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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Keith Urban, Jordan Davis, George Strait, Vince Gill

    Press
    George Strait / Jordan Davis / Keith Urban / Vince Gill

    Keith Urban gave a shout-out on his socials to his wife, actress-producer Nicole Kidman, who is starring in Taylor Sheridan’s new series, Special Ops: Lioness on Paramount+. The first two episodes dropped on Sunday (July 23rd), and it’s an intense thrill ride of a series. He wrote, “Loved seeing the first episodes finally air last night of Special Ops: Lioness! When Nic told me that Taylor Sheridan had a story he wanted to do w/ her, I knew it would be extraordinary – and sure enough – I love this series. Huge props to the whole cast – check it out now on @paramountplus  !!!!!!! Love you babygirl!”

    The series stars Nicole, Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame), Laysla De Oliveira (Locke & Key), Dave Annabelle (Yellowstone, Brothers & Sisters), LaMonica Garrett (1883), Michael Kelly (Jack Ryan, House of Cards), Morgan Freeman and others. Special Ops: Lioness, inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, follows the life of Joe (Zoe Saldaña) while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA’s spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman) and Byron Westfield (Michael Kelly), enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA’s efforts to thwart the next 9/11.

     

     

    Jordan Davis is featured in the third episode of Hulu’s new music series, The Playlist, from ABC News Live. The description of the show is “Music — it’s what unites us, what entertains us and for so many, what we find solace in during difficult times. But what is the inspiration behind our favorite song? How did our favorite artist find their way to music? ABC News Live sits down one-on-one with some of music’s most influential artists to hear the story behind the sound.”

     

    George Strait can make ANYTHING look great — a cowboy hat, Wrangler Jeans, a pair of well-worn cowboy boots and his own brand of Tequila, Codigo 1530, which he toasted to on National Tequila Day on Monday (July 24th).

    https://twitter.com/GeorgeStrait/status/1683560444311801857

     

    Vince Gill and Paul Franklin will chat about their upcoming album, Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price & The Cherokee Cowboys, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on August 4th.

     

     

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Eric Church, Jordan Davis

    Press
    Carrie Underwood / Darius Rucker / Eric Church / Hootie & the Blowfish / Jordan Davis / Keith Urban / Luke Bryan / Reba McEntire

    Darius Rucker and the Hootie & The Blowfish just celebrated the 29th anniversary of their 1994 debut album Cracked Rear View on July 5th.

     

    Following yesterday’s premiere of “CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair” on Hulu, the Country Music Association revealed the documentary will make its broadcast debut  July 18th at 9pm ET/8pm CT on ABC. The 75-minute special, which features Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Dolly Parton, Wynonna Judd, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and many others, explores the festival’s 1972 debut of Fan Fair.

    https://twitter.com/CountryMusic/status/1676969763548037123

    Keith Urban has been announced as one of the nominees for the 2023 class for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He’s nominated alongside Steven Curtis Chapman, Martie Maguire and Gillian Welch and David Welch (nominated as a team) in the Contemporary Songwriter/Artists category. The 53rd Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala will take place October 11th at the Music City Center. The nominees for the Contemporary Songwriters category are Casey Beathard, Shawn Camp, Jim Collins, Don Henry, David Lee Murphy, Leslie Satcher, Darrell Scott and Victoria Shaw.

    Jordan Davis released his Apple Music Sessions live EP on Thursday (July 6th). You can watch him perform “Tucson Too Late,” “Church In A Chevy” and a cover of Foy Vance’s “Guiding Light” (which features special guest Sam Hunt).

     

    Eric Church has been announced as part of a new group of Nashville city leaders of a 16-person Music City Host Committee whose goal is to book high-profile events for the upcoming enclosed Tennessee Titans stadium in Nashville. The committee includes former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Tennessee State University head football coach Eddie George and many others, to look at a potential Super Bowl, the 2031 NCAA Men’s Final Four and a college football National Championship game reportedly on the list, according to the Nashville Business Journal.

     

    Bill Anderson will be celebrated by the Grand Ole Opry as the longest-serving Opry member in the show’s history on July 22nd. Vince Gill, Jamey Johnson, Jeannie Seely, Ricky Skaggs are scheduled to perform.

     

  • FOURTH OF JULY 2023 AUDIO

    Audio
    Alan Jackson / Billy Currington / Brad Paisley / Dalton Dover / Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Jon Langston / Jordan Davis / Josh Turner / Keith Urban / Kip Moore / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Parker McCollum / Priscilla Block / Sam Hunt / Travis Denning / Tyler Hubbard

    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 and tyranny.

    The Declaration of Independence, which is on public display in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., was primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, however, he worked with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to come up with the final document. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776, but the actual signing of the document took place August 2nd, 1776. Now, the Fourth of July 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.

