• CHRISTMAS LINERS 2015: AJ, Billy, Bros O, Canaan, Clare, Darius, David, Dierks, Easton, Church, Paslay, Gary, Strait, Pardi, Josh, Keith, Kelleigh, Kip, Lady A, Lauren, LBT, Luke, Sam, Scotty, Toby and more!

    Holiday liners from UMG Nashville artists, including Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, David Nail, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Gary Allan, George Strait, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Kelleigh Bannen, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Mickey, Sam Hunt, Scotty McCreery and more!

    Audio / LINER AJ (Christmas)

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    “Hi! This is Alan Jackson, and I’m wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Happy Holiday Season)

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    “Hi! Billy Currington here, wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Christmas)

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    “Hey! This is T.J., and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Christmas)

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    “Hey! What’s up guys? I’m Canaan Smith, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Christmas)

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Clare Dunn, hoping you have a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER David Nail (Christmas)

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    “Hey! This is David Nail, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Christmas)

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    “Hey! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey everybody! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Easton Corbin (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Easton Corbin, wishing you and your family a Happy Holidays.”

     

    Audio / LINER Easton Corbin (Merry Christmas)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Easton Corbin, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Christmas)

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    “Hey everybody! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Christmas)

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    “Hi! I’m Eric Paslay. Hope you have a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hi! I’m Eric Paslay, wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Christmas)

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    “Hey! This is Gary Allan. Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey everybody! This is George Strait, wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas)

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    “Hey! This is Jon Pardi, wishing you a Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey! I’m Josh Turner, wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Christmas)

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    “Hey! This is Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Christmas)

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    “Hi folks, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Holiday season)

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    “Hi everyone, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and all your family the very best this holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Kelleigh Bannen (Merry Christmas)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Kelleigh Bannen, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Christmas)

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    “Hey guys, this is Kip Moore, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Kip Moore. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Lady A (Christmas)

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    “Hey everybody! We’re Lady Antebellum, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Lady A (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey everybody! We are Lady Antebellum. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Christmas)

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    “Hey! This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Christmas)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER LBT (Very Merry Christmas)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town, and we just want to say Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas.”


    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Christmas)

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    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Christmas)

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    “Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Christmas)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Scotty McCreery (Happy Holidays)

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    “Happy Holidays everyone. It’s Scotty McCreery, and go easy on that eggnog!”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Christmas)

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    Hi! This is Shania Twain, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

    Audio / LINER Toby Keith (politically correct holiday liner)

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    “Hey! It’s Toby Keith with the gift of politically correctness. Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah, or Bah Humbug. Whatever way you celebrate, I hope it’s a good one.”

  • CMA COUNTRY CHRISTMAS FEATURES PERFORMANCES BY CHARLES KELLEY, DARIUS RUCKER, DAVID NAIL AND MICKEY GUYTON.

    Charles Kelley, Darius Rucker, David Nail and Mickey Guyton are among the artists performing some of your old favorites and new favorite Christmas songs during the CMA Country Christmas special. They’ll also be sharing some of their holiday memories and gifts, as well. They’ll be joined by Martina McBride, Jewel, Brett Eldredge, Dan + Shay, LeAnn Rimes, Thomas Rhett, Kelsea Ballerini, Michael W. Smith, Pentatonix and Brian Setzer, among others.

    The CMA Country Christmas was taped at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House and will air Thursday night (December 3rd) at 9pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / During the taping of the ABC special, CMA Country Christmas, a couple of weeks ago, Charles Kelley talked about his performance as a solo artist on the show.

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    Charles Kelley (CMA Christmas special) OC: …pretty fun. :32
    “It’s a song that’s actually off of our Christmas album. The funny thing is that Hillary is here tonight with her little sister and Mom. It’s funny — she came backstage and I was like, ‘Omigosh! You need to come up and sing with me on this.’ Her little sister, they really want to see Pentatonix as well, and I don’t know, Hillary is so supportive of what I’m doing right now. I think it’s just so cool. But yeah, this will be the first time, other than Jimmy Fallon the other night, this will be kind of the first TV performance as a solo artist, but it’s a song I know pretty well, so it should be pretty fun.”

