NASHVILLE – CMA Music Festival will be the hottest concert destination of the summer with today’s announcement that Country Music superstars Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church,Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt,Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town,Neal McCoy, Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Darius Rucker, Cole Swindell,The Band Perry, Keith Urban, Wynonna & The Big Noise, and Zac Brown Band will each take the stage during the Nightly Concerts at LP Field. The 2015 CMA Music Festival takes place Thursday, June 11-Sunday, June 14 in downtown Nashville.
Subscribers to CMA Exclusive, CMA’s e-newsletter, were the first to learn about the star-studded lineup Wednesday morning.
“CMA Music Festival is all about the fan experience,” said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. “Our fans snapped up LP Field tickets at a record pace, and we wanted to reward that loyalty by sharing this exciting lineup with them first this morning.”
While the relationship between artists and fans is the foundation for the event, CMA Music Festival benefits music education programs for children in need. Wednesday morning, Thomas Rhett welcomed guests to Nashville Children’s Theatre for a performance of “Jack’s Tale: A Mythic Mountain Musical,” which was funded by a $10,000 grant from the CMA Foundation from the 2014 CMA Music Festival. Threats of snow in Nashville prevented a majority of students from attending, but he warmly greeted the enthusiastic crowd.
“When I was little I was in a play called ‘A Christmas Carol’. I was Scrooge,” Thomas Rhett told the student-filled crowd. “Music education was super important for me, and today was a good reminder of how neat it is to see the Country Music community band together to help give back to that through CMA Fest.”
The CMA Foundation presents grants on behalf of the artists who perform at CMA Music Festival each year for free and has donated more than $11 million to music education initiatives across the country since 2006.
Tickets to the Nightly Concerts at LP Field sold out in November. Across the river from the stadium, there are countless free and low-cost entertainment options for fans around downtown Nashville as part of the CMA Music Festival. Seven free entertainment stages give fans an opportunity to choose their musical adventure, including the hugely popular Chevrolet Riverfront Stage, which consistently fills the Cumberland riverbank each of the four days.
AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X at Music City Center moves the CMA Music Festival party inside, with musical performances on three stages, artist interactions, meet-and-greets, shopping and other unique fan experiences. Tickets to AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X are available now atCMAfest.com (AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X admission is included in four-day CMA Music Festival tickets). AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X tickets are $10 per day or $25 for a four-day pass.
The Nightly Concerts will be taped for a three-hour prime time special airing later this summer on the ABC Television Network.
For upcoming talent announcements and all other info stay connected with CMA on Facebook.com/CMA,Twitter.com/CountryMusic, Instagram.com/CMA, and sign up for CMA Exclusive, CMA’s e-newsletter. Fans can also download the 2015 CMA Music Festival mobile app foriPhone or Android to view the latest artist lineups and to plan their festival experience.
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**Suggested Tweet**: The 2015 #CMAfest LP Field lineup is here! Download the app to plan your Fest experience http://countrymu.sc/MF15app
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LUKE, CHURCH, DIERKS, LADY A, AJ, LBT, DARIUS, KEITH AND SAM HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED AS PERFORMERS FOR THIS YEAR’S CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL.
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LUKE BRYAN HEADS OVERSEAS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Luke Bryan is headed overseas to perform his first international performances in the U.K., Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Norway, including four C2C: Country to Country shows. He kicks his European tour Saturday (February 28th) in Stockholm, Sweden and wraps it up March 8th in Dublin, Ireland. Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line are also on the C2C show in Oslo, Norway (March 1st).
“When we started talking about overseas, I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ As it gets closer, I get more and more excited. I get the most excited at proving yourself to audiences. Just talking to other artist friends that have gone over there, the enthusiasm and the passion and the fans over there, from what I hear, is at a whole different level of enthusiasm and stuff like that,” says Luke. “So, I’m excited to get over there and see these countries and see the beer. The beer’s going to be really good, I bet. Probably come back 20 pounds heavier.”
Luke will launch a new tour, Kick The Dust Up Tour, on May 8th in Grand Forks, North Dakota to include seven stadium shows. Randy Houser and Dustin Lynch will open the Kick The Dust Up Tour and Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett will also appear as special guests on all the stadium shows.
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LUKE BRYAN TV TAKES YOU BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE COUNTRY SUPERSTAR’S FIRST WEEKEND OF HIS 2015 TOUR.
