting hall at the label, and I said, ‘Here’s what I want to do. Here’s the idea,’ and I got dead silence out of it, and they thought I was a crazy man for a minute. Then they went back and thought about it and everybody got on board with it and we found Tim who was a remarkable director to direct, and I had this crazy idea to get Ben Foster in the video and I didn’t know him at all [laughs] at the time, and he was kind enough to do it. He brought in the actual reason for doing it, which was to raise the awareness. I had the idea for a storyline, and then everything happened very organically with that video and he brought Margarita in to play the female role in that video. It became something hopefully that has value beyond just being a video for the sake of doing a video. That’s what I liked about the video.”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley said he and his bandmates will never take an awards nomination for granted.

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    Lady Antebellum (Charles happy to be nominated) OC: …means a lot. :31

    “Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean you can’t take that for granted. There’s always going to be a new crop of groups and musicians that … and there should be. That’s what the music business is about. That’s what fans want. I mean, I always want something new. I’m always craving it, and so hopefully all this stuff kind of as groups and as artists helps motivate you to be creative and come up with something unique and different. So we never take it for granted because there will be a time when we won’t be in those categories and you know, so, you’re still in the game; you’re still playing on a pretty high level and so that means a lot.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about "Forever Country," which is nominated for ACM Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.

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    Carrie Underwood (Forever Country song) OC: …without her. :35
    “Well, I think the all three song choices were perfect. When I kind of first heard the idea of them mashing up ‘I Will Always Love You,’ ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ and ‘On The Road Again’ I was like, ‘How’s that gonna work?,’ because they’re three very different songs by three very different artists. I’m honored to be a part of it and to be singing parts on ‘I Will Always Love You,’ which I actually do in my tour set. So, it’s perfect. And it’s perfect…it’s perfect that Dolly ends it too. It wouldn’t have been right for us to do it without her.”

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about the ACM-nominated "Forever Country."

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

    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.”

  • KEITH URBAN, SAM HUNT AND CHRIS STAPLETON HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE LIST OF PERFORMERS AT THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

    Keith Urban, Sam Hunt and Chris Stapleton have been added to the list of performers for this year’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire, Cole Swindell, Rascal Flatts and Contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle.

    Previously announced performers include ACM co-hosts Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, as well as Jon Pardi, Brothers Osborne, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and Florida Georgia Line with the Backstreet Boys.

    Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming days.

    The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas April 2nd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

    Video / Keith Urban announcing he will perform on the ACM Awards

  • NEWS & NOTES: LBT, Luke, Eric, Sam, Darius, Chris, Alan

    Little Big Town will perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday (March 1st), followed by The Talk on March 14th.

    Luke Bryan will perform on The Tonight  Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (March 2nd).

    Eric Church and Sam Hunt, along with Jason Aldean, will headline the 4th Annual Route 91 Harvest Festival September 29th – October 1st at Nevada’s Las Vegas Village. Tickets go on sale Friday (March 3rd).

    Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Chris Stapleton and Alan Jackson are scheduled to perform during this year’s Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The three-day concert event will take place April 7th – 9th and will also feature such artists as Brett Eldredge, Kenny Chesney, Maren Morris, Dustin Lynch, Brett Young, Chris Lane and many more.

  • ACM AWARDS 2017: Some Reactions

    The members of Lady Antebellum were in New York City this morning (February 16th) to announce several of this year’s ACM Awards nominations live on CBS This Morning.

    Keith Urban leads leads with seven nominations in five categories, including his seventh for Entertainer of the Year and 10th nod for Male Vocalist of the Year. Keith’s nominated twice, as both artist and producer, in the Album of the Year category for Ripcord.  He received an additional two nominations, for both artist and producer, in the Single Record of the Year category for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is also nominated in the Song of the Year category.

    “I’ve been a musician since I was 6 years old,” says Keith.  “I just love writing songs, making records and touring.  So, for the ACMS’s to recognize RIPCORD in such a big way today is humbling.  I share these nominations with everyone in my life who made it possible – and a BIG shout out to all of our fans, who came out to see us on the ripCORD tour.  Can’t wait to play for you all again soon.”

  • CHRIS STAPLETON ANNOUNCES NEW TOUR AND NEW ALBUM.

