• DARIUS RUCKER’S RIVERFRONT REVIVAL FESTIVAL RELEASES FULL MUSIC SCHEDULE.

    The inaugural Riverfront Revival, a hometown music festival curated and headlined by three-time GRAMMY winner Darius Rucker in partnership with SRE Entertainment, continues to build anticipation with the release of its full music schedule:

    SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8
    1:00-1:45 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Drew Dangerfield
    1:45-2:30 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Nikki Lane
    2:30-3:15 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Lauren Hall
    3:15-4:00 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Maggie Rose
    4:00-5:00 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Mitchell Lee
    5:00-6:00 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Larry Fleet
    6:00-7:00 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Blue Dogs
    7:00-8:00 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Jimmie Allen
    8:00-9:15 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): SUSTO
    9:15-11:00 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Darius Rucker

    SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9
    2:00-2:45 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Lauren Jenkins
    2:45-3:30 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Funk You
    3:30-4:15 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Radney Foster
    4:15-5:00 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): The War and Treaty
    5:00-6:00 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Wild Rivers
    6:00-7:00 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Trampled by Turtles
    7:00-8:15 p.m. (Magnolia Stage): Charley Crockett
    8:15-10:00 p.m. (Live Oak Stage): Brothers Osborne

    Set to take place October 8th-9th, 2022 at North Charleston’s gorgeous Riverfront Park, Riverfront Revival presented by Discover South Carolina will feature curated offerings of the Lowcountry’s best food, libations, art and culture along with music performances mixing the best of country and rock. Doors open at 12 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

    Daily tickets are also now on sale for $94.50 (plus fees) and general admission weekend passes are still available in limited quantities for $174.50 (plus fees). All tickets can be purchased HERE. A dollar from every ticket sold will go to MUSC’s Arts in Healing program.

    For more details, visit RiverfrontRevival.com and follow @riverfrontrevival on Facebook and Instagram.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Mickey Guyton, Jon Pardi, Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Shania Twain

    Mickey Guyton appears on NBC’s Today Show on Friday (August 26th), the same day she releases her new song “Somethin’ Bout You,” which she co-wrote with Tyler Hubbard and David Garcia.

    Jon Pardi stars in this week’s episode of “CMT Campfire Sessions,” premiering this Friday (August 26th) at 10p ET/9p CT exclusively on CMT. Joined fireside by his longtime band The All-Nighters, Pardi leads a feel-good jam session, swapping stories and acoustic versions of his biggest hits, including “Head Over Boots,” “Tequila Little Time,” “Heartache on The Dance Floor” and “Dirt on My Boots,” plus new music from his upcoming albumin Mr. Saturday Night, including his latest chart-rising single “Last Night Lonely.” Encores of this week’s episode will air Sunday, September 4th at 11a/10c (CMT), Friday, September 16th at 1a/12c (CMT Music) and Saturday, September 17th at 10a/9c and 6p/5c (CMT Music).

     

    Keith Urban and Darius Rucker will be featured on this weekend’s edition of CMT Hot 20 on Saturday (August 27th) at 9a ET and Sunday (August 28th) at 8a ET.

     

    Keith Urban and Vince Gill will appear on actor-singer Rita Wilson’s upcoming duets album, titled Rita Wilson Now and Forever: Duets. The collection, which will also feature Jimmie Allen, Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson, among others, will be released September 27th.

    Shania Twain was honored with the ACM Poet’s Award during Wednesday night’s (August 24th) ACM Honors.

     

  • LABOR DAY 2022 AUDIO SOUNDBITES

    For many decades, Labor Day was seen as a day for workers to voice their complaints and discuss better working conditions and pay.

    U.S. Congress declared Labor Day a national holiday in 1894, and on Monday, September 5th, we will once again celebrate the people in every occupation whose work and dedication help the nation keep going.

    Labor Day weekend also signals the unofficial end to summer, and many of the hottest country stars are taking a look back at some of the toughest jobs they had prior to making their mark in music or their dream job now.

     

    Audio / Alan Jackson says that working man values have always been a part of his music.

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    AJ (working people songs) OC: … appreciate that. :28
    “I’ve always written songs and recorded songs, other people’s songs, about workin’ people, and workin’, the workin’ life ’cause I mean, that’s where I’m from. I mean, I worked…I’d already had jobs and worked as a grown person before I ever even thought about bein’ in the music business, so I come from that background, and…although I hadn’t had a job in a long time (laughs), I still remember a lot about it, you know, and I remember what the lifestyle is, and I still appreciate that.”

    Audio / Billy Currington recalls some of the jobs he had before landing his record deal in 2003.

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    Billy Currington (Labor Day) OC: …record deal. :40
    “I started working like at [age] 12, landscaping. This was summer, every summers, and roofing. I started when I was about 16 roofing houses, and that was probably one of my toughest jobs because down there in South Georgia, it gets hot, so doing that every day all summer long. The pawn shop when I moved to Nashville was one of my favorites, even though it was one of my least favorites. The concrete job was my least favorite of all – six years of that, and I couldn’t take it no more. After that job, that was my turning point. Either I’m going to do something else for a living [laughs] or quit and try to really focus on music and get this record deal.”

