Encino, CA (March 5, 2015) –The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions announced that the ACM Party for a Cause Festival will feature an unprecedented lineup of country music legends and this year’s ACM Award nominees and chart-topping artists including Dierks Bentley, Clint Black, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Sam Hunt, Miranda Lambert, Patty Loveless, Ronnie Milsap, Darius Rucker, Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, Eli Young Band, Florida Georgia Line and more to be announced in the coming weeks. The two-day outdoor music festival celebrating the 50^TH ACM Awards will take place on April 17-18, 2015 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas and be taped for a two hour special, “ACM Presents: Superstar Duets!,” which will air on Friday, May 15 on the CBS Television Network.

Ticket packages to the ACM Party for a Cause Festival INCLUDING the 50^th ACM Awards are available NOW at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets to the ACM Awards sold out last spring in a record 18 minutes but as staging changes became final for the ACM Awards, seats to the previously SOLD OUT Awards were added and are now part of this package.   Additional festival performers and lineup details will be announced in the coming weeks.

“For the Academy’s milestone anniversary, we wanted more fans than ever to join us in our party and we thought it was a perfect fit to combine the ACM Party for A Cause Festival and our annual CBS special into one historic event,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “Fans and viewers can expect a night of surprises from an all-star lineup of performers who have graced our ACM Awards stage throughout the past 50 years.”

The 3^rd Annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival, beginning at 12:00 PM on April 17-18, 2015, will include multiple stages for ongoing LIVE country music performances, interactive experiences, a family-friendly country marketplace with food trucks and vendors from around the country, and much more, all leading up to the 50^th Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be broadcast LIVE for the first time ever 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. Proceeds from ticket sales for the 3^rd Annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival will benefit ACM Lifting Lives®, the charitable arm of the Academy.

ACM Presents: Superstar Duets! is produced for television by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan and R.A. Clark are executive producers.  Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Tom Forrest are co-executive producers. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

NASHVILLE – CMA Music Festival will be the hottest concert destination of the summer with today’s announcement that Country Music superstars Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church,Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt,Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town,Neal McCoy, Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Darius Rucker, Cole Swindell,The Band Perry, Keith Urban, Wynonna & The Big Noise, and Zac Brown Band will each take the stage during the Nightly Concerts at LP Field. The 2015 CMA Music Festival takes place Thursday, June 11-Sunday, June 14 in downtown Nashville. Subscribers to CMA Exclusive, CMA’s e-newsletter, were the first to learn about the star-studded lineup Wednesday morning. “CMA Music Festival is all about the fan experience,” said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. “Our fans snapped up LP Field tickets at a record pace, and we wanted to reward that loyalty by sharing this exciting lineup with them first this morning.”   While the relationship between artists and fans is the foundation for the event, CMA Music Festival benefits music education programs for children in need. Wednesday morning, Thomas Rhett welcomed guests to Nashville Children’s Theatre for a performance of “Jack’s Tale: A Mythic Mountain Musical,” which was funded by a $10,000 grant from the CMA Foundation from the 2014 CMA Music Festival. Threats of snow in Nashville prevented a majority of students from attending, but he warmly greeted the enthusiastic crowd. “When I was little I was in a play called ‘A Christmas Carol’. I was Scrooge,” Thomas Rhett told the student-filled crowd. “Music education was super important for me, and today was a good reminder of how neat it is to see the Country Music community band together to help give back to that through CMA Fest.” The CMA Foundation presents grants on behalf of the artists who perform at CMA Music Festival each year for free and has donated more than $11 million to music education initiatives across the country since 2006. Tickets to the Nightly Concerts at LP Field sold out in November. Across the river from the stadium, there are countless free and low-cost entertainment options for fans around downtown Nashville as part of the CMA Music Festival. Seven free entertainment stages give fans an opportunity to choose their musical adventure, including the hugely popular Chevrolet Riverfront Stage, which consistently fills the Cumberland riverbank each of the four days. AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X at Music City Center moves the CMA Music Festival party inside, with musical performances on three stages, artist interactions, meet-and-greets, shopping and other unique fan experiences. Tickets to AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X are available now atCMAfest.com (AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X admission is included in four-day CMA Music Festival tickets). AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X tickets are $10 per day or $25 for a four-day pass. The Nightly Concerts will be taped for a three-hour prime time special airing later this summer on the ABC Television Network. For upcoming talent announcements and all other info stay connected with CMA on Facebook.com/CMA,Twitter.com/CountryMusic, Instagram.com/CMA, and sign up for CMA Exclusive, CMA’s e-newsletter. Fans can also download the 2015 CMA Music Festival mobile app foriPhone or Android to view the latest artist lineups and to plan their festival experience. -30- **Suggested Tweet**: The 2015 #CMAfest LP Field lineup is here! Download the app to plan your Fest experience http://countrymu.sc/MF15app

Sam Hunt climbs back into the top spot on Billboard’s Country Album chart this week, selling another 16,000 copies. The collection features the chart-topping “Leave the Night On,” as well as his current smash hit, “Take Your Time.”

Toby Keith and Little Big Town are among the artists performing at the annual Mack, Jack and McConaughey event in Austin, Texas next month. The two-day gala was founded by ESPN analyst and football coach Mark Brown, country singer Jack Ingram and actor Matthew McConaughey and will take place April 16th and 17th.

