• FATHER’S DAY LINERS 2018

    Father’s Day is Sunday (June 17th), and we have liners with many of your favorite country stars! Download below.

    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 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 Eric Paslay (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Paslay. To all you father’s out there, 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 Pardi (Happy Father’s Day)

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

    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 Lady A (Father’s Day)

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    “What’s up all you Dads out there? It’s Lady Antebellum, and we just wanted to wish you all a good, Happy Father’s Day. Thanks for being great dads. Hope you get pampered and you don’t have to barbecue. And we hope you get some good ties this year.” [Hillary laughs]

    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 Maddie & Tae (Father’s Day)

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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.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all! It’s Travis Denning, wishing all you fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day, Diamond Dave.”

    Audio / LINER Vince Gill (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody! It’s Vince, and I just wanted to wish you a Happy Father’s Day. Wish mine was still around.”

     

     

  • MOTHER’S DAY 2018

    Mother’s Day is on Sunday (May 13th), and some of your favorite country artists are celebrating the mothers in their lives this weekend. In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.

    Here are some of your favorite country stars honoring all of the Moms out there with stories of their own.

    Audio / Brandon Lay says he probably gets his work-ethic from his Mom.

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    Brandon Lay (Mother’s Day) OC: …comes from her. :2
    “She works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen. She can outwork most 20-year-olds in the yard still. She grew up on a farm, and I think a lot of that just bulldog it and get it done attitude, I probably get from her. She’ll go from sunup to sundown, and she doesn’t complain, and that’s just so rare. I feel like the work ethic, as far as grind it out and get it done, that toughness comes from her.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she doesn't really have any Mother's Day traditions, but she sure enjoys being a Mom to Isaiah.

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    Carrie Underwood (Mother’s Day traditions) OC: …even more so. :40
    “We don’t really have like any Mother’s Day traditions. I feel like I remember me and Dad making breakfast for Mom like once as a kid. I’m pretty sure we just made a giant mess in the kitchen and we never did that again, so. Being on the other side of things, I obviously don’t expect anything from my three-year-old, but my husband’s really good at getting presents from quote unquote Isaiah. It’s really sweet, because he likes to bring me things. He’s such a sweet little guy, and anytime he’s outside, he’ll pick me flowers and things. So, I’m like, ‘You’re learning. You’ve already got me wrapped around your finger, and then you do stuff like that, and it’s even more so.’”

    Audio / Clare Dunn talks about the support and undying devotion her mom has for her and her sister.

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    Clare Dunn (Mother’s Day) OC: …in the world. :41
    “She is unrelenting in her love and her support, and even when we’re crazy kids and we screw up, it doesn’t matter. Her love knows no bounds. And her undying devotion to her kids – to my sister and I – always believing in us a million percent, always backing us up a million percent and helping us navigate life and navigate our dreams and helping us go towards that goal – those are some of the qualities that I hope to have some day as a mother, you know? And I’m so grateful I have THE best mom in the WORLD!”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about not disappointing his beloved mother, who passed away in 1992.

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    Darius Rucker (Mother’s Day) OC: …killed me. :17
    “I think that’s the main reason I am how I am…an innate fear of disappointing my mom.  My mom’s not even alive, and I have a fear of her looking down from heaven and going, ‘Man I’m just disappointed in my son.’ She could have said anything in the world to me, but if she would have said, ‘Son, you just disappointed me,’ That would have killed me. It would have killed me.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker’s mother, who passed away in 1992, was always the singer’s biggest supporter.

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    Darius Rucker (Mother) OC: …in my corner. :44
    “My mom was just always great. She worked a lot. She was a nurse and she worked a lot. She took a lot of overtime and stuff to make sure we could live basically, but she always just so supportive, ever since I was a kid. I was always a music kid. Growing up in an African-American neighborhood, I was never that guy who was gonna be pigeonholed to let people say I could only listen to this and I could only do this, because I was African-American. She always supported whatever I wanted to do, whatever I wanted to listen to, wherever I wanted to go, she always had my back. Going to college and everything, she was my biggest supporter and never let my brothers and sisters knock me down or try to tell me I can’t do this or that. All of my success comes because my mother was always in my corner.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley recognizes and appreciates how much work goes into being a mother.

