• NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Eric, Sam, Chris, Lauren, Lady A, Keith

    Luke Bryan and Eric Church, along with Carrie Underwood have been announced as headliners for the 2016 Stagecoach Country Music Festival April 29th and 30th and May 1st. The three-day event in Indio, California, will also include performances by Sam Hunt, Eric Paslay, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, The Band Perry, Dustin Lynch, A Thousand Horses and Old Dominion.

    Lauren Alaina was chosen as this year’s hottest bachelorette by Nash Country Weekly readers. Lauren’s self-titled EP is available now, and it includes her single “Next Boyfriend.”

    Keith Urban joined Taylor Swift during her sold-out 1989 Tour stop in Toronto, to perform with the pop superstar. The pair collaborated on his 2002 No. 1 hit “Somebody Like You,” along with his most recent chart-topper, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

    Lady Antebellum will perform at the NASH Presents Hearts Unsung – a special evening of music benefiting Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals. The event will take place November 9th at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center and will be part of the full-length feature film, Hearts Unsung in theaters nationwide January 21st.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Darius, Dierks, Toby, Canaan

    Luke Bryan postponed his Thursday night Farm Tour stop in Lexington, Kentucky and Saturday night’s show in Columbia, South Carolina due to weather. The Lexington show will now take place Tuesday (October 6th), while Columbia’s stop has been rescheduled for October 11th. Luke posted a statement on Twitter, saying, “Postponing a show is so difficult for me because I know it is an inconvenience to the people that make my life amazing. The fans. Very sorry!” For more details, go to LukeBryan.com.

    UPDATE: Luke has now canceled Friday night’s Farm Tour date in Knoxville. It has yet to be scheduled as of 1:50p CT.

    Darius Rucker will appear in The Grand Ole Opry’s first feature film, American Saturday Night: Live From The Grand Ole Opry. The movie will hit select U.S. Carmike Cinemas for a limited engagement beginning December 4th. The concert film will also feature performances by Opry members Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton, as well as The Band Perry and Brett Eldredge.

    Dierks Bentley celebrated his 10th anniversary of being a member of the Grand Ole Opry this week, and he brought along a special guest: his dog Jake, who was also on hand when he became a member of the famed institution.

    Toby Keith is set to perform on the new TBS series Neighborhood Sessions October 16th. The show was recorded in Toby’s hometown of Moore, Oklahoma, and will feature several of his hits, along with some songs from his new album, 35 mph Town, available October 9th.

    Canaan Smith‘s ‘American Muscle’ will be used for ESPN’s College GameDay this season. You can also find the song on his debut album, Bronco.

  • LUKE BRYAN HITS THE HOOPS WITH PRO BASKETBALL PLAYER JIMMY BUTLER.

    Luke Bryan takes on the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler in a basketball game. Guess who wins? Check out the latest episode of LBTV below.

    Video / LBTV Luke takes on Jimmy Butler

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  • LUKE BRYAN RETURNS TO THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME FOR A SPECIAL APPEARANCE.

    NASHVILLE, Tenn., – October 1, 2015 – The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will host a special appearance by Luke Bryan on Sunday, November 1st, at 2 p.m., in the museum’s  CMA Theater. The reigning ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year will discuss his career and perform a short acoustic set in support of the exhibition Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary, presented by Citi. The panel will be hosted by Joseph Hudak, Senior Editor at Rolling Stone Country.

    The program is included with museum admission and free to museum members. Seating is limited; museum members may reserve via TicketFly.com beginning at 10 a.m. on October 8. Bryan is offering access to pre-sale tickets for his Nuthouse members only, October 8-14. Fans can sign up here to become a member. The general public will be able to reserve tickets beginning at 10 a.m. on October 10. For assistance with reservations, please call 615-416-2001 or email reservations@countrymusichalloffame.org.
    Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary, which ends its run on November 8th, examines the singer-songwriter’s roots and rise to stardom.

    Artifacts on display include:

    Little League baseball uniform and glove

    Second grade school backpack and denim jacket

    First guitar, which his parents gave him when he was fourteen

    A script from his high school production of Annie Get Your Gun, in which Luke starred

    Handwritten lyrics to his 2014 chart-topping single “I See You”

    Stage props from his spring break concerts

    Tour posters

    Stage clothes worn by Bryan at concerts and award shows

    Music awards, including trophies for his ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year wins

    Bow and arrows used by Bryan on the Outdoor Channel reality series Buck Commander: Protected by Under Armour.
    Since the debut of his first album in 2007, Luke Bryan has placed 13 singles at #1 and sold nearly 8 million albums with 30 million digital tracks from his five studio albums. He has been named Entertainer of the Year by both the Academy of Country Music (twice) and the Country Music Association. Bryan’s recent album Kill The Lights recently debuted at #1 on both the Billboard Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts. This is Bryan’s third consecutive album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200. Kill The Lights is the third-largest-selling album debut in 2015, after R&B / hip hop releases from Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Kill The Lights is also the highest country album debut in the last two years, since Bryan’s Crash My Party debuted at #1 in August 2013.

