• CHRISTMAS 2019: Travis Denning

    Travis Denning grew up in Warner Robins, Georgia with his parents and sister. One of the family’s Christmas traditions was to open presents on Christmas Eve, which actually gives them more time to spend together.

    “My favorite Christmas tradition is we always open presents the night before and used to, I always thought it was ‘cause me and my sister ragged on my parents until they let us. But now the older I get, and to me it really does make a difference. I wake up on Christmas Day and think about what it really means instead,” says Travis. “My parents always do a big breakfast; mimosas on Christmas morning. It’s just such a great family affair, and I just think ultimately in opening presents on Christmas Eve versus Christmas Day, we get to spend time reflecting on what it really means.”

    What Christmas means to Travis goes beyond exchanging gifts. “The older I got, as cliché as it sounds, I mean it really isn’t about the gifts. It’s more about drinking some whiskey with dad while the little nephew or whatever open presents or my little cousins,” he says. “It turns into sentimental things and what matters. For me one year, that was a shotgun and then it was a, just a Stranger Things coffee mug that my mom got me, which I drink [out of] every morning. Those things that are just more like, ‘Hey-I thought about you and I put a lot of you in this gift,’ you know, and that’s what I love about it.”

    Travis will be enjoying his Christmas this year, especially with a nearly Top 25 song with “After a Few,” as well as with his family, including his nephew Jameson and the very real possibility of becoming an uncle twice more as his sister is pregnant with twin girls.

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING TALKS ABOUT HIS CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS.

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    Travis Denning (Christmas tradition) OC: …it really means. :41
    “My favorite Christmas tradition is we always open presents the night before and used to, I always thought it was ‘cause me and my sister ragged on my parents until they let us. But now the older I get, and to me it really does make a difference. I wake up on Christmas Day and think about what it really means instead. Now I think about it all the times anyways. I think about the birth of my Savior, and it’s like it just makes Christmas morning awesome. My parents always do a big breakfast – mimosas on Christmas morning. It’s just such a great family affair, and I just think ultimately in opening presents on Christmas Eve versus Christmas Day, we get to spend time reflecting on what it really means.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING EXPLAINS WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT CHRISTMAS.

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    Travis Denning (Christmas) OC: …love about it. :47
    “You know, my parents, they took it very seriously. I mean, we had four Christmas trees up in the house all over the place. The older I got, as cliché as it sounds, I mean it really isn’t about the gifts. It’s more about drinking some whiskey with dad while the little nephew or whatever open presents or my little cousins. It turns into sentimental things and what matters. For me one year, that was a shotgun and then it was a, just a Stranger Things coffee mug that my mom got me, which I drink [out of] every morning. Those things that are just more like, ‘Hey-I thought about you and I put a lot of you in this gift,’ you know, and that’s what I love about it.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING SAYS HE LOVES “JINGLE BELL ROCK” AND “ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE,” AS WELL AS KACEY MUSGRAVES’ A VERY KACEY CHRISTMAS.

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    Travis Denning (Christmas songs) OC: …Christmas music. :21
    “I love hearing singers that I love sing Christmas music. That’s what makes it for me. I mean, I’ll sing ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ on karaoke in the middle of August. I love that song that much, and ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree?’ I love it. I’ve listened to Kacey Musgraves’ Christmas record a thousand times. It’s so good. So, yeah, I’m very pro-Christmas music.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Happy Holidays)

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  • THANKSGIVING 2019: Artist Audio

    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 28th, and most people will be enjoying time with their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Adam Hambrick, Alan Jackson, Brandon Lay, Carrie Underwood, Caylee Hammack, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Jon Langston, Jordan Davis, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt, Travis Denning and more. They share their thoughts, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

    Brothers Osborne, who usually have their annual Misfits Thanksgiving dinner, are set to perform this year during halftime of the Detroit Lions 80th Thanksgiving Day Classic on Thursday, November 28th. The performance will be televised as part of FOX’s coverage of the game starting at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT.

    Audio / Adam Hambrick says he’s very thankful to his family.

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    Adam Hambrick (Thanksgiving) OC: …I was raised. :32
    “I know this sounds very cheesy, but I am very thankful for my family. A lot of the good things that have happened in my life are just a result of being raised in a family with two parents that love each other, with sisters that I love and being raised in a community of people, even outside of my family, that’s just a lot of love and a lot of care. Those are the things that raise a person up to be successful, and I am a success because of the way I was raised.”

    Audio / Adam Hambrick says his Grandfather’s turkey and dressing and a special side dish signals Thanksgiving.