    Audio / Expectant father Charles Kelley says he’s looking forward to future Christmases with his new son.

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    Charles Kelley (Christmas-baby) OC: …my family. :47
    “This will be my first kid. We found out we’re having a little boy, so really excited. My wife [laughs] my wife was already asking if we should get him a stocking. He doesn’t come until February, and I was like, ‘You are truly nesting on a different level right now, if you want to give the baby a stocking that isn’t here.’ I’m not sure what she decided, but I can’t wait, honestly. It’s funny, in my mind I always pictured having a little girl. I don’t know why, and now that I know it’s a boy, I’m trying to think of all the little things I can teach him and it’s gonna be interesting to see if he’s more like me or more like Cassie. It’ll be fun to see. But, definitely, Christmases for a musician are the time that you probably get the most time off and you’re at home, so that’s gonna be a time I’m sure that I cherish most with my family.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about what he’s performing during Thursday night’s CMA Country Christmas TV special.

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    Darius Rucker (CMA Christmas special) OC: …this year. :26
    “Tonight we’re doing ‘Winter Wonderland’ and we’re doing ‘What God Wants for Christmas.’ On these shows, you want to do one of the old standards that you do, and ‘Winter Wonderland’ is such a rockin’ song. It’s perfect, and ‘What God Wants for Christmas,’ I just love that song so much. I’m so proud to be part of writing that song and part of the whole thing. Last year it was funny ‘cause we really wanted to do the Christmas show, and I think I was going to Europe or something, and I couldn’t do it. I’m really excited that I get to do that song this year.”

    Audio / David Nail talks about “This Christmas,” a song he’s performing during the CMA Country Christmas special.

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    David Nail (CMA Christmas special) OC: …old-timers. :22
    “You know this song I’m singing tonight, I’ve listened to about 43-hundred times, so right now it’s my favorite. ‘This Christmas,’ the Donny Hathaway version. But, I’m a sucker for the old-timey ones, you know, Bing Crosby [etc.]. It’s just anything old-fashioned, so I’m getting up there in age, so I’m a sucker for the old-timers.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton talks about performing ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman,’ a song from the animated Frozen soundtrack.

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    Mickey Guyton (CMA Christmas special) OC: …be Elsa. :09
    “I’m singing ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman, and I just said I wanted to look like a snow princess, and I wanted to wear my hair in a braid and be Elsa.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton says she just loves the song, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” as well as the movie itself, Frozen.

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    Mickey Guyton (CMA Christmas special) 2 OC: …really, really do. :27
    “It’s just really exciting. I love this song, and it’s an emotional song. It’s a story about a love between two sisters, and I just think it’s really cool that I get to sing this song. I told my sister I was doing it, and I sent her a copy and all of her kids. She’s a teacher, so all of her kids  just love this song. And everybody, as I was walked through the hall, they’re like, ‘FROZEN!,’ and I’m like, ‘That’s right.’ I love that movie. I really, really do.”

     

    Video / CMA Country Christmas 1

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  • LUKE BRYAN, LITTLE BIG TOWN, SAM HUNT AND CHRIS STAPLETON ARE CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR.

    Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and Sam Hunt are among the CMT Artists of the Year special, airing Wednesday night (December 2nd). The 90-minute special pays tribute to the top country artists of the year with once-in-a-lifetime performances, unexpected tributes and unforgettable toasts from the biggest stars of music, film and television. Chris Stapleton will receive the 2015 CMT Artists of the Year Breakout award and perform live during the sixth annual CMT Artists of the Year special.

    Pop stars Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis will honor Little Big Town by performing “Girl Crush, while Darius Rucker, Cassadee Pope and Raelynn are set to perform Blake Shelton’s “Neon Light.” The event will also feature appearances by Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, Dolly Parton, Trace Adkins, Kellie Pickler and more. Florida Georgia Line will be among the honorees.

