• NEWS AND NOTES: Chris Stapleton, Priscilla Block, Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley, Kacey Musgraves, The War And Treaty

    Chris Stapleton is among the headliners for this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest. Additional headliners include the Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Neil Young and Crazy Horse and Vampire Weekend. The event, which takes place April 25th through May 5th, will also feature performances by Bonnie Raitt, Queen Latifah, Earth, Wind & Fire, Widespread Panic, the Beach Boys, Heart, Jon Batiste and Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, who will perform in celebration of the late singer-songwriter. Tickets are on sale now at nojazzfest.com.

     

    Priscilla Block is among the performers at the 2024 Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 25th through 28th. The three-day festival will also include performances from Jelly Roll, Hueston, Red Hot Chili Peppers, HARDY, Cypres Hill, Warren Zeiders, the Offspring and more. Tickets are now on sale here.

    Brothers Osborne are featured on the cover of the new issue of the Nashville Scene and inside in the featured article titled “Country Music Almanac 2024: This is Livin’.” Check it out here. The two talk about how they’ve been reinvigorated with their new self-titled debut album and much more.

    https://twitter.com/brothersosborne/status/1748014637356843443

    Talk about “this is livin’,” Dierks Bentley certainly knows how to do that with family and friends. During Nashville’s snowstorm that dropped up to eight inches in places and with temperatures dipping below -5 (or more), the “Living” singer had his son Knox and the neighborhood kids playing pond hockey and taking a nature walk in the woods in the snow (see Instagram posts below).

    The War And Treaty, Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift, as well as Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini and others are part of the new American Currents: State of the Music exhibit at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, opening February 28th. The exhibit is expected to run through February 2025.

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks Bentley, Kacey Musgraves, Priscilla Block, Chris Stapleton

    Dierks Bentley will headline the ROMP Festival, which is a big fundraising event for the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum. The four-day event will take place at Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro, Kentucky June 26th-29th and will also feature performances by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Jim Lauderdale, Jerry Douglas, The Travelin’ McCourys and many others.

    Kacey Musgraves is among the notable figures featured in the new Paramount + documentary, “JUNE,” focused on June Carter Cash, the iconic singer-songwriter-actress-author and five-time Grammy Award winner. The documentary, which premieres on the streaming platform January 16th in the U.S. and Canada, features never-before-seen archival footage and commentary from actress-producer Reese Witherspoon (who portrayed June in the acclaimed film “Walk The Line”), Dolly Parton, actor Robert Duvall, Willie Nelson, Larry Gatlin, Ronnie Dunn and more. Check out the trailer below.


    Priscilla Block
    is one of the headliners for the first-ever Bull Bash & Country Music Festival, taking place January 26th and 27th at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds at the Tampa Bay Rodeo.


    Chris Stapleton
    ‘s current Top 5 single, “White Horse,” is so popular that Hollywood royalty has covered it. Actress-producer Kate Hudson performed her own version of the tune on TikTok. Check it out here.

  • NEW YEAR’S 2023

    What are some of your favorite stars doing to welcome in the New Year? A few of them are working to help fans celebrate. Several artists have taken the time off around the holidays and will hit it hard when they return to the road in 2024. Some artists have resolutions, some artists look ahead to 2024 and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.

    For several country stars, they’ll be ringing in the new year in Nashville on New Year’s Eve as CBS presents NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH on Sunday (December 31st) at 7:30-10:00pm ET/PT, 10:30pm – 1:05am ET/PT. The special programming will air on CBS and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Originating from downtown Nashville across multiple locations, the star-studded special will be packed with high-energy performances celebrating the excitement and anticipation of a new year. In addition to host Elle King, along with Entertainment Tonight’s Rachel Smith, Jon Pardi, Brothers Osborne, Parker McCollum, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lainey Wilson, Trace Adkins, Grace Bowers, Kane Brown, Jackson Dean, HARDY, Cody Johnson, Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce, Blake Shelton, Trombone Shorty, Morgan Wallen and Bailey Zimmerman. TV and radio host Cody Alan and CBS anchor Lonnie Quinn will be corresponding from New York City’s Times Square, along with Dustin Lynch, who will also be performing live.

    The five-hour broadcast will feature a staggering hit parade of more than 50 back-to-back performances, live from the home of country music. Nashville will count down with the East Coast at midnight and keep the party going through midnight Central Time with the city’s renowned Music Note Drop at the Bicentennial Mall stage.

    Luke Bryan
    will definitely have a “Beer In His Hand” when he performs one of his last remaining dates during his Las Vegas residency at Resorts World.

    Parker McCollum will not only be a part of Music City’s New Year’s Eve Bash, but he’ll be performing a full headlining show at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, along with opening act Catie Offerman.

    Priscilla Block will ring in the New Year on stage. She will be in Durant, Oklahoma with pal and duet partner Justin Moore performing at the Choctaw Resort & Casino.

    Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about how people spend the last moments of the year, and the first moments of the new year.

