• THANKSGIVING 2019: Artist Audio

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

    Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 28th, and most people will be enjoying time with their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Adam Hambrick, Alan Jackson, Brandon Lay, Carrie Underwood, Caylee Hammack, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Jon Langston, Jordan Davis, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt, Travis Denning and more. They share their thoughts, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

    Brothers Osborne, who usually have their annual Misfits Thanksgiving dinner, are set to perform this year during halftime of the Detroit Lions 80th Thanksgiving Day Classic on Thursday, November 28th. The performance will be televised as part of FOX’s coverage of the game starting at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT.

    Audio / Adam Hambrick says he’s very thankful to his family.

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    Adam Hambrick (Thanksgiving) OC: …I was raised. :32
    “I know this sounds very cheesy, but I am very thankful for my family. A lot of the good things that have happened in my life are just a result of being raised in a family with two parents that love each other, with sisters that I love and being raised in a community of people, even outside of my family, that’s just a lot of love and a lot of care. Those are the things that raise a person up to be successful, and I am a success because of the way I was raised.”

    Audio / Adam Hambrick says his Grandfather’s turkey and dressing and a special side dish signals Thanksgiving.

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    Adam Hambrick (Thanksgiving food) OC: …Thanksgiving. :21
    “Oh man. Give me Granddaddy’s turkey and dressing and just the friggin’ canned cranberry sauce, [laughs] like I’ll suck it down like a champ. There’s just something about the canned cranberry sauce with my Granddaddy’s turkey and dressing that will always taste like Thanksgiving.”

    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 / 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 / Carrie Underwood says she’s thankful for her family, which has grown by one this year, as well as her fans, her health and her recent Cry Pretty Tour 360.

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    Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving 2019) OC: …blessed with. :46
    “My list of things I’m thankful for is too vast. First and foremost, my family. We had a baby earlier this year, which is crazy to think about all of the things that we’ve done and thinking about starting off this year pregnant and having a baby and all of the places that he’s already seen. I’m thankful for health and we’ve had safety along all of our travels. Of course, I’m thankful for the tour and I’m thankful to the fans that have come out to see us. There’s a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed us with some incredible stuff and hopefully we’ve done good with what we’ve been blessed with.”

    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 / Clare Dunn talks about her favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

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    Clare Dunn (Thanksgiving dish) OC: …like hers. :21
    “I think my favorite Thanksgiving dish [is] my mom makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. I mean, they’re crazy. They’re like garlic and butter and all the good stuff, so that’s probably my favorite Thanksgiving dish. Oh, and she makes great stuffing too, and I’m not a stuffing person, but I like hers.”

    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 / 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 / Eric Church says he’s thankful for his family as well as for his fans.

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    Eric Church (Thanksgiving) OC: …want to do it. :23
    “A couple of things. I’m thankful for my family and great health. And I’m thankful for from a career standpoint, I’m very thankful for the success we’ve had lately. I’m thankful for what the fans have done. I mean there’s a lot of stuff to be thankful for in that regard. And I’m thankful that I was given the opportunity to do it my own way. I’m thankful that I’m going to get to keep doing this and do it the way that I want to do it.”

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about his Thanksgiving tradition.

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    Jon Langston (Thanksgiving) OC: …pretty cool. :21
    “We always watch football on Thanksgiving. It was pretty cool in high school. It was a big deal in high school if you had practice on Thanksgiving Day because you made third round of the playoffs. So, in high school we always had practice on Thanksgiving, so I guess that was pretty cool. Everybody’s waking up on a cold Thanksgiving morning going to football practice, but yeah, pretty cool.”

    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 gives thanks for many things, including his wife and two daughters.

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    Keith Urban (Thanksgiving) OC: …for me. :21
    “Thankful that, well, my marriage is just, it’s life-giving, not just life-changing, it’s been life-giving for me. And from there, we created life, and that’s just beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And the effect that all of that has had in my work, has given life to it too, given it a sense of purpose and really deepened the experience for me.”

