• MOTHER’S DAY 2021 AUDIO

    Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 9th, and some of your favorite country artists are celebrating the mothers in their lives this weekend.

    NOTE: 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.

    Audio / Alan Jackson lost his sweet Mama a few years ago, and he wrote a song for her funeral, “Where Her Heart Has Always Been,” which is now included on his new album Where Have You Gone (out May 14th).

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    Alan Jackson (song for mother)…really, really sweet. :51
    “I think one song on there, especially I wrote my mama died three or four years ago, four years ago maybe.  I don’t remember now. But I wrote it for her funeral, that’s “Where Her Heart Has Always Been.”  And I really love that track.  It’s just really – I tried to write it in a way that I know she would appreciate it. And then after we had cut it and we were just about to finalize the record, my sister sent a recording of mama reading from the Bible for a Christmas story or something from a few years ago that I hadn’t heard, or I don’t remember if I had ever heard it.  And I thought that would be cool to put that on there.  So, we tried to pick a little piece of that that didn’t sound so Christmasy and put on there on the front end and that made it really, really sweet.”

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

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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 talks about now being a mother to two boys.

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    Carrie Underwood (having 2 boys) OC: …little brother. :49
    “It’s kind of crazy to think, sometimes I’ll literally look at my husband and be like, ‘We have two sons. We have two kids. We live on a farm.’ Like it’s just weird to think how life turns out sometimes. Life is very different with two. We kind of got out of that baby stage with Isaiah. He’s much more self-efficient, and he can brush his own teeth and put his own clothes on, and he’s making decisions for himself, and then we start all over with the little squishy one again. It’s just kind of crazy. You forget how hard it is, to be honest, but you just figure your way through it. I am so blessed to have Isaiah who is super helpful and super sweet, and he loves his little brother.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she doesn’t really have any Mother’s Day traditions.

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    Carrie Underwood (Mother’s Day traditions) OC: …even more so. :38
    “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, 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 / Caylee Hammack describes the qualities she most admires in her mother.

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    Caylee Hammack (Mother’s Day) 1 OC: …love fully. :53
    “I love that my Mom is a no-nonsense woman. I love that she always speaks her mind and she’s super stubborn, because she handed it down to me and it’s come in handy, to be honest. She’s a great cook. I wish I was half the cook that she is. She’s obsessive about Tupperware and plates, which I used to hate, but now as an adult whenever I break a dish or something, I just call her, and I know that I have one on standby. I love that she loves random things so that I can squirrel them away and take them to Nashville sometimes. And I love that she loves big. She either gives all of her heart or nothing at all; she always gives all of her heart. She loves, you know, she has a bleeding heart, and I think that’s just one of the most beautiful traits in the world is to love fully.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about not disappointing his beloved mother, who passed away several years ago.

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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 recalls one of his favorite memories of his mother.

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    Darius Rucker (favorite memory of his mother) OC: …my Mom’s song. :34
    “Oh goodness! A lot of great memories of her, but probably one of my favorite memories, I was a young kid, probably eight or nine, and she was in the kitchen cooking and listening to the gospel station and Shirley Caesar’s ‘No Charge’ came on and she was singing ‘No Charge.’ I just remember I ran into our living room which was adjoined to our kitchen and I just sat there and I just listened to her sing that song, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow! What an amazing voice.’ That’s just always a memory I’ve always had, and that song still to this day when I hear it just moves me because that was my mom’s song.”

    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. :
    “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 / 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 / Kacey Musgraves comes from a very creative family, and here she talks about the women in her immediate family and their talents.

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    Kacey Musgraves (creative women) OC: …taking pictures. :16
    “My mom’s an artist – all different kinds of mediums, paint, but she’s always working on something different. My Meemaw, she’s a soap maker. She makes soap and they’re beautiful and they smell really good and they’re all natural. My sister has an etsy store, and she’s constantly creating something, sewing pillows and taking pictures.”