    Audio / CARRIE UNDERWOOD TALKS ABOUT THE JOBS SHE HAD GROWING UP AND HER BEST JOB -- PERFORMING FOR HER FANS.

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    Carrie Underwood (Labor Day) OC: …born to do. :59
    “I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad job. I’ve had hard jobs. I’ve had jobs that worked random hours. My first job was at a gas station, and that was a lot of fun actually. While I was working at the gas station, I took another job at a hotel down the street. There was nobody else working there. I had one day of training and then the next day I came in, and the lady that had worked there the longest and was training me just didn’t show. So, the second day at work I was now in charge ‘cause I was now the senior member that was working at the hotel. So, I feel like that one was really challenging to figure my way through it, but I did. My best job is definitely what I do now. I really like being on stage. I really like performing for people and just having fun and singing, because that’s what I feel like I was born to do.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack says her worst job truly smelled bad.

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    Caylee Hammack (Labor Day-worst job) OC: …worst job. (laughs) :38
    “My worst job was working in a nursery, actually. I love kids so I thought I’d be really good at it, but when you’re the new person coming in, you have to change all the diapers first. So, I was changing 45 diapers a day and it got to the point where everything smelled like baby poop. It literally drove me crazy. I would walk my dog and I would have to go to pick up her poop, and it would smell like baby poop, and I just couldn’t handle it, honestly. The smell of poop warded me away. The children were lovely, but the smell of poop lingered, and I couldn’t handle that job. That was my worst job.” (laughs)

    Audio / Darius Rucker recalls one of his worst jobs before turning to music.

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    Darius Rucker (Labor Day) OC: …pizza. :15
    “I was fifteen, and I worked at a pizza place, and the guy decided that at fifteen, that I could not only clean the floors and wash the dishes, but I also had to make pizza. So, for two months, he taught me how to make pizza

    Audio / Dierks Bentley makes a living performing for his fans, and he can’t say enough about them.

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    Dierks Bentley (Labor Day) OC: …generosity. :26
    “Personally, the fans give me amazement. That’s the only word to really sum it up. I look out in the crowd, you know, usually see a lot of faces and fans are cheering. I know each one of these like from the road-the signs are from California…Michelle and Kayla live up in the Ohio area. They’re all, I just see them, and I’m like, ‘Wow!,’ they’re all from different regions. You know when you’re in a different region of the country and you just see certain fans. These people are way more hard core than I am, and I’m just amazed by their generosity.”

    Audio / Eric Church talks about one of his worst job.

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    Eric Church (Labor Day-odd jobs) OC: …bought at 2am. 1:27
    “I had an awful job. I’ve had a lot of awful jobs…my worst one was when I first came to Nashville. I got a job at the Shop at Home Network. I worked midnight, graveyard, midnight to eight. That was bad enough but then I would work all night, go home, shower and then I had writing appointments all day because I was trying to get a career started. I’d go write songs and get meetings just trying to get signed. And end up getting done at 3 of 4 with all of that, I’d go home, take a shower or sleep for a little bit and then I had to be at work again at midnight. So the schedule was bad enough, however, what I had to do at the job…I sold knives from midnight to 7 or 8am. And, anytime somebody calls you at 3 or 4am and needs 200 knives for $19.95, it’s automatically an alarming situation. And I just, I was young and I’d been in a lot of these people’s shoes, I had done this…I knew they were drunk. I knew what they had done. They’d just come home from the bar, flipped on Shop at Home and said, ‘You know what? I need that.’ So the reason the job didn’t last long for me is that I was maybe the worst salesmen in history because I ended up talking a lot of these people out of it, I’d say, ‘I’ll tell you what man, go to bed, call me, I’ll be here in the morning. If you get up in the morning and want these knives you call me back.’ Because I knew what was going to happen, you know. They bought 200 knives for $19.95…first of all some of these people you didn’t know whether you should call the cops. What do you need 200 knives for? Even though I’m selling them…what do you need them for? So, it was awful doing that job. And then they got rid of me because, they were like, ‘You’re the worst. I can’t believe you’re talking people out of it.’ I was like, ‘Man I know…I’ve been there.’ [laughs] I’d want some to talk me out of buying some of the stuff I’ve bought at 2am.”

    Audio / GEORGE STRAIT’S CAREER HAS SPANNED DECADES AND 60 NO. 1 HITS, BUT HE CAN RECALL HEARING ONE OF HIS SONGS ON THE RADIO AND HOW COUNTRY RADIO HAS SUPPORTED HIM.

