Eric Church, Alan Jackson, Kip Moore, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum are a few of the latest performers announced for the 3^rd Annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival, taking place in Arlington, Texas April 17th and 18th. They’re joined by John Anderson, Deana Carter, Brandy Clark, Brett Eldredge, Sara Evans, Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Ashley Monroe, David Lee Murphy, Joe Nichols, Jake Owen, Reba, Marty Stuart, Cole Swindell, Brooks & Dunn and The Band Perry.

Previously announced performers include Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Patty Loveless, Ronnie Milsap, Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, Eli Young Band Clint Black and Florida Georgia Line.

The event will be taped for a two hour special, ACM Presents: Superstar Duets, which will air May 15th on the CBS. Proceeds from ticket sales for the ACM Party for a Cause Festival will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (March 30, 2015) – With 20 years of hits in his discography, you’d think three-time GRAMMY winner Darius Rucker would get used to them. As “Homegrown Honey,” the first single from his new Capitol Nashville album Southern Style, hits No. 1 on the Mediabase Country songs chart this week, however, the rocker-turned-country star admits he still gets the same feeling: “Wow!”

“A lot of people may not realize this, but even with all the success we had with Hootie & The Blowfish, we never had a single go to No. 1,” Rucker said. “I had never experienced that feeling until ‘Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,’ when it peaked at the top of the Country charts in 2008 when we were releasing Learn To Live. So to be here again – four albums and seven years later – about to celebrate the release of Southern Style and get the news that we just hit our seventh No. 1 single on Country radio charts is just insane. I say ‘we’ as this is a feat I have learned only comes from a community really embracing the music and wanting to play it for fans that want to hear it, and that just makes it all the more special to me.”

Rucker will celebrate his new hit and Tuesday’s release of Southern Style all over the map in the coming weeks. He kicks off release week Tuesday, March 31 with a visit to NBC’s “TODAY Show,” then hits “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (April 7) and ABC’s “The Chew” (April 16) later this month.

Southern Style is already receiving critical praise. According to USA Today, “Southern Style comes close to Rucker’s ideal, with the sweet dobro intro to honky-tonk shuffle ‘Good for a Good Time’ and a title song that extols the virtues of Billy Graham, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lil Wayne against a leisurely paced slide guitar. On ‘Baby I’m Right,’ a playful duet with Mallary Hope, the mandolin is so high in the mix it’s almost like an extra lead voice.”

Country Weekly said Rucker’s sunny personality shines throughout Southern Style, an album that “is so full of love, fun and sweet memories you practically see the smile on Darius’ lips as he sings.” Entertainment Weekly added that the album “is the work of an artist who knows his whiskey-baritoned sweet spot: In his own words, ‘I wanna get high on some low country with you.’”

The Country genre has become home for the South Carolina singer. His previous three releases debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, he scored a GRAMMY Award for his 2013 mega-hit “Wagon Wheel” and is headed back out on the road again this summer on the Southern Style Tour, beginning May 14 in Holmdel, N.J., with Brett Eldredge, the Brothers Osborne and A Thousand Horses. He’s deeply embedded in the Music Row community. Rucker wrote “Homegrown Honey” with a couple of fellow GRAMMY winners, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and producer Nathan Chapman.

“Thinking back to the day Charles and I were on the golf course and he said, ‘Man, we should write together -we never have,’ and I couldn’t believe we had known each other so long and never sat down to really just write,” Rucker said. “A few weeks later we made it happen, and I remember walking out of that room and calling my management saying we had the single for my new record.”

Turns out it was a No. 1 single.

Visit www.DariusRucker.com to learn more about the Southern Style Tour or to buy tickets. Follow Rucker on Twitter at @dariusrucker.

About Darius Rucker
Capitol Nashville recording artist Darius Rucker will release his fourth 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 October 16, 2012. To learn more about Darius Rucker go to www.dariusrucker.com.

Darius Rucker climbs to the top of the Mediabase country music chart with “Homegrown Honey,” the first single from his new album, Southern Style, available Tuesday (March 31st).

Darius wrote the song with Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum and writer-producer Nathan Chapman. “The great thing about the whole song was Charles [Kelley] had this great idea to write a song about a girl in New York City who isn’t like anybody else,” he says. “What I think about ‘Homegrown Honey’ is it’s a girl from where you’re from and she’s got it going on. She’s money.”

Coming in second is Zac Brown Band’s “Homegrown,” followed by Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time” rounding out the Top 3.

Darius Rucker returns Tuesday (March 31^st) with his fourth country album, Southern Style. It’s the follow-up to his gold-certified True Believers. It features his latest No. 1 single, “Homegrown Honey,” which he co-wrote with Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum and producer-writer Nathan Chapman.

Darius says Southern Style (named after one of the songs on the album) is the perfect title for the album. “When I started listening back and realizing the songs we have on there, it just seemed like a lot of the songs were just about that lifestyle, that laid-back ‘let’s live life and live and let die’ as The Beatles said.  And I just thought Southern Style was a great name for the record, because all the songs are kind of pretty in that southern style, so I just thought it was a perfect name for the record.”

