Chris Stapleton is making the media rounds this week. He’s scheduled to appear on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday (December 4th) along with superfan/actor Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Parks and Recreation, Jurassic World) and actress Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad). Stapleton is also scheduled to perform on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday (December 6th).
OF NOTE: Pratt appeared on Popcorn with Peter Travers where he talked about how Chris Stapleton was on his own mixtape (a reference to Guardians) and sang part of “Tennessee Whiskey.” Then, Chris sent him a mixtape of his From A Room: Volume 1 along with a walkman, so he could listen to it properly. When Stapleton performed during the second of a two-night stand at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena earlier this year, Pratt came out wearing a jean jacket embossed with Stapleton’s image. They proceeded to sing “Tennessee Whiskey” together.
Luke Bryan will perform on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on December 12th.
Darius Rucker, as well as Dolly Parton and Brad Paisley, will honor the late Glen Campbell during ABC’s The Year in Memoriam 2017 television special airing December 18th at 10pm ET. A companion special, The Year: 2017, will air the following night (December 19th) and will highlight major events that took place over the past year. Both specials will be hosted by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.
Kacey Musgraves will join Josh Groban for the Home for the Holidays special December 19th at 8pm ET on CBS. Kelly Clarkson and Kane Brown will also appear during the one-hour show which will feature performances alongside inspirational stories of families whose lives have been changed by adoption.
Vince Gill was honored with the CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award last week at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.
Dierks Bentley has been booked as one of the headliners for the fourth annual Country LakeShake Festival, being held June 22nd – 24th in Chicago. He’ll be joined by Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Billy Currington, Lee Brice, Tracy Lawrence, Cole Swindell and many more.
Video / Chris Pratt listening to From A Room: Volume 1
Holiday liners from UMG Nashville artists, including Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Brandon Lay, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Gary Allan, George Strait, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt and more!
“Hey guys! Gary Allan here. I just want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving, and have a Happy Holidays and make sure you’re safe out there. Drive safe. Party your butts off, but do it safe.”
“Happy Thanksgiving everybody. It’s Keith Urban here. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all of you listening for your incredible love and support that I’ve received over the last year, and to wish you and all of your family all the very best for this holiday.”
Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley appear on ABC’s Good Morning America and The Chew on Thursday (November 2nd) to talk about next week’s CMA Awards, which will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 8th beginning at 8pm ET on ABC.
Lauren Alaina will perform during the 91st Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Dustin Lynch, Sara Evans, Cam, 98 Degrees, Andra Day and Common will also perform. The parade will air from New York City beginning at 9am ET on Thanksgiving Day on NBC.
Darius Rucker is scheduled to perform the National Anthem as his beloved Miami Dolphins play host to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday (November 5th) at 8:30pm ET on NBC.
Luke Bryan has teamed up with Chevy in designing a custom 2018 Chevrolet Suburban. “Chevy has been part of our family and a part of our work life on the farm for as long as I can remember,” says Luke. “If you were a Bryan, you drove a Chevy—and I’m a longtime Suburban owner. This partnership is a natural fit for me and this unique Suburban represents everything I and my family want for our outdoor adventures.”
Don’t forget to watch or set your DVRs as Robin Roberts takes an intimate look at the career and personal life of Luke Bryan in her new ABC special, Living Every Day: Luke Bryan on Monday (November 6th) at 10pm ET.
George Strait is set to headline the 2018 Bayou Country Superfest, taking place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome May 27th in New Orleans, Louisiana. Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Midland will also perform.
Darius Rucker will appear on ABC’s The View on Wednesday (October 25th).
Shania Twain is featured on CBS’ The Talk on Wednesday (October 25th).
Luke Bryan is a special guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday (October 26th).
During the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame celebration earlier this week, the NSAI presented the 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written Awards. The honorees included Little Big Town’s “Better Man (written by Taylor Swift), Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” (written by Sam, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally and Zach Crowell), “Different for Girls” by Dierks Bentley, featuring Elle King (written by JT Harding and Shane McAnally), Jon Pardi’s “Dirt on My Boots” (written by Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure and Rhett Akins) and Eric Church’s “Kill a Word,” which he co-wrote with Jeff Hyde and Luke Dick.