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    Brothers Osborne (New Year) OC: (TJ) …next month. :44
    JOHN: “I think it’s kind of funny how we spend literally the last moment and the very first moment of every year being extremely intoxicated, extremely, because you don’t want to wait until like 12:30 to get your buzz on. You’ve got to do it before midnight, and then once midnight happens, you’re like, ‘Omigod! Now it’s time to celebrate even more.’ Debauchery is the literally bookending your entire year.” TJ: “I love how everyone starts the year off with diets and then we end the year with like excessive amounts of food. And then you get to the end of the year, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to start a diet on the 1st, so I’m going to eat everything that’s in front of me.’ I love it.” JOHN: “And come February 1st, ‘what diet?’” [laughs] TJ: “What diet? I’ll start it next month.” [laughs]

    Audio / John Osborne of Brothers Osborne says a little hair of the dog is definitely the cure for a hangover.

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    Brothers Osborne (hangover cure) OC: …of the year. :07
    “Usually drinking more. I mean, a little hair of the dog never hurt anybody. Plus, it’s the first of the year.”

     

    Audio / A few years ago, Dierks Bentley talked about taking New Year's Eve in stride nowadays.

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    Dierks Bentley (New Year’s) OC: …in stride. 1:11
    “New Year’s is rough. New Year’s hurts no matter what’s going on. I’ve played a lot of New Year’s shows, you know, but I’ve honestly found that it’s not my favorite night to throw down. Look, for a living, that’s what I do. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I host a big party; not only on stage, but I’ve got friends backstage. It starts before the concert sometimes, [and] it goes long after the concert, so a lot of times on New Year’s, I’m looking for a really mellow hang – a good party, good friends, pretty chill. Some of my best New Year’s – it doesn’t make for great radio – but some of my best New Years have been just like actually hearing fireworks go off while I’m in bed, [laughs] and know I’m gonna wake up the next morning for the first day of the New Year feeling great, feeling recharged and I’m ready to go ad go into the New Year feeling good as opposed to going into it with a giant Jagerbomb hangover, which I’ve done many, many times. So, the goal this year is to go into it feeling pretty good and the kids help with that, because you really just don’t want to be hungover with children. It’s not a good feeling. You would probably admit to any crime to get them, just feel better, and get them leave you alone. So, [I’m] gonna try to hit New Year’s this year in stride.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says there’s not really a cure for a hangover.

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    Dierks (NYE) OC: …for that. :10
    “I think January first is universally accepted as a dog. So I mean, a little hair of the dog, I guess. But just…water and stay on the couch, I guess. There’s no real sure-fire cure for that.”

    Audio / Eric Church has a couple of hangover cures for those times (especially on New Year’s Eve) when you might imbibe a little too much.

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    Eric Church (hangover cure) OC: …every time. :17
    “The best hangover cure – I’ve got two. One is 5-hour Energy [bottles], because of all the B-vitamins that are in it. You can start pounding those, and it’s either gonna work, or it’s gonna keep you up and prolong your misery. But the other one I have is just take two Advil and a beer in the morning. Hair of the dog, man – that works every time.”

    Audio / Josh Ross talks about performing on New Year's Eve this year.

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    Josh Ross (playing New Year’s Eve 2023) OC: …worth it. :33
    “You know, obviously just the energy around it being a new year and new goals and it’s my refresh for the year, and, but it’ll I get to kind of start my refresh right at the very first moment of time, so I’m really looking forward to that. It honestly reminds me of when I came to Nashville which is really cool. I remember I got to watch Keith Urban play in 2017 on New Year’s here in Nashville, and I thought how cool would it be to be an artist that gets to bring in the year for people and play, and I get to do that this year, which is real exciting, up in Edmonton, Canada. But it’s gonna be good. It’ll probably be minus-25 (degrees) and freezing cold, but it’ll definitely be worth it.”

    Audio / Josh Ross gives his best hangover cures.

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    Josh Ross (hangover cure) OC: …for the day. :37
    “Best hangover cure—I think it’s depending on what I have to do that day or the next day. But yeah, there’s definitely two. There’s my old approach, which was the football approach when I played college football, was we used to have Sunday morning rundown and no matter how much fun you had on Saturday night, you had to be at the field at 8 or 9am and we used to have to jog around the track. Running or doing some type activity is one of the best cures. As I’ve gotten lazier, I would maybe say, sometimes just having water, having liquid IV or sometimes my grandma’s old trick of the hair of the dog is a real thing and kind of just help level you out for the day.”

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves has her own hangover cure.

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    Kacey Musgraves (hangover cure) OC: …water. Yup! :32
    “Coconut water is a major help with hangovers and also, a lot of times we go and eat Vietnamese pho. It’s a soup, and it’s got this awesome broth. You can get different things in it or whatever, but for some reason, it’s just like…it’s almost like a chicken noodle soup kind of an idea, you know, but it’s good. That’s good for hangovers too. That, sleep, Tylenol, coconut water and just water, in general. And when you’re drinking, have your alcohol, drink a little bit of water, drink some more alcohol, drink some water. Yup!”

    Audio / Since he’s performing one of his Vegas residency dates at Resorts World AND it’s his wife Caroline’s birthday, Luke Bryan says they’re going to have a “big time” on New Year’s Eve this year.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (New Year’s 2023) OC: …in Vegas. :40
    “Every new year is always tricky because New Year’s Eve is Caroline’s birthday. So, I always have to run my New Year’s plans by her, and she has to sign off on them, because we don’t want to interrupt her birthday. But this year, I’m gonna be in Vegas for my Las Vegas residency. It’s some of the final shows, and we got tons of friends coming out – all of her college friends, some friends from Nashville – and it’s gonna be a big group of us having a lot of fun. We’re gonna try our best to make her birthday really special and to have fun doing the shows and ringin’ in the New Year, and it should be a big time out there in Vegas.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan takes a look back at 2023.