    The show will premiere live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center Wednesday at 8pm ET/PT.

    Video / Sam Hunt Year in Review 2015--CMT

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    Video / LBT Year in Review 2015-CMT

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    Video / Luke Bryan Year in Review-CMT

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  • THANKSGIVING 2015: AJ, Bros. O, Clare, Darius, David, Dierks, Easton, Eric, Josh, Kip, Lady A, LBT, Mickey, Sam, Scotty (UPDATED)

    The Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth, in the state that’s now known as Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s. People now celebrate the holiday by giving thanks for their blessings over the past year, as well as feasting on turkey and other festive goodies.

    Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 26th, and most people will be enjoying time with their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, David Nail, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Josh Turner, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt, Scotty McCreery and more. They share their thoughts, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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    AJ (Thanksgiving) OC: …enjoy it. :19
    “My favorite Thanksgiving dish would be the homemade dressin’ that we, cornbread-based kind of dressin’ that we always have with turkey. That recipe is a kind of a combination of my mama, and Denise has taken it and perfected it over the years, so that me and my children really enjoy it.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne talks about their annual Misfits Thanksgiving dinner.

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    Brothers Osborne (misfits Thanksgiving) OC: …going home. :45
    “What we’ve done the past several years is because it’s so hard to go home, we would have what we call the Misfit Thanksgiving dinner, and all the people in Nashville who aren’t able to go home to their families, we would just invite them over to our house and have a big potluck style Thanksgiving dinner. We’ll take like a couple of tables and throw them together and throw some sheets on it just to make it look nice. It’s a very redneck display of like tableware, because all the plates don’t match and the forks and knives don’t match, but we don’t care. People will bring wine, and at the end of the day, we’ll probably have 12-15 people all sitting at dinner together that weren’t able to go home with their families, and just enjoy it with friends. It’s been really fun. Definitely a lot less stress than going home.”

    Audio / Clare Dunn reveals her favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

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    Clare Dunn (Thanksgiving dish) OC: …like hers. :21
    “I think my favorite Thanksgiving dish [is] my mom makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. I mean, they’re crazy. They’re like garlic and butter and all the good stuff, so that’s probably my favorite Thanksgiving dish. Oh, and she makes great stuffing too, and I’m not a stuffing person, but I like hers.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about his favorite part of Thanksgiving.

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    Darius Rucker (favorite part of Thanksgiving) OC: …my family. :17
    “My favorite part of Thanksgiving is easy – it’s food. It’s eating. It’s hanging out with family and getting some great food, ‘cause that’s really what Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for all of the great things you’ve got, and I always give thanks for the greatest thing I’ve got and that’s my family.”

     

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, who is thankful for his wife, two daughters and son, talks about his Thanksgiving must-have! It’s an oldie, but a goodie!

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    Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving must-have) OC: …for Thanksgiving. :34
    “You gotta have a big turkey. Thanksgiving is not possible without a turkey. We cook it traditionally, but when we’re in, a couple of Thanksgivings ago, we were here in Nashville, we did the whole fry the turkey up, and it was great. It just tasted so good; all those juices get locked in there, and I love that too. You really can’t, to me, cook a turkey wrong. I’m gonna eat it any way, and I have over the years. Trust me, I’ve played a lot of county and state fairs, where I’ve seen gigantic turkey legs, you know, I’ve had the flat meat. I’ve done turkey every way you could do it. I’m pretty good any way you want to cook it up, but you’ve got to have a turkey for Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / Easton Corbin explains what he’s thankful for this year.

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    Easton Corbin (Thankful) OC: …what I do. :08
    “Well, this year I think, as I think every year, I’m so thankful for my family and friends out there and being able to make a living at what I do.”

    Audio / Eric Church says he’s thankful for his family as well as for his fans.

