• DIERKS BENTLEY, ERIC CHURCH AND KEITH URBAN ARE AMONG THE INITIAL PERFORMERS AT THIS YEAR’S CMA AWARDS.

    Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and Keith Urban, along with Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood and Maren Morris, are the initial performers announced for this year’s CMA Awards.

    Dierks has four nominations going into next month’s CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist, Album (Black), Music Video for “Somewhere on a Beach” and Musical Event of the Year for “Different for Girls” with Elle King.

    Eric’s nominations include Male Vocalist, Album (Mr. Misunderstood); Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for “Record Year.”

    Keith picked up four nominations this year, including Entertainer, which he took home in 2005); Male Vocalist, Album (Ripcord) and Musical Event of the Year for “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood. While Keith only receives one nomination for Album of the Year, he could receive an additional trophy as producer.

    The 50th Annual CMA Awards, Hosted by Brad and Carrie, will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 2nd at 8pm ET on ABC.

  • KEITH URBAN RELEASES THE VIDEO FOR “BLUE AIN’T YOUR COLOR.”

    Keith Urban has released the brand new music video for his song “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” the fourth single from his CMA-nominated Album of the Year, RIPCORD. The release includes a special behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video that was filmed last month at Five Star Bar in Los Angeles.  It can be seen exclusively at http://smarturl.it/btsBlueVideo as can a “Blue Ain’t Your Color” making of at http://smarturl.it/behindBlue.

    “Approaching how we would make the music video for this song started with how we could keep the simplicity of the song represented visually,” said Urban.  “I love the idea that we kept it stripped down with a 3-piece band.”

    “I got to work with this incredible photographer named Carter Smith, who doesn’t do a lot of videos – an extraordinary still photographer – and we had an incredibly good time making the video,” added Urban.

    In addition to Keith and a couple of band members, the black and white clip features actress/model Amber Valletta (Hitch, Transporter 2, Revenge).

    Urban, who received four CMA nominations late last month, has already celebrated three No. 1s from RIPCORD, which debuted at No. 1 in three countries. Not only did RIPCORD receive Album of the Year honors (an award that Urban has never won), it garnered Best Vocal Event for “The Fighter” featuring Carrie Underwood.  Urban also received nominations for Best Male Vocalist and the highly coveted Entertainer of the Year.

    Urban is currently on the road, his ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016 that will see concerts in four countries (U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand).

    Audio / From his Facebook Live chat last Thursday (September 15th), Keith Urban answered questions about the video for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” and he answered one about the inspiration to shoot the video while wearing a suit.

    Download

    Keith Urban (Blue Ain’t Your Color video) OC: …about that. :28
    “[The inspiration] really came from when I did American Idol with Carrie Underwood, and because it was the finale, I played in a suit, and this whole idea kind of started from the idea of playing in a suit. From there, obviously, the story of the song is pretty strong, and we started building the concept from there. But, the initial spark of inspiration was really about that.”

    Audio / From his Facebook Live chat last Thursday (September 15th), Keith Urban answered questions about the video for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” and for this one, he talked about shooting the clip in an empty bar, giving it a dreamlike feel.

    Download

    Keith Urban (Blue Ain’t Your Color video) 2 OC: …idea from Carter. :29
    “There was something that sort of Carter [Smith] suggested by having it be almost dreamlike. The girl walks into the bar, she’s just not in a good place in life, hits the jukebox, the song starts playing, suddenly we’re on stage, and she’s in the bar and she’s on her own. So, at the end of the video, you’ll see the camera pans around and then the band’s actually not there, and so you wonder was she just imagining the whole thing. It’s very cool. I really like that idea from Carter.”

    Video / Keith Urban bts of "Blue Ain't Your Color" video

    View

    Video / Blue Ain't Your Color video

    View
  • KEITH URBAN ANNOUNCES THE ARENA LEG OF HIS ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016.

    Packed houses and unanimous rave reviews made Keith Urban’s “ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016” one of the hottest tours of the summer.  Now, following his performance in front of 80,000 at the Australian “Super Bowl” and the announcement that he will perform in downtown Nashville on New Year’s Eve, Urban returns to the States for the launch of the arena leg of his “ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016.”

    Urban’s arena tour, which kicked off last Thursday in Bismarck, North Dakota’s Civic Arena, debuted after his free concert before more than 10,000 in Nashville’s Bridgestone Plaza, has since added shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, Holmdel, Lake Tahoe and Gilford.  The tour now stands at more than 70 performances globally.

    Before it’s conclusion in Australia in December, “ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016” will have played to more than a million people, in four countries on three continents, included first ever performances at G.I.O. Stadium in Canberra, Australia and in New Zealand at The Westpac Stadium.

