While this year’s CMA Music Fest had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Country Music Association is bringing back many of the epic performances over the years in a new ABC special. Luke Bryan is set to host “CMA Best of Fest,” a three-hour retrospective airing Monday, July 13th at 8pm ET/7pm CT. The live concert experience features more than 25 unforgettable performances having aired on television over the last 16 years of “CMA Fest,” plus a brand new, not-to-be-missed performance with Luke and special guest Darius Rucker.

Artists appearing in the TV special include: Trace Adkins, Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn,
Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dan + Shay, Lzzy Hale, Sam Hunt, Joan Jett, Lady A, Miranda Lambert, Lil Nas X, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Dwight Yoakam and Zac Brown Band, with special appearances by Bobby Bones, Jim Gaffigan, Kirk Herbstreit, Peyton Manning, Lionel Richie, Rob Riggle, Gwen Stefani, Michael Strahan and Rita Wilson. “CMA Best of Fest” is executive produced by Robert Deaton.

“When Robert (Deaton) called me and he goes, ‘Luke, I know you’re kind of in quarantine, but would you want to come up and host the Best of Fest where we showcase great performances throughout the history of CMA Music Fest?’ And I said, ‘Robert, I’d love to.’ And I was glad to be able to work with Deaton and put on a show,” Luke tells Country Countdown U.S.A. “I think the fans’ll enjoy it. Obviously, it’s stuff they’ve seen before, but I think it’s going to be a pretty meaningful show.”

The festival will return to downtown Nashville June 10th-13th, 2021.

 Both Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame members Vince Gill and Reba McEntire will step into the circle together for the Grand Ole Opry’s 4,933rd consecutive Saturday night broadcast Saturday, July 18 on Circle TV, wsmonline.com, and SiriusXM. Gill was inducted in the Grand Ole Opry on August 10, 1991. McEntire became a member of the Grand Ole Opry on January 17, 1987.

The two Oklahoma natives met in Nashville in 1988 when Gill sang background vocals on McEntire’s self-titled studio album, Reba. In 1990, the pair recorded their first of many duets, “Oklahoma Swing,” the second single from Gill’s breakthrough album, When I Call Your Name. In 1993, the duo reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart with their hit duet, “The Heart Won’t Lie” and made Country music history with the accompanying cinematic military-themed music video. Gill has said of his friend, “She is arguably one of the greatest singers that will ever draw a breath.”

“The Grand Ole Opry has always been very special to me and my family,” said McEntire. “It’s part of my history, my heritage and my future, and I’m so excited to get to share the stage with Vince again. Just like Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Brother Oswald, Porter Wagoner and Loretta Lynn, Vince is an Opry legend. I’m proud to be an Opry member and I’ll always be proud to stand on the stage with Vince. Things may be a little different right now, but one thing stays the same – the Opry continues to bring great Country music into the homes of the American people.”

As the Grand Ole Opry approaches its 95^th year in the midst of a global pandemic, Opry members and special guest artists have kept the music playing from the unbroken circle and is reaching some of its largest audiences to date. The Opry has been reaching millions of fans and making new ones each week as it has logged viewers from over 100 countries worldwide who have been tuning in just since the live audience shows were paused in mid-March.

Though Opry shows with a live Opry House audience are paused, the show will be broadcast live on Circle and Gray TV stations, DISH Studio Channel 102, Sling TV and other TV affiliates. Opry Live on Circle will be hosted by Bobby Bones. The livestream on Circle All Access and YouTube channel will be guest hosted by Natalie Stovall, a member of the country trio Runaway June and host of Circle’s Southern Weekend. Opry announcer Mike Terry will be heard on 650 AM WSM and SiriusXM.

Three-time Grammy Award winner Darius Rucker will be joined by Clint Black and Tracy Lawrence on the iconic Grand Ole Opry stage for a virtual edition of his “Darius & Friends” concert powered by LiveXLive on Thursday, July 30 at 7 p.m. CT, benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital^®.

Together with LiveXLive, a global platform for live stream and on-demand audio, video and podcast content in music, comedy and pop culture, Rucker will bring this year’s show to fans as a pay-per-view live stream event available on LiveXLive.com/Darius and on LiveXLive’s app.

Now in its 11th year, the annual event has raised over $2 million to date. Rucker made a commitment to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2008, after touring the hospital known around the globe for treating childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Events like this help ensure families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

“Even though we can’t all get together for a normal concert right now, it’s important that we continue to support St. Jude and the amazing work that they do,” shares Rucker. “I hope we can bring a fun night of music to everyone watching from home while also raising money for this important cause.”

Tickets to the pay-per-view event start at $15 with VIP options offering limited-edition and signed posters priced at $50 and $100 respectively. All tiers go on sale tomorrow, July 10, at 10 a.m. CT via LiveXLive.com/Darius. The event is made possible with support from generous sponsors CDW, Intel, PNC Bank, Cigna, Hendrix Enterprises and Delta Dental of Tennessee.