    Chris Stapleton announced a lot of news this week – a new headlining tour and a brand-new album. Chris will officially launch his All-American Road Show May 5th in Alpharetta, Georgia and will hit cities such as Los Angeles, Philly, San Diego, Phoenix, Cincinnati and more, including a stop at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, before wrapping in Gilford, New Hampshire August 25th. The trek will take place after several dates in March and April, and Chris will also make time to open for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for a trio of shows in June.

    Brothers Osborne, Lucie Silvas, Brent Cobb, Anderson East and Margo Price will join Chris on the road, with the artists playing select dates. Brothers Osborne and Lucie Silvas (who is married to John Osborne) will kick off the trek in May.

    Chris will also release his new as-yet-to-be-titled album, the follow-up to his multi-platinum Traveller, on May 5th.

    Tickets for the All-American Road Show will go on sale for fan club members February 21st, with tickets to the general public will be available beginning February 24th.

    All-American Road Show Tour:

    March 9 – Houston, TX @ Rodeo Houston
    March 18 – London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens*
    March 19 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre*
    March 22 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre*
    March 24 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome*
    March 25 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place*
    March 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena*
    March 28 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena†
    March 30 – Las Vegas, NV @ Pearl Theater – Palms Casino Resort†
    April 6 – Columbus, GA @ Columbus Civic Center†
    April 8 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Tortuga Music Festival
    April 20 – Roanoke, VA @ Berglund Center‡
    April 21 – Pikeville, KY @ East Kentucky Expo Center‡
    April 22 – Pikeville, KY @ East Kentucky Expo Center‡
    April 27 – Columbia, MO @ Mizzou Arena+
    April 28 – Cape Girardeau, MO @ Show Me Center+
    April 29 – Bloomington, IL @ U.S. Cellular Coliseum+
    May 5 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre§
    May 11 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at VA Beach§
    May 12 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek§
    May 13 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion§
    May 18 – San Diego, CA @ Mattress Firm Amphitheatre§
    May 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion§
    May 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum§
    May 23 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre§
    June 1 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center at Fresno State§
    June 2 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre§
    June 3 – Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre§
    June 9 – Southaven, MS @ BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove#
    June 10 – Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre#
    June 15 – Charleston, WV @ Charleston Civic Center#
    June 16 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center#
    June 17 – Indianapolis, IN @ Klipsch Music Center#
    June 22 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center#
    June 23 – Manhattan, KS @ Country Stampede
    June 24 – North Platte, NE @ Nebraskaland Days
    June 29 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field††
    July 5 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest††
    July 6 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest††
    July 14 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center#
    July 15 – Hartford, CT @ The XFINITY Theatre#
    July 16 – Darien Lake, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center#
    July 20 – Holmdel, NJ @ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center#
    July 21 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater #
    July 22 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live#
    July 28 – George, WA @ Watershed Festival
    July 29 – Central Point, OR @ Country Crossings Music Festival
    July 30 – Mountain Home, ID @ Mountain Home Country Music Festival
    August 3 – Duluth, MN @ AMSOIL Arena**
    August 4—Prairie Du Chien, WI—Country on the River
    August 5 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre**
    August 10 – Hershey, PA @ Giant Center**
    August 11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion**
    August 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ BB&T Pavilion**
    August 17 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage**
    August 18 – Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center**
    August 19 – Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre**
    August 25 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion**

    *with special guest Lindi Ortega
    †with special guest Maren Morris
    ‡with special guest Brent Cobb
    +with special guest Lucie Silvas
    §with special guests Brothers Osborne and Lucie Silvas
    #with special guests Anderson East and Brent Cobb
    **with special guests Margo Price and Brent Cobb
    ††with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

  • FIRST LOOK: The initial ACM Awards nominations have been announced…more to come.

    The members of Lady Antebellum were in New York City this morning (February 16th) to announce several of this year’s ACM Awards nominations live on CBS This Morning.

    Luke Bryan and Keith Urban are among the Entertainer of the Year nominees, along with Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean.