     

    Brad Paisley is set to headline “Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th” celebration. The downtown event in Nashville will present one of the country’s largest July 4th fireworks show, which will be synchronized to live music from the Nashville Symphony. Brad, who is headlining the show for the second time (his last appearance was in 2021), will be joined on the bill by The War And Treaty, Ben Rector, Tiera Kennedy and singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim. The event is partnering with The Store, a free referral-based grocery store founded by Brad and his wife, Kimberly Williams Paisley. One dollar from the sale of each event T-shirt will benefit The Store.

    https://twitter.com/warandtreaty/status/1673428354714808321

     

    Darius Rucker has been tapped to perform on CNN’s The Fourth In America on July 4th for the 247th anniversary of the United States’ independence. Other musical performances include Alanis Morrisette, The All-American Rejects, Demi Lovato, Duran Duran, Flo Rida, Leon Bridges, Post Malone, Sheryl Crow, Smash Mouth, Zac Brown Band, The Plain White T’s, and more. The special, which will feature performances and firework shows from around the country (including Nashville, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York City and more), will air live from 7pm ET to 1am ET on CNN.

    Maddie & Tae will celebrate Independence Day by performing “This Land Is Your Land” as part of the PBS TV special, A Capitol Fourth. Boyz II Men, Belinda Carlisle, Chicago, Babyface, Renee Fleming, Charles Esten and the Broadway cast of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, among others, will also perform. The live broadcast will air beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT on Tuesday (July 4th) on PBS.

     

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

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    Alan Jackson (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 / Carrie Underwood recalls one of her favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Carrie Underwood (favorite Fourth of July memory) OC: …work out. :51
    “I think my favorite Fourth of July memory would be going to the fireworks stand and picking out which fireworks I wanted to do. I must’ve been like 7 or 8, and I came home and made a list of what order I wanted to do them in, because I wanted to put a show on for Mom and Dad, and of course I couldn’t wait until it was dark outside (laughs). So, I made my Mom and Dad get the lawn chairs and come out to the backyard and watch some not very dramatic fireworks at like six o’clock in the evening, but I was so proud of myself, and I was so proud of the show that I put on. So, I feel like that was a little training for what I do now – putting on shows, figuring out how it’s all going to work out.”

    Audio / Dalton Dover recalls memories of the Fourth of July when he was a young boy.

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    Dalton Dover (Fourth of July) OC: …back then, you know? :17
    “We would go out on the lake. We’d fish all day. I just remember my mom and my uncles and my grandpa, they would all go get fireworks across the Alabama line and we would all just be in the yard shooting ‘em. We’d have sparklers and all kinds of stuff. Even the littlest, cheapest fireworks, we thought were huge back then, you know?”

    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 says the people of this country are what define America.

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    Dierks Bentley (people are America) OC: …all about. :17
    “The definition of America to me, you know, getting a chance to travel across the country on a tour bus, stepping upon stages whether it be county fairs, state fairs, arenas, rock bars, the Opry stage, anywhere across the country and looking out at that crowd and seeing people. The people, to me, are what America’s all about.”

    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 / Jon Langston says his plans for Fourth of July are always different.

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    Jon Langston (Fourth of July) OC: …either way. :17
    “The Fourth of July is usually different every year. We’re usually playing shows, or we’re out on the lake or at the beach, or sometimes I’ve said, ‘I’m staying at home,’ shooting fireworks off the back porch or something. That’s probably not the safest thing, but we have a good time either way.”

    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 / Jordan Davis has a few days off from the Gravel & Gold Tour, so he plans to cookout for family and friends for the Fourth of July holiday.

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    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July cooking out) OC: …a bunch of food. :29
    “I love cooking for people. I love having people over to the house, grilling hot dogs, cooking/making brisket, just being around the people you want to be around with – drinking beer, watching baseball. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just getting old, but like my idea of having fun now is having people over to the house and just playing host, and so that’s exactly what we’re going to do this year; have some friends and family over and hang out with the kids, let ‘em run around the sprinklers and cook a bunch of food.”

    Audio / Josh Turner 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 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-soldier) 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 / 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 / Luke Bryan says every year his plans for the Fourth of July include water and fireworks.

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    Luke Bryan (Fourth of July plans) OC: …on the fourth. :15
    “My plans for the Fourth are always to be on the boat somewhere in the water, and buy a few fireworks, send ‘em up in the sky for the boys, but it’s always a boat and water, whether it’s in the Gulf of Mexico, whether it’s in Georgia…we don’t have a total plan yet, but we’ll be having a good time on the fourth.”

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT THEIR FOURTH OF JULY TRADITIONS.

