• CMT MUSIC AWARDS 2024:

    The nominations for the 2024 CMT Music Awards have been announced, and Universal Music Group Nashville is represented in nearly every category with nods for Anne Wilson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Kacey Musgraves, Luke Bryan, Mickey Guyton, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire and The War And Treaty (check out the complete list of nominees below).

    The fan-voted award show, hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, will air live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday, April 7th at 7pm CT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. Performers, presenters and additional details about the show will be announced soon.

    2024 CMT Music Awards Nominees:

    VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration). Top six nominees from the first round of voting, will be announced on April 1. The final three nominees, from the second round of voting, will be announced on show day (April 7). Final voting will be determined via social media and announced as the final category during the live show.
    Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
    Brandy Clark feat. Brandi Carlile – “Dear Insecurity”
    Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
    Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
    Darius Rucker – “Fires Don’t Start Themselves”
    Hardy – “Truck Bed”
    Jason Aldean – “Let Your Boys Be Country”
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
    Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
    Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
    Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)”
    Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
    Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
    Parmalee – “Gonna Love You”
    Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
    Zach Bryan – “Nine Ball”

    FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist.
    Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
    Gabby Barrett – “Glory Days”
    Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
    Kelsea Ballerini – “Penthouse”
    Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
    Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty”
    Reba McEntire – “Seven Minutes In Heaven”

    MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist.
    Bailey Zimmerman – “Religiously”
    Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
    Hardy – “Truck Bed”
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
    Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
    Luke Combs – “Fast Car (Official Live Video)”
    Morgan Wallen “Last Night (One Record At A Time Sessions)”

    DUO/GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a duo or group; awarded to the artists.
    Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
    Dan + Shay – “Save Me The Trouble”
    Old Dominion – “Memory Lane”
    Parmalee – “Girl In Mine”
    The War And Treaty – “Have You A Heart”
    Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

    COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video from a collaboration; awarded to the artists.
    Carly Pearce feat. Chris Stapleton – “We Don’t Fight Anymore”
    Ella Langley feat. Koe Wetzel – “That’s Why We Fight”
    Jon Pardi, Luke Bryan – “Cowboys and Plowboys”
    Justin Moore & Priscilla Block – “You, Me, And Whiskey”
    Lukas Nelson + Promise of the Real (POTR) feat. Lainey Wilson – “More Than Friends”
    Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
    Old Dominion & Megan Moroney – “Can’t Break Up Now”

    BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR, presented by Walt Disney World
    Best video from a female artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist.
    Anne Wilson – “Rain In The Rearview”
    Ashley Cooke – “Your Place”
    Brittney Spencer – “Bigger Than The Song”
    Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

    BREAKTHROUGH MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR, presented by Walt Disney World
    Best video from a male artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist.
    Chayce Beckham – “23”
    Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
    Warren Zeiders – “Pretty Little Poison”
    Zach Bryan – “Oklahoma Smokeshow”

    CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
    Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo).
    Amber Riley – “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” (from CMT Smashing Glass)
    Bret Michaels & Chris Janson – “Nothing But A Good Time” (from CMT Crossroads)
    Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Cody Johnson – “Human” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Dierks Bentley – “Drunk On A Plane” (from CMT Storytellers)
    Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter – “Thinking ‘Bout You” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
    Hozier & Maren Morris – “Take Me To Church” (from CMT Crossroads)
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    The War And Treaty – “On My Own” (from CMT Smashing Glass)

    CMT DIGITAL-FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
    Musical performance from a production, series or livestream created for CMT digital / social channels; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo).
    Chase Rice – “Goodnight Nancy” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    Dylan Scott – “Don’t Close Your Eyes (Keith Whitley Cover)” (from “CMT Digital Campfire Sessions”)
    Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty” (from “CMT Digital Campfire Sessions”)
    Nate Smith – “Whiskey On You” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    Scotty McCreery – “It Matters To Her” (from CMT Stages)
    Stephen Wilson Jr. – “Year to Be Young 1994” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    The Castellows – “I Know It Will Never End” (from CMT Studio Sessions)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about the video for "Fires Don't Start Themselves," in which he plays a detective hot on the trail of a young couple whose passionate love is setting their town ablaze, both literally and figuratively.

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    Darius Rucker (Fires Don’t Start Themselves video) OC: …happy about that. :46
    “I love acting. I love… It’s a lot of fun. And the actors you get to act with are so giving and make it so easy for you and fun and everything. But that video, when they told me I wasn’t going to do any performance, I was so happy, because that’s so the cliché (for) the video. You have other people acting and then you do the performance. But when they told me I was going to play a detective, I put on my inner Stabler, because I’m such a Law and Order and CSI fan, so I put on my inner Stabler and went out and did it. And the girl I worked with, she was so fun; she was so funny. And you know that donut scene, when I see it, there’s no words and it still makes me laugh every time I see it. But yeah, that was a lot of fun and I’d love to do a lot more of that, but, you know, we’ll see if it comes. If it comes, I’ll take it. If not, I’ll keep doing this music thing. I’ll be happy about that.”

    Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR "SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN."

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    Reba McEntire (music video for Seven Minutes In Heaven) OC: …it still hurts. 1:08
    “I picked out the lady to play mama, Eleanor. She did a great job. And she was a sweetheart to get to work with. That is exactly what I thought it would look like if I went to heaven and it was, you know, with the smoke coming in and out, made it look really heavenly. And I thought it would be something familiar, something that you’d feel comfortable with. God thinks of everything. And so, to walk up to the booth, and the next time I walk up and mama’s there and I put my arms on her shoulders, Eleanor’s hands were very similar to mama’s when she was young. So that got me to, they kept saying, ‘Okay, let’s do it again. I said, ‘Okay, let’s take a little break here. Get in here to redo my makeup. Because I would, I just bawled. And Eleanor was sitting across from me at the booth, and she’d see me crying. She’d try to reach for a napkin out of the napkin dispenser on the table. And I’d say, ‘Eleanor, that’s okay. It’s part of the video.’ ‘You don’t want to wipe?’ I said, ‘I’m good. I’m good.’ But she was just like a mother, you know, and they’re trying to make sure everything was all right. It was healing. It was healing for me to do that video and kind of like get it out because it still hurts.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT WRITING HIS TWO-WEEK NO. 1 SMASH, "NEXT THING YOU KNOW."

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    Jordan Davis (writing Next Thing You Know) OC: …song is today. :59
    “There’s a saying that says ‘raising kids – the days are long, the years are short,’ and that’s what this song is to me. I kind of came in wanting to write something like that, you know kind of a slow down time song, and Greylan had this idea. The idea initially was about going to a bar or going somewhere and meeting somebody and then just the progression of a relationship. I kind of hijacked the title and said, ‘Hey man. I love that title, but we’re going to write it in the sense of having kids, watching ‘em grow up and hopefully becoming a grandparent, you know? Chase McGill and Josh Osborne both have kiddos, and I think they kind of grabbed on it. Greylan, hats off to him. He’s the single kid of the group, so he was like, ‘Man, I’ll go there. I don’t know how much input I can be able to say in this, but I’ll go there with you.’ I mean, he’s a great writer, and it was fun to kind of see the title that he threw out evolve into what the song is today.”