George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town and Kacey Musgraves have been announced as performers at next year’s Bayou Country Superfest. The festival will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Oreleans over the Memorial Day weekend. Tickets go on sale next Thursday (November 2nd).
Kacey Musgraves is now a Mrs., as she tied the knot with Ruston Kelly in an intimate ceremony on Saturday (October 14th) in Tennessee. She alluded to the wedding in a Twitter post early Saturday morning: “Today,” along with heart and bride emojis.
The night before the wedding, Ruston gave a sweet tribute to his bride-to-be: “Last night as a bachelor. Finally ready to throw in that towel cuz I actually found the real thing. Couldn’t be more proud to have all our family and friends here to honor this new badass union.”
Keith Urban will be honored with BMI’s (Broadcast Music Incorporated) Champion Award during the 65th Annual BMI Country Awards November 7th in Nashville. Keith is being honored by the performing rights organization for his assistance in helping the next generation of songwriters and musicians, as well as furthering music education.
Jon Pardi, who’s headlining his own Lucky Tonight Tour, has already planned dates for next year by heading out on Miranda Lambert’s Livin’ Like Hippies Tour beginning January 18th in Greenville, South Carolina.
Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” has caught the ear and the voice of Harry Styles, who recorded the song for the UK version of Spotify Singles. He later performed the tune during his show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
Eric Church is set to perform at the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association’s 2018 Hall of Fame induction ceremony February 24th. Maren Morris, Radney Foster, Jack Ingram, Joe Ely, Lori McKenna and Hayes Carll will also perform in honor of this year’s inductees – Buddy Holly, Liz Rose, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Mickey Newberry.
Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Kip Moore are among the performers announced for next year’s C2C: Country to Country Festival. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, Luke Combs, Emmylou Harris, Margo Price, Midland, Lukas Nelson, Ashley McBryde, Lindsay Ell and Jillian Jacqueline will also perform during the three-day festival running March 9th – 11th in London.
Words are still hard to come by, emotions and unfamiliar feelings are flooding our hearts and souls and trying to process the horrific tragedy at the Rt. 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night (October 1st) is still something that we can’t quite do and which will affect us the rest of our lives. The Country Music family, community, fans and friends around the world have been shaken to the core by the devastating carnage from Sunday night.
It has taken days for me to post the following:
Eric Church performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Wednesday night (October 4th) and spoke eloquently and passionately about Sunday’s shooting in Las Vegas. He was one of the headliners at the Route 91 Harvest Festival and painted the picture of the fans who attended the festival. He dedicated “Why Not Me,” a song he wrote this week, to Sonny Melton, the Paris, Tennessee man who died protecting his wife from the bullets that were being sprayed into the crowd of festivalgoers. Check out the videos below.
Woke up to such horrible news. We are praying for the victims and their families. May the Lord bring some comfort to them.
While he performed “Here On Earth” the other morning for a national radio show, he’s also healing folks by talking to them and really listening to them, as well as giving much needed blood to the American Red Cross.
We are devastated by the news from Las Vegas this morning. Our hearts and prayers are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Our fans are our family – we love you all. pic.twitter.com/k0CiL1THlu
A post shared by Chris Stapleton (@chrisstapleton) on
"You look up and you see us. But what you don't understand is we look back and we see you." @VGcom remembers Las Vegas victims pic.twitter.com/Kf0C0gMWdV
A post shared by J O R D A N D A V I S (@jordandavisofficial) on
Audio / Before performing “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” at Monday night’s Candlelight Vigil at Nashville’s Ascend Theater, Keith Urban offered hope and prayers from his family to everyone who was affected by Sunday night’s horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.
Keith Urban (Candlelight Vigil) OC: …in the world. 1:23 “I I want to firstly offer the prayers and love of my whole family to everybody affected by last night’s horrific tragedy. I started this morning by finding out about it, and being shell-shocked all morning getting my kids ready for school. And our nine-year-old, as I was driving her to school this morning, said to, ‘Dad, you seem quiet.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it was a lot of people killed last night.’ She said, ‘Did you know any of them?’ I said, ‘Not that I know of.’ Then she said, ‘Well, why are you so sad?’ I said, ‘Well, first of all, these were innocent people horrifically taken. Secondly, they’re like family.’ It’s the one thing about country music that’s always been at the center of it. It is community. It’s about community. So, I did know those people in that way, and it just really hit me. I feel very grateful for this moment tonight to be able to put some light in the world.”
