Little Big Town’s latest single, “Girl Crush,” is climbing the country charts, and the support it’s received from fans, radio and other country stars is overwhelming. The group wanted “Girl Crush” for themselves the first time they heard it, because they felt it was such a special song.

“I think ‘Girl Crush’ is one of the most brilliant lyrics I’ve heard in such a long time,” says LBT’s Jimi Westbrook. “It’s taking a phrase that you’ve heard so many times, and just the way it turns at the hook, it just catches you. It gives me chills every time I listen to it, when that hook turns like it does. It’s just brilliant. I think it’s a brilliant song, and [Karen’s] vocal is perfection. It’s so good. The emotion of that song comes through. I love it.”

Little Big Town will perform during this year’s ACM Awards where they’re up for Vocal Group and Album of the Year for Pain Killer. The 50th Annual ACM Awards will air live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas April 19th at 8pm ET on CBS.

ENCINO, CA (April 2, 2015) – Today, ACM Lifting Lives® announced that chart-topping country music star Darius Rucker will return to host the ACM Lifting Lives Celebrity Golf Classic presented by G. Debbas Chocolatier and GoPicnic for the fourth consecutive year on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, Texas. The ACM Lifting Lives Celebrity Golf Classic, the ninth held since 2004, brings together country music artists Kix Brooks, Charles Kelley, Chris Young, Branch & Dean, and more artists to be announced as well as other members of the music community in a scramble tournament to raise funds and awareness for ACM Lifting Lives’ Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund.

This fund enables ACM Lifting Lives to respond quickly to unforeseen, immediate financial needs of music related organizations and individuals. Funds are disbursed at the discretion of a select committee made up of ACM Lifting Lives Board Members. The fund’s resources cover a wide range of financial, medical and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and confidentiality. The fund was established to honor Diane Holcomb’s memory by her only daughter, Gayle Holcomb, who served four years as Chairman of the Board of the Academy of Country Music. ACM Lifting Lives has helped 45 people and given over $230,000 since its inception in 2007.

The ACM Lifting Lives Celebrity Golf Classic, ACM Charity Motorcycle Ride & Concert, ACM Lifting Lives “One Night, Two Cities, All Music” Gala presented by Mattress Firm, ACM Party for a Cause Festival, and more are all among the highly-anticipated events held during the ACM Awards week culminating with the 50^th Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music’s Party of the Year®. The ceremony, co-hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, will broadcast LIVE from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

About ACM Lifting Lives®

ACM Lifting Lives® is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Through partnerships with artists and strong ties in the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs, and serves members of the community who face unexpected hardships through its Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund. Through generous donations and the support of artists and fans, ACM Lifting Lives is able to fund everything from disaster relief and helping communities in need, to music education in schools and music camps for those with disabilities, to supporting programs that use music therapy as a means to help our veterans and wounded warriors, while providing grants to help them ease back into life. For more information, please visit www.ACMLiftingLives.org.

Go behind-the-scenes of the making of “Raise ‘Em Up,” featuring Keith Urban and Eric Church.

Nashville, TN – April 2, 2015 – Top ACM nominee Dierks Bentley has created a new digital platform called “Sounding Off” that will offer fans an inside look at the tour through a unique series of exclusive videos.  Starting from ground zero all the way through the final notes, clips will be posted online and will also feature surprise cameos from tour openers Kip Moore, Maddie & Tae and Canaan Smith. The 2015 Sounds Of Summer Tour kicks off June 5 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“We’ve been kicking around ideas for the new set list and production for a while, and now with only a few months left, it’s time to start putting it all the pieces together,” said Bentley.  “Last summer was hard to beat for me personally…so many great things came together to make it an unbelievable summer…it was the perfect collision of the music with the energy of the fans. I really want them to be able to experience it like I do…get to see more of what happens backstage and what I get to see from the stage looking out to the back of the lawn. We’ve got a lot more great memories ahead of us.”

To watch the first “Sounding Off,” click here: http://www.dierks.com/SoundingOff

Amidst tour preparation, Dierks will perform live on the upcoming 50th Annual ACM Awards on April 19th where he is also the most nominated male artist with seven nods. Dierks is climbing the country charts with his latest single, “Say You Do.”

