On February 24th, 2001, Keith Urban scored his first No. 1 single, “But for the Grace of God.” He co-wrote the song with Jane Weiland and Charlotte Caffey from The Go-Gos, and it appeared on his 1999 self-titled album, Keith Urban.

Keith is now on the cusp of scoring his 20th No. 1 single with “Break on Me,” the second release from his upcoming album, Ripcord.

Born on a farm in southeast Colorado, Clare Dunn grew up working cattle and driving tractors and combines, so she admires a hardworking man, like the one she writes and sings about in her new single, “Tuxedo.”

“‘Tuxedo’ came about just through me wanting to express my hopes and what I look for in my dream guy and what I hope to be able to find…and as a farm girl I grew up admiring farm boys,” says Clare. “‘Tuxedo’ is a song about all the things that I admire about a man. He’s hardworking, he’s not afraid to go out there and do what it takes to provide, but he’s just a down-to-earth guy. I love Justin Timberlake and all his suits and ties and that sort of a picture of a man, but in reality, for me, a guy in a pair of jeans and a dirty white tee looks just as good to me.”

Clare will hit the road with Lee Brice’s Life Off My Years Tour in March, but first, she hit the stage of the Grand Ole Opry on March 5th.

Kip Moore will perform his latest single, “Running For You,” on The Talk Monday (February 22nd) on CBS.  Moore, who recently “delivered an epic take on his current single” (Rolling Stone) to an intimate crowd during CRS Week, recently released the music video for the single.

Kip will follow up his national TV performance by heading back out on the road for more sold-out shows on the West Coast as part of his headlining WILD ONES TOUR.  Moore’s stacked week follows a full-capacity run including packed houses in Denver, CO, Salt Lake City, UT as well as a sold-out stint in Canada including stops in Edmonton, AB, Penticton, AB, Abbotsford, BC and a two-night stand in Calgary, AB.

The second leg of Moore’s WILD ONES TOUR also continues to go from strength to strength overseas as fan demand in Europe has led to bigger venues being scheduled in Birmingham, UK, Manchester, UK, Glasgow, UK and Dublin, IE.

For a full list of dates and more information visit www.kipmoore.net.

The ACM nominees for Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Year were announced on Thursday (February 18th). Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” Eric Paslay’s “She Don’t Love You” and Chris Stapleton’s “Nobody to Blame” are on the ballot, as well as Keith Urban’s “Raise ‘Em Up,” featuring Eric Church.

The Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm ET on CBS.

Song of the Year [awarded to songwriter(s)/publisher(s)/artist(s)]
“Burning House,” Cam
Songwriters: Jeffrey Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Cam

“Girl Crush,” Little Big Town
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose

“Nobody to Blame,” Chris Stapleton
Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Barry Bales, Ronnie Bowman

“Raise ‘Em Up,” Keith Urban featuring Eric Church
Songwriters: Tom Douglas, Jaren Johnston, Jeffrey Steele

“She Don’t Love You,” Eric Paslay
Songwriters: Eric Paslay, Jennifer Wayne

Songwriter of the Year
Rodney Clawson (“Crash My Party”)
Ross Copperman (“Strip It Down”)
Ashley Gorley (“Play It Again”)
Shane McAnally (“Break Up in a Small Town”)
Josh Osborne (“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”)

Chris Stapleton showed his funny side on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night (February 17th), just days after winning two GRAMMY Awards.

Not only did he perform “When the Stars Come Out” with wife Morgane and producer Dave Cobb, as well as the rest of his band, but he also was game for a fake TV ad for a “special concept album,” titled Chringeworthy, in which he takes some of the most irritating words in the English language and turns them into songs. Some of the words include “delish,” “moist” and juicy,” as well as “panties,” “scrotum” and “vajayjay.”

During the ad, Chris pledged that he would “turn all the words you hate the most, into songs you will love the most.” And, if you didn’t wait to buy it, you could also get a free tube of ointment.

Chris tops the ACM nominations, alongside Eric Church, with five. He earned nods in both the Male Vocalist and New Male Vocalist categories, as well as Vocal Event for “Hangover Tonight” with Gary Allan, plus nominations as both artist and producer in the Album of the Year category for Traveller. These mark Chris’ first nominations as an artist. He was previously nominated as a songwriter in 2014 for “Drink A Beer,” which was recorded by Luke Bryan (with Stapleton on background vocals). The Academy of Country Music Awards will air live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 3rd beginning at 8pm ET on CBS.

Vince Gill hit the road with Lyle Lovett on Wednesday night (February 17th) in Montgomery, Alabama. The pair reunited for the Songs and Stories Tour, revisiting their acoustic dates they did together last year.  It’s just the two of them and their guitars onstage at the same time, swapping stories and songs.

“I know Lyle won’t have a plan, and I won’t either,” says Vince. “What he plays will inspire me, and probably vice-versa. It’ll be like playing ping-pong. Whatever song he chooses to sing will inspire the next song that comes out of me.”