Catch Darius chatting about his new album this week, as he makes multiple national media appearances, including NBC’s Today Show (3/31), ESPN’s Mike & Mike, First Take and SportsCenter (3/31), CNN’s Headline News (4/1), The Dan Patrick Show (4/1), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4/6) and ABC’s The Chew (4/16).

Nashville, TN (March 26, 2015) – Country music superstar Darius Rucker launches his fourth solo country album, Southern Style, on March 31 with multiple national media appearances including NBC’s Today Show (3/31), ESPN’s Mike & Mike, First Take and SportsCenter (3/31), CNN’s Headline News (4/1), The Dan Patrick Show (4/1), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4/6) and ABC’s The Chew (4/16).  The album produced by Frank Rogers and Keith Stegall features the Top 5 and climbing hit single “Homegrown Honey,” which Rucker co-wrote with Nathan Chapman and label mate Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum.  Rucker co-penned all 13 tracks on Southern Style with some of country music’s most notable songwriters including Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley, Mark Nesler and Rivers Rutherford.

Rucker’s three previous albums—Learn To Live; Charleston, SC 1966; and True Believers—all topped the Billboard Country Album chart and spawned six No. 1 singles. In 2008, he released Learn to Live; the album’s first single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” made him the first African-American with a No. 1 country song since Charley Pride in 1983. It was followed by two more singles that topped the chart—”It Won’t Be Like This For Long” and “Alright”—and earned him the New Artist award from the Country Music Association. His 2010 follow-up, Charleston, SC 1966, included two more No. 1s, while True Believers contained the Platinum certified and Grammy winning No. 1 “Wagon Wheel.” In 2012 he achieved a lifetime goal and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.

Southern Style Track Listing:

Homegrown Honey (Darius Rucker, Nathan Chapman and Charles Kelley)

1. Good For A Good Time (Darius Rucker, Kendal Marvel and Jeremy Spillman)
2. Baby I’m Right (Featuring Mallary Hope)* (Darius Rucker, Mark Nesler and Phillip White)
3. Southern Style (Darius Rucker, Rivers Rutherford and Tim James)
4. High On Life (Darius Rucker, Josh Thompson and Jessi Alexander)**
5. Perfect (Darius Rucker, Ashley Gorley and Rhett Akins)
6. You, Me And My Guitar (Darius Rucker, Ashley Gorley and Rhett Akins)
7. Low Country (Darius Rucker, Troy Verges, Blair Daly and Hillary Lindsey) **
8. Need You More (Darius Rucker, Jonathan Singleton and Deric Ruttan)
9. Half Full Dixie Cup (Darius Rucker, Frank Rogers and Monty Criswell)
10. Lighter Up (Darius Rucker, Drew Davis and Blake Bollinger) **
11. You Can Have Charleston (Darius Rucker and Frank Rogers)
12. So I Sang (Darius Rucker, Rivers Rutherford and Tim James) **

 Produced by Frank Rogers

**Produced by Keith Stegall

Keith Urban will chat live with fans on Wednesday through his Facebook page to give guitar tips and answer any questions. The chat begins at 5:30pm ET/4:30pm CT.

Darius Rucker will perform on NBC’s Today Show next week. Catch him live Tuesday (March 31^st) — which is the same day as his new album, Southern Style, is released.

George Strait will receive the prestigious 50^th Anniversary Milestone Award, along with and Brooks & Dunn. They are being honored with the trophy to commemorate their groundbreaking career achievements in ACM Awards history. Each will receive an exclusive trophy created by renowned jewelry and timepiece designer, David Yurman, during the 50^th ACM Awards.

In the latest issue of Glamour magazine, pop superstar Katy Perry spotlights 10 women who changed her life. She writes, “Kacey is one of the most unique songwriters I’ve heard in the past decade. She puts into words what the heart feels. And she’s not bad on the eyes and has a great sense of humor the whole way through.”

Encino, CA (March 5, 2015) –The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions announced that the ACM Party for a Cause Festival will feature an unprecedented lineup of country music legends and this year’s ACM Award nominees and chart-topping artists including Dierks Bentley, Clint Black, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Sam Hunt, Miranda Lambert, Patty Loveless, Ronnie Milsap, Darius Rucker, Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, Eli Young Band, Florida Georgia Line and more to be announced in the coming weeks. The two-day outdoor music festival celebrating the 50^TH ACM Awards will take place on April 17-18, 2015 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas and be taped for a two hour special, “ACM Presents: Superstar Duets!,” which will air on Friday, May 15 on the CBS Television Network.

Ticket packages to the ACM Party for a Cause Festival INCLUDING the 50^th ACM Awards are available NOW at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets to the ACM Awards sold out last spring in a record 18 minutes but as staging changes became final for the ACM Awards, seats to the previously SOLD OUT Awards were added and are now part of this package.   Additional festival performers and lineup details will be announced in the coming weeks.

