Luke Bryan and Chris Stapleton have been added to the list of performers at next month’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw and Thomas Rhett. Previously announced performers include Keith Urban, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Kelsea Ballerini, Cam and Florida Georgia Line.

The 51st Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be hosted by Luke and Dierks, will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

MCA Nashville’s bold, new up-and-comer Clare Dunn fulfilled a life-long dream when she took the stage at Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry Saturday night. Performing her brand new single, “Tuxedo,” and the heartfelt “Old Hat” off her self-titled EP, Clare received a warm reception from the packed Grand Ole Opry House. The audience included friends and family in town from her home state of Colorado, and former co-workers from Clare’s early days in Nashville when she worked in the Opry gift shop.

“Singing my songs at the Grand Ole Opry is something I’ve dreamed of for so long,” Clare shares through joyous tears. “To share this now with my family, who always believed in me and worked so hard to help me pursue my dreams, I just cannot put into words how much this moment means to me.”

Declared “One To Watch” by Billboard, The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, USA Today and more, Clare has made a strong impression on critics and audiences alike with her stellar guitar work, her honest lyrics and her no-holds-barred stage show. Clare has upcoming shows in Mont.; Mass.; Penn. and Maine including opening for Lee Brice on the Life Off My Years Tour.

Clare recalls one of the “coolest” shows she watched while working at the Opry. It was during Marty Stuart‘s birthday celebration, and he was joined onstage by Keith Urban. “Marty and Keith sat alone on bar stools with acoustic guitars and proceeded to bring the house down with Hank Sr.’s ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.’ And I just remember standing at the back and feeling that electricity and never felt a room like that before. I’d never felt that feeling at a show. It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed. That was truly inspiring night for me, along with many countless shows that I got to watch while working there.”

For additional information, images, tour dates and more, visit www.ClareDunn.com.

In his latest single, “Record Year,” Eric Church sings about licking his wounds from a failed relationship by spinning records on his turntable, instead of finding solace in another’s arms.

“There’s a line in the song that talks about ‘slowly planning my survival/in a three-foot stack of vinyl,’ and I remember, whatever it is that I had to get over or get past or get through, I remember records being my refuge during that time,” says Eric.

The new single name checks Stevie Wonder’s “Songs In The Key of Life,” Willie Nelson’s “Red Headed Stranger,” John Lee Hooker’s “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” among others from Church’s stack of vinyl. Upon the album’s surprise release last November, Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed the new single the “most moving moment” on the widely-lauded album.

Church co-wrote “Record Year” with longtime banjo player and guitarist Jeff Hyde who has previously collaborated on hits such as the three-week No. 1 “Springsteen” (along with Ryan Tyndell) from the ACM and CMA Album of the Year Chief and the anthematic Top 20 “Smoke a Little Smoke” (written by Church and Hyde alongside other bandmate Driver Williams) from 2009’s Carolina, a release that has since been pointed to as a pivotal shift in musical direction for “our greatest working rock star” (Stereogum).

The North Carolina native feels it’ll probably rank as one of his biggest hits. “It IS a song that I’m proud of,” he says, adding, “and I think it’ll be one of the bigger ones in our career.”

Eric has six nominations going into next month’s ACM Awards, including his first nomination for Entertainer of the Year. He also is up for Album of the Year for Mr. Misunderstood, Male Vocalist of the Year, Video of the Year for his surprise album’s title track and two more nominations, Musical Event of the Year and Song of the Year, for “Raise ‘Em Up” with Keith Urban. The 51st Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

Luke Bryan has just released his new single, “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” which says a whole lot about the Georgia native. He co-wrote it with his pals, the Peach Pickers (Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip), and the tune is something that Luke lives every single day.

“[It’s] probably one of my favorite songs I’ve ever done, and I wrote it out on the Farm Tour with the Peach Pickers,” says Luke. “It was a title that I ran by them, and we just started working on it and when we got in our groove on it, we knew we had something special. The production on it is so kind of – is a retro sounding guitar that makes it really, really have a lot of – it has a neat feel to it and I’m just proud to have it on the album. It says my story. Everything I’m about that’s what ‘Huntin’ and Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day’ is.”

“Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” is the follow up to his previous No. 1 hit, “Home Alone Tonight,” from his latest album, Kill the Lights.

The reigning ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year is gearing up to host the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards April 3rd with his buddy, Dierks Bentley. Luke is once again nominated in the Entertainer category, as well as Vocal Event of the Year (for “Home Alone Tonight” with Karen Fairchild). The ACM Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

Sam Hunt is nominated for the Radio Disney Country Favorite Artist. The Radio Disney Music Awards will take place April 30th from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and air May 1st at 7pm ET on the Disney Channel.

Lauren Alaina will appear on CMT Hot 20 Countdown on Saturday (March 12th) on 9pm ET and will re-air Sunday (March 13th) at 9pm ET.

