Eric Church performed “Kill a Word” during A&E’s  live Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America Friday night, and he didn’t do it alone. Joining him on the song from his new album, Mr. Misunderstood, were the legendary Smokey Robinson, Aloe Blacc and Rhiannon Giddens.

The song where Church dreams of having the ability to rob words of any negative impact was perfect for the concert special, which was set up to help bring awareness to the progress on race in America, as well as raise money to grant funding to individuals and organizations fostering understanding, and eliminating bias. Zac Brown Band, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Pink and many others also performed.

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

Eric Church and Chris Stapleton are among the artists paying tribute to the late John Lennon in a new AMC all-star special, Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert, December 19th. The special, being recorded December 5th in New York City, will also include performances by Kris Kristofferson, Peter Frampton, Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow, Train’s Pat Monahan and Aloe Blacc.

Tim McGraw performed the song “Here Tonight” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week. TJ and John of Brothers Osborne wrote the song.

Sam Hunt has been chosen as a curator for the fourth annual Grammy Amplifier program – an online music initiative that gives a platform to aspiring artists. Big Sean and Lzzy Hale have also been named curators for the program, which invites hopeful singers to upload their songs for consideration at www.grammyamplifier.com. Hunt, Big Sean and Hale will select three winners from the top 25 most popular submissions to win one-of-a-kind experiences that include an in-studio recording session with a Grammy Award-winning producer, an opening spot for a popular artist and/or a series of festival shows, and a music video with a notable director. “I’m honored to be part of a program where I can help elevate new and emerging talent,” Sam said in a prepared statement. “It wasn’t long ago I was an unknown artist, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the people who helped me with the tools I needed to start my career. I look forward to shining a light on these aspiring musicians.” The Grammy Amplifier program is open to submissions through December.

Little Big Town will honor rock icon Gregg Allman during the second season premiere of Nashville-based performance webcast series Skyville Live on December 11th at 8pm ET.

On Monday (November 16th), Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott will host Leadership Music’s Dale Franklin Awards honoring three music industry leaders in Nashville, including Reba.

Darius Rucker recently presented a $1 million grant from the CMA Foundation to Metro Nashville Public Schools to provide instruments and music education for more than 85,000 local students. “A defining moment in my life was when my mother gave me my first guitar – I can honestly say it completely changed my life,” says Darius. “So to know that we, as artists with CMA, are helping kids get the option for that kind of discovery is really incredible.”

Get to know McKinley James, the face of Eric Church‘s new album, Mr. Misunderstood. Check out the video below.

Eric Church sent his surprise Mr. Misunderstood album to his fan club, the Church Choir, on Wednesday. It was unannounced, unexpected and a huge treat for those fans, as well as for radio, who also received the new album.

On the cover is a shot of a young man sitting in front of a chalkboard on which the song titles were written. The boy, 14-year-old McKinley “Mickey” James Smay from Webster, New York, read a short note explaining why he was there. He’s the star of the video for the title track, “Mr. Misunderstood,” and sort of the face for the project itself. The young musician is the son of rock drummer Jason Smay, who also appears in the clip.

In a note sent to fans and distributed to reporters backstage at the CMA Awards, Eric wrote that his son named one of his guitars “Butter Bean,” and that he used the guitar to write the songs on the new album, starting late this summer.  “20 days later, I had 18 songs. 20 days following that, I had 10 recorded. That was 30 days ago. It always takes me time to look for inspiration to make a new album but this time, inspiration came looking for me. Together, we found Mr. Misunderstood. Today, it’s yours.”

Eric Church’s Mr. Misunderstood Tracklist:
1. Mr. Misunderstood
2. Mistress Named Music
3. Chattanooga Lucy
4. Mixed Drinks About Feelings
5. Knives of New Orleans
6. Round Here Buzz
7. Kill a Word
8. Holdin’ My Own
9. Record Year
10. Three Year Old

Chris Stapleton was the big winner during Wednesday night’s CMA Awards, as he swept all three awards in which he was nominated. He was named Male Vocalist and New Artist of the Year, while his album, Traveller, was named Album of the Year. Chris also received a second trophy as a producer for the project, which he co-produced with Dave Cobb. This marks the first time a New Artist winner also won for Album of the Year and are his first CMA Awards. Chris also had THE performance of the evening with his collaboration with pop superstar Justin Timberlake on the mashup of “Tennessee Whiskey” and “Drink You Away.”