Luke Bryan hits the road again with new tour mates Randy Houser and Dustin Lynch. Check out how the first weekend went below.
Video / Luke Bryan hits the road in 2015
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NEWS AND NOTES: Darius, Luke, Lady A, Sam, Vince and more.
Darius Rucker will once again take on Big Band tunes in a one-night show at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Tuesday (February 17th). The concert benefits the MUSC Children’s Hospital Fund, a non-profit organization that helps provide the best possible healthcare experience for MUSC’s youngest patients and their families.
Luke Bryan enjoyed his time as Grand Marshal of the Endymion parade and headlined the huge post-parade Extravaganza at the Superdome several hours later. Pals Willie and Korie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) joined Luke and his wife Caroline for some of the festivities.
Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley won a closest-to-the-pin contest and assured a victory for Team Clint Eastwood during the 3M Celebrity Challenge at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week in Pebble Beach, California. Jake Owen, Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney and Clay Walker also played in the tournament.Sam Hunt shot the video for his latest hit, “Take Your Time,” last week in Nashville.
Vince Gill and his lovely wife Amy Grant will return to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium for eight Christmas shows this year beginning December 2nd. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster.
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VALENTINE’S DAY: AJ, Billy, Canaan, Darius, David, Dierks, Josh, Keith, LBT, Luke
Each year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers with their special someone. The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia.
141 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark research)
2.2 million marriages take place in the United States annually, which breaks down to more than 6,000 a day.
Saturday is Valentine’s Day (February 14th), and we’ve got some thoughts and feelings more about love, romance and marriage from several of your favorite country artists. Some are new and some have become our favorites over the years. Which country stars are romantic? Which ones aren’t? Which ones have a good reason to celebrate the holiday that’s all about love?
Audio / AUDIO: Alan Jackson talks about his love for wife, Denise, over the years.
DownloadAJ (Valentine’s Day) OC: …continue to. :24
“We got a lot of history together now, and we’re happier than we’ve ever been. So, she’s still beautiful, and she’s always inspired songs. I mean, one of my early hitswas a song called ‘I’d Love You All Over Again,’ I wrote for her for our 10th anniversary. I mean, there’s been a zillion songs that have pieces of our good days and bad days inspired, and they continue to.”
Audio / Billy Currington recalls his first real Valentine’s Day.
DownloadBilly Currington (Valentine’s Day memory) OC: …took off running. :21
“Yeah, I remember my first girlfriend. I was in first or second grade, but anyway, I remember it was Valentine’s Day and your mom going, ‘You’ve got to give your girlfriend something, and you’ve got to go give it to her.’ I’ll never forget — we got her a box of chocolates or whatever it was. I remember going down to her classroom and knocking on the door, getting her to come to the door. I remember handing it to her, and then I took off running.”Audio / Canaan Smith says he tries to show his wife how special she is every day.
DownloadCanaan Smith (Valentine’s Day) OC: …get lucky. :25
“I bet I’m just like 99.9% of the rest of the men in the world who could really care less about that holiday. I want my wife to feel special, so I’m gonna take part in it. I’m gonna do my part to make her feel special and loved, but is it necessary? Shouldn’t we do that every day? I mean, it kinda is just another way to get a bunch of money out of us, but oh well. We’ll go see a movie or something. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”Audio / Darius Rucker knew he would marry his wife, Beth, on their first date.
DownloadDarius Rucker (wife) OC: …her and country music saved my life. :43
“I don’t know what it was about her. I mean, it was EVERYTHING about her. I knew, I told her I was going to marry her on our first date, [laughs] yeah. Beth’s a strong woman. It takes a strong woman to be married to a musician, especially a musician who was drinking and partying as hard as I was, and I think life for us is where we are now. It took a long time for us to get to where we are now, and we say to each other all the time, ‘I love us. I love our family. I love us.’ And I thank her every day for staying with me and being the strong woman she is, because with Hootie & the Blowfish, I could be gone for three months and then I’d come home for two days and then I’d be gone again for a month, and she put up with all that crap. You know, her and country music saved my life.”
Audio / David Nail says his songwriting abilities sometimes work against him with his wife, Catherine, especially around Valentine’s Day.