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

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    Lauren Alaina (Mom keeps her grounded) 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 Kimberly Schlapman says she always dreamed of being a mother…and her dream came true nearly 13 years ago when she gave birth to daughter, Daisy (July 27, 2007). In 2017, she and her family welcomed daughter Dolly Grace.

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    LBT (Mother’s Day) OC: …for my mother. :34
    “Being a mother is a life-long dream for me. When I was a kid, that’s what I wanted to be is a mama. It took a long time. I wasn’t ever sure that I would be, but I am now, and it’s the greatest gift of my life. And as I’m a mother now, I see what my mother gave up and her sacrifices and her love and how she made us the most important thing in her life, and that’s what I strive to do for my little girl. It’s the most important job I have, and it’s the most responsibility that I have, and I try to live up to a great example that I had for my mother.”

    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
    TAE: “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 / Maddie & Tae’s Maddie Marlow says her mother is great at balancing life and that a hug from her mother can fix almost anything.

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    Maddie & Tae (Mother’s Day-Maddie) OC: (Maddie) …everything’s okay. :51
    MADDIE: “She is so good at balancing is what I’m trying to say. My Mom is such a great balancer, but as I’m coming into our adulthood, and all that kind of stuff, she’s very conscious about when I’m trying to be perfect and have everything in order with everything. And she’s like, you can’t. You can’t do that. Life, you have to figure out how you’re going to deal with the curveballs that are thrown out you. Are you going to catch them and whine out about it or are you going to catch them and move on? Like you have to just go with what’s thrown at you. And my Dad’s been a really, really good supporter on just not letting life’s trials bring you down and letting them just be learning tools and all of that. But, most of the time, a Mama hug can really fix anything.” TAE: “Ahh…it’s the best.” MADDIE: “If my Mom hugs me while I’m crying, everything’s okay. There’s just something about it. I’m grown, but, my Mom, if she hugs me, everything’s okay.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum says he hopes he got some of his mother's qualities.

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    Parker McCollum (Mother’s Day) OC: …those from her. :20
    “I mean, she’s just a fantastic woman who went above and beyond for us as kids to always make sure, probably even when we weren’t able to have things, she still made those happen. Everybody says I look like her. She’s just an incredibly caring and very, very sincere person, so I would hope I got those from her.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt says he's lucky and blessed to have his mother.

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    Sam Hunt (Mother’s Day) OC: …with my mom. 1:10
    “I knew I had a great mother, and I was blessed and lucky to be born into my family, but until I got out into the real world, I didn’t realize how unique and rare and how much I really hit the lottery with her. She’s raised in the South, and she is all the things that a lot of Southern women are, the good things, but selfless is the word that comes to mind right off the bat. Her life has been devoted to me, my brothers and our family for as long as I can remember her. So, her life revolved around us and that was something that the love that she showed us through those sacrifices has been, I know, a huge part of my ability to go out into the world and cope with all the things that come my way. I’m standing on firm ground, I know, because I grew up in a loving household and that started with my mom.”

    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 2021

    Here are some Mother’s Day liners from UMG Nashville artists, including Adam Hambrick, Brandon Lay, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Caylee Hammack, Chrissy Metz, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, George Strait, Jon Langston, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Josh Turner, Kacey Musgraves, Kassi Ashton, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Kylie Morgan, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Sam Hunt, Shania Twain, Travis Denning and more!

     

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody, I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing all the mother’s a very Happy Mother’s Day. Love you, Mom.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody, this is Brandon Lay, wishing all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day. Thanks, Mom.”

    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 Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey everyone. I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing all you mothers out there a very, very Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack, sending this out to my mom and all the other mothers out there – I hope all of you have a wonderful Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi! It’s Chrissy Metz, wishing you a very 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 very Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Mother’s Day) 2

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

    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 Langston (Mother’s Day)

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    Hi, I’m Jon Langston, wishing all the mothers a very Happy Mother’s Day. Love ya, Mom.

    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 Jordan Davis (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day. Love ya, Mom.”