For a full list of upcoming tour dates and appearances, visit www.dierks.com.

Eric Church, Alan Jackson, Kip Moore, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum are a few of the latest performers announced for the 3^rd Annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival, taking place in Arlington, Texas April 17th and 18th. They’re joined by John Anderson, Deana Carter, Brandy Clark, Brett Eldredge, Sara Evans, Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Ashley Monroe, David Lee Murphy, Joe Nichols, Jake Owen, Reba, Marty Stuart, Cole Swindell, Brooks & Dunn and The Band Perry.

Previously announced performers include Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Patty Loveless, Ronnie Milsap, Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, Eli Young Band Clint Black and Florida Georgia Line.

The event will be taped for a two hour special, ACM Presents: Superstar Duets, which will air May 15th on the CBS. Proceeds from ticket sales for the ACM Party for a Cause Festival will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy.

Billy Currington teams up with Tim McGraw this summer on the Shotgun Rider Tour ’15. The cross-country tour kicks off June 5th in Little Rock, Arkansas and runs through September 19th with stops in Dallas, Boston, Chicago and Sacramento.

“I’ve been wanting to tour with Tim for so long,” says Billy. “I met him quite a while ago, five, six, seven years ago. Actually met him and got to hang out with him, and I think we went hunting together on his property and just had a great day. And since then, deriving from all the good talks we had and the inspiration he gave me and the advice and on and on, I always say, ‘Man I’ve got to tour with this guy someday.’ And so now it’s happening and here we are. I really look forward to it.”

With nine iconic career No. 1 hits, Currington recently released “Don’t It”, the lead single from his forthcoming sixth studio album produced by Dann Huff. “Don’t It” received 4 out of 5 star praise from Billboard and continues to quickly rise on the country radio Top 30 chart. Written by the hit-making trio of Ashley Gorley, Jaren Johnston and Ross Copperman, the lead anthem offers an exciting preview of Currington’s highly-anticipated new project expected later this year.

Tim McGraw 2015 Shotgun Rider Tour Dates:

6/5 – Little Rock, Ark. – Verizon Arena
6/6 – Dallas, Texas – Gexa Energy Pavilion
6/11 – Wantagh, N.Y. – Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
6/12 – Boston, Mass. – XFINITY Center
6/18 – Phoenix, Ariz. – Ak-Chin Pavilion
6/19 – Albuquerque, N.M. – Isleta Amphitheater
7/10 – Raleigh, N.C. – Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
7/11 – Charlotte, N.C. – PNC Music Pavilion
7/16 – Toronto, Ontario – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
7/18 – Holmdel, N.J. – PNC Bank Arts Center
7/19 – Virginia Beach, Va. – Farm Bureau Live
7/24 – Bonner Springs, Kan. – Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
7/30 – Darien Center, N.Y. – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
7/31 – Cleveland, Ohio – Blossom Music Pavilion
8/1 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Riverbend Music Center
8/2 – Detroit, Mich. – DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/7 – Indianapolis, Ind. – Klipsch Music Center
8/8 – Chicago, Ill. – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8/9 – St. Louis, Mo. – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/14 – Birmingham, Ala. – Oak Mountain Amphitheater
8/21 – West Palm Beach, Fla. – Coral Sky Amphitheatre
8/22 – Tampa, Fla. – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
8/28 – Washington, D.C. – Jiffy Lube Live
8/29 – Philadelphia, Pa. – Susquehanna Bank Center
8/30 – Pittsburgh, Pa. – First Niagara Pavilion
9/4 – Seattle, Wash. – White River Amphitheatre
9/5 – Portland, Ore. – Amphitheatre Northwest
9/9 – Denver, Colo. – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
9/10 – Denver, Colo. – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
9/12 – Salt Lake City, Utah – USANA Amphitheatre
9/17 – Sacramento, Calif. – Sleep Train Amphitheatre
9/18 – Mountain View, Calif. – Shoreline Amphitheatre
9/19 – Irvine, Calif. – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (March 30, 2015) – With 20 years of hits in his discography, you’d think three-time GRAMMY winner Darius Rucker would get used to them. As “Homegrown Honey,” the first single from his new Capitol Nashville album Southern Style, hits No. 1 on the Mediabase Country songs chart this week, however, the rocker-turned-country star admits he still gets the same feeling: “Wow!”

