Keith Urban has just announced as the headlining performer for the NBA Crossover pregame concert as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend February 17th at the Indiana Convention Center. on will perform at the Indiana Convention Center as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend in February.
Reba McEntire has just released a new collection at Dillards, including a new horse motif cardigan, tops, jeans, dresses and more.
The War And Treaty, along with Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Eddie Vedder and more, will perform at the second annual “Reportin’ For Duty” Leslie Jordan tribute concert at the Humble Baron in Shelbyville, Tennessee on February 17th. Proceeds will benefit epidermolysis bullosa research. Actor Leslie Jordan, who made his way into everyone’s hearts with his social posts during the pandemic, died suddenly from cardiac dysfunction while driving in October 2022.
NOW That’s What I Call Country Classics 70s will be the latest installment in the popular NOW series and the 5th in the Country Classics series. The project, a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, will be available on both CD and vinyl on March 1st. NOW That’s What I Call Country Classics 70s will include country superstars – Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Linda Ronstadt, Tanya Tucker, Don Williams and many more. The vinyl LP will be available in translucent orange color. Find the track list below.
TRACK LIST:
SIDE A
1) Rhinestone Cowboy- Glen Campbell
2) The Gambler- Kenny Rogers
3) Take Me Home, Country Roads- John Denver
4) Jolene- Dolly Parton
5) Coal Miner’s Daughter- Loretta Lynn
6) Rose Garden- Lynn Anderson
7) Delta Dawn- Tanya Tucker
8) Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Cowboys- Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
9) Hello Darlin’- Conway Twitty
SIDE B
1) Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue- Crystal Gayle
2) Blue Bayou- Linda Ronstadt
3) Smokey Mountain Rain- Ronnie Milsap
4) Wildfire- Michael Martin Murphy
5) Every Which Way but Lose- Eddie Rabbit
6) It Must Be Love- Don Williams
7) When You’re Hot, Your Hot- Jerry Reed
8) Take This Job and Shove It- Johnny Paycheck
9) The Devil Went Down to Georgia- Charlie Daniels Band
What are some of your favorite stars doing to welcome in the New Year? A few of them are working to help fans celebrate. Several artists have taken the time off around the holidays and will hit it hard when they return to the road in 2024. Some artists have resolutions, some artists look ahead to 2024 and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.
For several country stars, they’ll be ringing in the new year in Nashville on New Year’s Eve as CBS presents NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH on Sunday (December 31st) at 7:30-10:00pm ET/PT, 10:30pm – 1:05am ET/PT. The special programming will air on CBS and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Originating from downtown Nashville across multiple locations, the star-studded special will be packed with high-energy performances celebrating the excitement and anticipation of a new year. In addition to host Elle King, along with Entertainment Tonight’s Rachel Smith, Jon Pardi, Brothers Osborne, Parker McCollum, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lainey Wilson, Trace Adkins, Grace Bowers, Kane Brown, Jackson Dean, HARDY, Cody Johnson, Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce, Blake Shelton, Trombone Shorty, Morgan Wallen and Bailey Zimmerman. TV and radio host Cody Alan and CBS anchor Lonnie Quinn will be corresponding from New York City’s Times Square, along with Dustin Lynch, who will also be performing live.
The five-hour broadcast will feature a staggering hit parade of more than 50 back-to-back performances, live from the home of country music. Nashville will count down with the East Coast at midnight and keep the party going through midnight Central Time with the city’s renowned Music Note Drop at the Bicentennial Mall stage.
Luke Bryan will definitely have a “Beer In His Hand” when he performs one of his last remaining dates during his Las Vegas residency at Resorts World.
Parker McCollum will not only be a part of Music City’s New Year’s Eve Bash, but he’ll be performing a full headlining show at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, along with opening act Catie Offerman.
Priscilla Block will ring in the New Year on stage. She will be in Durant, Oklahoma with pal and duet partner Justin Moore performing at the Choctaw Resort & Casino.
Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about how people spend the last moments of the year, and the first moments of the new year.
