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  • FOURTH OF JULY AUDIO 2019: Adam, AJ, Billy, Brandon, Carrie, Clare Darius, Dierks, Eric, Jon, Jordan, Josh, Keith, Kip, Little Big Town, Luke, Maddie & Tae, Sam, Travis

    Audio
    Adam Hambrick / Alan Jackson / Billy Currington / Brandon Lay / Carrie Underwood / Clare Dunn / Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Jon Langston / Jordan Davis / Josh Turner / Keith Urban / Kip Moore / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Sam Hunt / Travis Denning

    Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. The holiday is commonly associated with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues and concerts. Some of your favorite country stars take time to remember their Fourth of July traditions, memories and what the holiday really means to them (see below).

    Some artists will celebrate with friends and family, while others will celebrate the holiday by doing what they do best — performing for fans.

    Luke Bryan has been tapped to perform during NBC’s annual Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, live from New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge. The coverage will air live at 8pm – 10pm ET on NBC. Maren Morris and Brad Paisley will also perform.

    Keith Urban will celebrate Independence Day by performing at Provo, Utah’s America’s Freedom Festival.

    Jordan Davis will be playing the 4th of July Spectacular, a free show for service men and women, at the Schofield Barracks in Oahu, Hawaii.

    Kip Moore will be performing at the Greeley Independence Stampede in Greeley, Colorado.

    Travis Denning is set to play the Party in the Park 4th of July Celebration in Frederick, Maryland.

    Clare Dunn will perform during the Our Country 4th of July Spectacular in Norco, California.

    Jon Langstonis scheduled to perform at the Red, White and Country concert in Columbus, Ohio.

    Jon Pardi will perform during Fort Gordon’s Independence Celebration in Fort Gordon, Georgia on July 3rd.

    Brandon Lay is set to play the Heinz Field 4th of July Celebration in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    Click here for liners.

     

    Audio / Adam Hambrick has two things that make the Fourth of July spectacular.

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    Adam Hambrick (Fourth of July) OC: …July. :11
    “Fire up the grill and blow something up. Two things that are important for a good time on the Fourth of July – one (is) fire and meat. Those two things make a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / Alan Jackson recalls one of the coolest Fourth of July memories he’s ever enjoyed.

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    AJ (fave 4th of July memory) OC: …very cool. :58
    Well, this one is hard to beat. A couple of years ago, maybe longer than that now, I had an old boat in Florida. It’s like an old antique motor yacht, and it was kind of a cool old boat. I had taken that boat, I’ve always wanted to take it up north like to New York and up in that area, up in the northeast where it’s so pretty. So, we took the boat up there and Denise and the girls, we all went up. They like going to New York City, which I don’t really care about going to the city. So, I got to stay in my boat there at the harbor tied up, which was cool anyway. So they spent time in the city a few days and then that was Fourth of July, and we went out in the Hudson River that night and they shot the fireworks off and we were anchored out in front of the Statue of Liberty and New York City was behind us, and the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks were going off sitting on that boat. That was the coolest thing and my girls still talk about that. I mean, that was the coolest thing on Fourth of July I can ever remember. I can’t top that one probably. It was emotional sitting there watching the Statue of Liberty and thinking about all that. It was very cool.”

     

    Audio / Billy Currington talks about his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Billy Currington (4th of July) OC: …of my life. :16
    “My best memories would be hanging out with my mom, brother and sister on the beach on Tybee Island right off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. We’d go there every year, and we’d light our own fireworks and watch the ones that they had for us. They were the best times, some of the best times of my life.”

    Audio / Brandon Lay recalls his favorite Fourth of July memories when he was a child.]-

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    Brandon Lay (Fourth of July) OC: …good times. :47
    “I remember everybody hanging out at my grandmother’s and we would drive down the road to a fireworks stand off the side of Highway 45 out there in Jackson [Tennessee]. Just getting the bottle rockets and Black Cats and bringing ‘em back to the house, it felt like it was an eternity before it got dark. We just kept wanting to light ‘em and our parents would tell us it ain’t time, but just how exhilarating it was to see ‘em shoot up. We’re not talking big time fireworks here, but you would’ve thought that it was. It’s funny just how you remember things, but I just remember a screen door at my grandmother’s, running in and out, in and out, in and out and four wild little cousins running around. It was good times.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood recalls one of her favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Carrie Underwood (favorite Fourth of July memory) OC: …work out. :51
    “I think my favorite Fourth of July memory would be going to the fireworks stand and picking out which fireworks I wanted to do. I must’ve been like 7 or 8, and I came home and made a list of what order I wanted to do them in, because I wanted to put a show on for Mom and Dad, and of course I couldn’t wait until it was dark outside (laughs). So, I made my Mom and Dad get the lawn chairs and come out to the backyard and watch some not very dramatic fireworks at like six o’clock in the evening, but I was so proud of myself, and I was so proud of the show that I put on. So, I feel like that was a little training for what I do now – putting on shows, figuring out how it’s all going to work out.”

