• JOSH TURNER WILL CELEBRATE HIS 10TH ANNIVERSARY AS A MEMBER OF THE GRAND OLE OPRY.

    Josh Turner will celebrate his 10th anniversary of being a member of the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday (September 19th) with an extended performance and more. He says it means a lot to him being part of such a wonderful family, even though he felt the invitation to become a part of that family came too soon in his career.

    “It was kind of surreal because I didn’t feel like I deserved the membership side of it, because I felt like I needed to pay my dues more or be older, because at the time I was actually the youngest member inducted until Carrie [Underwood] was inducted later,” says Josh. “It tends to mean more and more to me being a member there and not only that, but just what it stands for. I think they’re really still trying to keep it current and keep it fresh, but at the same time they’re trying to preserve the purity of what our genre is all about, so I’m just happy to be a part of that. There’s such diversity in the membership there at the Opry, so you can’t say, ‘Aw, it’s just one kind of artist.’ It’s not. The thing that we have in common is that we’re all dedicated to preserving country music and keeping it alive for generations to come.”

    Josh was invited by Roy Clark, and the young South Carolina native thought was he was presenting an award to the legendary performer.

    “I think looking back on it, I think it was kind of a fake award, ‘cause Roy was in on it,” he recalls. “They totally fooled me, ‘cause I was out there thinking I was going to bestow this award upon Roy Clark and then come to find out there was an induction or an invitation letter I should say, on the back of the plaque that I handed him. I don’t even know why I didn’t even see it. So, he pulls the letter out the envelope and reads it and invites me to become a member of the Opry, and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. They just turned the tables on me.’ So, it was pretty much of a surprise.”

    In June, he celebrated his 150th performance on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

    Josh has hit the airwaves with his latest song, “All About You,” the follow-up to the No. 1 “Hometown Girl.”

    Audio / Josh Turner says being a member of the Grand Ole Opry means a lot to him.

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    Josh Turner (being a member of the Opry) OC: …generations to come. 1:02
    “It means a lot. It’s hard to believe I’ve been a member there [for 10 years]. You know, when I first started out, it was kind of surreal because I didn’t feel like I deserved the membership side of it, because I felt like I needed to pay my dues more or be older, because at the time I was actually the youngest member inducted until Carrie [Underwood] was inducted later. But as I’ve seen the changes happening in the business here, it tends to mean more and more to me being a member there and not only that, but just what it stands for. I think they’re really still trying to keep it current and keep it fresh, but at the same time they’re trying to preserve the purity of what our genre is all about, so I’m just happy to be a part of that. There’s such diversity in the membership there at the Opry, so you can’t say, ‘Aw, it’s just one kind of artist.’ It’s not. The thing that we have in common is that we’re all dedicated to preserving country music and keeping it alive for generations to come.”

    Audio / Josh Turner recalls the invitation he received to join the Grand Ole Opry.

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    Josh Turner (recalls Opry invitation) OC: …part of that family. :57
    “Honestly, I thought I was there to present an award to Roy Clark, which I was…sort of. [laughs] I think looking back on it, I think it was kind of a fake award, ‘cause Roy was in on it. They totally fooled me, ‘cause I was out there thinking I was going to bestow this award upon Roy Clark and then come to find out there was an induction or an invitation letter I should say, on the back of the plaque that I handed him. I don’t even know why I didn’t even see it. So, he pulls the letter out the envelope and reads it and invites me to become a member of the Opry, and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. They just turned the tables on me.’ So, it was pretty much of a surprise. Like I say, I was just bowled over at how young I was and how early into my career it was. It seemed premature from my perspective, but I’m glad it happened and I’ve been committed to showing them that I’m dedicated to the Opry and I’m going to continue to play there and be a part of that family.”

    Video / Josh Turner's invitation to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Shania, Sam, Carrie, LBT, Josh, Keith

    Shania Twain will perform on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Shania Twain on Wednesday night (August 16th).

    Shania Twain joins the cast of John Travolta’s racing movie, Trading Paint, which is currently in production, according to Variety. The film, also featuring Michael Madsen (The Hateful Eight, Kill Bill, Donnie Brasco), Kevin Dunn (True Detective, Veep) and Toby Sebastian (Game of Thrones), is about a veteran race car driver and his son, a fellow driver, who overcome family and professional conflicts, balancing competition, ego, resentment and a racing nemesis to come out stronger on the other side.

    Sam Hunt and Carrie Underwood picked up trophies at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards over the weekend. Carrie took home the Choice Country Artist trophy, while Sam’s “Body Like a Back Road” was named the Choice Country Song.

    Little Big Town will perform on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers on Thursday night (August 17th).

    Josh Turner’s ”Hometown Girl” has been certified gold by the RIAA for more than 500,000 digital downloads.

    Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” has been certified double platinum (for two million copies sold), while “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood, has gone gold.