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    Eric Church (Thanksgiving) a OC: …want to do it. :23
    “A couple of things. I’m thankful for my family and great health. And I’m thankful for from a career standpoint, I’m very thankful for the success we’ve had lately. I’m thankful for what the fans have done. I mean there’s a lot of stuff to be thankful for in that regard. And I’m thankful that I was given the opportunity to do it my own way. I’m thankful that I’m going to get to keep doing this and do it the way that I want to do it.”

    Audio / Eric Paslay loves him some turkey for Thanksgiving.

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    Eric Paslay (Turkey) OC: …really does. :09
    “My favorite Thanksgiving food, I think, is the tryptophan turkey, ‘cause it really puts me to sleep. No [yawn], it really does.”

    Audio / Josh Turner shares his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

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    Josh Turner (fave side dish) OC: …’em myself. [laughs] :24
    “Uh, deviled eggs! [laughs] Where I’m from in South Carolina, I don’t think I’ve tasted a bad deviled egg. It’s like everybody has their own twist on it, but they’re all good, but I always loved it when my mama made ‘em. I’m learning as I get older, making deviled eggs is no easy task. It’s more complicated than it looks, and so that’s probably why I never made ‘em myself.” [laughs]

    Audio / Kip Moore talks about his annual Thanksgiving plans to go home to visit with his family.

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    Kip Moore (Thanksgiving) OC: …with them. :11
    “I [usually] go home for Thanksgiving. I love going home to see all them. I have five brothers and sisters and it’s a blast to go home and just catch up on their lives. I get so wrapped up in all this that I lose touch sometimes, and it’s cool to hear everything going on with them.

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley talks about the annual eating contest he and his two brothers – Josh and John -- have over the Thanksgiving holiday.

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    Lady A (Charles-Thanksgiving eating contest) OC: …five pounds! :25
    “One of my most memorable Thanksgiving memories was probably the first year that me and my two brothers decided to start our annual eating contest where we ate throughout the whole day. We started that morning and weighed ourselves and at the very end of the night, we weighed ourselves out and all three of us equally gained five pounds. I wish we had a more accurate scale to decide the winner, but we all tied. Five pounds!”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott describes her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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    Lady A (Hillary-Thanksgiving food) OC: …ever tasted. :12
    “So, my favorite Thanksgiving food would have to be my grandmother’s sweet potato casserole. There’s just something she puts in it — probably all the love – that makes it better than anything I’ve ever tasted.”

    Audio / The members of Little Big Town love Thanksgiving since they get time off to be with their families.

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    LBT (Thanksgiving) 2 OC: (Kimberly) …and eat. :31
    KIMBERLY: “Thanksgiving—we love Thanksgiving, ‘cause we get to be with our families and we don’t often get to spend time with our families, our extended families, until the holidays. I love being around the table with my family and talking and laughing and cooking and eating…” JIMI: “And eating and eating and eating and eating…” PHILLIP: “The laughter around the eating, the good cheer, the celebration, the music…” JIMI: “The eating, going taking a nap, then coming back and eating.” KIMBERLY: “Go to bed with a full belly, take a nap, and then get up and eat.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton reveals her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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    Mickey Guyton (favorite Thanksgiving dish) OC: …both so much! :39
    “My favorite Thanksgiving dish that has to, has to, has to be at Thanksgiving dinner is dessert. Dessert is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. I mean, it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s sweet. My mom actually makes an Italian cream cake that’s absolutely awesome. It’s homemade, and the entire family, that’s the first thing to go at Thanksgiving dinner. And my Grandma D, she makes a pecan pie that is awesome. She taught me how to make them when I was little, and I just love them, and that’s the other thing that I look forward to at Thanksgiving dinner, and I love them both so much!”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his favorite Thanksgiving meal.