    Audio / CLARE DUNN AND HER FAMILY ARE USUALLY IN THE MIDST OF HARVESTING THEIR CROPS DURING THE FOURTH OF JULY HOLIDAY, BUT SHE SAYS IT'S ONE OF HER FAVORITE MEMORIES GROWING UP SINCE THAT WAS WHEN THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER AS A FAMILY.

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    Clare Dunn (Fourth of July) OC: …with your family. 1:12
    “Fourth of July is probably one of the biggest memories for me, because it’s always during harvest time. And harvest time, being a farmer, is your most important time of the year. It’s always nine-o. It’s always busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, but we always go into town, depending on what field we’re at. A lot of my memories are South Grenada, Colorado, we farm just south of that town, and we go into town and get Mexican food, a great Mexican food place called Shorty’s, and we get tostados and enchiladas and we take them back out to the field. And everybody stops for a second and we eat on the hoods or the tailgates of pickups, and we’re just all out there in the field taking a brief moment to eat dinner and then get back to cutting. And if you’re lucky you’ll see some fireworks from town. Those are some of my favorite memories growing up because you’re all out there working. You’re together, and it’s just the moment of pride, of getting the harvest in and getting to be with your family.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about what the Fourth of July means to him.

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    Darius Rucker (4th of July) 1 OC: …in the world. :24
    “The Fourth of July to me is a day to celebrate freedom. We get to travel all over the world and see a lot of stuff, and I’ve been to a lot of countries that aren’t like ours and that’s when you really appreciate the fact that you can do whatever you want. As long as you’re willing to deal with the consequences, you can do whatever you want, you know?  [I] appreciate those soldiers who died for us to be sitting here doing this, and we live in the greatest country in the world.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker enjoys setting off fireworks.

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    Darius Rucker (fireworks) OC: …off once. :15
    “Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina, it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says the people of this country are what define America.

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    Dierks (people are America) OC: …all about. :17
    “The definition of America to me, you know, getting a chance to travel across the country on a tour bus, stepping upon stages whether it be county fairs, state fairs, arenas, rock bars, the Opry stage, anywhere across the country and looking out at that crowd and seeing people. The people, to me, are what America’s all about.”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his family activities on the Fourth of July holiday.

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    Eric Church (4th of July) OC: …freedoms. 1:17
    “The Fourth of July for me, growing up we would always go to the lake, we didn’t live on the lake but we would all go to the lake. Had a buddy who had a pontoon and we would always get on the pontoon and you go out and you’d tie all the pontoons together and just have a big time. This was before, I was younger then, the adults were having more fun than we were, you know it was just to go swim in the water and shoot off fireworks. Basically, water tailgating is what it was. And then as we got older, same thing…we would just, us younger kids had our own boat and we had as much fun as the adults.”

    Audio / Jon Langston doesn't have any traditions for the Fourth of July, since it's ever-changing. This year, he'll be performing in Columbus, Ohio.

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    Jon Langston (Fourth of July) OC: …either way. :17
    “The Fourth of July is usually different every year. We’re usually playing shows, or we’re out on the lake or at the beach, or sometimes I’ve said, ‘I’m staying at home,’ shooting fireworks off the back porch or something. That’s probably not the safest thing, but we have a good time either way.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT SOME OF HIS FAVORITE CHILDHOOD FOURTH OF JULY MEMORIES.

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    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July) 2 OC: …really cool. :17
    “Probably baseball games, firework shows at baseball games. We’d go to Shreveport Captains games, so yeah, we’d do that or barbecues and fireworks. I can remember being on the lake for a couple of Fourth of Julys. We’d take the boat out and we’d watch the downtown fireworks show from the boat, which was really cool.”

    Audio / Josh Turner talks about the fireworks “wars” his family would have when he was growing up.