    Audio / Kip Moore says he usually goes home to Georgia for Thanksgiving.

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    Kip Moore (Thanksgiving) OC: …with them. :11
    “I [usually] go home for Thanksgiving. I love going home to see all them. I have five brothers and sisters and it’s a blast to go home and just catch up on their lives. I get so wrapped up in all this that I lose touch sometimes, and it’s cool to hear everything going on with them.

    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 / Travis Denning says Thanksgiving is one of his favorite times of the year.

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    Travis Denning (Thanksgiving) OC: …love Thanksgiving. :43
    “Thanksgiving actually is probably one of my favorite moments of the year, and the reason is actually because just about every Friday after Thanksgiving, I would play a small acoustic show at this bar in my hometown and it’s always so much fun. So many of my old friends come and it’s packed and it’s super loose and super fun and everybody’s just enjoying it. I might play three of my songs, and then I just try to figure out how many old country songs I can sing. That’s so fun, because you’re coming off spending so much time with your family and then you get this little time to go spend with your friends. I think it’s just great because you get to knock out so much like reconnecting and fellowship. I love Thanksgiving.”

     

     

  • THANKSGIVING 2019: Liners

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

     

    Audio / LINER AJ (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hi! This is Alan Jackson. I hope y’all have a very happy Thanksgiving out there.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey Guys, I’m Billy Currington. Have a great Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Brandon Lay. Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! This is TJ, and this is John, and we’re wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving)

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

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving)

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    Hey y’all This is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Thanksgiving)

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

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving)

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

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley! Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey folks! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey guys! Gary Allan here. I just want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving, and have a Happy Holidays and make sure you’re safe out there. Drive safe. Party your butts off, but do it safe.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hi! This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Hootie & the Blowfish (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody, what’s up? We’re Hootie & the Blowfish, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Thanksgiving)

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    Hey y’all, I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey I’m Jordan Davis. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey y’all I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Thanksgiving)

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    “Happy Thanksgiving everybody. It’s Keith Urban here. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all of you listening for your incredible love and support that I’ve received over the last year, and to wish you and all of your family all the very best for this holiday.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey what’s up guys, this is Kip Moore wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey, we’re Little Big Town. Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae, and we’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Happy Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton here, and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody. I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey y’all! It’s Travis Denning, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

     

  • CMA AWARDS 2019: The Performances

    The 53rd Annual CMA Awards will feature numerous performances during tonight’s show. Show hosts Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton will be joined by several female artists including Terri Clark, Sara Evans, Crystal Gayle, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, Tanya Tucker, Gretchen Wilson and The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemby and Maren Morris) for the opening number highlighting the contributions female artists have made to country music.

    Little Big Town will lead a special performance with Kelsea Ballerini, Lindsay Ell, Ashley McBryde, Maddie & Tae and Runaway June.

    Dierks Bentley and John Osborne (Brothers Osborne) will pay tribute to Kris Kristofferson, along with Sheryl Crow and Chris Janson.

    Brothers Osborne will perform “Hard Working Man” with Country Music Hall of Famers Brooks & Dunn.

    Eric Church is scheduled to perform his recent No. 1 song, “Some of It,” while Keith Urban will sing “We Were,” which was co-written by Eric and heading toward the top of the country charts.

    Carrie will perform her latest single, “Drinking Alone,” and Chris Stapleton pairs up with P!NK for “Love Me Anyway.”

    Kacey Musgraves, who is up for three CMA Awards for Female Vocalist, Song and Music Video of the Year for “Rainbow,” will perform “Rainbow Connection” with one of her idols and friends Willie Nelson, who is making his first CMA appearance since 2012. It’s also a full circle moment for Kacey. Check out the video below.

    https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/1193894166054473728

    For a list of other performances and other information, go to cmaawards.com.