  • FOURTH OF JULY 2017: AJ, BILLY, CANAAN, DARIUS, DIERKS, EASTON, ERIC, JORDAN, JOSH, KEITH, KIP, LADY A, LBT, LUKE, SAM

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

    Audio / Alan Jackson recalls one of the coolest Fourth of July memories he’s ever enjoyed.

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    AJ (fave 4th of July memory) OC: …very cool. :58
    Well, this one is hard to beat. A couple of years ago, maybe longer than that now, I had an old boat in Florida. It’s like an old antique motor yacht, and it was kind of a cool old boat. I had taken that boat, I’ve always wanted to take it up north like to New York and up in that area, up in the northeast where it’s so pretty. So, we took the boat up there and Denise and the girls, we all went up. They like going to New York City, which I don’t really care about going to the city. So, I got to stay in my boat there at the harbor tied up, which was cool anyway. So they spent time in the city a few days and then that was Fourth of July, and we went out in the Hudson River that night and they shot the fireworks off and we were anchored out in front of the Statue of Liberty and New York City was behind us, and the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks were going off sitting on that boat. That was the coolest thing and my girls still talk about that. I mean, that was the coolest thing on Fourth of July I can ever remember. I can’t top that one probably. It was emotional sitting there watching the Statue of Liberty and thinking about all that. It was very cool.”

    Audio / Billy Currington talks about his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Billy Currington (4th of July) OC: …of my life. :16
    “My best memories would be hanging out with my mom, brother and sister on the beach on Tybee Island right off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. We’d go there every year, and we’d light our own fireworks and watch the ones that they had for us. They were the best times, some of the best times of my life.”

    Audio / Canaan Smith talks about his Fourth of July memories growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia.

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    Canaan Smith (Fireworks July Fourth) OC: …kinds of stuff. :39
    “Williamsburg, Virginia has a great fireworks display. It’s one of the best in the nation, they say or something like that. We’d go to the Governor’s Palace. They have a big lawn, and we’d sit out there and lay a blanket down. This was before I was old enough to drink, but we probably tried to sneak some in anyhow. And we’d just watch the [show], you know they’d have the grand finale, which always blew my mind ‘cause just when you thought it was over, they’d start bringing out all of the tricks and it just gets crazy. We did that on a regular basis. Other times, we’d do stuff in our own yard. We had a big yard when we were growing up with a dirt track in the back, and our neighbor’s yard was equally as big, so when you put ‘em together, we had a massive area to be destructive and do whatever we wanted. So, we blew up all kinds of stuff.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about what the Fourth of July means to him.

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    Darius Rucker (4th of July) 1 OC: …in the world. :24
    “The Fourth of July to me is a day to celebrate freedom. We get to travel all over the world and see a lot of stuff, and I’ve been to a lot of countries that aren’t like ours and that’s when you really appreciate the fact that you can do whatever you want. As long as you’re willing to deal with the consequences, you can do whatever you want, you know?  [I] appreciate those soldiers who died for us to be sitting here doing this, and we live in the greatest country in the world.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker enjoys setting off fireworks.

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    Darius Rucker (fireworks) OC: …off once. :15
    “Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina, it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley explains why he is so patriotic.

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    Dierks Bentley (4th of July-patriotic) OC: …all the time. :17
    “I’m extremely patriotic. I love this country, and I love the history of this country. I read books on this country. I spend my time on the road traveling physically throughout the country. The soldiers and their families are constantly on my mind. We work closely with the Wounded Warriors Project. We think about this stuff all the time.”

    Audio / Easton Corbin recalls his family’s tradition on the Fourth of July.

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    Easton Corbin (Fourth of July) OC: …clown around. :28
    “Fourth of July, I remember growing up and having cookouts, and course we did the whole fireworks thing. I remember my uncle, he’d always get fireworks and bring down like from Alabama, because in Florida, you couldn’t get the bottle rockets and stuff, so he’d always go up to Alabama, ‘cause they live in Tallahassee, which was close to the [state] line. So, he would go over the line and get the good fireworks and bring ‘em down to my Grandma’s for me and my cousin, and we’d just hang out all day and shoot off fireworks and clown around.”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his family activities on the Fourth of July holiday.

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    Eric Church (4th of July) OC: …freedoms. 1:17
    “The Fourth of July for me, growing up we would always go to the lake, we didn’t live on the lake but we would all go to the lake. Had a buddy who had a pontoon and we would always get on the pontoon and you go out and you’d tie all the pontoons together and just have a big time. This was before, I was younger then, the adults were having more fun than we were, you know it was just to go swim in the water and shoot off fireworks. Basically, water tailgating is what it was. And then as we got older, same thing…we would just, us younger kids had our own boat and we had as much fun as the adults.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis says the Fourth of July is a great time to appreciate the rights and freedoms we have as a nation.