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    Dierks Bentley (Mother’s Day – Cassidy) OC: …to have her. :31
    “It’s the toughest job out there being a mom, and I know from my life with my wife Cassidy. We work as a team together when I’m home, and it takes everyone to get the job done, me and her, working together. So, when I go on the road, I just have so much respect for her because it’s hard to do it right, if you want to do it great, and she does a great job with it. It’s really rewarding, but it’s also very challenging. I’m so thankful that she takes it on the way she does, and our kids are very lucky to have her.”

    Audio / Eric Church says he’s learned quite a bit from his mom.

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    Eric Church (Mother’s Day) OC: …as a man. :57
    “My mom, even though my dad won’t like this, my mom is by far the toughest person that I’ve met. She’s tough. One of those people that’s been through a lot in her life, adversity wise and never complains, always really resilient with anything that’s happened to her. And it’s just that attitude, the positive attitude, regardless of what has happened that I think is the one thing that I got from her. With career, she’s always been a person that’s been really positive through times that I couldn’t find a positive streak, [laughs] and she was always really positive, and very much believes in tough it out, keep working hard, and that’s her motto with stuff like that. I’ve always been impressed with that stuff. Then musically, she’s where I get my talent from, musically. She sings great, always has, her mom sang great. I owe my musical chops to her. And she still sings some. So, career-wise, I owe her everything. And just in life-wise she’s given me a lot of the qualities that it has taken for me to get me where I am. Not only as a musician, but as a man.”

    Audio / Eric Paslay talks about his mother, Donna.

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    Eric Paslay (Mother’s Day) OC: …it’s good. :21
    “I wanna thank my mom for giving me faith, laughter and pride in the family I came from. She’d be the fun Mom, just goofing off in the sprinklers outside or we’d go out and play in the rain and all that stuff growing up. She’s always good to be around; always happy, and it’s good.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi says his mother, Shelly, is an angel.

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    Jon Pardi (Mother’s Day) OC: …worrying about me. :29
    “My mom’s always been there for me. First of all, she’s a great mom. She’s an angel. She takes care of people that aren’t even in the family. She’s always been like that, and she’s a great mother. She’s always proud, and she’s always there supporting and being a great mom. She’s just a good human being. There’s not one mean bone in her body. And she cries about every time I talk to her. She always worries about me. I have to tell her, ‘Stop worrying about me.’”

    Audio / Jordan Davis says he’s a “Mama’s Boy” and hopes he has her kindness and positive outlook.

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    Jordan Davis (Mother’s Day) OC: …Mother’s Day. :30 [laughs]
    “I’m a Mama’s Boy. I love my Mom, and it’s the way she finds the good in everything. With my Mom, as opposed to finding anything negative, she’s gonna find something positive first. That’s something I really hope I can be more like her on; one of the many things I wish I could be more like my mom on. My mom, she loves flowers, so we’ll get her flowers or take her to, we’re slowly getting her into sushi, so we love to take Mom out to sushi spots on Mother’s Day.” [laughs]

    Audio / Keith Urban explains why his wife Nicole Kidman is an extraordinary mother to their two children, Sunday and Faith.

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    Keith Urban (Nicole is extraordinary mother) OC: …to see. :45
    “She’s an extraordinary mum, she really, really is. Those girls are very, very lucky, and I feel very lucky that the children I should have in this world happen to be with Nic. I don’t know anything about raising kids and Nic does, and that comes in extremely, um, it’s really made for an experience I wouldn’t have had without that. Her patience, her recognizing them as people and not just little kids is really extraordinary. Her attention to honoring their feelings and listening to them right from day one – really being attentive to that is not how I was raised at all, so it’s really beautiful to see.”

    Audio / With Mother’s Day on Sunday, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley explains he and his brothers – Josh and John -- owe their mother a lot for all of their childhood antics.

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    Charles Kelley {Mother) OC: …playing music. :23
    “We were honestly, at times, pretty hard to handle, both of us. We used to play our music loud up above on the second floor [of the house], bang on the drums and the guitar. And my mom’s just one of those people, she’ll do anything for her family and she sacrificed a lot for us boys. Anytime we needed something, she made it happen. And so, we owe her a lot. She’s definitely the reason we’re playing music.”

    Audio / Lauren Alaina says she can count on her mom for just about everything.

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    Lauren Alaina (Mom) OC: …same for her. :19
    “I honestly would not be able to do it without my mom. I get overwhelmed sometimes, and if she wasn’t there to comfort me or tell me, ‘Look just realize what you’ve got going for you,’ I’d be up the creek [without a paddle]. She’s got my back. My mom would walk through a fire pit for me, and I’d do the same for her.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild says being a mother to Elijah Dylan Westbrook is the best feeling in the world.