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    Luke Bryan (looking back at 2023) OC: …every night. :38
    “When I look back at 2023, what stands out the most literally is how busy of a year it was and how amazing the Country On Tour was. You might prepare yourself for stuff to slow down a little bit, but for me it was not that way. I mean, the crowds were huge. We were selling ‘em out. The fans were going crazy. We had a lot of new baby acts come out with me, and I enjoyed getting to know them and hopefully being a part in taking their career to the next level. So, the Country On Tour was definitely the highlight of the year, as far as just how big it was and how the fans showed up every night.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan is looking forward to a few things in 2024.

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    Luke Bryan (looking ahead at 2024) OC: …a snowstorm. :28
    “For 2024, we haven’t announced our tour, but there’ll be a tour and we’ve got Crash My Playa coming up right at the top of the year. We’ve got Dierks and Jelly Roll and Eddie Montgomery from Montgomery Gentry – he and I are gonna do some songs together. I’m really excited about that. We got Dustin Lynch getting ready for the pool party, so Playa’s just been a great thing. Just about the time it gets too cold to be in Nashville, we fly to Mexico and get warm. Every time we’re driving to the airport, it’s a snowstorm.”

    Audio / Reba McEntire's New Year's Resolution includes a few things we should all wish for in 2024.

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    Reba McEntire (New Year’s Resolution 2024) OC: …laugh a lot. :06
    “My New Year’s resolution for 2024 is to stay happy, healthy and laugh a lot.”

    Audio / Travis Denning recalls his favorite New Year’s Eve party.

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    Travis Denning (favorite New Year’s Eve party) OC: …it was good. :41
    “I think my favorite New Year’s Eve party ever was when my sister got married, and my sister’s party got done at 10:30, 10:45 and she got married right behind a little club that I played a lot in Macon, Georgia called the Crazy Bull and love the owner. We’re boys, you know? So, we just literally walked right over and burned the house down. That was one of my favorite New Year’s Eve memories, ‘cause I got to see my sister and brother-in-law get married and that was such a great, great time, and then me and my older cousin and best friend, we ended up at Waffle House that night, so it was good.”

     

     

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about his hangover cures.

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    Travis Denning (hangover cure) OC: …me better. :17
    “You know, I think my hangover cure is just sitting on my butt, [laughs] not doing anything. Drink some water, a cup of coffee, but usually anything greasy or just some big ole Mexican food that’ll get me at least to a nap, which will get me better.”

     

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about getting dressed up for New Year’s Eve.

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    Travis Denning (wants to get dressed up for New Year’s Eve) OC: …good for it. :13
    “No matter what I do for New Year’s Eve, I want to get dressed up. I want to wear a suit. I want to get real snazzied up, and I don’t care if I’m just going to a bar. Like, it’s New Year’s Eve, let’s look good for it.”

    Audio / Tyler Hubbard recalls one of his most prominent New Year's Eve memories.

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    Tyler Hubbard (New Year’s memory) OC: …comes to mind. :24
    “Well, this is probably a classic answer, but we did play New Year’s in New York and watched the ball drop and it was a big, special moment, one of those kind of check it off the bucket list type of moments, and we did that. And it is incredible. The energy’s amazing, and it’s super cold, but we had a great time. When I think of epic New Year’s, that’s definitely, it’s probably the first memory that comes to mind.”

     

     

  • NEW YEAR’S LINERS 2023

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (New Year)

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    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (New Year)

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

     

    Audio / LINER Bryce Leatherwood (New Year’s) 1

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    “Hey y’all, this is Bryce Leatherwood, and I’m wishing y’all a Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Bryce Leatherwood (New Year’s) 2

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    “Happy New Year’s everybody. Bryce Leatherwood out.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (New Year)

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    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (New Year)

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    “Hey! This is Chrissy Metz, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Happy New Year)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (5 Countdown)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Happy New Year)

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

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy New Year)

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    “Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (New Year)

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    “Hi, I’m Dierks Bentley, wishing you and yours a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (5 COUNTDOWN)

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    “5-4-3-2-1…Happy New Year, everybody. I’m Eric Church.’”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Happy New Year)

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    “Hey! It’s Eric Church, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (New Year) 1

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    “Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (New Year) 2

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    “Hey y’all, I’m Jon Langston. Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (New Year)

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    “Hi! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (New Year)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (New Year’s)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Josh Ross, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (5 Countdown)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Josh Ross. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (New Year)

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    “Hey! I’m Josh Turner. Happy New Year!”

     

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, hoping you have a safe and Happy New Year!”

     

    Audio / LINER Kassi Ashton (New Year)

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    “Hey! It’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (New Year)

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    “Hey everyone! This is Keith Urban. Have a safe and happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (New Year)

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    “Hey! It’s Kylie Morgan, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (New Year)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (New Year)

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    “Hey! This is Luke Bryan, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (ring in the New Year)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan. Hope you get to ring in the New Year with the ones you love.”

     

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (New Year)

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    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (New Year)

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    “Hey! This is Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (New Year)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (New Year)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Priscilla Block, wishing you a very Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (New Year)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy New Year)

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

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Happy New Year)

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    “Hi! This is Shania Twain. Happy New Year!”