DownloadDavid Nail (Valentine’s Day) OC: …line for me. :47
“Very early on when we first started dating, the fact that I was a songwriter actually worked against me, because anytime I would say anything or write a letter, it was ‘Oh, you’re a songwriter. This just comes natural.’ So, I’ve always had to really watch what I say and how I say it and try to make it sound as genuine and regular Joe as possible. So, I definitely think as a creative person I have that romantic side that most creative people do. Sometimes I can get a little carried away and head into cheesy land a little too far, so I try to keep it as regular as possible. [Valentine’s Day] pretty traditional with us. She’s a big chocolate person, so you obviously can’t go wrong there, and a nice dinner. It’s pretty straight down the line for me.”Audio / Dierks Bentley explains the realities of Valentine’s Day.
DownloadDierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day realities) OC: …that’s awesome. :53
“I’m gonna be the voice of truth and honesty for Valentine’s Day for a lot of the guys out there listening and for some of the girls listening, as well too. You may like this; you may not, but Valentine’s Day is a really difficult day for guys. When you’re single, it’s stressful for like a month leading up to it, and inevitably, you do something wrong. You don’t get the wrong thing or you say too much, and she’s wanting to get engaged faster than you want to get engaged. I don’t know. It’s just a very stressful holiday. I’m at a time in my life where I got a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a zero-year-old, and we’re just really trying to survive on a day-to-day basis. I mean, we get about four hours of sleep, and we’re literally in survival mode. So, I think there should be a hall pass for guys in that phase of their life. It doesn’t take much at this stage for us to get excited. A dinner alone is heaven. I mean, if we can just have a dinner and a glass of wine, that’s awesome.”Audio / AUDIO: Alan Jackson talks about his love for wife, Denise, over the years.
DownloadAJ (Valentine’s Day) OC: …continue to. :24
“We got a lot of history together now, and we’re happier than we’ve ever been. So, she’s still beautiful, and she’s always inspired songs. I mean, one of my early hitswas a song called ‘I’d Love You All Over Again,’ I wrote for her for our 10th anniversary. I mean, there’s been a zillion songs that have pieces of our good days and bad days inspired, and they continue to.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley explains how his heart got bigger and his love deepened when he became a father.
DownloadDierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 2 OC: …could before. :27
“You get married and that’s a long-term, bigger image of what love can be. Then you have a child, and your heart gets spread so thin and it’s so vulnerable, like it’s a really tough, tough feeling, and it can kill you. It can really be painful at times, and at the same time, it’s so great. But it definitely stretches your heart…and it doesn’t change anything, it just makes your heart, I think it just makes it bigger. I think you just find that you can love more than you ever thought you could before.”
Audio / Josh Turner says his wife would call him a romantic, but now that they have four children, it takes a bit of work to make time for each other.
DownloadJosh Turner (Romantic) OC: …long time to come. :26
“If you ask my wife Jennifer if I was a romantic, she would definitely say, ‘Yes.’ but she knows that sometimes my hectic schedule and our busy lifestyles can kind of interfere with the romantic side of things. But we do try to make efforts towards being together and having adult conversations and taking time away from the children and doing things that husbands and wives do, so we’ll definitely try to continue that for a long time to come.”Audio / Keith Urban says love means being aware of each other even as the newness of the relationship wears off.
DownloadKeith Urban (Valentine’s Day) OC: …just me or… [laughs] :60
“I mean for me, I think a lot of it has to do with just staying present, because you know, when we start relationships, we’re so capable of honoring each other at the beginning off a relationship with cards and flowers and chocolates and attention and affection and priority. And then all of that all too many times starts to drift away, and it drifts away because it’s easy at the beginning. It just happens naturally. You’re almost overdoing it sometimes in the beginning. I was listening to the radio, [and] they’re talking about when is a relationship too soon to give Valentine’s gifts? [laughs] If you’ve been dating a guy six days, and it just started before the 14th…[laughs] and some woman said, ‘I was dating this guy three weeks and it was Valentine’s Day, and he gave me an iPad for Valentine’s Day.’ [laughs] That’s a ridiculous gift for Valentine’s Day. Is it just me, or…[laughs]”
Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman says falling in love with her husband, Stephen Schlapman, came as a big surprise.
