Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman is taking her cooking show to a brand new network. Kimberly’s Simply Southern will debut on The Cooking Channel on Saturday (July 18^th) at 3:30pm ET with special guest Kix Brooks. Future episodes include appearances by Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, Billy Currington, Brett Eldredge, Jewel and Kimberly’s band mates Jimi Westbrook, Karen Fairchild and Phillip Sweet.

Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for more than one-million sold.

Dierks Bentley’s “Say You Do” and Billy Currington’s “We Are Tonight” were certified gold for selling more than 500,000 digital downloads.

Scotty McCreery will be interviewed on HLN’s Weekend Express with Lynn Smith Saturday (July 18th), in the 7:00 AM / Eastern segment. Scotty stopped by the HLN studios on Friday en route to his concert tonight in Gainesville, Georgia.

Luke Bryan’s “Kick the Dust Up” and Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time” are nominated in the country song category at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, alongside Carrie Underwood, Hunter Hayes, Florida Georgia Line and Megan & Liz. The show airs August 16th at 8pm ET on FOX.

Toby Keith has announced he’ll release his new album, 35 mph Town, October 9^th. He co-produced the album with songwriter/producer Bobby Pinson.

NASHVILLE – July 14, 2015 – ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan is ready for a second installation of Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa set for January 22^nd – 26^th in Riviera Maya, Mexico. This all-inclusive Caribbean concert vacation will feature Bryan headlining two of the event’s four nightly concerts, with Dierks Bentley and Cole Swindell rounding out top billing on the additional two nights. Other performers now confirmed include Brett Eldredge, Sam Hunt, Dustin Lynch, and Chris Stapleton making Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa one of the hottest country music destination events of 2016.

Year two of Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa follows up the smashing 2015 inaugural event that set a new standard by Bryan and CID Presents, who partnered for this ultimate fan experience.

Fans can choose from three tropical resorts and enjoy royal treatment all weekend long – all-inclusive food and drink, 24-hour concierge service, daily onsite activities, offsite excursions like day trips to Tulum or Playa Del Carmen, official Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa merchandise package, and more.

This unrivaled country music getaway is set for January 22-26, 2016 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. For more information about Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa 2016, how to book four or five night all-inclusive packages, and details on payment plans please visit: www.crashmyplaya.com.

About Luke Bryan
Since the debut of his first album in 2007, superstar Luke Bryan has placed 12 singles at No. 1 and sold nearly seven million albums with 27 million digital tracks from his four studio albums.  He has been named Entertainer of the Year by both the Academy of Country Music (twice) and the Country Music Association.  In 2014, Luke achieved the best touring year of his career with 1.7 million fans attending his concerts.  On August 7, Luke will release KILL THE LIGHTS, his fifth studio album and the follow up to his most successful project to date, CRASH MY PARTY, which contains six consecutive No. 1 singles, is certified Double Platinum and has currently sold over two million copies with eight million digital downloads. He is currently headlining his “Kick The Dust Up Tour” across the U.S. through October and will also perform eight “Farm Tour” dates that month as well.  He’ll kick off 2016 with the Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa event.

Dierks Bentley premiered the video for his latest single – the title track from his album Riser – with Entertainment Weekly. The clip was from his amazing performance of the song at this year’s ACM Awards. “It was really hard for me not to get emotional that night at the ACMs in Cowboy’s Stadium,” Dierks tells EW. “I really wanted to keep the production simple and make the performance all about the arrangement and the lyrics. The reaction that night and now when we perform it on tour has already been so gratifying. People just relate to the message in that song…we’ve all lived it in one way or another.”

Dierks is currently on the road with his Sounds of Summer Tour, which makes a stop tonight in Tampa, followed by a show in West Palm Beach tomorrow (July 3rd).

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. The holiday is commonly associated with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues and concerts. Some of your favorite country stars take time to remember their Fourth of July traditions, memories and what the holiday really means to them.

Three weeks into country music superstar Dierks Bentley’s 2015 SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR, music critics in major markets across the U.S. are applauding the PLATINUM seller as he engages capacity amphitheater crowds, delivering epic performances and “memories that will last a lifetime.”