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    George Strait (first time on radio) OC: …records I’ve put out. :26
    “I took it to a radio station in San Antonio KKYX, and a guy named Jerry King put it on and played it while I ran out to the car to listen to it on the radio. So, it’s just been relationships like that through the years that I’ve had with different people. I don’t know, they’ve just supported me so much and have been very open to the records I’ve put out.”

     

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about his jobs prior to making a career in music.

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    Jon Langston (Labor Day) OC: …is the bomb. :45
    “The worst job – it wasn’t bad – I could just say growing up and stuff and in high school, I was working for my dad. It was a great job, working at the shop. One day I got tired of working for my dad. I thought it’d be smart to go work for somebody else and so I went to work at Chik-fil-a for a family friend, and I’m just not made for cooking chicken. But, I told my dad, ‘Hey, can I come back to work?’ (laughs) So, yeah, I mean, Chik-fil-a a great place to work if you’re into that kind of thing, but not me. But Chik-fil-a is my favorite fast food restaurant of all time. I mean, I will go to war for Chik-fil-a. I eat there probably three or four times a week. Chik-fil-a is the bomb.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his worst job, which was at a grocery store.

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    Jon Pardi (Labor Day) OC: …so bored! :17
    “The worst job I ever had was at Hometown Grocery Store. I didn’t want to work, I was 15, and I did not want to work at the grocery store. Bagging was fun, but they sent me down the aisles to pull up cans and turn ‘em around and face ‘em, and I would just get so bored!”

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about one of his worst jobs.

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    Jordan Davis (Labor Day) OC: …worst job. :41
    “[My] worst job was probably whenever I got out of school I started working for an environmental group in Baton Rouge, and I was doing actual environmental work at first. I went to my boss probably about four months in and told him that I was going to move to Nashville and write songs. Luckily enough, he let me stay on, but I became the weedeater guy for the landscaping side of the business. I seriously weedeated eight hours a day. The only break I would get would be in-between yard to yard. So, like we would be in the car and I would try to doze off for like 10 minutes. I was covered in grass in the middle of the summer in Baton Rouge. It was awful. That was definitely the worst job.”

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about one of the worst jobs he had while working on doing music full-time.

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    Keith Urban (Labor Day-job) OC: …to sell things. 1:56
    “I’ve had a lot of crappy jobs. Wow! I don’t know about the worst job, oh, telemarketing. (laughs) I hated it! By all accounts, I was actually pretty good at it, and my boss was really upset that I wanted to quit, ‘cause he said you’d actually be pretty good at it, other than I was just too brutally honest. I was working for a company that at the time sold Franking Machines, which was a thing where – back then – you would put postal impressions on an envelope and send them out, instead of buying a whole stack of stamps. So, you had this thing called a Franking Machine and you’d pre-load it with a whole bunch of pre-paid for stamps. And you just put the envelope(s) in and (sound efx). So, if you’re putting out a whole bunch of mail from a business, it’s much better to get a Franking Machine, then have someone go to the post office all the time. I would have this whole long pitch about, ‘Hi, I’m Keith, blah, blah, blah, what volume of mail would you say you do every week?’ I was talking to this lady from a florist, and she was so sweet, and she goes, ‘Oh, I’d say I send out about three letters a week, love.’ And then I’m supposed to say, ‘Well, then you need a Franking Machine…’ (laughs) ‘cause it’s on the script, you know? I’m going, ‘I’m so sorry, you don’t need what we’re selling. I’m sorry to bother you.’ And she goes, ‘No, no, tell me about this. What are you selling?’ She was the perfect customer, and I went, ‘I promise you. You don’t need this thing. It costs a fortune. You don’t need it. You don’t need it.’ She goes, ‘No, but tell me about it.’ I said, ‘Honestly, I’m not even going to waste your time. You’re so lovely, but thank you so much. Have a great day,’ and I hung up. My boss was standing behind me (laughs), and he goes, ‘They all need Franking Machines. They all need…’ I was like, ‘She didn’t. I hate this job. I quit.’ And that was it. I wasn’t cut out to sell things.”

    Audio / Kip Moore recalls his worst job...ever.

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    Kip Moore (Labor Day-worst job) OC: …than that. :21
    “I’d have to say my worst job ever was laying sod in the south Georgia heat. There’s nothing than that, especially when somebody would think that you’re waiting for the next sod patch to be thrown to you and you got your back turned, and all of a sudden, that big ole piece of sod hits you right on the back. You got nowhere to clean up, and you’re just stuck with dirt on your back for the rest of the day. It doesn’t get any worse than that.”

    Audio / KYLIE MORGAN SAYS BEING ON THE ROAD PERFORMING FOR PEOPLE IS HER “HAPPY PLACE.”