    Audio / ON THE SET OF THE FILMING OF HER NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR "RAIN IN THE REARVIEW," ANNE WILSON EXPLAINS THE CONCEPT BEHIND IT.

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    Anne Wilson (BTS RITR video) 2 OC: …in this video. :37
    “So, I love this music video so much. We were working through the idea and concept behind it. It was really about portraying three different versions of myself – the happy version, which is the healed version; the driver, which is kind of plowing through everything and then the one that is sad and kind of looking on the past and reflecting what has come before. And I love the reminder in this music video and getting to work with T.K. McKamy on this treatment of how can we take this song and dive deeper into what it means? And I think in life we all go through different seasons where we’re either fully healed, we’re still looking back and struggling with depression and anxiety from the past or we’re driving in the seat and we’re going ahead for what’s to come. So, I love that we got to portray all three of those in this video.”

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  • DIERKS BENTLEY DROPS HIS TAKE OF THE TOM PETTY CLASSIC “AMERICAN GIRL.”

    Dierks Bentley has released his take on the Tom Petty classic, “American Girl.” The free-spirited, bluegrass-tinged track officially impacts country radio today (via Big Machine Records/The Valory Music Co.) and is from the forthcoming Tom Petty tribute album, Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty to be released by Big Machine in partnership with the Tom Petty Estate. The album brings together the top Country and Americana artists to create a tribute to Petty’s musical legacy.

    Of the song, Bentley shares, “Petty’s southern roots shined through across his songwriting and storytelling. He might not have ever been considered as country, but you can’t go into a bar in Nashville without hearing this song. It is one of the greatest songs in a life’s work of great American songs. The spirit of this woman, the idea of such relentless hope – and disappointment – ignites such a spark. Jon and I were driven to make that feeling of American roots stand tall.”

    LISTEN TO DIERKS BENTLEY’S “AMERICAN GIRL” HERE

    Now considered as one of Petty’s greatest hits (Billboard, Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone), Bentley’s banjo-forward, spirited reimagination of “American Girl” is a festival of swirling fiddles, right hand organ figures and mandolin runs complimented by a pre-bridge breakdown that reinforces the stop/start nature of the moment.

    Bentley and producer Jon Randall recruited A-list session players Chad Cromwell on drums, Craig Young on bass, Rob McNelley and Randall himself on electric guitars, as well as Jimmy Wallace on piano and B-3. They also drafted acclaimed musicians Noam Pikelny on banjo, Andy Leftwich on fiddle and mandolin, and Chris Eldridge on acoustic guitar for the sweeping consideration of the desperation, dreams and betrayals plaguing a girl “raised on promises.” The instrumentation teams with Bentley’s vocals, equal part witness and mercy capturing the song’s urgency and injecting Petty’s signature pride and defiance even in the roughest places.

    George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne, Dolly Parton, Luke Combs, Wynonna and many others are also featured on the album, which is set for release May 31st.

     

     

     

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about recording "American Girl" for the new Tom Petty tribute project.

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    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the legacy of Tom Petty and his music.

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Louie The Singer, Jon Pardi

    Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley are among the performers for the all-star celebration, Great Performances — George Jones: Still Playin’ Possum, which is set to air Friday (February 23rd) at 9pm ET/8pm CT on PBS. Recorded last April in Huntsville, Alabama, the tribute marks the 10th anniversary of George’s passing. Jelly Roll, Justin Moore, Tracy Byrd, Sara Evans, Wynonna, Tanya Tucker, Trace Adkins, Jamey Johnson, Joe Nichols, Uncle Kracker, Travis Tritt and R&B legend Sam Moore also performed. Dierks performed “Why Baby Why,” while Brad performed the iconic hit “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

    Louie TheSinger released the epic video for his song, “Brothers.” The clip features musician Chris Perez, as well as actor Joseph T. (JT) Campos (Queen of the South, Law & Order: Organized CrimePrison Break).

     

    Jon Pardi marked the first birthday of daughter Presley Fawn on Sunday (February 18th), showing adorable photos of her smiling, in overalls, eating birthday cake and even a video of her first steps. Jon and his wife Summer are expecting their second daughter later this year.

     

  • DIERKS BENTLEY RETURNS TO THE ROAD THIS SUMMER FOR “FULL ON PARTY” WITH NEW GRAVEL & GOLD TOUR DATES, PRESENTED BY JERSEY MIKE’S – ON SALE THIS FRIDAY.

    Dierks Bentley has announced over 30 new dates for his summer GRAVEL & GOLD TOUR, Presented By Jersey Mike’s, with Chase Rice and Lee Brice for direct support and a diverse lineup of special guests including Graham Barham, Tyler Braden, Kaitlin Butts, Mae Estes, Ella Langley, Randy Rogers Band, Zach Top, Tanner Usrey, Bella White and more. Produced by Live Nation, tickets will begin to go on sale this Friday (February 16th) at 10am local time at Dierks.com.

     

    “The Gravel & Gold tour has been the best of my career, and I’m not ready to leave it behind,” explains Bentley. “We are so locked in with this production that it allows me to be living right in the moment with the fans, and that’s the magic!  I’m bringing along some old friends and some newer artists who are all putting their own unique spin on country, bluegrass and Americana music.   I can’t wait to watch their shows and hopefully sing with them too. Those collaborations are a highlight of my summer every year.”

    GRAVEL & GOLD TOUR 2024 Dates:
    6/07 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena *
    6/08 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP *
    6/13 – Toledo, OH – The Huntington Center *
    6/14 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center *
    6/15 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center ^
    6/27 – Lafayette, LA – CAJUNDOME*<
    6/28 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater*
    7/18 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC *
    7/19 – Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain *
    7/20 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater +
    8/04 – Bonner, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater
    8/08 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion *’
    8/09 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center *
    8/10 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena  *
    8/15 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion *
    8/16 – Syracuse, NY – Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview*
    8/17 – Camden, NJ- Freedom Mortgage Pavilion *
    8/22 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL*
    8/23 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center *
    8/24 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center *
    8/29 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater *
    8/30 – Colorado Springs, CO – Sunset Amphitheater *’
    8/31 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre *\9/06 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre *
    9/07 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena *
    9/12 – Wilmington, NC – Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park ^
    9/13 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium ^
    9/14 – Simpsonville, SC – CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park^
    9/19 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena * >
    9/20 – Moline, IL – Vibrant Arena *
    9/21 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater^

    * Chase Rice + Check Local Listings
    ^ Lee Brice + Check Local Listings
    + On sale to be announced
    > On sale March 1st
    < On sale March 8th
    ‘ Not a Live Nation Date

    Dierks Bentley released his tenth studio album Gravel & Gold in 2023, again “proving why he’s one of Country’s biggest stars” (TODAY) whose unique 21st-century career has had a rare consistency fueled by longevity. He landed his first publishing deal in 2001 and released his debut album in 2003, producing an instant number one single. In the two decades since, Bentley has achieved success with eight more albums that reached the top of the Country sales charts, resulting in 22 number one songs, eight billion streams, three CMA Awards, 15 GRAMMY® nominations and membership into the Grand Ole Opry. Trendy sounds have ebbed and flowed around him over these two decades, but Bentley “has been a mainstay on the country charts since releasing his debut single ‘What Was I Thinkin’ nearly 20 years ago” (Forbes). He also has created professional endeavors outside of music with his Flag & Anthem lifestyle collection Desert Son, along with his four “Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row” locations. For more information, visit www.Dierks.com.