    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 Kylie Morgan (Mother’s Day)

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    Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing all of you mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day.”

    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 Maddie & Tae (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody. I’m Maddie & I’m Tae and we’re Maddie & Tae, wishing all you mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day. I love ya, Mom.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody, I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey, it’s Priscilla Block wishing all you mothers out there a very 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.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Travis Denning, wishing all the mothers a very Happy Mother’s Day. Love you, Mom.”

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: George Strait, Kacey Musgraves, Parker McCollum, Jon Pardi and more

    George Strait, Kacey Musgraves and Parker McCollum are among the artists performing during the virtual “We’re Texas” benefit concert on Sunday (March 21st). Organized by actor and Texas native Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves McConaughey, will also feature performances by Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Clint Black, Randy Rogers, Post Malone, Don Henley, Kelly Clarkson, Leon Bridges, Khalid and Gary Clark, Jr., among others. Proceeds from the “We’re Texas” benefit concert will be distributed by the actor’s Just Keep Livin’ Foundation to numerous non-profit organizations to help Texans affected by the recent winter storm which knocked out power to millions of homes, busted water pipes and numerous people are still without clean water. The concert will be streamed Sunday on YouTube beginning at 8pm ET.

    Jon Pardi is scheduled to perform at Concerts on the Farm, which is organized by the folks behind the successful Bonnaroo Festival. The socially-distanced show, which is part of a series of shows, will take place May 29th at the Bonnaroo Farm in Manchester, Tennessee. Tickets are sold for four-person pods, which are spaced six feet apart.

  • KACEY MUSGRAVES GRACES THE COVER OF ROLLING STONE.

    Kacey Musgraves is featured on the cover of Rolling Stone for the magazine’s third-annual Women Shaping the Future issue. She talked about her life over the past year, Greek tragedies and her biggest icons and influences.

     

     

  • NEW YEAR’S 2020

    2020 will go down in history as one of the worst and most difficult years in our history. Every single person has dealt with loss, fear, uncertainty, working from home (or losing a job), rebuilding from tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, recovering from COVID-19 and much more.

    For the music industry, live entertainment came to a screeching halt with production folks, crew and musicians losing their respective gigs since artists weren’t able to tour. The industry rallied and many artists pivoted and really helped us navigate through a bad year by releasing a ton of new music and performing virtual shows.

    For this post, we’re revisiting some of your favorite artists’ hangover cures, which a few of us could’ve used nearly every day this year while dealing with a global pandemic. We’ve also been able to check in with a few artists about what they hope 2021 brings. One thing is for certain–we are all looking forward to shedding the horribleness of 2020, hopefully getting a fresh start in the new year AND getting through this together.

    Audio / Brandon Lay says he hopes to be able to hit the road in 2021.

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    Brandon Lay (2021) OC: …I can’t wait. :18
    “The one thing that I’m looking forward to most for 2021 is definitely the road. It has been too long, and I am so ready to get with the band. I’m ready for loud music, and I’m ready for fans and seeing familiar faces out there in the crowd. And I just, I can’t wait.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about how people spend the last moments of the year, and the first moments of the new year.

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    Brothers Osborne (New Year) OC: (TJ) …next month. :44
    JOHN: “I think it’s kind of funny how we spend literally the last moment and the very first moment of every year being extremely intoxicated, extremely, because you don’t want to wait until like 12:30 to get your buzz on. You’ve got to do it before midnight, and then once midnight happens, you’re like, ‘Omigod! Now it’s time to celebrate even more.’ Debauchery is the literally bookending your entire year.” TJ: “I love how everyone starts the year off with diets and then we end the year with like excessive amounts of food. And then you get to the end of the year, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to start a diet on the 1st, so I’m going to eat everything that’s in front of me.’ I love it.” JOHN: “And come February 1st, ‘what diet?’” [laughs] TJ: “What diet? I’ll start it next month.” [laughs]

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says he usually looks forward to a "mellow hang" on New Year's Eve.