“A lot of people may not realize this, but even with all the success we had with Hootie & The Blowfish, we never had a single go to No. 1,” Rucker said. “I had never experienced that feeling until ‘Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,’ when it peaked at the top of the Country charts in 2008 when we were releasing Learn To Live. So to be here again – four albums and seven years later – about to celebrate the release of Southern Style and get the news that we just hit our seventh No. 1 single on Country radio charts is just insane. I say ‘we’ as this is a feat I have learned only comes from a community really embracing the music and wanting to play it for fans that want to hear it, and that just makes it all the more special to me.”

Rucker will celebrate his new hit and Tuesday’s release of Southern Style all over the map in the coming weeks. He kicks off release week Tuesday, March 31 with a visit to NBC’s “TODAY Show,” then hits “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (April 7) and ABC’s “The Chew” (April 16) later this month.

Southern Style is already receiving critical praise. According to USA Today, “Southern Style comes close to Rucker’s ideal, with the sweet dobro intro to honky-tonk shuffle ‘Good for a Good Time’ and a title song that extols the virtues of Billy Graham, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lil Wayne against a leisurely paced slide guitar. On ‘Baby I’m Right,’ a playful duet with Mallary Hope, the mandolin is so high in the mix it’s almost like an extra lead voice.”

Country Weekly said Rucker’s sunny personality shines throughout Southern Style, an album that “is so full of love, fun and sweet memories you practically see the smile on Darius’ lips as he sings.” Entertainment Weekly added that the album “is the work of an artist who knows his whiskey-baritoned sweet spot: In his own words, ‘I wanna get high on some low country with you.’”

The Country genre has become home for the South Carolina singer. His previous three releases debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, he scored a GRAMMY Award for his 2013 mega-hit “Wagon Wheel” and is headed back out on the road again this summer on the Southern Style Tour, beginning May 14 in Holmdel, N.J., with Brett Eldredge, the Brothers Osborne and A Thousand Horses. He’s deeply embedded in the Music Row community. Rucker wrote “Homegrown Honey” with a couple of fellow GRAMMY winners, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and producer Nathan Chapman.

“Thinking back to the day Charles and I were on the golf course and he said, ‘Man, we should write together -we never have,’ and I couldn’t believe we had known each other so long and never sat down to really just write,” Rucker said. “A few weeks later we made it happen, and I remember walking out of that room and calling my management saying we had the single for my new record.”

Turns out it was a No. 1 single.

Visit www.DariusRucker.com to learn more about the Southern Style Tour or to buy tickets. Follow Rucker on Twitter at @dariusrucker.

About Darius Rucker
Capitol Nashville recording artist Darius Rucker will release his fourth 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 October 16, 2012. To learn more about Darius Rucker go to www.dariusrucker.com.

NASHVILLE, TN (March 10, 2015) – NOW That’s What I Call ACM Awards 50 Years, the milestone anniversary collaboration between the Academy of Country Music and NOW That’s What I Call Music!, is released Tuesday, March 31st.

The collection of recordings celebrate the ACM Awards’ 50-year history and will feature 2 discs as well as a digital collection of ACM award-winning songs. The first disc will feature recent contemporary hits while the second will include timeless classics.