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    Adam Hambrick (Thanksgiving food) OC: …Thanksgiving. :21
    “Oh man. Give me Granddaddy’s turkey and dressing and just the friggin’ canned cranberry sauce, [laughs] like I’ll suck it down like a champ. There’s just something about the canned cranberry sauce with my Granddaddy’s turkey and dressing that will always taste like Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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    AJ (Thanksgiving) OC: …enjoy it. :19
    “My favorite Thanksgiving dish would be the homemade dressin’ that we, cornbread-based kind of dressin’ that we always have with turkey. That recipe is a kind of a combination of my mama, and Denise has taken it and perfected it over the years, so that me and my children really enjoy it.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she and her family don’t have too many Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving) OC: …the other one. :34
    “We don’t have too many set-in-stone Thanksgiving traditions. I find myself a lot of times working on or around Thanksgiving or unable to get home or whatever. We try to be together, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out. But yeah, I mean, I think it’s just about we eat. I eat a lot every year on Thanksgiving. [laughs] I never skip THAT tradition. But yeah, that’s the gist of it, and I’m kind of lucky. I get two Thanksgivings, because I also get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, so if I don’t hit one, I’ll definitely be able to get the other one.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she’s thankful for her family, which has grown by one this year, as well as her fans, her health and her recent Cry Pretty Tour 360.

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    Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving 2019) OC: …blessed with. :46
    “My list of things I’m thankful for is too vast. First and foremost, my family. We had a baby earlier this year, which is crazy to think about all of the things that we’ve done and thinking about starting off this year pregnant and having a baby and all of the places that he’s already seen. I’m thankful for health and we’ve had safety along all of our travels. Of course, I’m thankful for the tour and I’m thankful to the fans that have come out to see us. There’s a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed us with some incredible stuff and hopefully we’ve done good with what we’ve been blessed with.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, because she gets to just spend time with her family.

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    Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving) OC: …favorite holiday. :27
    “Thanksgiving is the one holiday where we stay at home. We stay at my family’s house, and it’s just me, my mom and dad, my brother and sister and their families. We all sit around and just eat all day. And I love Thanksgiving because you don’t have to worry about getting gifts for people; you don’t have to worry about wrapping them. You just show up and you eat all day with the people you love. So, I absolutely love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack talks about her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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    Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …cranberry jelly. :15
    “My favorite Thanksgiving meal (dish) is definitely cornbread dressing. My mom makes the best, er, some people call it stuffing, but I’ve always called it dressing for some reason. But I love that with canned cranberry jelly.”

    Audio / Clare Dunn talks about her favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

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    Clare Dunn (Thanksgiving dish) OC: …like hers. :21
    “I think my favorite Thanksgiving dish [is] my mom makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. I mean, they’re crazy. They’re like garlic and butter and all the good stuff, so that’s probably my favorite Thanksgiving dish. Oh, and she makes great stuffing too, and I’m not a stuffing person, but I like hers.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about his favorite part of Thanksgiving.

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    Darius Rucker (favorite part of Thanksgiving) OC: …my family. :17
    “My favorite part of Thanksgiving is easy – it’s food. It’s eating. It’s hanging out with family and getting some great food, ‘cause that’s really what Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for all of the great things you’ve got, and I always give thanks for the greatest thing I’ve got and that’s my family.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, who is thankful for his wife, two daughters and son, talks about his Thanksgiving must-have! It’s an oldie, but a goodie!

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    Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving must-have) OC: …for Thanksgiving. :34
    “You gotta have a big turkey. Thanksgiving is not possible without a turkey. We cook it traditionally, but when we’re in, a couple of Thanksgivings ago, we were here in Nashville, we did the whole fry the turkey up, and it was great. It just tasted so good; all those juices get locked in there, and I love that too. You really can’t, to me, cook a turkey wrong. I’m gonna eat it any way, and I have over the years. Trust me, I’ve played a lot of county and state fairs, where I’ve seen gigantic turkey legs, you know, I’ve had the flat meat. I’ve done turkey every way you could do it. I’m pretty good any way you want to cook it up, but you’ve got to have a turkey for Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / Eric Church says he’s thankful for his family as well as for his fans.

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    Eric Church (Thanksgiving) OC: …want to do it. :23
    “A couple of things. I’m thankful for my family and great health. And I’m thankful for from a career standpoint, I’m very thankful for the success we’ve had lately. I’m thankful for what the fans have done. I mean there’s a lot of stuff to be thankful for in that regard. And I’m thankful that I was given the opportunity to do it my own way. I’m thankful that I’m going to get to keep doing this and do it the way that I want to do it.”