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    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July) 1 OC: …an American. :18
    “I think Fourth of July weekend is a special time to really sit back and be thankful for what we have – thankful to our military, thankful for family and for friends, just a time to really sit back and appreciate how great it is to be an American.”

     

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about some of his favorite childhood Fourth of July memories.

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    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July) 2 OC: …really cool. :17
    “Probably baseball games, firework shows at baseball games. We’d go to Shreveport Captains games, so yeah, we’d do that or barbecues and fireworks. I can remember being on the lake for a couple of Fourth of Julys. We’d take the boat out and we’d watch the downtown fireworks show from the boat, which was really cool.”

    Audio / Josh Turner, who will perform in Baytown, Texas on Independence Day, talks about the fireworks “wars” his family would have when he was growing up.

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    Josh Turner (fireworks) OC: …of money. [laughs] :20
    “Yeah, we had fireworks around, especially my Daddy’s family. All the individual families had a lot of competition with each other and tried to outdo each other to try to see who had the biggest and baddest fireworks and all that. [laughs] My daddy, I think, was the smartest one. He just went out and bought maybe $25 worth of fireworks and let everybody else put on the big show, so he saved a lot of money.” [laughs]

    Audio / Keith Urban recalls coming over to America for the first time.

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    Keith Urban (coming to America 1st time) OC: …as I could. :39
    “1989 was the first year I came to the States, and it had always been my goal, but I had no plan on how to get here. It was just a case of keep playing, keep getting better at what you do, and then hopefully, somehow, some way I’ll end up over here. The guy who was managing me at the time, we just planned a trip over here – it was actually for the New Music Seminar in New York. And we came over for that, and then we did a trip down to Nashville, and I was shopping my little demo around. I think I humored everybody more than anything else [laughs] with my tragic, ill-fitting demo for the time. So, I left there, but I was just so committed to coming back as quick as I could.”

    Audio / Kip Moore says he’s very proud of the U.S. military and can’t imagine having to do what they do to protect the United States.

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    Kip Moore (Fourth of July-soldiers) OC: …every day. :32
    “I’m a very, very patriotic person, proud of the country that I live in, and I’m very proud of what those guys do for us each and every day, and I don’t take it for granted one bit. My grandparents were in the military, fought wars, and I’ve seen the battle that they go through, just the horror of remember things. When I start to think that I’m half-way tough, I realize how I’m not one bit when I talk to soldiers when I’m out and realize the things that they go through. I can’t imagine facing what those guys face every day.”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott talks about her favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Lady A (4th of July-Hillary) OC: …on my hand. :29
    “For many, many years in a row, we would be up at the lake for Fourth of July, and having those memories of being on the boat and going tubing and skiing and enjoying being out in the summertime, great weather on the water. But, then for me, Fourth of July was when [husband] Chris [Tyrell] proposed. So, I got proposed to on July 2nd up at the lake, the same lake I grew up going to, and so that’s probably the biggest highlight of Fourth of July to me – getting a rock on my hand.”

    Audio / Every year, Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood celebrates his birthday along with America’s big day.

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    Lady A (Fourth of July-Dave) OC: …and America. :45
    “July fourth is always, for me, my birthday week. My birthday is July 5th so we grew up going on family trips to the beach. We would d always go to Hilton Head, South Carolina and always take trips for my birthday, so that’s always a fun time of the year…watch fireworks. I think my best memory would be my birthday party when I was 9 or 10 years old. We went to the batting cages and I remember I was swinging so hard, it was 100 degrees outside, I was swinging in the batting cage and ended up passing out right there in the batting cage. You’re trying so hard to hit the ball, you’re a kid and you really don’t realize how much water you should be drinking and [CHARLES: “Dave was that kid.”] I was that kid who was on the ground in the batting cage, people fanning and pouring water all over my face. Happy Birthday to me and America.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild talks about the big sacrifices the military AND their families make to keep this country free.

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    LBT (military) OC: (Karen) …whenever we can. (Kimberly: “Yeah.”) :22
    “It’s such a huge sacrifice what these men and women do for us, and not only the ones that are serving, but the families that are left here at home. I mean, it’s just a huge commitment that they make, and what an honor. We love to be able to sing for them and entertain them and to say thank you whenever we can.” (Kimberly: “Yeah.”)

    Audio / Luke Bryan recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Luke Bryan (4th of July memories) OC: …we used to. :21
    “Some of my favorite Fourth of July memories were spent on Lake Blackshear down in Georgia with my family. I was always kind of in charge of driving home from Tennessee and picking up all the fireworks and my nieces and nephews always got excited when I rolled in because they knew I had all the fireworks. But, it was always a great memory, and I miss not getting to do that as much as we used to.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about what he and his family did over the Fourth of July holiday when he was growing up in Georgia.