Brothers Osborne (New Year) OC: (TJ) …next month. :44 JOHN: “I think it’s kind of funny how we spend literally the last moment and the very first moment of every year being extremely intoxicated, extremely, because you don’t want to wait until like 12:30 to get your buzz on. You’ve got to do it before midnight, and then once midnight happens, you’re like, ‘Omigod! Now it’s time to celebrate even more.’ Debauchery is the literally bookending your entire year.” TJ: “I love how everyone starts the year off with diets and then we end the year with like excessive amounts of food. And then you get to the end of the year, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to start a diet on the 1st, so I’m going to eat everything that’s in front of me.’ I love it.” JOHN: “And come February 1st, ‘what diet?’” [laughs] TJ: “What diet? I’ll start it next month.” [laughs]
Audio / John Osborne of Brothers Osborne says a little hair of the dog is definitely the cure for a hangover.
Brothers Osborne (hangover cure) OC: …of the year. :07 “Usually drinking more. I mean, a little hair of the dog never hurt anybody. Plus, it’s the first of the year.”
Audio / A few years ago, Dierks Bentley talked about taking New Year's Eve in stride nowadays.
Dierks Bentley (New Year’s) OC: …in stride. 1:11 “New Year’s is rough. New Year’s hurts no matter what’s going on. I’ve played a lot of New Year’s shows, you know, but I’ve honestly found that it’s not my favorite night to throw down. Look, for a living, that’s what I do. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I host a big party; not only on stage, but I’ve got friends backstage. It starts before the concert sometimes, [and] it goes long after the concert, so a lot of times on New Year’s, I’m looking for a really mellow hang – a good party, good friends, pretty chill. Some of my best New Year’s – it doesn’t make for great radio – but some of my best New Years have been just like actually hearing fireworks go off while I’m in bed, [laughs] and know I’m gonna wake up the next morning for the first day of the New Year feeling great, feeling recharged and I’m ready to go ad go into the New Year feeling good as opposed to going into it with a giant Jagerbomb hangover, which I’ve done many, many times. So, the goal this year is to go into it feeling pretty good and the kids help with that, because you really just don’t want to be hungover with children. It’s not a good feeling. You would probably admit to any crime to get them, just feel better, and get them leave you alone. So, [I’m] gonna try to hit New Year’s this year in stride.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley says there’s not really a cure for a hangover.
Dierks (NYE) OC: …for that. :10
“I think January first is universally accepted as a dog. So I mean, a little hair of the dog, I guess. But just…water and stay on the couch, I guess. There’s no real sure-fire cure for that.”
Audio / Eric Church has a couple of hangover cures for those times (especially on New Year’s Eve) when you might imbibe a little too much.
Eric Church (hangover cure) OC: …every time. :17 “The best hangover cure – I’ve got two. One is 5-hour Energy [bottles], because of all the B-vitamins that are in it. You can start pounding those, and it’s either gonna work, or it’s gonna keep you up and prolong your misery. But the other one I have is just take two Advil and a beer in the morning. Hair of the dog, man – that works every time.”
Audio / Josh Ross talks about performing on New Year's Eve this year.
Josh Ross (playing New Year’s Eve 2023) OC: …worth it. :33 “You know, obviously just the energy around it being a new year and new goals and it’s my refresh for the year, and, but it’ll I get to kind of start my refresh right at the very first moment of time, so I’m really looking forward to that. It honestly reminds me of when I came to Nashville which is really cool. I remember I got to watch Keith Urban play in 2017 on New Year’s here in Nashville, and I thought how cool would it be to be an artist that gets to bring in the year for people and play, and I get to do that this year, which is real exciting, up in Edmonton, Canada. But it’s gonna be good. It’ll probably be minus-25 (degrees) and freezing cold, but it’ll definitely be worth it.”
Josh Ross (hangover cure) OC: …for the day. :37 “Best hangover cure—I think it’s depending on what I have to do that day or the next day. But yeah, there’s definitely two. There’s my old approach, which was the football approach when I played college football, was we used to have Sunday morning rundown and no matter how much fun you had on Saturday night, you had to be at the field at 8 or 9am and we used to have to jog around the track. Running or doing some type activity is one of the best cures. As I’ve gotten lazier, I would maybe say, sometimes just having water, having liquid IV or sometimes my grandma’s old trick of the hair of the dog is a real thing and kind of just help level you out for the day.”
