• FATHER’S DAY 2019

    Father’s Day is Sunday (June 16th), and we have audio with many of your favorite country stars! Download the soundbites below.

    Audio / Alan Jackson allows his three daughters to live and learn.

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    AJ (parenting style) OC: …what they did.  :19
    “We try to be just not pushy hands-on parents. We let them live and be their own way. I’m not stern with them. You know, I’m funny and light, and try to give them guidance and let them live and learn their own ways. And that’s something, I think, my parents did. It was accidental, but that’s what they did.”

    Audio / Brandon Lay is celebrating his first Father’s Day as a Dad to his nine-month-old son, Ryder.

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    Brandon Lay (1st Father’s Day) OC: …the experience. :24
    “Hey y’all, this is Brandon Lay, and this year is gonna be my first Father’s Day as a Father, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s something that I’ve dreamed about for a long time, and definitely having little Ryder these past nine months have changed everything. So, I have a whole new appreciation for families out there. I don’t know how everyone does it, but thankful for him and super thankful for the experience.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack says her father is a good man.

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    Caylee Hammack (Dad) OC: …forget that. 1:19
    “My dad has this really unnerving ability to be able to build anything at all just by thinking of it. He can look at something and build it in his mind and build it by hand, and it always works. I’ve always respected him for that. He’s a very hard worker.  He’s worked every day of his life. He’s also kind, even when he doesn’t have to be. He’s the type of guy who always gives money at the light to whoever it is on the street. One of my favorite moments with my dad was when we were driving to Macon, Georgia. I was playing a show that night, and we were driving up and we saw this dog and I could tell she was a mama dog. I could tell she had babies somewhere that she was trying to nurse, and she was so skinny. And I’m a bleeding heart. I get it from my Mama, and I just start crying, and I’m like, ‘That poor dog. She’s starving trying to feed her babies.’ I thought, ‘Poor dog.” And my dad doesn’t say anything, goes up two more blocks and pulls into the McDonalds. And he goes through and he asks me if I wanted anything, and I say no. I just think he’s hungry. He goes and he buys three or four burgers, and then he goes back to that block and he drives around until we find that dog to feed it to ‘em. I just remember looking at him, being like this is what a man is; this is what a good man does, and I’ll never forget that.”

    Audio / CLARE DUNN RECALLS ONE HER FATHER’S FAVORITE GIFTS HE RECEIVED FOR FATHER’S DAY.

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    Clare Dunn (Father’s Day gift) OC: …one year. :35
    “[My Dad] loves the weather, so we gave him a weather machine one year, and that was…well, he’s a farmer so he has to watch the weather all the time. And we gave him this weather gadget-gizmo that sits on top of the horse barn and gives him his own read-out of the weather. ‘What’s the temp? What’s the pressure? What’s the humidity?’ Well, there is no humidity in Colorado, or Southeast, but I think that was probably the biggest gift. My mom, I think, she gets all the credit for that, but I think we all collectively did that for Father’s Day one year.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker says his kids would say he was a fun dad, unless they did something wrong.

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    Darius Rucker (Father’s Day) OC: …loving dad. :41
    “I think if you asked my kids what kind of Dad I was they would probably say…Dani would say that I was a fun Dad. My little daughter would say that I was a fun dad; she thinks I’m a lot of fun. I think if you caught them at the right moment they would say I was mean [laughs] because when I’m home I’m not afraid to discipline them. I’m all fun until it’s not fun anymore and then daddy’s not the fun guy. I think that they’d say that I was a fun Dad, I’m a loving Dad and I think they would say that. I’m gone so much that when I’m home, I just shower love upon my kids. I say ‘I love you’ probably fifty times a day. We hug, we kiss all the time. I’m always wanting them to know how much I love them. So I’d hope they’d say that I was a loving dad.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker says his mother made him a good father to his three children.

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    Darius Rucker (mother’s qualities makes him a great father) OC: …my mom. :45
    “She had a lot great qualities, but she was always, family was first for her. She was always a rock and making sure she took care of us and making sure we had things we needed to have to survive – food and clothes and a home – and seeing that and seeing how hard she worked and all the things she did just really made me the father that I am today. I mean, I’m so crazy and hands-on with my kids. I think it all comes from watching my mom have to struggle so much to support us. And so now, I don’t want me or my wife to ever have to struggle, and I don’t want my kids to ever want or wonder where I am or where there mom is. I want them to always know where we are and always be taken care of, and that all comes from my mom.”

     

    Audio / Dierks Bentley enjoys being both dad – to daughters Evie and Jordan and son Knox – and country music performer.

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    Dierks Bentley (dad & performer) OC: …to do both. :28
    “When I get home, it’s a totally different reality that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Just hanging with my girls and doing the things we do and seeing life through their eyes, it’s incredible. It takes a man to do it. It’s not a boys’ game. It takes a man to do it. I love the juxtaposition to be able to be that man and to also go on the road and act like I’m 13 years old and play video games all afternoon waiting for the fans to show up. So, it’s really a blessing to be able to do both.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, the father of three, is very grateful to his own dad for turning him on to country music as a kid.

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    Dierks (Father’s Day) OC: …that’s for sure. :10
    “My dad was my biggest influence in country music because my dad loved country radio. So, we always drove around listening to country radio and George Strait, Hank Williams and Randy Travis and all these guys, so. Without him, I wouldn’t be doing this, that’s for sure.”

    Audio / Eric Church describes his father and the qualities he admires in him.

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    Eric Church (Father’s Day) OC: …always admired. :29
    “My dad is a, I’m trying to find the right words to describe him. My dad is a great guy, honest guy, very call it like he sees it, which is where I get a lot of that. No BS. I’m gonna tell you how I feel whether you like it or not. I’m that guy, I’m me…My dad’s that way, so I get a lot of that from him. There’s also an honesty and an integrity that my dad carries himself with that I’ve always admired. I think the both of them combined, and they’ve been married for I think 40 years, to be together that long in this day and time is a feat in itself.”

    Audio / Jon Langston looks up to his father and hopes to become just like him.

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    Jon Langston (Father’s Day) OC: …just fine. :16
    “My Dad has been my hero all my life. He’s the man I want to be one day when I grow up. I’m thankful for all he’s done for me and the sacrifices he’s made for our family. If I’m half the man he is one day, I’ll be just fine.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE QUALITIES OF HIS DAD.