    The 53rd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie with special co-hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena tonight (November 13th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

  • CMA AWARDS 2019: Single, Song and Music Video of the Year

    Dierks Bentley’s “Burning Man” with Brothers Osborne and Chris Stapleton’s “Millionaire” are among the nominees for Single of the Year, while Kacey Musgraves’s “Rainbow” is up for Song of the Year. “Burning Man,” “Rainbow” and Eric Church’s “Desperate Man” are all up for Music Video of the Year.

    Dierks Bentley scored three nominations including Single and Music Video of the Year for “Burning Man,” which features Brothers Osborne. He’s also nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year. The song earns Dierks his third nomination in both Single and Music Video.

    Kacey Musgraves earns a fourth nomination in Song of the Year. She last won the category in 2014 with “Follow Your Arrow.” “Rainbow” is also her third nomination for Music Video. Kacey, who will perform with Willie Nelson on Wednesday night’s show, is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.

    Chris, who has 16 prior nominations and 10 wins, earns his third nomination for Single of the Year for “Millionaire.” He is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year, his fourth nomination in the category, and Male Vocalist of the Year.

    Eric Church has his third nod in the category of Music Video of the Year for “Some of It.,” which follows up the storyline first shown in the clip for his smash song, “Desperate Man.” He is also nominated for Entertainer and Album of the Year for Desperate Man.


    The 53rd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie with special co-hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday (November 13th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / DIERKS BENTLEY TALKS ABOUT GETTING BROTHERS OSBORNE TO TAKE PART IN THE SONG, “BURNING MAN."

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    Dierks Bentley (Burning Man) OC: …really well. :24
    “I’d had this song for about two years. It’s been a song I’ve been holding on for a little while. I just love that song. I could really relate to the lyrics. In the studio, Jedd Hughes put down this great guitar part, and I thought, ‘Man, John would be really cool on that,’ and then, obviously TJ has a, I love his singing. Great voice. I would’ve asked them to be on it regardless, I really would have, but the fact they’re on tour with us just makes it all that sweeter. Those guys are the perfect group to do it with and they definitely took it to a new spot and now we get to sing it every night on stage, so it worked out really well.”

    Audio / DIERKS BENTLEY TALKS ABOUT THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACTION ON HIS "BURNING MAN" VIDEO WITH BROTHERS OSBORNE.

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    Dierks Bentley (Burning Man video shoot) OC: …turned out well. 1:28
    “The ‘Burning Man’ video shoot was, it was difficult. Sometimes you have to sacrifice comfort for, obviously, the view, for the way it turns out, for the area you’re shooting the video in and trying to get these great shots, and your comfort is secondary, which I’m totally fine with because I just want a great video that supports a great song. I’m always nervous making videos, because if I’m putting a song out there as a single, I feel like it’s a very special song, and I don’t want the video possibly make the song not be as good as it is, you know what I mean? If somebody sees the video and they don’t like the song as much, it’d be terrible so I’m willing to do whatever it takes. In this case, it meant shooting at a body of water out by Palm Springs that’s totally dead. It’s called the Salton Sea, and it used to be a place where Frank Sinatra would be waterskiing. It was this beautiful place. I don’t know what happened, but the water…the whole thing is completely dead. There’s no fish living in there. It smells terrible. It’s superhot. There’s rattlesnakes under every single rock. We lost about four or five people from heat stroke; TJ’s boots were like melting into the rocks. [laughs] It was unbelievable. I felt so bad for those guys, because when you do a duet with somebody, you’re kind of signing on to do more than just singing on a track. You’re gonna be there for awards shows, for videos, but they were great as they always are. I love those guys. It turned out great. It looks awesome on TV, which is the whole point. It was an interesting place to do a video, but we were nominated for a CMT [Award], so it all turned out well.”

    Audio / KACEY MUSGRAVES SAYS SHE WROTE “RAINBOW” AS A MEMO TO HERSELF, BUT SAYS IT CAN HELP PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEE THE SUN THROUGH THE CLOUDS.