The complete track listing for NOW That’s What I Call ACM Awards 50 Years includes:

DISC ONE (1990-2015)

1. Jason Aldean (with Luke Bryan & Eric Church) The Only Way I Know 2012
2. Lee Brice I Drive Your Truck 2012
3. Luke Bryan Country Girl (Shake It For Me) 2011
4. Blake Shelton Honey Bee 2011
5. Taylor Swift Mean 2010
6. Lady Antebellum Need You Now 2010
7. Miranda Lambert The House That Built Me 2009
8. Brad Paisley & Keith Urban Start A Band 2008
9. Reba & Kelly Clarkson Because of You 2007 
10. George Strait Give It Away 2006
11. Carrie Underwood Jesus, Take the Wheel 2005
12. Tim McGraw Live Like You Were Dying 2004
13. Kenny Chesney The Good Stuff 2002
14. Lee Ann Womack I Hope You Dance 2000
15. Faith Hill This Kiss 1998
16. Alan Jackson Chattahoochee 1993
17. Brooks & Dunn Boot Scootin’ Boogie 1991

DISC TWO (1965-1989)

1. Clint Black Better Man 1989
2. Hank Williams Jr. There’s a Tear in My Beer 1989
3. Randy Travis Forever and Ever Amen 1987
4. The Highwaymen Highwayman 1985
5. The Judds Why Not Me 1984
6. Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers Islands in the Stream 1983
7. Willie Nelson Always on My Mind 1982
8. Alabama Love in the First Degree 1981
9. The Oak Ridge Boys Elvira 1981
10. David Frizzell & Shelly West You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma 1980
11. George Jones He Stopped Loving Her Today 1980
12. Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Bros. All the Gold in California 1979
13. Don Williams Tulsa Time 1978
14. Glen Campbell Rhinestone Cowboy 1975
15. Charlie Rich Behind Closed Doors 1973
16. Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty Lead Me On 1971
17. Merle Haggard Okie From Muskogee 1969

The album will be released on March 31^st, just in time for the 50^th Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast LIVE on Sunday, April 19^th at 8:00pm ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. All of the Academy’s proceeds from sales of the album will go to ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, dedicated to improving lives through the power of music.

NOW That’s What I Call ACM Awards 50 Years is a collaboration between Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and the Academy of Country Music, and the album will be distributed by Universal Music Group Distribution. The NOW That’s What I Call Music! series is a joint venture from Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.  NOW and NOW That’s What I Call Music!are registered trademarks of Universal Music Group and its affiliates.

NOW That’s What I Call Music! debuted in the U.S. in 1998, following 15 years of multi-platinum international success. The series has generated sales exceeding 250 million albums worldwide, including more than 94 million in the U.S.  All 53 volumes in NOW’s numeric U.S. series have charted in the top 10 of Billboard’s Album Chart, 19 of which have reached #1.

The 50th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry.  The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will broadcast LIVE from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark and Barry Adelman are executive producers.  Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

ACM Lifting Lives® is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music.  Through partnerships with artists and strong ties in the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs, and serves members of the community who face unexpected hardships through its Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund. Through generous donations and the support of artists and fans, ACM Lifting Lives is able to fund everything from disaster relief and helping communities in need, to music education in schools and music camps for those with disabilities, to supporting programs that use music therapy as a means to help our veterans and wounded warriors, while providing grants to help them ease back into life. For more information, please visit www.ACMLiftingLives.org.

Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town have been announced as performers at this year’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts and Martina McBride, as well as special duets by Christina Aguilera with surprise artists and Nick Jonas with Dan + Shay.

They join previously announced performers Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Sam Hunt, George Strait, Keith Urban, Reba, Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line, Cole Swindell and Thomas Rhett.

The 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards – hosted by Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton – will air live from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas April 19th at 8pm ET on CBS.

Eric Church will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame October 15^th in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

Eric Church and Kacey Musgraves will perform at Willie Nelson’s annual 4th of July Picnic in Austin, Texas. Merle Haggard, Asleep at the Wheel and Jamey Johnson are also on the bill.

Kacey Musgraves will perform at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, taking place June 11th – 14th in Manchester, Tennessee. She made her Bonnaroo debut in 2013. Billy Joel, Mumford & Sons and Kendrick Lamar are also scheduled to perform.

Luke Bryan will return for his second Crash My Playa Caribbean concert in Riviera Maya, Mexico January 22nd – 26th, 2016. Go to CrashMyPlaya.com.

Vince Gill was recently interviewed by Dan Rather for his show, The Big Interview, on AXS-TV. His feature will air April 21st.