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    Jordan Davis (Father’s Day) OC: …my music. :45
    “The thing I love most about my Dad is just his overall love of life. He’s a guy that’s worked hard and is now at a point where he can enjoy it, and he’s living every day to the fullest. That’s something that I’m very thankful that I’ve seen my Dad do and something to learn from. So, that’s probably my favorite quality about the old man, and just the hard work too. My dad ran a furniture business in Shreveport for a long time with his Dad. It was great to grow up and see a guy work hard and helped his Dad build a business from the ground up to a very successful business, and that’s something that I even try to carry over into my music.”

    Audio / PROUD DAD OF FOUR (HAMPTON, COLBY, MARION, HAWKE), JOSH TURNER TALKS ABOUT HOW HIS THREE OLDEST SONS ARE LEARNING THE FAMILY TRADE.

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    Josh Turner (Father’s Day) OC: …one of ‘em.  1:05
    “As far as talent and potential, my oldest three, especially, they could do anything they wanted to do if they put their mind to it and their heart was there. My oldest [Hampton] is incredible at playing mandolin. Colby, we kind of noticed him turn the corner lately with the fiddle, and Marion is actually playing a ukulele that’s tuned like the top four strings on a guitar, so in essence, he’s learning how to play guitar. They’ve just kind of started incorporating some singing into some playing, so they’re starting the whole singing and playing at the same time kind of thing, and not only that, they’re even learning to play songs together on their individual instruments. So, it’s amazing to see how much they can learn in such a short amount of time. It makes me realize how much I missed out on when I was that age, ‘cause I did take some music lessons growing up and everything, but I think they feed off of each other honestly. I think that’s why they’re getting so good is because they’re all doing it, not just one of ‘em.”

     

    Audio / Keith Urban – father to daughters Sunday and Faith -- says there are a number of things that are at the top of the list of being a dad.

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    Keith Urban (Father’s Day) OC: …experience that. :36
    “The first thing is probably just having someone call you dad. I’m like, ‘Omigosh! I’m her dad! That’s amazing.’ That’s probably the first thing to me. I don’t know, I mean, the different personalities that our two daughters have, that’s amazing. It’s such a long list I think. I always say…I think for the people that haven’t had kids – which I hadn’t for a long, long time. I didn’t have kids ‘til later on, and being around it is not the same as having them, you know? I realize that it’s not something that can be explained until you actually sort of have it, so I’m glad I got to experience that.”

    Audio / Kip Moore talks about his late father’s influence on his music career, and how he’d play classics on their fishing trips.

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    Kip Moore (Father’s Day-dad’s influence) OC: …of us singin’ ‘em. :29
    “He would just play all those classic records – Little River Band, Jackson Brown, Springsteen, Seeger, Willie Nelson, the Red-Headed Stranger, Kristofferson, Sam Cook – like classic music. He’d be singing the songs and telling us why it was such good music. And I looked up to him so much, that’s the music I gravitated towards and that’s what I continue to listen to. Whenever I think about those old fishing trips, that’s what I think about is on the way down there, him singing those songs and all of us singin’ ‘em.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about learning and teaching life lessons.

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    Luke Bryan (Father’s Day-life lessons) OC: …live by that. :46
    “Well, my dad was, I always just go back to the life lessons that always started either in a fishing boat or hunting somewhere, and that’s why I’ve always kind of been a champion of those types of behaviors certainly with your boys and your children because you get to spend time and hand down values. My dad was always big on just hard work and being good to people and a handshake is the contract. A handshake is your bond, your word. His famous saying always was, ‘Do something right the first time and you won’t have to go back and do it over again.’ I won’t say I batted a thousand perfectly on that, but I’ve kind of tried to live by that.”

    Audio / MADDIE MARLOW TALKS ABOUT HER FATHER’S FAVORITE GIFT SHE’S EVER GIVEN HIM FOR FATHER’S DAY.

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    Maddie & Tae (Father’s Day) OC: …for Father’s Day. :26
    “So, for Father’s Day, I made my Dad – I think it was right before I moved to Nashville – I made my Dad this little photo book where it had like his quotes that have stuck with me my whole life and then some pictures, and it was really funky. It looks horrible. It’s not put together, but that’s one of his favorite gifts that he’s ever gotten, and I cherish that ugly photo book thing that I made for him for Father’s Day.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt says his father taught him a lot about being a man and knowing the right thing.

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    Sam Hunt (Father’s Day) OC: …he’s great. :27
    “I’m obviously biased about my parents, but I’ve been around a lot of great men of integrity, but he is by far the best man that I know. He’s just taught me so much about being a man, doing the right thing, knowing the difference between right and wrong. And even though I don’t always follow his lead, I definitely know better because of him, and that means a whole lot to me. I was just really fortunate to have him as a dad, and he’s great.”

    Audio / Travis Denning says his father is his best friend.

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    Travis Denning (Father’s Day) OC: …for sure. :43
    “My dad – I call him ‘Diamond Dave’ and a lot of other people do too. Honestly, I don’t know if I drink more with anybody else more than my Dad. I think a super cool thing now is getting older and knowing that I’m starting to get more and more sustained as a human that it’s like my parents get to be friends now with me and my sister, which is such a cool thing. And so, yeah, me and my Dad – we love music and we love heavy metal and we love all that. We get to go to concerts and football games and drink beer and just enjoy that cool part of a father and a son and a mother and a son where now we get to be friends and it’s really cool. My Dad is my best friend, for sure.”

    Audio / Vince Gill says "kindness" is the one quality he hopes he's taught his children. He also says when his grandchildren come over, he shuts out the rest of the world to focus on them.

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    Vince Gill (Father’s Day) OC: …feels like. :40
    “Kindness-hopefully make them kind, and it’s what we got. We’ve got five great kids and a couple of grandkids. Those grandkids are the complete light of my life. They just show up, and the rest of the world can kiss my you-know-what. (laughs) I say, ‘We’re gonna go swing in the backyard. We’re gonna wrestle on the bed. We’re gonna eat those goldfish,’ and nothing else kind of seems to matter. And I think what I love seeing more than anything is for my kid to finally understand what it means to love. And it’s awesome to see my kid finally get it, what that unconditional love really looks like and feels like.”