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about his Thanksgiving tradition.

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    Jon Langston (Thanksgiving) OC: …pretty cool. :21
    “We always watch football on Thanksgiving. It was pretty cool in high school. It was a big deal in high school if you had practice on Thanksgiving Day because you made third round of the playoffs. So, in high school we always had practice on Thanksgiving, so I guess that was pretty cool. Everybody’s waking up on a cold Thanksgiving morning going to football practice, but yeah, pretty cool.”

    Audio / Josh Turner shares his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

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    Josh Turner (fave side dish) OC: …’em myself. [laughs] :24
    “Uh, deviled eggs! [laughs] Where I’m from in South Carolina, I don’t think I’ve tasted a bad deviled egg. It’s like everybody has their own twist on it, but they’re all good, but I always loved it when my mama made ‘em. I’m learning as I get older, making deviled eggs is no easy task. It’s more complicated than it looks, and so that’s probably why I never made ‘em myself.” [laughs]

    Audio / Josh Turner explains what he enjoys about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

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    Josh Turner (holidays) OC: …the peace and quiet. :38
    “I love being outside in nature and the outdoors, and the holidays is a great time for me to go and partake in that part of my life. A lot of times, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a little cold to go fishing, but when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a great time to go hunting, especially in South Carolina, that’s when the temperatures are starting to drop and the conditions are getting right, and especially in November, kind of the tail end of the rut, as far as deer season. So, it’s a good time to get in the deer stand whether you kill anything or not, it’s just a great time to just get away from everything and get away from the noise and the lights and the diesel fumes [laughs] and just relax and just enjoy the peace and quiet.”

    Audio / Keith Urban gives thanks for many things, including his wife and two daughters.

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    Keith Urban (Thanksgiving) OC: …for me. :21
    “Thankful that, well, my marriage is just, it’s life-giving, not just life-changing, it’s been life-giving for me. And from there, we created life, and that’s just beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And the effect that all of that has had in my work, has given life to it too, given it a sense of purpose and really deepened the experience for me.”

    Audio / Kip Moore says he usually goes home to Georgia for Thanksgiving.

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    Kip Moore (Thanksgiving) OC: …with them. :11
    “I [usually] go home for Thanksgiving. I love going home to see all them. I have five brothers and sisters and it’s a blast to go home and just catch up on their lives. I get so wrapped up in all this that I lose touch sometimes, and it’s cool to hear everything going on with them.

    Audio / The members of Little Big Town love Thanksgiving since they get time off to be with their families.

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    LBT (Thanksgiving) 2 OC: (Kimberly) …and eat. :31
    KIMBERLY: “Thanksgiving—we love Thanksgiving, ‘cause we get to be with our families and we don’t often get to spend time with our families, our extended families, until the holidays. I love being around the table with my family and talking and laughing and cooking and eating…” JIMI: “And eating and eating and eating and eating…” PHILLIP: “The laughter around the eating, the good cheer, the celebration, the music…” JIMI: “The eating, going taking a nap, then coming back and eating.” KIMBERLY: “Go to bed with a full belly, take a nap, and then get up and eat.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about their Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Maddie & Tae (Thanksgiving) OC: (TAE) …I do. :41
    MADDIE: “I love Thanksgiving because I get to see my family, and it’s not as much pressure as Christmas I feel like because there are no gifts exchanged. It’s just all about quality time and I love quality time. My favorite dish is some broccoli-cheese casserole and Tae’s favorite dish, I know, is cranberry sauce, just plain. Just plain ole cranberry sauce, no turkey, just cranberry sauce.” TAE: “She knows.” MADDIE: “That’s it.” TAE: “I genuinely feel there’s something wrong with me. (MADDIE: “Out of the can.”) out of the can. My parents know just to have cranberry sauce for me, like no one else can touch it. There’s a home video where my brother Mason tries to eat it, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? This is mine.’” MADDIE: “She eats it out of the can.” TAE: “I do.”

    Audio / Mickey Guyton talks about one of her favorite Thanksgiving traditions.

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    Mickey Guyton (Thanksgiving traditions) OC: …Thanksgiving traditions. :17
    “One of my Thanksgiving traditions is playing charades after Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not the most competitive person in the world, but as soon as you put some Charades in the picture, I am crazy, and you will definitely want to be on my team if we’re playing Charades. I’m just saying. So, that’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions.”

     

    Audio / Mickey Guyton reveals her favorite Thanksgiving dish.