    Bryan is taking his “Kick the Dust Up Tour” across North America in 2015 and to date has sold out eight stadium shows. This fall he will embark on his seventh annual Bayer Presents Luke Bryan Farm Tour 2015, performing in eight cities across the South, granting college scholarships to local students from farming families in communities where the tour plays.

    For more information about the exhibit, click here. Follow @countrymusichof on Twitter and join the conversation using #ThisIsLukeBryan. Public programming for Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary is made possible, in part, by the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation.

  • LUKE BRYAN’S KILL THE LIGHTS CONTINUES TO REIGN AT THE TOP OF THE COUNTRY ALBUM CHART.

    Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights remains at the top of the country album chart this week, selling another nearly 28,000 copies to also land him at Top 10 on the overall Billboard Hot 200 chart, as well. The collection features his previous No. 1 single “Kick the Dust Up,” as well as his current hit, “Strip It Down,” which is the Top downloaded country song.

    Luke says “Strip It Down” is a magical moment on his album. “This is my fifth album and I’ve never really done like that slow dance, take your girl and have a big ole, big ole night of romance and all that, and ‘Strip It Down’ kind of does that and I’m interested to see how the fans react to that,” says Luke. “I do feel like ‘Strip It Down’ is a really, really special moment on the CD, and I don’t think three years ago I could have delivered a song like ‘Strip It Down’ like I wanted to, but it felt right the way we wrote it…the loft at me and Caroline’s house is kind of my little writing room and kind of got some good vibes going on in there writing some good songs. But Ross and Jon came out there, and we knocked out ‘Strip It Down,’ and it was a pretty magical moment.”

    The Georgia native kicks off this year’s Farm Tour Wednesday (September 30th) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

    Audio / Luke Bryan describes “Strip It Down” as a magical moment on his new album, Kill the Lights.

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    Luke Bryan (Strip It Down) 2 OC: …magical moment. :56
    “I’m five albums in. This is my fifth album and I’ve never really done like that slow dance, take your girl and have a big ole, big ole night of romance and all that, and ‘Strip It Down’ kind of does that and I’m interested to see how the fans react to that. I think I got a good picture in my mind of how it’s going to go and I’m excited to see all of that transpire. But I do feel like ‘Strip It Down’ is a really, really special moment on the CD and I don’t think three years ago I could have delivered a song like ‘Strip It Down’ like I wanted to, but it felt right the way we wrote it…Well the loft at me and Caroline’s house is kind of my little writing room and kind of got some good vibes going on in there writing some good songs. But Ross and Jon came out there, and we knocked out ‘Strip It Down’ and it was a pretty magical moment.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Keith, Darius, Lady A

    Luke Bryans Kill the Lights album continues its reign at the top of the country album charts. The collection, featuring his chart-topping hit “Kick the Dust Up” and his current single, “Kill the Lights,” sold another 38,000 copies to land at the top of the country chart, as well as at No. 3 overall. Kill the Lights is shy of just a couple thousand copies to selling gold (500,000).

    Keith Urban performs his latest single, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (September 8th).

    Keith Urban’s “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” received another video treatment, this time by a director in L.A. using stop motion. He titled the video cover “Walks of Life.” (see video below)

    Darius Rucker is scheduled to perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday (September 9th).

    Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum will perform during the second annual Route 91 Harvest event, taking place October 2nd – 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Others set to perform include Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and Jake Owen, among others.

    Video / Keith Urban John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 Walks of Life video

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  • LUKE BRYAN LURES IN THE FISH IN WYOMING.

    Luke Bryan has a song on his new album, Kill the Lights, titled “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day.” This is truly the life he lives when he’s not on the road or in the studio. Check out a recent break from his Kick the Dust Up Tour, as he throws out a line in Wyoming in the new episode of LBTV.

    Video / LBTV 2015 Fishing in Wyoming

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  • LUKE BRYAN’S ‘KILL THE LIGHTS’ IS NO. 1 COUNTRY ALBUM THIS WEEK.

    Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights continues to reign at the top of the country album chart. The collection, featuring his No. 1 song “Kick the Dust Up” and his new hit “Strip It Down,” sold another 54,000 copies last week to hold at No. 1 on the country chart and at No. 2 overall. Kip Moore’s Wild Ones bowed at No. 2 on the country chart with nearly 40,000.

    “I think when you hear ‘Kick the Dust Up’ right off the bat, it sets a tone that I’m right here with what I am,” says Luke. “But then when you start getting into ‘Kill the Lights’ and hear that new kind of sound of that song, and then even with some of the other tracks like ‘Fast’ and then even ‘To the Moon and Back,’ those go down that ‘Drink a Beer’ seriousness that I was able to do a little bit on Crash My Party.”

    Luke takes his Kick the Dust Up Tour to Darien Lakes, New York for a two-night stand beginning Thursday.

    Audio / Luke Bryan explains what fans can expect from his new album, Kill the Lights.

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    Luke Bryan (what fans can expect from KTL) OC: …albums to come. :42
    “I want them to be going ‘Oh yeah, this is what we wanted, this is what we expect, this is what – this is kind of what I’m about, but in a different way too. And I think when you hear ‘Kick the Dust Up’ right off the bat, it sets a tone that I’m right here with what I am but then when you start getting into ‘Kill the Lights’ and hear that new kind of sound of that song, and then even with some of the other tracks like ‘Fast’ and then even ‘To the Moon and Back,’ those go down that ‘Drink a Beer’ seriousness that I was able to do a little bit on Crash My Party. And now it worked on Crash My Party, and now I’m confident to do it certainly on this album and more albums to come.”

     

  • LABOR DAY 2015: AJ, Billy, Canaan, Darius, David, Dierks, Eric (Church & Paslay), Jon, Kip, Lady A, Luke

    For many decades, Labor Day was seen as a day for workers to voice their complaints and discuss better working conditions and pay.

    U.S. Congress declared Labor Day a national holiday in 1894, and on Monday, September 7th, we will once again celebrate the people in every occupation whose work and dedication make this nation great. Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers.

    Labor Day weekend also signals the unofficial end to summer, and many of the hottest country stars are taking a look back at some of the toughest jobs they had prior to making their mark in music or their dream job now.

    AUDIO: Alan Jackson says that working man values have always been a part of his music.

    AJ (working people songs) OC: … appreciate that. :28
    “I’ve always written songs and recorded songs, other people’s songs, about workin’ people, and workin’, the workin’ life ’cause I mean, that’s where I’m from. I mean, I worked…I’d already had jobs and worked as a grown person before I ever even thought about bein’ in the music business, so I come from that background, and…although I hadn’t had a job in a long time (laughs), I still remember a lot about it, you know, and I remember what the lifestyle is, and I still appreciate that.”

    Audio / AJ (working people songs) OC: … appreciate that. :28

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    Billy Currington recalls some of the jobs he had before landing his record deal in 2003.

    Billy Currington (Labor Day) OC: …record deal. :40
    “I started working like at [age] 12, landscaping. This was summer, every summers, and roofing. I started when I was about 16 roofing houses, and that was probably one of my toughest jobs because down there in south Georgia, it gets hot, so doing that every day all summer long. The pawn shop when I moved to Nashville was one of my favorites, even though it was one of my least favorites. The concrete job was my least favorite of all – six years of that, and I couldn’t take it no more. After that job, that was my turning point. Either I’m going to do something else for a living [laughs] or quit and try to really focus on music and get this record deal.”

    Audio / Billy Currington (Labor Day) OC: …record deal. :40

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    Canaan Smith talks about the bad jobs he had before signing a publishing deal and later a record deal.

    Canaan Smith (worst jobs) OC: …of that. [laughs] :54
    “I’ve had some terrible jobs. I was a janitor for a while, and I mopped floors, vacuums all kinds of, picking up dog poop, taking out trash, just basically somebody’s beyatch [laughs], that was my job. I did that for two-and-a-half years before I signed a publishing deal. Before that, actually my very first job, I got fired from. It was some sort of candy/chocolate store. My mom dropped me off one time, and I went to work and I was like I think I can do this, and then two shifts later I just didn’t show up because I didn’t understand the concept of having to look at a schedule to see when you come in. I just didn’t show. I just thought they’d call me, ‘Hey, we need you to come in.’ I didn’t know. I was 15 years old, and never worked and that kind of stuff. I always cut grass when I was a kid and cleaned golf clubs – whatever I could do to make some money. But, yeah, I got fired from my first job. I’m pretty proud of that.” [laughs]

    Audio / Canaan Smith (worst jobs) OC: …of that. [laughs] :54

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    Darius Rucker recalls one of his worst jobs before turning to music.