“Yes, the crowd sings along with every word. Yes, he pulls female fans dressed as flight attendants up on the stage with him. And yes, we all wanted more.” – St. Louis Dispatch

“Bentley has had a long, steady climb to Chesney heights, which he has finally reached in the form of a headlining package tour and all its accouterments…onstage, Bentley was as exuberant as ever, roaming and high-fiving, running up to a tiny stage set in the cheap seats for a handful of songs, doing a little crowd surfing. Judging from his performance, Dierks Bentley is enjoying the view from the top.”  – The Boston Globe

“Bentley lost no time engaging himself with fans…from there, it was a total country singalong party, with the audience following along to nearly every of Bentley’s dozen-year hit catalog, ranging from 2003’s ‘What Was I Thinkin” all the way to his current single, ‘Riser.’” – Yahoo!

“Cleveland has always had an affection for the Arizona-born singer-songwriter with the expressive Everyman voice…his ability to convey that kind of “I can relate” emotions are what make Dierks Bentley a special kind of performer.” – The Plain Dealer

Additionally, Bentley was the inaugural headliner at New York City’s first-ever country festival this weekend, with Rolling Stone naming him FarmBorough’s “Best of the Fest,” observing his set provides “levity to his victory lap of a performance.” Village Voice simultaneously handpicked Bentley’s set as a Top 10 highlight, noting “Bentley’s set solidified him as the artist you most want to have a beer with.”

Bentley’s 2015 SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR lands over the holiday weekend in Tampa, FL (7/2) and West Palm Beach, FL (7/3) before his performance on NBC’s annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (7/4 at 7:00P CT on NBC). For a full list of upcoming appearances and tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.

NASHVILLE, TN – June 24, 2015 – Multi-PLATINUM singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley will kickstart the crowd in New York City on Friday (6/26), as he takes over Central Park for an early four song set during Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series (ABC at 7:00A ET), before lighting up the first-ever FarmBorough Festival as the city’s inaugural headliner. Additionally, Bentley will be part of an all-star line up for NBC’s annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular two-hour special, airing July 4th at 8:00P ET on NBC.

“It’s a big weekend for country fans in NYC…they got their own festival! And it’s just as big of a deal for me to get to kick the whole thing off,” said Bentley. “The ‘Sounds of Summer’ tour has been a total blast so far, and we’re pumped about getting to party with the fans in Boston and Philly this weekend too.”

Of the new single “Riser,” Billboard notes that Bentley “has spent the past two years trickling out singles from the Grammy-nominated album…but all along, he had the secret weapon of ‘Riser’ in his back pocket.” It has also has been dubbed by CMT as its “favorite song on the album” and the career-defining track is “on the cusp of a movement, a defining brand with which he and his audience can identify” (Rolling Stone).

Bentley’s three weekends into his 2015 SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR, which will continue this week following FarmBorough (6/26) with stops in Boston, MA (6/27) and Camden, NJ (6/28). For a full list of upcoming tour dates and appearances, visit www.dierks.com.

Toby Keith became a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame during a ceremony in New York City last week. Comedian and TV show host Stephen Colbert honored him. Songwriter Bobby Braddock (“He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “Time Marches On,” “People Are Crazy”), Cyndi Lauper, Jerry Garcia, Linda Perry, Willie Dixon and Robert Hunter were also inducted.

Little Big Town was featured on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood over the weekend. The band, who taped their interviews last year and earlier this year, talked about their longevity as a group, their induction into the Grand Ole Opry and their latest smash hit, “Girl Crush.”

Kacey Musgraves is scheduled to perform on ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday, the release day of her new album Pageant Material. She’ll also perform on ABC’s The View on Wednesday.

Dierks Bentley will perform during NBC’s  Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on Saturday, July 4th beginning at 8pm ET. Brad Paisley, Kelly Clarkson and Meghan Trainor are also scheduled to perform.

Grand Ole Opry member Jim Ed Brown passed away Thursday night (June 11^th). Brown, who was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in March with his sisters Maxine and Bonnie, died at Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Tennessee (south of Nashville). He was diagnosed with lung cancer in September. He was 81.

Fellow Opry member Dierks Bentley said he always enjoyed running into him backstage at the Opry, and the legendary performer always had a nice word to say.

He’s just a really nice, nice guy, a great singer and a great ambassador to the next generation of how country should be even as it grows and leaves some of its roots behind. He’s a great example of what it’s all about.”