Audio / Kacey Musgraves has her own hangover cure.
Kacey Musgraves (hangover cure) OC: …water. Yup! :32
“Coconut water is a major help with hangovers and also, a lot of times we go and eat Vietnamese pho. It’s a soup, and it’s got this awesome broth. You can get different things in it or whatever, but for some reason, it’s just like…it’s almost like a chicken noodle soup kind of an idea, you know, but it’s good. That’s good for hangovers too. That, sleep, Tylenol, coconut water and just water, in general. And when you’re drinking, have your alcohol, drink a little bit of water, drink some more alcohol, drink some water. Yup!”
Audio / Since he’s performing one of his Vegas residency dates at Resorts World AND it’s his wife Caroline’s birthday, Luke Bryan says they’re going to have a “big time” on New Year’s Eve this year.
Luke Bryan (New Year’s 2023) OC: …in Vegas. :40 “Every new year is always tricky because New Year’s Eve is Caroline’s birthday. So, I always have to run my New Year’s plans by her, and she has to sign off on them, because we don’t want to interrupt her birthday. But this year, I’m gonna be in Vegas for my Las Vegas residency. It’s some of the final shows, and we got tons of friends coming out – all of her college friends, some friends from Nashville – and it’s gonna be a big group of us having a lot of fun. We’re gonna try our best to make her birthday really special and to have fun doing the shows and ringin’ in the New Year, and it should be a big time out there in Vegas.”
Luke Bryan (looking back at 2023) OC: …every night. :38 “When I look back at 2023, what stands out the most literally is how busy of a year it was and how amazing the Country On Tour was. You might prepare yourself for stuff to slow down a little bit, but for me it was not that way. I mean, the crowds were huge. We were selling ‘em out. The fans were going crazy. We had a lot of new baby acts come out with me, and I enjoyed getting to know them and hopefully being a part in taking their career to the next level. So, the Country On Tour was definitely the highlight of the year, as far as just how big it was and how the fans showed up every night.”
Audio / Luke Bryan is looking forward to a few things in 2024.
Luke Bryan (looking ahead at 2024) OC: …a snowstorm. :28 “For 2024, we haven’t announced our tour, but there’ll be a tour and we’ve got Crash My Playa coming up right at the top of the year. We’ve got Dierks and Jelly Roll and Eddie Montgomery from Montgomery Gentry – he and I are gonna do some songs together. I’m really excited about that. We got Dustin Lynch getting ready for the pool party, so Playa’s just been a great thing. Just about the time it gets too cold to be in Nashville, we fly to Mexico and get warm. Every time we’re driving to the airport, it’s a snowstorm.”
Audio / Reba McEntire's New Year's Resolution includes a few things we should all wish for in 2024.
Travis Denning (favorite New Year’s Eve party) OC: …it was good. :41 “I think my favorite New Year’s Eve party ever was when my sister got married, and my sister’s party got done at 10:30, 10:45 and she got married right behind a little club that I played a lot in Macon, Georgia called the Crazy Bull and love the owner. We’re boys, you know? So, we just literally walked right over and burned the house down. That was one of my favorite New Year’s Eve memories, ‘cause I got to see my sister and brother-in-law get married and that was such a great, great time, and then me and my older cousin and best friend, we ended up at Waffle House that night, so it was good.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about his hangover cures.
Travis Denning (hangover cure) OC: …me better. :17 “You know, I think my hangover cure is just sitting on my butt, [laughs] not doing anything. Drink some water, a cup of coffee, but usually anything greasy or just some big ole Mexican food that’ll get me at least to a nap, which will get me better.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about getting dressed up for New Year’s Eve.
Travis Denning (wants to get dressed up for New Year’s Eve) OC: …good for it. :13 “No matter what I do for New Year’s Eve, I want to get dressed up. I want to wear a suit. I want to get real snazzied up, and I don’t care if I’m just going to a bar. Like, it’s New Year’s Eve, let’s look good for it.”