     

    Audio / Dierks Bentley is excited about hitting the road with his Gravel & Gold 2024 Tour.

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    Dierks Bentley (Gravel & Gold 2024 Tour) 1 OC: …to the tour. :17
    “Getting ready to get back out on the road. Yeah, it’s so fun. The Gravel & Gold, the 2024 edition of the tour, so excited. A lot of things are the same set-wise. I just loved our set so much, and I could tell the fans really enjoyed the way the show looked and felt, so some of the bigger pieces are staying in place, but yeah, new songs coming to the tour.”

     

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about some of the opening acts on his 2024 Gravel & Gold Tour.

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    Dierks Bentley (Gravel & Gold Tour 2024) 2 OC: …Gravel & Gold Tour. :50
    “A big part of our tour is just who we’re touring with and having Chase Rice out there this year as well as Lee Brice on some shows is gonna be so fun. I love these guys. They’re just such great artists. They’re so fun to be around; great songs. We’re gonna have fun on and off the stage. We also have a rotating lineup for that first slot, the third, the opening, opening slot – and Ella Langley, Tyler Braden, Randy Rogers Band – my old buddies, Randy Rogers Band – Zach Top, who’s like Tracy Lawrence reincarnated (laughs), although Tracy Lawrence himself is still out there and hopefully will come out and do a couple of shows. But just some really great openers. I’m so excited to get back out on the road and just gearing up for it already. The band’s excited, and it’s a little while til it kicks off, but we’ve got some dates in-between until we get there. Everybody’s just so excited to get back out there on the Gravel & Gold Tour.”

  • VALENTINE’S DAY 2024

    Each year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers with their special someone. The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century.

    Over 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion.

    We’ve got some thoughts and feelings and more about love, romance and marriage from several of your favorite country artists. A few are new and some have become our favorites over the years. Which country stars are romantic? Which ones have a good reason to celebrate the holiday that’s all about love?

     

    Reba McEntire teams up with Sonic to bring a limited edition Sweetheart Meal — complete with her favorite Tater Tots — for Valentine’s Day.

     

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his love for wife, Denise, over the years.

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    AJ (Valentine’s Day) OC: …continue to. :24

    “We got a lot of history together now, and we’re happier than we’ve ever been. So, she’s still beautiful, and she’s always inspired songs. I mean, one of my early hits was a song called ‘I’d Love You All Over Again,’ I wrote for her for our 10th anniversary. I mean, there’s been a zillion songs that have pieces of our good days and bad days inspired, and they continue to.”

    Audio / Billy Currington recalls his first real Valentine’s Day.

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    Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day memory) OC: …took off running. :21
    “Yeah, I remember my first girlfriend. I was in first or second grade, but anyway, I remember it was Valentine’s Day and your mom going, ‘You’ve got to give your girlfriend something, and you’ve got to go give it to her.’ I’ll never forget — we got her a box of chocolates or whatever it was. I remember going down to her classroom and knocking on the door, getting her to come to the door. I remember handing it to her, and then I took off running.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood is all about the chocolate most couples give each other on Valentine’s Day.

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    Carrie Underwood (Valentine’s Day-chocolate) OC: …white chocolate. :14
    “Chocolate’s every woman’s friend – in their time of need or in their time of happiness or in their time of sadness or madness, chocolate is my friend. Anything with caramel in it, ooooooooh. White chocolate’s good too. You can’t beat some good white chocolate.”

    Audio / Before tying the knot with wife Cassady, Dierks Bentley says Valentine's Day wasn't always a pleasant holiday for him.

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    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 1 OC: …want to. :19

    “Well, before, as a single guy in the past, if you were dating someone, it’s that holiday that comes along where you have to really like stamp out on paper exactly where the relationship really stands. You don’t want to undershoot it ’cause then you’ll be in trouble, you know, if you don’t give the right present or don’t say the right things, you’re gonna be in the doghouse. But then if you overstate your hand, then you’re moving the relationship way faster than you actually want to.”

    Audio / DIERKS BENTLEY SAYS THE MOST INTERESTING GIFT HE AND HIS WIFE CASSIDY HAVE GIVEN EACH OTHER WERE MIXTAPES OF SONGS.

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    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day-most interesting gift he’s given his wife) OC: …formulate yourself. 1:19
    “When ‘What Was I Thinkin’’ was released in 2003, I didn’t know what my life would look like, and all of a sudden, I found myself out on the road full-time, just gone. So, the place where I was staying, I had some friends pack it up and move it into a storage facility…and in there I found some letters that she and I had written back and forth when we were dating. I was working at The Nashville Network and she was working out in San Francisco and found some letters I had written her and I’d gotten back and some stuff she’d sent me, including a CD of songs she’d been listening to, back when you made CD mixes and there’s like these three hearts on that CD. I just found that it was so meaningful for me those gifts you give each other before any money, before anything else was going on, just music, giving of mixtapes was so cool. She reminded me of a mixtape that I had sent her. I’d sent it to her via FedEx, because it was so important she get this as quickly as possible. This was sadly before, I guess we had internet back then, but you really couldn’t send songs over the internet. I think the most interesting thing I’ve given her and she’s given me was just mixtapes, because there’s nothing like music to put into words and the thoughts you have in your head that you can’t formulate yourself.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the love you have for your children.

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    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 2 OC: …could before. :28

    “You get married and that’s a long-term, bigger image of what love can be. Then you have a child, and your heart gets spread so thin and it’s so vulnerable, like it’s a really tough, tough feeling, and it can kill you. It can really be painful at times, and at the same time, it’s so great. But it definitely stretches your heart…and it doesn’t change anything, it just makes your heart, I think it just makes it bigger. I think you just find that you can love more than you ever thought you could before.”

    Audio / Eric Church says his wife, Katherine, loves him in spite of, and for, his fallibilities.

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    Eric Church (Valentine’s) OC: …love song is. :19

    “True love to me is when you love a person in spite of all their fallibilities, and for me, I have a lot of ‘em. I’m definitely at times hard to love, and that’s what’s great about Katherine and the way she loves me. She loves me in spite of those things and really for those things.”

    Audio / George Strait talks about love.

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    George Strait (Love) OC: …go ‘round. :14
    “If you don’t have love, I mean what do you have? You know, you have love for your wife or your husband or your children or your dogs or your horses or your golf clubs, you know? Love is what makes the world go ‘round.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi says he has learned a lot about love and about Valentine’s Day from his wife, Summer.

