Numerous country artists performed, met with and signed autographs for hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world. On Friday, not only did Eric Paslay, Clare Dunn, Canaan Smith, Mickey Guyton, Easton Corbin, Alan Jackson and Lauren Alaina take part in CMA Music Fest, but at Nissan Stadium were performances by Eric Church, Sam Hunt and Chris Stapleton, among others.

Eric Church made a surprise appearance at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop following his stadium performance and performed The Band’s “Ophelia” with Charlie Worsham.

Chris brought the crowd to his feet performing songs from his award-winning album, Traveller. “It’s a remarkable thing to get to be a part of a mass of people who wanna listen to music,” says Chris.

Sam Hunt says coming to CMA Music Festival years ago inspired him to move to Nashville. “I was here several years ago for the first time for CMA Fest as a fan. I came out to the show, did the full experience, and it really was one of the big reasons I decided to move to Nashville,” he says. “It kind of made the idea of being a songwriter more tangible and realistic, and also I fell in love with the city, Nashville, so I knew it’d be a place I’d be happy living, and also because of the music. So, yeah, that week here really inspired my move here, and it was a significant part of my life.”

Chris  is currently on the airwaves with his latest single, “Parachute,” while Sam is making his way up the charts with “Make You Miss Me.”

Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne are among the artists performing during the Country 500 three-day concert event taking place on the infield of the Daytona International Speedway, during Memorial Day Weekend. Also known as “The Great American Music Fest at Daytona,” the Country 500 is the first huge music festival inside the grounds of one of the most iconic motorsports venues.

During Jimmy Buffett‘s recent show at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater, Alan Jackson surprised the crowd to perform their huge hit, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.”

Brothers Osborne and Kacey Musgraves are set to play alongside bands like Violent Femmes and Better Than Ezra at the second annual Pilgrimage Music & Culture Festival September 24 and 25 in Franklin, Tennessee.

Kip Moore revealed to Us Weekly a rock playlist that “inspire him and get his blood pumping.” Some of the tracks include Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” and The Killers’ “Shot at the Night.”

Canaan Smith will take part in the 4th Annual Cornhole Challenge, hosted by Craig Campbell on Tuesday, June 7th during this year’s CMA Music Festival. Proceeds will benefit the fight against colorectal cancer.

Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley won $10,000 for their Lady Aid children’s charities at the KNCI Golf and Guitars event.

Jon Pardi’s upcoming album, California Sunrise, is now available for pre-order. The album is available beginning June 17th.

Little Big Town was recently named the Artist of the Year by the Music Business Association.

Chris Stapleton’s powerful “Fire Away” video is used as a conduit to help bring mental health awareness to light. In the video, a young couple battle with the woman’s mental issues until it finally drives her to commit suicide.

“[The idea for the video] was just a notion, and then it became real and useful and something that can hopefully make the world a better place,” says Chris. “The song is kinda about loving somebody unconditionally through not so easy times. The concept of the video kind of came to me as that would be the hardest possible space in which to love somebody. I’ve been a huge fan of Ben’s [Foster] for a long time and so we tried to track him down and he was kind enough to take the phone call. And then it kind of grew from there,” says Chris. “It was just a notion, and then it became real and useful and something that can hopefully make the world a better place.”

Chris first came up with the “notion” when he was trying to figure out an idea for a music video, and then he wanted real actors to be in the clip…so that led to Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, Six Feet Under) and Margarita Levieva (The Blacklist, Revenge) (pr. Le-vee-va) coming on board and then bringing on ChangeDirection.org.

“It’s a subject matter that is very close to me and means a lot to me, and to be able to tell that story and to share it with so many people and to bring that character to life for me was tremendously important,” says Margarita. “So, as soon as I heard the whole outline and how we were going to shoot it and the story that we’re going to tell, I was immediately drawn and really looking forward to doing it.”

Check out the behind-the-scenes of the video and interviews with its stars, as well as director Tim Mattia and President of Change Direction, Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen below.

Chris is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Parachute,” a song from his award-winning album, Traveller.

Don’t forget to catch Keith Urban perform on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (11:35p ET) on Friday (May 6th), the day his new album, Ripcord, is released. Keith will also be profiled on CBS Sunday Morning this Sunday (May 8th).

Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves and Willie Nelson are set to headline the 15th Annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, taking place over two consecutive weekends – September 30th – October 2nd and October 7th – 9th – at Austin’s Zilker Park.