    PLAYER ERROR

    Audio / LINER The War And Treaty (New Year) 1

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    “Hey everybody, we’re The War And Treaty. Hope you have a wonderful New Year.”

    Audio / LINER The War And Treaty (New Year) 2

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    “The War And Treaty here. Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (New Year)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Travis Denning, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Bryce Leatherwood,Kylie Morgan, Carrie Underwood

    Dierks Bentley is helping those affected by the devastating tornadoes that hit Middle Tennessee over the weekend. He posted a link o his socials to donate to The Community Foundation of Tennessee. Click here for more information.

    Darius Rucker appeared on the season finale of Fox’s Snake Oil on Wednesday (December 13th).

    Keith Urban will perform his hit “Blue Ain’t Your Color” during The Voice finale December 19th. In addition, Season 22 winner Bryce Leatherwood will perform his major record label debut song “The Finger,” while the show’s coaches — Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Niall Horan — will perform the Christmas classic, “Let It Snow!” Jelly Roll and Dan+Shay will also perform during the finale of The Voice, which will air December 19th at 9pm ET/8pm CT on NBC.

    Kylie Morgan is among the performers for a benefit show, “Unplugged For Tennessee: A Tornado Relief Benefit Concert,” at Nashville’s legendary Exit/In. Hardy, Nate Smith, Dylan Marlowe, Alanna Springsteen, Chayce Beckham, Abby Anderson and Kylie’s husband Jay Allen will also perform during the acoustic show on Sunday (December 17th). Doors open at 6:30pm CT; show starts at 7:30pm CT. For more information, click here.

    Jon Langston will headine the first annual Nashville Dance Fest January 26th – January 28th.

    Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain and others reveal the iconic song that forever changed their lives and career during CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown this weekend. You can find out more on Saturday (December 16th) and Sunday (December 17th) at 9am ET/8am CT on CMT.

     

     

  • CHRISTMAS 2023: Dierks Bentley

    Dierks Bentley, who is the father of three children (Evie, Jordan, Knox), says you revert back to your childhood at Christmas when you start having a family of your own.

    “Christmas didn’t lose any of its real meaning, as far as its religious meaning with Jesus’ birthday,” says Dierks. “But as far as like the whole tree and all of the Christmas spirit stuff, the secular stuff, it just kind of goes away, to be honest. But then you have a family, and all of a sudden it’s like I’m all Clark Griswold out there decorating the tree, putting lights up around the house, you know. So, all of those things that you did as a kid and appreciated as a kid, you get a chance to do over again when you have kids, because you kinda become one again.”

    Dierks and his family of five enjoy Christmastime, especially looking at all of the lights. “One of our favorite Christmas traditions is just driving around looking at lights,” he says. “Love seeing all the lights back in the valley, back in Arizona and Phoenix where I’m from, and that tradition is carried over to here for me in Nashville. We’ve got a lot of lights up on the house. We’ve got a Grinch in the front yard, as well as a talking Santa, so new traditions here in Nashville and some old ones, as well.”

    While Dierks didn’t have any white Christmases growing up in Arizona, he and his family weren’t short on having their own traditions and holiday activities. “I grew up in Arizona, so we didn’t have like a white winter kind of deal. It’s kinda…once you experience that, it’s hard to go back and like celebrate Christmas in the desert but…for us, we would…me and my family and a couple other families would go out to the desert and bring a big turkey and just kinda have a cookout in the middle of the desert…and drink beers and ride four-wheelers and…well, I wouldn’t drink beers, but they would. We’d ride four-wheelers and horses and just kind of spend it out in the middle of the desert, which was kind of a cool way to spend Christmas. So, whenever I think of Christmas, I always think of the desert, which is a little weird, but that’s just the way we did it out in Arizona.”

    His nearly 13-year-old daughter, Jordan, was actually born on Christmas Day, so navigating the birth of his daughter with the holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus has been a little tough, but he says Jordan has been really good about it. “It’s tough kind of for Jordan because her birthday IS on Christmas, so it’s kind of one of those things where we try to give her an extra present or two,” says Dierks. “It’s kind of tough to share your birthday with Jesus. You can get a little overshadowed on that one, but she’s good about it, but we just tell her, ‘All these Christmas trees and lights, these are all for you.’”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, who is father to three beautiful children, says when you start having a family of your own, you become a kid again at Christmas.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Christmas is for kids) OC: …one again. :29
    “You know, Christmas didn’t lose any of its real meaning, as far as its religious meaning with Jesus’ birthday. But as far as like the whole tree and all of the Christmas spirit stuff, the secular stuff, it just kind of goes away to be honest. But then you have a family, and all of a sudden, it’s like I’m all Clark Griswold out there decorating the tree, putting lights up around the house, you know. So, all of those things that you did as a kid and appreciated as a kid, you get a chance to do over again when you have kids, because you kinda become one again.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about some of his family's Christmas traditions.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Christmas traditions) OC: …old ones, as well. :22
    “One of our favorite Christmas traditions is just driving around looking at lights. Love seeing all the lights back in the valley, back in Arizona and Phoenix where I’m from, and that tradition is carried over to here for me in Nashville. We’ve got a lot of lights up on the house. We’ve got a Grinch in the front yard, as well as a talking Santa, so new traditions here in Nashville and some old ones, as well.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley didn't have any white Christmases as a kid in Arizona, so that meant he and his family engaged in some Christmas Day activities that snowbound folks have never thought of.