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    Kacey Musgraves (Rainbow) 1 OC: …make it through. :48
    “The song ‘Rainbow’ was actually written a handful of years ago as sort of a little bit of a memo to myself. I think we can all get stuck in a mindset that things are never gonna improve or you can easily focus on kind of the bad parts of whatever you’re going through and not really realize that if you pulled your head above the water you’d see that the sun is actually shining and that everything’s actually okay. I think one of the reasons that people may relate to the song a lot is because, though it was written to myself, I think that it can take the shape of like whatever someone’s going through – whether it’s coming out and not having the support or just any kind of a situation that they don’t feel like they may make it through.”

    Audio / CHRIS STAPLETON SAYS HE’S ALWAYS LOVED THE SONG, “MILLIONAIRE,” WHICH WAS WRITTEN AND RECORDED BY KEVIN WELCH FOR HIS 2002 ALBUM OF THE SAME NAME.

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    Chris Stapleton (Millionaire) OC: …time to do it. :15
    “I love that song. I would always sit around the house playing that song to myself on guitar. It’s fun to play. It’s fun to sing. It’s a great melody. It’s great lyrics. It’s great everything. To me, that’s a great song, and I just loved it so it was time to do it.”

    Audio / ERIC CHURCH TALKS ABOUT HIS SONG "SOME OF IT."

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    Eric Church (Some of It coming of age) OC: …figure it out. :56
    “That’s a song, a coming-of-age song, it’s an adult song. It’s adult music. If you listen to the thematics in that and what it’s about, it’s about being older and having some wisdom about you. I think that’s something that I appreciate in my fan base now that early on probably wasn’t there. We were young and drunk and fighting and stupid. But I think now to see them grow – to see the fan base grow – it’s just one of those songs that came along at the right time. And again, it was such a blessing that happened. It wasn’t going to be on the album. It was just one of those freak things that I put it on the album, the last song on the album. The album was done, and all of a sudden it becomes the pillar, one of the pillars on the album. I think again, you go back to it’s one of the great things about music, is you just never know what’s going to happen until it’s all said and done. You can try to plan all you want to, but you’ll probably not going to figure it out.”

    Video / Rainbow

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    Video / Burning Man

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    Video / Some of It

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  • GO BEHIND-THE-SCENES WITH KEITH URBAN AND ERIC CHURCH IN THE STUDIO.

  • HALLOWEEN LINERS 2019

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Adam Hambrick. Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Trick or Treat)

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    “Trick or Treat, baby.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Brandon Lay, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Halloween) 1

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    “Hey y’all, I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all of y’all a Happy Halloween. Boo!”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Halloween) 2

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    “Hey y’all! I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all you goblins and gremlins out there a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Halloween)

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

     

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Halloween)

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    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Church, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Halloween)

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    “Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Halloween)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Halloween)

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    “Hey Y’all, I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Halloween)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Halloween)

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    “Hey! What’s up, y’all? I’m Luke Bryan, wishing you a very Happy Halloween. Boo!”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Halloween)

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

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody, I’m Parker McCollum. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt. Happy Halloween!”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Halloween)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Travis Denning. Happy Halloween.”

  • CMA AWARDS 2019: Album of the Year

    The nominees for this year’s CMA Album of the Year include Eric Church for Desperate Man and Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty.

    Eric’s sixth studio album, Desperate Man, marked the end of the longest break in his career between putting out new music. In the three years since the sudden, surprise release of Mr. Misunderstood (named 2016 CMA Album of the Year), though, he has experienced some of the highest peaks and some of the biggest challenges in his work and in his life. He got a sense of where the album was headed after writing “The Snake” and “Hippie Radio.” Eric also earned nods for both Entertainer and Music Video of the Year (for “Some of It”).

    Carrie tallied her fifth nomination for CMA Album of the Year with Cry Pretty, which is her first studio album on Capitol Records Nashville and marks the first time she has co-produced her own album. The lead single and title track, “Cry Pretty” debuted as the #1 song in the U.S. all-genres. Carrie co-produced Cry Pretty with fellow writer/producer David Garcia. Carrie is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year and picked up her 14th consecutive nod for Female Vocalist, a title she’s won five times, including last year.