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    Mickey Guyton (favorite Thanksgiving dish) OC: …both so much! :39
    “My favorite Thanksgiving dish that has to, has to, has to be at Thanksgiving dinner is dessert. Dessert is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. I mean, it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s sweet. My mom actually makes an Italian cream cake that’s absolutely awesome. It’s homemade, and the entire family, that’s the first thing to go at Thanksgiving dinner. And my Grandma D, she makes a pecan pie that is awesome. She taught me how to make them when I was little, and I just love them, and that’s the other thing that I look forward to at Thanksgiving dinner, and I love them both so much!”

    Audio / Travis Denning says Thanksgiving is one of his favorite times of the year.

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    Travis Denning (Thanksgiving) OC: …love Thanksgiving. :43
    “Thanksgiving actually is probably one of my favorite moments of the year, and the reason is actually because just about every Friday after Thanksgiving, I would play a small acoustic show at this bar in my hometown and it’s always so much fun. So many of my old friends come and it’s packed and it’s super loose and super fun and everybody’s just enjoying it. I might play three of my songs, and then I just try to figure out how many old country songs I can sing. That’s so fun, because you’re coming off spending so much time with your family and then you get this little time to go spend with your friends. I think it’s just great because you get to knock out so much like reconnecting and fellowship. I love Thanksgiving.”

     

     

  • THANKSGIVING 2019: Liners

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

     

    Audio / LINER AJ (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hi! This is Alan Jackson. I hope y’all have a very happy Thanksgiving out there.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey Guys, I’m Billy Currington. Have a great Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Brandon Lay. Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! This is TJ, and this is John, and we’re wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving)

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    Hey y’all This is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Thanksgiving)

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

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley! Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey folks! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey guys! Gary Allan here. I just want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving, and have a Happy Holidays and make sure you’re safe out there. Drive safe. Party your butts off, but do it safe.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hi! This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Hootie & the Blowfish (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody, what’s up? We’re Hootie & the Blowfish, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Thanksgiving)

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    Hey y’all, I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey I’m Jordan Davis. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey y’all I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Thanksgiving)

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    “Happy Thanksgiving everybody. It’s Keith Urban here. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all of you listening for your incredible love and support that I’ve received over the last year, and to wish you and all of your family all the very best for this holiday.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey what’s up guys, this is Kip Moore wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey, we’re Little Big Town. Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae, and we’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Happy Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton here, and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody. I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Thanksgiving)

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    “Hey y’all! It’s Travis Denning, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Hootie, Carrie, Luke, Dierks, Brothers O, Travis, Vince

    Hootie & the Blowfish will perform on The Talk on CBS on Thursday (November 7th), followed by an appearance on ABC’s Strahan, Sara, Keke on Friday (November 8th).

    Carrie Underwood will appear on ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday (November 8th), as well as co-host Live With Kelly & Ryan with Ryan Seacrest, leading up to next week’s CMA Awards.

    Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood will make appearances during ABC’s pre-CMA Awards Special, hosted by Robin Roberts. The special focuses on Dolly Parton, who is co-hosting the Awards show with Carrie and Reba McEntire. Dolly Parton: Here She Comes Again airs Tuesday (November 12th) at 10pm ET on ABC.

    Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne‘s John Osborne are among the artists performing a tribute to Kris Kristofferson during Wednesday’s (November 13th) CMA Awards. The Country Music Hall of Famer is being honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, which has only been given out four other times four other times, to Willie Nelson (2012), Kenny Rogers (2013), Johnny Cash, posthumously (2015) and Dolly Parton  (2016). The artists, which also includes Sheryl Crow and Chris Janson, will perform the Kristofferson-penned classic “Me and Bobby McGee,” which was made famous by Janis Joplin and Roger Miller, who released it first in 1969.

    Travis Denning will hit the road with Dustin Lynch on the Stay Country Tour 2020, which kicks off January 30th in Detroit, Michigan. Tickets go on sale November 15th and November 22nd.


    Vince Gill
    is among the nominees for this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with Sonny Curtis, Kye Fleming, Bob McDill and Dennis Morgan. The official induction ceremony will take place June 11th (2020) in New York City.

  • HALLOWEEN 2019: Adam, AJ, Billy, Brandon, Brothers O, Clare, Dierks, Eric, Langston, Pardi, Jordan, Josh, Luke, Maddie & Tae, Travis and more!

    Halloween is Thursday, October 31st, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes, while others are recalling memories of Halloweens past.

    Audio / Adam Hambrick talks about one of his favorite Halloween costumes as a kid.