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    Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …glass of milk. :34
    “When I pile my plate up, it’s mostly turkey and then I’ll put a little dressing on the side, and I’ll usually go ahead and grab my dessert on the first run [laughs] and have it ready before it all disappears. Those are the really the three things. It’s strange, but since I was very young, I’ve always loved drinking milk, my brothers too, we drank lots of milk. My cousins, who grew up down the road, they always looked at us funny when we wanted to drink milk with our Thanksgiving meal. They would have coke or whatever else. So, I still get turkey, dressing, a piece of pecan pie and a big ole glass of milk.”

    Audio / Scotty McCreery talks about what he’s most thankful for this year.

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    Scotty McCreery (most thankful) OC: …thankful for her. :28
    “[I’m] most thankful for, I’d probably say my girl back home could be. I don’t talk about her too much, because she strives to stay out of the limelight, but with a guy like me who travels as much as I do and I’m away from home, she puts up with a lot. She’s stuck by me and has been my rock, so she’s something to be thankful for every day and Thanksgiving’s just a reminder of that. Somebody like that really keeps me going in life when things get rough and tough and I get tired on the road, she just keeps me going. I’m really thankful for her.”

    Audio / David Nail says he's most thankful this year for the impending birth of twins.

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    David Nail (Thanksgiving 2015) OC: …without a doubt. :19
    “Without a doubt, the thing I’m most thankful for is the fact that we’re on the verge of, my wife and I, having not only our first child, but our first two children. We are expecting twins; should be here any minute now. So, that is definitely thing that I’m most thankful for, without a doubt.”

    Audio / David Nail usually goes back home to Missouri for Thanksgiving, but this year, since his wife Catherine is due to give birth to twins any day now, they’ll stay home in Tennessee.

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    David Nail (Thanksgiving 2015) 2 OC: …next year. :25
    “Due to the fact that we’re expecting twins, we will not be able to go back home to Missouri and visit and have Thanksgiving with my grandfather. Last Thanksgiving was the first without my grandmother, and so it was a very emotional time. But I know he understands the situation, and we will definitely be there with bells on next year.”

    Audio / Canaan Smith says his favorite Thanksgiving dish is pumpkin pie.

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    Canaan Smith (pumpkin pie) OC: …Thanksgiving. :14
    “Pumpkin pie is where it’s at. My mom makes the best. She got it from her mom, my Nanny. It’s so good. It’s made from scratch. Everything about it, it’s just mouthwatering. I love it. I can’t get enough. If I could get fat, it’d be from pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.”

  • THANKSGIVING LINERS: AJ, Billy, Bros. O, Canaan, Clare, Darius, David, Dierks, Easton, Church, Paslay, Gary, George, Jon, Kacey, Keith, Kelleigh, Kip, Lady A, Lauren, LBT, Luke, Mickey, Sam, Scotty (UPDATED)

    Audio / LINER AJ (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hi! This is Alan Jackson. I hope y’all have a very happy Thanksgiving out there.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey Guys, I’m Billy Currington. Have a great Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! This is TJ, and this is John, and we’re wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! What’s up, guys? I’m Canaan Smith, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    [audio-player-5]]
    “Hey! This is Clare Dunn, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving)

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

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley! Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Easton Corbin (Thanksgiving)

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    “It’s Easton Corbin here, and I want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey folks! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Thanksgiving)

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

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey guys! Gary Allan here. I just want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving, and have a Happy Holidays and make sure you’re safe out there. Drive safe. Party your butts off, but do it safe.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hi! This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Thanksgiving)

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    “Happy Thanksgiving everybody. It’s Keith Urban here. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all of you listening for your incredible love and support that I’ve received over the last year, and to wish you and all of your family all the very best for this holiday.”

    Audio / LINER Kelleigh Bannen (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Kelleigh Bannen, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey what’s up guys, this is Kip Moore wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Lady Antebellum (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody! We are Lady Antebellum, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Happy Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey, we’re Little Big Town. Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton here, and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Scotty McCreery (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! This is Scotty McCreery. Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER David Nail (Thanksgiving)

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    Hey! This is David Nail, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne, Sam Hunt, Little Big Town, Hillary Scott, Darius Rucker

    Eric Church and Chris Stapleton are among the artists paying tribute to the late John Lennon in a new AMC all-star special, Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert, December 19th. The special, being recorded December 5th in New York City, will also include performances by Kris Kristofferson, Peter Frampton, Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow, Train’s Pat Monahan and Aloe Blacc.