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    Josh Turner (fireworks) OC: …of money. [laughs] :20
    “Yeah, we had fireworks around, especially my Daddy’s family. All the individual families had a lot of competition with each other and tried to outdo each other to try to see who had the biggest and baddest fireworks and all that. [laughs] My daddy, I think, was the smartest one. He just went out and bought maybe $25 worth of fireworks and let everybody else put on the big show, so he saved a lot of money.” [laughs]

    Audio / Keith Urban defines patriotism.

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    Keith Urban (patriotism) OC: …the unity. :24
    “It’s common, shared beliefs and identity. And I think at its core, it’s an incredibly strengthening, vital thing for our people to have, and it’s particularly gratifying in the midst of so much separating of ideas that it can get fractious. And it’s kind of nice that a sense of patriotism can remind everybody of the unity.”

    Audio / Kip Moore says he’s very proud of the U.S. military and can’t imagine having to do what they do to protect the United States.

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    Kip Moore (Fourth of July-soldiers) OC: …every day. :32
    “I’m a very, very patriotic person, proud of the country that I live in, and I’m very proud of what those guys do for us each and every day, and I don’t take it for granted one bit. My grandparents were in the military, fought wars, and I’ve seen the battle that they go through, just the horror of remember things. When I start to think that I’m half-way tough, I realize how I’m not one bit when I talk to soldiers when I’m out and realize the things that they go through. I can’t imagine facing what those guys face every day.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild talks about the big sacrifices the military AND their families make to keep this country free.

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    LBT (military) OC: (Karen) …whenever we can. (Kimberly: “Yeah.”) :
    “It’s such a huge sacrifice what these men and women do for us, and not only the ones that are serving, but the families that are left here at home. Kimberly and I met a young girl that, she’s 21 years old and she has a third baby and her husband has served multiple times overseas. She’s raising these children at home, and doing a great job and the best she can, and he’s serving his country. And he’s making a monstrous sacrifice, but so is she and so are those children, and we just can’t take it for granted. I mean, it’s just a huge commitment that they make, and what an honor. We love to be able to sing for them and entertain them and to say thank you whenever we can.” (Kimberly: “Yeah.”)

    Audio / Luke Bryan recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Luke Bryan (4th of July memories) OC: …we used to. :21
    “Some of my favorite Fourth of July memories were spent on Lake Blackshear down in Georgia with my family. I was always kind of in charge of driving home from Tennessee and picking up all the fireworks and my nieces and nephews always got excited when I rolled in because they knew I had all the fireworks. But, it was always a great memory, and I miss not getting to do that as much as we used to.”

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT THEIR FOURTH OF JULY TRADITIONS.

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    Maddie & Tae (Fourth of July) OC: …it’s perfect. :29
    TAE: “One of my favorite Fourth of July traditions – I’d say it’s a tradition ‘cause it happens every year, but I’m not always able to make it – is that we go to my grandparents in Oklahoma, and we all line up lawn chairs right in front of their garage and we just light fireworks. We always do it far away and then we light it, and we always run back and watch the fireworks, but that’s probably one of my favorite memories.” MADDIE: “My birthday is July 7th, so I always get built-in fireworks for my birthday, and sometimes we actually celebrate it on the 4th, because there’s fireworks everywhere, so it’s perfect.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about what he and his family did over the Fourth of July holiday when he was growing up in Georgia.

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    Sam Hunt (Fourth of July) OC: …good time. :39
    “My granddad on the other side of my family, he would always take a lot of pride…fireworks were actually, I’m from Georgia, and most of them were illegal, I’m pretty sure, growing up. But over in Alabama, that’s where all the firework stands were, and we only had to drive 10, 15 minutes to get to the Alabama line, so we could go get a bundle of fireworks pretty easy. But he would always take a lot of pride in going and finding all the good stuff, and coming back with a  big pile. He’d have his torch out there at the end of the driveway and we’d all eat homemade ice cream and put down towels on the driveway and he’d shoot off fireworks for 30-45 minutes. Such a good time.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING TALKS ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY EVENTS HIS HOMETOWN OF WARNER ROBINS, GEORGIA WOULD THROW EVERY YEAR.

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    Travis Denning (Fourth of July) OC: …will love. :51
    “Fourth of July in Warner Robins, Georgia is an event. It’s something else. In fact, forever they’ve thrown an Independence Day concert, and back in the day, it was huge. It was the biggest thing they did all year. They would actually have the concert in the MAC (McConnell-Talbert Stadium), which was the high school football stadium that Warner Robins and Northside and Houston County shared. I mean, one year they had Wynonna play and then they had Josh Turner one year, Darius Rucker. I mean it was like a big deal, and there’d be 15,000, 20,000 people there, and I think it’s so cool that there’s a little bit of a legacy of people coming together in that town and making something happen, you know? I’ll never forget going to those shows and thinking, I was more proud of what the city had done. I was like, ‘That’s just so cool that they could put together a show like this, an event that everybody will love.”