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott and Vince Gill will perform during the 23rd Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival, March 24th through 28th in Nashville.

Encino, CA (February 18, 2015) – The Academy of Country Music and Kohl’s Department Stores announced today that Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett and Cole Swindell have been named nominees for this year’s ACM New Artist of the Year Award Presented By Kohl’s. The winner will be announced during the LIVE broadcast of the 50^th Academy of Country Music Awards, co-hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM – 11:30PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Hunt, Rhett and Swindell were determined as the final three (3) nominees for the ACM New Artist of the Year Award via first round fan voting with partner CMT.com, combined with the ACM professional membership vote. The final round of fan voting for the New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s begins on Wednesday, April 8 at 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT with voting partner CBS.com at VoteACM.com, and will close at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Sunday, April 19 when the LIVE telecast begins. In selecting the winner, professional member votes will again be combined with fan votes to obtain the winner of the category.

Leading up to the show, CMT will premiere a special ACM-themed episode of its weekly series CMT Hot 20 Countdown featuring this year’s three nominees for New Artist of the Year, scheduled to air in conjunction with the second round of fan-voting beginning April 8^th.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards
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.

Sam Hunt is paying tribute to the ladies of the ‘90s during his Lipstick Graffiti Tour. He’s performing hits from such female hitmakers as Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

“A lot of the songs are songs that come from an era of country music that I grew up listening to, and just judging the fan base that we’ve had so far and the people who are coming out, they seem to have similar musical interests. It seems like they grew up probably listening to a lot of the same things I grew up listening to, and a lot of these female country singers doing their thing in the ‘90s when I was listening to country music,” says Sam. “It was kind of something I wanted to [do]; I don’t know if you’d call it a nod to that era and those great female artists who meant so much to me growing up, and to kind of acknowledge all that great music. And there’s gonna be some R&B we’ll do as well from some of the female artists that came up doing it in that genre.”

The next date on Sam’s Lipstick Graffiti Tour, featuring Native Run as openers, is Thursday (February 19th) in Knoxville, Tennessee, followed by shows in Myrtle Beach and Charleston.

Sam, who is up for ACM New Artist of the Year, is scaling the country charts with his latest single, “Take Your Time.”

The members of Lady Antebellum are getting packed and ready to head overseas for the unofficial kickoff of their Wheels Up Tour. The trek launches February 28th in Oslo, Norway, followed by shows in Sweden, Ireland, Scotland and London, before heading Down Under to Australia March 13th. The European leg will feature openers Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert and Kip Moore.

“It’ll be the only time ever that Jason Aldean opens up for us,” jokes Lady A’s Dave Haywood. “Because he’s coming over – I think it’s his first trip to Europe. But we were laughing. We were like, ‘This’ll never happen again – Jason playing before us.’”

The band does feel very comfortable with their crowds overseas. “We’ve been going over there for probably six years , and London and Dublin, I think especially, and then we’ve also had amazing shows in Norway too,” explains Dave. “Australia kind of feels, you know, a little more familiar, but the fans are just nuts. They know stuff from the first record that were just album cuts, and they sing it out loud in a big accent or whatever, and it’s a really cool thing.”

They’ll begin the North American leg on May 1st in Lubbock, Texas. The tour will continue through the fall with Hunter Hayes and red-hot newcomer Sam Hunt.

Lady A’s latest single, “Freestyle,” is making its way up the country charts. The song is from their recent album, 747.

Darius Rucker will once again take on Big Band tunes in a one-night show at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Tuesday (February 17th). The concert benefits the MUSC Children’s Hospital Fund, a non-profit organization that helps provide the best possible healthcare experience for MUSC’s youngest patients and their families.

Luke Bryan enjoyed his time as Grand Marshal of the Endymion parade and headlined the huge post-parade Extravaganza at the Superdome several hours later. Pals Willie and Korie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) joined Luke and his wife Caroline for some of the festivities.

Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley won a closest-to-the-pin contest and assured a victory for Team Clint Eastwood during the 3M Celebrity Challenge at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week in Pebble Beach, California. Jake Owen, Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney and Clay Walker also played in the tournament.

Sam Hunt shot the video for his latest hit, “Take Your Time,” last week in Nashville.

Vince Gill and his lovely wife Amy Grant will return to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium for eight Christmas shows this year beginning December 2nd. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster.

Sam Hunt’s Montevallo once again holds the top spot on Billboard’s country album chart. The collection precedes the latest by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood to hold at No. 1.

Sam says the album represents who he is as an artist. “I hope that people, if they give the full album a chance, will have the ability to see what I want to represent as an artist; they will be able to get out of this music what I get out of music that I love,” he says. “The record is hopefully diverse enough to reach people of several different tastes. If there is something I could say to someone that was about to listen to this record for the first time, I would hope that they could put aside any preconceived notions or any direction that whatever they have stumbled across before has given them, they could open their mind and just listen to the music with an open mind and open heart and just see how they feel about it; see how it makes them feel.”

Sam, whose latest single ‘Take Your Time’ is storming the country charts, is currently making his way around the country with his Lipstick Graffiti Tour. The next stop is Dallas on Thursday (February 5th).

Sam Hunt’s latest single “Take Your Time” is blowing up on the charts, in concert and now, in a YouTube dance video by famed choreographer Matt Steffanina. The dancer/instructor created moves to flow along with Sam’s song and posted it on his YouTube channel this week. Check it out below.