“For the Academy’s milestone anniversary, we wanted more fans than ever to join us in our party and we thought it was a perfect fit to combine the ACM Party for A Cause Festival and our annual CBS special into one historic event,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “Fans and viewers can expect a night of surprises from an all-star lineup of performers who have graced our ACM Awards stage throughout the past 50 years.”

The 3^rd Annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival, beginning at 12:00 PM on April 17-18, 2015, will include multiple stages for ongoing LIVE country music performances, interactive experiences, a family-friendly country marketplace with food trucks and vendors from around the country, and much more, all leading up to the 50^th Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be broadcast LIVE for the first time ever from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. Proceeds from ticket sales for the 3^rd Annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival will benefit ACM Lifting Lives®, the charitable arm of the Academy.

ACM Presents: Superstar Duets! is produced for television by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan and R.A. Clark are executive producers.  Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Tom Forrest are co-executive producers. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

NASHVILLE – CMA Music Festival will be the hottest concert destination of the summer with today’s announcement that Country Music superstars Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church,Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt,Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town,Neal McCoy, Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Darius Rucker, Cole Swindell,The Band Perry, Keith Urban, Wynonna & The Big Noise, and Zac Brown Band will each take the stage during the Nightly Concerts at LP Field. The 2015 CMA Music Festival takes place Thursday, June 11-Sunday, June 14 in downtown Nashville. Subscribers to CMA Exclusive, CMA’s e-newsletter, were the first to learn about the star-studded lineup Wednesday morning. “CMA Music Festival is all about the fan experience,” said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. “Our fans snapped up LP Field tickets at a record pace, and we wanted to reward that loyalty by sharing this exciting lineup with them first this morning.”   While the relationship between artists and fans is the foundation for the event, CMA Music Festival benefits music education programs for children in need. Wednesday morning, Thomas Rhett welcomed guests to Nashville Children’s Theatre for a performance of “Jack’s Tale: A Mythic Mountain Musical,” which was funded by a $10,000 grant from the CMA Foundation from the 2014 CMA Music Festival. Threats of snow in Nashville prevented a majority of students from attending, but he warmly greeted the enthusiastic crowd. “When I was little I was in a play called ‘A Christmas Carol’. I was Scrooge,” Thomas Rhett told the student-filled crowd. “Music education was super important for me, and today was a good reminder of how neat it is to see the Country Music community band together to help give back to that through CMA Fest.” The CMA Foundation presents grants on behalf of the artists who perform at CMA Music Festival each year for free and has donated more than $11 million to music education initiatives across the country since 2006. Tickets to the Nightly Concerts at LP Field sold out in November. Across the river from the stadium, there are countless free and low-cost entertainment options for fans around downtown Nashville as part of the CMA Music Festival. Seven free entertainment stages give fans an opportunity to choose their musical adventure, including the hugely popular Chevrolet Riverfront Stage, which consistently fills the Cumberland riverbank each of the four days. AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X at Music City Center moves the CMA Music Festival party inside, with musical performances on three stages, artist interactions, meet-and-greets, shopping and other unique fan experiences. Tickets to AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X are available now atCMAfest.com (AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X admission is included in four-day CMA Music Festival tickets). AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X tickets are $10 per day or $25 for a four-day pass. The Nightly Concerts will be taped for a three-hour prime time special airing later this summer on the ABC Television Network. For upcoming talent announcements and all other info stay connected with CMA on Facebook.com/CMA,Twitter.com/CountryMusic, Instagram.com/CMA, and sign up for CMA Exclusive, CMA’s e-newsletter. Fans can also download the 2015 CMA Music Festival mobile app foriPhone or Android to view the latest artist lineups and to plan their festival experience. -30- **Suggested Tweet**: The 2015 #CMAfest LP Field lineup is here! Download the app to plan your Fest experience http://countrymu.sc/MF15app

Darius Rucker will once again take on Big Band tunes in a one-night show at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Tuesday (February 17th). The concert benefits the MUSC Children’s Hospital Fund, a non-profit organization that helps provide the best possible healthcare experience for MUSC’s youngest patients and their families.

Luke Bryan enjoyed his time as Grand Marshal of the Endymion parade and headlined the huge post-parade Extravaganza at the Superdome several hours later. Pals Willie and Korie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) joined Luke and his wife Caroline for some of the festivities.

Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley won a closest-to-the-pin contest and assured a victory for Team Clint Eastwood during the 3M Celebrity Challenge at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week in Pebble Beach, California. Jake Owen, Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney and Clay Walker also played in the tournament.

Sam Hunt shot the video for his latest hit, “Take Your Time,” last week in Nashville.

Vince Gill and his lovely wife Amy Grant will return to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium for eight Christmas shows this year beginning December 2nd. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster.