Keith Urban earned his 19th No. 1 song this week as his latest hit, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” moved to the top of the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart. The song, written by Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Ross Copperman, is the first release from his forthcoming album.

During his recent No. 1 party for “Raise ‘Em Up,” Keith Urban discussed the connection he felt in recording both “Raise ‘Em Up” and his new No. 1 song, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

“In some ways, I think these songs probably do have, they have a thing about them that feel family, communal in nature,” says Keith. “So, whatever is in them, the spirit, I guess, is what I connect to. I think it’s just the spirit. I think that’s it.”

Keith is back on the road vetting up-and-coming stars for the 15th season of American Idol, which returns to FOX in January.

Prior to heading out on his Wild Ones Tour on October 8th in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Kip Moore has enjoyed a little R&R the past few days with a surfing trip in Costa Rica.

During a hometown show in Mineola, Texas over the weekend, Kacey Musgraves was surprised by the classic car club. Kacey took to social media to announce the surprise. “I cannot believe what just happened – as a thank you for doing my Hometown Hang benefit…the Lake Country Classic Car Club and the City of Mineola, TX SURPRISED me and fixed up my old ’67 Mustang…shined it up and got it runnin’ again…It was a high school project my Dad and I worked on and I haven’t been able to drive it for about 7 years. THANK YOU SO MUCH!” She also received a key to the city of Mineola, Texas.

Speaking of Kacey, she’s set to ring in 2016 with Willie Nelson at his annual New Year’s Eve shows in Austin, Texas.

Chris Stapleton has been announced as one of the performers during the Jack Daniel’s Bash on Broadway show on New Year’s Eve in Nashville. The free show will also feature performances by Kings of Leon, Wild Cub and Kelsea Ballerini.

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.

Brothers Osborne recently finished opening for Darius Rucker on the Southern Style Tour, and are about to head out with their pal Jon Pardi for the All Time High Tour next month. The two keep themselves busy by working out, hanging out and playing some backstage jams. Whatever they do on the road, they have fun.

“Sometimes we’ll go to the gym just to get some exercise in, because it’s easy just to sit around all day on the bus and you get kind of cooped up. We’ve also had a few small jams backstage,” says John Osborne. “We’ll all sit around and play some Western Swing, which is a kind of music that’s still alive barely, but is so much fun to play. And we have all these bands out – Darius has a fiddle player and A Thousand Horses has a fiddle player, so we’re like, ‘Let’s get some twin fiddles.’ We have some other musicians, so we all sat in a room and we recorded a version of us performing ‘San Antonio Rose,’ and just recently, we did one with Darius. We did an old Doc Watson song called ‘She’s Gone Away.’ We keep ourselves busy. We’re just a bunch of kids out there.”

The All Time High Tour kicks off October 8th in San Diego.

Brothers Osborne are currently making their way up the country charts with their latest single, “Stay a Little Longer.”

As announced in a surprise press conference earlier this week, George Strait releases his brand new album Cold Beer Conversation today, September 25th. The album, the latest on his long-time label home MCA Nashville, features his current radio single, “Cold Beer Conversation,” and is available now at Apple Music and Walmart.

In celebration of the album drop, Strait launched the “Strait from Texas” pop up store, open for a limited time at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop on Lower Broadway (417 Broadway) in downtown Nashville. The shop is stocked with new merchandise including t-shirts, memorabilia and catalog albums along with the new Cold Beer Conversation. The store opened Friday morning and will remain for at least ten days.

Also revealed this week, Strait will perform exclusive engagements at the new Las Vegas Arena beginning April 22nd with additional dates announced for April 23, Sept. 9 and Sept. 10, 2016. Coinciding with ticket pre-sale starting today at 10 a.m. PT, Strait has also partnered with internet radio station Pandora to deliver a mixtape celebrating his biggest influences, newest album, and his Las Vegas performance dates.  Listen here –http://pdora.co/StraitToVegas.

Public on-sale begins Friday, Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. PT.  Visit www.StraitToVegas.com for more information regarding the dates, tickets, hotels, and more.

With 60 No. 1 singles and nearly 70 million albums sold, Strait is a musical icon and the most-nominated artist in CMA Awards history. He was the first country music artist honored with Billboard’s “Legend Of Live” Award, and he earned 2013’s Entertainer of the Year title from the Country Music Association as well as 2014’s Entertainer of the Year title from the Academy of Country Music.

*Buy Link:  http://umgn.us/32bH

*Hashtag:

Album: #ColdBeerConvo

Tour: #StraitToTexas

The Grand Ole Opry® is joining Women Rock For The Cure™ in the fight against breast cancer on Tues., Oct. 27 with its seventh annual “Opry Goes Pink” show. Grammy, ACM, and CMA award-winner Kacey Musgraves will flip the switch on the Opry’s signature barn backdrop, turning it pink for the night as Musgraves and others including Opry members Terri Clark and Montgomery Gentry  perform in support of breast cancer awareness.

Beginning today, when fans order tickets to the night’s 7 p.m. show, $5 from every ticket sold will be donated to Women Rock For The Cure™.  Tickets are available at (615) 871-OPRY and opry.com.

“We’re excited to mark our seventh year of Opry Goes Pink,” said Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher. “What began as a partnership to put together a single show to raise funds and awareness to fight breast cancer has become an annual Opry tradition. Like so many others out there, we at the Opry will not stop supporting this fight until not a single life is lost to breast cancer.”

The Grand Ole Opry® is presented by Humana®. Opry performances are held every weekend of the year, and the Tuesday Night Opry continues through Dec. 15.

About Kacey Musgraves
Texas-native and Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Kacey Musgraves released her Mercury Records Nashville debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, in the spring of 2013 to massive critical acclaim and recognition.  The album, which she co-produced with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart making her the first solo female in five years to open at No. 1 with a rookie release, and just seventh in the 22-year Nielson SoundScan era.  The gold-certified album includes her top 10, platinum-selling single “Merry Go ‘Round” and gold-certified hit “Follow Your Arrow.” Musgraves has taken home the award for “New Artist of the Year” at 2013’s CMA Awards and also won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song (“Merry Go ‘Round”) and Best Country Album (Same Trailer Different Park), the ACM Award for Album of the Year (Same Trailer Different Park), and most recently the 2014 CMA Award for Song of the Year (“Follow Your Arrow”).

Musgraves released her highly anticipated sophomore album, Pageant Material, on June 23rd where it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart and No.3 on the Billboard 200. Kacey co-wrote all tracks on the album and also co-produced teaming up again with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird. Pageant Material includes debut single “Biscuits” and latest release, “Dime Store Cowgirl” available now at country radio.  The album has been met with massive critical acclaim and recognition from press outlets all over the world.

About the Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry® is presented by Humana®.  Opry performances are held every Friday and Saturday of the year, with Tuesday Night Opry shows through December 15.  To plan an Opry visit, call (800) SEE-OPRY or visit opry.com. The Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville, Tenn.  Celebrating nine decades of entertainment, the Opry can be heard at opry.com and wsmonline.com, Opry and WSM mobile apps, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and its flagship home, 650 AM-WSM. The Grand Ole Opry is owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE: RHP).  For more information, visit opry.com.

About Women Rock For The Cure:
Women Rock For The Cure™ is a Nashville-based 501(c)(3) organization committed to connecting and supporting young women facing breast cancer. Founded in 2007, the organization works to build awareness and provide outreach programs through the power of the entertainment industry. Flagship annual events include the Pink Trash Ball and Opry Goes Pink concert, which has featured performances by The Judds, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood. All proceeds benefit the organization’s outreach efforts, including the Young Survivors Retreat, which brings together young women diagnosed with breast cancer. For additional information on Women Rock For The Cure, upcoming events and how to get involved, please visit www.WomenRockForTheCure.org.