DownloadLittle Big Town (Kimberly falling in love) OC: …healed me. 1:20
Kimberly: “Well, I wasn’t planning on falling in love, at all. I didn’t want to…I wasn’t sure that I ever would. So, my husband now and I were just really good friends, and after my late husband died all my friends were calling me, all the time. Just checking up on me. He was just an old friends. We had known each other for about six years and he started calling me just like everybody else did. But, he started calling me more than everybody else did [laughs]. We had both been through similar losses, he hadn’t lost a mate but he had lost a close friend, so we kind of bonded over that. I grieved, kind of, at him a lot. He took my grief, I had a lot of grief left, and he just took it and listened and accepted it and was so understanding and let me talk about my late husband all the time. We still talk about him a lot, and he’s totally fine with it. He says that, that made me who he fell in love with and he never minds if I bring anything from the past up which is just really sweet. I was shocked, I remember when I first realized that I was having feelings. I just thought, OK, this is so weird. What is this? I haven’t felt this in a long, long, time. This is weird. But, eventually I allowed myself and it’s been the most beautiful gift of my life. It pulled me out of the deepest hole that I’ve ever been in and healed me.”
Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook had a chemistry performing together, but it wasn’t until they each found themselves single…at the same time…that sparks flew romantically. The pair, who wed in 2006, have a son, Elijah.
DownloadLittle Big Town (Jimi & Karen fell in love) OC: (Kimberly) …to be together. :48
JIMI: “We were in the band a long time before there was ever anything which is interesting. I think there was always something underlying there that we were kind of trying to ignore. And then when the opportunity came, when all of us, ended up single kind of at the same time, a very strange turn of events for the band in a lot of different ways. And those feelings, you were able to come out with them finally. It was like, we’re single. Let’s get together. And, you know, she has a beautiful heart and she’s absolutely gorgeous and I just love her dearly.”
PHILLIP: “Get a room!” [laughs]
KIMBERLY: “They’re a perfect match. They really are. They were meant to be together.”
Audio / Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet was ready for love when he met Rebecca, his wife since 2007.
DownloadLittle Big Town (Phillip – reasons fell in love) OC: …real love. :17
“I think everything that I had gone through before had prepared me to be ready to see that there was genuine love there for me, and my Rebecca. So, it was just a great time, I wouldn’t have been ready before I met her…Now it’s just been a really great journey to heal through the past and to know real love.”
Audio / Luke Bryan will be on a float for the Krewe of Endymion Mardi Gras Parade, along with a nighttime performance, for Valentine’s Day, and he’s a bit worried about it. He’s planning on taking his wife Caroline to New Orleans for the holiday.
DownloadLuke Bryan (Valentine’s Day 2015) OC: …be toast. :43
“The biggest challenge of that day is obviously being Grand Marshal of the Parade and then, I’ve got to be on the float, like, once you’re on the float, you’re on the float. And then I’m like, ‘Alright, don’t get drunk. Don’t get drunk. Don’t get drunk.’ And I don’t know if there’s any way around that, and then I’ve got to do the show at like 11:30p, so man, we may have a no cell phone clause on that show, a no Youtube (video). See, first of all, I’ve NEVER been to Mardi Gras, and I’m the worst about getting excited about something and then overdoing it. So, yeah, I’ll be toast.” -
VALENTINE’S DAY LINERS: Brothers Osborne, Canaan, Darius, David, Dierks, Church, Paslay, Gary, Strait, Jennifer, Jon, Josh, Kacey, Keith, Kelleigh, Kip, LBT, Luke, Sam
Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey, this is T.J., and I’m John, and we’re Brothers Osborne. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey, what’s up guys? I’m Canaan Smith, wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Valentine’s Day)
Download“What’s up y’all? This is Darius Rucker, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER David Nail (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey, this is David Nail, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Eric Church (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey! This is Eric Church, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hi! This is Eric Paslay, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey, this is Gary Allan, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER George Strait (Valentine’s Day)
Download“This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Jennifer Nettles (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey! This is Jennifer Nettles, hoping you have a Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hi! It’s Jon Pardi, and I hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey! This is Josh Turner, and I want to wish you and your sweetheart a Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hi, this is Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. This is Keith Urban. Make the day special for your ‘Once in a Lifetime’ love.”
Audio / LINER Kelleigh Bannen (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey y’all, it’s Kelleigh Bannen, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey! What’s happening, everybody? This is Kip Moore. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER LBT (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day) 2
Download“Hey y’all. It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day. Make sweet love to your other.”
Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Valentine’s Day)
Download“Hi! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”
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LUKE BRYAN HOLDS STEADY AT NO. 1 FOR A SECOND WEEK IN A ROW.