Audio / Tyler Hubbard recalls one of his most prominent New Year's Eve memories.
Tyler Hubbard (New Year’s memory) OC: …comes to mind. :24 “Well, this is probably a classic answer, but we did play New Year’s in New York and watched the ball drop and it was a big, special moment, one of those kind of check it off the bucket list type of moments, and we did that. And it is incredible. The energy’s amazing, and it’s super cold, but we had a great time. When I think of epic New Year’s, that’s definitely, it’s probably the first memory that comes to mind.”
Dierks Bentley is helping those affected by the devastating tornadoes that hit Middle Tennessee over the weekend. He posted a link o his socials to donate to The Community Foundation of Tennessee. Click here for more information.
A lot of our neighbors here in #Tennessee could use some extra support after the catastrophic #tornadoes that hit our area. If you are able, please join us in donating to The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Every little bit helps. Donate here: https://t.co/SHQdSzoybGpic.twitter.com/4KIAIF5YGu
Keith Urban will perform his hit “Blue Ain’t Your Color” during The Voice finale December 19th. In addition, Season 22 winner Bryce Leatherwood will perform his major record label debut song “The Finger,” while the show’s coaches — Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Niall Horan — will perform the Christmas classic, “Let It Snow!” Jelly Roll and Dan+Shay will also perform during the finale of The Voice, which will air December 19th at 9pm ET/8pm CT on NBC.
Kylie Morgan is among the performers for a benefit show, “Unplugged For Tennessee: A Tornado Relief Benefit Concert,” at Nashville’s legendary Exit/In. Hardy, Nate Smith, Dylan Marlowe, Alanna Springsteen, Chayce Beckham, Abby Anderson and Kylie’s husband Jay Allen will also perform during the acoustic show on Sunday (December 17th). Doors open at 6:30pm CT; show starts at 7:30pm CT. For more information, click here.
Jon Langston will headine the first annual Nashville Dance Fest January 26th – January 28th.
Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain and others reveal the iconic song that forever changed their lives and career during CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown this weekend. You can find out more on Saturday (December 16th) and Sunday (December 17th) at 9am ET/8am CT on CMT.
Reba McEntire has graced us with a couple of Christmas collections, including 1995’s Merry Christmas to You and 2006’s Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection, as well as last year’s compilation, Ultimate Christmas Collection.
She recalls one of her favorite Christmas memories when she was a young girl in Oklahoma. “The funniest thing I can always remember about Christmastime is my older brother Pake, when we were kids at home, he’d always be the first one to jump out of bed and run down the hall, and he’d just run down the hall with his underwear on,” she says. “And he’d say, ‘If y’all don’t hurry up and get up and get in here, I’m opening all the presents by myself.’ But he knew it was a standing rule we all had to be in there before anybody could open up a present, but I can still see Pake running down the hall.”
When her son Shelby was just a little boy, she recalls one Christmas morning when he was so excited about what “Santy Claus” brought him. “I’ll never forget one (Christmas) morning I woke up and I was laying on my left side and I felt something, and I opened up my eyes, and Shelby was three inches away from my face. He said, ‘Mom, you’re not gonna beweive what Santy Claus weft for me.’ And so, he said you’ve got to come here. I got up out of bed and went in there and there was this little tractor trailer set that he had just fallen in love with at the store. He’s seen it, and he said, ‘I can’t beweive he bought this for me.’ He was so cute.”
Even though she grew up with a real tree, these days Reba prefers to put up an artificial tree. “I definitely have an artificial tree, because when we were growing up, we’d all go out on the ranch and cut down a Christmas tree, bring it in and then we had to water it every other day – make sure the coffee can was full of water – and the cedar needles got everywhere, so nowadays I just go with an artificial tree…and two, I can leave it with the lights on half the year.”
The Country Music superstar likes to leave her Christmas tree up long after the presents have been unwrapped and put away. “How long do I leave my Christmas tree and decorations up? Well, after Christmas I am so in tune with the sparkly lights, I leave the lights on and take the Christmas ornaments off. It keeps it really festive.”