  • CARRIE UNDERWOOD, KEITH URBAN, ERIC CHURCH, JON PARDI AND BROOKS & DUNN SURPRISE FANS DURING CMA MUSIC FEST 2019.

    In addition to all of the amazing performances at this year’s CMA Music Fest, there were also some surprise appearances. Carrie Underwood performed at Nissan Stadium (home to the Tennessee Titans) and during her set, she brought out the legendary Joan Jett to perform a medley of the rocker’s hits (“I Hate Myself for Loving You,” “Bad Reputation,” “Crimson and Clover”).

    Keith Urban surprised the crowd on Saturday night to join Billy Ray Cyrus and L’il Nas X at the Stadium to perform the No. 1 song in the nation, “Old Town Road.”

     

     

    Eric Church hit the stage at Nissan Stadium on Friday (June 7th) accompanied by his acoustic guitar to perform a 30-minute medley of several of his hits, including “Drink in My Hand,” “Mr. Misunderstood,” “Talladega,” “Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Round Here Buzz” and many more.

    Jon Pardi surprised the Nissan Stadium crowd during Thomas Rhett‘s set to perform “Beer Can’t Fix” from TR’s new album, Center Point Road complete with a koozie-covered beer.

    On Thursday, legendary duo Brooks & Dunn surprised the audience when they stepped onstage during Brothers Osborne‘s set to perform “Hard Workin’ Man,” which is featured on B&D’s new Reboot album. TJ and John also brought up their friend Ashley McBryde to perform her cut on the duo’s album of their huge hit, “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone,” also featured on Reboot.

    Audio / Prior to taking the stage at Nissan Stadium during CMA Music Fest, Carrie Underwood talks to reporters backstage about getting the opportunity to perform with rock legend Joan Jett.

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    Carrie Underwood (CMA Fest-Joan Jett) OC: …off on me. :25
    “I get to sing with Joan Jett, guys! Whooooo! (I’m) super excited. I feel like we’ve had connections and bumped into each other in various places, and the stars just aligned. It was kind of like, ‘What if Joan Jett came to CMA Fest?’ ‘Well, let’s ask her.’ So, she’s here. The coolness has arrived, and I’m hoping some of it rubs off on me.”

    Audio / Backstage before her Nissan Stadium performance at this year's CMA Music Fest, Carrie Underwood explained why she's a huge fan of rock legend Joan Jett, who joined her on stage to do a medley of her hits.

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    Carrie Underwood (CMA Fest-Joan Jett) 2 OC: …sing with me. :25
    “Just hearing her songs on the radio and the more I got to know and see just how much of a trailblazer she was for, not just women in her genre of music, but women in music in general…I mean, I’m a fan on every level — personally, professionally, musically and honored that she’s heard my name before and agreed to come sing with me.”

    Audio / Backstage at Nissan Stadium on Sunday night (June 9th) before his scheduled CMA Music Fest performance, Keith Urban talked about making a surprise appearance to perform with Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus on "Old Town Road."

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    Keith Urban (CMA Fest-Old Town Road) OC: …with him last night. :23
    “I just loved the song when I heard it. I love the record too, you know? Those are sometimes very separate things – the song to the record — but I just loved it and wanted to do my little cover version of it on my ganjo. From that very spontaneous moment, Nas saw the piece that I did and really loved it apparently, and next thing you know, I’m playing with him (and Billy Ray) last night.”

    Audio / Backstage in the press room, Jon Pardi talks about his collaboration with Thomas Rhett on "Beer Can't Fix" and their first live performance of the song during this year's CMA Music Fest.

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    Jon Pardi (Thomas Rhett song) OC: …short hair now. (laughs) :44
    “So (claps), me and Thomas (Rhett) go back to the long hair days — two songwriters trying to figure out who they’re gonna be in country music. I was so happy when he texted me and asked me to be a part of this record, and I was like, ‘Of course! Like come on! What song?’ He sent me two and we decided to sing ‘Beer Can’t Fix,’ ’cause it’s an anthem. It’s a no-brainer. For two male artists to sing a song together, I think it’s perfect. it’s about, well, drinking a beer. It’s fun, and I would say there’s a full-circle (moment) for me and him to walk out on Nissan and sing, for the first time ever, this song together. I don’t know. I think it’s cool, and we have short hair now.” (laughs)

    Audio / Backstage at Nissan Stadium during this year's CMA Music Fest, TJ Osborne of Brothers Osborne talked about how the collaboration with Brooks & Dunn came about on the legendary duo's "Hard Workin' Man," which appears on their Reboot album.

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    Brothers Osborne (Brooks & Dunn) OC: …of us both. :46
    First we were asked, ‘Are you guys fans of Brooks & Dunn?’ I just thought it was a ridiculous question to ask if you’re not a fan of Brooks & Dunn, then you shouldn’t be in this genre. But, so then it was like, ‘What song are we gonna do?’ Then it was a little tough because Ronnie’s voice is so high and obviously, I have a baritone voice, of trying to get a song to work for both of our strengths, and then a song that lends itself to a lot of guitar parts and then ‘Hard Workin’ Man,’ it became pretty obvious that was a really great song, but that also took abandoning one of the guitar hooks in that song. It was just crazy, because we wanted to do it like Brooks & Dunn did it, because we just love the song, and they wanted to do it like we would do it. It was a really interesting thing. I think the way that it turned out was really great. I’m really proud of it, and I think it really is a perfect kind of mix of us both.”

  • FATHER’S DAY LINERS 2019

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey Everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a very Happy Father’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Father's Day)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Billy Currington, wishing you a very Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Brandon Lay, wishing all you Fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing all you fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Father's Day)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack. For all you Dads out there, Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Clare Dunn, wishing you a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker wishing you a Happy Father’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Church, wishing you a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Gary Allan, and I want to wish all the dads out there a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Father's Day)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Jon Langston, wishing you a very Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Father’s Day)

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    “Jon Pardi here. Happy Father’s Day to all you father’s out there.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Father's Day) beer

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    “Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, wishing all the fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day. Here’s to you,  Senior.  Insert beer can opening sample (sound effect). (laughs)

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you all a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Josh Turner, and I just want to wish all you father’s out there a Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves. Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey everyone! It’s Keith Urban, wishing all you Dads out there a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Lauren Alaina. Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Father’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Little Big Town, wishing all you father’s a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Father's Day)

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    “Hey! This is Luke Bryan, wishing all the Fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day. Here’s to you, Dad.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Maddie and I’m Tae, wishing all you fathers out there a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Sam Hunt. To all you Fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Father’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Shania Twain. Happy Father’s Day.”

  • CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2019

    It’s that time of the year again! The 2019 CMA Music Festival is kicking off this week in Nashville, and the stars are coming out to perform and hangout with their fans. You can find out where your favorite artists are playing, if go to cmafest.com here.

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s TJ Osborne says they used to dream about playing CMA Music Fest and Nissan Stadium.

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    Brothers Osborne (CMA Music Fest-Nissan Stadium) OC: …their shoes. :40
    TJ: “When we first came to Nashville, we had dreams of playing, like ‘Oh my God, are we ever gonna play there?’ And it never even crosses your mind – you’re not playing the stadium. It’s just not happening. And now to circle around and to be playing here, it’s wild. The feeling of it is not lost on us, even the slightest. It’s hard to really, honestly put it into words. It’s literally every kid’s dream, even if you don’t become a musician, you still dream about being on that stage. And we used to come, when we would come, it was Fan Fair, and we would see artists performing on these stages and be like, ‘Gah, we’d just give anything to be in their shoes.”

    Audio / CHRIS STAPLETON SAYS IT’S “REMARKABLE” PEOPLE COME TO NASHVILLE FOR A WEEK TO CELEBRATE COUNTRY MUSIC.

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    Chris Stapleton (CMA Music Fest) OC: …It’s great. :20
    “It’s a weird thing, you know, like I can’t think of any other word, other than that I live down the street, so just gonna drive down to the football stadium and play for 25 minutes, you know. Yeah, it’s a remarkable thing to get to be a part of a mass of people who wanna listen to music. It’s great.”



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  • ERIC CHURCH HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE LIST OF PERFORMERS AT NISSAN STADIUM DURING CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL.

    Eric Church was just announced as an additional performer at Nissan Stadium June 7th. He’ll take the stage at CMA Fest between shows on his highly successful Double Down Tour, where he made history Saturday night setting the new attendance record at Nissan Stadium with 56,521 people in the audience. Church is the first solo artist to perform at Nissan Stadium sans an opening act, performing alone for more than three hours, with songs spanning his entire six-album catalog.

    A limited number of four-day passes for the nightly performances at Nissan Stadium are still available at CMAfest.com or through the CMA Box Office at 1-800-CMA-FEST.

    Church joins previously announced Nissan Stadium performers Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Janson, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, Maren Morris, David Lee Murphy, Old Dominion, Pistol Annies, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Marty Stuart, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Brett Young, as well as CMA KixStart Artist Scholarship recipients Kassi Ashton, Travis Denning and Jameson Rodgers. Nissan Stadium will open each night with the National Anthem, sung by Nashville School of the Arts (Thursday), Lindsay Ell (Friday), Runaway June (Saturday) and Jimmie Allen (Sunday).

    All stage lineups are available in the Official CMA Fest App and are subject to change. A limited number of tickets for Firestone Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater, in addition to single and four-day tickets for Xfinity Fan Fair X, are available at CMAfest.com.

    Artists performing at CMA Fest donate their time so a portion of ticket proceeds can directly benefit high-quality music education initiatives across the United States through the CMA Foundation.

  • ERIC CHURCH’S MARATHON SOLO PERFORMANCE AT NISSAN STADIUM SETS NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD: 56,521.

    After delaying the show open to allow the new record-setting concert crowd of 56,521 fans into Nissan Stadium, multi-Platinum superstar Eric Church appeared at the end of his 50-yard-line catwalk beneath a single spotlight to set the tone for the marathon Saturday night ahead. Adorned in his trademark aviators, t-shirt and a Gibson guitar, Church opened his first headlining stadium show with “Drowning Man” before meeting powerhouse backup singer Joanna Cotten center stage for “Country Music Jesus” and what could have been the official mantra of the evening: “That’s Damn Rock & Roll.”


    Eric Church at Nissan Stadium on May 25, 2019 | Credit: John Shearer

    Church, praised by Esquire as “one of the most singular working artists in any genre,” has long done things his own way – perhaps never more evident than on his current Double Down Tour. Continuing the trend of the tour thus far, the country music renegade performed nearly four hours of music and just under 40 songs spanning the catalog of all six of his studio albums. With no opening act – making him the first artist to play Nissan Stadium alone in the venue’s 20+ year history – Church had the record-setting crowd in the palm of his chest-pounding hand the entire evening (the previous attendance record of 56,112 was set in 2018).


    Church heard friends were camping out beginning Friday afternoon to be first in line for pit access, so early Saturday morning around 12:30 a.m. he surprised them in line outside the gates of Nissan Stadium. | Courtesy of the Double Down Tour

     

    “I came here 15 years ago and I had dreams,” he explained of Nashville to his loyal Church Choir, “but I’m not sure I could dream this big. Tonight is a special night for me and you know this if you’ve been to any of our shows on the Double Down Tour… I’m gonna give you everything I’ve got all night long, and tonight is going to be a revival. I promise you.”

    As the night went on, Church indulged the crowd with everything from hits like current single “Some Of It” –the music video directed by award-winning Reid Long having debuted on stadium screens prior to the show – and No. 1 hits “Drink In My Hand” and “Record Year” to deep album cuts including fan-favorites “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag” and “Knives of New Orleans.” His extensive catalog was evident throughout both halves of the marathon set punctuated only by a 25-minute intermission, making it no surprise that Church has earned 30 million RIAA certifications, a feat he was recognized for with a plaque presentation prior to the show.

    He also paid homage to Nashville as he’s done in each tour city thus far – putting the ‘music’ in Music City with stadium-worthy covers of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Night Moves,” “It’s A Great Day to be Alive,” “Sweet Caroline,” “Piano Man,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” during his signature “Mistress Named Music” medley. As the epic show drew to a close after midnight, Church sent the satisfied Nashville crowd into Sunday morning with an encore including his classic hit “Springsteen” – the melody sounding like a memory that is sure to remain a soundtrack to this May Saturday night for years to come.