The two became friends in the ‘80s when Vince sang on Lovett’s second album. “We’ve been friends for a long, long time, and we did some shows together last year and just had a blast. You know, he’s got a great sense of humor and sometimes I do too, so I think the in-between song stuff is about as much fun as the song sometimes.”

Vince just released his latest album, Down to My Last Bad Habit, which features his single, Take Me Down, featuring Little Big Town.
Vince Gill and Lyle Lovett Songs and Stories Tour Dates:

Feb. 17 — Montgomery, Ala. @ Montgomery Performing Arts Centre
Feb. 18 — Huntsville, Ala. @ Von Braun Center Concert Hall
Feb. 19 — Birmingham, Ala. @ Alabama Theatre
Feb. 20 — Atlanta, Ga. @ Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Feb. 21 — Asheville, N.C. @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Feb. 23 — Daytona Beach, Fla. @ Peabody Auditorium
Feb. 24 — Clearwater, Fla. @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
Feb. 25 — Jacksonville, Fla. @ Florida Theatre
Feb. 26 — Sarasota, Fla. @ Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Feb. 27 — Key West, Fla. @ Tennessee Williams Theatre
Feb. 28 — Melbourne, Fla. @ King Center for the Performing Arts
Feb. 29 — Fort Myers, Fla. @ Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall
March 1 — Coral Springs, Fla. @ Coral Springs Center for the Arts

Luke Bryan kicks off his 2016 Kill The Lights Tour at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana on Thursday (February 18th), and he’s taking along some friends with Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch. They’ll perform nearly 70 concerts across the U.S. before wrapping this fall.  The tour also includes five stadiums shows- July 16th in Boston at Gillette Stadium, August 19th, in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium, August 27th in Chicago at Wrigley Field, October 22nd in Dallas at AT&T Stadium, and closing out the tour October 29th in Detroit at Ford Field.

Luke couldn’t be happier that both acts will be on the road with him. ““When I found out we were able to get Little Big Town to tour with me, which is a huge honor for me. They’re headliners in themselves, and we started the talks, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. They’re interested. Let’s do this,’” says Luke. “We got together and worked it out, and now it’s my job to just get with them and create just a fun experience for the fans with them. And I was chomping at the bit to ask Dustin last year did he want to come out again. I just feel like the tour is a great package, and I think I’m just excited about the whole package. It’s gonna be an amazing year.”

The members of Little Big Town are equally as thrilled to hit the road with their pal, Luke, and hope to be able to save some money in the long run. “Nobody throws a party bigger than Luke does, and if you don’t know this about us, we kinda like to have a good time too, so we’re not gonna have any fun,” laughs LBT’s Karen Fairchild. Her bandmate Kimberly Schlapman puts a little levity into the conversation with her tip for not spending a lot on stage clothes. “We’re gonna save some money on wardrobe because Luke, Karen and I can all wear the same jeans.”

Over the weekend, the reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year learned his Kill The Lights album had been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200, his third consecutive album to do so, and Top Country Albums charts. Kill The Lights contains Luke’s two-week No. 1 single “Home Alone Tonight” featuring Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, which they’ll most certainly perform on the road together, and closed 2015 as the best-selling country album of the year and the 10th biggest selling album on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 Year-End list. Luke also wrapped 2015 as the most streamed country artist with 660 Million streams.

2016 Kill The Lights Tour:

2-18                 Evansville, IN              Ford Center

2-19                 Peoria, IL                     Peoria Civic Center Arena

2-20                 Cedar Falls, IA             UNI Dome

2-25                 Montreal, QC               Bell Centre

2-26                 Uncasville, CT             Mohegan Sun Arena **

2-27                 Uncasville, CT             Mohegan Sun Arena **

3-8                   Las Cruces, NM           Pan American Center**

3-11                 Little Rock, AR            Verizon Arena **

3-12                 Bossier City, LA          CenturyLink Center **

4-7                   Charleston, WV           Charleston Civic Center Coliseum

4-8                   Baltimore, MD             Royal Farms Arena

4-9                   Syracuse, NY               Carrier Dome

4-14                 Toledo, OH                  The Huntington Center

4-15                 State College, PA         Bryce Jordan Center

4-16                 Charlottesville, VA      John Paul Jones Arena

4-21                 Missoula, MT               Adams Center

4-22                 Bozeman, MT              Brick Breeden Fieldhouse

4-29                 Concord, CA               Concord Pavilion

4-30                 Fresno, CA                  Save Mart Center

5-1                   Indio, CA                     Stagecoach

5-12                 Omaha, NE                  CenturyLink Center

5-13                 Wichita, KS                 INTRUST Bank Arena

5-14                 Oklahoma City, OK     Chesapeake Energy Arena

5-20                 Atlanta, GA                 Lakewood Amphitheater

5-21                 Atlanta, GA                 Lakewood Amphitheater

5-27                 Baton Rouge, LA         Bayou Country Superfest*

5-29                 Daytona Beach, FL      Florida Country Superfest*

6-2                   Holmdel, NJ                P.N.C. Bank Arts Center

6-3                   Atlantic City, NJ          Boardwalk Hall

6-4                   Hershey, PA                Hershey Park Stadium

6-9                   Virginia Beach, VA     Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach

6-10                 Washington, DC          Jiffy Lube Live

6-11                 Washington, DC          Jiffy Lube Live

6-17                 Oshkosh, WI                Country USA*

6-19                 Columbus, OH             Buckeye Country Superfest*

6-24                 Toronto, ON                Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

6-25                 Toronto, ON                Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

7-7                   Milwaukee, WI            Summerfest*

7-8                   Indianapolis, IN           Klipsch Music Center

7-9                   Indianapolis, IN            Klipsch Music Center

7-16                 Boston, MA                 Gillette Stadium

7-17                 Bangor, ME                 Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion

7-21                 Scranton, PA                The Pavilion at Montage Mountain

7-22                 Pittsburgh, PA              First Niagara Pavilion

7-23                 Pittsburgh, PA              First Niagara Pavilion

7-29                 Philadelphia, PA          BB&T Pavilion

7-30                 Philadelphia, PA          BB&T Pavilion

7-31                 Saratoga Springs, NY   Saratoga Performing Arts Center

8-11                 Cleveland, OH             Blossom Music Center

8-12                 Cleveland, OH             Blossom Music Center

8-13                 Cincinnati, OH             Riverbend Music Center

8-14                 Cincinnati, OH             Riverbend Music Center

8-19                 Minneapolis, MN        U.S. Bank Stadium

8-21                 Calgary, AB                 Country Thunder Calgary*

8-25                 Bonner Springs, KS     Cricket Wireless Amphitheater

8-26                 St. Louis, MO              Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

8-27                 Chicago, IL                 Wrigley Field

9-1                   Raleigh, NC                 Walnut Creek Amphitheatre

9-2                   Charlotte, NC               PNC Music Pavilion

9-9                   Denver, CO                 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

9-10                 Denver, CO                 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

9-15                 Sacramento, CA           Toyota Amphitheatre

9-16                 Mountain View, CA     Shoreline Amphitheatre

9-22                 Phoenix, AZ                Ak-Chin Pavilion

9-30                 Salt Lake City, UT       USANA Amphitheatre

10-1                 Salt Lake City, UT       USANA Amphitheatre

10-22               Dallas, TX                   AT&T Stadium

10-29               Detroit, MI                 Ford Field

Dates and Cities subject to change

*festival date

**no Little Big Town

Chris Stapleton just picked up his first-ever GRAMMY Award, for Best Country Solo Performance for the song “Traveller.” He accepted the award .in the pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony. “I’ve never had one of these, and that’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve been sitting out in this audience a couple different times. Third time’s the charm.”

Chris thanked his wife, Morgane, his band, UMG and his producer, Dave Cobbs.

The Kentucky native is also nominated for overall Album of the Year for Traveller and overall Album of the Year.

UPDATE: Chris also took home the Grammy Award for Best Country Album for Traveller.

The members of Little Big Town have a handful of nominations going into Monday night’s (February 15th) GRAMMY Awards with their platinum song, “Girl Crush.” They’re nominated for Best Country Group/Duo Performance, Best Country Song, Song of the Year all for “Girl Crush,” plus their album, Pain Killer, is up for Country Album of the Year.

The band’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman heard the song right after Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey wrote it, and asked for the song to be saved for them. “Kimberly and I are so lucky that we were writing with them, and they had just written that song. And…Liz said, ‘Can we play you guys something? She said, ‘You’ll never cut it, but I just want to play it for you. We said, ‘Yeah, yeah, play it.’ We had just set down, cups of coffee in the morning, we were hanging out, and they played ‘Girl Crush,’” says Karen. “We could not say, ‘Can we please have that’ quick enough. Like as soon as it was over, we were like, ‘We want that song! We want it right now!’ Why would we not cut that song?”

You can also catch the group, who is currently making their way up the country charts with their latest single, “Pain Killer,” performing on this year’s GRAMMY Awards, which will air live from L.A. Monday night beginning at 8pm ET on CBS.

Luke Bryan will perform at Monday night’s (February 15th) Grammy Awards as part of a tribute to Lionel Richie, who is one of the Georgia native’s top infl He’ll be joined by John Legend, Meghan Trainor and Demi Lovato and perform songs spanning the legend’s career, and Lionel will also join the four performers for a special collaboration during the tribute segment of the show.

Richie was honored this year as the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year on Saturday, which also featured performances by Luke, Chris Stapleton and many others.

You can also catch Chris Stapleton performing during a tribute to BB King, Sam Hunt teaming up with Carrie Underwood and Little Big Town singing one of their biggest hits during this year’s GRAMMY Awards, which air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles Monday (February 15th) beginning at 8pm ET on CBS.