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    Sam Hunt (Fourth of July) OC: …good time. :39
    “My granddad on the other side of my family, he would always take a lot of pride…fireworks were actually, I’m from Georgia, and most of them were illegal, I’m pretty sure, growing up. But over in Alabama, that’s where all the firework stands were, and we only had to drive 10, 15 minutes to get to the Alabama line, so we could go get a bundle of fireworks pretty easy. But he would always take a lot of pride in going and finding all the good stuff, and coming back with a  big pile. He’d have his torch out there at the end of the driveway and we’d all eat homemade ice cream and put down towels on the driveway and he’d shoot off fireworks for 30-45 minutes. Such a good time.”

     

     

  • JOSH TURNER CELEBRATES HIS NO. 1 HIT, ‘HOMETOWN GIRL.’

    Josh Turner was celebrated, along with songwriters Marc Beeson and Daniel Tashian, at a party in Nashville this week for the recent chart-topping success of his song “Hometown Girl.”

    Josh knew the moment he heard the song that it would be a hit, and he loves it when he’s right. “During the record making process, I was at that point I was looking for some different kinds of songs that I probably wouldn’t cut in the past because I was trying to find some ways to change my sound up and different ways to present my voice. And I felt like ‘Hometown Girl’ was just the song to do that, and I love it when I’m right.”

    The North Carolina native and father of four follows up his No. 1 hit with “All About You” from his latest album, Deep South.

    Audio / Josh Turner says his gut feeling was right on the money when he first heard “Hometown Girl.”

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    Josh Turner (HTG No. 1) OC: …when I’m right. [laughs] :51
    “‘Hometown Girl,’ when I first heard it, that melody – first of all – stuck in my head. Before I even knew what the words were, I I was humming that melody all the way home, and I’m thinking, ‘Man, this is a pretty good sign here.’ And then when I started kind of digging into the lyric, I loved what it said and I felt like it was something that my fan base could really connect with and relate to…that appealed to me. And then at the time too during the record making process, I was at that point, I was looking for some different kinds of songs that I probably wouldn’t cut in the past because I was trying to find some ways to change my sound up and different ways to present my voice. And I felt like ‘Hometown Girl’ was just the song to do that, and I love it when I’m right.” [laughs]

  • FATHER’S DAY LINERS 2017

    Father’s Day is Sunday (June 18th), and we have liners with many of your favorite country stars! Check them out and 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 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 Canaan Smith (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up, guys? I’m Canaan Smith. Happy Father’s Day, Pops!”

    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 Easton Corbin (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Easton Corbin. 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 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 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 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.”

  • JOSH TURNER CELEBRATES HIS GRANDMOTHER-IN-LAW’S 100TH BIRTHDAY.

    Josh Turner’s grandmother-in-law (his wife Jennifer’s grandmother) Lois Cunningham just celebrated her 100th birthday on June 12th with a big celebration with family and friends in attendance.

    “My grandmother-in-law, the one that is pretty famous right now for playing ‘How Great Thou Art’ spontaneously on the Grand Ole Opry stage a few years ago just turned 100 back on June 12th, and we went down there and had a bigtime shindig for her,” says Josh. “We played a lot of music and ate a lot of food, good clean fun and fellowship and we had good weather for it and everything and she was feeling good, so we had a great time.”


    You may remember Ms. Cunningham was 98 when she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry in 2016 playing piano on “How Great Thou Art” during Josh’s set.

    Josh is making his way up the  country charts with his latest single, “All About You,” the follow-up to his recent No. 1 hit, “Hometown Girl.”

    Audio / Josh Turner talks about the celebration for his grandmother-in-law’s 100th birthday.

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    Josh Turner (grandmother-in-law 100) OC: …good for 100. :41
    “Yeah, my grandmother-in-law, the one that is pretty famous right now for playing ‘How Great Thou Art’ spontaneously on the Grand Ole Opry stage a few years ago just turned 100 back on June 12th, and we went down there and had a bigtime shindig for her. We played a lot of music and ate a lot of food, good clean fun and fellowship and we had good weather for it and everything and she was feeling good, so we had a great time. She was even up there playing several songs on the piano so she’s still doing pretty good for 100.”

    Video / Josh Turner's grandmother-in-law performs on the Opry

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  • CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2017

    It’s that time of the year again! The 2017 CMA Music Festival begins 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 cmaworld.com here.

    Audio / Darius Rucker will host his 7th annual Darius and Friends concert at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon Monday (June 5th) during this year’s CMA Music Festival. Proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Darius is nominated for a CMT Music Award – CMT Performance of the Year – for “Pink Houses” with John Mellencamp during a CMT Crossroads. The category consists of musical performances on a television show, series or variety special on CMT. Darius will appear and perform during CMA Music Fest. He’ll be at the HGTV Lodge on Sunday (June 11th), at 11am, followed by a performance at Nissan Stadium later in the evening.

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    Darius Rucker talks about the amazing things about CMA Music Festival.