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    Adam Hambrick (Halloween) OC: …five-years-old. :10
    “My grandmother made me a Ghostbusters jumpsuit, and I had the proton backpack and I went as Peter Venkman, the Ghostbuster, when I was five-years-old.”

    Audio / Alan Jackson used to take his now grown daughters trick-or-treating when they were young children, but he recalls one costume that he hated. It was an infant costume that made one of the girls look like a little peapod.

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    AJ (Halloween) OC: …cute, but…[laughs] :17
    “Aww, I remember some, when they were infants, they had like these little, they looked like a little pea pod, you know, or something. It’s like a little green pea or something. And I thought man, that’s awful. But Denise liked it, and I guess it was cute, but…(laughs).”

    Audio / Billy Currington reminisces about his childhood Halloween memories.

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    Billy Currington (Halloween) OC: …Halloween. :17
    “You know, when I was a kid, I loved the trick and the treat. I loved dressing up. I was always wanting to be Dracula. That was my favorite guy. But, of course, who doesn’t love going door-to-door and getting these buckets of candy? [laughs] So, love, love Halloween.”

    Audio / Brandon Lay says since his father was a preacher, their Halloween activities were church-related.

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    Brandon Lay (Halloween) OC: …let Ryder do. :26
    “You know, my dad was a preacher, so Halloween for me (ha) was a little different than most kids. We always had something going on at church, so I think I was usually a character from the Bible and walk around the gym and just try to get as much candy as I can. It sounds a little weird, but I kinda was robbed of the trick-or-treating experience – thanks a lot Mom and Dad – but I’m not bitter about it or anything. We’ll see what we let Ryder do.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s TJ and John Osborne talk about dressing up like zombies for Halloween.

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    Brothers Osborne (zombie costume) OC: (John) …was so fun! :29
    TJ: “Literally, you can dress up like a zombie and drag your foot behind you all day and make weird noises, and everyone finds that completely acceptable.” [laughs] JOHN: “One year I dressed up as a ‘90s  redneck zombie with a mullet wig and an Alan Jackson denim coat. I never once broke character. That’s part of the thing — you can actually not break character and get away with it. And everywhere I went, even when I ordered a drink, I ordered it like a zombie that was falling apart. [laughs] It was so fun!”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne talks about carving pumpkins with their dad when they were growing up.

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    Brothers Osborne (carving pumpkins) OC: …or something. :25
    “With our dad every year, we would go looking for pumpkins, and we would all get our own pumpkin to carve, and he would buy the biggest pumpkin that they had. It was huge. I mean, it was way too big for any one person, but he would love carving. He’s kind of an artsy guy. He was a great drawer and stuff, and he would carve the most terrifying, vicious looking, scary pumpkin you’d ever seen in your life, and it would be massive. It would be like on a 50-pound pumpkin or something.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Halloween candy.

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    Brothers Osborne (Halloween candy) OC: (John) …go stale. [laughs] :34
    TJ: “I would say, Snickers, Baby Ruth, Kit Kat and Reese’s too.” JOHN: “I always hated those houses that would give you bad candy, though. You’re like, ‘C’mon. Step it up.’ Spend the extra dollar on a bag, you know?” TJ: “A house when we were growing up used to give out whole candy bars. It was the best. You were like, ‘That house – that’s the honey hole of candy.’” JOHN: “I love it, and I love like at the end, like three or four days after Halloween you would see what candy was left, and it was always like those crappy cheap candies, and they would just go stale.” [laughs]

    Audio / Clare Dunn talks about Halloween when she was a kid.

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    Clare Dunn (Halloween) OC: …and stuff. :23
    “Halloween was always hit and miss. I mean it’s five miles to my nearest neighbor. So, for us if we wanted to go trick-or-treating or whatever, some of the country kids a couple of years would all band together and we’d drive around in vehicles from house to house to house. So, we’d all pile into a pickup and then we’d go annoy our neighbors for candy and stuff.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the Halloweens of his childhood.

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    Dierks Bentley (Halloween) OC: … …around home. [laughs]  :23
    “Oh, when I was a kid, I was all into fireworks. Growing up in Arizona, we couldn’t get ’em, so we’d have ’em shipped in illegally. I still remember the name of the guy we’d call. His name was Joe, and he’d bring in, ship ’em in a package with no writing on ’em. We were all about M-80s in the mailboxes and bottle rocket wars. To me, as a kid, Halloween was fireworks, was blowing up stuff around home. [laughs]”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his favorite Halloween costume.