    The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas April 2nd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Luke Bryan
    Florida GeorgiaLine
    Carrie Underwood
    Keith Urban
    MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Dierks Bentley
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Kelsea Ballerini
    Miranda Lambert
    Kacey Musgraves
    Maren Morris
    Carrie Underwood

    VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
    Big & Rich
    Brothers Osborne
    Dan & Shay
    Florida Georgia Line
    Maddie & Tae

    VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
    Eli Young Band
    Lady Antebellum
    Little Big Town

    Old Dominion
    Rascal Flatts

    Video / LADY ANTEBELLUM ANNOUNCE THE INITIAL ACM NOMINEES.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Chris Stapleton

    Don’t forget to catch Lady Antebellum on CBS This Morning on Thursday (February 15th). They will be announcing the nominees for this year’s ACM Awards during the 8am hour.

    Lady A is also scheduled to appear on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert tomorrow night, as well.

    Darius Rucker and Chris Stapleton, along with Brett Eldredge, will appear in a new CMT special titled CMT Hometown Heroes. Darius will return to MUSC Children’s Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, where his mother worked as a nurse, while Chris goes back to his high school in Paintsville, Kentucky. The one-hour special debuts March 31st at 10pm ET.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Keith, Dierks, Lady A, Chris

    Keith Urban is set to co-host the third hour of NBC’s Today Show on Tuesday (February 7th).

    Dierks BentleyLady Antebellum, Chris and Morgane Stapleton, and many others are featured on a new tribute album, Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams. The 11-track album will be released May 26th, in honor of Williams’ birthday the following day. See track list below.

    Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams Track List: 
    1. “Tulsa Time” –  Pistol Annies
    2. “I Believe in You” – Brandy Clark
    3. “We’ve Got a Good Fire Goin'” – Lady Antebellum
    4. “Some Broken Hearts Never Mend” – Dierks Bentley
    5. “Amanda” – Chris Stapleton feat. Morgane Stapleton
    6. “Till The Rivers All Run Dry” – Alison Krauss
    7. “Love Is On A Roll” – John Prine feat. Roger Cook
    8. “If I Needed You” – Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires
    9. “Maggie’s Dream” – Trisha Yearwood
    10. “Lord I Hope This Day is Good” – Keb’ Mo’
    11. “Good Ole Boys Like Me” – Garth Brooks

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Chris, Lauren, Brothers Osborne, Little Big Town

    Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton and Kenny Chesney will headline the fifth annual Tortuga Music Festival. The three-day event will take place April 7th – 9th in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and will also feature performances by Alan Jackson, Darius Rucker, Brett Eldredge, Maren Morris, Dustin Lynch, Old Dominion and Nelly, among others.

    Chris Stapleton appeared on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (January 24th) for the show’s “Behind the Lyrics” segment. He “explains” the story behind the title track of his hit album, Traveller. Check it out here.

    Luke Bryan will be joined by Cole Swindell, Phillip Phillips and songwriter Dallas Davidson to perform a benefit concert to help victims affected by the storms that recently devastated South Georgia. A  date for the benefit will be announced soon.

    Little Big Town, Brothers Osborne, Lauren Alaina and Gary Allan are among the artists performing at Chicago’s Country LakeShake this summer. The three-day event, which also features Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and many others, will take place June 23rd – 25th at the Huntington Bank Pavilion. Tickets go on sale February 3rd at 10am.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, The Band Perry

    Little Big Town will perform the National Anthem at the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship between the Alabama Crimson Tide (winner of the Peach Bowl) and the Clemson Tigers (winners of the Fiesta Bowl). The game takes place at the Rayond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Monday (January 9th) at 8:30pm ET.

    Nominations were announced for the iHeart Music Awards on Wednesday (January 4th). Luke Bryan has nods in a couple of categories, including the all-genre Male Artist of the Year, as well as Country Artist of the Year, alongside labelmate Keith Urban. Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere on a Beach” is up for Country Song of the Year, while Chris Stapleton has a Best New Country Artist of the Year nomination.

    Chris Stapleton earned some heavy metal. His songs “Traveller,” “Fire Away,” “Nobody To Blame” and “Parachute” have all been certified gold.

    Keith Urban, Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt are up for Favorite Male Country Artist, while Little Big Town and The Band Perry are up for Favorite Country Group at this year’s People’s Choice Awards, airing live January 18th at 9pm ET on CBS.