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    Jon Pardi (Valentine’s Day – Summer) OC: …for you. (laughs) :35
    “One thing Summer has taught me is that gifts are cool, diamonds, blah, blah, blah, but to take your time and clear your mind and write something about what she means to you on a card is probably the most least expensive and the biggest price you can give her is just to write and tell her how much you love her on a little card. That’s what she taught me for Valentine’s Day, so I just do that. It’s way cheaper. (laughs) And of course, I always say to her, ‘Babe, every day is Valentine’s Day for you.’” (laughs)

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about meeting his wife in New Orleans. They were both there attending separate weddings.

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    Jordan Davis (meeting wife) OC: …here we are. :47
    “My college roommate was getting married in New Orleans. My wife was in New Orleans for a totally separate wedding. Both wedding parties were staying at the same hotel, so we met, the first time, in the lobby of the hotel. I’m actually wearing a necklace that has the coordinates to that hotel. Then the next day, me and my brother walk into a bar in New Orleans, and her and her friends were sitting in the corner, and I was like, ‘Hey-that’s the girl from the lobby.’ She was actually dating somebody at the time. But we kind of exchanged numbers and stayed in contact, and about two months later, a month later, she came into town for CMA Music Fest and told me that she no longer had a boyfriend, and here we are.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis reveals the Valentine’s Day tradition he and his wife enjoy every year, however THIS year, he’s touring overseas, so it might be a little hard to find an Olive Garden in Europe.

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    Jordan Davis (Valentine’s Day tradition) OC: …happy Valentine’s. (laughs)
    “When it comes to Valentines, Kristen is way more romantic than I am. I’m not a very romantic guy. I have worked on it.  I’ve tried to get a little bit better over the years. Kristen loves chocolate so she’s good for a big chocolate box, but here’s our thing about Valentine’s Day, and this is the God’s honest truth. We’ve been going to Olive Garden on Valentine’s Day since we met. We’ve continued that tradition. I think it started with her and a friend, they used to always go to Olive Garden on Valentine’s Day before they started dating, or before they got in a relationship. So, we have carried that out, so this year will be our, I believe our eighth Valentines in a row where we go in for endless salad and bread sticks. So, if its Valentine’s Day, and you’re at an Olive Garden, we could be next to each other. So, yeah, hope to see somebody out there at the table next to us just hammering on some breadsticks. So, happy Valentine’s.” (laughs)

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about a couple of his favorite love songs.

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    Jordan Davis (love song) OC: …well done! :25
    “I guess Valentine’s Day gets you to thinking about love songs. You know, me and my wife’s first dance was ‘I’m Gonna Lose You’ [by] John Legend and Meghan Trainor. I think that’s just an amazing love song. I think also a love song that I heard the other day? ‘Strawberry Wine’ from Deana Carter? Great love song. I listened to that a lot. Ooooh Deana Carter. Well done.”

     

    Audio / Josh Turner says his wife would call him a romantic, but since they have four children, it takes a bit of work to make time for each other.

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    Josh Turner (Romantic) OC: …long time to come. :26
    “If you ask my wife Jennifer if I was a romantic, she would definitely say, ‘Yes,’ but she knows that sometimes my hectic schedule and our busy lifestyles can kind of interfere with the romantic side of things. But we do try to make efforts towards being together and having adult conversations and taking time away from the children and doing things that husbands and wives do, so we’ll definitely try to continue that for a long time to come.”

    Audio / KEITH URBAN TALKS ABOUT THE SUPPORT HE AND HIS WIFE, OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS NICOLE KIDMAN, GIVE EACH OTHER, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN TWO CREATIVE ARTISTS ARE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER.

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    Keith Urban (Nicole support) OC: …very important. :17
    “I feel very blessed that I have the support of my family like I do. It’s a beautiful thing having two artists because we understand the passion and the responsibility of what we get to do. It’s very important.”

    Audio / KYLIE MORGAN SAYS HER HUSBAND JAY ALLEN IS THE MOST ROMANTIC PERSON SHE'S EVER MET.

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    Kylie Morgan (Valentine’s Day) OC: …I’ve ever had. :33
    “Man, I will say my husband Jay Allen, who is also a country music artist if you guys haven’t heard of him, he is the most romantic person I’ve ever met in my entire life, truly. For Valentine’s Day, gosh, two years ago, I came home to the entire house being lit with tiny candles, a whole dinner made with my favorite bottle of wine, and this was even before he proposed. So, a lot of people thought that he was gonna pop the question that night, but he saved that for a later time. But it was the most magical Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman says falling in love with her husband, Stephen Schlapman, came as a big surprise.

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    Little Big Town (Kimberly falling in love) OC: …healed me. 1:20
    Kimberly: “Well, I wasn’t planning on falling in love, at all. I didn’t want to…I wasn’t sure that I ever would.  So, my husband now and I were just really good friends, and after my late husband died all my friends were calling me, all the time. Just checking up on me. He was just an old friends. We had known each other for about six years and he started calling me just like everybody else did.  But, he started calling me more than everybody else did [laughs]. We had both been through similar losses, he hadn’t lost a mate but he had lost a close friend, so we kind of bonded over that. I grieved, kind of, at him a lot. He took my grief, I had a lot of grief left, and he just took it and listened and accepted it and was so understanding and let me talk about my late husband all the time. We still talk about him a lot, and he’s totally fine with it. He says that, that made me who he fell in love with and he never minds if I bring anything from the past up which is just really sweet. I was shocked, I remember when I first realized that I was having feelings. I just thought, OK, this is so weird.  What is this?  I haven’t felt this in a long, long, time. This is weird. But, eventually I allowed myself and it’s been the most beautiful gift of my life. It pulled me out of the deepest hole that I’ve ever been in and healed me.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook had a chemistry performing together, but it wasn’t until they each found themselves single…at the same time…that sparks flew romantically. The pair, who wed in 2006, have a son, Elijah.

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    Little Big Town (Jimi & Karen fell in love) OC: (Kimberly) …to be together. :48

    JIMI: “We were in the band a long time before there was ever anything which is interesting. I think there was always something underlying there that we were kind of trying to ignore. And then when the opportunity came, when all of us, ended up single kind of at the same time, a very strange turn of events for the band in a lot of different ways. And those feelings, you were able to come out with them finally. It was like, we’re single. Let’s get together. And, you know, she has a beautiful heart and she’s absolutely gorgeous and I just love her dearly.”

    PHILLIP: “Get a room!” [laughs]

    KIMBERLY: “They’re a perfect match. They really are. They were meant to be together.”

    Audio / LITTLE BIG TOWN’S PHILLIP SWEET WAS READY FOR LOVE WHEN HE MET REBECCA, HIS WIFE SINCE 2007.

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    Little Big Town (Phillip – reasons fell in love) OC: …real love. :17
    “I think everything that I had gone through before had prepared me to be ready to see that there was genuine love there for me, and my Rebecca.  So, it was just a great time, I wouldn’t have been ready before I met her…Now it’s just been a really great journey to heal through the past and to know real love.”

    Audio / LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT MARRYING CAROLINE, HIS COLLEGE SWEETHEART.

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    Luke Bryan (married college sweetheart) OC: …married. :27
    ”I married my college sweetheart. We dated back in college and broke up for nearly six years, and while I was off doing my Nashville stuff and touring and writing songs, she was finishing getting her career kind of going. Man, we just kinda bumped into each other one night, and it was like bam, here we are married.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about his favorite love song.