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    Dierks Bentley (New Year’s) OC: …in stride. 1:11
    “New Year’s is rough. New Year’s hurts no matter what’s going o n. I’ve played a lot of New Year’s shows, you know, but I’ve honestly found that it’s not my favorite night to throw down. Look, for a living, that’s what I do. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I host a big party; not only on stage, but I’ve got friends backstage. It starts before the concert sometimes, [and] it goes long after the concert, so a lot of times on New Year’s, I’m looking for a really mellow hang – a good party, good friends, pretty chill. Some of my best New Year’s – it doesn’t make for great radio – but some of my best New Year’s have been just like actually hearing fireworks go off while I’m in bed, [laughs] and know I’m gonna wake up the next morning for the first day of the New Year feeling great, feeling recharged and I’m ready to go ad go into the New Year feeling good as opposed to going into it with a giant Jagerbomb hangover, which I’ve done many, many times. So, the goal this year is to go into it feeling pretty good and the kids help with that, because you really just don’t want to be hungover with children. It’s not a good feeling. You would probably admit to any crime to get them, just feel better, and get them leave you alone. So, [I’m] gonna try to hit New Year’s this year in stride.”

    Audio / Eric Church talks about what he’s looking forward to most in 2021.

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    Eric Church (looking ahead to 2021) OC: …looking forward to. 1:11
    “I think, for me, the thing I’m looking forward to most next year is getting around the corner from this virus and getting some kind of normalcy. I’m confident that next year is when we’ll finally put this in the rearview at some point in time. We’re all looking for a vaccine early in the year and the more we can take the cases down between January and May, I think the higher likelihood that we’ll be on a stage somewhere in the fall, late summer/fall, and then certainly into the fourth quarter. So, I’m looking forward to that. I know there may be some early stuff where we can’t be at capacity. I get that, but I’m looking forward to being back at capacity and being, seeing people grouped up and arms around each other’s shoulders and just, I miss that. I miss playing. I miss the camaraderie. I miss going town-to-town and doing that. It’s just what I was born to do, and I miss seeing the fans. Next year, we’re all hopeful, I’m hopeful and quite confident, actually, that next year will be the year that we get to start doing that and then hopefully more and more as we go. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about what he's looking forward to in 2021.

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    Jon Pardi (looking forward to 2021) OC: …that was awesome. :28 “For next year – 2021 – I’m looking forward to some kind of medication/vaccine to help people, to make people immune to this virus that is ruining EVERYTHING! So, I look forward to that and hopefully we’ll get that going and then we’ll be back to concerts and full capacity sports games and bars and honky tonks and…it looks like 2019. Remember 2019? That was awesome.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his go-to hangover cure.

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    Jon Pardi (hangover cure) OC: …deal with it. :20
    “My hangover cure is Bloody Marys, but be careful – because once you have a couple, don’t go to beer, because if you go to beer, you’re gonna start drinking again and you’ll end up a morning drunk. OR if you want to go the non-alcoholic route, there’s nothing you can do for hangovers. [laughs] You just go deal with it.”

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves has her own hangover cure.

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    Kacey Musgraves (hangover cure) OC: …water. Yup! :32

    “Coconut water is a major help with hangovers and also, a lot of times we go and eat Vietnamese pho. It’s a soup, and it’s got this awesome broth. You can get different things in it or whatever, but for some reason, it’s just like…it’s almost like a chicken noodle soup kind of an idea, you know, but it’s good. That’s good for hangovers too. That, sleep, Tylenol, coconut water and just water, in general. And when you’re drinking, have your alcohol, drink a little bit of water, drink some more alcohol, drink some water. Yup!”

    Audio / KASSI ASHTON IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY TOURING IN 2021.

    Download

    Kassi Ashton (looking to 2021) OC: …this year. :25
    “Next year, I’m looking forward to — all fingers and toes and hair crossed — I’m looking forward  to, hopefully, touring. That’s what we all want. That’s why we signed up for this gig in the first place is I just want to be on stage with my friends making music, making art and taking people away from the troubles of this year.”