Eric Church is set to perform a two-night stand at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Billy Joe Shaver will open for Eric Saturday, April 30th, while Marty Stuart is set for May 1st. Tickets go on sale Friday (March 11th).

Alan Jackson’s Live From Red Rocks special premiered Sunday night (March 6th) on AXS TV.

Chris Janson and Tracy Lawrence have been added to this year’s All for the Hall benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena April 12th.

Keith Urban just scored his second No. 1 single from his forthcoming album, ripCord, which is also the title of his tour. He says while the name comes from a play that recently opened in New York City, it’s more of the imagery of a ripcord that he’s drawn to for the title of his album and tour.

“I like the sound of the word. I like the energy that it denotes, but metaphorically, I also love that it’s a thing that you grab to save your life, and that’s a really beautiful thing,” says Keith. “I was thinking about the various things in my life that I reach for, like family, faith, music, all manner of things. So, ripCord took on a whole new meaning, but it really, for me, fits the music. It definitely fits the tour.”

The ripCord World Tour 2016, featuring Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris, launches June 2nd in Kansas City and is expected to run through November.

Dierks Bentley has been prepping for next month’s ACM Awards and feels ready for whatever may happen, but says his co-host Luke Bryan should be prepared for some sort of malfunction during the show.

“Luke’s been really lucky. If you think about all his shows, and you think about all his dance moves, and you think about how tight his jeans, he’s been really lucky that nothing’s ever popped. And I’m thinking 2016’s gonna be the year,” says Dierks. “I think this is the year that Luke’s gonna have an accidental wardrobe malfunction, just to kind of keep the heat on and keep the popularity there at an all-time; take it to new heights.”

The 51st Academy of Country Music Awards will air live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm ET/PT delayed on CBS.

Dierks is scaling the charts with “Somewhere on a Beach,” his fastest rising single to-date.

Clare Dunn makes her debut at the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night (March 5th), and it’s a homecoming of sorts for the singer from Colorado. The day after she moved to Nashville, she got a job working at the Opry’s gift shop. She worked there for several years while she was in college, and even after signing her first publishing deal as a songwriter.

“I worked in the gift shop and I sold ‘Picture History Books’ before every show,” recalls Clare. “Every chance that I could and even a lot of times when I shouldn’t have, I would sneak into the house, and I would watch as much of the show as possible each night. Considering I worked every show every night, maybe I owe the Opry a buck or two back. [laughs] Anyway, I got to see Porter Wagoner before he passed away. I knew every Little Jimmy Dickens’ joke. I watched Jeanie Sealy & Jean Shepard in their elements every night, and witnessed so many new artists play the Opry for their first time and then go on to become superstars and return to the Opry. And it was just such an amazing experience.”

So, for Clare, performing at the Grand Ole Opry is a full circle moment; one she’s not taking lightly. “I never dreamed in a million years while growing up driving tractors out on the Great Plains where I’m and listening to all the artists that played the Opry, I never dreamed that I would get a chance to see them or even be able to chase this dream myself,” says Clare. “So, working at the Opry was treasured time for me. It was a time of absorbing as much of the rich history of the Opry as I possibly could. It was a time of just getting to be near the music that shaped our genre, and getting to witness not only how the Opry house itself affects the fans, but the artists who are so honored to play that stage that made country music famous.”

Clare has hit the airwaves with her new single, “Tuxedo,” which is featured on her self-titled EP that was released this past fall.

Dierks Bentley attended a private reception for his new exhibit – Dierks Bentley: Every Mile a Memory – at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Thursday (March 3rd). Some of his personal items he donated included his “Drunk on a Plane” pilot costume, his favorite guitar featuring signatures of several of his musical influences, platinum album, as well as some childhood artifacts including an eighth grade class picture with his wife Cassidy (the two first met in school and dated before losing touch until years later).

“It’s totally surreal. I mean, I understand I’m not in the Hall of Fame, but I am in the Hall of Fame [laughs]. It’s hard to process. I’ve been trying to think about this the last couple months. As folks came by to grab stuff out of the house, I’m trying to figure out what was going to go in here,” says Dierks. “I didn’t use country music as a vehicle to become a star. I’m a star because of, I guess, my passion for country music. I’ve never thought about these things. I’ve never pictured myself having a display at the Country Music Hall of Fame. I don’t save stuff thinking this is going to be, needs to be saved for this or that. There’s so much I’ve lost over the years, but it’s really taken being here right now to actually really grasp this whole thing. It’s hard to comprehend. I mean, it’s the Country Music Hall of Fame, but to even be a part of this in any small way is amazing.”

Dierks is expected to return to the Hall of Fame March 12th to talk about his career and perform an acoustic set. The exhibit will close September 6th.

Dierks is scaling the country charts with his latest single, “Somewhere on a Beach,” the first release from his forthcoming album, Black.

Charles Kelley appeared on a couple of different TV shows on Wednesday (March 2nd) — the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Check out his performance of “Lonely Girl” on Ellen below.