    For more information visit www.ericchurch.com, download the new Eric Church app and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and on Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    Upcoming Double Down Tour Dates
    June 28 & 29               George, Wash. || The Gorge Amphitheatre
    Sept. 13 & 14              Green Bay, Wis. || Resch Center
    Sept. 20 & 21              Calgary, Alberta || Scotiabank Saddledome
    Sept. 28                       San Francisco, Calif. || Chase Center
    Oct. 4 & 5                   Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena
    Oct. 11 & 12               Philadelphia, Pa. || Wells Fargo Center
    Oct. 25                        Little Rock, Ark. || Verizon Arena
    Oct. 26                        Birmingham, Ala. || BJCC Arena
    Nov. 1                         Manchester, N.H. || SNHU Arena
    Nov. 2                         Hartford, Conn. || XL Center
    Nov. 15 & 16              Washington, D.C. || The Anthem
    Nov. 22 & 23              Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center

     

     

    About Eric Church
    The three-time Country Music Association and six-time Academy of Country Music Award winner released his highly-anticipated album Desperate Man atop the Billboard Country Albums chart on October 5. The album also debuted at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Rolling Stone Magazine describes the album in their July 2018 cover story as “classic Church: expertly crafted and country-radio-friendly, while also pushing boundaries in a way that sounds natural and unforced” and American Songwriter notes that it “sublimates the pain of a tumultuous year into his most adventuresome album yet.” Church has returned to the road for his 2019 Double Down Tour, visiting nearly 30 markets for back-to-back nights of two unique shows sans-opening act to give fans 6+ hours of his iconic music in each city. The tour also included a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville where Church nearly tripled the attendance record he set at Bridgestone Arena in 2017.

    Audio / Eric Church talks about recognizing fans in the crowd.

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    Eric Church (fans in crowd) OC: …carried it up the hill. :51
    “I recognize them in the crowd. A lot of times I know they’re names and talk to ‘em, We come from, different people have different paths, but we directly came from being up close and personal with our fans because of the places we’ve played. I know a lot of ‘em and recognize even more of ‘em when they’re in the crowd, and it’s always neat to see ‘em out there. It’s just fun for me. I wonder what they feel like when they think about the places that were about empty and they were standing there giving me all they had to turn around now and see all these other people there. I think that would just have to be a neat thing for them too, because they were the ones that discovered it and they were the ones that told other people about it. And I think there’s nothing cooler for a recording artist to have somebody that loves what you do and believes in what you do so much that they really make it their cause and champion to go out there and push it on other people that maybe don’t know about it. They’re the reason I’m here, and they’re the ones that picked up the flag and carried it up the hill.”

  • MEMORIAL DAY 2019 AUDIO

    Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. However, by the turn of the 20th century, Memorial Day celebrated Americans who have sacrificed their lives in all wars.

    Some of your favorite country artists talk about what it means to be free because of the brave men and women willing to fight and sacrifice for our freedom as we lean into this Memorial Day Weekend..

    For Memorial Day liners, click here.

     

    Audio / BRANDON LAY SAYS HE’S INCREDIBLY HUMBLED BY ANYONE WHO HAS OR IS SERVING IN THE MILITARY AND THANKS THEM FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND SERVICE.

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    Brandon Lay (Memorial Day) OC: …without you. :37
    “My dad was in the National Guard for six years, and his dad was in the Army and in North Africa during World War II. One of my good buddies, Dan Berry, is a captain at Fort Campbell. I’m incredibly humbled every time I’m around those guys, because it really just puts it in perspective. Memorial Day is a special time to remember and gain perspective that everything we enjoy comes with a price, and these guys have paid the ultimate price and so have their families. So, to anybody that’s served in the military, we salute you, and we couldn’t have the life we have without you.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, whose own father was a World War II veteran, talks about the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemen and women.

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    Dierks (Memorial Day) OC: …upon them. :37
    “On the most basic level, I think, for me on the road, I just think about being gone two, three days at a time, maybe a couple of weeks at a time, you know. That seems like a long time when you have kids and family, but these soldiers, they’re gone for months and years at a time – they’re doing 12 to 15 to 18 months — and they have family back home. That, in itself, is such a huge sacrifice, and that’s just the beginning of it. That’s just scratching the surface of what these guys [and gals] are doing every day – preparing for battle, actually being in battle, being wounded in battle, sometimes dying in battle. So, this country obviously, we would not exist without those courageous men and women, and our future depends upon them.”

    Audio / ERIC CHURCH, WHOSE GRANDFATHERS SERVED IN WORLD WAR II, SAYS THE SACRIFICES THE MEN AND WOMEN IN THE MILITARY MAKE ARE REALLY TOUCHING.

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    Eric Church (grandfathers in WW2) OC: …touching to me. :21
    “Both of my grandfathers were World War II veterans. I mean, that’s something that’s very rare. I’m not unique, you know. There’s a lot of people out there like that that their grandfathers served. The way that I was raised was very much red, white and blue and very patriotic, and I think that it’s the fact that what they give up is the real thing that’s very touching to me.”

    Audio / Eric Church says we should celebrate our freedom AND the people fighting for our freedom.

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    Eric Church (Memorial Day) OC: …those freedoms. “It’s about, especially the soldiers I come in contact with on the road. And not only that, to be able to make the music that I’m able to make, to say what I want to say, and that freedom to be able to do those things and to be in a country where we’re able to do that and to be in a country where we’re able to play that stuff on the radio. I don’t think you’re going to have any America argue that America isn’t the best place to live, and I’m certainly one of them. I’m very proud to be from here and very proud that we have the soldiers. I know there are a lot of other countries out there in the world that don’t want to live the way we do, and that’s fine, they can keep living the way they are, but I’m very proud of it. I think that’s a time to celebrate being proud to be an American and celebrate those freedoms…and celebrate the people that are over fighting for those freedoms.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS THANKS THE SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SACRIFICED TO PROTECT AND DEFEND AMERICA.

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    Jordan Davis (Memorial Day) OC: …gave it all. :29
    “You know, both my grandparents were in the service; my cousin was also a Marine, so the military hits close to home. I mean I can’t say enough about ‘em. We live in the best country in the world, and it’s because of those guys and because of the people that came before ‘em. So, I can’t thank ‘em enough. I wish we had Memorial Day every day, but it is great to have one day to thank the men and the women that gave it all.”

    Audio / KEITH URBAN IS THANKFUL FOR ALL OF THE MEN AND WOMEN IN THE ARMED FORCES.