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    Maddie & Tae (Fourth of July) OC: …it’s perfect. :29
    TAE: “One of my favorite Fourth of July traditions – I’d say it’s a tradition ‘cause it happens every year, but I’m not always able to make it – is that we go to my grandparents in Oklahoma, and we all line up lawn chairs right in front of their garage and we just light fireworks. We always do it far away and then we light it, and we always run back and watch the fireworks, but that’s probably one of my favorite memories.” MADDIE: “My birthday is July 7th, so I always get built-in fireworks for my birthday, and sometimes we actually celebrate it on the 4th, because there’s fireworks everywhere, so it’s perfect.”

    Audio / PARKER MCCOLLUM TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE FOURTH OF JULY MEMORIES. NOTE: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

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    Parker McCollum (Fourth of July) OC: …days of my life. :23
    “My favorite Fourth of July memories growing up are actually kind of dangerous now that I think about it, but we used to have fireworks wars where we’d shoot like roman candles and bottle rockets. We’d always go to my grandma’s house, pop fireworks and we’d end up shooting ’em at each other and having wars; no eye protection, no nothing, just shooting bottle rockets at each other’s faces. But it was so fun; some of the best days of my life.”

    Audio / PRISCILLA BLOCK SAYS THE FOURTH OF JULY IS ONE OF HER FAVORITE HOLIDAYS.

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    Priscilla Block (Fourth of July) OC: …we get crazy. :26
    “I love Fourth of July. I usually always have a Fourth of July party. It is known that there is a slip-n-slide at my house on Fourth of July. You know, it’s such a great holiday to just bring friends together and, I don’t know, we get wild on the Fourth. We get crazy.”

    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.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING TALKS ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY EVENTS HIS HOMETOWN OF WARNER ROBINS, GEORGIA WOULD THROW EVERY YEAR.

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    Travis Denning (Fourth of July) OC: …will love. :51
    “Fourth of July in Warner Robins, Georgia is an event. It’s something else. In fact, forever they’ve thrown an Independence Day concert, and back in the day, it was huge. It was the biggest thing they did all year. They would actually have the concert in the MAC (McConnell-Talbert Stadium), which was the high school football stadium that Warner Robins and Northside and Houston County shared. I mean, one year they had Wynonna play and then they had Josh Turner one year, Darius Rucker. I mean it was like a big deal, and there’d be 15,000, 20,000 people there, and I think it’s so cool that there’s a little bit of a legacy of people coming together in that town and making something happen, you know? I’ll never forget going to those shows and thinking, I was more proud of what the city had done. I was like, ‘That’s just so cool that they could put together a show like this, an event that everybody will love.”

    Audio / TYLER HUBBARD TALKS ABOUT HIS FOURTH OF JULY PLANS WITH HIS FAMILY.

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    Tyler Hubbard (Fourth of July) OC: …that freedom. :43
    “Yeah, I love the Fourth of July. A lot of great memories growing up, watching fireworks, being with family, hanging out. And even to this day we have a tradition where we try to go to Sun Valley where my wife is from and hang out in the mountains and take the kids and just spend a week out there just kind of enjoying life and taking it all in, and obviously, we still love to do the fireworks and hang out, but also just kind of reflect and be thankful for the country we live in, the sacrifices made so that we can live here and be free and it’s just a special, special holiday. We’re always so grateful and thankful for the people who served this country and the sacrifice that’s made with their families and everything else, and pay honor and tribute to those who fight so hard for that freedom.”

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Travis Denning

    Press
    Carrie Underwood / Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Keith Urban / Little Big Town / Luke Bryan / Reba McEntire / Travis Denning

    Make sure to tune in to catch Dierks Bentley host  the 2023 NHL Awards on Monday (June 26th), the National Hockey League announced today. The celebration of the League’s best regular-season performances will broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on TNT, Sportsnet and TVA Sports in the U.S. and Canada, at 8pm ET. Fans can also follow the festivities across the NHL’s social media channels via the official hashtag #NHLAwards.

    Darius Rucker has been tapped to perform on CNN’s The Fourth In America on July 4th for the 247th anniversary of the United States’ independence. Other musical performances include Alanis Morrisette, The All-American Rejects,  Demi Lovato, Duran Duran, Flo Rida, Leon Bridges, Post Malone, Sheryl Crow, Smash Mouth, Zac Brown Band, The Plain White T’s, and more. The special, which will feature performances and firework shows from around the country (including Nashville, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York City and more), will air live from 7pm ET to 1am ET on CNN.

    Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire and many others are featured in the new television special, CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair, airing July 5th on Hulu.  The documentary film traces the story of the world’s largest and longest-running Country Music festival, CMA Fest.

     

    Travis Denning is set to release a new song “Things I’m Going Through” tomorrow (June 23rd).

     

     

  • CMA FEST 2023

    Audio
    Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Jordan Davis / Josh Turner / Keith Urban / Tyler Hubbard / Vince Gill

    The 50th annual CMA Fest (formerly known as Fan Fair) kicked off on Thursday (June 8th), and the entertainment was everywhere in downtown Nashville.