In 2013, Kelly Clarkson asked her buddies Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood to join her on “Silent Night” during her NBC Christmas special. Reba said it was her favorite holiday song to sing. “I love ‘Silent Night.’ I love it, mainly because I got to sing it with my two buddies, Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood.”
Reba reveals her favorite holiday movie stars Chevy Chase. “It has to be Christmas Vacation. I absolutely love it. We always watched it on Christmas Eve, and the kids would just sit there and watch it over and over and over. Sometimes, we even watch it in July.”
Catch Reba as coach on NBC’s The Voice, which airs Mondays at 8pm ET/PT and Tuesdays at 9pm ET/PT.
Audio / Reba McEntire grew up in Oklahoma along with her sister Susie and brother Pake. She recalls one of the family’s funniest Christmas memories.
Reba McEntire (Pake) OC: …down the hall. :22 “The funniest thing I can always remember about Christmastime is my older brother Pake, when we were kids at home, he’d always be the first one to jump out of bed and run down the hall, and he’d just run down the hall with his underwear on. And he’d say, ‘If y’all don’t hurry up and get up and get in here, I’m opening all the presents by myself.’ But he knew it was a standing rule we all had to be in there before anybody could open up a present, but I can still see Pake running down the hall.”
Audio / REBA MCENTIRE RECALLS A CUTE CHRISTMAS MEMORY OF HER SON SHELBY WHEN HE WAS JUST A CHILD.
Reba (Christmas memory of Shelby) OC: …he was so cute! :28 “I’ll never forget one (Christmas) morning I woke up and I was laying on my left side and I felt something, and I opened up my eyes, and Shelby was three inches away from my face. He said, ‘Mom, you’re not gonna beweive what Santy Claus weft for me.’ And so, he said you’ve got to come here. I got up out of bed and went in there and there was this little tractor trailer set that he had just fallen in love with at the store. He’s seen it, and he said, ‘I can’t beweive he bought this for me.’ He was so cute.”
Audio / Reba McEntire says these days she prefers an artificial Christmas tree.
Reba McEntire (artificial tree) OC: …half the year. :24 “I definitely have an artificial tree, because when we were growing up, we’d all go out on the ranch and cut down a Christmas tree, bring it in and then we had to water it every other day – make sure the coffee can was full of water – and the cedar needles got everywhere, so nowadays I just go with an artificial tree…and two, I can leave it with the lights on half the year.”
Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT LEAVING HER CHRISTMAS TREE UP AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.
Reba McEntire (leaving Christmas tree up) OC: …really festive. :13
“How long do I leave my Christmas tree and decorations up? Well, after Christmas I am so in tune with the sparkly lights, I leave the lights on and take the Christmas ornaments off. It keeps it really festive.”
Audio / Reba McEntire says the favorite Christmas song she's ever sang is "Silent Night," which she performed with pals Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood.
Reba McEntire (favorite Christmas song to sing) OC: …Yearwood. :08 “I love ‘Silent Night.’ I love it, mainly because I got to sing it with my two buddies, Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood.”
Audio / Reba McEntire talks about her favorite Christmas movie.
Reba McEntire (favorite Christmas movie) OC: …in July. :11 “It has to be Christmas Vacation. I absolutely love it. We always watched it on Christmas Eve, and the kids would just sit there and watch it over and over and over. Sometimes, we even watch it in July.”
Reba McEntire performed her new song, “Seven Minutes In Heaven,” on NBC’s The Voice on Tuesday night (December 5th).
Jon Pardi just released the official music video for his holiday tune, “Beer For Santa,” from his new Merry Christmas From Jon Pardi album. The clip features Santa, Jon and his beer-slugging faithful dog, Cowboy, in animated form.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – DECEMBER 05: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Front Row) Ernest, Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter of The War And Treaty, Brenda Lee, Patty Loveless, Mickey Guyton, HARDY (Back Row) CEO of Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum, Kyle Young, Matthew Ramsey, Geoff Sprung, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi of Old Dominion, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Riley Green and Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum Board Chair, Mary Ann McCready attend All for the Hall, a concert benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Bridgestone Arena on December 05, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
Keith Urban and Vince Gill returned as co-hosts and bandmembers for this year’s benefit show, All for the Hall, with all proceeds going to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The show raised over $900,000 for the Hall of Fame. The theme of the night was “The Song Remembers When,” and artists performed one of their own songs and a song that influenced them. Trisha Yearwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Brenda Lee, Brooks & Dunn, Mickey Guyton, The War And Treaty, Riley Green, Patty Loveless, Old Dominion, HARDY and Ernest also performed.