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    LBT (Mother’s Day-Karen) OC: …every day. :23
    “There isn’t anything that means more to me than sitting on the bench and eating a grilled cheese sandwich with this little guy who calls me Mama. There isn’t anything better than that. He’s just a little miracle. I went from dreaming about him to eating grilled cheese sandwiches and ketchup with him, and I could never have dreamed this up – how good it could be, and it just gets better every day.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae’s Tae Dye said she pulled off a great Mother’s Day surprise a few years ago.

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    Maddie & Tae (Mother’s Day-Tae) OC: …was so fun. :25
    “To this day one of the best surprises I’ve ever pulled off was on Mother’s Day three years ago. ‘Cause my mom’s birthday always tends to fall on Mother’s Day Weekend – it’s coming up – and my mom and dad were coming into Nashville and I was like, ‘Okay-this has got to be a big weekend. It’s Mother’s Day, her birthday and the weather was going to be beautiful, so I planned this awesome surprise where we would drive first – she wouldn’t know where we were going, and then we ended up going canoeing down the Harpeth River [located south of Nashville] and it was so fun.”

    Audio / Shania Twain says it’s such a joy to be a parent.

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    Shania Twain (joy to be a parent) OC: …means everything. :14
    “It’s such a joy to be a parent. So, I relate to all the mums out there who are getting all their love and appreciation from their kids, and I hope, when you’re a kid, a child of somebody, show your mum you love her, because it means everything.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about what he and his Mom have in common.

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    Travis Denning (Mother’s Day) OC: …like crazy. :29
    “You know, my favorite thing about my mom, especially as I get older, is realizing how much me and her have in common. I just love that she’s passionate about music. She loves it. I mean, she’s turned me on to a lot of artists, but at the core like she’s still Mom. She reminds me to do things and does these things which that I couldn’t live without. I love that we get to be friends, we get to be best friends, but at the same time, she’s still Mom and she still loves me and my sister like crazy.”

  • MOTHER’S DAY LINERS 2018

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne

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    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Mother's Day) 2

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    Audio / LINER Dierks (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Mother's Day) 1

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    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER George Strait (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER LBT (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Mother's Day)

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    Audio / LINER Travis Denning

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  • LAUREN ALAINA SURPRISED BY JON PARDI WITH HER ACTUAL ACM TROPHY.

    Jon Pardi interrupted Lauren Alaina’s Social Media Correspondent duties to present her with the award for New Female Vocalist of the Year.

     

  • ACM AWARDS ‘ACM FLASHBACKS’ COLLABORATIONS.

    The Academy of Country Music® revealed today an expanded lineup of superstar collaborations and must-see performances for the 53RD ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™, Country Music’s Party of the Year®.  The 53rd ACM Awards®, hosted by Reba McEntire, will broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

    For the first time, the Academy of Country Music Awards will debut “ACM Flashbacks” to honor classic country music hits and/or the artists whose music continues to influence musicians and fans alike. With this new feature, the ACM Awards will celebrate hits from a specific year, or honor an individual artist and their accomplishments through unique collaborations and one-of-a-kind renditions of their iconic songs. This year, the awards telecast will honor three of country music’s hit songs from 1993 with Toby Keith and Blake Shelton performing Keith’s celebrated No.1 debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” Alan Jackson and Jon Pardi performing Jackson’s ACM Award-winning hit “Chattahoochee,” and Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson performing Reba’s GRAMMY® Award-winning hit “Does He Love You.”

    Additional collaborations include Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina performing the multi-platinum, No. 1 hit “What Ifs,” Keith Urban and Julia Michaels performing Urban’s new single “Coming Home,” plus previously announced Bebe Rexha with Florida Georgia Line performing the chart-topping hit “Meant to Be.”

     

    Also, Dan + Shay, Darius Rucker and Chris Young will join the lineup of previously announced solo performances by Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Midland, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and Brett Young. Previously announced presenters include David Boreanaz, Drew Brees, AJ Buckley, Cam, Sam Elliot, Eve, Ashton Kutcher, Dustin Lynch, Nancy O’Dell, Rebecca Romijn, Max Thieriot and Lindsey Vonn.

  • ALAN JACKSON, LITTLE BIG TOWN AND JON PARDI HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE LIST OF PERFORMERS AT THE ACM AWARDS.