Luke Bryan continues his reign at the top of both country charts this week with his latest smash, “I See You.” The song is the sixth No. 1 song from his multi-platinum album, Crash My Party.
“What an amazing situation to be in to have six No. 1s off an album. When we got to the fourth No. 1, we kinda started talking about, ‘Well, what if we could get five?’ And then the fifth one happened so fast,” says Luke. “I just have been in the situation to where I’m like, ‘Man! I’m glad when singles can go fast, because that adds to the live show. When people come back to see my show this year that they saw last year, I’ll have four more hits to throw at ‘em, and heck, that’s 20 minutes of new music that they’ll have at the live show.’ So, I love that. You do that for a few years, then you’ve got a lot of variety of hits to throw at people for your live show.”
*Luke is getting ready to hit stores with his latest – and final – Spring Break album, Checkin’ Out, March 10th.
*Luke is nominated for four ACM Awards this year, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Drink a Beer”) and Vocal Event of the Year (“This is How We Roll” with Florida Georgia Line).Audio / Luke Bryan says with his recent accomplishment – six No. 1 singles from Crash My Party alone -- he always dreamed of having a live show full of hit songs.
DownloadLuke Bryan (having 6 #1s from CMP) OC: …that position. 1:10
“What an amazing situation to be in to have six No. 1s off an album. When we got to the fourth No. 1, we kinda started talking about, ‘Well, what if we could get five?’ And then the fifth one happened so fast. That’s been the most amazing thing about my career on this album is, I just have been in the situation to where I’m like, ‘Man! I’m glad when singles can go fast, because that adds to the live show. When people come back to see my show this year that they saw last year, I’ll have four more hits to throw at ‘em, and heck, that’s 20 minutes of new music that they’ll have at the live show.’ So, I love that. You do that for a few years, then you’ve got a lot of variety of hits to throw at people for your live show. I mean, I remember, ‘Gol, what will life be like when I can do a show full of hits?’ I remember being a kid going to country concerts and every song was a hit from Alan Jackson.I’d be like, ‘Wow! This is awesome. This is awesome. He’s playing hits.’ So, it’s neat to be in that position.”
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LUKE BRYAN IS SET TO RELEASE HIS FINAL SPRING BREAK ALBUM, CHECKIN’ OUT, MARCH 10TH.
NASHVILLE, TN – (February 4, 2015) – The 50th ACM Awards Show co-host and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan will release his final Spring Break album, Spring Break…Checkin’ Out on March 10.“My fans have been so wonderful to embrace these special spring break albums over the last seven years,” shared Luke. “We’ve created a lot of amazing memories writing these songs and performing them at the beach shows in Florida. Those concerts are among the most enjoyable of my career!”Spring Break…Checkin’ Out will be available in record stores as well as digitally and will contain five *new, original songs all co-written by Luke plus all six songs from last year’s EP. Pre-order the album at http://umgn.us/LBSBCO .Spring Break…Checkin’ Out1. My Ol’ Bronco2. Games3. She Get Me High4. Spring Breakdown5. Good Lookin’ Girl6. Checkin’ Out7. You And The Beach8. Night One9. Like We Ain’t Ever10. The Sand I Brought To The Beach11. Are You Leaving With HimWalmart will carry an exclusive deluxe package, Luke Bryan Spring Break…The Set List: THE COMPLETE SPRING BREAK COLLECTION ZinePak, which will include a two-disk set with all 25 songs plus a 48-page magazine with exclusive interviews and photos from each of the previous spring break releases including the five new songs from this year. This limited-edition commemorative collectible is available only at Walmart and Walmart.com while supplies last.Luke’s collection of all six previous Spring Break releases combined have over 1.1 million sales to date.Luke will play two free concerts at Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City, Florida on March 11 and 12. Over 230,000 fans came out for last year’s shows.Last week, Luke received four nominations for the 50th Academy of Country Music Awards, Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist, Song of the Year for “Drink A Beer” and Vocal Event for “This Is How We Roll” with Florida Georgia Line. Luke will co-host the 50th ACM Awards for the third consecutive year with Blake Shelton on April 19 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on the CBS Television Network.Since the debut of his first album in 2007, Luke Bryan has placed 12 singles at No. 1 and sold nearly 7 million albums with 27 million digital tracks from his four studio albums and has been named Entertainer of the Year for both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Luke achieved the best touring year of his career in 2014 with 1.7 million fans attending his concerts. In 2015, he will play his first-ever shows in Europe, release his final Spring Break album on March 10, be honored with a summer exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and will embark on a new tour in May, “Kick The Dust Up Tour.”Visit www.LukeBryan.com or follow Luke on Twitter @LukeBryanOnline, Instagram and Facebook.Audio / Luke Bryan talks about doing just one last Spring Break album.