    Darius Rucker (CMA Music Fest) OC: …awesome. :48
    “Music Fest is like nothing else. I say all the time that country music is the only genre that could have something like that. It’s truly amazing, when I come that weekend, people are everywhere and they want to be your best friend. It’s always cool and I love coming here. The thing that always gets me is the show. The fact that you can get that many superstars at one show all playing for free, for the same goal, to entertain those people that are in that stadium that come here for the whole week from all over the world. They come here for one week to see country music, and it’s amazing that those artists say on Friday and Saturday night, this is country music come on out. That’s awesome.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley is set to perform during the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans) on Thursday (June 8th). Dierks Bentley talks about the lengths that fans will go to show their appreciation.

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    Dierks (fans) OC: …commitment. [laughs] :22
    “I know a lot of the early fans by name, because we played a lot of shows at a lot of small venues where we’d be around a lot after the shows. I’m not gonna say her name ‘cause I don’t know if she’d want me to or not, but she has like a dog print of Jake, my dog’s Jake, but she has this dog print on her shoulder with my name in the middle of the tattoo. So, tattoos are always, that’s a big deal when somebody gets your name tattooed on part of their body or something. It’s kind of a scary thing, because it’s kind of a lifelong commitment. [laughs]”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley recalls the weirdest thing he has signed.

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    Dierks Bentley (signing a baby’s head) OC: …child’s brain. :13
    “A baby’s head with a sharpie. Yeah, like a two-week old baby. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to do it. The woman was like, ‘Please.’ I was like, ‘Alright.’ The head at that point is so vulnerable, transparent, so I’m just hoping they didn’t get any ink in the child’s brain.”

    Audio / Easton Corbin, who is making his way up the country charts with “A Girl Like You,” talks about CMA Music Festival. He’s set to perform at Chevrolet Park on Sunday.

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    Easton Corbin (CMA Music Fest) OC: …wouldn’t work. :25
    “CMA Music Fest, it’s a great opportunity to hang out with your fans and stuff. The great thing about the country genre is it’s one of the only genres that really has a festival dedicated to their fans, and I think that’s great because without the fans we wouldn’t be here. They’re the ones that make it work. Without the fans to buy records and listen to the radio and come to the shows, it just wouldn’t work.”

    Audio / Eric Church, who’s performing during the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium (home to the Tennessee Titans) on Friday (June 9th), says CMA Music Festival is special and unique to country music.

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    Eric Church (CMA Music Fest) OC: …barrage of  music.
    “Well, I think it’s what makes country music unique. Find me another format that happens in, it’s just not something that happens. Country music is the one for mat where the fans…the music is really about them. And we’re them; we’re not different than them. We’re not a lot of the rock stars and a lot of the other guys where they’re their own person, they’re their own agenda…they’re not like the people that are listening to them. It’s different in country, we are. We come from there, we are that. I think it’s just a great thing for them to be able to come to our town and to get just this barrage of music.”

    Audio / Eric Paslay will perform at HGTV Lodge on Saturday (June 10th) and at Riverfront Stage on Sunday (June 11th). He talks about getting his first autograph.

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    Eric Paslay (1st autograph) OC: …first autograph. :42
    “The first autograph that I ever got was in Branson, Missouri, and it was Shoji Tabuchi, and he’s a great fiddle player, and I always remember that, you know if you go to Branson, you know who he is. But I was a 9, 10 year old kid, and I always remember that. Every time I meet a kid, I don’t know if it’s their first concert. It could be their 100-thousandth, but whenever I sign an autograph for a kid, I really make sure it’s special and memorable, and with anybody, but especially with kids. I still have that Shoji Tabuchi autograph, you know? Because it meant that much. I didn’t know he was until we saw him, but he tore the place down playing the “Orange Blossom Special.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi, who is making his way up the country charts with “Heartache on the Dance Floor,” is set to perform during this year’s CMA Music Festival at the Riverfront Stage on Thursday (June 8th). Jon is also up for 2 CMT Awards, including Video of the Year and Breakthrough Video of the Year for “Dirt on My Boots.”

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    Jon Pardi (performing live) OC: …really loud. :19
    “To get up on stage, it feels like home. It’s like, ‘Yeah, this is where I want to be.’ I’d rather be there than a lot of places. I love just getting up on stage not matter where it is. It’s fun to get up and entertain people and have a good time, make everybody feel a part of the show and get up there and play my guitar really loud.”

    Audio / Josh Turner, who just released his new single “Hometown Girl,” recalls the weirdest item he’s ever been asked to sign.

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    Josh Turner (weirdest things he’s signed) OC: …Sharpie, though. :10
    “A toothpick; an unused toothpick, let me throw that out there, an unused toothpick. It was quite challenging, actually, and it didn’t look anything like my autograph. It took a really small Sharpie, though.”