    Thomas Rhett’s Center Point Road, Dan + Shay’s self-titled album and Maren Morris’s Girl round out the category.

    The 53rd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday (November 13th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Eric Church says Desperate Man was the hardest record he’s ever made.

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    Eric Church (hardest record to make) OC: …we ended up. 1:20
    “Well I think, really from the last tour, the Holding My Own Tour, I realized that I am very grateful and humble that we get to do what we do. To go on every night, no openers and play for three hours, and see the way music has affected people lives, and they have affected mine. But it has turned into this thing, its own, living breathing organism that happened. And coming off of that, the biggest fear that I had was I didn’t just want to go back into the studio and make a record just because it was time to make a record. And I had some stuff going on. I mean, I had a personal thing with my health, and then I had, then Vegas happened and that will be with me forever. So, I think there was stuff that I had to process on the early part of making this record. And frankly, it made it difficult early. I mean it was tough. It was the toughest record that I’ve made out of all of them. It’s funny, it’s just like anything you do creatively, when you think this is what it’s going to be, this where we are headed, I promise you, were headed here. This is where you are going. Creativity will take over and you will end up on another path and that’s what happened here. And to credit, I think, the way we make records, or try to make records, is we will pay attention to that. We will change course, and we are not afraid to change course. So, I think for me, my favorite thing about this album, is I know where we started and where we ended up.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says there was a lot of growth between her previous album, Storyteller, and her new collection, Cry Pretty.

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    Carrie Underwood (growth between albums) OC: …writing about. 1:07
    “I feel like between Storyteller and Cry Pretty, there was definitely a lot of growth for me as a person – emotional growth and spiritual growth and my family. And I feel like just kind of taking more ownership in my thoughts and my feelings and my wants and my creative abilities and just taking more ownership over all of those things and wanting that to translate into this album. I like to take time between projects. It’s like when do you have time to live the life you’re writing about? It’s so important to me. I like to go on tour and when I’m out, I’m out. I’m on the road. We are working hard. We’re killing it. We’re doing what we do. When I write, I want to write. I want to immerse myself in that. Whatever I’m doing, I want to completely immerse myself in and that includes living a life, and I just feel like that’s so important. And for me as a mom and as a wife and as a friend and daughter and all of those things, it’s just important to take a minute to live a life worth writing about.”

  • CMA AWARDS 2019: Entertainer

    This year’s Entertainer of the Year nominees include Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban, as well as Garth Brooks.

    Eric Church tallies up three nominations with his third nod for both Entertainer and Music Video of the Year (this time for “Some of It”). He also notched his fourth career nomination for Album of the Year for Desperate Man.

    Chris Stapleton has 16 prior nominations and 10 wins. Chris earns his fifth nod for Male Vocalist of the Year, which he has won consecutively since 2015. “Millionaire” has earned his third nomination for Single of the Year. Chris is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year, his fourth nomination in the category.

    Carrie Underwood has three nods this year. She picks up her second nomination for Entertainer of the Year, and she scored her 14th consecutive nomination for Female Vocalist, a title she’s won five times, including last year. This marks her fifth nomination for Album of the Year with Cry Pretty.

    Keith Urban, who is the reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year, is once again nominated for the night’s top honor, as well as for Male Vocalist of the Year.

    The 53rd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday (November 13th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Eric Church talks about the energy exchanged between him and his fans in the audience at his shows.

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    Eric Church (performing energy) OC: …type of crowd. :40
    “Well, I think for me every night I try to empty the tank. There’s always that energy floating around. It’s a palpable thing, and it’s up to me to start that exchange and get the crowd to give it back to me and then watch it build on itself and just to have that experience. We have one night here in whatever city we’re in, you know, we’ve got this night. I’m not gonna see you for a while you’re not gonna see me for a while, you know? And I love being able to capitalize on that moment and trying to live in that moment and get as much energy exchange between myself and the crowd as we can. I love that. That’s my favorite part of what we do. I love being around people, I’m very passionate about my music, and I love people who are passionate about the music too and I love playing a show for that type of crowd.”

