Sam Hunt’s chart-topping “Take Your Time” has been certified double-platinum by the R.I.A.A. (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales of more than two-million.

Eric Church was the special guest on ESPN’s Gameday at Ole Miss vs. Alabama over the weekend. Check out the video below on who his picks were…and if he was right or not. Also, check out his friend and fellow CMA nominee for Entertainer of the Year, Luke Bryan, whose song “Kick the Dust Up” appears to be the show’s theme song for now.

Chris Stapleton performed “Might As Well Get Stoned” during his recent appearance on Stephen Colbert.

Kip Moore performed “Come And Get It” during his recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Dierks Bentley was a special guest of Taylor Swift’s during her show in Kansas City show this week. They performed Dierks’ hit, “Every Mile a Memory.”

Easton Corbin sang the National Anthem at the Monday Night Football game on ESPN this week as the Jets beat the Colts 20 – 7.

Kacey Musgraves performed “Dime Store Cowgirl” on the outdoor stage on a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman are the 2015 Artists of the Year at the second annual Women in Music City Awards from The Nashville Business Journal. The Women in Music City Awards recognizes the women who help shape Nashville’s music industry. Both women serve on boards of music associations, Fairchild on CMA and Schlapman on ACM. They both also work with charities, including Bloodwater Mission and TJ Martell Foundation. The two will be honored Thursday (September 24^th) during the event at Nashville’s Omni Hotel.

Lady Antebellum scored their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart with “Something Better” with DJ Audien.

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott has created a scholarship fund for young women interested in a career in the entertainment industry at her alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Sept. 22, 2015) – George Strait, the musical icon who has been reverently referred to as “The King of Country Music,” will release his new album Cold Beer Conversation this Friday, Sept. 25, as announced at a press conference from MGM Grand in Las Vegas today. The album was produced by Chuck Ainlay and Strait for George Strait Productions and features 13 songs including his latest single, “Cold Beer Conversation,” premiering at country radio tomorrow. The album is available as an exclusive digital download on iTunes, available for pre-order now at http://umgn.us/32bH and Walmart.com, and will be available Friday exclusively via Apple Music and at Walmart.

The track list for Cold Beer Conversation :
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)

This is the first new studio album in two years from the MCA Nashville recording artist. His last studio album was the Gold-certified Love is Everything, which featured the Platinum-certified No. 1 hit (and 60^th No. 1 hit of his career) “Give It All We Got Tonight” as well as the Gold-certified hit “I Got A Car.” Strait also released The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from AT&T Stadium CD and DVD in 2014, celebrating his mega-successful, two-year final tour.

Strait’s final tour was never meant to convey his final performance, however. Also announced in today’s press conference, Strait will perform a series of exclusive worldwide concert engagements at the new Las Vegas Arena opening in April 2016. The Country Music Hall of Fame inductee will be among the first entertainers to perform at the new venue, with four shows beginning April 22 and additional dates slated for April 23, September 9 and September 10, 2016. Opening for Strait will be GRAMMY, ACM and CMA Award-winning singer/songwriter Kacey Musgraves, who recently released her second studio album Pageant Material to critical acclaim.

“I said all along 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,” Strait said during the press conference. “I’ve been working a little bit here and there, and I’m really proud of this new album that’s coming out. . . I think it’s a great record – I always say this; I think it’s one of the best records I’ve done. I always shoot for that. You’ve got to go in the studio thinking that way, so I’m very excited about that and I’m also very excited to be coming back out and playing for the fans out there. I’m looking forward to it so much, singing those songs that I love so much and haven’t done in a while. I’m really, really looking forward to being able to play in the new Las Vegas Arena. I hear it’s just unbelievable. I can’t wait.”

Tickets for the concert series will go on sale Friday, Oct. 2 at 10:00 a.m. PT via www.straittovegas.com and range in price from $75 to $200 plus applicable fees. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. PT through Thursday, Oct. 1 at 10 p.m. PT.

With 60 No. 1 singles and more than 68.5 million records sold, George Strait is a musical legend and the most-nominated artist in CMA Awards history, with a career spanning more than three decades. 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.

To re-watch the press conference, visit georgestraitlive.com.

About Las Vegas Arena
Las Vegas Arena is a privately funded $375 million indoor arena set to open in Spring 2016.  The 20,000-seat venue, located west of the Las Vegas Strip between New York-New York and Monte Carlo, is expected to host more than 100 events annually, including UFC, boxing, hockey, basketball and other sporting events, major headline entertainment, awards shows, family shows and special events.  Las Vegas’ newest landmark will feature 50 luxury suites, more than two dozen private loge boxes, complete broadcast facilities, and other specially designed exclusive hospitality offerings and fan amenities destined to create a guest experience second to none.  The Arena has partnered with international iconic brands Coca-Cola, Schneider Electric and Toshiba American Business Solutions Inc., as the venue’s first “Founding Partners.” These Founding Partners will introduce and brand signature fan initiatives, displays and interactive spaces including Toshiba Plaza, an adjacent two-acre entertainment space which will feature a performance stage, a variety of video screens and other interactive content and display areas.  Industry-leading architect Populous designed the venue to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s standards for LEED® Gold Certification. Las Vegas Arena is a joint venture between AEG and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM).  For more information visit the Las Vegas Arena website at www.arenalasvegas.com.

Canaan Smith just wrapped his stint on Dierks Bentley’s Sounds of Summer Tour over the weekend, and he’s looking ahead to his headlining Stompin’ Grounds Tour, kicking off November 6th in Charlotte, North Carolina.

No matter if he’s performing 20 minutes as an opening act or more than an hour as a headliner, Canaan says he puts his all into his shows. ““I leave it all on the stage. I exhaust myself every night,” says Canaan. “I beat the hell out of the drums for the last song, and I hype the crowd. I milk every moment I can. I squeeze the rag as hard as I can in my 20-minute set just to get as much out of the crowd as I can. So, I hope that people notice that, and I think that they do.”

Canaan is currently climbing the country charts with “Hole in a Bottle,” the follow-up to his recent No. 1 single, “Love You Like That.” Both songs are from his debut album, Bronco.

The man The Morning Call called “the best male singer in country music,” Darius Rucker is taking his live concert experience one step further to ensure fans make it to the party safely. Rucker will partner with rideshare app Uber for select dates on his Southern Style Tour, giving fans the chance to win free rides as well as VIP packages for the fall leg of the tour, beginning next month.

A few lucky riders in cities across the United States will win VIP packages for a Southern Style Tour stop which include 2 tickets to the show, an exclusive Darius Rucker pre-show acoustic performance, and invitation to a pre-show party in the VIP Party Lounge. Fans can enter the promo code SOUTHERNSTYLE to enter to win, and receive $20 off their first ride as well as a free download of Darius’ latest album,Southern Style, featuring his latest No. 1 hit single, “Homegrown Honey.”

The fall leg of the Southern Style Tour will feature opening actsDavid Nail and A Thousand Horses, following the South Carolina native’s initial run, which drew more than 700,000 fans. Rucker’s latest single, the title cut from Southern Style, is currently climbing the charts at country radio.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.DariusRucker.com and follow @DariusRucker on Twitter.

Southern Style Tour dates:
October 8 | Chicago, Ill.
October 9 | Dayton, Ohio
October 10 | Youngstown, Ohio*
October 15 | Topeka, Kan.
October 16 | Lincoln, Neb.
October 17 | Sioux City, Iowa
October 22 | Syracuse, N.Y.*
October 23 | Albany, N.Y.*
October 24 | Uncasville, Conn.*
November 12 | Bemidji, Minn.
November 13 | Green Bay, Wis.
November 14 | Moline, Ill.
November 19 | Grand Rapids, Mich.
November 20 | Toledo, Ohio
*A Thousand Horses will not be appearing on these dates

About Darius Rucker  
Capitol Records Nashville recording artist Darius Rucker released his fourth No. 1 country album Southern Style on March 31, 2015, the same week lead single “Homegrown Honey” became his seventh No. 1 hit. Rucker’s first three albums – Learn To Live, Charleston, SC 1966 and True Believers – produced six No. 1 singles, including “Come Back Song,” “This,” “Alright,” “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” and “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It.” His 2013 No. 1 “Wagon Wheel” won a GRAMMY Award, stayed atop the charts for two weeks and was nominated for Song of the Year at the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards. In 2009, Rucker was named New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards. He achieved a personal goal and childhood dream when he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 16, 2012.

The always witty Vince Gill and the reliably wry Lyle Lovett are reuniting for a 13 city tour that will take place through February and March 2016.  After teaming up for a series of concerts earlier this year, Gill and Lovett saw that the shows were so successful that they decided to continue the tour.

A reviewer for Elmore Magazine raved, “The evening reminded me of the Rat Pack, with pals Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra doing comedy and music and having a great time. . . . This was not the show I had looked forward to—it was much better.”

Each show will be a series of  intimate solo and duo performances, during which the artists will serve as their own accompanists.

“For a night like this, there is no plan,” Gill said. “I know Lyle won’t have a plan, and I won’t either. 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.”

“I enjoy shows that are not planned out,” Lovett observes. “This will be two songwriters in the round. It’s informal, so there will be lots of ad-libbing. It will be like little snapshots of our experiences.”

Both performers have reaped armfuls of Grammys and kindred laurels for their musical versatility and memory-engraving songwriting.

“Just two guys sitting on stools, telling stories and singing songs,” Gill says. “No big bands.  I saw James Taylor once with just him and his guitar, and after that show I felt like I knew him a whole lot better than I ever did before. That’s what’ll happen between Lyle and me, too, and I’m looking forward to it.”

HERE ARE THE DATES AND LOCATIONS:

February 17 — Montgomery, AL — Montgomery Performing Arts Centre

February 18 — Huntsville, AL — Von Braun Center Concert Hall

February 19 — Birmingham, AL — Alabama Theatre

February 20 — Atlanta, GA — Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

February 21 — Asheville, NC — Thomas Wolfe Auditorium

February 23 — Daytona Beach, FL — Peabody Auditorium

February 24 — Clearwater, FL — Ruth Eckerd Hall

February 25 — Jacksonville, FL — Florida Theatre

February 26 — Sarasota, FL — Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

February 27 — Key West, FL — Tennessee Williams Theatre

February 28 — Melbourne, FL — King Center for the Performing Arts

February 29 — Fort Myers, FL — Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall

March 1 — Coral Springs, FL — Coral Springs Center for the Arts

Get Connected with Lyle Lovett:

Website:  www.lylelovett.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/LyleLovett

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/LyleLovett

Get Connected with Vince Gill: 
Website:   www.vincegill.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/vincegill
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/vgcom

Nashville, Tenn. – (Nov. 18, 2015) – The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum hosted an intimate reception of family, music industry friends, and media VIPs Thursday night to celebrate the opening of its latest cameo exhibition, “Eric Church: Inside the Outsider.”  The exhibit features stage clothing, song manuscripts, photos, awards, a hand-written note from George Strait, and more memorabilia that was personally selected by this year’s top CMA Awards nominee for the display.  “Eric Church: Inside the Outsider” will run through February 2016 and is part of the normal admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

During the reception, Church said, “I revere country music. I grew up a fan in North Carolina. I remember a distinct memory when I was 23, walking by the Country Music Hall of Fame just having a moment you know, as a songwriter that had been told ‘no’ a bunch. If I had the chance, had a time machine to go back and tell that guy what would happen over the next 10-15 years (laughs)…neither one of us would believe it.  I just walked through an exhibit that had my name all over it, and here’s what I learned. It doesn’t matter how great your songs are, how great a singer and player you are…I know this now, that it’s about the people that are in this room. It’s about everybody from songwriters, it’s about management, it’s about the band and crew that give it to ‘em every night. It’s about my family, it’s about the people at our house. It’s not about me, because it’s not possible for one person to make that happen.”

Eric is currently climbing the country charts with “Like a Wrecking Ball,” from his latest album, The Outsiders.

After a sold-out performance for their first-ever headlining hometown stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday (9/11), Lady Antebellum will wrap their headlining WHEELS UP 2015 TOUR having proven “the group is far from running out of steam” (Billboard) with an “effervescent evening of impeccable harmonies” (The Tennessean). The 65-city tour that first launched in Europe earlier this year will soar into its final destination this weekend with shows in Pittsburgh, PA tonight (9/18) and Camden, NJ tomorrow (9/19).

“It’s hard to believe that we’re in the last weekend of this tour after checking off so many bucketlist moments with this show,” shares Lady A’s Charles Kelley. “The tour was our dream come true and it’s hard to really sum up exactly how much that means to us. We’re looking forward to spending a lot of time this winter writing new music – and we can’t wait for the next chapter of Lady A.”

In addition to selling out their first-ever hometown arena show, last weekend also marked a special moment for the CMA nominated trio as they surprised Navy veteran Alejandro Tamez, with a year of mortgage relief as their last 7FOR7 giveaway with Quicken Loans. To watch a recap video of their moving 7FOR7 initiative on the road this summer, click here.

The group set aside a portion of every ticket purchased over the course for their 2015 Tour to put towards the multi-level organization, which helps bring awareness and generate support for children locally, nationally and globally. LadyAID is a component fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Fans can still celebrate the hit-packed trek, as Palladia will air the “Lady Antebellum: Wheels Up Tour” live special on Saturday, Sept. 26. For more information, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

In the final chapter of Dierks Bentley’s critically acclaimed GRAMMY, ACM and CMA nominated album RISER, the multi-PLATINUM entertainer has commissioned a limited edition “Riser” necklace available now on Dierks.com and at Nashville’s White’s Mercantile for $79. All proceeds of the handcrafted 18” gold-chain with a hand-stamped charm design will benefit Bentley’s 10th Annual “Miles & Music For Kids.”

The one-of-a-kind accessory brings the story full-circle, including Bentley’s inspired message that first launched the project: “We are on a journey. The endless cycle of life, love, loss, faith, freedom, and family. We learn from our past to define our future. Everyone has a defining moment in their life, a breakthrough moment, it’s the moment when you choose to be a riser.”

The album that “again elevates himself above the rest of the country pack” (People) continues to impact Country radio, most recently with its title track that follows three consecutive No. ones from the record. To watch the single’s raw music video, clickhere.

Bentley heads into the final run of his headlining 2015 SOUND OF SUMMER TOUR this weekend in New Orleans, LA (9/18) and Alpharetta, GA (9/19).

On Nov. 1, he will host the 10th Annual “Miles & Music For Kids” celebrity motorcycle ride and concert, closing out Nashville’s new Ascend Amphitheater opening season. While the event is sold out, a limited number of walk-up rider passes will be available day of event. For more information and for a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.