    The official kick-off took place at the Riverfront Stage with Lainey Wilson and continued throughout the day, ending up with a party at Nissan Stadium with performances and/or appearances by Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Tyler Hubbard, Darius Rucker, Elle King, Luke Combs, Carly Pearce, Dan + Shay and a surprise appearance by Vince Gill.

    More than 90,000 people are estimated to participate during CMA Fest, a 12% growth over 2022. The stadium alone saw a 10% increase in attendance year over year. Fans from all 50 states and a record-breaking 51 countries filled Music City in anticipation of seeing more than 300 acts taking part in CMA Fest.

    Dierks, who is co-hosting next month’s ABC-TV special CMA Fest with Elle King and Lainey Wilson and performed Sunday night (June 11th) at Nissan Stadium, says he’s not only a country artist, but a fan of the format as well. “This is a great weekend for me, ‘cause I get to go from the Station Inn to the Stadium. I mean, I get to run my whole life in that little, you know, I started off going to watch a band play at the Station Inn back in 1994 with dreams of one day trying to make it as a country artist and nothing says country artist like playing the Stadium here in Nashville. So, it’s kind of a look back at my life in a short six-day period,” says Dierks. “So it’s really, for me it’s a magical week of reflection and being a fan. I’m playing, but also just like total fan mode. I’ve always said I’m a fan of country music first and foremost, and this weekend is a great place to be a fan. It’s just the best of the best.”

     

    Vince was a special surprise guest during Luke Combs’ set, to which the newly-anointed country superstar called his “absolute hero.” The pair teamed up on Vince’s 1993 hit “One More Last Chance.” Vince says he’s grateful to be a part of CMA Fest. “This is a genre of music unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced. It’s a grateful artist base. It’s grateful for the people that give us the opportunity to do what we do, you know, whether it’s at the Fairgrounds or whether it’s a bigger place. I don’t know if it ever really mattered,” says Vince. All those people out there that buy a ticket to come and do this whether they stand in line to get somebody’s autograph or go to a show or whatever. They’re just here because they like what we do, you know? And it feels good to let them know they’re appreciated and not be standoffish and not be that way. So, I’ve always enjoyed it.”

    Backstage prior to his first Nissan Stadium performance, Jordan Davis said he came to Nashville to be a songwriter and never dreamed he’d get to perform at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest. “Long story short, I moved to town to write songs. I had never played with a band; I’d never played a show,” says the Louisiana native. “I was trying to get a publishing deal and trying to get other artists to cut my songs. I truly started playing music and trying to go after being an artist, because I didn’t know if that was going to happen. So, I figured I was already this far down the road, so I might as well start trying to make some money gigging around and here we are. I kind of fell backwards into it, but I’m very grateful I did. I truly never, never dreamed that I would be playing on the stage that I’m getting to play on tonight.”

    Having performed his two No. 1 songs as a solo artist — “5 Foot 9” and “Dancin’ In The Country” — Tyler Hubbard is overwhelmed by the reaction the fans have had for his recent self-titled album. “It means a ton to me to have these songs connect the way they have, it’s been really special,” he says. “It’s inspired me, it’s motivated me, and it makes me want to keep doing it, and it’s given me a lot of life. These songs are special, and they mean a lot and to watch the fans sing ‘em back to me at the shows and to hear their stories and to see their videos that they’re making to my music, it’s fulfilling as a songwriter, as an artist. It’s just what I love, and like I said, it just motivates me to keep doing this thing. I just love the connection, and that’s what music does. It brings us together and so that’s why I’m honored to be a part of it.”

    Night two pulled in performances by Tanya Tucker, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson. Reba McEntire surprised the crowd at Nissan Stadium during Cody Johnson’s set. The pair performed her hit “Whoever’s In New England,” before Cody presented her with a gold plaque for their hit duet “Dear Rodeo.” Also performing on Friday (June 9th) were Miranda Lambert, HARDY and Keith Urban (who had the crowd mesmerized).

    Additional performers at Nissan Stadium included Little Big Town, Jon Pardi, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Josh Turner, Tim McGraw, Jelly Roll, Old Dominion, Ashley McBryde, Tracy Lawrence, as well as hot newcomers on the Platform Stage including Dalton Dover, Ashley Cooke, Megan Moroney, Ian Munsic, Nate Smith, Alana Springsteen and Haley Whitters.

    More highlights and performances will be featured during the CMA Fest ABC-TV special, hosted by Dierks Bentley, Elle King and Lainey Wilson. Catch all the action at 8pm ET on July 19th.

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, who is co-hosting the ABC-TV CMA Fest, says he’s not only a performer, but also a fan during this special week.