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    Keith Urban (Memorial Day) OC: …families too. :35
    “It’s one of the things I comment on fairly regularly when we’re playing concerts, especially outdoor festivals, where I look around and think it’s  just amazing freedom to be able to do this, and it doesn’t effortlessly just come, you know? A lot of people are devoting their life, their entire life, to going out and protecting and defending and honoring their own calling. So, I feel immensely grateful for all of the men and women in the military, all in the armed forces, all around the world. The sacrifice they make, especially their families too.

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his grandfather who served during World War II.

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    Sam Hunt (Memorial Day) OC: …those freedoms. :40
    “My granddad was in World World II. He was on the USS Texas battleship, and he was over at Normandy and over near Japan and he spent a lot of time right in the thick of World War II. He really took pride in what that meant, and it was something I got to see it first hand, as somebody who got to experience that; somebody who had that galvanized American trait. It’s hard to describe it. It was just somebody who’s been through that, seen that and really appreciates what that means. I try to channel that into my life, because I haven’t fought in any war, but I have a ton of respect for folks who have, folks who’ve sacrificed, families who’ve lost lives and just sacrificed years of their own lives and time and effort to maintain those freedoms.”

     

  • ERIC CHURCH SET TO HEADLINE NASHVILLE’S NISSAN STADIUM SOLO.

    For the first time in its 20+ year history, Music City’s Nissan Stadium will host a live show featuring a singular artist, sans opening act, as multi-Platinum superstar Eric Church is set to make his stadium-headlining debut this Saturday, May 25. As usual, the country music renegade is doing it his own way.

    In keeping with all previous dates on the Double Down Tour, Church alone will perform three hours of music spanning his entire six-album catalog. Remarking on the true uniqueness of this touring approach, Pitchfork declares that he “proves himself the rare star trying to change the game from the inside” while Stereogum notes that he is “at the top of his genre because he breaks its rules in big, exciting, arena-filling ways.”

    Last time a Church tour stopped in Nashville was indeed an “arena-filling” night, as he set an attendance record at Bridgestone Arena with 19,000 fans in the building. He will more than double that number as he elevates his current live show praised by People as “worthy of a title such as ‘Entertainer of the Year’” to stadium-filling status.

    Prior to the groundbreaking show, the Church Choir Tailgate open to fan club members will take place on the stadium’s South Lawn. Starting at 3:00 p.m., the party will feature exclusive merchandise, games, food trucks, Jack Daniel’s drinks and a unique vinyl truck offering a special edition of Desperate Man that includes a live version of the title track pressed on sky blue vinyl. As doors open, fans will also be treated to the music video premiere for his current Top 15 single, “Some Of It,” on the stadium screens.

    For more information visit www.ericchurch.com, download the new Eric Church app and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and on Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    Upcoming Double Down TourDates
    May 25                        Nashville, Tenn. || Nissan Stadium
    June 28 & 29               George, Wash. || The Gorge Amphitheatre
    Sept. 13 & 14              Green Bay, Wis. || Resch Center
    Sept. 20 & 21              Calgary, Alberta || Scotiabank Saddledome
    Sept. 28                       San Francisco, Calif. || Chase Center
    Oct. 4 & 5                   Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena
    Oct. 11 & 12               Philadelphia, Pa. || Wells Fargo Center
    Oct. 25                        Little Rock, Ark. || Verizon Arena
    Oct. 26                        Birmingham, Ala. || BJCC Arena
    Nov. 1                         Manchester, N.H. || SNHU Arena
    Nov. 2                         Hartford, Conn. || XL Center
    Nov. 15 & 16              Washington, D.C. || The Anthem
    Nov. 22 & 23              Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center

    About Eric Church
    The three-time Country Music Association and six-time Academy of Country Music Award winner released his highly-anticipated album Desperate Man atop the Billboard Country Albums chart on October 5. The album also debuted at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Rolling Stone describes the album as “classic Church: expertly crafted and country-radio-friendly, while also pushing boundaries in a way that sounds natural and unforced” and American Songwriter notes that it “sublimates the pain of a tumultuous year into his most adventuresome album yet.” Church has returned to the road for his 2019 Double Down Tour, visiting nearly 30 markets for back-to-back nights of two unique shows sans-opening act to give fans 6+ hours of his iconic music in each city. The tour also includes a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville where Church will more than double the attendance record set at Bridgestone Arena in 2017.

  • CMT MUSIC AWARDS 2019: Brothers O, Carrie, Darius, Dierks, Eric, Jordan, Kacey, Keith, LBT, Luke, Maddie & Tae

    The nominations for the 2019 CMT Music Awards have been announced, and Brothers Osborne are among the leaders with three nods. The two are up for overall Video of the Year (“Burning Man” with Dierks Bentley), Duo Video of the Year (“I Don’t Remember me (Before You)”) and Collaborative Video of the Year (“Burning Man” with Dierks Bentley),

    Carrie Underwood pulls down two nods, including Video of the Year for “Cry Pretty” and Female Video of the Year for “Love Wins.” Dierks Bentley earns a pair of nods for Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year for “Burning Man” with Brothers Osborne.

    Eric Church is nominated for overall Video of the Year and Male Video for “Desperate Man,” while Kacey Musgraves is also nominated for Video of the Year for “Rainbow,” as well as Female Video of the Year for “Space Cowboy.”

    Keith Urban earns a pair of nominations for Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year for “Coming Home” featuring Julia Michaels.

    Luke Bryan is nominated for Male Video of the Year for “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” as well as Collaborative Video of the Year for “Straight to Hell” with pals Darius Rucker, Jason Aldean and Charles Kelley.

    Little Big Town earns a nod for Group Video of the Year for “Summer Fever,” while LBT members Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman earned a nod with Gladys Knight for CMT Performance of the Year from the 2018 CMT Artists of the Year.

    Jordan Davis picks up a nomination for Breakthrough Video of the Year for his No. 1 hit, “Take It From Me,” while Maddie & Tae are nominated for Duo Video of the Year for “Friends Don’t.”

    Little Big Town will host the 2019 CMT Music Awards, which will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena June 5th at 8pm ET/7pm CT.

