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.

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.

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

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.”

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.

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

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.

The man The Morning Call called “the best male singer in country music,” Darius Rucker is taking his live concert experience one step further to ensure fans make it to the party safely. Rucker will partner with rideshare app Uber for select dates on his Southern Style Tour, giving fans the chance to win free rides as well as VIP packages for the fall leg of the tour, beginning next month.

A few lucky riders in cities across the United States will win VIP packages for a Southern Style Tour stop which include 2 tickets to the show, an exclusive Darius Rucker pre-show acoustic performance, and invitation to a pre-show party in the VIP Party Lounge. Fans can enter the promo code SOUTHERNSTYLE to enter to win, and receive $20 off their first ride as well as a free download of Darius’ latest album,Southern Style, featuring his latest No. 1 hit single, “Homegrown Honey.”

The fall leg of the Southern Style Tour will feature opening actsDavid Nail and A Thousand Horses, following the South Carolina native’s initial run, which drew more than 700,000 fans. Rucker’s latest single, the title cut from Southern Style, is currently climbing the charts at country radio.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.DariusRucker.com and follow @DariusRucker on Twitter.

Southern Style Tour dates:
October 8 | Chicago, Ill.
October 9 | Dayton, Ohio
October 10 | Youngstown, Ohio*
October 15 | Topeka, Kan.
October 16 | Lincoln, Neb.
October 17 | Sioux City, Iowa
October 22 | Syracuse, N.Y.*
October 23 | Albany, N.Y.*
October 24 | Uncasville, Conn.*
November 12 | Bemidji, Minn.
November 13 | Green Bay, Wis.
November 14 | Moline, Ill.
November 19 | Grand Rapids, Mich.
November 20 | Toledo, Ohio
*A Thousand Horses will not be appearing on these dates

About Darius Rucker  
Capitol Records Nashville recording artist Darius Rucker released his fourth No. 1 country album Southern Style on March 31, 2015, the same week lead single “Homegrown Honey” became his seventh No. 1 hit. Rucker’s first three albums – Learn To Live, Charleston, SC 1966 and True Believers – produced six No. 1 singles, including “Come Back Song,” “This,” “Alright,” “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” and “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It.” His 2013 No. 1 “Wagon Wheel” won a GRAMMY Award, stayed atop the charts for two weeks and was nominated for Song of the Year at the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards. In 2009, Rucker was named New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards. He achieved a personal goal and childhood dream when he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 16, 2012.

Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights album continues its reign at the top of the country album charts. The collection, featuring his chart-topping hit “Kick the Dust Up” and his current single, “Kill the Lights,” sold another 38,000 copies to land at the top of the country chart, as well as at No. 3 overall. Kill the Lights is shy of just a couple thousand copies to selling gold (500,000).

Keith Urban performs his latest single, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (September 8th).

Keith Urban’s “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” received another video treatment, this time by a director in L.A. using stop motion. He titled the video cover “Walks of Life.” (see video below)

Darius Rucker is scheduled to perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday (September 9th).

Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum will perform during the second annual Route 91 Harvest event, taking place October 2nd – 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Others set to perform include Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and Jake Owen, among others.