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    Dierks Bentley (CMA Fest 2023) OC: …best of the best. :48
    “This is a great weekend for me, ‘cause I get to go from the Station Inn to the Stadium. I mean, I get to run my whole life in that little, you know, I started off going to watch a band play at the Station Inn back in 1994 with dreams of one day trying to make it as a country artist and nothing says country artist like playing the Stadium here in Nashville. So, it’s kind of a look back at my life in a short six-day period, and even the Hot Country Knights is like that’s to me Lower Broadway at its best…or worst. But, so it’s really, for me it’s a magical week of reflection and being a fan. I’m playing, but also just like total fan mode. I’ve always said I’m a fan of country music first and foremost, and this weekend is a great place to be a fan. It’s just the best of the best.”

    Audio / Vince Gill talks about CMA Fest, formerly known as Fan Fair.

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    Vince Gill (CMA Fest) OC: …grateful. 1:03
    “This is a genre of music unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced. It’s a grat4eful artist base. It’s grateful for the people that give us the opportunity to do what we do, you know, whether it’s at the Fairgrounds or whether it’s a bigger place. I don’t know if it ever really mattered. All those people out there that buy a ticket to come and do this whether they stand in line to get somebody’s autograph or go to a show or whatever. They’re just here because they like what we do, you know? And it feels good to let them know they’re appreciated and not be standoffish and not be that way. So, I’ve always enjoyed it. This is about my 40th year of doing anything connected with whatever they call it. (laughs) I don’t even know anymore (laughs), but it’s still the same thing. It’s just a bunch of people that loves what everybody does and man, it’s great for everybody to hang and just sitting backstage running into so and so and running into so and so, you don’t get to see them very often. So, you know grateful.”

    Audio / Backstage prior to his performance at Nissan Stadium on Thursday night, Jordan Davis talked about how he became an artist.

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    Jordan Davis (CMA Fest 2023) OC: …play on tonight. :34
    “Long story short, I moved to town to write songs. I had never played with a band; I’d never played a show. I was trying to get a publishing deal and trying to get other artists to cut my songs. I truly started playing music and trying to go after being an artist, because I didn’t know if that was going to happen. So, I figured I was already this far down the road, so I might as well start trying to make some money gigging around and here we are. I kind of fell backwards into it, but I’m very grateful I did. I truly never, never dreamed that I would be playing on the stage that I’m getting to play on tonight.”

    Audio / Tyler Hubbard says it means the world to him to see his songs connect with the fans.

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    Tyler Hubbard (CMA Fest 2023) OC: …part of it. :36
    “It means a ton to me to have these songs connect the way they have, it’s been really special. It’s inspired me, it’s motivated me, and it makes me want to keep doing it, and it’s given me a lot of life. These songs are special, and they mean a lot and to watch the fans sing ‘em back to me at the shows and to hear their stories and to see their videos that they’re making to my music, it’s fulfilling as a songwriter, as an artist. It’s just what I love, and like I said, it just motivates me to keep doing this thing. I just love the connection, and that’s what music does. It brings us together and so that’s why I’m honored to be a part of it.”

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about the community spirit surrounding CMA Fest.

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    Keith Urban (CMA Fest 2023) OC: …always need it, though. :29

    “The good thing about CMA Fest is it’s historically always comes at a time when it feels like we need it the most. When we were here back in 2010 after the Nashville floods and doing a special performance, I think CMA Fest was really acknowledging what everybody had gone through and the floods, and so I think it’s such a community spirit out there, not just Nashville, but the country community coming together and celebrating life and the moment. We always need it, though.”

    Audio / Josh Turner talks about his fan encounter with the late, great Vern Gosdin.

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Mickey Guyton

    Press
    Brad Paisley / Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Caylee Hammack / Dierks Bentley / Keith Urban / Luke Bryan / Mickey Guyton / Reba McEntire / Vince Gill

    Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are among the artists participating in the new documentary, “CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair,” which tells the story of country music’s longest-running festival. Premiering June 5th on Hulu, the 75-minute special features exclusive one-on-one interviews, never-before-seen archival content and CMA Fest Performances from the last 50 years. “CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair” will also feature Bill Anderson, Kelsea Ballerini, BRELAND, Brooks & Dunn, Shy Carter, Luke Combs, Wynonna Judd, Miranda Lambert, Patty Loveless, Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown, Craig Morgan, Lorrie Morgan, Dolly Parton, Carly Pearce, Jeannie Seely, Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson, Trisha Yearwood and Chris Young, among others. CMA Fest will celebrate its milestone 50th anniversary June 8-11, 2023, in downtown Nashville, featuring hundreds of artists performing across multiple stages.

     

    Brad Paisley will perform at the second annual Beachlife Ranch festival, taking place in Redondo Beach, California, September 22nd – 24th. The Doobie Brothers, Jack Johnson, Wynonna Judd, Midland and Shooter Jennings will also perform.