    Tim McGraw performed the song “Here Tonight” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week. TJ and John of Brothers Osborne wrote the song.

    Sam Hunt has been chosen as a curator for the fourth annual Grammy Amplifier program – an online music initiative that gives a platform to aspiring artists. Big Sean and Lzzy Hale have also been named curators for the program, which invites hopeful singers to upload their songs for consideration at www.grammyamplifier.com. Hunt, Big Sean and Hale will select three winners from the top 25 most popular submissions to win one-of-a-kind experiences that include an in-studio recording session with a Grammy Award-winning producer, an opening spot for a popular artist and/or a series of festival shows, and a music video with a notable director. “I’m honored to be part of a program where I can help elevate new and emerging talent,” Sam said in a prepared statement. “It wasn’t long ago I was an unknown artist, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the people who helped me with the tools I needed to start my career. I look forward to shining a light on these aspiring musicians.” The Grammy Amplifier program is open to submissions through December.

    Little Big Town will honor rock icon Gregg Allman during the second season premiere of Nashville-based performance webcast series Skyville Live on December 11th at 8pm ET.

    On Monday (November 16th), Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott will host Leadership Music’s Dale Franklin Awards honoring three music industry leaders in Nashville, including Reba.

    Darius Rucker recently presented a $1 million grant from the CMA Foundation to Metro Nashville Public Schools to provide instruments and music education for more than 85,000 local students. “A defining moment in my life was when my mother gave me my first guitar – I can honestly say it completely changed my life,” says Darius. “So to know that we, as artists with CMA, are helping kids get the option for that kind of discovery is really incredible.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Lady A, Darius, Dierks, Sam, Keith, Kacey, Church

    Watch the ABC News special, Countdown to the CMA Awards: Country’s Greatest Crossover Hits with Robin Roberts on Monday (November 2nd) at 10pm ET on ABC. The special will feature performances and interviews with such artists as Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and many more.

    Kacey Musgraves attended the opening soiree for actress Reese Witherspoon’s new store, Draper James, in Nashville last week. Faith Hill and Sheryl Crow were also in attendance.

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    Luke Bryan and Eric Church both nabbed nominations for this year’s Billboard Touring Awards. Luke’s Kick the Dust Up trek, featuring Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch and Thomas Rhett, is in the running for Top Package. Church was named as Breakthrough Artist, and is in the lineup as part of Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Tour for Top Package. The 2015 Billboard Touring Awards will take place November 19th at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

  • HALLOWEEN 2015: AJ, Billy, Brothers Osborne, Canaan, Darius, David, Easton, Eric, Jon, Lady A, Luke, Scotty

    Halloween is Saturday, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes, and they also recall memories of Halloweens past.

    Audio / Alan Jackson used to take his daughters trick-or-treating when they were young kids, but he recalls one costume that he hated. It was an infant costume that made one of the girls look like a little peapod.

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    AJ (Halloween) OC: …cute, but…[laughs] :17
    “Aww, I remember some, when they were infants, they had like these little, they looked like a little pea pod, you know, or something. It’s like a little green pea or something. And I thought man, that’s awful. But Denise liked it, and I guess it was cute, but…(laughs).”

    Audio / Billy Currington reminisces about his childhood Halloween memories.

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    Billy Currington (Halloween) OC: …Halloween. :17
    “You know, when I was a kid, I loved the trick and the treat. I loved dressing up. I was always wanting to be Dracula. That was my favorite guy. But, of course, who doesn’t love going door-to-door and getting these buckets of candy? [laughs] So, love, love Halloween.”