    Alan Jackson, Little Big Town and Jon Pardi have been added to the list of performers for this year’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Kelly Clarkson and Kane Brown, as well as previously announced performers Lauren Alaina, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Chesney, Florida Georgia Line, Midland, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Bebe Rexha, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton and Brett Young.

    Cam, Dustin Lynch, Kiefer Sutherland, Sam Elliott, Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz, AJ Buckley and Max Thieriot and The Talk‘s Eve have been added as presenters

    The 53rd ACM Awards will broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas April 15th at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Jon, Luke, Keith, Lady A

    Jon Pardi is set to perform his current single, “She Ain’t In It,” as well as his No. 1 hit “Heartache On the Dance Floor,” when he appears on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night (March 6th).

    Luke Bryan‘s appearance on ABC’s The View has been moved to Friday (March 9th).

    Keith Urban has been added to the lineup for the 10th Annual Nashville Honors Gala taking place March 26th and benefiting the TJ Martell Foundation. He joins  previously announced artists Lauren Alaina, Jeff Foxworthy and Charles Esten, among others. 

    Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, both of whom graduated from University of Georgia will give the commencement speech to UGA’s 2018 graduates. TV and Radio personality Ryan Seacrest, actor Kyle Chandler and journalist Deborah Norville are some of the school’s other famous graduates. This year’s graduation ceremony will be held May 4th at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

  • JON PARDI WILL MAKE HIS DEBUT PERFORMANCE ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE ON TUESDAY.

    ACM Awards nominee Jon Pardi will make his debut performance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday (3/6). Pardi’s GOLD-certified album California Sunrise is nominated for ACM Awards Album Of The Year and highlights him as the artist, co-producer and songwriter on several of the tracks. Tune in to watch a special performance of his current single “She Ain’t In It” and his #1 hit “Heartache On The Dance Floor” on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday, March 6th at 10:35 CST or check local listings for air-times.

    “She Ain’t In It” follows three consecutive #1 hits including “Dirt On My Boots,” Platinum-selling “Head Over Boots” and “Heartache On The Dance Floor.” The song about long-lost love was written by Clint Daniels and Wynn Varble. Billboard called it “…a stone-cold weeper that would make George Strait nod with approval.” Directed by Jim Wright, the song’s cinematic music video was filmed entirely in black-and-white and debuted exclusively on Entertainment Tonight. View it HERE.

    The reigning CMA New Artist Of The Year and ACM New Male Vocalist is performing nationwide with Miranda Lambert’s Livin Like Hippies Tour and will join Luke Bryan’s What Makes You Country Tour this summer. Pardi was nominated for iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Song Of The Year (“Dirt On My Boots”) and was also nominated for Best New Country Artist. Most recently, he was featured in two large-event TV commercials including Michelob ULTRA’s “I Like Beer” campaign, which aired during the Super Bowl and the “truth” campaign, which aired during the Grammy Awards.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Jon, Lady A, Carrie, Josh, Vince, Strait, Eric

    Luke Bryan is making the media rounds this week. He’ll appear on ABC’s Good Morning America, Live With Kelly and Ryan and Late Night With Seth Meyers on Tuesday (March 6th), followed by an appearance on ABC’s The View on Thursday (March 8th)

    Jon Pardi will perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday (March 6th).

    Songs from Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Vince Gill, George Strait, Eric Paslay and many others will be included in the new collection, NOW That’s What I Call Country – Songs of Inspiration. The compilation features inspirational songs from some of country music’s biggest stars and will be released March 16th.

     

    NOW That’s What I Call Country – Songs of Inspiration Track List:

    1. Lady Antebellum – “Hello World”
    2. Tim McGraw – “Touchdown Jesus”
    3. Carrie Underwood – “Jesus, Take The Wheel”
    4. Rascal Flatts – “Bless the Broken Road”
    5. Josh Turner – “Long Black Train”
    6. Alison Krauss – “Down To The River To Pray”
    7. Vince Gill – “Go Rest High On That Mountain”
    8. George Strait – “I Believe”
    9. Alabama – “Angels Among Us”
    10. Brad Paisley featuring Dolly Parton- “When I Get Where I ‘m Going”
    11. Eric Paslay – “Deep As It Is Wide”
    12. Phil Vassar – “This Is God”
    13. Chris Young – “The Man I Want To Be”
    14. Craig Morgan – “God Must Really Love Me”
    15. Brooks and Dunn – “Believe”
    16. Martina McBride – “God’s Will”
  • ACM AWARDS 2018: Reactions

    Chris Stapleton leads the list of nominees with eight nods in five categories, including Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Single of the Year for “Broken Halos,” Song of the Year for “Whiskey and You” and Album of the Year for From a Room, Vol. 1. He’s won numerous awards over the past few years, and while he’s grateful for every single trophy he takes home, he has a special affinity for the Album categories.