     

    Mickey Guyton, Trisha Yearwood and CMT’s Leslie Fram will be honored by Save The Music and SongFarm.org for their contributions to the music industry and music education at Nashville’s 4th annual “Hometown to Hometown” event June 5th at City Winery. Caylee Hammack, Kelsea Ballerini, Brittney Spencer and more will perform. All proceeds will benefit music technology programs in Nashville, Georgia and Texas.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Keith Urban, Eric Church, Alan Jackson, Sam Hunt, Tyler Hubbard

    Press
    Alan Jackson / Eric Church / Keith Urban / Tyler Hubbard

    Keith Urban returned to ABC’s American Idol for Sunday night’s (May 21st) season finale. He mentored the Top 3 contestants, and he also performed his hit, “Wild Heart,” for all the dreamers on the show. Iam Tongi was crowned the winner of this season.

     

    Keith Urban will release Volume 2 of a special No. 1’s exclusive vinyl at Walmart on August 11th.  It includes 12 No. 1 Hits from his entire catalog of albums.  The vinyl will be on exclusive purple/grape vinyl and will include a limited-edition poster inside. The track list includes such chart-toppers as “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” “Break On Me,” “We Were Us” (with Miranda Lambert), “You Gonna Fly,” “Once in A Lifetime,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” and “Making Memories of Us,” as well as many more. Volume 1 is also still available and features “Somebody Like You,” “The Fighter” (with Carrie Underwood), “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Days Go By,” “You’ll Think of Me” and “Long Hot Summer,” among others.

     

    Eric Church is set to release the THIRD pressing of his 2015 album, Mr. Misunderstood, on blue vinyl on June 9th. The collection features the title track, “Chattanooga Lucy,” “’Round Here Buzz,” “Holdin’ My Own” and “Record Year,” among others.

     

     

    Alan Jackson was the subject of a recent episode of the game show Jeopardy with the answer being “What is ‘Chattahoochie?'”

    Sam Hunt posted a handful of photos of him with his daughter, Lucy, and wife Hannah, to his socials. Sam just released the song, “Women In My Life.”

    Tyler Hubbard surprised fans with a pop-up show at Nashville’s popular Broadway hotspot, The Stage, on Saturday night (May 20th) to celebrate the one-year release of his No. 1 debut solo single, “5 Foot 9.” He also celebrated his second No. 1 for “Dancin’ In The Country.”

    Video /

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban

    Press
    Carrie Underwood / Darius Rucker / Keith Urban / Luke Bryan

    Carrie Underwood celebrated her 15th Anniversary as a proud Grand Ole Opry member on Saturday (May 13th) with a two-show performance. The Opry presented her backstage with a special commemorative print and a specially-designed cake, by IveyCake, to commemorate the milestone. Carrie made her unforgettable Grand Ole Opry performance debut on June 10th, 2005, just two weeks after winning American Idol. Her love for the Opry started as a child as she grew up watching and listening to the show, dreaming of one day performing there and even becoming a member herself. The multi-GRAMMY® /CMA/ACM award winner was officially inducted into the Opry family on May 10th, 2008 by fellow Oklahoman and fellow Opry member Garth Brooks. Cute note: She also got to meet the iconic daytime star Susan Lucci backstage. Carrie will return to the Grand Ole Opry for a special two-show Tuesday night Opry on June 6 (7 pm and 9:30 pm), which “unofficially” kicks off the milestone 50th CMA Fest week.

     

    Don’t forget to tune in to CMT Crossroads on Tuesday (May 16th) to catch Darius Rucker and The Black Crowes swap vocals on each other’s songs.  “CMT Crossroads: The Black Crowes & Darius Rucker” premieres with a special one-hour presentation on Tuesday at 10p/9c, with an immediate encore at 11p/10c, and on Friday (May 19th) at 12a/11c. It will also go live on Wednesday (May 17th) on CMT.com, CMT VOD and the MTV app (CMT Crossroads), with subsequent premieres on CMT MUSIC and MTV LIVE.

     

    Luke Bryan will perform his new single, “But I Got A Beer In My Hand,” live on ABC’s American Idol finale on Sunday (May 21st). The three-hour finale episode is set to air live from coast to coast starting at 8pm ET/5pm PT.

    Keith Urban will return to the season finale of ABC’s American Idol on Sunday (May 21st) to mentor the Top 3 finalists. Keith, who was a judge on the talent show between seasons 12 and 15, will also take the stage to perform as well.

    https://twitter.com/AmericanIdol/status/1657053379703754753

    In a new promo for the Tennessee Titans 2023-2024 schedule release, Keith Urban appears at the very end on stage at Nashville’s famed Robert’s Western World.