    Audio / Kip Moore gives advice on how to avoid a hangover on New Year’s Eve.

    Download

    Kip Moore (avoiding hangovers on NYE) OC: …yourself. :03
    “Pace yourself on New Year’s – that’s the remedy. Pace yourself.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan’s favorite New Year’s Eve has to be when he and his now wife Caroline reunited.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (New Years-best) OC: …great night. :17
    “My best New Year’s Eve is definitely when my wife and I started back dating. We started back dating right before Christmas, and we went on a trip down to Florida and met some friends. And her birthday is New Year’s Eve. We celebrated it that night. It was just a great night.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum says he's most looking forward to in 2021 -- hopefully -- is to get back on the road playing shows.

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    Parker McCollum (looking forward to in 2021) OC: …to each other. :08
    “What I’m most looking forward to in 2021? Hopefully,  getting back on stage and people being allowed to stand next to each other.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about what he's looking forward to in 2021.

    Download

    Travis Denning (looking forward to 2021) OC: …to normal. :10
    “The one thing I’m looking forward to in 2021 is getting back on the road; playing concerts, getting back in the swing of things and just getting back to normal.”

    Audio / Travis Denning recalls his favorite New Year’s Eve party.

    Download

    Travis Denning (favorite New Year’s Eve party) OC: …it was good. :41
    “I think my favorite New Year’s Eve party ever was when my sister got married, and my sister’s party got done at 10:30, 10:45 and she got married right behind a little club that I played a lot in Macon, Georgia called the Crazy Bull and love the owner. We’re boys, you know? So, we just literally walked right over and burned the house down. That was one of my favorite New Year’s Eve memories, ‘cause I got to see my sister and brother-in-law get married and that was such a great, great time, and then me and my older cousin and best friend, we ended up at Waffle House that night, so it was good.”

     

  • NEW YEAR’S LINERS 2020

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (New Year) 1

    Download

    “Hey Everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (New Year) 2

    Download

    “Hey Everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick. Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (New Year)

    Download

    “What’s up everybody? This is Brandon Lay, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne. Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER CARRIE UNDERWOOD (NEW YEAR)

    Download

    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER CAYLEE HAMMACK (NEW YEAR)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Chrissy Metz, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Happy New Year)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Happy New Year!

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy New Year)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Happy New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Eric Church, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Gary Allan. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (New Year) 1

    Download

    “Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (New Year)

    Download

    “Hi! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Josh Turner. Happy New Year!”

     

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, hoping you have a safe and Happy New Year!”

     

    Audio / LINER Kassi Ashton (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey everyone! This is Keith Urban. Have a safe and happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (New Year)

    Download

    “It’s Kip Moore, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Kylie Morgan, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (New Year)

    Download

    “This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Luke Bryan, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (New Year)

    Download

    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

     

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Priscilla Block, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy New Year)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Happy New Year)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Shania Twain. Happy New Year!”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (New Year)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Travis Denning, wishing you a Happy New Year.”

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Carrie, Maddie & Tae, Kacey and more

    Carrie Underwood joins CMT Hot 20 Countdown this weekend to talk about her Christmas album, My Gift. Maddie & Tae also join Cody Alan and Katie Cook to kick off the holiday countdown and talk about their We Need Christmas EP. Check them out Saturday and Stun at 9am ET on CMT.

    https://twitter.com/cmtHot20/status/1339359761503055874

    Maddie & Tae announced on Instagram that they are going live on YouTube this Saturday (December 19th) at 7pm ET/6pm CT. The duo will sing songs from their holiday EP, We Need Christmas, while driving through a “holiday light spectacular.” Check it out here.