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    Kylie Morgan (the road is her happy place) OC: …that’s me. :48
    “The road is truly my happy place. I love going to sleep and not knowing where I’m going to be the next day. I love hotel beds. I literally just eat and breathe the road. It is truly an adventure all the time, and I knew even when I was little that I had to do something where I traveled because I love the feeling of it. I love experiencing new things, and the fact that I truly feel like what I do is not a job. And the fact that I get to see the world, meet so many amazing people, have a one-on-one connection through my music, I never have to work a day in my life because I would do this for free. It is one of the most liberating feelings to finish a song and see someone turn to someone and go, ‘Omigod, that’s me.’”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about the different jobs he worked in and around Leesburg, Georgia, before heading to Nashville to pursue a career in music.

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    Luke Bryan (Labor Day-jobs) OC: …Nashville… 1:07
    “At age 12 thru 13, I worked at Rubos IGA Supermarket in Leesburg, GA. I worked during the summers on Monday and Tuesday. I stocked and cleaned up the produce.  They paid me under the table…I peeled off all of the brown lettuce. Let’s see, when I was 15, I was a cashier at K-Mart for two months. I worked at K-Mart for two months, and then I reverted back to Rubos because it didn’t really make sense for me to drive all the way into Albany and work for K-Mart. The benefits were great though-you’d get an hour-long on the blue light special. So I started back at Rubos, and then I quit Rubos and worked for my Dad-just awful just driving tractors through cotton all day, and spraying pesticides that eventually would turn your hair green. And then at some point, I started playing guitar. And well, after college I went back and worked for my dad and continued to spray and haul fertilizer around. And then I moved to Nashville…”

    Audio / RISCILLA BLOCK HAD A LOT OF SIDE JOBS WHEN SHE WAS TRYING TO MAKE IT IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, INCLUDING CLEANING AIRBNBS.

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    Priscilla Block (Labor Day) OC: …didn’t care. :34
    “Cleaning Airbnbs, and that was really interesting ‘cause you’d find some crazy things in those Airbnbs. Those bachelorette parties, all I’m saying is I want to be invited next time. I was kind of sad that I had to be the house cleaner and I wasn’t at the bachelorette party. It was great! You’d go in and sometimes there’d be extra food, alcohol. When I walked in and I would see White Claws in the fridge, I’m, ‘Bingo, baby! Let’s go!’ I don’t know if I was supposed to be taking the alcohol, but I didn’t care.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING HAS NEVER HAD ANOTHER JOB OTHER THAN PLAYING MUSIC.

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    Travis Denning (Labor Day) OC: …right for it. :13
    “I’ve always played music. I mean, my first gig was when I was 16-years-old. That was what I did. And as soon as I found out I could make money doing it, I thought I’d much rather make money doing this than anything else, so I went right for it.”

    Audio / Tyler Hubbard learned his work ethic from working manual labor jobs when he was growing up, and it shows now in how hard he works at his music career.

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    Tyler Hubbard (Labor Day) OC: …where I’m at. :43
    “One of the worst jobs – I don’t know if it was the worst job, definitely the most physical, was probably pouring concrete. I did that for a year with a friend that had a concrete business, and we poured a lot of concrete that year, and I just remember really early mornings and really late nights. It was, if the sun was up, we were working, and that was pretty influential in creating the work ethic that I have. It was either that or my dad had a tree service that I grew up working with him doing that, as well, which was again, very manual labor, very long days and taught me a lot about working hard. And so, those were special times and as hard as it was, I’m thankful for those years. I love working hard, and I’m grateful for the struggle that got me where I’m at.”

  • LABOR DAY LINERS 2022

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Labor Day)

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    Hey y’all! It’s Billy Currington, wishing you a very happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Labor Day)

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    This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing you a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Labor Day Weekend)

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    Hey everyone! I’m Carrie Underwood, hoping you have a happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Labor Day)

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    Hey everybody! This is Catie Offerman, wishing you a fun and work-free Labor Day Weekend.

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Labor Day)

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    Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack. I’m wishing you a fun and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Labor Day)

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    Hey! It’s Darius Rucker, and I hope you have a have a happy work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Labor Day)

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    Hey! It’s Eric Church, and I hope you have a have a happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Labor Day)

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    Hey! I’m Jon Langston. Hope you have a Happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Labor Day weekend)

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    Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, and I hope you have a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Labor Day)

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    Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Labor Day weekend)

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    Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, hoping you have a happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Labor Day weekend)

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    Hi everybody! This is Keith Urban, wishing you a very happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Labor Day)

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    Hey—what’s happening guys? This is Kip Moore, wishing you a happy and work-free Labor Day Weekend.

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Labor Day)

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    Hey, it’s Kylie Morgan, wishing you a fun and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER LBT (Labor Day)

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    Hi! We’re Little Big Town, hoping you have a work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Labor Day)

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    Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, and I hope you have a have a happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Labor Day)

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    Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae, and we’re Maddie & Tae, hoping you have a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Labor Day)

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    Hey everybody, I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Labor Day)

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    Hey, it’s Priscilla Block, wishing you a fun and work-free Labor Day Weekend.

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Labor Day)

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    Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire, wishing you and your family and all your friends a Happy Labor Day Weekend.