     

  • ACM AWARDS 2023 PREVIEW

    Audio
    Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Caylee Hammack / Jon Pardi / Jordan Davis / Keith Urban / Priscilla Block / The War & Treaty

    The 58th Annual ACM Awards will take place Thursday (May 11th) with a star-studded cast of nominees, performers and presenters. Jordan Davis, Ed Sheeran and Hardy will perform, as well as collaborations between Trisha Yearwood and Carly Pearce; Ashley McBryde featuring Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark, Pillbox Patti  and John Osborne, as well as Cole Swindell with Jo Dee Messina.

    Presenters include Tyler Hubbard, Mickey Guyton, TJ Osborne, Jon Pardi, Keith Urban, Jordan Davis, Gabby Barrett,Dak Prescott, Emmitt Smith, Tanya Tucker, Breland, MacKenzie Porter, Brandy Clark and Trisha Yearwood.

    Previously announced performers include Keith Urban, The War And Treaty, Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, Jelly Roll, Cole Swindell, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman.

    Chris Stapleton has four nods, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Song of the Year for “You Should Probably Leave” as both artist and songwriter.

    Jon Pardi is nominated for Album of the Year for Mr. Saturday Night as songwriter and producer.

    Carrie Underwood is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, while Jordan Davis scores his first ACM nomination for Male Artist of the Year.

    Little Big Town is up for Group of the Year, and the Duo of the Year category features Brothers Osborne, Maddie & Tae and The War And Treaty.

    Of note, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne earns a second nod for Album of the Year (Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville) as Producer.

    The 58th Annual ACM Awards will be free to stream live for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, May 11th at 7pm ET/6pm CT/4pm PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The full rebroadcast will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.

    The two-hour, commercial-free ACM Awards will stream live for free on Prime Video and the Amazon Music Twitch channel from The Star in Frisco, Texas beginning at 7pm ET/6pm CT.

    Entertainer of the Year

    Jason Aldean
    Kane Brown
    Luke Combs
    Miranda Lambert
    Chris Stapleton
    Carrie Underwood
    Morgan Wallen

    Female Artist of the Year

    Kelsea Ballerini
    Miranda Lambert
    Ashley McBryde
    Carly Pearce
    Lainey Wilson

    Male Artist of the Year

    Kane Brown
    Luke Combs
    Jordan Davis
    Chris Stapleton
    Morgan Wallen

    Duo of the Year

    Brooks & Dunn
    Brothers Osborne
    Dan + Shay
    Maddie & Tae 
    The War and Treaty

    Group of the Year

    Lady A
    Little Big Town 
    Midland
    Old Dominion
    Zac Brown Band

    New Female Artist of the Year

    Priscilla Block 
    Megan Moroney
    Caitlyn Smith
    Morgan Wade
    Hailey Whitters

    New Male Artist of the Year

    Zach Bryan
    Jackson Dean
    ERNEST
    Dylan Scott
    Nate Smith
    Bailey Zimmerman

    Album of the Year

    Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville – Ashley McBryde; Producer: John Osborne
    Bell Bottom Country – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce
    Growin’ Up – Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton
    Mr. Saturday Night – Jon Pardi; Producers: Jon Pardi, Bart Butler, Ryan Gore
    Palomino – Miranda Lambert; Producers: Jon Randall, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Mikey Reaves

    Single of the Year

    “Heart Like a Truck” – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce
    “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde; Producers: Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally
    “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell; Producer: Zach Crowell
    “Thank God” – Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Dann Huff
    “‘Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson; Producer: Trent Willmon

    Song of the Year

    “Sand In My Boots” – Morgan Wallen; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Josh Osborne, Michael Hardy
    “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Cole Swindell, Jesse Frasure, Mark D. Sanders, Thomas Rhett, Tim Nichols; Publishers: Ashley Gorley
    “‘Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson; Songwriters: Ben Stennis, Matt Rogers
    “wait in the truck” – HARDY ft. Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy, Renee Blair
    “You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Chris DuBois, Chris Stapleton

    Visual Media of the Year

    “HEARTFIRST” – Kelsea Ballerini; Producers: Christen Pinkston & Wesley Stebbins-Perry; Director: P Tracy}
    “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell; Producer: Troy Jackson; Director: Spidey Smith
    “Thank God” – Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Luke Arreguin; Director: Alex Alvga
    “‘Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson; Producer: Maddy Hayes; Director: Dustin Haney
    “wait in the truck” – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson; Producer: Inkwell Productions; Director: Justin Clough
    “What He Didn’t Do” – Carly Pearce; Producer: Ryan Byrd; Director: Alexa Campbell

    Songwriter of the Year

    Nicolle Galyon
    Ashley Gorley
    Chase McGill
    Josh Osborne
    Hunter Phelps

    Artist-Songwriter of the Year

    Luke Combs
    ERNEST
    HARDY
    Miranda Lambert
    Morgan Wallen

     

    Audio / CARRIE UNDERWOOD TALKS ABOUT BEING NOMINATED FOR ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR.