    Kacey Musgraves will appear on the new season of the iconic Sesame Street. The Grammy-winning artist posted the news, along with some photos, this week on her socials.

    https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/1339269101802418186

     

     

  • CHRISTMAS LINERS 2020

    Here are some holiday liners from UMG Nashville artists, including Adam Hambrick, Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Brandon Lay, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Caylee Hammack, Chrissy Metz, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Gary Allan, George Strait, Jon Langston, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Josh Turner, Kacey Musgraves, Kassi Ashton, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Kylie Morgan, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Sam Hunt, Shania Twain, Travis Denning and more!

     

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick. Happy Holidays.”

     

    Audio / LINER AJ (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Alan Jackson, and I’m wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Happy Holiday Season)

    Download

    “Hi! Billy Currington here, wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is T.J., and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas) 2

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Carrie Underwood. From our house to yours – Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Christmas) 1

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Christmas) 2

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Happy Holidays, everybody!”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Chrissy Metz, wishing you Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Gary Allan. Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! This is George Strait, wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Jon Langston, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Jon Langston. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Jon Pardi, wishing you a Merry Christmas!”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Josh Turner, wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi folks, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Holiday season)

    Download

    “Hi everyone, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and all your family the very best this holiday season.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey guys, this is Kip Moore, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Kip Moore. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Holidays.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey, I’m Parker McCollum, and I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.”

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey-Reba here-hoping you have a very Merry Christmas. Ho, Ho, Ho.”

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey, this is Reba, wishing you a Happy Holiday Season.”

     

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy Holidays!”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Christmas)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Shania Twain, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

    Audio / LINER Taylor Swift (Happy Holiday Season)

    Download

    “Hey, this is Taylor Swift, wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Happy Holidays)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Travis Denning. Happy Holidays.”

     

     

  • THANKSGIVING LINERS 2020

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

     

    Audio / LINER AJ (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Alan Jackson. I hope y’all have a very happy Thanksgiving out there.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey Guys, I’m Billy Currington. Have a great Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! This is Brandon Lay. Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey! This is TJ, and this is John, and we’re wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    Hey y’all This is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey–this is Chrissy Metz, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley! Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey folks! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “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.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hi! This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Hootie & the Blowfish (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, what’s up? We’re Hootie & the Blowfish, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    Hey y’all, I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey I’m Jordan Davis. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey y’all I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    [[audio-player-19]

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “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.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey what’s up guys, this is Kip Moore wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey! This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey, we’re Little Big Town. Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae, and we’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Happy Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton here, and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey everybody. I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hi! This is Priscilla Block, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Thanksgiving)

    Download

    “Hey y’all! It’s Travis Denning, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

     

     

  • THE 54TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS ARE SETTING THE STAGE FOR THIS WEDNESDAY.

    “The 54th Annual CMA Awards” take place on Wednesday (November 11th), and UMG Nashville will be represented in many of the night’s categories, including Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist, Male Vocalist, Album, Group, Duo, Music Video and more.

    Eric Church, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are vying for Entertainer of the Year, alongside Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert.

    Keith earned three nods this year, including Entertainer, Male Vocalist and Musical Event of the Year for Thomas Rhett’s “Be A Light,” which features Keith, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin.

    Eric Church and Carrie Underwood each earned two nods apiece – both have an Entertainer of the Year nomination, as well as Male Vocalist and Female Vocalist, respectively. Chris Stapleton is up against Church for Male Vocalist, but also has a Music Video nomination for his LEGO-themed “Second One to Know.”

    Jon Pardi is nominated in the Album of the Year category for the acclaimed Heartache Medication collection.

    Little Big Town is nominated for Vocal Group of the Year; Brothers Osborne and Maddie & Tae are up for Duo of the Year, while Kacey Musgraves is nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.

    Reba McEntire  is nominated alongside Keith Urban for Musical Event of the Year for Thomas Rhett’s “Be A Light,” which also features Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin.

    Caylee Hammack is also nominated in the Musical Event of the Year category for “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” with Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Elle King, Ashley McBryde and Tenille Townes.