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    Dierks Bentley (Christmas in the desert) OC: …in Arizona. :32
    “I grew up in Arizona, so we didn’t have like a white winter kind of deal. It’s kinda…once you experience that, it’s hard to go back and like celebrate Christmas in the desert but…for us, we would…me and my family and a couple other families would go out to the desert and bring a big turkey and just kinda have a cookout in the middle of the desert…and drink beers and ride four-wheelers and…well, I wouldn’t drink beers, but they would. We’d ride four-wheelers and horses and just kind of spend it out in the middle of the desert, which was kind of a cool way to spend Christmas. So, whenever I think of Christmas, I always think of the desert, which is a little weird, but that’s just the way we did it out in Arizona.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley's middle child, Jordan, turns 13 on Christmas Day, and he talks about how they handle her birthday being on Christmas.

    Download

    Dierks Bentley (Christmas tough for Jordan) OC: …for you! :21
    “It’s tough kind of for Jordan because her birthday IS on Christmas, so it’s kind of one of those things where we try to give her an extra present or two. It’s kind of tough to share your birthday with Jesus. You can get a little overshadowed on that one, but she’s good about it, but we just tell her, ‘All these Christmas trees and lights, these are all for you.’”

  • CHRISTMAS LINERS 2023

     

    Audio / LINER AJ (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Happy Holiday Season)

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

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Seasons Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings, folks, it’s Brad Paisley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Happy Holidays) 2

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    “Brad Paisley here. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (12 Days of Christmas would include)

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    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. If I were to re-write the ’12 Days of Christmas,’ I would include things like chocolate, Bourbon, guitars and maybe not French Hens or Geese a’laying.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Penguin James Penguin)

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    “Hi, this is Brad Paisley. Make sure you’re good this Christmas, ‘cause Santa’s got a secret agent bird. Penguin James Penguin is watching.”

    Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Seasons Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings. This is Brenda Lee, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Merry Christmas)

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    “Hi, I’m Brenda Lee with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Here's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree)

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    “Hi, this is Brenda Lee, and here’s my favorite holiday song, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas)

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    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas) 2

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    “Hey, it’s Carrie Underwood. From our house to yours – Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Seasons Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Christmas)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Merry Christmas, y’all.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Christmas) 2

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    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Christmas) 2

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    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Happy Holidays, everybody!”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey! This is Chrissy Metz, wishing you Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Christmas)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover. Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Christmas) 2

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    Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Season's Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings. I’m Dalton Dover.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Christmas)

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

     

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy Holidays)

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

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Happy Holidays)

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

    Audio / LINER Hootie & The Blowfish (Christmas)

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    “Hey Everybody, we’re Hootie & The Blowfish, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Christmas)

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    “Hey y’all this is Jon Langston, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Jon Langston. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Season’s Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings, everybody! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas) 2

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    “Hey! This is Jon Pardi. Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Christmas)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Happy Holidays)

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    “Happy, Happy, Happy Holidays, everybody. I’m Jordan Davis.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Christmas)

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    “Hey, y’all, this is Josh Ross, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Season’s Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings, I’m Josh Ross.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays)

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

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Seasons Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings—I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Merry Christmas)

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    “Hi, I’m Josh Turner with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays) 2

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    “Hey everybody, this is Josh Turner. May your days be merry and bright. Happy holidays from my family to yours!”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Holidays)

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    “Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. Wishing you peace, love and joy this holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Christmas sweater)

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    “Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. May all your sweaters be ugly and bright!”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Kassi Ashton (Christmas)

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    “Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone listening a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Holiday season)

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

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Happy Holidays)

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

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Christmas)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER LBT (Very Merry Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER LBT (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Happy Holidays)

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

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Season's Greetings)

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    “Seasons Greetings, I’m Luke Bryan. Hope your holidays are filled with joy and happiness.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (eggnog)

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    “It’s Luke Bryan, and may your eggnog be spiked with plenty of rum to get you through this holiday season!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (gifts of the season)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan, wishing you the gifts of the season — Peace, Joy, and a case of beer.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Christmas)

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    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey, I’m Parker McCollum, and I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Christmas)

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    “Hi! This is Priscilla Block wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

     

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Christmas)

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    “Hey-Reba here-hoping you have a very Merry Christmas. Ho, Ho, Ho.”

     

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey, this is Reba, wishing you a Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy Holidays)

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

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Christmas)

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

    Audio / LINER Taylor Swift (Happy Holiday Season)

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    “Hey, this is Taylor Swift, wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey! I’m Travis Denning. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Seasons Greetings)

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    “Season’s Greetings. This is Travis Denning, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Christmas) 1

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard. Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Christmas) 2

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Happy Holidays)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard. Happy Holidays.”