Eric Paslay performed a handful of songs, including “Less Than Whole,” in Washington, DC on Thursday while the Pope was in town. He got the gig because of his producer Marshall Altman and was the only artist to represent country music. Colbie Caillat was also among the performers. Eric stopped by country station WMZQ, where he chatted about the honor of performing for the Pope.

Eric recently released his new single, “High Class,” which will be on his forthcoming album due out next year.

Keith Urban is poised to take over the top spot on the country charts with his latest single, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.” It’s a song from his forthcoming album, and he says he was intrigued about the song when he first saw the title, since he didn’t write it.

“I saw the title of the song first and was curious to what that song would be,” Keith tells Lon Helton, host of the syndicated Country Countdown USA. “Some songs grab me at first listen. Other songs creep up on me. I love those songs too, but this was immediate. I played it maybe three times, and then went and grabbed my guitar and came out and I sort of sang along with it, and I thought, ‘I think this really, really suits me. I love this song, and I think it suits me.’”

Keith will take “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” to Las Vegas October 3rd when he’s scheduled to perform during the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Sam Hunt was able to take a day out of his insanely busy traveling schedule to attend a dual celebration at Nashville hot spot Crying Wolf for his second and third No. 1 songs, “Take Your Time” and “House Party.”

The Georgia native says he didn’t know his career would be this successful, he was just following his own path. “It was hard to predict the way this has played out,” says Sam. “Fortunately, I was able to get around some really talented people who were willing to think outside of the box like me and just kind of follow our own instincts, and we all just hit it off musically and personally and never really thought about the fact that it was potentially gonna be as unique as it has maybe been. So it really goes back to those relationships that I started several years ago when we first started writing.”        

Sam is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Break Up in a Small Town.”

George Strait releases his new album, Cold Beer Conversation, on Friday (September 25th). The collection, which features 13 songs including the title track, will be available as an exclusive download on iTunes/Apple Music and at Walmart.

Even though he wrapped his last tour, The Cowboy Rides Away, more than a year-and-a-half ago, George isn’t done yet. “I said all along, you know, I wasn’t going to tour anymore, but I also said that I wasn’t retiring by any means and I still wanted to do some dates,” says King George. “So, after we did the last show at the AT&T Center in Dallas, we worked really hard getting the live album out and the CMT special and those kind of things. And then I went in the studio and cut a new record.”

This is the first new studio album in two years from the Country Music Hall of Famer. His last studio album was the Gold-certified Love is Everything, which featured the Platinum-certified No. 1 hit (and 60th No. 1 hit of his career) “Give It All We Got Tonight” as well as the Gold-certified hit “I Got A Car.”

Cold Beer Conversation Track List:
1.  “It Was Love” (Keith Gattis)
2.  “Cold Beer Conversation” (Al Anderson, Ben Hayslip and Jimmy Yeary)
3.  “Let It Go” (George Strait, Bubba Strait and Keith Gattis)
4.  “Goin’ Goin’ Gone” (Wyatt Earp and Keith Gattis)
5.  “Something Going Down” (Jamey Johnson and Tom Shapiro)
6.  “Take Me To Texas” (Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally)
7.  “It Takes All Kinds” (George Strait, Bubba Strait, Bob Regan and Wil Nance)
8.  “Stop And Drink” (Dale Dodson and Troy Jones)
9.  “Everything I See” (George Strait, Bubba Strait, Dean Dillon and Keith Gattis)
10. “Rock Paper Scissors” (Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell and Bubba Strait)
11. “Wish You Well” (Clint Daniels, Jeff Hyde and Brice Long)
12. “Cheaper Than A Shrink” (Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson)
13. “Even When I Can’t Feel It” (Dean Dillon, Ben Hayslip and Lee Miller)

During a press conference on Tuesday, he announced he’ll perform a series of concerts at the new Las Vegas Arena opening April 2016. He’ll be among the first entertainers to perform at the new venue, with four shows beginning April 22nd and additional dates scheduled for April 23rd, September 9th and September 10th of next year. Special guest Kacey Musgraves is set to open his shows in Vegas. Tickets for the shows will go on sale October 2nd at 1:00pm ET via www.straittovegas.com.