Mickey Guyton‘s song “Heaven Down Here” inspired a Hallmark Christmas movie of the same name, which will premiere December 14th. The movie, which stars Phylicia Rashad, Tina Lifford and Richard Harmon, takes place in a diner in which four people are trapped inside on Christmas Eve.
Chris Stapleton has announced new dates for his All-American Roadshow Tour.
JUST ANNOUNCED: New All-American Road Show dates. Tickets for new shows on sale Friday, December 15th.
Priscilla Block covered Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe” during CMT’s Campfire Sessions: Christmas Version earlier this week. Backing her up was Tenille Townes, Brittney Spencer and Caitlyn Smith.
George Strait and Jon Pardi will take part in a tribute show celebrating the late singer-songwriter-musician-producer Keith Gattis at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl on Tuesday (November 28th). Sheryl Crow, Wade Bowen, Randy Houser, Dean Dillon, Jack Ingram and Kendell Marvel, among others will also perform.
During a recent television taping, Jon Pardi‘s Aunt Shane got to meet her idol, Wynonna, and she couldn’t have been more excited.
Reba McEntire joined Willie Geist for his TODAY Show Sunday Sitdown on NBC on Sunday (November 26th) to share details on her emotional moment at Madison Square Garden concert and her first big break in music. She also talked about her new book “Not That Fancy,” which is chock-full of stories about family, friends and parties with Solo cups.
Sam Hunt and his wife Hannah Lee Fowler welcomed their second child earlier this month. Sam revealed Baby Hunt No. 2 had arrived with a social post, writing, “Thank you, Lord.”
The War And Treaty (Michael and Tanya Trotter) performed a stunning rendition of the National Anthem on Thanksgiving Day ahead of the Detroit Lions versus Green Bay Packers game.
Mickey Guyton is set to host the National Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday (November 30th). This year’s special holiday event will feature performances by Darren Criss, Samara Joy, Ledisi, Reneé Rapp, St. Vincent, Joe Walsh and Dionne Warwick, as well as performances by the United States Coast Guard’s Guardians Big Band. CBS will broadcast the event on December 15th and you can stream it live on Paramount+.
“Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. If I were to re-write the ’12 Days of Christmas,’ I would include things like chocolate, Bourbon, guitars and maybe not French Hens or Geese a’laying.”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Penguin James Penguin)
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.
Some festive fun facts about Thanksgiving:
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3rd, 1863.
Harry Truman is often credited with being the first president to pardon a turkey, but that’s not quite true. He was the first to receive a ceremonial turkey from the National Turkey Federation – and he had it for dinner. John F. Kennedy was the first to let a Thanksgiving turkey go, followed by Richard Nixon who sent his turkey to a petting zoo. George H.W. Bush is the president who formalized the turkey pardoning tradition in 1989.
The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4,500.
Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions via their Butterball Turkey Hotline each November and December.
The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has become known as “Drinksgiving.” Bars experience a huge boom the night before the holiday.
Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 23rd, and most people might be enjoying time with a group of their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Catie Offerman, Caylee Hammack, Dalton Dover, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Jon Langston, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire, Sam Hunt, Travis Denning, Tyler Hubbard and more. They share their thoughts of thanks this year, their lessons in gratitude, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his favorite Thanksgiving dish.
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 / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Thanksgiving tradition – a Misfits Thanksgiving -- that they started when they moved to Nashville because they couldn’t afford to go home for the holiday.