Vince Gill and David Nail are among the artists taking part in the 26th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game during this year’s CMA Music Festival. The players will put on their gloves June 7th at 3pm and play against each other at the new First Tennessee Park in Nashville. Tickets for the game are available at Ticketmaster. More names will be announced in the coming weeks. Proceeds will benefit City of Hope’s mission to eradicate cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

This year’s Faster Horses Festival will feature performances from Eric Church, Lady Antebellum and Jason Aldean on the main stage. The lineup for the second stage includes Kelleigh Bannen, Haley Georgia, Aubrie Sellers, LanCo, Mo Pitney and many others. The festival is taking place July 15th – 17th in Brooklyn, Michigan.

It seems Kip Moore may have gone back into the studio following his European trek to lay down some cool lyrics and funky beats. Check out his Instagram video below. In the meantime, he’s making his way up the country charts with his latest hit, “Running for You.” Kip is set to go on the road on Miranda Lambert’s Keeper of the Flame 2016 Tour, along with Brothers Osborne, in just a couple of weeks.

Brothers Osborne, Eric Paslay, Canaan Smith, Jon Pardi and many others have been added to the lineup at the Riverfront Stage during this year’s CMA Music Fest, running Thursday, June 9th through Sunday, June 12th.

Dierks Bentley held a surprise pop-up show in Knoxville, Tennessee over the weekend. The event, which took place at a local hotspot, The International, will be seen next month on CMT. The CMT Instant Jam with Dierks is set to debut May 28th at 9pm ET.

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott performed at the Stand Up to Cancer benefit, chaired by Reese Witherspoon and her husband Jim Toth, as well as MasterCard President and CEO Ajay Banga and his wife Ritu. The gala event over the weekend raised more than $42 million and also featured performances by Sheryl Crow, Tony Bennett and Jamie Foxx. Also in attendance were the event’s co-founder Katie Couric, Alec Baldwin, Joe Torre, Maura Tierney and Donna Karan. Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now.

Chris Stapleton is featured (sort of) in Jake Owen’s new video for “American Love Song.” Jake is wearing one of Chris’ tour T-shirts in the clip.

Clare Dunn recently shot the video for her single, “Tuxedo,” at a farm south of Nashville. The clip will hit the airwaves in the coming weeks.

Sam Hunt leads the list of nominated country artists at this year’s Billboard Music Awards with four nods. He’s nominated for Top Country Artist, Top Country Album for Montevallo and two nominations in the Top Country Song category for “Break Up in a Small Town” and “Take Your Time.”

Luke Bryan and Chris Stapleton follow with a pair of nods, including Top Country Artist and Top Country Album for Kill the Lights and Traveller, respectively, while Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” is up for Top Country Song.

The 2016 Billboard Music Awards will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas May 22nd.

2016 Billboard Music Awards Nominations:

Top Country Artist:
Zac Brown Band
Luke Bryan
Sam Hunt
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood

Top Country Album:
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Luke Bryan, Kill The Lights
Sam Hunt, Montevallo
Zac Brown Band, Jekyll + Hyde
Carrie Underwood, Storyteller

Top Country Song:
Sam Hunt, “Break Up In A Small Town”
Sam Hunt, “Take Your Time”
Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
Thomas Rhett, “Die A Happy Man”
Chris Young, “I’m Comin’ Over”

Four-time Entertainer of the Year winner Luke Bryan took his Kill The Lights Tour back on the road this past weekend after a short hiatus to co-host the ACM Awards on April 3rd in Las Vegas.

All three weekend concerts sold out including the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, where Luke set a record with the largest single day country concert attendance and the largest single day country concert gross in the venue’s history.

During the tour break, Luke was named the Country Artist of the Year at the iHeart Radio Music Awards, also held on April 3, and dominated as the most-nominated artist with seven category nods for the upcoming American Country Countdown Awards set for May 1.

Luke’s Kill The Lights Tour resumes this weekend in Toledo and will go on to play six stadiums concerts before wrapping in the fall.

The Georgia native is making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” which is from his latest album, Kill the Lights.