  • CAYLEE HAMMACK SHARES “FEISTY” LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO OF “JUST FRIENDS” EXCLUSIVELY WITH VARIETY.

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    Caylee Hammack

    “One of country’s most promising newcomers,” Capitol Records Nashville’s Caylee Hammack, released the high-energy and soulful live video for her “‘90s-alt-rock-influenced banger” “Just Friends” exclusively with Variety. The track is taken from her forthcoming debut album and showcases the “star power” (Billboard)Hammack emanates. Filmed while on the road opening up for Brothers Osborne, the video has Hammack “sounding like the second coming of Dolly before she goes grunge” (Variety). Watch it here: https://variety.com/2019/music/news/caylee-hammack-video-premiere-just-friends-1203254442/

    Hammack shared in a colorful interview with Variety, “The one thing I hate more than burnt coffee is indecisive men. And this one couldn’t make up his mind or make up his heart, and because of it, I felt like I got played with. For a while, I was sweet and sad about it and forgave him. And it was probably a few months after that I started kind of getting angry… I had pulled out my guitar and started playing the first, sad part of ‘Just Friends,’ and then I thought well, this is too sad and way too slow. So I started writing something else and leaning into the anger of it. And that’s when I came up with that ‘You should have never come over’ melody.”

    Hammack’s commanding stage presence compliments the songwriter and producer’s all-in approach to music, evident in her current single “Family Tree.” The “exultant” (CMT) track debuted as the most-added single at Country radio by a female artist in over three years and has instantly caught the attention of headliners Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert, whom she will hit the road with this summer between sets at some of country music’s biggest festivals including Faster Horses Festival, Seven Peaks Music Festival and more.

    Background on Caylee Hammack:
    Caylee Hammack constantly felt like a self-described “hippie in a hillbilly town” in her tiny hometown of Ellaville, Georgia. “I used to pray every night as a kid, ‘God, just please make me different. Don’t make me like everyone else,’” she remembers. Hammack is indeed refreshingly different. And at only 25, she has already packed a full life into just a few years, using fake IDs to get gigs around South Georgia, turning down a college scholarship for a love that burned out just a few months later, sleeping in her car when she arrived in Nashville and then losing her home in an electrical fire. “My dad has always said that the most beautiful and strongest things are forged in the fire,” she says. “Iron is nothing until you work it in a fire. Glass cannot be blown without intense heat. You can’t make anything beautiful or strong without a little heat.”

    Tested by the fire, Caylee Hammack has been molded into an artist with incredible depth and a powerhouse voice that can effortlessly veer from fiery and demanding to quiet and vulnerable. Her life experience and relentless curiosity have coalesced into a country cocktail that’s rooted in tradition but expands with shards of modern pop and rock. Her self-penned songs tug on her own life story – bad decisions, secret affairs, broken hearts, a quirky family lineage – as she invariably turns the lemons of her daring life into sonic lemonade. Hammack has also been the noted as an “Artist To Watch” by outlets such as The Bobby Bones Show, Rolling Stone and HITS Magazine for her “voice to move mountains” alongside her “clever story telling that keeps it all in motion” (Rolling Stone). For additional information, visit cayleehammack.com.

  • CARRIE UNDERWOOD CAPS FIRST LEG OF “THE CRY PRETTY TOUR 360” WITH SOLD-OUT SHOWS.

    Press
    Carrie Underwood

    Carrie Underwood on The Cry Pretty Tour 360 – Ottawa, ON (Photo Credit: Amanda Young)

    After delivering a spectacular show to packed arenas night after night in over 25 cities across North America since its May 1 launch, seven-time Grammy Award-winning superstar Carrie Underwood wrapped the first leg of THE CRY PRETTY TOUR 360on June 23rd in Lincoln, Nebraska, culminating with a run of seven straight sold-out shows. Of the final show on this leg, the Lincoln Journal Star declared: “There can’t be a better arena show on the road than the spectacle Carrie Underwood brought to Pinnacle Bank Arena…[she] is the reigning queen of country.”