Audio / Before performing "Go Rest High On That Mountain" at Monday night's Candlelight Vigil in Nashville, Vince Gill gave his thoughts to the horrific events of Sunday night.
Vince Gill (Candlelight Vigil) OC: …innocent people. :17
“Thank you for the opportunity to come and lift up 58 families who lost somebody last night. An honor to be here as a voice for the innocent. May we never lose our voice for innocent people.”
Audio / Vince Gill's wife, Amy Grant, led a prayer at Monday night's Candlelight Vigil in Nashville to honor those who lost and risked their lives Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Amy Grant (Candlight Vigil) OC: …each other. Amen. 2:21
“Father in Heaven, thank you for the gift of each other. Thank you that none of us is born alone or dies alone. But you go before us and beneath us and beside us and within us. Thank you for loving arms that were there to catch every fallen child, man and woman. Thank you for your presence that never leaves us. Thank you for word said over and over again, ‘Fear not.’ ‘Fear not.’ Father, in silence, we lift up, we just imagine all of the people rebuilding their lives. Broken. Grieving. And as a group, I don’t even know how to imagine lifting them all up, but I’m just picturing us almost like slinging them on our backs, lifting them up in our arms to the light of your love. We lift them up now, God, in silence. We lift up grieving spouses, God. We lift up moms and dads grieving the loss of a child, a son and a daughter. We lift up the doctors and nursing attending to the hundreds of people recovering. Give us the grace, God, every day, to see each other. To see each other. To see our differences. To see our similarities. To observe. To learn rather than judge. Fill our hearts with courage to not be afraid. To love, love, love. Thank you that you began this story that we’re all a part of, and you will finish it. And it began in love, and it will end in love. Thank you for the gift of each other. Amen.”
Video / Eric Church performs "Why Not Me" on the Grand Ole Opry.
Little Big Town announced their new tour, The Breakers, via social media and the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, earlier this week. While their album is titled The Breaker, Little Big Town decided to name their new tour, The Breakers (plural) for a variety of reasons.
“I think it represents a lot of things. A lot of the songs – there’s songs about heartbreak, a lot of like Midland, they’re breaking through right now as new artists,” says LBT’s Phillip Sweet.
Karen Fairchild added, “…and definitely rule breakers on this tour. [laughs] Yeah, I think there’s a lot of meaning to it. When we looked at the poster that we shot with Harper, the photographer, we just looked at all of it. We were like, ‘What should the tour be called? What does it look like?’ And because we didn’t want to call it Rehab [laughter erupts], we decided to call it The Breakers.”
The highly-anticipated multi-city run begins February 8th at Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City and will visit 26 markets, including stops in Austin, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C. and New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. Additional stops will be announced at a later date.
The band is making their way up the country charts with their current song, “When Someone Stops Loving You,” from their album, The Breaker.
Audio / Little Big Town explain why they decided to name their upcoming tour, The Breakers.
LBT (title of The Breakers tour) OC: (Karen) …record-breaking. :46 PHILLIP: “I think it represents a lot of things. A lot of the songs – there’s songs about heartbreak, a lot of like Midland, they’re breaking through right now as new artists.” KAREN: “…and definitely rule breakers on this tour. [laughs] Yeah, I think there’s a lot of meaning to it. When we looked at the poster that we shot with Harper, the photographer, we just looked at all of it. We were like, ‘What should the tour be called? What does it look like?’ And because we didn’t want to call it Rehab [laughter erupts], we decided to call it The Breakers.” PHILLIP: “And maybe there’s some habits we’ll try to break, but it probably won’t happen.” [laughter] JIMI: “Maybe some new habits will break through.” [laughs] KAREN: “Record-breaking.”
Audio / Little Big Town say their upcoming The Breakers Tour may be "too good of a time."
LBT (good time on tour) OC: (Karen) …good of a time. [Jimi laughs] JIMI: “It’s gonna be fun. Our friends are gonna be out with us and it’s going to be amazing, and I’m a little bit frightened.” KAREN: “It’s gonna be a good time, maybe too good of a time.” [Jimi laughs]