    Audio / Keith Urban, who’s sitting inside the Top 10 with his current single “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood, will be making a couple of appearances at this year’s CMA Music Fest. First, he’ll play the HGTV Lodge Thursday (June 8th) and at Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans) on Sunday (June 11th). Keith has a handful of nominations going into this year’s CMT Music Awards on Wednesday (June 7th), where he’s up for Video of the Year and Male Video of the Year for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” as well as Collaborative Video of the Year for “The Fighter” with Carrie Underwood and CMT Social Superstar.

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    Keith Urban (CMA Music Fest) OC: …love it. :25
    “I love it! It’s like summer camp. I mean, it is! It’s a chance to obviously see a lot of people I don’t normally see. I don’t know. It’s just palpable. Since Fan Fair, it’s just been that sort of week-plus of energy; the town just explodes, and what it is we love about this genre and the community aspect of it. I always love it.”

    Audio / Kip Moore is helping the Nashville Predators and W.O. Smith Music School celebrate on Monday, with the Broadway Smash concert, “Music City GivesBack,” ahead of the Stanley Cup Final Game 4. The concert/tailgate party will take place at Broadway and 5th Avenue from 1 – 6pm. The free and open-to-the-public show will also feature Rodney Atkins, Brett Young and Granger Smith, among others.

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    Kip Moore (favorite thing about performing live) OC: …it gets. :17
    “I’d say that my favorite thing about being on the road is the fact that I get to play music each and every night with my best friends. There’s nothing better than that than playing with your best buddies and seeing the joy that you bring to other people’s faces playing the music that you love to play. I mean that’s the best it gets.”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum will be quite busy during this year’s CMA Music Festival. The trio will perform with Earth, Wind & Fire and others, including Darius Rucker, for a special CMT Crossroads special to air June 23rd, as well as perform during the CMT Music Awards on Wednesday (June 7th). They’re nominated for CMT Group Video of the Year for “You Look Good.” The band is also set to perform at Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans) on Saturday (June 10th). Lady A’s Charles Kelley explains why he enjoys the annual CMA Music Festival.

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    Lady Antebellum (Music Fest) 3 OC: …really cool. :25

    “When you see the same fans, these die-hard fans that camp out outside the radio remotes and the hotels, and all of these places, and you start recognizing them, I think that’s when you start going ‘Wow, this is a special and unique industry.’ You talk to them by name and give them a hug. I can’t think of any other genre that has that kind of connection. The people that come back the same time every year, you know where they are going to be. It’s really kind of a fun thing. It’s really cool.”

    Audio / Lauren Alaina says she owes it all to her fans, and she will be EVERYWHERE for this year’s CMA Music Festival. She’s nominated for three CMT Music Awards, including Female and Breakthrough Video of the Year, as well as Social Superstar. On Friday afternoon, she’ll perform at the Riverfront Stage and sign at the UMG booth, and then she’ll hit the bases at the City of Hope Softball Game on Saturday (June 10th). On Sunday, she’s set to perform at the HGTV Lodge.

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    Lauren Alaina (fans) OC: …me wrong. :30
    “My fans helped me grow as a person in lots of different ways. I grew up in front of them. I was 15 on American Idol, so they watched me grow up and kind of helped me mold into who I am, because I worked at CiCi’s Pizza, and now I’m traveling all over the place. It’s like I learned responsibility through all of it. I learned who I am as a person, ‘cause my fans have made me stronger, they’ve made me more responsible, they made me believe in myself 10 times more, because I thought I was going home every week on American Idol, and they proved me wrong.”

    Audio / The members of Little Big Town are up for a pair of CMT Music Awards – Video of the Year and Group Video of the Year for “Better Man.” The group will perform on the big stage at Nissan Stadium on Sunday (June 11th).

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    Little Big Town (CMA Music Fest) OC: (Phillip) …the best, man. 1:43

    Kimberly – We played at the fairgrounds.  I guess it was the last year at the fairgrounds.  We had just gotten our record deal.

    Phillip – I remember we were just about to walk out on stage, and we had to play acoustic. I mean there was no backing band,

    Kimberly – we were at Mercury.  They wanted us to play before Wynonna sang.

    Phillip – I remember, my hair was short and Wynonna walked by and tuffed my hair and was like, “Oh that’s cute…cute red hair boy.” [laugh]  I was like, “Oh great.” Like little puppy dog, you’re gonna be ok kid.

    Kimberly – We were nervous.

    Karen – Oh my gosh, were so nervous. We were so green.

    Kimberly – We didn’t have many songs at that point.  Maybe three songs, which is what we sang. It was all we knew at the time which is what we had worked up.  Because literally we got our record deal in May and that was June.

    Karen – And they were like, “Why don’t you guys sing a couple songs?” And, we’re like, “Good because a couple is what we know.” That was fun.  And then moving form that to the stadium shows, to me that the most fun you can ever have…CMA Fest, Stadium shows.  It is an energy unlike anything else. Like last year Kimberly and I sang with Keith on “I get by with a Little Help from my Friends,” and Tony Brown was on piano…

    Phillip – All star band.