    Audio / Billy Currington (Trick or Treat)

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    Billy Currington (Trick or Treat)
    “Trick or Treat, baby.” [laughs]

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

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    Brothers Osborne (carving pumpkins) OC: …or something. :25
    “With our dad every year, we would go looking for pumpkins, and we would all get our own pumpkin to carve, and he would buy the biggest pumpkin that they had. It was huge. I mean, it was way too big for any one person, but he would love carving. He’s kind of an artsy guy. He was a great drawer and stuff, and he would carve the most terrifying, vicious looking, scary pumpkin you’d ever seen in your life, and it would be massive. It would be like on a 50-pound pumpkin or something.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Halloween candy...and not so favorite.

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    Brothers Osborne (Halloween candy) OC: (John) …go stale. [laughs] :34
    TJ: “I would say,  Snickers, Baby Ruth, Kit Kat and Reese’s too.” JOHN: “I always hated those houses that would give you bad candy, though. You’re like, ‘C’mon. Step it up.’ Spend the extra dollar on a bag, you know?” TJ: “A house when we were growing up used to give out whole candy bars. It was the best. You were like, ‘That house – that’s the honey hole of candy.’” JOHN: “I love it, and I love like at the end, like three or four days after Halloween you would see what candy was left, and it was always like those crappy cheap candies, and they would just go stale.” [laughs]

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s TJ and John Osborne talk about dressing up like zombies for Halloween.

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    Brothers Osborne (zombie costume) OC: (John) …was so fun! :29
    TJ: “Literally, you can dress up like a zombie and drag your foot behind you all day and make weird noises, and everyone finds that completely acceptable.” [laughs] JOHN: “One year I dressed up as a ‘90s redneck zombie with a mullet wig and an Alan Jackson denim coat. I never once broke character. That’s part of the thing — you can actually not break character and get away with it. And everywhere I went, even when I ordered a drink, I ordered it like a zombie that was falling apart. [laughs] It was so fun!”

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

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

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

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

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

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    David Nail (favorite part of Halloween) OC: …it better. :14
    “My favorite thing about Halloween was just the excitement about picking out your costume and talking to your friends and fighting over if you’re going to be this or if they stole the idea from you and if you can do the idea better.”

    Audio / David Nail wants to have the best candy in the neighbrhood.

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    David Nail (Halloween candy) OC: …neighborhood. :19
    “My sister and I would always go out and hide in the trees and the bushes and scare the kids that would come up to our house, which was rare ‘cause we always had the crappiest candy ever. And when I can afford it, I’m gonna have the best dagum candy. I’m gonna blow everybody away. I’m gonna have a line. It’s gonna look like a George Strait meet-and-greet. It’ll be all the way around the neighborhood.”

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

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    Dierks Bentley (Halloween) OC: … …around home. [laughs]  :23
    “Oh, when I was a kid, I was all into fireworks. Growing up in Arizona, we couldn’t get ’em, so we’d have ’em shipped in illegally. I still remember the name of the guy we’d call. His name was Joe, and he’d bring in, ship ’em in a package with no writing on ’em. We were all about M-80s in the mailboxes and bottle rocket wars. To me, as a kid, Halloween was fireworks, was blowing up stuff around home. [laughs]”

    Audio / Easton Corbin has never dressed up for Halloween as an adult, but one of his favorite costumes as a kid was made by his grandmother.

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    Easton Corbin (Halloween) OC: …pretty warm. :26
    “My grandma made a werewolf outfit for me, and I wore that one year. She got this fake hair and glued it to sweatpants and a sweatshirt. That was a hot outfit. I mean, it got pretty warm.”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his favorite Halloween costume.