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    Luke Bryan (love song with Caroline) OC: …That’s it! :11
    “Caroline and I, we had a love song in college. It was Lenny Kravitz’ [starts singing] ‘I just can’t get you off of my mind.’ That’s it!”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae’s Taylor Kerr talks about her husband, songwriter Josh Kerr. The pair are just about to celebrate their fourth anniversary as a married couple (they got married February 21st, 2020).

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    Maddie & Tae (Tae talking about husband Josh) OC: …that way, you know? :45
    “From the moment I met Josh, he never shied away from sharing what’s on his heart. For me, sharing what’s on my heart is sometimes hard, but he always created the environment and dynamic of it’s totally normal to open up and let people to see that side of you. And so, the more we spent time together, the more I kind of adopted that mindset of like, ‘Okay, I can be vulnerable. I can take risks. I can put myself out there and maybe get rejected, but maybe it could be awesome.’ Our relationship is that to a T. I was skeptical at first and I was scared, and he was scared. And we both just, we went all in, and I felt so safe to go there with him and he’s always made me feel that way, you know?”

    Audio / Travis Denning wrote two songs about his now-wife Madison Montgomery and released them ahead of their wedding last year – “Second Best Thing” and “New Year’s Kiss.”

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    Travis Denning (writing 2 songs for Madison) OC: …that way. :40
    “I had the title ‘Second Best Thing’ I think right when me and Madison started dating and really started getting serious. It’s funny to look back that I wrote a song about getting married that early in our relationship, but for as creepy as that might sound (laughs), I mean, it’s just the truth. I knew really fast that we were going to spend the rest of our life together, and then I later wrote ‘New Year’s Kiss’ just recalling that kind of initial moment that I knew we’d probably end up being more than just friends. I recorded them a while ago and have just been holding on for the right moment to put them out, and I wanted this to kind of feel like a gift to her, and I hope it comes off that way.”

  • SUPER BOWL 2024

    This Sunday (February 11th), millions of people around the world, including some of your favorite country stars, will be tuning in to the Super Bowl (the Big Game) as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.

    Check out all the action from the Big Game from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on CBS with the kickoff scheduled at 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT. Make sure to tune in early to catch Reba McEntire performing the National Anthem, as well as Post Malone performing “America the Beautiful” and Andra Day singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

    Chris Stapleton performed a critically-acclaimed version of the National Anthem at last year’s Super Bowl. He posted an encouraging note to those involved in Sunday’s (February 11th) Big Game. He wrote, “Singing the National Anthem at last year’s Super Bowl was a career highlight. Best of luck to all the players, staff, coaches & performers taking the field this weekend.” He tagged Reba, Post Malone and Andra Day.

     

     

    Audio / BILLY CURRINGTON SAYS HE LOVES WATCHING FOOTBALL.

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    Billy Currington (football fan) OC: …love football. :36
    “I’m a big football fan. I mean, when I was growing up, if you asked me who my favorite team is now, I couldn’t tell you. But when I was a kid, it was the Dallas Cowboys. And I don’t know if it was because my mom bought my brother a Pittsburgh Steelers pennant, for some reason, and bought me a Dallas Cowboys pennant, and of course over the year I fell in love with the Cowboys, and then I wanted a jersey the next Christmas, and then the next one, I wanted [more Cowboys stuff]. So, I became a long-term fan with those guys. But I like it all now that I’m older. I’ll watch any game; it doesn’t matter who’s playing. But [I] love football.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood loves football and loves being a part of Sunday Night Football.

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    Carrie Underwood (loves being a part of SNF) OC: …my whole life. :54
    “I love being the voice of Sunday Night Football because I grew up watching football…from birth. I’m from Oklahoma – we’re a football state. It’s just a part of the country that everybody has their teams and there’s such an energy about it. We would drive down to Dallas and watch the Cowboys play whenever we could. There’s just something about being at a live sporting event or watching it on TV. You have your favorites. They have their rivals. There’s an excitement to it that really, it’s unlike anything else, so being a small part of that is absolutely amazing. It’s been so wonderful working with everybody at SNF, and I count myself very lucky and very blessed that I get to be a small part of something that I’ve loved my whole life.”

    Audio / IS A HUGE FOOTBALL FAN, AS EVERYONE PROBABLY KNOWS BY NOW, AND HE EXPLAINS WHY HE LOVES FOOTBALL SO MUCH. SIDENOTE: HE’S A HUGE MIAMI DOLPHINS FAN, AND WORD HAS IT, JUST TO BE ABLE TO MEET THEN DOLPHINS QUARTERBACK, DAN MARINO, HE ASKED HIM TO BE IN A HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH VIDEO FOR “ONLY WANNA BE WITH YOU.”

    Download

    Darius Rucker (football) OC: …football season. :20
    “Ever since I was five years old, I’ve loved football, and I love how physical it is. I love the chess match of the game. I love the speed of the game. I love college football, but for me watching pro football is better because the speed is so much more. For me, there’s two times a year, man — football season and waiting for football season.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says having two daughters who are big Taylor Swift fans has allowed him to stay in the house to watch all of the football games he wants.

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    Dierks Bentley (Super Bowl 2024) OC: …Santa Tracker. :50
    “I have been watching every single playoff game. It’s the great thing. In my house is the Kansas City Chiefs because my daughters love Taylor (Swift). Any dad out there that has daughters knows what I’m talking about. She has made football much easier to watch at my house. Everybody’s down with it now, so I’ve been able to watch a lot of playoff games with my family, which is amazing. I’m not out there in the garage. I’m allowed to be in the main part of the house watching football, and it’s so fun. As far as the Super Bowl goes, I have no idea who’s going to win, but I’m there for the whole thing. I’m there for the pre-show concerts, the introductions, our National Anthem, the half-time show and of course, the game. It’s going to be awesome. I have no idea who’s going to win, but I just hope Taylor Swift makes her flight from Japan back to the game, because that’s what we all want to see. That’s going to be the most followed flight. It’ll be followed more than the Santa Tracker.”

    Audio / Jon Langston says his favorite team in the NFL is the Atlanta Falcons.

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    Jon Langston (Atlanta Falcons) OC: …cool place too. :17
    “Favorite team in the NFL is the Falcons. You know, growing up an hour from Atlanta, I just loved the Falcons, I guess, and going to the games and stuff. Going to the Georgia Dome was a pretty big deal, and we got to play there in high school and stuff, and it’s sad to see that it’s gone, but Mercedes Benz is a pretty cool place too.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi has been a fan of the San Francisco 49ers since he was a little boy.

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    Jon Pardi (football) OC: …two great teams. :12
    “I grew up playing football and it was always the 9ers, you know? Like we looked up to those guys. I looked up to the 49ers. It was like our local team, and I guess I just never lost that spark from when they went to the Super Bowl.”

    Audio / KEITH URBAN SAYS HIS WIFE, NICOLE KIDMAN, GOT HIM INTERESTED IN FOOTBALL.

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    Keith (Nicole and football) OC: …new to me. :04

    “She’s a big NFL fan, and she sort of turned me on to it.”