     

    2019 CMT Music Awards Nominees:

    VIDEO OF THE YEAR

    “Cry Pretty,” Carrie Underwood
    “Drunk Girl,” Chris Janson
    “Break Up in the End,” Cole Swindell
    “Speechless,” Dan + Shay
    “Burning Man,” Dierks Bentley feat. Brothers Osborne
    “Desperate Man,” Eric Church
    “Simple,” Florida Georgia Line
    “Rainbow,” Kacey Musgraves
    “Good as You,” Kane Brown
    “Coming Home,” Keith Urban feat. Julia Michaels
    “Miss Me More,” Kelsea Ballerini
    “She Got the Best of Me,” Luke Combs
    “Girl,” Maren Morris
    “Someone I Used to Know,” Zac Brown Band

     

    FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR

    “The Joke,” Brandi Carlile
    “Love Wins,” Carrie Underwood
    “Space Cowboy,” Kacey Musgraves

    “Miss Me More,” Kelsea Ballerini
    “Girl,” Maren Morris
    “Keeper of the Flame,” Miranda Lambert
    “Closer to You,” Carly Pearce

     

    MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR

    “Break Up in the End,” Cole Swindell
    “Desperate Man,” Eric Church
    “Drowns the Whiskey,” Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert
    “Lose It,” Kane Brown
    “Get Along,” Kenny Chesney
    “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” Luke Bryan
    “Life Changes,” Thomas Rhett

     

    DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR

    Brothers Osborne – “I Don’t Remember Me (Before You)”
    Dan + Shay – “Speechless”
    Florida Georgia Line – “Simple”
    Locash – “Feels Like A Party”
    Maddie & Tae – “Friends Don’t”
    Sugarland feat. Taylor Swift – “Babe”

     

    GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR

    Eli Young Band – “Love Ain’t”
    Lanco – “Born to Love You”
    Little Big Town – “Summer Fever”
    Midland – “Burn Out”
    Old Dominion – “Hotel Key”
    Zac Brown Band – “Someone I Used To Know”

     

    BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR

    Ashley McBryde – “Girl Goin’ Nowhere (At Marathon Music Works)”
    Jimmie Allen – “Best Shot”
    Jordan Davis – “Take It From Me”
    Mitchell Tenpenny – “Drunk Me”
    Morgan Wallen – “Whiskey Glasses”
    Runaway June – “Buy My Own Drinks”
    Tenille Townes – “Somebody’s Daughter”

     

    COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR

    Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell – “What Happens In A Small Town”
    Darius Rucker feat. Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Charles Kelley – “Straight To Hell”
    Dierks Bentley feat. Brothers Osborne – “Burning Man”

    Jason Aldean feat. Miranda Lambert – “Drowns The Whiskey”
    Keith Urban feat. Julia Michaels – “Coming Home”
    Sugarland feat. Taylor Swift – “Babe”

     

    CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

    Boyz II Men and Brett Young – “Motownphilly (From CMT Crossroads)”
    Luke Combs and Leon Bridges – “Beautiful Crazy (From CMT Crossroads)”
    Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile – “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (From 2018 CMT Artists of the Year)”
    Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor – “Let You Be Right (From CMT Crossroads)”
    Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman and Gladys Knight – “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (From 2018 CMT Artists of the Year)
    Zac Brown Band and Shawn Mendes – “Keep Me In Mind (From CMT Crossroads)”

    Audio / BROTHERS OSBORNE SAYS IT'S AN HONOR TO BE NOMINATED AT THIS YEAR'S ACM AWARDS.

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    Brothers Osborne (being nominated) OC: (TJ) …but it really is. :26
    JOHN: “One of the things I love about the country music genre is “It sounds cliché to say it’s an honor, but it really is that it’s a family. We’re all really, really close. We’re all a bunch of misfits thrown together. We’re all a little different, but we love one another and respect one another, and I’m just honored for the both of us to be a part of this awesome family.” TJ: “I will say to add on that, it sounds cliché to say it’s an honor to be nominated, but it really is.”

    Audio / BROTHERS OSBORNE’S TJ OSBORNE TALKS ABOUT THE SONG “I DON’T REMEMBER ME (BEFORE YOU).

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    Brothers Osborne (I Don’t Remember Me (Before You) 1:05
    “There was a bit of the song that was a little on the nose. I don’t – it started the first tag (sings) which was an idea Shane had. He showed up that day and goes ‘I don’t remember my life before I had my babies.’ He said, ‘I literally can’t think of who I was. I don’t remember who I was before [my] husband Michael.’ And we thought man, that is a really interesting thing. An incredible idea. I’m sure it’s been done to some extent, but I can’t really recall that subject being said that way. And so, we were all about it. We loved the idea and the concept, but when Jay [Joyce] heard it, he goes, ‘Man, I think it would be really cool to save the ‘before you’ till the end of the song and I instantly was like, ‘Man, I think that’s a killer idea.’ John and I were all about it. And so, it ends now (sings) it kind of goes in a turn around. You don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. ‘I don’t remember me,’ you keep hearing this, and then at the end is the reveal ‘I don’t remember me before you,’ which I think is great. It also made it problematic [for] the title of the song.”

    Audio / DIERKS BENTLEY TALKS ABOUT HAVING BROTHERS OSBORNE FEATURED ON HIS LATEST NO. 1 SONG, “BURNING MAN.”

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    Dierks Bentley (Bros O on Burning Man) OC: …great hang. :26
    “I’m a huge fan of those guys. They’re friends. We play in a side band together, a ‘90s country cover band called the Hot Country Knights with a K for anyone who wants to look us up. So, we’re just pals, and it’s like this song feels like something that they would sing, you know? It feels like if they’d got this one before I did, they probably would’ve cut it. It was so easy. I just called ‘em up and sent the song and got a huge ‘Yes’ back from both of them right away. They came into the studio like two days later. It was just a great hang.”

    Audio / ON THE SET OF THE VIDEO FOR “STRAIGHT TO HELL,” LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT TAKING PART IN THE VOCAL COLLABORATION WITH DARIUS RUCKER, JASON ALDEAN AND LADY ANTEBELLUM’S CHARLES KELLEY.

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    Luke Bryan (STH idea) OC: …and Charles. :16
    “Darius called me up and asked me to be a part of this song. When I was in college, I’m Going ‘Straight to Hell’ was one of the biggest college anthems that there was, and I was honored to be a part of this with Darius and Jason and Charles.”