Brothers Osborne (Misfits Thanksgiving) OC: (TJ) …Happy holidays, y’all. 1:02 “What’s up, y’all? It’s Brothers Osborne here. And a Thanksgiving tradition that we did for so many years. John and I would host what we would call a Misfits Thanksgiving, and we would have everyone, I mean we must’ve done this for 15 years or so and it really started because we didn’t have enough money to go back home to see our family, so we would hang out in Nashville. And so everyone that was kind of in our same shoes, we’d all end up at our house, and it really turned into really blossoming some of our most cherished relationships. We would be there with Kacey Musgraves. It was the first time I really got to hang out with Mickey Guyton (JOHN: “Maren Morris.”) Maren Morris. They would come over and we just became like family to each other because we couldn’t get home to see our own families. And that’s a Thanksgiving tradition that we still to this day try to keep, and it’s a revolving door of who’s there or who’s not there, but yeah, it’s a wonderful tradition. And let me tell you, spending it with our friends in Nashville, there’s a little less arguing than back home. (laughs)” JOHN: “We’re still arguing, but we get over it faster.” (laughs) TJ: “Anyways, Happy Holidays, y’all.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood says she’s grateful for her family.
Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving 2023) OC: …we all are. :30 “I am grateful for so many things this Thanksgiving. I think the thing I’m most grateful for, though, is family. I mean, that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what this life is all about. I’m blessed to have two incredible boys that I get to take care of and that love on me daily, and they’re just giant blessings in my life, and of course, my extended family, as well. That’s what this time of year’s all about – getting together and just realizing how blessed we all are.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood says she and her family don’t have too many Thanksgiving traditions.
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.”
Catie Offerman (Thanksgiving) OC: …what I do. :17 “I am so thankful for a lot of things. I think my family, the gift of being able to put music out this year has been huge for me. I think that’s something I’ve waited on for a really long time, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for my health and just being able to keep playing music and doing what I do.”
Audio / Caylee Hammack says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, because she gets to just spend time with her family.
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.
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 / Dalton Dover says this one dish HAS to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.
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 / Zealous football fan Darius Rucker says Thanksgiving is his favorite sporting day of the year.
Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving Day favorite sporting day) OC: …big for me. :10 “Thanksgiving Day is my favorite sports day of the year. It’s crazy how much football you get to watch (laughs) on Thanksgiving Day, so I really like that a lot. Thanksgiving is big for me.”
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!
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 / Jordan Davis talks about his childhood Thanksgiving traditions.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving) OC: …lot of football. :12 “When I was growing up at Thanksgiving, we just got all the family together. You know, did the traditional turkey, ham, all the sides, but it was always at either one of my grandparents’ house. Just a lot of family, a lot of food and a lot of football.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says his favorite Thanksgiving side dish makes him happy all year round.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving side dish) 2 OC: …Cheese guy. :09 “My favorite Thanksgiving side dish – Macaroni and Cheese – anytime. Thanksgiving, a random Tuesday. I don’t care. I’m a Macaroni and Cheese guy.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says one of his new favorite Thanksgiving traditions is frying a turkey.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving turkey) OC: …most forward to. :11 “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me? I just recently got into frying the turkey, so I’m the turkey-frying guy, and I’m getting pretty good at it. So, I would have to say that’s my thing that I look most forward to.”
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about the Davis family Thanksgiving.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving memory) OC: …really special. :17 “A typical Thanksgiving in the Davis household growing up – we would always go to East Texas to my grandparents’ house. You know, during the day, me and my grandfather would always go fish. My grandma would always have a huge spread, and just get to spend time around a lot of family members I don’t get to see a lot of, so they were always really special.”
Audio / Josh Turner shares his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.
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.
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.”
My first Thanksgiving actually was with a family who, it was the Crane family. I was friends with the guy called Billy Crane and his brother was the guitarist in Charlie Daniels band. And so the Crane family, very, very, very Southern, that was my first Thanksgiving and it was the greatest experience because first of all, I realized like, I make sure you don’t eat two days before Thanksgiving. Don’t eat anything for two days because not only are there going to be like eight dishes all brought by all the relatives. All the relatives are watching to see if you eat their dish. And Billy Crane was saying to me, oh, you got to try this, you got to try that. And I’m like, I’m good. And I go, no, no, no, I’m saying you have because they’re watching. It was awesome.