    Last month Urban was nominated for four CMA Awards, including the coveted Entertainer of The Year Award, his #1 Album of the Year (an award that he has never won), Male Vocalist and Vocal Event of the Year (with Carrie Underwood for “The Fighter”), an award that he’s won a CMA record four years in a row.

  • KEITH URBAN RECORDS PSA FOR MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS FOUNDATION.

    Keith Urban has recorded a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which keeps music alive by donating musical instruments to disadvantaged schools. The program feels children thrive with music education programs, helping them to be better students and inspiring creativity and expression through playing music.

    Mr. Holland’s Opus began with a movie, based on a true story, of composer and reluctant music teacher, Glenn Holland (played by Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss), who, over the course of his career, touched the lives of generations of students, while struggling with shrinking budgets and shifting priorities to keep music as part of their education.

    Audio / Keith Urban :30 PSA for Mr. Holland's Opus

    Download
  • KEITH URBAN WILL HEADLINE NASHVILLE’S NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION.

    Keith Urban will ring in the new year in Nashville. He’s set to headline the Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve in Nashville (#NashvilleNYE). Keith, who’s making his way up the country charts with “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” will lead a cool night of music which will also include rock band Styx, A Thousand Horses, Charlie Worsham and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The event is free and open to the public.

    “What could be better than New Year’s Eve in downtown Nashville,” said Keith. “It’s an awesome way to ring in 2017, and I can’t wait for the party!”

    Urban, a four-time GRAMMY winner, has released five No. 1 albums, including his most recent Ripcord, and recorded 21 No. 1 songs. He ranks No. 8 on Billboard’s All-time Country Airplay Chart and has the most consecutive top 10 songs on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart (36). He is a Country Music Association Horizon Award winner and the first to go on to win the CMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year, a title he’s captured three times, and the coveted Entertainer of the Year. He is the first and only country artist to have served as an American Idol judge.

    The event will take place at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park for the first time to accommodate growth and enhance security. Last year’s New Year’s event on Lower Broadway attracted a record 150,000 to downtown, generating $22.2 million in direct visitor spending.

    Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve in Nashville event site will open at 4pm with a DJ. The raising of the Music Note by Mayor Megan Barry and the Fisk Jubilee Singers® will follow at approximately 6:15pm.

    Follow the NCVC on social media for event updates, information and answers to your #NashvilleNYE questions:
    Twitter: @VisitMusicCity – http://twitter.com/visitmusiccity
    Instagram: @VisitMusicCity – http://instagram.com/visitmusiccity
    Facebook: Visit Music City – http://facebook.com/nashvillemusiccity

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Vince, Kip, David, Clare, Keith, Eric, Easton

    Vince Gill performed “Go Rest High on That Mountain” during a memorial service for golfer Arnold Palmer in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Tuesday (October 4th). He called him his “favorite person he’d ever met.”

    Kip Moore and his bass player and bandmember Manny Medina co-wrote the song, “Drive,” that appears on popular British duo The Shires’ album, The Universe, which was released last week. The foursome wrote the song at last year’s C2C Festival.

    The inaugural Beach Town Music Festival in Vero Beach, Florida has been postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. The festival, which was scheduled for Friday (October 7th) and Saturday (October 8th), featured performances by David Nail, Clare Dunn and headliner Jake Owen.

    Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Eric Paslay and Easton Corbin are scheduled to play Country 500 festival at Dayton International Speedway over Memorial Day Weekend (May 26th – 28th, 2017).

    Video /

  • FOREVER COUNTRY: Keith, Darius, Reba

    As announced yesterday (September 13th), in celebration of The 50th Annual CMA Awards, the CMA has created the biggest video in Country Music history. Titled “Forever Country,” the single and accompanying music video features 30 CMA Award-winning acts. This single was produced by CMA Award-winning Board member Shane McAnally and the video was directed by Grammy Award-winning director Joseph Kahn. In another historic move, the single will be unveiled to the public Friday, September 16th in a global roadblock across Country radio, premiering on hundreds of radio stations simultaneously at 8:30 AM/ET across the U.S., in addition to premiering in key international markets.

    The song and music video weave a medley of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” together.

    “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, November 2nd (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC.

    For more information on “Forever Country” visit ForeverCountry50.com.

    A radio special about the song, hosted by Luke Bryan (as well as an unhosted version), will be made available to download on ForeverCountry50.com. A second radio special about the video will be available in the coming days.

    Audio / Keith Urban explains why he wanted to take part in the Country Music Association’s 50th Anniversary event, “Forever Country.”

    Download

    Keith Urban (why he wanted to take part in Forever Country) OC: …all about. :29
    “I really wanted to be a part of the CMA’s ‘Forever Country.’ The songs are just so perfect. The fact that they all go together so seamlessly was incredible. I’ve played ‘Country Road’ in my cover band days; I’ve played ‘On the Road Again’ in my cover band days, and you know, I guess for me the reason these songs have stood the test of time is that they’re truth. They’re truth and they’re universal, and no matter where you come from in the world, you know what these songs are all about.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Forever Country)

    Download

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about the mashup of the three iconic country songs that make up "Forever Country."