DownloadLuke Bryan (Spring Break 7) OC: …stuff like that. :50
“We had thought last year was probably gonna be the last year, but when we got down to [Panama City] and there was like 200,000 people going crazy on the beach, and then we realized if we do one more EP and then put ‘em together, we can do one more physical album. So, we started planning it kinda realized that this would be the last year, and I have been jokingly saying that it has been pretty nice to continue Spring Break well into my ‘30s. I feel like I’ve done a lot better than my other buddies, because they certainly haven’t been going to Spring Break and partying with a bunch of college kids. But, it’s been fun. It’s been amazing to be able to go down there and do the Spring Break shows every year and get inspiration for new songs and new tours and tour ideas and stuff like that.”
Audio / Luke Bryan says his Spring Break shows have always been a highlight each year.
DownloadLuke Bryan (Spring Break 7) 2 OC: …endeavors. :24
“Historically, if you go back, it’s always been one of the highlights of my year going down and doing the show, just ‘cause it’s hard to turn down that much fun. It gives me a sadness to have to let it go, but we feel it’s time and I’ve got some fun stuff in order music-wise that will turn into other fun endeavors.”
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LUKE BRYAN IS NO. 1 WITH LATEST SINGLE.
Luke Bryan climbs to the top of both country charts this week with his latest smash, “I See You.” The song is the sixth No. 1 song from his multi-platinum album, Crash My Party.
Luke is excited to get out there and play his latest hit for his fans. “‘I See You,’ for me, I felt like I wanted to play it live. I just loved the intensity of how edgy the song is. I had never went that far with almost kind of a rock feel, and I just felt like it was a hit, and I just really wanted to get it in the hands of my fans.
Luke is getting ready to hit stores with his latest – and final – Spring Break album, Checkin’ Out March 10th.
Audio / Luke Bryan wants to see how his latest No. 1 single, “I See You,” does on the road.
DownloadLuke Bryan (I See You) OC: …the road. :22
“‘I See You,’ for me, I felt like I wanted to play it live. I just loved the intensity of how edgy the song is. I had never went that far with almost kind of a rock feel, and I just felt like it was a hit, and I just really wanted to get it in the hands of my fans. And now I’m excited to see how it does on the road.”
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ACM AWARDS NOMINATIONS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED.
The nominations for the 50th Academy of Country Music Awards have been announced, via its social media outlets.
The awards show will take place April 19th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan return to co-host the event.Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Florida Georgia LineMale Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Dierks Bentley
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Female Vocalist of the Year
Brandy Clark
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie UnderwoodGroup of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Zac Brown BandAlbum of the Year
Old Boots, New Dirt, Jason Aldean
Producer: Michael Knox
Record Label: Broken Bow Records
Pain Killer, Little Big Town
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Platinum, Miranda Lambert
Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Record Label: RCA Nashville
Riser, Dierks Bentley
Producers: Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
The Outsiders, Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: EMI Records Nashville
Vocal Duo of the Year
Brothers Osborne
Florida Georgia Line
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The Swon BrothersNew Artist of the Year (currently open for fan voting)
Brett Eldredge
Tyler Farr
Sam Hunt
Kip Moore
Thomas Rhett
Chase Rice
Cole Swindell
Dan + Shay
Single Record of the Year (awarded to artist/producers/record company)
“American Kids” Kenny Chesney
“Automatic” Miranda Lambert
“Dirt” Florida Georgia Line
“Drunk On A Plane” Dierks Bentley
“I Don’t Dance” Lee BriceVocal Event of the Year
Lonely Tonight – Blake Shelton Featuring Ashley Monroe, Producer: Scott Hendricks, Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
Meanwhile Back At Mama’s – Tim McGraw Featuring Faith Hill, Producers: Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw, Record Label: Big Machine Records
Somethin’ Bad – Miranda Lambert Duet With Carrie Underwood, Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf, Record Label: RCA Nashville
The South – The Cadillac Three Featuring Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley & Mike Eli, Producers: Dann Huff, Justin Niebank, Record Label: Big Machine Records
This Is How We Roll – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Luke BryanVideo of the Year
American Kids – Kenny Chesney. Director: Shaun Silva, Producer: Don Lepore
Cop Car – Keith Urban, Director: John Urbano, Producer: Michelle Abnet
Drunk On A Plane – Dierks Bentley, Director: Wes Edwards, Producer: Clarke Gallivan
I’m Not Gonna Miss You – Glen Campbell, Director: James Keach, Producer: Julian Raymond
Somethin’ Bad – Miranda Lambert Duet With Carrie Underwood, Director: Trey Fanjoy, Producer: Trent HardvilleAudio / Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet talks about his hopes for Pain Killer.