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    Carrie Underwood (Entertainer nomination) OC: …that category. :47
    “It is, I mean, obviously such an honor to be nominated in Entertainer of the Year. Obviously, that’s such a tough category to be in, ‘cause there’s just so, I don’t even want to call it competition, there’s just so many hard working artists out there that are just you know pouring themselves and their time and their energy and their love and their artistry into what they do. You know, obviously just to even be in the final category is just absolutely amazing and hopefully, above all, we can all just remember that it’s a celebration of a great year in country music and in our careers as artists, so we’ll just see what happens, but definitely excited to be in that category.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS ACM NOMINATION FOR MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR.

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    Jordan Davis (ACM 2023 Male nod) OC: …win for me. :49
    “I haven’t been that shocked in a long time. Definitely the most shocked I’ve been since I started doing music. It was definitely shocked to see that I was in that category. I knew I made it through to the last round, but, honestly, I was, y’all see the other nominees in there, some heavy hitters. So, to hear my name first, it was pure shock. But now too, in 2019, I was up for New Artist, so I think it goes to show that I’ve got a great team and great fans, and two, we made some great music that is connecting with people. The awards are amazing, but to be nominated with those guys is a huge win for me.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his ACM Album of the Year nomination for Mr. Saturday Night.

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    Jon Pardi (ACM nomination 2023) OC: …always great. :20
    “’Mr. Saturday Night’ being nominated for Album of the Year is an accomplishment, and a lot of hard work went into it and a lot of hard work goes out touring it. It’s just a great record. We picked out songs, wrote songs, went to Key West to record vocals which is cool. Just to get nominated by songwriters and publishers and the industry is always great.”

    Audio / WHEN THIS YEAR'S ACM NOMINATIONS WERE ANNOUNCED LAST MONTH, MICHAEL AND TANYA TROTTER OF THE WAR AND TREATY TALK ABOUT THEIR FIRST ACM NOMINATION FOR DUO OF THE YEAR.

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    The War and Treaty (ACM 2023 nomination) OC: (Tanya) …country music. 1:13
    “Hey everybody! I’m Tanya, and I’m Michael, and we’re The War and Treaty. (Michael) This morning, April 13th, we woke up and to be able to see Bobby Bones do the nominations for the ACMS ad get to the category of Duo of the Year, and we were just callin’ ‘em out. We were like, ‘Brooks & Dunn,’ ‘Dan + Shay,’ and we were like ‘Brothers Osborne,’ Brothers Osborne, yes! Dan + Shay, Dan + Shay, and we was like, ‘Yes.’ We were like, ‘Maddie & Tae,’ we was like ‘Yes,’ and then time slowed down. They were like The War and Treaty. And honestly, we burst into tears, we screamed, we yelled, we high-fived, we hugged our manager, Christina. In our minds then traveled back in time and forward. We traveled to Charly Pride, DeFord Bailey and Ray Charles, and we were like, ‘I hope they’re seeing this wherever they are, and I hope they’re dancing and high-fiving as well. Thank you, ACMs.” TANYA: “Thank you so much to the ACMs and everybody who’s nominated and all of our peers in country music.”

    Audio / PRISCILLA BLOCK IS SO EXCITED TO BE NOMINATED FOR ACM NEW FEMALE THIS YEAR.

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    Priscilla Block (ACM 2023 nomination) OC: …to party, baby! :28
    “Omigosh! It’s Priscilla Block. I am so honored and just literally freaking out that I am nominated for New Female at the ACM Awards. This is my second year being nominated, and it’s such an honor. Gosh, I think about five years ago when I would’ve dreamed of being here, so I’m really excited, and it’s gonna be in Texas, so I’m ready. I’m ready to party, baby!”

  • KEITH URBAN AND THE WAR AND TREATY ARE AMONG THE FIRST ROUND OF PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

    Press
    Keith Urban / The War & Treaty

    Keith Urban and The War And Treaty are among the first round of performers at this year’s ACM Awards. Billed as “Country Music’s Party of the Year,” the three-hour special will also feature performances by Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Jo Dee Messina, Ashley McBryde, Dolly Parton, Jelly Roll, Cole Swindell, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman.

    https://twitter.com/ACMawards/status/1651592032484302850

     

    The War And Treaty are also nominated for the first time in the Duo of the Year category.

     

    Additional performers for the 58th ACM Awards, along with presenter and ACM Awards week ancillary events will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, visit ACMcountry.com.

    The 58th Annual ACM Awards will be free to stream live for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, May 11th at 7pm ET/6pm CT/4pm PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The full rebroadcast will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.