    Download

    Darius Rucker (Forever Country song mashup) OC: …great move. :45
    “I mean, these three songs are so iconic and so big and have been so big so long when I was a young kid I remember singing ‘On the Road Again’ and singing ‘Country Roads’ on the John Denver TV show and all that stuff but they’ve all stood the test of time. ‘I Will Love You’ is one of those songs that just stood the test of time so much that somebody else cut it and made it even bigger and to have the hosts do it together that’s such a cool story to start with ‘On the Road Again’ and that’s what we do as artists we’re on the road again, and then ‘Country Road Take Me Home’ and then you’re singing to the fans ‘I Will Always Love You,’ ‘cause it’s true none of us could be out here doing this if our fans didn’t want to see us play. And so I think the three of those songs together was pretty smart. That was a great move.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker says he's honored to be on "Forever Country."

    Download

    Darius Rucker (Forever Country) 1 OC: …pretty awesome. :19
    “I heard about it when I got a phone call asking me if I was interested in doing it, and they started saying the names that were doing it and am I interested. You know, I’m honored to be asked to be on it. I was excited and hearing all the big names that were doing it and to know that I was gonna be a part of that, and it was pretty awesome.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (tune in)

    Download

    Audio / Reba McEntire talks about singing "I Will Always Love You" as part of the CMA's "Forever Country."

    Download

    Reba (Forever Country) OC: …huge thrill. :10
    “I get to sing ‘I Will Always Love You,’ and that’s Dolly Parton’s song. It’s been a huge favorite of mine for many, many years, and to get to sing on that with everybody and especially Dolly was a huge thrill.”

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Forever Country)

    Download

     

    Video / Keith Urban Forever Country

    Video / Darius Rucker Forever Country

    Video / Reba Forever Country

  • KEITH URBAN STANDS UP TO CANCER.

    Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Dierks Bentley joined up to perform David Bowie’s “Heroes” for the Stand Up to Cancer event, which will air Friday night (September 9th) at 8pm ET. The three acts taped their performance at last week’s ACM Honors to honor Bowie, who died in January, following a battle with cancer.

    Keith, whose father Robert passed away from cancer last December, said he wanted to sign on because “It hit really close to home with the passing of my father with cancer, as well. [I’m] really honored to be a part of it.”

    Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook also lost someone close to him because of cancer when his sister died last year, as well.

    The all-star show will also feature Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Emma Stone, Celeine Dion, Anna Kendrick, Eric Stonestreet, Alison Sweeney and co-founder Katie Couric and producer Bradley Cooper.

    Audio / Keith Urban says he is honored to take part in the Stand Up to Cancer event.

    Download

    Keith Urban (Stand Up to Cancer) OC: …forward to it. :10
    “It hit really close to home with the passing of my father with cancer, as well. [I’m] really  honored to be a part of it, and the fact that I get to play with Little Big Town, that’s always a blast. I’m really looking forward to it.”

  • KEITH URBAN WILL HEADLINE THE NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL IN AUSTRALIA.

    As prestigious as the Super Bowl halftime show is in the United States, so is the National Rugby League (NRL) Telstra Premiership Grand Final in Australia, which multiple Grammy Award (and ARIA Award) winner Keith Urban will headline.  The final match will take place at the ANZ Stadium on Sunday, October 2nd in front of nearly 100,000 fans.  The appearance will feature songs from Urban’s #1 CMA nominated Album of the Year RIPCORD (an award that Urban has never won).

    In Australia RIPCORD has exploded.  It debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album chart and the gold certified album remained in the Top 10 for 15 weeks, setting a new record for Urban for the number of weeks an album has remained in the Top 10 on release.  After 18 weeks the album still is in the Top 20.

    During his trip to Australia, Urban will also perform at 2Day FM’s ‘World Famous Rooftop’ in Sydney.

    Before it concludes Urban’s “ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016” will have visited four countries including the U.S., Canada, Australia and for the first time ever Urban will perform in New Zealand at Westpac Stadium, Wellington. The tour’s arena leg began this month in Canada and will move to the U.S. in October.

    Late last month Urban was nominated for four CMA Awards including the coveted Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist, Best Vocal Event (with Carrie Underwood for “The Fighter”), as well as the previously mentioned Album of the Year.

  • THE 10TH ANNUAL ACM HONORS AIRS FRIDAY ON CBS.

    d5d4e6d4b90b4965854cad11_1060x704

    Tune-in alert for Friday (September 9th). The 10th Annual ACM Honors will air tomorrow beginning at 9pm ET/PT on CBS. The two-hour special, hosted by Lady Antebellum, is dedicated to celebrating honorees and off-camera category winners from this year’s ACM Awards. 