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    Eric Church (Halloween) OC: …Franklin Street. 1:18
    “My favorite Halloween costume really came, I remember when I got a little older my first year of college, there’s this thing they do every year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Halloween on Franklin Street. We drove down from Boone, North Carolina. I had a bunch of friends that went to University of North Carolina, and we didn’t have costumes and didn’t realize until we were on the way that we had to have costumes. So, we stopped at a costume place in Greensboro, North Carolina. It’s Halloween, so there’s a run on everything and couldn’t find anything. And we end up getting sent around, driving  around town. We end up finding this hole in the wall place, but they had the full costume, Sesame Street outfits. The real deal. The real ones [with] feathers and fur. We were Elmo, Cookie Monster and I was Big Bird, and the Big Bird was the actual Big Bird. It’s about 7-foot-4, and yiou looked out of the body and then you had these straps that went on since the head was a lot higher. There’s a lot of beer involved in Franklin Street, so we get down there and as the night went on, my straps broke, so the head would pivot. And so, I would be walking one way and the head would be facing the other, and it just became this funny…I didn’t know the head was on backwards. I had no idea. I see out of the body, so I’m just kinda walking around and people were talking to my ass-end. [laughs] The whole time peiople’d come up and start talking and go, ‘Hey, turn around.’ And I’d turn around, and they’d go, ‘No turn around.’ It was a mess. That year, there was no other Big Bird on Franklin Street.”

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about his favorite Halloween show a few years ago when his band surprised him on stage.

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    Jon Langston (Halloween show) OC: …memorable Halloween. :59
    “So we played a show a few years ago in Baton Rouge and I go off stage and I come back on stage for the encore. I don’t know this until midway through the song, I’m just into the crowd, like I’m engaged. I’m in the zone, and I just see everyone, like everybody else behind me but me and I’m like what’s going on. I turn around and each of them has a different huge mask on, like one of those stuffed animal masks, like my drummer has a dinosaur head on. My guitar players, one of ‘em has monkey head on, the other has a unicorn head on. And my bass player has like a, I think a dog or cat head or something like that. I couldn’t finish the song I was laughing so hard just seeing them playing with these like oversized huge mask heads on Halloween night. That was funny. It was a good prank, so that was probably the most memorable Halloween.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his favorite Halloween costumes as a child.

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    Jon Pardi (Halloween) 1 OC: …the Superman. :15
    “Man, I went through phases of costumes – the Superman costume, then it was a ninja, then I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one year. I remember rockin’ the Superman.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi reveals his favorite Halloween candy.

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    Jon Pardi (Halloween candy) OC: …during Halloween. :06
    “Man! The candy corn is pretty good, and that’s seasonal, so it only kinda pops out during Halloween.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES OVER THE YEARS.

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    Jordan Davis (Halloween costumes) OC: …jet black. :49
    “I can remember being really big into Power Rangers. I always liked the Red Ranger. I remember being Red Ranger one Halloween. I remember me and my br4other being big into the Ninja Turtles. I was Donatello one year, which I think was the purple turtle. I think, though, my favorite Halloween was I was in college and I went as Luigi from Mario and Luigi, and I actually grew a legit mustache and dyed it jet black and ran into an ex-girlfriend at the costume shop and completely forgot I had the mustache on. So, when Is saw her, she was like, ‘So, you’re going with a mustache nowadays, huh?’ [laughs] I remember being like, ‘I swear this is part of my Halloween costume.’ [laughs] When I dyed my mustache, my top lip was black for a week. Like I really did dye it jet black.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.

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    Jordan Davis (Halloween candy) OC: …some Starbursts. :21
    “My favorite Halloween candy [is] probably Reese’s or M&M’s, although I love the variety of Starburst. It’s one that I feel like I only eat at Halloween, because I feel like at Halloween one of the popular ones is the two-piece Starburst things. So, probably Reese’s, M&Ms and throw in some Starbursts.”

    Audio / CANDY CORN IS A PRETTY POLARIZING CANDY THAT ONLY COMES OUT AROUND HALLOWEEN. SOME LOVE IT; SOME HATE IT AND NEITHER OPINION IS WRONG. JORDAN DAVIS SIDES WITH THE HATERS (DON’T BLAME HIM), SINCE HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO CANDY CORN.

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    Jordan Davis (no candy corn) OC: …they’re awful. :05
    “You know what I never got? The candy corns. I’ve never been a candy corn guy. I think they’re awful.”

    Audio / Josh Turner and his family (including wife Jennifer and their four sons) enjoy dressing up as a family for Halloween. The multi-platinum selling star says his favorite family costumes was a few years ago when they dressed up as Star Wars characters.