Rucker will also appear on NBC’s “TODAY” tomorrow, July 10, to discuss his upcoming “Live from the Drive-In” concert at Nissan Stadium as well as forthcoming new music.

For more information, visit www.DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.

About Darius Rucker
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the record industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, he’s enjoyed four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart and nine No. 1 singles at Country radio, earning a whole new legion of fans. In 2014, Rucker won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his 8x Platinum version of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel.” As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker is a constant supporter of the MUSC Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. He has also raised millions of dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament, as well as for more than 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation. In 2019, Rucker embarked on the completely sold-out Group Therapy Tour with his Hootie & the Blowfish bandmates as they celebrated the 25th anniversary of generation-defining smash Cracked Rear View in addition to the November 1 release of Imperfect Circle, their first album in nearly 15 years.

While “Girl In A Country Song” was climbing the charts for Maddie & Tae, it was also ruffling some feathers around Music City. Who says girls can’t have a little fun writing a song? Watch what happens next in episode 4 of Reframed: The Documentary.

Maddie & Tae are closing in on the Top 5 with their latest song, “Die From a Broken Heart.”

If you missed it last week, check out Brothers Osborne performing their latest single, “All Night,” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Billy Currington unveiled his new song “Seaside” today. Written by Billy, Jordan Schmidt and Steven Lee Olson, the laid-back song highlights the singer’s gift for writing a summertime anthem. The talented Georgia native shines as his smooth vocals bounce effortlessly atop a scintillating acoustic guitar, the lyrics painting a picture of the ocean. Listen HERE.

“One morning we were just hanging out at the house in Tybee Island looking out at the blue skies, there was light winds that morning and there were some waves rolling in, and we were just thinking about how amazing it is and how amazing it would be to share all of this with someone,” says Billy. “And after talking about it for a while, I’d say by the end of the afternoon, we had written and recorded ‘Seaside.’”

Currington celebrated the five-year anniversary of his Gold-certified album, Summer Forever, last month. The critically acclaimed album earned three Platinum-certified No. 1 singles and debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Currington has spent more than a decade in the spotlight proving he’s truly a man for all seasons. Currington has earned 12 No.1 singles to his name, including the double-platinum hits “People Are Crazy,” “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right,” and most recent multi-week No. 1 hits, “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To” and “Do I Make You Wanna.”

Alan Jackson was featured on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday (July 5th) about the future of fun in a pandemic world.  Check it out here.

Six-time GRAMMY nominees Brothers Osborne are set to perform their new single “All Night” on ELLEN tomorrow, July 3rd, check local listings HERE. “All Night” has been hailed by critics and fans alike with All Access noting, “it’s an instant ear worm that has hooks for days and an immediately catchy chorus.”  “All Night” was the No.1 most added song at country radio upon its debut and the duo also performed the track as part of “CMA Summer Stay-Cay” last night, watch HERE.

The past few weeks have been busy for the singer/songwriter siblings as they recently performed a “Tunes & Teas” livestream for Pandora in partnership with Twisted Tea and will host a July 4^th special for ABC Radio this weekend. They also released an “Off The Road” digital franchise for CMT, watch HERE, and performed as part of “CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special” along with Brandi Carlile, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town and more, watch HERE.

For a full list of tour dates, news, images and more, visit: www.BrothersOsborne.com

Fans can click HERE to listen to a special “All Night” playlist

Luke Bryan has just scored his 25th No. 1 single on both the Country Aircheck and Billboard country charts with his latest single, “One Margarita.” The summer smash, written by Michael Carter, Matt Dragstrem and Josh Thompson, is the follow-up to his previous chart-toppers, “What She Wants Tonight” and “Knockin’ Boots,” all from his upcoming studio album, Born Here, Live Here, Die Here, due out August 7th.

The four-time Entertainer of the Year is set to headline the GMA Summer Concert Series on August 7th.

Luke’s TWENTY-FIVE #1 singles

“One Margarita”- written by Michael Carter, Matt Dragstrem and Josh Thompson

“What She Wants Tonight”- written by Luke Bryan, Ross Copperman, Hillary Lindsey and Jon Nite

“Knockin’ Boots”- written by Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson and Jon Nite

“What Makes You Country”- written by Luke Bryan, Dallas Davidson and Ashley Gorley

“Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset”- written by Zach Crowell, Ryan Hurd and Chase McGill

“Most People Are Good”- written by David Frasier, Ed Hill and Josh Kear

“Light It Up”- written by Luke Bryan, Brad Tursi

“Fast”-written by Luke Bryan, Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird

“Move”-written by Luke Bryan, Michael Carter, Jay Clementi

“Huntin’, Fishin’, And Lovin’ Every Day”- written by Luke Bryan, Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip

“Home Alone Tonight”-written by Jody Stevens, Cole Taylor, Jaida Dreyer, Tommy Cecil