    Audio / From the last time the Kansas City Chiefs squared off against the San Francisco 49ers, Little Big Town's Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet gave their thoughts.

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    LBT (Super Bowl 2020) OC: (Phillip) …win this game. :29
    JIMI: “This game is gonna be fun. Of course, my team is the Tennessee Titans, so I don’t have quite the heart connection that I do with these two teams. (Phillip: “I like Mahomes though.”) But I’m excited because I think it’s gonna be a great game. They match up very interestingly, and I think it’s gonna be fun to watch. I don’t think anybody’s gonna stop Mahomes, though. Shew. The 49er defense, they are for real.” PHILLIP: “If you can pick apart the 49er defense, you can win this game.”

    Audio / LITTLE BIG TOWN’S BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED KAREN FAIRCHILD WAS A BADASS GROWING UP WHEN SHE WAS PLAYING QUARTERBACK FOR HER POWDER PUFF FOOTBALL TEAM.

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    LBT (football story) OC: …my lip. :40
    “I was the quarterback to my powder puff team. I was running the ball and I came around the corner – this was in high school – and a foreign exchange student, I think her name was Inga (KIMBERLY: “Inga.”), and I didn’t want to fumble ‘cause my brother and my dad were there, and I come from this very athletic family, so I held onto the ball. I knew I was going to go down, so I let my head hit first and I bit all the way through, but I didn’t fumble and I had a hole in my face, though. The sad thing is that it was just flag football, but I left my flags on and cleats and everything, ‘cause it looked cool, and I had blood running all down my jersey. I went to the emergency room like that, and they sewed up my lip.”

    Audio / LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT SOME OF THE FOOD HE LIKES TO HAVE WHILE WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL.

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    Luke Bryan (Super Bowl food) OC: …over again. :22
    “Definitely Super Bowl is like the queso, the Frito Lay scoops with the Ro-tel situation. I guess it’s like, what’s the black-eyed pea stuff too? All of that, just stuff that you can sit there and have lots of sodium, and then just, it’s like Thanksgiving all over again.”

    Audio / PRISCILLA BLOCK SAYS SUPER BOWL SUNDAY IS SO MUCH FUN.

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    Priscilla Block (Football/Super Bowl food) OC: …what happens. :23
    “I mean, I feel like the Super Bowl is like just such a fun day. I’m really excited for the half-time show. I feel like that’s usually why I’m there, is to watch the anthem and the half-time show, but yes, excited to eat all the bad things. And I’m honestly, I don’t feel pulled any way this year. I wish the (Tennessee) Titans were in it, but we’ll see what happens.”

    Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT SINGING NATIONAL ANTHEM A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT.

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    Reba McEntire (full circle moment National Anthem) OC: …they asked me. :35
    “It’s absolutely amazing coming full circle, 50 years after being discovered by Red Steagall me singing the National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. That was in 1974. Little did I know, I had no idea 50 years I’d be singing (laughs) the National Anthem at this year’s Super Bowl. Omigosh. I don’t even have the imagination to say that I would be doing something like this. I’m absolutely thrilled to pieces that they asked me.”

    Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT HER EARLY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOTBALL.

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    Reba McEntire (football fan) OC: …at the Super Bowl. :42
    “I’ve always liked football, even in high school. As the Singing McEntires and being a part of the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band in Kiowa, Oklahoma where I went to school for 12 years, we were part of the half-time entertainment there at the school. We’d pull the trailer out and we’d play at half-time for our football games, and then my boyfriend, Rex Linn, absolutely loves college football. I really get into that, and I cheer for the Longhorns in Austin, Texas. And now getting to sing at the Super Bowl, I think Rex was more excited than I was, if that’s at all possible. I’m a huge, a huge fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, so I will be cheering them on at the Super Bowl.”

    Audio / Since she's performing at this year's Super Bowl, Reba McEntire gives her suggestions for some snacks you can make for your own Big Game celebration.

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    Reba McEntire (Super Bowl snacks) OC: …gonna be great. :30
    “Omigosh, wouldn’t it be neat if we could cook up some recipes out of my Not That Fancy book and you know, like the ranch dressing from Reba’s Place, that’s my restaurant in Atoka, Oklahoma, with chicken tenders and the beer cheese dip? Okay, if y’all don’t know what I’m talking about, get online and get the Not That Fancy book. It’s pretty cool, lots of pictures and what it’s supposed to look like when you get through making it. That’s gonna be great.”

    Audio / SAM HUNT LOVES THAT THE SUPER BOWL MIXES HIS TWO LOVES – MUSIC AND FOOTBALL.

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    Sam Hunt (Super Bowl & music) OC: …combined there. :24
    “It’s become such a massive pop culture event, and I love that they’ve incorporated music and entertainment with the sport itself and the entertainment value that comes from that. It encompasses just a strong representation of American culture, and I’m a huge music fan, obviously, and I’m a huge sports fan, so those are two of my favorite worlds combined there.”

    Audio / SAM HUNT, A FORMER UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM QUARTERBACK, WAS INSPIRED BY RETIRED INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AND DENVER BRONCOS QUARTERBACK AND NFL HALL OF FAMER PEYTON MANNING WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.

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    Sam Hunt (Peyton Manning) OC: …with music. :39
    “When I was in high school, I went to a camp called the Manning Academy, and it’s a quarterback camp down in Louisiana. And I got to spend some time with Peyton and Eli, and they have another brother [Cooper]. I’ve followed [Peyton’s] career for a long time,” he says. “Actually, a couple of years ago, I was at a concert of Kenny Chesney’s in Denver, and I was standing there side stage and Jake Owen was there. He had opened up for [Kenny], and I’ve been a friend of his for a little while, and he turned and introduced me to the guy behind us, who I wasn’t aware of at the time, but it turned out to be Peyton Manning. He was just a really nice guy, and it was just pretty cool to be on the stage with two people who inspired me in two different arenas, with Peyton with football and Kenny with music.”

    Audio / Travis Denning predicts the Kansas City Chiefs will win the Super Bowl.

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    Travis Denning (Super Bowl 2024) 1 OC: …very clutch. :13
    “I believe the Kansas City Chiefs are gonna win the Super Bowl. I just think Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the post season are just built different. They’ve been there before. They’re just used to it. I think they’re very clutch.”

    Audio / Travis Denning says he's looking forward to seeing Taylor Swift at this year's Super Bowl.

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    Travis Denning (Super Bowl 2024) 2 OC: …love story. :09
    “Honestly, I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing Taylor Swift in the crowd. I think it’s been awesome this year to see her. Her and Travis Kelce’s just got an All-American love story.”

    Audio / Travis Denning reveals his go-to Super Bowl snack.

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    Travis Denning (go-to Super Bowl snack) OC: …other pick. :05
    “My go-to Super Bowl snack is buffalo chicken dip, obviously. There’s no other pick.”

    Audio / Travis Denning gives his thoughts on singing the National Anthem.

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    Travis Denning (National Anthem) OC: …your life. :27
    “The National Anthem, I think, is one of the hardest songs to sing that we sing regularly in this country. It’s essentially two very full octave ranges and every note matters. It has to be powerful. It takes an amazing singer to sing it. And the other thing that’s hard about is if you sing it great, everybody goes ‘that was cool,’ and then they forget about it two minutes later, and if you mess it up, they remember it for the rest of your life.”