    Darius Rucker (Labor Day) OC: …pizza. :15
    “I was fifteen, and I worked at a pizza place, and the guy decided that at fifteen, that I could not only clean the floors and wash the dishes, but I also had to make pizza. So, for two months, he taught me how to make pizza.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker (Labor Day) OC: …pizza. :15

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    David Nail recalls his first job at Dairy Queen.

    David Nail (Labor Day) OC: …Dilly Bar. :32
    “The first job that I ever had was working at Dairy Queen. One of my very best friends in the world’s mother purchased a franchise, so it was kinda a cool place to work. You put me in an ice cream place, it’s a recipe for disaster. So, Kathy Jeffers, her mother tends to tell people it was a ‘mutual separation,’ but I can vividly remember her saying that they were going to lose money if they continued to let me work, because I was eating more food than I was selling. But, it was a great two days that I spent there, and I had many a Dilly Bar.”

    Audio / David Nail (Labor Day) OC: …Dilly Bar. :32

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    Dierks Bentley makes a living performing for his fans, and he can’t say enough about them.

    Dierks Bentley (Labor Day) OC: …generosity. :26
    “Personally, the fans give me amazement. That’s the only word to really sum it up. I look out in the crowd, you know, usually see a lot of faces and fans are cheering. I know each one of these like from the road-the signs are from California…Michelle and Kayla live up in the Ohio area. They’re all, I just see them, and I’m like, ‘Wow!,’ they’re all from different regions. You know when you’re in a different region of the country and you just see certain fans. These people are way more hard core than I am, and I’m just amazed by their generosity.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley (Labor Day) OC: …generosity. :26

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    Eric Church talks about one of his worst job.

    Eric Church (Labor Day-odd jobs) OC: …bought at 2am. 1:27
    “I had an awful job. I’ve had a lot of awful jobs…my worst one was when I first came to Nashville. I got a job at the Shop at Home Network. I worked midnight, graveyard, midnight to eight. That was bad enough but then I would work all night, go home, shower and then I had writing appointments all day because I was trying to get a career started. I’d go write songs and get meetings just trying to get signed. And end up getting done at 3 of 4 with all of that, I’d go home, take a shower or sleep for a little bit and then I had to be at work again at midnight. So the schedule was bad enough, however, what I had to do at the job…I sold knives from midnight to 7 or 8am. And, anytime somebody calls you at 3 or 4am and needs 200 knives for $19.95, it’s automatically an alarming situation. And I just, I was young and I’d been in a lot of these people’s shoes, I had done this…I knew they were drunk. I knew what they had done. They’d just come home from the bar, flipped on Shop at Home and said, ‘You know what? I need that.’ So the reason the job didn’t last long for me is that I was maybe the worst salesmen in history because I ended up talking a lot of these people out of it, I’d say, ‘I’ll tell you what man, go to bed, call me, I’ll be here in the morning. If you get up in the morning and want these knives you call me back.’ Because I knew what was going to happen, you know. They bought 200 knives for $19.95…first of all some of these people you didn’t know whether you should call the cops. What do you need 200 knives for? Even though I’m selling them…what do you need them for? So, it was awful doing that job. And then they got rid of me because, they were like, ‘You’re the worst. I can’t believe you’re talking people out of it.’ I was like, ‘Man I know…I’ve been there.’ [laughs] I’d want some to talk me out of buying some of the stuff I’ve bought at 2am.”

    Audio / Eric Church (Labor Day-odd jobs) OC: …bought at 2am. 1:27

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    Eric Paslay talks about his first job…printing logos on fanny packs.

    Eric Paslay (Labor Day) OC: …could print. :34
    “My first official job was working at a screen printing place in Texas during the summer in a metal building that had no AC. We printed on fanny packs – really cool — and these other little bags. And it was eye doctors that, some company if you bought supplies through them, they’d put your logo on fanny packs for your customers to put in a drawer somewhere. Fanny packs are cool, if you like ‘em. You know, we’d like time ourselves to see how many fanny packs you could print.”

    Audio / Eric Paslay (Labor Day) OC: …could print. :34

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    Jon Pardi talks about his worst job, which was at a grocery store.

    Jon Pardi (Labor Day) OC: …so bored! :17
    “The worst job I ever had was at Hometown Grocery Store. I didn’t want to work, I was 15, and I did not want to work at the grocery store. Bagging was fun, but they sent me down the aisles to pull up cans and turn ‘em around and face ‘em, and I would just get so bored!”