    Kimberly – It was incredible.

    Karen – It was over the top and I could just come out of my skin at those moments.

    Kimberly – Me too.

    Karen  – It’s like you just want to float.

    Phillip – And it’s like the best country crowd you could ever compile. Every country fan from all over the world wants to be there.  That’s like the crux of country music awesomeness. I’m telling you it is the best fun.

    Karen – It’s the best feeling out there.

    Kimberly – They let them line up and all come across the stage so you have all these people that are so giddy, crazy giddy, because they get to walk up close to the stage.

    Phillip – And they’re waving and their arms are about to fall off.  They’re just so excited. It’s the best.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan, who is set to perform at Nissan Stadium on Thursday (June 9th), enjoys CMA Music Fest Week. Luke is nominated for a pair of CMT Music Awards, including Video of the Year and Male Video of the Year for “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day.”

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    Luke Bryan (CMA Music Fest) OC: …for this week. :33
    “It’s a great week. I truly love this week for hundreds of reasons. I always remember my first ones and starting out and doing River Stages and always dreaming of coming over here and performing at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) and all of the stuff building the fan base early in the week. It’s an amazing week for Nashville, and it’s a great week for me. And then I get to be home and do all this stuff. It’s always been a fun week for me. A lot of my family always comes in for this week.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt says his first trip to Nashville during CMA Music Fest inspired him to move to Music City.

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    Sam Hunt (CMA Music Fest-move to Nashville) OC: …good week for Nashville. :38
    “You know, I was here several years ago for the first time for CMA Fest as a fan. I came out to the show, did the full experience, and it really was one of the big reasons I decided to move to Nashville. It kind of made the idea of being a songwriter more tangible and realistic, and also I fell in love with the city, Nashville, so I knew it’d be a place I’d be happy living, and also because of the music. So, yeah, that week here really inspired my move here, and it was a significant part of my life. But since then, I’ve been to every CMA Fest since, I think, and it’s a good week for Nashville.”

  • MEMORIAL DAY LINERS 2017

    Audio /

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    LINER Billy Currington (Memorial Day)
    “Hey guys, I’m Billy Currington. I just wanted to say thank you to all our servicemen and women and their daily service to our country.”

    Audio /

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    LINER Brothers Osborne (Memorial Day) 2
    “Hey! What’s up guys? We’re Brothers Osborne. We just wanted to send our thanks to all you service men and women and the ones who’ve gone before you for sacrificing time with your families, sacrificing your own needs and even sacrificing your lives so we can be free to do what we want to do. It means more than you’ll ever know. Happy Memorial Day!”

    Audio /

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    LINER Dierks Bentley (Memorial Day)
    “Hey everybody, this is Dierks Bentley. I just want to say thank you to the men and  women in uniform on this day and every day.”

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    LINER Easton Corbin (Memorial Day)
    “Hey everybody! It’s Easton Corbin here, wishing you a happy and safe Memorial Day, and I also want to send a special thanks out to our men and women in our Armed Forces.”

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    LINER Eric Church (Memorial Day)
    Hey everyone, this is Eric Church hoping you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

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    LINER Eric Paslay (Memorial Day Weekend)
    “Hey! This is Eric Paslay, hope you have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend.”

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    LINER Jon Pardi (Memorial Day Weekend)
    “Hi! It’s Jon Pardi, hoping you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.”

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    LINER Josh Turner (thanks to military)
    “Hey! This is Josh Turner. I just wanted to say thank you to all of our servicemen and women for what you do around the world.”

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    LINER Keith Urban (Memorial Day)
    “Hi everyone, this is Keith Urban. Now please take time to remember all those who sacrificed their lives during this Memorial Day Weekend.”

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    LINER LBT (Memorial Day)
    “Hi! This is Little Big Town, take time to remember our fallen heroes during this Memorial Day Weekend.”

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    LINER Luke Bryan (Memorial Day)
    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, hoping you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.”

  • SEVERAL COUNTRY STARS SIGN ON FOR THE NEW ‘NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL COUNTRY, VOL. 10.’

    NOWNOW Deluxe

    Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Josh Turner, Jon Pardi and Lauren Alaina are among the artists featured on the new NOW That’s What I Call Country, Vol. 10 compilation, due June 9th. The latest installment of the popular NOW series will include some of today’s biggest hits, including “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Fast,” “Black,” “Kill a Word,” “Better Man,” “Hometown Girl,” “Dirt On My Boots” and “Road Less Traveled,” as well as Jason Aldean’s “Any Ol’ Bar Stool,” Kenny Chesney’s “Bar At the End of the World” and Dustin Lynch’s “Seein’ Red,” among others.