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Labor Day)

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    Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Have a great and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Labor Day)

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    Hey y’all. It’s Travis Denning, hoping you have a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Labor Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a fun and work-free Labor Day Weekend.

     

  • DIERKS BENTLEY, LUKE BRYAN, DARIUS RUCKER, CARRIE UNDERWOOD, BROTHERS OSBORNE, PARKER McCOLLUM AND MORE ARE FEATURED IN THE ABC-TV SPECIAL CMA FEST ON WEDNESDAY.

    This year’s CMA Fest, dubbed “The Music Event of the Summer,” returns for a three-hour ABC-TV special featuring once in a lifetime collaborations and performances this Wednesday (August 3rd). Dierks Bentley and Elle King will host the show, which was filmed at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans) during the 49th CMA Fest this past June.

    The performances include Dierks’ smash hit “Drunk On a Plane,” as well as a cool collaboration with the iconic Billy Ray Cyrus on his debut single and ’90s classic, “Achy Breaky Heart.”

    Carrie Underwood performs both her latest single, “Ghost Story,” as well as her hit single “Good Girl,” while Brothers Osborne turn in a performance of their fan favorite, “Skeletons.”

    Luke Bryan performs is No. 1 hit, “Kick The Dust Up,” while Darius Rucker turns in “Wagon Wheel,” as well as a collaboration with the Zac Brown Band on “Chicken Fried.”

    Parker McCollum makes his dynamic debut performing “To Be Loved By You.”

    Other performers include Luke Combs, Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Kelsea Ballerini, Cole Swindell, Carly Pearce, Wynonna, Dustin Lynch, Lady A and others.

    Catch all the action on Wednesday (August 3rd) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Dierks Bentley is co-hosting this year's ABC-TV special, CMA Fest, with buddy Elle King, and he's so happy that the festival was back in person after two years.

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    Dierks Bentley (CMA Fest 2022) OC: …host it. :22
    “It was so great to be back (in person) at CMA Fest especially hosting it. After two years of CMA being away, CMA Fest being gone, those fans came back with a vengeance, so excited to party and hang out, so loud. So, for me to get a chance to not only play the show, but actually host it with my buddy Elle King, that is just, I just feel so lucky. That was so much fun and so looking forward to seeing the show air on ABC in August, and just so truly lucky to have a chance to host it.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about the "rowdy" experience he had during this year's CMA Music Fest.

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    Luke Bryan (CMA Fest 2022) OC: …experience. :56
    “It was crazy. To leave the stadium and over 80,000 people and go straight to Blake’s bar for the Spotify event. And I got a little carried away. I never get to play rowdy bars anymore, so after I kinda got to roast Blake, I attempted to sing ‘Some Beach,’ and I did not know any of the words-sorry, Blake. Anyway, just being in his bar, I got in front of the crowd and I really kind of got caught up in the moment and played for maybe a little too long. But then, after I got done there, I ran across the street to my bar. I bought my whole bar a Two Lane (beer) and it was just a wild night and so good being in the mix in CMA Music Fest with all the fans doing a concert, bar hopping to Blake’s bar (and) my bar. It was a pretty crazy experience.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about CMA Fest 2022.

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    Carrie Underwood (CMA Fest 2022) OC: …good time. :24
    “Everybody is super-excited to be back at CMA Fest. It’s a staple in country music. It’s been going on for so many decades. I just feel like not having a proper CMA Fest was just kind of gut-wrenching. But people are excited-the fans are excited, the performers are excited, I’m excited, so it’s gonna be a good time.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Shania Twain, Chris Stapleton, Alan Jackson, Darius Rucker

    Taylor Swift received five nominations for MTV’s Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, Best Longform Video, Best Cinematography, Best Direction and Best Editing.

     

    Kacey Musgraves received a pair of nominations for MTV’s Video Music Awards for Best Longform Video and Best Art Direction. The 2022 VMAs will air live from New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Sunday, August 28th at 8pm ET/PT.

    https://twitter.com/MTV/status/1551914848728088576

    Shania Twain‘s new documentary, Not Just A Girl, is now available for streaming on Netflix.

    In addition, Shania has also released a companion album, Not Just A Girl (The Highlights).

     

    Chris Stapleton has been added to the list of performers at this year’s Farm Aid. The festival, featuring performances by co-founders Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, as well as Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Margo Price and Brittney Spencer, will take place at Coastal Credit Union Music Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 24th. Tickets go on sale July 30th.

    Alan Jackson made a wonderful announcement on his socials this week. There’s a new addition to the Jackson clan — Alan’s daughter, Ali, is pregnant with the country superstar’s first grandchild, a boy, who is due in December.

    If you’re watching Netflix and come across the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair’s three-part docuseries, you might hear a familiar voice. Wrestling fan (and Ric Flair’s biggest fan) Darius Rucker is narrating the documentary, Ric Flair: The Last Match, about the wrestling legend’s life and career, which is all leading up to his last match, scheduled to take place in Nashville on July 31st.