     

     

     

  • THANKSGIVING 2023 SOUNDBITES

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

    Some festive fun facts about Thanksgiving:

    • President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3rd, 1863.
    • Harry Truman is often credited with being the first president to pardon a turkey, but that’s not quite true. He was the first to receive a ceremonial turkey from the National Turkey Federation – and he had it for dinner. John F. Kennedy was the first to let a Thanksgiving turkey go, followed by Richard Nixon who sent his turkey to a petting zoo. George H.W. Bush is the president who formalized the turkey pardoning tradition in 1989.
    • The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4,500.
    • Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions via their Butterball Turkey Hotline each November and December.
    • The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.
    • The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has become known as “Drinksgiving.” Bars experience a huge boom the night before the holiday.

    Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 23rd, and most people might be enjoying time with a group of their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Catie Offerman, Caylee Hammack, Dalton Dover, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley,  Jon Langston, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire, Sam Hunt, Travis Denning, Tyler Hubbard and more. They share their thoughts of thanks this year, their lessons in gratitude, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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

    Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Thanksgiving tradition – a Misfits Thanksgiving -- that they started when they moved to Nashville because they couldn’t afford to go home for the holiday.

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    Brothers Osborne (Misfits Thanksgiving) OC: (TJ) …Happy holidays, y’all. 1:02
    “What’s up, y’all? It’s Brothers Osborne here. And a Thanksgiving tradition that we did for so many years. John and I would host what we would call a Misfits Thanksgiving, and we would have everyone, I mean we must’ve done this for 15 years or so and it really started because we didn’t have enough money to go back home to see our family, so we would hang out in Nashville. And so everyone that was kind of in our same shoes, we’d all end up at our house, and it really turned into really blossoming some of our most cherished relationships. We would be there with Kacey Musgraves. It was the first time I really got to hang out with Mickey Guyton (JOHN: “Maren Morris.”) Maren Morris. They would come over and we just became like family to each other because we couldn’t get home to see our own families. And that’s a Thanksgiving tradition that we still to this day try to keep, and it’s a revolving door of who’s there or who’s not there, but yeah, it’s a wonderful tradition. And let me tell you, spending it with our friends in Nashville, there’s a little less arguing than back home. (laughs)” JOHN: “We’re still arguing, but we get over it faster.” (laughs) TJ: “Anyways, Happy Holidays, y’all.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she’s grateful for her family.

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    Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving 2023) OC: …we all are. :30
    “I am grateful for so many things this Thanksgiving. I think the thing I’m most grateful for, though, is family. I mean, that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what this life is all about. I’m blessed to have two incredible boys that I get to take care of and that love on me daily, and they’re just giant blessings in my life, and of course, my extended family, as well. That’s what this time of year’s all about – getting together and just realizing how blessed we all are.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she and her family don’t have too many Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving) OC: …the other one. :34
    “We don’t have too many set-in-stone Thanksgiving traditions. I find myself a lot of times working on or around Thanksgiving or unable to get home or whatever. We try to be together, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out. But yeah, I mean, I think it’s just about we eat. I eat a lot every year on Thanksgiving. [laughs] I never skip THAT tradition. But yeah, that’s the gist of it, and I’m kind of lucky. I get two Thanksgivings, because I also get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, so if I don’t hit one, I’ll definitely be able to get the other one.”

    Audio / Catie Offerman

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    Catie Offerman (Thanksgiving) OC: …what I do. :17
    “I am so thankful for a lot of things. I think my family, the gift of being able to put music out this year has been huge for me. I think that’s something I’ve waited on for a really long time, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for my health and just being able to keep playing music and doing what I do.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, because she gets to just spend time with her family.

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    Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving) OC: …favorite holiday. :27
    “Thanksgiving is the one holiday where we stay at home. We stay at my family’s house, and it’s just me, my mom and dad, my brother and sister and their families. We all sit around and just eat all day. And I love Thanksgiving because you don’t have to worry about getting gifts for people; you don’t have to worry about wrapping them. You just show up and you eat all day with the people you love. So, I absolutely love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack talks about her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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    Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …cranberry jelly. :15
    “My favorite Thanksgiving meal (dish) is definitely cornbread dressing. My mom makes the best, er, some people call it stuffing, but I’ve always called it dressing for some reason. But I love that with canned cranberry jelly.”

    Audio / Dalton Dover says this one dish HAS to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.

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    Dalton Dover (Thanksgiving eats) 1 OC: …at Thanksgiving. :04
    “Like I’m a big deviled eggs guy, so they got to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / We asked Dalton Dover who makes the deviled eggs at Thanksgiving.

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    Dalton Dover (Thanksgiving eats) 2 OC: …best. :02
    “My grandma, and she makes the absolute best (deviled eggs).”

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

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

     

    Audio / Zealous football fan Darius Rucker says Thanksgiving is his favorite sporting day of the year.

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    Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving Day favorite sporting day) OC: …big for me. :10
    “Thanksgiving Day is my favorite sports day of the year. It’s crazy how much football you get to watch (laughs) on Thanksgiving Day, so I really like that a lot. Thanksgiving is big for me.”

     

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

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

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about his childhood Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving) OC: …lot of football. :12
    “When I was growing up at Thanksgiving, we just got all the family together. You know, did the traditional turkey, ham, all the sides, but it was always at either one of my grandparents’ house. Just a lot of family, a lot of food and a lot of football.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis says his favorite Thanksgiving side dish makes him happy all year round.

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    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving side dish) 2 OC: …Cheese guy. :09
    “My favorite Thanksgiving side dish – Macaroni and Cheese – anytime. Thanksgiving, a random Tuesday. I don’t care. I’m a Macaroni and Cheese guy.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis says one of his new favorite Thanksgiving traditions is frying a turkey.