    “The 54th Annual CMA Awards,” hosted by Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker, will be broadcast live from Nashville on Wednesday (November 11th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

     

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

    • Eric Church
    • Luke Combs
    • Miranda Lambert
    • Carrie Underwood  
    • Keith Urban   

     

    ALBUM OF THE YEAR
    Award goes to Artist and Producer(s) 

    • Heartache Medication – Jon Pardi
      Producers: Bart Butler, Ryan Gore, Jon Pardi 
    • Never Will – Ashley McBryde
      Producers: Jay Joyce, John Peets
    • Old Dominion – Old Dominion
      Producers: Shane McAnally, Old Dominion
    • What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs
      Producer: Scott Moffatt
    • Wildcard – Miranda Lambert
      Producer: Jay Joyce

    FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

    • Miranda Lambert
    • Ashley McBryde
    • Maren Morris
    • Kacey Musgraves  
    • Carrie Underwood   

     

    MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR  

    • Eric Church   
    • Luke Combs
    • Thomas Rhett
    • Chris Stapleton  
    • Keith Urban    

    VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

    • Lady A
    • Little Big Town  
    • Midland
    • Old Dominion
    • Rascal Flatts

    VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

    • Brooks & Dunn
    • Brothers Osborne  
    • Dan + Shay
    • Florida Georgia Line
    • Maddie & Tae

    SINGLE OF THE YEAR
    Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer

    • “10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay (with Justin Bieber)
      Producer: Dan Smyers
      Mix Engineer: Jeff Juliano
    • “Beer Never Broke My Heart” – Luke Combs
      Producer: Scott Moffatt
      Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley
    • “Bluebird” – Miranda Lambert
      Producer: Jay Joyce
      Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
    • “The Bones” – Maren Morris
      Producer: Greg Kurstin
      Mix Engineer: Greg Kurstin
    • “I Hope” – Gabby Barrett
      Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale
      Mix Engineer: Buckley Miller

     

    SONG OF THE YEAR
    Award goes to Songwriters 

    • “Bluebird”
      Songwriters: Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
    • “The Bones”
      Songwriters: Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz
    • “Even Though I’m Leaving”
      Songwriters: Luke Combs, Wyatt B. Durrette III, Ray Fulcher
    • “I Hope You’re Happy Now”
      Songwriters: Luke Combs, Randy Montana, Carly Pearce, Jonathan Singleton
    • “More Hearts Than Mine”
      Songwriters: Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis, Derrick Southerland

     

    MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
    Award goes to Artists and Producer(s) 

    • “10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay (with Justin Bieber)
      Producer: Dan Smyers
    • “Be A Light” – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban
      Producer: Dann Huff
    • “The Bones” – Maren Morris with Hozier
      Producer: Greg Kurstin
    • “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” – Miranda Lambert (feat. Maren Morris, Elle King, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes & Caylee Hammack)
      Producer: Jay Joyce
    • “I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
      Producer: busbee

    MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Award goes to Artist(s) and Director 

    • “10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay (with Justin Bieber)
      Director: Patrick Tracy
    • “Bluebird” – Miranda Lambert
      Director: Trey Fanjoy
    • “Homemade” – Jake Owen
      Director: Justin Clough
    • “I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
      Director: Sam Siske
    • “Second One To Know” – Chris Stapleton
      Director: David Coleman 


    NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

    • Jimmie Allen
    • Ingrid Andress
    • Gabby Barrett
    • Carly Pearce
    • Morgan Wallen

    MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

    • Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
    • Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
    • Rob McNelley, Guitar
    • Ilya Toshinskiy, Guitar
    • Derek Wells, Guitar

     

    Audio / In 2019, Eric Church put on his amazing Double Down Tour in which he played 3 1/2 to 4 hours a night. He says loves performing live for his fans.

