Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and Sam Hunt are among the CMT Artists of the Year special, airing Wednesday night (December 2nd). The 90-minute special pays tribute to the top country artists of the year with once-in-a-lifetime performances, unexpected tributes and unforgettable toasts from the biggest stars of music, film and television. Chris Stapleton will receive the 2015 CMT Artists of the Year Breakout award and perform live during the sixth annual CMT Artists of the Year special.

Pop stars Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis will honor Little Big Town by performing “Girl Crush, while Darius Rucker, Cassadee Pope and Raelynn are set to perform Blake Shelton’s “Neon Light.” The event will also feature appearances by Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, Dolly Parton, Trace Adkins, Kellie Pickler and more. Florida Georgia Line will be among the honorees.

The show will premiere live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center Wednesday at 8pm ET/PT.

Sam Hunt is scheduled to perform during the 2015 NASCAR Spring Cup Series Awards next month. The show, hosted by actor and comedian Drew Carey, will air live from the Wynn in Las Vegas Friday, December 4th on NBCSN beginning at 9pm ET. Sam is currently sitting inside the Top 20 with his latest single, “Break Up in a Small Town.”

Jon Pardi took his young puppy, Gus, on his first bus trip over the weekend. Check out the cutest little face below. Jon is sitting around Top 30 with his latest single, “Head Over Boots.”

Gus

Mickey Guyton was named one of the 13 Country Artists to Watch in a recent issue of Billboard. “Few singers in or out of country can keep pace with Guyton vocally,” they were quoted as saying in the feature. Brothers Osborne, Clare Dunn and Cam were among the artists listed as ones to watch!

Chris Stapleton has been added to the all-star lineup of artists already confirmed for a SKYVILLE LIVE homage to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Gregg Allman. The new installment of the  online music series will deliver live performances and collaborations by Allman with Stapleton, CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town and  Taj Mahal, streaming live December 11, 2015 on SkyvilleLive.com at 8pET/7pCT.

The Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth, in the state that’s now known as Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s. People now celebrate the holiday by giving thanks for their blessings over the past year, as well as feasting on turkey and other festive goodies.

Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 26th, and most people will be enjoying time with their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, David Nail, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Josh Turner, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt, Scotty McCreery and more. They share their thoughts, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

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“Hey! This is Clare Dunn, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

Eric Church and Chris Stapleton are among the artists paying tribute to the late John Lennon in a new AMC all-star special, Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert, December 19th. The special, being recorded December 5th in New York City, will also include performances by Kris Kristofferson, Peter Frampton, Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow, Train’s Pat Monahan and Aloe Blacc.

Tim McGraw performed the song “Here Tonight” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week. TJ and John of Brothers Osborne wrote the song.

Sam Hunt has been chosen as a curator for the fourth annual Grammy Amplifier program – an online music initiative that gives a platform to aspiring artists. Big Sean and Lzzy Hale have also been named curators for the program, which invites hopeful singers to upload their songs for consideration at www.grammyamplifier.com. Hunt, Big Sean and Hale will select three winners from the top 25 most popular submissions to win one-of-a-kind experiences that include an in-studio recording session with a Grammy Award-winning producer, an opening spot for a popular artist and/or a series of festival shows, and a music video with a notable director. “I’m honored to be part of a program where I can help elevate new and emerging talent,” Sam said in a prepared statement. “It wasn’t long ago I was an unknown artist, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the people who helped me with the tools I needed to start my career. I look forward to shining a light on these aspiring musicians.” The Grammy Amplifier program is open to submissions through December.

Little Big Town will honor rock icon Gregg Allman during the second season premiere of Nashville-based performance webcast series Skyville Live on December 11th at 8pm ET.

On Monday (November 16th), Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott will host Leadership Music’s Dale Franklin Awards honoring three music industry leaders in Nashville, including Reba.

Darius Rucker recently presented a $1 million grant from the CMA Foundation to Metro Nashville Public Schools to provide instruments and music education for more than 85,000 local students. “A defining moment in my life was when my mother gave me my first guitar – I can honestly say it completely changed my life,” says Darius. “So to know that we, as artists with CMA, are helping kids get the option for that kind of discovery is really incredible.”

Sam Hunt is up for three American Music Awards later this month including Favorite Country Male Artist, Favorite Country Album for Montevallo and overall New Artist of the Year. Sam is honored to be nominated and honored and humbled to represent Nashville and the Country Music format at the show.