2016 Kill The Lights Tour:

4-14                 Toledo, OH                 The Huntington Center

4-15                 State College, PA       Bryce Jordan Center

4-16                 Charlottesville, VA     John Paul Jones Arena

4-20                 Missoula, MT              Adams Center

4-21                 Missoula, MT              Adams Center

4-22                 Bozeman, MT             Brick Breeden Fieldhouse

4-23                 Bozeman, MT             Brick Breeden Fieldhouse

4-29                 Concord, CA              Concord Pavilion

4-30                 Fresno, CA                  Save Mart Center

5-1                   Indio, CA                    Stagecoach

5-12                 Omaha, NE                 CenturyLink Center

5-13                 Wichita, KS                INTRUST Bank Arena

5-14                 Oklahoma City, OK    Chesapeake Energy Arena

5-20                 Atlanta, GA                Lakewood Amphitheater

5-21                 Atlanta, GA                Lakewood Amphitheater

5-27                 Baton Rouge, LA       Bayou Country Superfest*

5-29                 Daytona Beach, FL     Country 500

6-2                   Holmdel, NJ                P.N.C. Bank Arts Center

6-3                   Atlantic City, NJ         Boardwalk Hall

6-4                   Hershey, PA                Hershey Park Stadium

6-9                   Virginia Beach, VA    Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach

6-10                 Washington, DC         Jiffy Lube Live

6-11                 Washington, DC         Jiffy Lube Live

6-17                 Oshkosh, WI               Country USA*

6-19                 Columbus, OH            Buckeye Country Superfest*

6-24                 Toronto, ON               Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

6-25                 Toronto, ON               Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

7-7                   Milwaukee, WI           Summerfest*

7-8                   Indianapolis, IN          Klipsch Music Center

7-9                   Indianapolis, IN          Klipsch Music Center

7-15                 Boston, MA                Gillette Stadium***

7-16                 Boston, MA                Gillette Stadium***

7-17                 Bangor, ME                Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion

7-21                 Scranton, PA               The Pavilion at Montage Mountain

7-22                 Pittsburgh, PA            First Niagara Pavilion

7-23                 Pittsburgh, PA            First Niagara Pavilion

7-29                 Philadelphia, PA         BB&T Pavilion

7-30                 Philadelphia, PA         BB&T Pavilion

7-31                 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center

8-11                 Cleveland, OH            Blossom Music Center

8-12                 Cleveland, OH             Blossom Music Center

8-13                 Cincinnati, OH            Riverbend Music Center

8-14                 Cincinnati, OH            Riverbend Music Center

8-19                 Minneapolis, MN       U.S. Bank Stadium

8-21                 Calgary, AB                Country Thunder Calgary*

8-25                 Kansas City, MO        Providence Medical Center Amphitheater

8-26                 St. Louis, MO             Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

8-27                 Chicago, IL                Wrigley Field

9-1                   Raleigh, NC                Walnut Creek Amphitheatre

9-2                   Charlotte, NC             PNC Music Pavilion

9-9                   Denver, CO                 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

9-10                 Denver, CO                 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

9-15                 Sacramento, CA          Toyota Amphitheatre

9-16                 Mountain View, CA   Shoreline Amphitheatre

9-22                 Phoenix, AZ                Ak-Chin Pavilion

9-30                 Salt Lake City, UT      USANA Amphitheatre

10-1                 Salt Lake City, UT      USANA Amphitheatre

10-22               Arlington, TX            AT&T Stadium ***

10-29               Detroit, MI                 Ford Field

Dates and Cities subject to change

*festival date

**no Little Big Town

***Chris Stapleton joins

For up to date information on Luke, the tour and tickets go to www.lukebryan.com or www.livenation.com.

https://twitter.com/lukebryanonline

https://www.facebook.com/lukebryan

http://instagram.com/lukebryan

Chris Stapleton teamed up with Ram Trucks and the ACMs to journey back home in his Ram Truck to his high school in Paintsville, Kentucky. He performed a pair of concerts and left the students and community with something to build on…in the hometown that built him. Directed by rock-star photographer and director, Danny Clinch.

Chris, whose single “Nobody to Blame” won the ACM Song of the Year, left Las Vegas with six total awards, including Male Vocalist, New Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Traveller.

Chris Stapleton ended up with SIX awards at this year’s ACM Awards as both artist, producer and songwriter. The truckload of awards include Album of the Year for Traveller (as both artist and producer), Song of the Year for “Nobody to Blame” (artist and songwriter), Male Vocalist of the Year and New Male Vocalist of the Year.

UMG ACM Winners so far include Chris Stapleton, who picked up the Song of the Year honors for his current single, “Nobody to Blame,” along with his co-writers Barry Bales and Ronnie Bowman.

Congrats go to Little Big Town, who were surprised with the Vocal Event of the Year award for “Smokin’ and Drinkin’” with Miranda Lambert.