    Download

    Eric Church (performing energy) OC: …type of crowd. :40
    “Well, I think for me every night I try to empty the tank. There’s always that energy floating around. It’s a palpable thing, and it’s up to me to start that exchange and get the crowd to give it back to me and then watch it build on itself and just to have that experience. We have one night here in whatever city we’re in, you know, we’ve got this night. I’m not gonna see you for a while you’re not gonna see me for a while, you know? And I love being able to capitalize on that moment and trying to live in that moment and get as much energy exchange between myself and the crowd as we can. I love that. That’s my favorite part of what we do. I love being around people, I’m very passionate about my music, and I love people who are passionate about the music too and I love playing a show for that type of crowd.”

    Audio / In 2019, Carrie Underwood headlined the Cry Pretty Tour 360 with sold-out shows across the country. This year, she's put out a book, created a fitness app and released her first Christmas album. She says she loves performing live for fans.

    Download

    Carrie Underwood (performing live on stage) OC: …a lot of fun. :35
    “I think my favorite thing about performing live is just getting kind of lost in the music and the show. I have as much fun as hopefully everybody sitting out in the audience is having. I get to connect with the fans. I get to see people. The people that are streaming music and downloading music and buying albums, they’re finally in front of me. To get to have that moment with them is so much fun. The lights and the costumes and getting to have moments with my band members on stage, I mean it’s all a lot of fun.”

    Audio / Keith Urban recalls winning his first CMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 2005.

    Download

    Keith Urban (winning EOY in 2005) OC: …magical night. :43
    “What I remember about the Entertainer of the Year category in 2005 was that first feeling when people say it’s just an honor to be nominated, and I thought, ‘I know what that means! I know what that feels like,’ because for me it was a huge honor to be nominated so soon into my recording career. To be in that category, it just felt unbelievably quick for me. And then when they read my name out as the winner, I think I actually said, ‘I thought I was just rounding out the category,’ because [laughs] I thought you’ve got to have four or five people in the category. I truly did not expect that to happen. It was just such a magical night.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his nomination for CMA Album of the Year for his acclaimed Heartache Medication.

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    Jon Pardi (CMA Album of the Year nod) OC: …I can, again. :28
    “Having a CMA Album of the Year nomination is amazing. Just being acknowledged by my peers and all of the people in the industry is so awesome, and we worked so hard on this record and we’re still working hard on all our albums, and it’s just awesome. And so, as I get ready to make the fourth record, this is just telling me to stay on track. So, thank you for everybody for getting me this nomination, and it’s pretty awesome. And I will try to do the best fourth record I can, again.”

    Audio / BACKSTAGE AT THE CMA AWARDS, CHRIS STAPLETON SAID AWARDS MAKE HIS DREAM OF MAKING MUSIC AN EVEN BIGGER DREAM.

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    Chris Stapleton (realizing dream) OC: …larger dream. :15
    “It’s an unimaginable, fairy-tale of a thing really, and we’re so proud just to get to just make music and go out and play it for people and make records and that’s the dream. Then when you have all of these other things that people are nice enough to give you, that makes the dream an even larger dream.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton, who is up for two awards at Wednesday night’s CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist and Music Video of the Year, says he’s always grateful for the moment of recognition.

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    Chris Stapleton (grateful for awards) OC: …grateful for the moment. :30
    “Well I’ll take ’em home with me I guess once they send ’em Yeah I guess you have to at some point, but it still is a very… I’m thankful for it and it’s very nice and there’s a lot of great people doing a lot of great things making a lot of great music and working really hard and so when you get this kind of a thing going, I don’t think anybody deserves it. It’s a lot of luck and a lot of stars lining up so, I’m grateful for the moment.”

    Audio / Backstage at last year's CMA Awards, Kacey Musgraves, who won the award for Female Vocalist, talked about celebrating women in country music.

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    Kacey Musgraves (CMA Female win) OC: …the beginning. :21
    “I think it does mean something a little bit extra special considering there are so many women in here that paved the way for me to be able to speak my mind and do the things that I do. That being said I think that every year in country music females should be equally as celebrated, because I think the female narrative is really important and it’s been the backbone of country music since the beginning.”