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    Eric Church (Halloween) OC: …Franklin Street. 1:18
    “My favorite Halloween costume  really came, I remember when I got a little older my first year of college, there’s this thing they do every year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Halloween on Franklin Street. We drove down from Boone, North Carolina. I had a bunch of friends that went to University of North Carolina, and we didn’t have costumes and didn’t realize until we were on the way that we had to have costumes. So, we stopped at a costume place in Greensboro, North Carolina. It’s Halloween, so there’s a run on everything and couldn’t find anything. And we end up getting sent around, driving  around town. We end up finding this hole in the wall place, but they had the full costume, Sesame Street outfits. The real deal. The real ones [with] feathers and fur. We were Elmo, Cookie Monster and I was Big Bird, and the Big Bird was the actual Big Bird. It’s about 7-foot-4, and yiou looked out of the body and then you had these straps that went on since the head was a lot higher. There’s a lot of beer involved in Franklin Street, so we get down there and as the night went on, my straps broke, so the head would pivot. And so, I would be walking one way and the head would be facing the other, and it just became this funny…I didn’t know the head was on backwards. I had no idea. I see out of the body, so I’m just kinda walking around and people were talking to my ass-end. [laughs] The whole time peiople’d come up and start talking and go, ‘Hey, turn around.’ And I’d turn around, and they’d go, ‘No turn around.’ It was a mess. That year, there was no other Big Bird on Franklin Street.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his favorite Halloween costumes as a child.

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    Jon Pardi (Halloween) 1 OC: …the Superman. :15
    “Man, I went through phases of costumes – the Superman costume, then it was a ninja, then I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one year. I remember rockin’ the Superman.”

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

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

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

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

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

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    Luke Bryan (Halloween) OC: …your teeth. :18
    “You can find out a lot about your neighbors by what kind of candy they put out. So, well, like full bars of Snickers bars, that’s what, and Reese’s cups, [but] the old chocolate popcorn ball of stuff, that’s no good either, like Dots – you get Dots one time of year and they pull your teeth.”

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

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    Scotty McCreery (favorite costume and memory) OC: …was happening. :19
    “My favorite Halloween memory would have to be me in my gorilla costume running down the street chasing some little girl I was friends with. I knew her, but I was scaring her half to death. My favorite costume, though, would have to be my Elvis Presley costume. I think I was about 10 years old when that was happening.”

  • HALLOWEEN LINERS: Brothers Osborne, Canaan, Church, Clare, Darius, David, Dierks, Kacey, Kelleigh, Lady A, Paslay, Sam, Scotty

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Halloween)

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

    Audio /

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

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Kelleigh Bannen (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Kelleigh Bannen, wishing you a very scary and Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / Lady A (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Scotty McCreery

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    “Hey! This is Scotty McCreery. Have a safe and Happy Halloween.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Darius, Dierks, Toby, Canaan

    Luke Bryan postponed his Thursday night Farm Tour stop in Lexington, Kentucky and Saturday night’s show in Columbia, South Carolina due to weather. The Lexington show will now take place Tuesday (October 6th), while Columbia’s stop has been rescheduled for October 11th. Luke posted a statement on Twitter, saying, “Postponing a show is so difficult for me because I know it is an inconvenience to the people that make my life amazing. The fans. Very sorry!” For more details, go to LukeBryan.com.

    UPDATE: Luke has now canceled Friday night’s Farm Tour date in Knoxville. It has yet to be scheduled as of 1:50p CT.

    Darius Rucker will appear in The Grand Ole Opry’s first feature film, American Saturday Night: Live From The Grand Ole Opry. The movie will hit select U.S. Carmike Cinemas for a limited engagement beginning December 4th. The concert film will also feature performances by Opry members Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton, as well as The Band Perry and Brett Eldredge.

    Dierks Bentley celebrated his 10th anniversary of being a member of the Grand Ole Opry this week, and he brought along a special guest: his dog Jake, who was also on hand when he became a member of the famed institution.

    Toby Keith is set to perform on the new TBS series Neighborhood Sessions October 16th. The show was recorded in Toby’s hometown of Moore, Oklahoma, and will feature several of his hits, along with some songs from his new album, 35 mph Town, available October 9th.

    Canaan Smith‘s ‘American Muscle’ will be used for ESPN’s College GameDay this season. You can also find the song on his debut album, Bronco.