    The television special features an all-star lineup of live performances as well as award presentations celebrating honorees, including Special Awards recipients Glen Campbell, Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt (awarded posthumously), Tanya Tucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jeff Walker (awarded posthumously), Jimmy Webb, Little Big Town and The Statler Brothers. Additionally, Jason Aldean was honored with the ACM Triple Crown Award and Miranda Lambert was presented with the inaugural ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award. Ross Copperman was also honored as Songwriter of the Year.

    Artists who performed in tribute to the honorees include:

    • Kelsea Ballerini performed “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” in tribute to Crystal Gayle.
    • Dierks Bentley performed “Freedom” in tribute to Ross Copperman, joined onstage by participants of the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp.
    • Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell performed “I Love A Rainy Night” in tribute to Eddie Rabbitt.
    • Alicia Keys and Cam performed a special duet of “Girl Crush” in tribute to Little Big Town.
    • Maren Morris performed “Delta Dawn” in tribute to Tanya Tucker.
    • Chris Young and Dan + Shay performed “Flowers on the Wall” in tribute to The Statler Brothers.
    • The Band Perry performed “MacArthur Park” in tribute to Jimmy Webb.
    • Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley performed an all-star medley in a special tribute to Glen Campbell. The medley consisted of Campbell’s hits “Southern Nights,” “Gentle On My Mind,” “Wichita Linemen,” “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” and the iconic “Rhinestone Cowboy.”

    The Academy’s Studio Recording Award winners were celebrated in a pre-televised ceremony, and many served as the house band for the night under the direction of music director Frank Liddell. Backing up artists during performances on the telecast were ACM Guitarist of the Year Derek Wells, ACM Bass Player of the Year Michael Rhodes, ACM Specialty Instruments Player of the Year Danny Rader and ACM Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year Jim “Moose” Brown, who also served as bandleader.  Other Studio Recording Award honorees included Producer of the Year Dave Cobb, Audio Engineer of the Year Justin Niebank, Drummer of the Year Shannon Forrest and Steel Guitar Player of the Year Paul Franklin.

    The ceremony presenters included Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, Emmylou Harris, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Martina McBride, Mike Fisher, Thomas Rhett, and Toby Keith. The event was taped at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, and sponsored by City National Bank and Kendra Scott.

    About ACM Honors™

    ACM Honors™ is an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Special Awards, Studio Recording Awards and Songwriter of the Year Award winners. The 10th Annual ACM Honors was taped on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and – for the first time ever – was produced for television by dick clark productions to be broadcast on Friday, September 9 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Tiffany Moon is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music. For more information, visit www.ACMcountry.com.

    Photo L-R: Shannon Campbell, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith performing at the 10th Annual ACM Honors in tribute to Glen Campbell. Photo Credit: John Shearer/Getty Images for ACM/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music)

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about honoring the late Eddie Rabbitt at this year's ACM Honors.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (ACM Honors-Eddie Rabbitt) OC: …he had. :24
    Me and Cole Swindell did a version honoring Eddie Rabbitt and we did ‘I Love A Rainy Night.’ It was fun being on stage with Cole. ‘I Love A Rainy Night’ was a song that I covered for years in my band in Georgia so it was like riding a bike up there, I just hopped up there and … And Eddie Rabbitt is one of those artists that you forget just how dynamic of a career that he had.”

    Audio / Toby Keith talks about the legendary Glen Campbell, who he’s paying tribute to at the ACM Honors this week.

    Download

    Toby Keith (Glen Campbell) OC: …to ’75? :57
    “The amazing thing about Glen’s deal is, Glen looks so good. Glen looks 15 years younger than he is, and he has full-blown Alzheimer’s. It’s just really sad to think that he’s in as great a shape as he is physically, except for that debilitating affliction. But, man! He was one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and I don’t think most people realize that. I think most people saw him on the Glen Campbell Good Time Hour and some movies, and they just thought he’s a singer that sings some pop country. But Glen was one of the greatest guitar players of all time too, and even when he couldn’t remember his songs he could still play them without remembering the words. It’s nice that they’re paying tribute to Glen, ‘cause he’s certainly an icon and worked with the Wrecking Crew back in the day in L.A. which is probably the band that played on most of the hits that you heard from ’65 to ’75?”

     

    Audio / Keith Urban says Glen Campbell is one of his biggest musical influences.

    Download

    Keith Urban (Glen Campbell) OC: …guitar player. :22
    “I’ve always been a fan of what I like to call guitartists, you know those guitar-artists like Glen Campbell, who’s probably one of my biggest influences; those guys who knew a good song, had a great voice and played great and just the all-around guys with a guitar, you know? When you think of Glen Campbell, you think of, I think of ‘Galveston,’ ‘Wichita Lineman,’ then I also think of him being a phenomenal guitar player.”