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    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving turkey) OC: …most forward to. :11
    “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me? I just recently got into frying the turkey, so I’m the turkey-frying guy, and I’m getting pretty good at it. So, I would have to say that’s my thing that I look most forward to.”

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about the Davis family Thanksgiving.

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    Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving memory) OC: …really special. :17
    “A typical Thanksgiving in the Davis household growing up – we would always go to East Texas to my grandparents’ house. You know, during the day, me and my grandfather would always go fish. My grandma would always have a huge spread, and just get to spend time around a lot of family members I don’t get to see a lot of, so they were always really special.”

    Audio / Josh Turner shares his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

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

    Audio / Josh Turner explains what he enjoys about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

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    Josh Turner (holidays) OC: …the peace and quiet. :38
    “I love being outside in nature and the outdoors, and the holidays is a great time for me to go and partake in that part of my life. A lot of times, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a little cold to go fishing, but when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a great time to go hunting, especially in South Carolina, that’s when the temperatures are starting to drop and the conditions are getting right, and especially in November, kind of the tail end of the rut, as far as deer season. So, it’s a good time to get in the deer stand whether you kill anything or not, it’s just a great time to just get away from everything and get away from the noise and the lights and the diesel fumes [laughs] and just relax and just enjoy the peace and quiet.”

    Audio / Keith Urban's First Thanksgiving

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    My first Thanksgiving actually was with a family who, it was the Crane family. I was friends with the guy called Billy Crane and his brother was the guitarist in Charlie Daniels band. And so the Crane family, very, very, very Southern, that was my first Thanksgiving and it was the greatest experience because first of all, I realized like, I make sure you don’t eat two days before Thanksgiving. Don’t eat anything for two days because not only are there going to be like eight dishes all brought by all the relatives. All the relatives are watching to see if you eat their dish. And Billy Crane was saying to me, oh, you got to try this, you got to try that. And I’m like, I’m good. And I go, no, no, no, I’m saying you have because they’re watching. It was awesome.

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

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

    Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about their Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Maddie & Tae (Thanksgiving) OC: (TAE) …I do. :41
    MADDIE: “I love Thanksgiving because I get to see my family, and it’s not as much pressure as Christmas I feel like because there are no gifts exchanged. It’s just all about quality time and I love quality time. My favorite dish is some broccoli-cheese casserole and Tae’s favorite dish, I know, is cranberry sauce, just plain. Just plain ole cranberry sauce, no turkey, just cranberry sauce.” TAE: “She knows.” MADDIE: “That’s it.” TAE: “I genuinely feel there’s something wrong with me. (MADDIE: “Out of the can.”) out of the can. My parents know just to have cranberry sauce for me, like no one else can touch it. There’s a home video where my brother Mason tries to eat it, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? This is mine.’” MADDIE: “She eats it out of the can.” TAE: “I do.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton talks about one of her favorite Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Mickey Guyton (Thanksgiving traditions) OC: …Thanksgiving traditions. :17
    “One of my Thanksgiving traditions is playing charades after Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not the most competitive person in the world, but as soon as you put some Charades in the picture, I am crazy, and you will definitely want to be on my team if we’re playing Charades. I’m just saying. So, that’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions.”

     

    Audio / Mickey Guyton reveals her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about his family’s Thanksgiving tradition.

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    Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving tradition) OC: …go there. :27
    “I mean, my parents have been split up for a long time, but they’re all from the same town. My mom and dad went to high school together and all that stuff and all the family still lives back there on both sides. So, we kind of do a Thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family, but all my life, we’ve always gone to my mom’s parents’ house on Thanksgiving, and they got a big ole house and a bunch of property and it’s really where I grew up is right there. That’s kind of home for me, so that’s kind of our thing. We always go there.”

    Audio / One of Parker McCollum’s favorite dishes at Thanksgiving is his Aunt’s creamed corn.

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    Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …creamed corn. Mmm hmmm. :04
    “My Aunt’s creamed corn is pretty bomb. I love creamed corn. Mmm hmmm.”

    Audio / Priscilla Block describes a typical Thanksgiving holiday with her family.

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    Priscilla Block (Thanksgiving) OC: …so much. :34
    “Thanksgiving has always been chaos, actually any holiday that my entire family is there is straight chaos. But for Thanksgiving, we all try so hard to be together and it’s such a fun holiday to, my family’s a little cheesy. Like, we actually still go around the table and being like, ‘What are you thankful for?’ ‘What are you thankful for?’ So, that means a lot where it’s not about presents, it’s not about anything else. It’s just about truly being thankful, and that’s why I love Thanksgiving so much.”

     

    Audio / Reba McEntire explains what she's most thankful for this year.

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    Reba McEntire (Thankful) OC: …happy camper. :39
    “Omigosh I wake up in the morning grateful that I can, that I’m alive, I can breathe, I can move, I can get out of bed on my own. (I’m) very grateful for the lifestyle that I have and if anybody needs help, please Lord please, direct me in what you want me to do. Just grateful for getting Rex in my life, my family being healthy and happy, my friends being healthy and happy. I’ve got a great job and people I love and get to work with, and I’ve got a huge faith. So, no matter what happens to me, I know where I’m going, so I’m a happy camper.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his favorite Thanksgiving eats.