     

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks Bentley, Tyler Hubbard, Darius Rucker

    Dierks Bentley is set to co-host the ABC-TV special, CMA Fest, with Elle King on August 3rd at 8pm ET/7pm CT. “I think Elle brings so much to the table,” Dierks says. “Onstage she’s just a riot and also super talented – a great combination of talent with comedic humor. A lot of spontaneous moments between the two of us and just a lot of laughs.”  Filmed from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN during the 49th CMA Fest in June, the television special features 30 performances from music’s hottest stars as they take the stage during the four-day festival. Fans will be talking for weeks about stellar collaborations including Bentley and Billy Ray Cyrus, Wynonna Judd and Carly Pearce, Dustin Lynch featuring MacKenzie Porter, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson, King and Ashley McBryde, Lady A featuring BRELAND, and Zac Brown Band with Darius Rucker. Additional performers include Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Russell Dickerson, Parker McCollum, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood.

     

    Tyler Hubbard‘s friend and sometimes collaborator, Hip Hop Hitmaker Nelly, dropped in on Tyler’s CMA Fest performance at the Spotify House in downtown Nashville. The pair performed “Country Boy Do” from the rapper’s 2021 album Heartland, and Nelly just released the video from that performance.

     

     

    Darius Rucker is scheduled to headline the opening ceremony at the 2022 Department of Defense Warrior Games taking place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, August 19th-28th. The Warrior Games will feature top athletes competing in such events as wheelchair basketball, cycling, indoor rowing and much more.

     

  • FOURTH OF JULY AUDIO 2022

    Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain and tyranny.

    The Declaration of Independence, which is on public display in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., was primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, however, he worked with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to come up with the final document. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776, but the actual signing of the document took place August 2nd, 1776.

    Now, the Fourth of July holiday is commonly associated with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues and concerts. Some of your favorite country stars take time to remember their Fourth of July traditions, memories and what the holiday really means to them.

    Mickey Guyton will host and perform during A Capitol Fourth on the Fourth of July on PBS beginning at 8pm ET. Country star Jake Owen, Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Yolanda Adams, Tony Award winner and Broadway icon Chita Rivera, Grammy Award-winning musician and actor Gloria Gaynor, Blues musician Keb’ Mo’ and many others are also among the stars performing during the special.

     

    To access Fourth of July liners, click here.

     

    Audio / Alan Jackson recalls one of the coolest Fourth of July memories he’s ever enjoyed.

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    AJ (fave 4th of July memory) OC: …very cool. :58
    Well, this one is hard to beat. A couple of years ago, maybe longer than that now, I had an old boat in Florida. It’s like an old antique motor yacht, and it was kind of a cool old boat. I had taken that boat, I’ve always wanted to take it up north like to New York and up in that area, up in the northeast where it’s so pretty. So, we took the boat up there and Denise and the girls, we all went up. They like going to New York City, which I don’t really care about going to the city. So, I got to stay in my boat there at the harbor tied up, which was cool anyway. So they spent time in the city a few days and then that was Fourth of July, and we went out in the Hudson River that night and they shot the fireworks off and we were anchored out in front of the Statue of Liberty and New York City was behind us, and the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks were going off sitting on that boat. That was the coolest thing and my girls still talk about that. I mean, that was the coolest thing on Fourth of July I can ever remember. I can’t top that one probably. It was emotional sitting there watching the Statue of Liberty and thinking about all that. It was very cool.”

     

    Audio / Billy Currington talks about his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Billy Currington (4th of July) OC: …of my life. :16
    “My best memories would be hanging out with my mom, brother and sister on the beach on Tybee Island right off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. We’d go there every year, and we’d light our own fireworks and watch the ones that they had for us. They were the best times, some of the best times of my life.”

     

    Audio / Carrie Underwood recalls one of her favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Carrie Underwood (favorite Fourth of July memory) OC: …work out. :51
    “I think my favorite Fourth of July memory would be going to the fireworks stand and picking out which fireworks I wanted to do. I must’ve been like 7 or 8, and I came home and made a list of what order I wanted to do them in, because I wanted to put a show on for Mom and Dad, and of course I couldn’t wait until it was dark outside (laughs). So, I made my Mom and Dad get the lawn chairs and come out to the backyard and watch some not very dramatic fireworks at like six o’clock in the evening, but I was so proud of myself, and I was so proud of the show that I put on. So, I feel like that was a little training for what I do now – putting on shows, figuring out how it’s all going to work out.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker enjoys setting off fireworks.

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    Darius Rucker (fireworks) OC: …off once. :15
    “Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina, it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his family activities on the Fourth of July holiday.