    Audio / BACKSTAGE AT THE 2018 CMA AWARDS, CHRIS STAPLETON SAYS HE'S ALWAYS SURPRISED AND GRATEFUL FOR RECOGNITION OF HIS CRAFT.

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    Chris Stapleton (CMA 2018) OC: …grateful for it. :30
    “These things are always fantastic to win, but when you get nominated or invited to these parties, in my estimation, you’ve already won and you’ve already gotten to be far beyond anything, you know, anybody who’s a musician could ever dream of getting to do, and we get to do that every day, we get to live it every day. As far as thinking about going into anything, I’m always genuinely surprised to win anything, and I’m always grateful for it.”

    Audio / Prior to her No. 1 party for Southbound a few weeks ago, Carrie Underwood talked about her Entertainer of the Year nomination.

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    Carrie Underwood (Entertainer nod 2019) OC: …sorry boys! (laughs) :28
    “I personally feel like entertainer. It’s everything, right? So, I feel like people kind of narrow it down to tours, but I feel like there’s so many more components to it. And, you know, I’m blessed and lucky to be nominated, obviously, and fantastic company. It would be amazing, but of course, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it. (laughs) Sorry boys.” (laughs)

    Audio / BACKSTAGE AT LAST YEAR’S CMA AWARDS, KEITH URBAN WAS OVERWHELMED WITH HIS WIN FOR ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR, AN AWARD HE’S BEEN NOMINATED FOR NUMEROUS TIMES, BUT HASN’T WON SINCE 2005.

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    Keith Urban (Entertainer win 2018) OC: …feeling. :28
    “It’s an indescribable feeling to get that tonight, because I love playing, I love entertaining, I love putting on shows. I started playing guitar when I was six, so playing, and I came up playing in the clubs – four hours a night, five hours a night, five nights a week. I wasn’t writing songs. I was just schlepping my gear and playing cover tunes and learning my craft. To get to play three or four hours a night of original material is the most extraordinary feeling.”

  • ERIC, KEITH, CARRIE AND CHRIS ARE AMONG THE FIRST PERFORMERS OF THIS YEAR’S CMA AWARDS.

    The first round of performers for this year’s CMA Awards have been announced. Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Chris Stapleton with Pink will perform, as well as Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Dolly Parton with for King & Country and Zach Williams.

    The 53rd annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie with special guests Reba and Dolly, will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 13th at 8pm ET on ABC.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey, Little Big Town, Luke, Hootie & the Blowfish, Jon, Eric, Jordan

    Kacey Musgraves set the Guiness World Record for the world’s largest display of coloring pages on National Color Day (October 22nd) in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Mike Curb Conservatory in support of her Kacey Musgraves: All of the Colors exhibition.

    Little Big Town appear on the Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday (October 28th). Check local listings for time.

    Little Big Town unveil the video for their latest single, “Over Drinking,” on Tuesday (October 29th). The clip will star actress Michelle Monaghan (Mission Impossible, The Bourne Supremacy, True Detective).

    Luke Bryan chatted with Jimmy Fallon about being surprised with the ACM Album of the Decade Award at the Grand Ole Opry, American Idol and how his friends turned his live national anthem performance at the Super Bowl into a gambling extravaganza…AND he performed his brand new song, “What She Wants Tonight,” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on a special football edition on Sunday (October 27th).

    Hootie & the Blowfish will perform their new single, “Hold On,” when they stop by ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday (November 1st).

    Jon Pardi has been announced as the support act for Garth Brooks’ concert at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on November 16th.

    Eric Church, Darius Rucker and Jordan Davis are among the artists scheduled for next year’s C2C: Country to Country Festival. The eighth annual festival, taking place in London, Glasgow and Dublin March 13th – 15th, will also feature performances by Old Dominion, Luke Combs, Brett Young, Charles Esten, Tanya Tucker, Eric Paslay, Runaway Jone, Tenille Townes and many more. Tickets go on sale Friday (November 1st).