“When you put it in the big picture like that, I sort feel like in some of those categories, I’m not just representing myself as an artist, but I’m representing country music in Nashville and the genre and all these other people who I feel like would be much worthier than me to represent the genre,” says the Georgia native. “It’s an honor…I was flattered to be recognized not just myself as an artist, but as someone who’s a part of this awards show as a representative of country music. So, that’s bigger than me and it’s something that I feel and appreciate.”

The 2015 American Music Awards will broadcast live on Sunday, November 22 at 8:00pm ET on ABC.

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

Luke Bryan and Little Big Town‘s Karen Fairchild will perform the world premiere of Luke’s new single “Home Alone Tonight” at the 2015 American Music Awards. Luke and Karen join previously announced performers Carrie Underwood, 5 Seconds of Summer, Selena Gomez and Jennifer Lopez. Luke is nominated for the all-genre Artist of the Year and the Favorite Male Country Artist, while LBT is up for Favorite Country Duo or Group . The 2015 American Music Awards will be broadcast live on November 22nd at 8pm ET on ABC.

Sam Hunt picked up a pair of awards at Monday night’s ASCAP Awards. He was named Songwriter/Artist of the Year, and also nabbed Song of the Year for his No. 1 debut hit “Leave the Night On.”

Watch the ABC News special, Countdown to the CMA Awards: Country’s Greatest Crossover Hits with Robin Roberts on Monday (November 2nd) at 10pm ET on ABC. The special will feature performances and interviews with such artists as Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and many more.

Kacey Musgraves attended the opening soiree for actress Reese Witherspoon’s new store, Draper James, in Nashville last week. Faith Hill and Sheryl Crow were also in attendance.

Luke Bryan and Eric Church both nabbed nominations for this year’s Billboard Touring Awards. Luke’s Kick the Dust Up trek, featuring Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch and Thomas Rhett, is in the running for Top Package. Church was named as Breakthrough Artist, and is in the lineup as part of Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Tour for Top Package. The 2015 Billboard Touring Awards will take place November 19th at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

Sam Hunt has had a meteoric rise since first releasing his debut album, Montevallo, a year ago. He’s scored a No. 1 album, three platinum-selling No. 1 songs, headlined his own tour and earned several more accolades in just 52 weeks. Now, the “Break Up in a Small Town” singer is nominated for three CMA Awards, including New Artist, Single and Song of the Year for “Take Your Time.” Sam knows what’s been happening to him is pretty special.

“This is sort of top of the format, these awards shows, and being a part of the business and being acknowledged by these gatekeepers in terms of the awards, that’s sort of the ultimate invitation into the family, and that means a whole lot to me,” says the Georgia native. “It’s special to be up there in the categories with a lot of those people who I’ve grown up listening to or been inspired by over the last several years.”

Sam is also set to perform live on the 49th Annual CMA Awards, which will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 4th at 8pm ET on ABC.

Sam Hunt hosted a free street party presented by Bose® in downtown Nashville last night in celebration of an incredible year since the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album Montevallo (MCA Nashville).

Over 10,000 fans packed the street to sing along with Hunt as he performed hits including his three consecutive No. 1 Platinum-selling singles “Leave the Night On,” “House Party,” the Double-Platinum “Take Your Time,” his current Top 25 and climbing Gold-selling single, “Break Up In A Small Town,” songwriting hits “We Are Tonight” and “Cop Car,” and many more, filling the nearly two hour performance.

Hunt took a moment to introduce one of his earliest believers to the crowd, Katelyn Carter. Carter took it upon herself to distribute copies to anyone who requested Hunt’s early work – his give-away mixtape Between The Pines. Between The Pines became the blueprint of Hunt’s major label debut album, Montevallo, and in recognition of its significance, Hunt reissued the 15-track acoustic mixtape earlier this week. Purchase Between The Pines HERE.

Sam then treated party-goers to a duet of “Burning House” with his good friend and rising country newcomer, Cam.

Sam is currently nominated for three CMA awards (New Artist of the Year; Single of the Year; Song of the Year) and three AMA awards (New Artist of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Country; Favorite Album – Country). Fans can see Hunt perform on next week’s CMA Awards, live on ABC Nov. 4.

For more information, touring news and updates on Sam Hunt, please visit www.SamHunt.com.

www.SamHunt.com | facebook.com/SamHuntMusic | twitter.com/SamHuntMusic | instagram.com/SamHuntMusic

Photo Credit: Steven Worster