    “They are all significant and if you get one award for anything it’s a treat. But any of the awards that awarded the album, the album awards, because I really wanted to make an album that was good,” says Chris. “I wanted that to be a thing, again, more than I wanted it to be, ‘Well here’s the single and eight other songs.’ So, the album awards for me were important in that we did our job in a good way, you know. Just I have such an affinity for albums that I don’t know if I want those more or if they mean more, but they are all meaningful.”

    Luke Bryan has won a handful of ACM Awards over his career, including the New Artist of the Year Award in 2010 following it up with two Entertainer Awards just a few years later. He tell us he is honored to be included in that category. “[I’m] so honored to have another Entertainer of the Year nomination and I always think about winning my first Entertainer of the Year [Award] at the ACMs,” he says. “To go to the ACMs knowing that you’re one of those lucky people that have that nomination, it just tells me that I’m doing all I can and doing the right things out on the road and hopefully, the fans are still loving what I’m trying to give to them every night.”

    Keith Urban has quite the plethora of nods going into this year’s ACM Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year for “Female”  and twice, as both artist and producer in the Vocal Event of the Year category for “The Fighter” (featuring Carrie Underwood). Urban won Top New Male Vocalist of the Year in 2000, and Top Male Vocalist of the Year in 2004 and 2005.

    Keith posted to his socials that he was “extremely grateful” for all of the recognition.”

    Keith’s “Female” was nominated for Song of the Year. The Top 10 hit was written by Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally and Ross Copperman, and he said he just had a feel that he needed to record the song and let everyone hear it. “The song spoke to me. It just spoke to me,” said Keith. “As I was singing it, I thought I feel like I’ve known this song my whole life. Something else was going on with it how it felt to me. So, I love it. I believe in it. I didn’t record it for any other reason than it was a heart reaction that I had to it.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BfyeOkSjy8U/?utm_source=ig_embed

     

    In addition to Vocal Event of the Year for “The Fighter” with Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, is also nominated in the Female Vocalist of the Year category.

    Brothers Osborne could possibly take home a pair of trophies next month. TJ and John are up for Vocal Duo of the Year and Video of the Year for “It Ain’t My Fault.”

     

    Sam Hunt could also win two awards next month. He’s up for Single and Song of the Year for his HUGE hit “Body Like a Back Road.”

     

    Dierks Bentley is nominated for Video of the Year for his steamy video, “Black,” which stars his wife Cassidy. The beautiful clip was shot in Iceland in nearly subzero temperatures.

    Reigning Vocal Group of the Year, Little Big Town, earned their twelfth nomination in the category. This would be their fourth consecutive win and fifth overall. They are also nominated for Album of the Year for Breaker and Single Record of the Year for “Better Man.”

    Lady Antebellum won their first ACM Award in 2008 with the Top New Vocal Duo or Group Award. Just two years later, they took home their first Vocal Group of the Year Award, followed by another and another, as well as Single, Song and Album Awards along the way. They’re once again nominated for Vocal Group, an honor they certainly don’t take for granted.

     

    Last year Jon Pardi won the Top New Male Vocalist Award. This year, he’s up for Album of the Year for California Sunrise, which has yielded three No. 1 singles and a fourth hit.

     

    Lauren Alaina, who’s making her way up the country charts with “Doin’ Fine,” is up for two awards, including Top New Female Vocalist and Vocal Event of the Year for “What Ifs” with pal Kane Brown.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfyqsj4B45G/?utm_source=ig_embed

    The nominees for this year’s ACM Awards:

    Entertainer of the Year
    Jason Aldean
    Garth Brooks
    Luke Bryan
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    Male Vocalist of the Year
    Jason Aldean
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban
    Chris Young

    Female Vocalist of the Year
    Kelsea Ballerini
    Miranda Lambert
    Maren Morris
    Carrie Underwood
    Reba McEntire

    Vocal Duo of the Year
    Brothers Osborne
    Dan + Shay
    Florida Georgia Line
    LoCash
    Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