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    Eric Church (4th of July) OC: …freedoms. 1:17
    “The Fourth of July for me, growing up we would always go to the lake, we didn’t live on the lake but we would all go to the lake. Had a buddy who had a pontoon and we would always get on the pontoon and you go out and you’d tie all the pontoons together and just have a big time. This was before, I was younger then, the adults were having more fun than we were, you know it was just to go swim in the water and shoot off fireworks. Basically, water tailgating is what it was. And then as we got older, same thing…we would just, us younger kids had our own boat and we had as much fun as the adults.”

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about what he usually does on the Fourth of July,

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    Jon Langston (Fourth of July) OC: …either way. :17
    “The Fourth of July is usually different every year. We’re usually playing shows, or we’re out on the lake or at the beach, or sometimes I’ve said, ‘I’m staying at home,’ shooting fireworks off the back porch or something. That’s probably not the safest thing, but we have a good time either way.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT SOME OF HIS FAVORITE CHILDHOOD FOURTH OF JULY MEMORIES.

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    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July) 2 OC: …really cool. :17
    “Probably baseball games, firework shows at baseball games. We’d go to Shreveport Captains games, so yeah, we’d do that or barbecues and fireworks. I can remember being on the lake for a couple of Fourth of Julys. We’d take the boat out and we’d watch the downtown fireworks show from the boat, which was really cool.”

    Audio / Josh Turner talks about the fireworks “wars” his family would have when he was growing up.

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    Josh Turner (fireworks) OC: …of money. [laughs] :20
    “Yeah, we had fireworks around, especially my Daddy’s family. All the individual families had a lot of competition with each other and tried to outdo each other to try to see who had the biggest and baddest fireworks and all that. [laughs] My daddy, I think, was the smartest one. He just went out and bought maybe $25 worth of fireworks and let everybody else put on the big show, so he saved a lot of money.” [laughs]

    Audio / Keith Urban recalls coming over to America for the first time.

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    Keith Urban (coming to America 1st time) OC: …as I could. :39
    “1989 was the first year I came to the States, and it had always been my goal, but I had no plan on how to get here. It was just a case of keep playing, keep getting better at what you do, and then hopefully, somehow, some way I’ll end up over here. The guy who was managing me at the time, we just planned a trip over here – it was actually for the New Music Seminar in New York. And we came over for that, and then we did a trip down to Nashville, and I was shopping my little demo around. I think I humored everybody more than anything else [laughs] with my tragic, ill-fitting demo for the time. So, I left there, but I was just so committed to coming back as quick as I could.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Luke Bryan (4th of July memories) OC: …we used to. :21
    “Some of my favorite Fourth of July memories were spent on Lake Blackshear down in Georgia with my family. I was always kind of in charge of driving home from Tennessee and picking up all the fireworks and my nieces and nephews always got excited when I rolled in because they knew I had all the fireworks. But, it was always a great memory, and I miss not getting to do that as much as we used to.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about his Fourth of July plans.

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    Luke Bryan (Fourth of July plans) OC: …on the fourth. :15
    “My plans for the Fourth are always to be on the boat somewhere in the water, and buy a few fireworks, send ‘em up in the sky for the boys, but it’s always a boat and water, whether it’s in the Gulf of Mexico, whether it’s in Georgia…we don’t have a total plan yet, but we’ll be having a good time on the fourth.”

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT THEIR FOURTH OF JULY TRADITIONS.

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    Maddie & Tae (Fourth of July) OC: …it’s perfect. :29
    TAE: “One of my favorite Fourth of July traditions – I’d say it’s a tradition ‘cause it happens every year, but I’m not always able to make it – is that we go to my grandparents in Oklahoma, and we all line up lawn chairs right in front of their garage and we just light fireworks. We always do it far away and then we light it, and we always run back and watch the fireworks, but that’s probably one of my favorite memories.” MADDIE: “My birthday is July 7th, so I always get built-in fireworks for my birthday, and sometimes we actually celebrate it on the 4th, because there’s fireworks everywhere, so it’s perfect.”

    Audio / PARKER MCCOLLUM TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE FOURTH OF JULY MEMORIES. NOTE: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

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    Parker McCollum (Fourth of July) OC: …days of my life. :23
    “My favorite Fourth of July memories growing up are actually kind of dangerous now that I think about it, but we used to have fireworks wars where we’d shoot like roman candles and bottle rockets. We’d always go to my grandma’s house, pop fireworks and we’d end up shooting ’em at each other and having wars; no eye protection, no nothing, just shooting bottle rockets at each other’s faces. But it was so fun; some of the best days of my life.”

    Audio / Priscilla Block says the Fourth of July is one of her favorite holidays.

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    Priscilla Block (Fourth of July) OC: …we get crazy. :26
    “I love Fourth of July. I usually always have a Fourth of July party. It is known that there is a slip-n-slide at my house on Fourth of July. You know, it’s such a great holiday to just bring friends together and, I don’t know, we get wild on the Fourth. We get crazy.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about what he and his family did over the Fourth of July holiday when he was growing up in Georgia.