DownloadLBT (hopes for Pain Killer) 2 OC: …test of time. :24
PHILLIP: “Winning awards and having success, commercial success with Tornado, I think, gave us a bigger platform, and for me, I hope that platform – I’m really proud that we made Painkiller, because it’s the best thing we’ve ever done and that we have a platform to share it on is amazing. So, I think we wanted to step up to the challenge and know there’s a great platform here, what are we going to put on it? And we wanted something to stand the test of time.”Audio / Kacey Musgraves is passionate about her song, “Follow Your Arrow.”
DownloadKacey Musgraves (Follow Your Arrow) 2 OC: …accepting other people. :43
“I get like fired up when I talk about this song, because it’s so fun to play and it’s always interesting. I’m always wary whenever I play it a little bit because it does push some buttons, but people young and old seem to get a kick out of it and just appreciate that fact that like I’m showing love to people who don’t usually get that in our genre. And, too, it’s just funny because no matter what side of the coin you’re on, gay, straight, left, right, black, white, anything, I mean there’s always going to be an opposing opinion so it doesn’t matter. Like society is going to have an opinion either way. You’re never going to make society happy completely. I mean if you’re too fat, then you need to lose weight, but if you lose too much weight, then oh, she’s on crack. It’s just about being who are and accepting other people.”Audio / Dierks Bentley says his ACM-nominated album Riser is a snapshot of his life at the moment.
DownloadDierks Bentley (Riser snapshot) OC: …decided for me. :45
“I think every record I’ve made has always been a little bit of a Polaroid snapshot of where I was at that place and time when I made it. This particular album just has a lot of scenery in the picture. I mean there’s a lot that’s gone on in the last two years, more so than any other time in my life. You look at some of the bookends of the making of this record – my Dad passing away at the start of the process and then my son Knox being born at the end of the process. It was unexpected…when I made this record I just wanted to have the best songs. I wasn’t sure what they were going to be about, but I wanted them to be the best. I wanted to write my best songs, I wanted to write a lot of songs. I wanted to listen to a lot of outside songs and find the best songs that I could for whatever I was going to write about, but I wasn’t sure what it was gonna be, and then life came along and decided for me.”Audio / Eric Church says the story of his ACM-nominated “Give Me Back My Hometown,’ appeals to him as a songwriter.
DownloadEric Church (Give Me Back My Hometown) OC: …songwriter. :41
“I love that it’s about ‘Give Me Back My Hometown,’ but it’s about a guy that’s still in his hometown. He’s in the most familiar place, the place he knows better than anything, but because his female lover left him there, all those places that he knows so well, become so haunting and foreign to him. The loneliness and sadness of it, it’s one of the sadder songs we’ve ever done. To be at the place that you grow up at that is your home, and the person that left you there took that from you, there’s nothing lonelier than that. So, I love that dichotomy of ‘Give Me Back My Hometown,’ when the person’s in it, they’re standing in it, and that appealed to me as a songwriter.”Audio / Luke Bryan talks about one of his favorite songs on the album, “Drink a Beer.”
DownloadLuke Bryan (Drink a Beer) OC: …the album. :50
“‘Drink a Beer’ is the best way I can describe it is — it’s the coolest sad song I’ve ever heard. It’s the saddest sad song you’ve ever heard but it’s like it could be played at any really environment and you’re not going to tank the mood. You’re just going to make people reflect and the perfect way you’re going to make them revert back to somebody that they lost, whether it’s their granddad that they used to sit on a boat and drink a beer with. It’s whoever in your life that you’ve lost that you would have shared a beer with, and I think it’s just a perfectly written sad song, and it’s one of those that I’m honored that it found its way to me and I’m honored that it can be on the album.”