    Audio / ON THE SET OF THE VIDEO FOR “STRAIGHT TO HELL,” DARIUS RUCKER EXPLAINS HOW THE COLLABORATION ALL CAME TOGETHER.

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    Darius Rucker (STH) OC: …great day. :30
    “This is an old Drivin’ ‘N Cryin’ song. It came out in ’89 when I was just playing clubs with Hootie [& the Blowfish]. It was a big song to us. It was a big song to everybody around us. It was a big Southern song, and I always thought it was a country song. Drivin’ ‘N Cryin’ is a big rock band, and I always thought it was a country song. I wanted to cut it and Charles told me I should cut it one day, and I just started calling my friends. I called Charles. I called Jason. I called Luke, and I said, ‘Hey man, I’m doing this song.’ They all loved the song, and we got to do a video for it. This is really cool, man. It’s been a great day.”

    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 / CARRIE UNDERWOOD SAYS SHE HOPES “LOVE WINS” SHOWS PEOPLE THEY ALL DESERVE LOVE AND RESPECT.

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    Carrie Underwood (Love Wins) 3 OC: …one another. 57
    “One of the things that I was very careful about when we were writing the song, I’m like I don’t want to make it sound too easy because it sounds so easy. ‘Let’s just all love each other and get along. Oh okay, I never thought of that. Let’s try that.’ I feel like it maybe there’s a song on the radio or somebody says something, and you have a conversation with somebody that maybe you’re like today I’m going to try seeing things from a different point of view, then you’re one step closer, even if it’s just a little step. We’re just one step closer to each other. So, I love the fact that I feel like this song is kind of saying no matter who you are, what you feel, what you think – we didn’t want it to be political. We didn’t want it to be polarizing. We wanted it just to acknowledge that we’re in a broken world. We’re all human beings. We all deserve love. We all deserve respect and we all should try to show that to one another.”

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE’S MADDIE MARLOW SAYS THE DUO’S NEW SINGLE, “FRIENDS DON’T,” IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY.

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    Maddie & Tae (Friends Don’t) OC: …likes it. [laughs] :22
    “So, the story behind our song ‘Friends Don’t’ is actually my sister’s story. My little sister back home in Texas was kind of dating this guy and they’re kind of in the friend’s zone, but they like each other, but they really didn’t know what was going on. And so, Tae and I got inspired by her story and wrote it. She kinda gets frustrated when we write songs about her, but I know she secretly likes it.” [laughs]

  • ERIC CHURCH TOPS POLLSTAR’S GLOBAL CHART WITH HIS “DOUBLE DOWN TOUR.”

    With sold-out weekends of back-to-back shows the norm thus far on the critically-acclaimed Double Down Tour, multi-Platinum superstar Eric Church lands at the top of both Pollstar’s LIVE75 and Global Concert Pulse Charts this week.

    According to Pollstar’s data, “Eric Church makes his stand at No. 1 [on the LIVE75 chart] with a ticket sales average of 13,987 from two-night engagements at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. on March 29-30, American Airlines Center in Dallas on April 12-13 and Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (formerly Quicken Loans Arena) the following weekend.” This marks the second consecutive week Church has led the LIVE75.

    On both charts, Church sits ahead of blockbuster tours by artists including Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Michael Bublé, Bob Seger, Cher and KISS, among others – all of which boast higher average ticket prices than the Double Down Tour. Church also stands as the only Country artist in the Top 15 of the Global Concert Pulse chart.

    The loyal ticket-buying Church Choir fans aren’t the only ones loving the Double Down Tour concept boasting back-to-back nights in each city sans-opening act; critics have also praised Church at each stop for the success of unique approach. With newly-added fall dates, the booming success of the tour is poised to continue through the rest of the year.

    “…playing three-hour sets with no opener and changing up his setlist from night to night…he’s raising the bar even further” — Rolling Stone

    “Not only is he one of the most electric artists in all of music, but one worthy of a title such as ‘Entertainer of the Year.’” — People

    “Church took the stage like a poker player who just filled an inside straight: oozing confidence.” — St. Louis Dispatch

    “… the two-set, three-plus-hour show at TD Garden proved that this was a smart move, showing off the depth of Church’s catalog and the breadth of his band’s ability while also letting devotees appreciate the deeper cuts.” — The Boston Globe 

    “Sweating, shouting, dancing and smiling until each fan leaves the room exhausted just from following his lead…It’s a show where paying tribute to Merle Haggard in the first set and Queen in the second set feels natural.” — Forbes

    Remaining Double Down Tour Dates:
    May 10 & 11               Denver, Colo. || Pepsi Center
    May 17 & 18               Los Angeles, Calif. || STAPLES Center
    May 25                        Nashville, Tenn. || Nissan Stadium
    June 28 & 29               George, Wash. || The Gorge Amphitheatre
    Sept. 13 & 14              Green Bay, Wis. || Resch Center
    Sept. 20 & 21              Calgary, Alberta || Scotiabank Saddledome
    Sept. 28                       San Francisco, Calif. || Chase Center
    Oct. 4 & 5                   Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena
    Oct. 11 & 12               Philadelphia, Pa. || Wells Fargo Center
    Oct. 25                        Little Rock, Ark. || Verizon Arena
    Oct. 26                        Birmingham, Ala. || BJCC Arena
    Nov. 1                         Manchester, N.H. || SNHU Arena
    Nov. 2                         Hartford, Conn. || XL Center
    Nov. 15 & 16              Washington, D.C. || The Anthem
    Nov. 22 & 23              Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center

    For more information visit www.ericchurch.com, download the new Eric Church app and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and on Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    About Eric Church
    The three-time Country Music Association and six-time Academy of Country Music Award winner released his highly-anticipated album Desperate Man atop the Billboard Country Albums chart on October 5. The album also debuted at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Rolling Stone describes the album as “classic Church: expertly crafted and country-radio-friendly, while also pushing boundaries in a way that sounds natural and unforced” and American Songwriter notes that it “sublimates the pain of a tumultuous year into his most adventuresome album yet.” Church has returned to the road for his 2019 Double Down Tour visiting 30 markets, primarily focused on back-to-back nights with two unique shows sans-opening act to give fans 6+ hours of his iconic music in each city. The tour also includes a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville where Church will more than double the attendance record set at Bridgestone Arena in 2017.