    To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the NOW Country brand, there will also be a Deluxe Version, featuring 14 more hits that will be released at the same time. Some of the bonus tracks include Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time,” Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel,” Brad Paisley’s “She’s Everything” and Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

    NOW That’s What I Call Country, Vol. 10 Track List:

    1. Keith Urban- “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
    2. Jon Pardi – “Dirt On My Boots”
    3. Josh Turner – “Hometown Girl”
    4. Jason Aldean – “Any Ol’ Bar stool”
    5. Luke Bryan – “Fast”
    6. Dierks Bentley  – “Black”
    7. Kenny Chesney – “Bar At The End Of The World”
    8. Dustin Lynch – “Seein’ Red”
    9. Lauren Alaina – “Road Less Traveled”
    10. Old Dominion – “Song For Another Time”
    11. Eric Church – “Kill A Word”
    12. Little Big Town – “Better Man”
    13. Chris Young f/ Vince Gill -“Sober Saturday”
    14. Brad Paisley – “Today”
    15. Michael Ray – “Think A Little Less”
    16. Maren Morris – “80s Mercedes”
    17. Kelsea Ballerini – “Yea Boy”
    18. Miranda Lambert – “Vice”

    NOW presents What’s Next
    19. Canaan Smith – “Like You That Way”

    Deluxe Bonus Tracks:

    1. Luke Bryan – “Country Girl”
    2. Jason Aldean – “Dirt Road”
    3. Sam Hunt – “Take Your Time”
    4. Carrie Underwood – “Jesus Take The Wheel”
    5. Eric Church – “Like A Wrecking Ball”
    6. Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
    7. Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”
    8. Hunter Hayes – “Wanted”
    9. Brad Paisley – “She’s Everything””
    10. Kenny Chesney – “Somewhere With You”
    11. Josh Turner – “Your Man”
    12. Jake Owen – “Barefoot”
    13. Darius Rucker – “Wagon Wheel”
    14. Cam – “Burning House”

    Audio / Luke Bryan co-wrote the heartfelt “Fast,” a song from his album, Kill the Lights.

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    Luke Bryan (Fast) OC: …in a song. :58
    Fastis a song that I got the opportunity to get in the room with Rodney Clawson and Luke Laird and we started it. Luke and Rodney, I mean obviously, their pedigree is quite extensive and amazing. And I’m just so proud about how we used a simple word like Fast and we tied the verses in and then that second verse how we brought in the parents were saying ‘we were falling in love too fast but we still made it work.’ And how life does move too fast. Every time I come home my boys are bigger and starting to throw me around the house a little more, and one day I’ll snap my fingers and you wish you could have froze time a little bit. And I think anytime you can help people slow down and reflect on that and remember to take things in stride a little bit better, I think people love hearing that in a song.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about “Dirt on My Boots.”

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    Jon Pardi (Dirt on My Boots) OC: …that track. :31
    “I saw my 22 year old self getting off a tractor and going to take a shower and putting his work boots back on and going and hanging out with a girl and having a good time dancing or something. And I really connected to the lyrics of it. It’s very country lyrics. It has tractors. It has cutting a rug. My favorite [line] — ‘I can get cleaned up, but I can only get so fancy,’ and I loved it. It was a great written country lyric, and I really think we made it more of a traditional feel with a modern flare to it, and I was really proud of that track.”

    Audio / Eric Church says “Like a Wrecking Ball” is absolutely about what it says in the song.

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    Eric Church (Like a Wrecking Ball) OC: …their life. :49
    “I hate innuendo. I don’t like where people get cute. I’m 36 years old. I’m not 12. I don’t need people to disguise what we’re talking about. I think we can get so cute with stuff like that. Al Green didn’t get cute. Conway Twitty didn’t get cute. They said it. We’re adults, and this is an adult record. We’ve always made adult music. I like songs like that, and that’s what this song is. This song is about sex. It’s about not being home to see your wife or girl for a long time, and thinking about that, preparing for that and executing that [laughs] is what this song’s about. It has nothing to do with anything else. I mean…that’s what it is, and the honesty of that, I hope people find refreshing, because I’ve not found anybody that hasn’t felt that at some point in time during their life.”

  • MOTHER’S DAY LINERS 2017

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up guys! We’re Brothers Osborne, wishing all you mothers out there a very, very Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up, guys? I’m Canaan Smith. Happy Mother’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Clare Dunn, hoping you have a Happy Mother’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Darius (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker, hoping you have a Happy Mother’s Day.

    Audio / LINER Darius (Mother’s Day) 2

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing all you mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey, y’all! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing all you mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day.”

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

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

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Paslay. Happy Mother’s Day to all you awesome Mom’s out there.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Jon Pardi. I want to wish all the mamas out there a very Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves. To all you mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day!”

     

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi everyone, it’s Keith Urban. Hoping all the mothers out there have a very, very Happy Mother’s Day. Love ya, Mom!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Mother’s Day)

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    “(ALL) Hi! This is Little Big Town. (KIMBERLY) We want to wish all you mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day. I love ya, Mama!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, hoping all you mothers out there have a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Happy Mother’s Day.

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Mother’s Day)

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