    Vocal Group of the Year
    Lady Antebellum
    Lanco
    Little Big Town
    Midland
    Old Dominion
    Song of the Year
    Sam Hunt, “Body Like a Back Road”
    Keith Urban, “Female”
    Miranda Lambert, “Tin Man”
    Chris Stapleton, “Whiskey and You

    Single of the Year
    “Better Man,” Little Big Town
    “Body Like a Back Road,” Sam Hunt
    “Broken Halos,” Chris Stapleton

    “Drinkin’ Problem,” Midland
    “I’ll Name the Dogs,” Blake Shelton

    Top New Male Vocalist
    Kane Brown
    Luke Combs
    Devin Dawson
    Russell Dickerson
    Brett Young

    Top New Female Vocalist
    Lauren Alaina

    Danielle Bradbury
    Carly Pearce
    Raelynn

    Album of the Year
    Breaker, Little Big Town
    California Sunrise, Jon Pardi
    From A Room: Vol. 1, Chris Stapleton

    Happy Endings, Old Dominion
    Life Changes, Thomas Rhett

    Video of the Year
    “Black,” Dierks Bentley
    “It Ain’t My Fault,” Brothers Osborne
    “Legends,” Kelsea Ballerini
    “Marry Me,” Thomas Rhett
    “We Should Be Friends,” Miranda Lambert

    Vocal Event of the Year
    “Craving You,” Thomas Rhett f/Maren Morris
    “Dear Hate,” Maren Morris f/Vince Gill
    “(Funny) How Time Slips Away,” Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson
    “The Fighter,” Keith Urban f/Carrie Underwood
    “What Ifs,” Kane Brown f/Lauren Alaina

    The 53rd Annual ACM Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas April 15th at 8pm ET on CBS.

    Audio / Chris Stapleton leads the list of nominees with eight nods in five categories including Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Single of the Year for “Broken Halos,” Song of the Year for “Whiskey and You” and Album of the Year for From a Room, Vol. 1.

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    Chris Stapleton (affinity for albums) OC: …any one of them. :45
    “They are all significant and if you get one award for anything it’s a treat. But any of the awards that awarded the album, the album awards, because I really wanted to make an album that was good. I wanted it, I wanted that to be a thing, again, more than I wanted it to be, ‘Well here’s the single and eight other songs.’ So, the album awards for me were important in that we did our job in a good way, you know. Just I have such an affinity for albums that I don’t know if I want those more or if they mean more, but they are all meaningful. They are all are things that one of them would feel like a career. One of them. Any one of them.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan, who took home the Entertainer Award twice, is always honored be nominated in that category.

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    Luke Bryan (ACM 2018 Entertainer nod)  OC: …work harder. [laughs] :39
    “[I’m] so honored to have another Entertainer of the Year nomination and I always think about winning my first Entertainer of the Year [Award] at the ACMs. To go to the ACMs knowing that you’re one of those lucky people that have that nomination, it just tells me that I’m doing all I can and doing the right things out on the road and hopefully, the fans are still loving what I’m trying to give to them every night. You don’t want to say the same clichés about it’s an honor to be nominated, it is! The day that I don’t get nominated for stuff like that, then I’ll kinda be sad and I’ll be motivated to work harder.” [laughs]

    Audio / Keith Urban says he just felt he needed to record the song “Female.”

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    Keith Urban (Female feeling) OC: …had to it. :42
    “It’s a feeling. It’s more of a feeling. It’s not as cerebral for me, the song spoke to me. It just spoke to me. When I went down into the studio to put a vocal on it; my intention was to put a vocal on the demo. I called Ross Copperman and I said, ‘Can you send me the track that you recorded and leave the vocal off, and I’ll go down to my studio and I’ll sing over the top of it and I’ll see if this fits me because it feels really right.’ And I went down and I sang it, and as I was singing it, I thought I feel like I’ve known this song my whole life. Something else was going on with it how it felt to me. So, I love it. I believe in it.  I didn’t record it for any other reason than it was a heart reaction that I had to it.”

     

    Audio / Little Big Town's Phillip Sweet talks about what went into making their ACM-nominated album, The Breaker.

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    LBT (The Breaker album) 2 OC: …intangible. :27
    “We peeled through some layers of ourselves to get to this place in these songs. We couldn’t just throw a vocal on there. It’s like everything we did had to come from a deeper place this time, and we didn’t have the luxury of time to just kind of, ‘Well, I’ll just try it tomorrow.’ You had to get there. We had to find performances, and that’s what we did. We’re all about getting the performance, the true, that magic, that kind of like intangible.”