Audio / The members of Little Big Town love Thanksgiving since they get time off to be with their families.
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.
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.
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.
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 / Parker McCollum talks about his family’s Thanksgiving tradition.
Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving tradition) OC: …go there. :27 “I mean, my parents have been split up for a long time, but they’re all from the same town. My mom and dad went to high school together and all that stuff and all the family still lives back there on both sides. So, we kind of do a Thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family, but all my life, we’ve always gone to my mom’s parents’ house on Thanksgiving, and they got a big ole house and a bunch of property and it’s really where I grew up is right there. That’s kind of home for me, so that’s kind of our thing. We always go there.”
Audio / One of Parker McCollum’s favorite dishes at Thanksgiving is his Aunt’s creamed corn.
Priscilla Block (Thanksgiving) OC: …so much. :34 “Thanksgiving has always been chaos, actually any holiday that my entire family is there is straight chaos. But for Thanksgiving, we all try so hard to be together and it’s such a fun holiday to, my family’s a little cheesy. Like, we actually still go around the table and being like, ‘What are you thankful for?’ ‘What are you thankful for?’ So, that means a lot where it’s not about presents, it’s not about anything else. It’s just about truly being thankful, and that’s why I love Thanksgiving so much.”
Audio / Reba McEntire explains what she's most thankful for this year.
Reba McEntire (Thankful) OC: …happy camper. :39 “Omigosh I wake up in the morning grateful that I can, that I’m alive, I can breathe, I can move, I can get out of bed on my own. (I’m) very grateful for the lifestyle that I have and if anybody needs help, please Lord please, direct me in what you want me to do. Just grateful for getting Rex in my life, my family being healthy and happy, my friends being healthy and happy. I’ve got a great job and people I love and get to work with, and I’ve got a huge faith. So, no matter what happens to me, I know where I’m going, so I’m a happy camper.”
Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his favorite Thanksgiving eats.
Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …disappears. :12 “When I pile my plate up, it’s mostly turkey and then I’ll put a little dressing on the side, and I’ll usually go ahead and grab my dessert on the first run [laughs] and have it ready before it all disappears.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about a typical Thanksgiving holiday growing up.
Travis Denning (typical Thanksgiving holiday) OC: …a lot of people. :22 “A typical Thanksgiving growing up was essentially and the men of the family – Dad and Uncle Mike and my granddaddy — watching football, while grandmama and my mom pretty much yelled at each other in the kitchen the whole day. But they threw down and made the best food you could ever imagine, which you know is kind of how it is for a lot of people.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about his ideal Thanksgiving menu.
Travis Denning (Thanksgiving menu) OC: …then beer. :17 “The ideal Thanksgiving menu to me is a little bit of turkey, but definitely prioritizing ham. I’m a firm believer in ham at Thanksgiving. Squash casserole, broccoli casserole, stuffing and then beer.”
Audio / Tyler Hubbard talks about his favorite Thanksgiving traditions.
Tyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving) OC: …I love it. :22 “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me is probably just getting together with family, having a big meal and watching a little football and taking a nice long nap. I mean, we didn’t reinvent the wheel with Thanksgiving by any means. But my Nanny (grandmother) does make a pretty mean sweet potato casserole, so that’s one of my favorites that I look forward to and I don’t know if that’s a tradition or not, but in my head it is. I love it.”
Tyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving 2024) OC: …be grateful. :47 “This year’s Thanksgiving, it’s a time to reflect and I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for. This year’s been incredible. On the personal front, on the professional front, I have so much to be grateful. (I) got to do my first headline tour. I got to put out my second album, got to go to Australia and Canada and yeah, it’s just been a great year. I had a lot of great time with the family, as well, got to go on some great trips and so I’m just in a place of gratitude all around. Life is good, and I can think back to times when life wasn’t so sweet and life was a lot more difficult, so this is truly a time where I’m just reflecting and being grateful for the things in my life – my kiddos, my wife, our house and just the time together. Anyway, it’s been a great year, and I’m excited to shut it down for a little bit of time and just reflect and be grateful.”