Of the wins, Chris said, “It’s surreal. Very unbelievable. I don’t have enough kind of adjectives to get there, but it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s a lot of love. I feel a lot of love. I feel very loved. It’s a short answer, but it’s a real one.”

Luke Bryan, who performed his recent two-week No. 1 hit “Strip It Down,” picked up his second consecutive award for Entertainer of the Year. “I don’t think I’ve ever sang or performed better on the road than this year,” said Luke. “I’ve really enjoyed every night, and for this to happen tonight is such a blessing.”

Keith Urban and Eric Church picked up the award for Musical Event of the Year for “Raise ‘Em Up.” The win marks Keith’s fourth trophy in the category, tying him with Vince Gill, Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley as top winners. He’s also the only artist to win three years in a row.

Little Big Town picked up a couple of awards including their fourth consecutive Vocal Group of the Year for the fourth consecutive time. Their smash hit, “Girl Crush,” was named Single and Song of the Year. Songwriters Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose are first-time winners for penning the song. “We knew when we heard this song that it was incredibly special. It literally took my breath. I gasped when I realized what the song was actually about,” said LBT’s Kimberly Schlapman. “These three women poured their heart and soul into an incredibly special, once-in-a-lifetime song, and the fact that we were able to cut it is an incredible special. We’ll always be thankful to them for letting us do it.”

Keith Urban and Eric Church picked up an early CMA Award for Musical Event of the Year for “Raise ‘Em Up.” This is Keith’s fourth win in the category. Previous wins include “Start A Band” with Brad Paisley (2009); “Highway Don’t Care” with Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift (2013); and We Were Us” with Miranda Lambert (2014). This win ties him with Vince Gill, McGraw, and Paisley for the most wins in the category. Urban is the only artist to win three years in a row.

“I’ve been real fortunate to get to collaborate with some great artists, but doing this song with Eric was truly magical,” said Urban. “It’s an incredible piece of songwriting, and we’re both so grateful it’s resonated the way it has! Big shout out to our fans and to Country radio and TV for all the support we’ve had along the way!”

One of the top nominees in 2015, this is Church’s second CMA Award – his first was for Album of the Year for Chief in 2012. His nominations include Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Single of the Year for “Talladega,” and Song of the Year for “Like A Wrecking Ball,” which he co-wrote with Casey Beathard.

Watch the ABC News special, Countdown to the CMA Awards: Country’s Greatest Crossover Hits with Robin Roberts on Monday (November 2nd) at 10pm ET on ABC. The special will feature performances and interviews with such artists as Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and many more.

Kacey Musgraves attended the opening soiree for actress Reese Witherspoon’s new store, Draper James, in Nashville last week. Faith Hill and Sheryl Crow were also in attendance.

Luke Bryan and Eric Church both nabbed nominations for this year’s Billboard Touring Awards. Luke’s Kick the Dust Up trek, featuring Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch and Thomas Rhett, is in the running for Top Package. Church was named as Breakthrough Artist, and is in the lineup as part of Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Tour for Top Package. The 2015 Billboard Touring Awards will take place November 19th at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

Eric Church tops the list of final nominees for this year’s CMA Awards with five nominations, tying with Little Big Town. The North Carolina native is nominated for his first Entertainer of the Year nomination, as well as Male Vocalist Single of the Year for “Talladega,” Song of the Year for “Like a Wrecking Ball,” which he wrote with Casey Bethard; and Musical Event of the Year for “Raise ‘Em Up” with Keith Urban.

The 49th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 4th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

Halloween is Saturday, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes, and they also recall memories of Halloweens past.