     

  • DIERKS BENTLEY CAN FINALLY WATCH FOOTBALL INSIDE THE HOUSE, THANKS TO TAYLOR SWIFT.

    Dierks Bentley has really enjoyed watching NFL games this season for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he gets to spend time in the house watching the games because of Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs TE, Travis Kelce. As a dad to two teenage daughters — Evie (rhymes with Chevy) and Jordan — they are passionate about watching football for a glimpse of the worldwide superstar and her boyfriend, as well as learning about the game itself from dear old dad. For Sunday’s Big Game, Dierks and his family will be watching every single moment leading up to and including the game itself.

    “I have been watching every single playoff game. It’s the great thing,” says Dierks. “In my house is the Kansas City Chiefs because my daughters love Taylor (Swift). Any dad out there that has daughters knows what I’m talking about. She has made football much easier to watch at my house. Everybody’s down with it now, so I’ve been able to watch a lot of playoff games with my family, which is amazing. I’m not out there in the garage. I’m allowed to be in the main part of the house watching football, and it’s so fun.”

    For Sunday’s Big Game, Dierks and his family will be watching every single moment leading up to and including the game itself.

    “As far as the Super Bowl goes, I have no idea who’s going to win, but I’m there for the whole thing. I’m there for the pre-show concerts, the introductions, our National Anthem, the half-time show and of course, the game. It’s going to be awesome. I have no idea who’s going to win, but I just hope Taylor Swift makes her flight from Japan back to the game, because that’s what we all want to see. That’s going to be the most followed flight. It’ll be followed more than the Santa Tracker.”

    Dierks is all of us!

    Check out all the action from the Big Game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on CBS. The kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT.

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says having two daughters who are big Taylor Swift fans has allowed him to stay in the house to watch all of the football games he wants.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Super Bowl 2024) OC: …Santa Tracker. :50
    “I have been watching every single playoff game. It’s the great thing. In my house is the Kansas City Chiefs because my daughters love Taylor (Swift). Any dad out there that has daughters knows what I’m talking about. She has made football much easier to watch at my house. Everybody’s down with it now, so I’ve been able to watch a lot of playoff games with my family, which is amazing. I’m not out there in the garage. I’m allowed to be in the main part of the house watching football, and it’s so fun. As far as the Super Bowl goes, I have no idea who’s going to win, but I’m there for the whole thing. I’m there for the pre-show concerts, the introductions, our National Anthem, the half-time show and of course, the game. It’s going to be awesome. I have no idea who’s going to win, but I just hope Taylor Swift makes her flight from Japan back to the game, because that’s what we all want to see. That’s going to be the most followed flight. It’ll be followed more than the Santa Tracker.”

  • VALENTINE’S DAY LINERS 2024

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Billy Currington. Hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Valentine's Day)

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    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. In the words of the late, great Buck Owens, ‘Love’s Gonna Live Here.’ Happy Valentine’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, this is T.J., and I’m John, and we’re Brothers Osborne. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Bryce Leatherwood (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Bryce Leatherwood. Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all. All the love in the world.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Send me some chocolate.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, I’m Dalton Dover – for all the lovers out there, I’m wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Valentine’s Day)

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    “What’s up y’all? This is Darius Rucker, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Church, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Valentine’s Day)

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    “This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! It’s Jon Pardi, and I hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Jordan Davis, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Valentine's Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Josh Ross, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Josh Turner, and I want to wish you and your sweetheart a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi, this is Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Valentine’s Day) 1

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    “Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. This is Keith Urban.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Valentine's Day)

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    “Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. This is Keith Urban. Make the day special for your ‘Once in a Lifetime’ love.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day) 2

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    “Hey y’all. It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day. Make sweet love to your other.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody. I’m Parker McCollum, wishing all the lovers out there a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Priscilla Block wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Valentine’s Day) 1

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    “Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire, wishing you and your sweetheart a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Valentine’s Day) 2

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    “Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi, this is Shania Twain. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER The War And Treaty (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody, I’m Michael and I’m Tanya, and we’re The War And Treaty, and Happy Valentine’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing y’all a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

     

  • GRAMMY AWARDS 2024: Chris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley, The War And Treaty, Kacey Musgraves, Vince Gill and more

    The 66th annual GRAMMY Awards are taking place this Sunday (February 4th), and several country artists will be taking home some coveted trophies.

    Chris Stapleton has three nominations, including Best Country Song (“White Horse”), Best Country Solo Performance (“White Horse”) and Best Country Duo/Group Performance as a featured performer on Carly Pearce’s “We Don’t Fight Anymore.”

    Brothers Osborne nabbed a pair of noms, including Best Country Album for their self-titled fourth record and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Nobody’s Nobody.”

    Kacey Musgraves picked up two nominations for her featured performance on Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” for Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

    The War And Treaty are nominated for two GRAMMY Awards, including the overall Best New Artist and for Best American Roots Song for “Blank Page.” The husband-wife duo have several events leading up to Sunday night’s GRAMMY Awards Show, including Spotify’s Best New Artist party, and Michael and Tanya (pr. Tonya) will perform at the MusiCares Person of the Year Gala honoring Jon Bon Jovi on Friday (February 2nd).

    Dierks Bentley is nominated in Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “High Note,” featuring Billy Strings. When the nominations were announced, Dierks posted a heartfelt message of gratitude on his Instagram, writing, “Thank you Billy for lending your talents. Been fun to watch your career explode dude since we recorded this. It must have been the collab!! Haha. The song actually started off pretty grassy with Billy, @sambushband @bryansuttond28 @jerrydouglas on it (and my band). And then we went back in a year later and gave it a little more of a country vibe. Thanks to my friends @jimbeavers and my pal @charlieworsham for writing it and letting me make it my own. This song is why Charlie has been in our band the last two years. After he recorded the acoustic lick at the top, I remember asking him how in the hell are we gonna play this live on the road. @bhelson is on electric and there’s no way I can play it. He said, ‘Well I could come out and do it.’ And he did!! And he still is haha.”

    Vince Gill and Paul Franklin are nominated in Best Country Duo/Group for “Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)” from their latest collaboration, Sweet Memories.

    George Strait‘s Blue Clear Sky album was nominated for Best Immersive Album. The collection must be commercially released for physical sale or on an eligible streaming or download service and must provide a new immersive mix of four or more channels. Award to the immersive mix engineer, immersive producer (if any) and immersive mastering engineer (if any).

    The 2024 Grammy Awards will air live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday (February 4th) at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CBS and streaming live on Paramount+.