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    Josh Turner (Halloween costumes) OC: …pretty classic. :27
    “My favorite family costume was from a couple of years ago when I had my six-and-a-half-month-old beard going, and me and the whole family dressed up as Star Wars characters. So, I was a young Obi Wan Kenobi, Jennifer was Princess Leia, Colby and Marion were Storm Troopers, Hampton was Darth Vadar and Hawk was, I guess, pretty much still a baby, and he dressed up as Yoda. It was pretty classic.”

    Audio / JOSH TURNER REVEALS HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.

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    Josh Turner (Halloween candy) OC: …can’t beat ‘em. :09
    “My favorite Halloween candy…hmmmm…that’s a tricky one. I’m going to have to go with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Can’t beat ‘em.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan says you can tell a lot about your neighbors from what kind of Halloween candy they hand out.

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    Luke Bryan (Halloween) OC: …your teeth. :21
    “You can find out a lot about your neighbors by what kind of candy they put out. So, well, like full bars of Snickers bars, that’s what, and Reese’s cups, [but] the old chocolate popcorn ball of stuff, that’s no good either, like Dots – you get Dots one time of year and they pull your teeth.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about his Halloween traditions.

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    Luke Bryan (Halloween) 2 OC: …with all that. :33
    “My tradition for Halloween is Caroline picks the outfit. I never know what I’m wearing. So that day, I’ll talk to the neighbors ‘cause I have a tractor back there and I’ll go get my tractor and get a big long trailer, and then I’ll run down to…a couple miles from the farm, we’ve got a big hay farmer that keeps hay and you run in there and pay him for his hay bales. And I’ll load the hay up and get the hayride ready and we’ll take all the kids behind the tractor and have a fun Halloween with all that.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan says his wife Caroline usually pick out his Halloween costumes.

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    Luke Bryan (Halloween costumes) OC: …always has. :20
    “Me and Caroline did one year where I dressed up as the old lady, and she dressed up as, she called herself a dirty old man. So, she went around acting like an old man saying snide comments to everybody. That was a fun one. The main thing is Caroline is big, she loves Halloween and always has.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae sit on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to scary movies.

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    Maddie & Tae (Halloween) OC: …princesses. :24
    TAE: “Oooooh, Halloween [is] my favorite holiday. Anyone who knows me knows I love all things scary and gory, so especially on Halloween all the scary movies that come out in theaters, I am there every single time.” MADDIE: “And I never go with her because I hate scary things.” TAE: “You know what’s funny? As little girls, everyone wants to dress up as princesses, and I think I was a witch like six years in a row. I just wanted to be scary.” MADDIE: “Girl, I was like Jasmine and you know [other] princesses.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about his favorite – and probably most embarrassing – Halloween costume.

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    Travis Denning (Halloween costume) OC: …Busch Light. :21
    “Honestly, I think one of my most proud and embarrassed Halloween costumes is I went as Terry from Reno 9-1-1. I had the roller skates, the short-shorts, the tied-up shirt. Looking back, it wasn’t the manliest thing I ever did, but it got a lot of laughs. And I think that year my favorite candy I ever had was Busch Light.”

  • HALLOWEEN LINERS 2019

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Adam Hambrick. Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Trick or Treat)

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    “Trick or Treat, baby.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Brandon Lay, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Halloween)

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    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Halloween) 1

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    “Hey y’all, I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all of y’all a Happy Halloween. Boo!”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Halloween) 2

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    “Hey y’all! I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all you goblins and gremlins out there a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Halloween)

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

     

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Halloween)

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    “Hey! What’s up, y’all? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Halloween)

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    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Church, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Halloween)

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    “Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Halloween)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Halloween)

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    “Hey Y’all, I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Halloween)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Halloween)

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    “Hey! What’s up, y’all? I’m Luke Bryan, wishing you a very Happy Halloween. Boo!”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Halloween)

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    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody, I’m Parker McCollum. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt. Happy Halloween!”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Halloween)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Travis Denning. Happy Halloween.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Lauren Alaina, Jon Pardi, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Travis Denning

    Make sure to watch Lauren Alaina and her professional dance partner Gleb Savchenko perform the Tango during ABC’s Dancing With the Stars on Monday (September 30th). The show begins at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Jon Pardi
    will perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday night (September 30th). Make sure to check local listings for time. Jonathan Van Ness (Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love) and Lucy Boynton (The Politician) will also appear on the show. Jon just released his new album, Heartache Medication on Friday (September 27th).

    Carrie Underwood will be interviewed as well as perform on CBS’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Thursday (October 3rd). Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob) will also appear. Check local listings for time.