“Strip It Down”- written by Luke Bryan, Jon Nite, Ross Copperman

“Kick The Dust Up”- written by Dallas Davidson, Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley

“I See You”- written by Luke Bryan, Ashley Gorley, Luke Laird

“Roller Coaster”- written by Michael Carter, Cole Swindell

“Play It Again”- written by Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley

“Drink A Beer”- written by Jim Beavers, Chris Stapleton

“That’s My Kind of Night”- written by Dallas Davidson, Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley

“Crash My Party”- written by Rodney Clawson, Ashley Gorley

“Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”- written by Luke Bryan, Jeff Stevens, Shane McAnally

“Drunk On You”- written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins, Josh Kear

“I Don’t Want This Night To End”- written by Luke Bryan, Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip

“Someone Else Calling You Baby”- written by Luke Bryan, Jeff Stevens

“Rain Is A Good Thing”- written by Luke Bryan, Dallas Davidson

“Do I”- written by Luke Bryan, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelly

About Luke Bryan
In 2019, Luke was named as the first-ever recipient of the ACM Album of the Decade Award for CRASH MY PARTY and wrapped the last ten years as the Most Heard Artist of the Decade by Country Aircheck. Since his debut in 2009, Luke has released 25 #1 hits and has more RIAA certified digital singles than any other country artist with 54 million. Luke has also tallied nearly 13 Billion streams, 12.5 million albums sold, plus four Platinum albums, two 4x-Platinum albums, seven RIAA certified albums, 22 Platinum singles and 12 Multi-Platinum singles.

Luke’s headline concert tours have played for over one million fans every year for the last six years with four of those reaching 1.5 million. In total, Luke has performed for nearly 12 million fans in the last ten years with seven headline tours including 36 stadium concerts, 11 Farm Tours, six years of Spring Break shows and six sold-out Crash My Playa concert events. He was recognized as a CMT Artist of the Year six consecutive times, was twice named the Entertainer of the Year by BOTH the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association and was honored as a NSAI Artist/Songwriter of the Year. In total Luke has won over 40 music awards including six ACM awards, six CMT Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, four American Music Awards, two CMA awards, an iHeart and a Teen Choice award and more.

Visit www.LukeBryan.com or follow Luke on Twitter @LukeBryanOnline, Instagram and Facebook

Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline have given joy to so many children and their families over the past few years with their involvement in the Brett Boyer Foundation and Brett’s Barn.

The mission of the Foundation, named after their niece Sadie Brett Boyer, who passed away from CHD (Congenital Heart Disease) a few years ago, is to raise awareness for Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) and fund research to advance treatment options. It is also their mission to spread the love and awareness that Brett filled the entire family with for the wonderful, capable people living with Down Syndrome.

Brett’s Barn, which is home to rescued horses, pigs, kangaroos, dogs, llamas, goats and more, was borne of a promise Caroline made to then one-month-old Brett.

“Brett’s Barn is a product of grief. Oh, how I hate that word. Even more, the fear and darkness that loom all around. It’s the kind of pain you feel in every part, every inch, of your whole body. As much as you want the world to just stop turning, it doesn’t. Life goes on…with or without the ones we love,” Caroline wrote on the foundation’s website. “Unfortunately, our family knows the feelings of grief all too well. We also know that we can choose 2 paths in life. One of bitterness/anger, or one of happiness and hope. We choose happiness over hurt. We choose to honor Brett, just as she continues to honor our family every day. We choose to help children, families, and precious animals. After Brett passed away, I decided to keep a promise I made to her when she was about a month old…a white pony! We found the pony at a local animal rescue facility. Along with the white pony, we adopted another pony, goat and pig. Over the next few months, the barn continued to grow. The promise I made to Brett, for one white pony, quickly turned into a full-blown miniature animal farm! Brett’s Barn now has over 20 animals! We are discussing various ways of expanding and, hopefully, be open to the public someday. We love these animals and the amazing children that come visit. It’s truly a special place and we can feel Brett’s spirit there every single day.”

The Bryans have raised a lot of money and awareness through benefits and donations, and Luke is excited about what’s to come for the organization. “When we lost our niece Brett, Caroline had the idea to, yeah, let’s do a barn in her memory. We wanted to make it about, we lost Brett to Congenital Heart Defect and so many kids out there have this condition and so we partnered up with some folks at Vandy and we get a lot of Vanderbilt kids to come to the barn and see the animals. But it’s not just about one hospital or one organization. We’ve had St. Jude, we’ve had kids come out, if it’s something that touches our hearts, Caroline and our Foundation – The Brett Boyer Foundation – it gets to us and we try to make a really special moment for the kids and the families. It’s been something that is very, very important to us and we’re excited about the years to come and what we will be able to do.”

Find out more about the Brett Boyer Foundation and Brett’s Barn at thebrettboyerfoundation.org.