    Carrie Underwood on The Cry Pretty Tour 360 – Little Rock, AR (Photo Credit: Ralph Larmann)

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BzL8n6-lSi5/

     

    Underwood is also the current cover star and #1 reason of PEOPLE Magazine’s annual “100 Reasons to Love America” issue, on stands now (https://bit.ly/2KCrtYl).

    THE CRY PRETTY TOUR 360 has consistently garnered both critical and fan acclaim for its innovative production and stage design in the middle of the arena floor to create an intimate view for all attendees, Underwood’s standout vocal performances, and interactivity – such as featuring a winner of the tour’s ongoing contest, wherein fans submit stories about what Underwood’s hit anthem, The Champion, means to them for the chance to join her on stage and perform the rap originated by Ludacris on the platinum track.

    The show utilizes 36 projectors and 19 video projection screens, with 15 stage elevators and over 400 moving lights.  Throughout the set, Underwood can be seen playing acoustic and electric guitar, piano and percussion at various times with her talented 8-piece band, who play 22 different types of instruments, 45 in total.

    “The 360 production is second to none. Underwood’s 360 stage is a work of art…” – ROLLING STONE

    “An artist that both entertains and inspires, Underwood’s Cry Pretty Tour 360 cements her entertainer of the year status.”  – BILLBOARD

    “The two-hour show of back-to-back-to-back  hits is as significant for being an all-female bill as it is for Underwood’s always cutting edge production, very physical performance and her full-throttle vocals.” – POLLSTAR

    Next up, Underwood will head across the pond for her UK arena tour, THE CRY PRETTY TOUR UK, which will include an appearance on the storied Pyramid Stage at the legendary Glastonbury Festival on June 29, joining an all-star line-up that weekend that also includes Janet Jackson, The Killers, Hozier, The Cure, Bastille, Vampire Weekend, Sheryl Crow, Kylie Minogue and many others. THE CRY PRETTY TOUR UK will also include stops in Birmingham, England; Cardiff, Wales; Glasgow, Scotland; Manchester, England and London’s Wembley Arena, with the UK’s best-selling country act of all time, The Shires, as special guest.

    THE CRY PRETTY TOUR 360 will resume in North America on September 10th in San Diego, CA and travel through cities such as Los Angeles, CA (STAPLES Center); Nashville, TN (Bridgestone Arena); New York City, NY (Madison Square Garden) and Chicago, IL (United Center) before concluding on October 31st in Detroit, MI. Underwood will once again be joined by special guests Maddie & Tae and Runaway June for an all female bill on all dates of the tour, sponsored by CALIA and promoted by AEG Presents.

    For more information regarding THE CRY PRETTY TOUR 360, go tohttp://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com.

  • DIERKS BENTLEY DOING WELL AFTER BREAKING HIS LEFT HAND.

    Press
    Dierks Bentley

    While spending a few days in Colorado with his family, Dierks Bentley was injured in a mountain biking accident (according to WMZQ/Washington, D.C.) and broke bones in his left hand. He posted a short video with daughter Evie on his Instagram singing Maren Morris’ “My Church” before letting everyone know he was doing great and won’t be canceling any shows on his Burning Man Tour.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BzLb48qBQDS/

    Dierks is set to head to Clarkston, Michigan on Saturday (June 29th) and Syracuse, New York on Sunday (June 30th).

    The Arizona native is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest hit, “Living.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Little Big Town, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood

    Press
    Carrie Underwood / Little Big Town / Vince Gill

    Little Big Town is set to perform on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night (June 26th).

    Vince Gill has been re-elected to his 18th consecutive term as President of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

    Carrie Underwood posted a video from the first leg of her Cry Pretty Tour 360, showcasing all of the cities she’s traveled to on the trek. She heads to the UK on June 28th.

     

     

  • ALAN JACKSON CELEBRATES THREE DECADES OF MUSIC.

    Audio
    Alan Jackson

    Photo Courtesy of Alan Jackson Archives
    Flanked by then-Arista Nashville label chief Tim DuBois (L) and publisher-manager Barry Coburn (R), Alan Jackson signs his original record deal on June 26, 1989

    Thirty years ago today, on June 26, 1989, music history was made…though the principals in the room didn’t know it and would’ve been hard-pressed to imagine the impact of the moment. That day, country music superstar Alan Jackson’s professional music career truly began as he signed his first record deal.