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    Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …disappears. :12
    “When I pile my plate up, it’s mostly turkey and then I’ll put a little dressing on the side, and I’ll usually go ahead and grab my dessert on the first run [laughs] and have it ready before it all disappears.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about a typical Thanksgiving holiday growing up.

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    Travis Denning (typical Thanksgiving holiday) OC: …a lot of people. :22
    “A typical Thanksgiving growing up was essentially and the men of the family – Dad and Uncle Mike and my granddaddy — watching football, while grandmama and my mom pretty much yelled at each other in the kitchen the whole day. But they threw down and made the best food you could ever imagine, which you know is kind of how it is for a lot of people.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about his ideal Thanksgiving menu.

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    Travis Denning (Thanksgiving menu) OC: …then beer. :17
    “The ideal Thanksgiving menu to me is a little bit of turkey, but definitely prioritizing ham. I’m a firm believer in ham at Thanksgiving. Squash casserole, broccoli casserole, stuffing and then beer.”

    Audio / Tyler Hubbard talks about his favorite Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Tyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving) OC: …I love it. :22
    “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me is probably just getting together with family, having a big meal and watching a little football and taking a nice long nap. I mean, we didn’t reinvent the wheel with Thanksgiving by any means. But my Nanny (grandmother) does make a pretty mean sweet potato casserole, so that’s one of my favorites that I look forward to and I don’t know if that’s a tradition or not, but in my head it is. I love it.”

    Audio / Tyler Hubbard This Year's Thanksgiving

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    Tyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving 2024) OC: …be grateful. :47
    “This year’s Thanksgiving, it’s a time to reflect and I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for. This year’s been incredible. On the personal front, on the professional front, I have so much to be grateful. (I) got to do my first headline tour. I got to put out my second album, got to go to Australia and Canada and yeah, it’s just been a great year. I had a lot of great time with the family, as well, got to go on some great trips and so I’m just in a place of gratitude all around. Life is good, and I can think back to times when life wasn’t so sweet and life was a lot more difficult, so this is truly a time where I’m just reflecting and being grateful for the things in my life – my kiddos, my wife, our house and just the time together. Anyway, it’s been a great year, and I’m excited to shut it down for a little bit of time and just reflect and be grateful.”

     

     

     

  • DIERKS BENTLEY PARTNERS WITH WITHCO BEVERAGE COMPANY TO RAISE THE BAR FOR MIXED COCKTAILS.

    Dierks Bentley has joined forces with Nashville-based beverage company WithCo Cocktails to bring their non-alcoholic cocktail mixes made of only fresh juices and real botanicals to a bigger market nationwide. The collection includes nine signature blends: Bouquet, Espresso Martini, Ellis Old Fashioned, Agave Margarita, Hey Girl, Bloody Mary, Ginger Mule, Honey Sour and Paloma and can either be paired with a spirit or with soda water for a non-alcoholic option.  WithCo has consciously crafted each bottle  free of preservatives, additives and concentrates. WithCo products can be purchased at Target and Sprouts stores nationwide, as well online at WithCoCocktails.com.

    “Life is too short for a bad cocktail,” said Bentley. “When I first discovered WithCo during the pandemic, we kept it stocked at the house and then when we went back to work, I added it to my rider on the road too. We do a lot of entertaining, and I don’t want anyone to not enjoy their drink. WithCo totally takes the guesswork out of it.”

    “We started WithCo with a dual purpose in mind,” shared co-founder Joshua Ellis. “We were tired of mediocre cocktails packed with additives, concentrates and non-sense ingredients, so we set out to raise the bar. Secondly, we recognized that life is just better in good company. So we adopted the simple name “WithCo,’ short for ‘With Company.’ Our mission? To encourage people to gather around and build community, one cocktail at a time.”

    People magazine did a feature on Dierks and his new partnership.

    Mixers that can be used either with or without alcohol, WithCo mocktails became such a favorite with Dierks (the Agave Margarita mixed with Ritual non-alcoholic tequila is his go-to) that he had it written into his rider that his tour stops needed a WithCo supply. “If you’re not drinking, I lose the desire to socialize. I don’t want to go to a bar where it’s loud if I don’t have a drink in my hand,” he tells People. “So this made hosting the backstage bar fun. It made the shows fun.”

    When WithCo founders Joshua Ellis and Bradley Ryan, who started the company in Nashville in 2016, learned Bentley was a fan, they reached out. “When we found out that he was hosting and using WithCo in all these aspects, I’m like, ‘We need to hang out with this dude,'” Ellis says. “He’s a kindred spirit.” The singer has since become an investor and a strategic partner in the business.

     

  • CHRIS STAPLETON, BROTHERS OSBORNE, DIERKS BENTLEY, KACEY MUSGRAVES, THE WAR AND TREATY AND VINCE GILL & PAUL FRANKLIN ARE NOMINATED FOR GRAMMYS.

    The nominations for the 66th annual GRAMMY Awards were announced, and Chris Stapleton earned three nominations, including Best Country Song (“White Horse”), Best Country Solo Performance 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 their current single, “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.”

    Dierks Bentley is nominated in Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “High Note,” featuring Billy Strings. 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).”

     

    The 2024 Grammy Awards will air live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 4th 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)