    Audio / Jon Pardi (Labor Day) OC: …so bored! :17

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    Kip Moore recalls his worst job…ever.

    Kip Moore (Labor Day-worst job) OC: …than that. :21
    “I’d have to say my worst job ever was laying sod in the south Georgia heat. There’s nothing than that, especially when somebody would think that you’re waiting for the next sod patch to be thrown to you and you got your back turned, and all of a sudden, that big ole piece of sod hits you right on the back. You got nowhere to clean up, and you’re just stuck with dirt on your back for the rest of the day. It doesn’t get any worse than that.”

    Audio / Kip Moore (Labor Day-worst job) OC: …than that. :21

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    Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum tells us what he used to do to make a buck before finding success as a musician.

    Lady A (Labor Day) OC: …I had a lot of crummy jobs. :31
    CK “I used to…” HS: “… knock out asbestos walls.” CK: “I did that for a long time. But even before that, I used to do lawn care every summer. Oh, man, I do not miss that. Just glad those days are over. I get out here and play music for a living. It’s a lot more fun. But yeah, I used to do that, and I used to work as a bag boy at a golf course once. I did that for a couple of summers. I had a lot of crummy jobs.”

    Audio / Lady A (Labor Day) OC: …I had a lot of crummy jobs. :31

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    Luke Bryan talks about the different jobs he worked in and around Leesburg, Georgia, before heading to Nashville to pursue a career in music.

    Luke Bryan (Labor Day-jobs) OC: …Nashville… 1:07
    “At age 12 thru 13, I worked at Rubos IGA Supermarket in Leesburg, GA. I worked during the summers on Monday and Tuesday. I stocked and cleaned up the produce.  They paid me under the table…I peeled off all of the brown lettuce. Let’s see, when I was 15, I was a cashier at K-Mart for two months. I worked at K-Mart for two months, and then I reverted back to Rubos because it didn’t really make sense for me to drive all the way into Albany and work for K-Mart. The benefits were great though-you’d get an hour-long on the blue light special. So I started back at Rubos, and then I quit Rubos and worked for my Dad-just awful just driving tractors through cotton all day, and spraying pesticides that eventually would turn your hair green. And then at some point, I started playing guitar. And well, after college I went back and worked for my dad and continued to spray and haul fertilizer around. And then I moved to Nashville…”

    Audio / Luke Bryan (Labor Day-jobs) OC: …Nashville… 1:07

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  • LABOR DAY WEEKEND LINERS: Billy, Brothers, Canaan, Clare, Darius, David, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Jon, Kacey, Keith, Kelleigh, Kip, LBT, Luke, Sam

    LINER Billy Currington (Labor Day)
    Hey y’all! It’s Billy Currington, wishing you a very happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio /

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    LINER Brothers Osborne (Labor Day)
    This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing you a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Canaan Smith (Labor Day)
    Hey! What’s up, guys? I’m Canaan Smith. Have a great and work-free Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Clare Dunn (Labor Day)
    Hey! What’s up? This is Clare Dunn, and I hope you have a Happy Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Darius Rucker (Labor Day)
    Hey! It’s Darius Rucker, and I hope you have a have a happy work-free Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER David Nail (Labor Day)
    Hey guys! It’s David Nail, wishing  you a very happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio /

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    LINER Eric Church (Labor Day)
    Hey! It’s Eric Church, and I hope you have a have a happy Labor Day weekend.

    Audio /

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    LINER Eric Paslay (Labor Day)
    Hey! It’s Eric Paslay, and I hope you have a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio /

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    LINER Jon Pardi (Labor Day weekend)
    Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, and I hope you have a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Kacey Musgraves (Labor Day weekend)
    Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, hoping you have a happy Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Keith Urban (Labor Day weekend)
    Hi everybody! This is Keith Urban, wishing you a very happy Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Kelleigh Bannen (Labor Day)
    Hi! I’m Kelleigh Bannen, and I hope you have a happy Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Kip Moore (Labor Day)
    Hey—what’s happening guys? This is Kip Moore, wishing you a happy and work-free Labor Day Weekend.

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    LINER LBT (Labor Day)
    Hi! We’re Little Big Town, hoping you have a work-free Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Luke Bryan (Labor Day)
    Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, and I hope you have a have a happy Labor Day weekend.

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    LINER Sam Hunt (Labor Day)
    Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Have a great and work-free Labor Day weekend.

    Audio /

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