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    Sam Hunt (Fourth of July) OC: …good time. :39
    “My granddad on the other side of my family, he would always take a lot of pride…fireworks were actually, I’m from Georgia, and most of them were illegal, I’m pretty sure, growing up. But over in Alabama, that’s where all the firework stands were, and we only had to drive 10, 15 minutes to get to the Alabama line, so we could go get a bundle of fireworks pretty easy. But he would always take a lot of pride in going and finding all the good stuff and coming back with a big pile. He’d have his torch out there at the end of the driveway and we’d all eat homemade ice cream and put down towels on the driveway and he’d shoot off fireworks for 30-45 minutes. Such a good time.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING TALKS ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY EVENTS HIS HOMETOWN OF WARNER ROBINS, GEORGIA WOULD THROW EVERY YEAR.

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    Travis Denning (Fourth of July) OC: …will love. :51
    “Fourth of July in Warner Robins, Georgia is an event. It’s something else. In fact, forever they’ve thrown an Independence Day concert, and back in the day, it was huge. It was the biggest thing they did all year. They would actually have the concert in the MAC (McConnell-Talbert Stadium), which was the high school football stadium that Warner Robins and Northside and Houston County shared. I mean, one year they had Wynonna play and then they had Josh Turner one year, Darius Rucker. I mean it was like a big deal, and there’d be 15,000, 20,000 people there, and I think it’s so cool that there’s a little bit of a legacy of people coming together in that town and making something happen, you know? I’ll never forget going to those shows and thinking, I was more proud of what the city had done. I was like, ‘That’s just so cool that they could put together a show like this, an event that everybody will love.”

    Audio / Tyler Hubbard talks about his Fourth of July plans with his family.

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    Tyler Hubbard (Fourth of July) OC: …that freedom. :43

     

  • FOURTH OF JULY LINERS 2022

    Audio / LINER AJ (4th of July)

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    “Hey! This is Alan Jackson, wishing you a happy and safe Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (4th of July)

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    “Hey guys! I’m Billy Currington, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Bros Osborne (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all! I’m John, and I’m TJ, and we are Brothers Osborne, wish you a very Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Fourth of July)

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    “Hi! This is Carrie Underwood wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

     

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Independence Day)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Happy Independence Day, y’all.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

     

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Independence Day)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack. Happy Independence Day, everybody!”

     

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey! This is Chrissy Metz, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Darius (4th of July)

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    “Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a very, very happy Fourth of July!”

    Audio / LINER Darius (Happy Birthday, America)

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    “Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker. Happy Birthday, America!”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (4th of July)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing you a Happy and safe Fourth of July.

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (4th of July)

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    “Hey this is Eric Church, wishing you a very happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Jon Langston wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

     

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (4th of July)

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    “Hi, it’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (summer)

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    Hey everybody, Keith Urban here, wanting to wish you all a fantastic and safe summer. Enjoy the sunshine. Hopefully, you’ll get to spend some time with the ones you love, and hopefully, we’ll also get to see you out on the road.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all. This is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (4th of July)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Fourth of July!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (4th of July)

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    “Hey! This is Luke Bryan, wishing you a very happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (4th of July) 2

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    “Hey y’all, this is Luke Bryan, celebrating the land of the free, the home of the brave and country music.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae and we’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a safe and happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (4th of July)

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    “Hey! This is Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey everybody. I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy and safe Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Fourth of July)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Priscilla Block, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

     

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

     

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Fourth of July)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all! It’s Travis Denning, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

     

  • BROTHERS OSBORNE, BLANCO BROWN, TRAVIS DENNING, SARA EVANS, CAYLEE HAMMACK AND DARIUS RUCKER TO PERFORM LIVE AT THE ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC’S PARTY FOR A CAUSE BENEFITING ACM LIFTING LIVES TUESDAY, AUGUST 23 AT ASCEND AMPHITHEATER IN NASHVILLE.

    The Academy of Country Music® announced today the all-star lineup for its annual ACM Party for a Cause® benefiting ACM Lifting Lives®, set to return to Nashville for the second consecutive year. ACM Party for a Cause® will feature live performances by reigning ACM Duo of the Year Brothers Osborne, along with Blanco Brown, Travis Denning, and ACM Award winners Sara Evans, Caylee Hammack and Darius Rucker, with additional artists to be announced in the coming weeksParty for a Cause® will take place on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, TN and will precede the 15th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors™ ceremony, to be held the next night, August 24, 2022, at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.

    Proceeds from ACM Party for a Cause® will benefit ACM Lifting Lives®, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, which harnesses the power of the Country Music community and partners to provide aid in times of need, with a focus on health-related initiatives. Additional details regarding the event, including host details and general event information, will be announced in the coming weeks and can be received by signing up for the free ACM A-List newsletter. Tickets for ACM Party for a Cause will be available to A-List subscribers through an exclusive pre-sale beginning Thursday, June 23, with general on-sale beginning Friday, June 24 at Ticketmaster.