    Kacey Musgraves recorded a song “All is Found,” which will appear in Disney’s Frozen 2. The tune is included on the soundtrack, which will be released on November 15th, followed by the feature animated film hitting theaters nationwide November 22nd.

     

    Keith Urban is set to perform the halftime show for the 107th Grey Cup North of the border on November 24th. The Grey Cup (both the championship and trophy) is Canada’s version of the Super Bowl and is between the winners of the Canadian Football League’s East and West Divisional playoffs. It’s also the nation’s largest annual sporting events.

    Travis Denning, as you know, is a huge football fan. He always attended his high school football games and cheered loudly for his hometown team. This past Friday Night, his school played his song “Heartbeat of a Small Town” over the loud speakers for everyone in the stands. For audio of Travis talking about his hometown of Warner Robins, Georgia, click here.

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Carrie, Travis, Vince

    Carrie Underwood is among the stars being honored at this year’s CMT Artists of the Year. She will be joined by Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett. The artists will be feted with tribute performances during the 90-minute TV special and for the first time, CMT’s cameras will be on the road to feature a live performance from Carrie’s Cry Pretty Tour 360 stop in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2019 CMT Artists of the Year will broadcast live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center October 16th at 8pm ET/PT on CMT.

    Travis Denning releases a new song “Heartbeat of a Small Town” to all digital retailers and streaming services on Friday (September 20th). He’s currently making his way up the country radio charts with his latest single, “After a Few.”

    Vince Gill will perform as the Musicians Hall of Fame inducts its new members – Steve Wariner, Alabama, producer Owen Bradley and engineer Billy Sherrill (Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Charlie Rich) — October 22nd at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn, Paul Simon and Zac Brown will also perform.

  • TRAVIS DENNING GIVES FANS HIS TAKE ON HIS FAVORITE VINCE GILL SONG.

    Travis Denning grabbed his trusty acoustic guitar to perform his favorite Vince Gill song, “Whenever You Come Around.”

     

    “Vince has obviously been a huge influence on me as far as a guitar player and a singer,” says Travis. “(‘Whenever You Come Around’ is) just one of my favorite ballads of all time.”

    Travis is currently making his way up the country charts with “After a Few.”

     

  • TRAVIS DENNING IS “HEADIN’ DOWN SOUTH” FOR NEW PODCAST ON SOUTHERN ROCK.

    Travis Denning is a huge Southern Rock fans, citing The Allman Brothers as one of his biggest influences and the cornerstone of the music he makes. He just kicked off a new podcast series, “Headin’ Down South,” which he talks about the foundation of Southern Rock, as well as spotlights certain bands for a “history lesson” on the genre. This week, he debuted the series with part one of a look at The Allman Brothers as well as a few select songs of the iconic group.

    “The influence of the Allman Brothers Band specifically to me, and not only my music but my life, was so early that I cannot tell you where it started,” says Travis. “But the earliest thing I can remember was that my dad had their Decade of Hits album, which was pretty much greatest hits. I just remember the cover. It was a blue jean jacket with an Allman Brothers patch on it, and it was just a really close up pocket of that. And that had your most basic introduction to the Allman Brothers music. Looking back now that I’ve dove back into the catalog and all this stuff, it was ‘Statesboro Blues,’ ‘Ramblin’ Man,’ ‘Jessica,’ ‘Melissa,’ ‘Little Martha.’ It was really just kind of like, I say the hits, they only had one radio hit, but it was the hit songs that even just the regular, everyday, occasional Southern Rock fan knows.”

     

    You can listen to this week’s podcast, as well as future installments on Pandora, right here.

    Travis is currently making his way up the country charts with “After a Few.”

    Audio / Travis Denning says he's been a huge fan of the Allman Brothers for as long as he can remember.

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    Travis Denning (introduction to the Allman Bros) OC: …knows. 1:00
    “The influence of the Allman Brothers Band specifically to me, and not only my music but my life, was so early that I cannot tell you where it started. But the earliest thing I can remember was that my dad had their Decade of Hits album, which was pretty much greatest hits. I just remember the cover. It was a blue jean jacket with an Allman Brothers patch on it, and it was just a really close up pocket of that. And that had your most basic introduction to the Allman Brothers music. Looking back now that I’ve dove back into the catalog and all this stuff, it was ‘Statesboro Blues,’ ‘Ramblin’ Man,’ ‘Jessica,’ ‘Melissa,’ ‘Little Martha.’ It was really just kind of like, I say the hits, they only had one radio hit, but it was the hit songs that even just the regular, everyday, occasional Southern Rock fan knows.”