    Best Country Album
    Kelsea Ballerini, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
    Brothers Osborne, Brothers Osborne
    Zach Bryan, Zach Bryan
    Tyler Childers, Rustin’ In The Rain
    Lainey Wilson, Bell Bottom Country

    Best Country Song
    Brandy Clark, “Buried” (Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon)
    Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything” (Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves)
    Tyler Childers, “In Your Love” (Tyler Childers & Geno Seale)
    Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak)
    Chris Stapleton, “White Horse” (Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson)

    Best Country Solo Performance
    Tyler Childers, “In Your Love”
    Brandy Clark, “Buried”
    Luke Combs, “Fast Car”
    Dolly Parton, “The Last Thing On My Mind”
    Chris Stapleton, “White Horse”

    Best Country Duo/Group Performance
    Dierks Bentley featuring Billy Strings, “High Note”
    Brothers Osborne, “Nobody’s Nobody”
    Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything”
    Vince Gill & Paul Franklin, “Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)”
    Jelly Roll With Lainey Wilson, “Save Me”
    Carly Pearce featuring Chris Stapleton, “We Don’t Fight Anymore”

    Best New Artist
    Gracie Abrams
    Fred again..
    Ice Spice
    Jelly Roll
    Coco Jones
    Noah Kahan
    Victoria Monét
    The War and Treaty

    Best American Roots Song
    “Blank Page” — Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War And Treaty) 
    “California Sober” – Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings Featuring Willie Nelson)
    “Cast Iron Skillet” – Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)
    “Dear Insecurity” – Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile)
    “The Returner” – Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)

    Best Immersive Audio Album
    Blue Clear Sky — Chuck Ainlay, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Chuck Ainlay, immersive producer (George Strait)
    Act 3 (Immersive Edition) – Ryan Ulyate, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Ryan Ulyate, immersive producer (Ryan Ulyate)
    The Diary Of Alicia Keys – George Massenburg & Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineers; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Alicia Keys & Ann Mincieli, immersive producers (Alicia Keys)
    God Of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack) – Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Kellogg Boynton, Peter Scaturro & Herbert Waltl, immersive producers (Bear McCreary)
    Silence Between Songs – Aaron Short, immersive mastering engineer (Madison Beer)

    Audio / Dierks Bentley jokes around about his GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Billy Strings.

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    Dierks Bentley (Grammy 2024) OC: …a fun ride. :50
    “I think this is my 16th nomination. At 17, they give you one out of pity, so I just have to get one more next year to get the courtesy win. No, but this is my 16th nomination, hey, I’ll take the nominations all day long. This is a tough thing to be nominated for, and I’m proud of the nomination. Actually, when I heard the news – I didn’t even know the song was submitted for a GRAMMY, so when I heard the news, I’m like, ‘Wow! Billy Strings! This might be the one. I’ve got the hottest guy in all music.’ And then I look down the list, and I was like, ‘Oh, we got Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll. Oooof, that’s tough. We’ve got Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves, they’re GRAMMY darlings, so I don’t know.’ But the nomination is good enough. I’m proud of it, and I’m grateful for Billy for his time and doing it and it was a fun ride.”

    Audio / BROTHERS OSBORNE'S TJ OSBORNE EXPLAINS WHY THEY SELF-TITLED THEIR FOURTH STUDIO ALBUM.

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    Brothers Osborne (self-titling album) OC: …Brothers Osborne. :58
    TJ: “John and I have really shared so much of our personal lives since the release of Skeletons, and I guess we didn’t realize when we created that there was some sort of barriers there that maybe we didn’t realize and certainly didn’t want there. And this time around, while we didn’t necessarily pointedly or specifically talk about those topics, it was the first time we were able to create without any barriers, and it just made the process a lot more fun. We got to explore a lot more musically in the studio, and we felt like for the first time completely 100% us. And I think, I hope, but I feel that the record reflects that. We thought, usually people do that on their first record, but we thought this is a new beginning for us, so between the change of the producer and a lot of the musicians and stuff, so we just thought this was kind of a fresh thought. So we kind of thought we’re gonna lean in more than we have previously and this us—Brothers Osborne.”

    Audio / BROTHERS OSBORNE'S TJ OSBORNE TALKS ABOUT THE DUO'S SONG, "NOBODY'S NOBODY."

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    Brothers Osborne (about Nobody’s Nobody) OC: …by that. :21
    “So, ‘Nobody’s Nobody’ was really inspired just by us thinking, ‘You know what? I don’t care who you are or what you do, we all have our differences and we sometimes get on each other’s nerves, but you still are somebody. Everyone is someone in this world and it takes literally every one of us to make it go around.’ So, ‘Nobody’s Nobody’ was inspired by that.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton talks about the GRAMMYS.

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    Chris Stapleton (GRAMMYS) OC: …very cool. :22
    “It’s such a convergence of different aspects of music. It’s just like a big melting pot of stuff that is just so fantastic to watch people interact that you don’t get that any where else, really. The GRAMMYs are great to see that and you always see some cool collaboration or something that’s going on at the GRAMMYS that it’s not going on anywhere else. I think it’s a real honor to be nominated for GRAMMYS, and I think it’s very cool.”

    Audio / The War And Treaty's Michael Trotter Jr. talks about their Grammy-nominated song, "Blank Page."

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    The War And Treaty (Blank Page) OC: …someone new. :16
    “Picture this – you meet someone, both of you decide to fall in love and all of a sudden, you decide to bring in past failed relationships into the equation. No. ‘Blank Page’ is simply about starting from a clean slate and building your own history with someone new.”

    Audio / The War And Treaty's Michael Trotter Jr. talks about the Best New Artist nominations at this year's GRAMMY Awards.

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    The War And Treaty (Best New Artist nod) OC: …for that. :33
    “It was very shocking, one. I just couldn’t believe that it was happening, but I felt really humbled and really blessed to be in that category with so many amazing artists, trailblazing artists, artists who set a standard. And just to call their names out – Gracie Adams, Fred Again, Victoria Monét, Coco Jones, Ice Spice, Noah Kahan and the man, the myth and the legend, Jelly Roll. It feels so good, and we have a role to play. We have a place right there amongst them, so we’re just grateful for that.”

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Eric Church, Tyler Hubbard, Dierks Bentley

    Eric Church and Morgan Wallen, who are making their way up the charts with the duet “Man Made a Bar,” have teased on their Instagram pages a possible pairing with Field & Stream apparel brand. We’ll find out on Thursday (January 25th) at 9am CT just what this is all about. In the video teaser, the two country stars are seen wearing the apparel while fishing, plus clips of other folks enjoying the land and nature, complete with Eric’s subtle and perfect voice asking certain questions about what is it that makes us Americans. Eric ends the voiceover with “Since 1871 we’ve been a part of that conversation. And like all Americans, we sometimes lost our way. But like America, we always find our way back.” (see the video below)

    Tyler Hubbard, a Belmont University graduate, will take part in “Belmont at the Opry,” which will celebrate the 50th year of the college’s music business program on April 9th. The lineup features some of Belmont’s most distinguished alums, including Tyler, Trisha Yearwood and Hailey Whitters, as well as songwriters Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey and Nicolle Galyon. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

    Dierks Bentley and Maren Morris will headline the 2024 Wildlands Festival, taking place August 2nd-3rd in Big Sky, Montana. The two-day event will help raise awareness and funds for non-profit organizations dedicated to “saving wild and open spaces,” according to the press release. Additional musical acts will be announced on Wednesday (January 24th). Tickets go on sale Monday (January 29th) at wildlandsfestival.com.