    What followed is the stuff dreams are made of; something most can only imagine. A career many never achieve. A career unique in accomplishment, achievement and artistry. Alan Jackson’s music – songs written by him, recorded by him, brought to life by him – represent every aspect of the human experience: life, love, loss…partyin’, drinkin’, laughin’…romance, reality, heartache…crying, remembering, and mourning. The singer-songwriter’s career is filled with all of them – 30 years of music and a lifetime’s worth of moments.

    The scope of Jackson’s 30-year career has been noted in recent years with his inductions to the Country Music Hall of Fame and to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His contributions to music have, of course, also been celebrated by The Recording Academy (with multiple Grammy Award nominations and wins) and with membership in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry. The Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association have saluted his artistry with over 150 nominations and 35 awards (combined), including three CMA Entertainer of the Year trophies (one of only five artists in history to earn that many).

    “When I came here, I wanted to carry on the tradition of real hard-core country music. And I’d like to stay that way,” Jackson said in the early days of his career. “It isn’t easy to keep your feet on the ground,” he added. “You get separated from working people, from real life. You know who the real fans are,” he explained. “They’re just good people, and that’s where I come from. They love music, and they don’t care about all this music business; they don’t understand all that. They just know if they like it or not. And what I intend to do is give ’em what they want – something real.”

    What he gave them is real music for – and about – real people…just as he intended. Song after song…more than 60 singles…over half of them #1 hits…filling 60-million albums sold worldwide, highlighted by multi-platinum successes and a gospel music collection that remains a perennial bestseller more than a decade after its release.

    As he celebrates 30 years in music, Jackson shows no signs of shifting gears. He continues to tour, playing to sellout arena crowds across the U.S. year after year…and 2019 is no exception. The prolific artist is writing and recording new music. And he’s enjoying his newfound role as entrepreneur and an industry leader as the owner and creative force behind AJ’s Good Time Bar, one of the first – and the only solely-owned – artist-named honky-tonks in downtown Nashville.

    To begin the 30th anniversary celebration, a newly-produced documentary chronicling Jackson’s storied career is being released on DVD this week. Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man features rarely-seen performance and interview footage of Jackson, never-before-seen photos, and interviews with such peers as Carrie Underwood, Lee Ann Womack and Alison Krauss…along with industry leaders like his current label president, longtime producer and even the man who signed him to that record deal on that fateful June day.

    In his hometown of Newnan, GA, a newly-created exhibit showcasing the locality’s favorite son has been unveiled and is now on display. The museum-quality display can be enjoyed by locals and visitors to the Coweta County Visitors Center located in the historic 1904 courthouse. A block away, a new mural also celebrates Newnan’s hometown boy – a two-story image of Jackson covers the side of a building at 11 North Court Square, commissioned by the city and created over the last several months.

    A three-decade career in entertainment is something most artists can only aspire to. For Alan Jackson – self-professed as “just a singer of simple songs” – it’s become a “honky-tonk dream” come true.

     

    Audio / Alan Jackson says he didn’t think he’d be as successful as he has been over the last 30 years.

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    AJ (when he made it) OC: …headlining some shows and things. :33
    “When I was just trying to get a record deal, I thought, ‘Well, if you can get the deal and you have a hit or two and your career lasts just a few years, two or three years, and if you’re lucky, five years would be big.’ So, I wasn’t expecting any long-term thing out of it, but I actually felt after Here in the Real World, and that album did well, and then I guess the next one was Don’t Rock the Jukebox album, I felt like that was already a big climb there for me and felt pretty comfortable at that level. I guess I’d already started headlining some shows and things.”

  • LUKE BRYAN REPEATS SUCCESS OF SOLD-OUT GILLETTE STADIUM.

    Press
    Luke Bryan

    Four-time Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan, touted as the ‘consummate showman’ by the Boston Globe, repeated his stadium success story as he performed before a sold-out crowd at Gillette Stadium on Friday night. The “Sunset Repeat Tour” concert was Luke’s fourth appearance in the home of the six-time Super Bowl Champions the New England Patriots is also his most-played stadium. His career headlined stadium concerts now tally at 35.

    Special moments during the show included Luke’s 2019 touring mates Cole Swindell and Jon Langston joining him onstage to perform the 1995 hit “Dust On the Bottle” and the evening’s special guest Brett Young appeared with Luke to perform “Sweet Caroline.” One of the night’s high points came when Patriots favorite Rob Gronkowski strolled on stage playing catch with Luke sending the stadium crowd into fever pitch cheers.

    Before the concert Luke, Cole, Jon and Brett spent some time with NBC’s TODAY Show for a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to perform in one of America’s most revered stadiums and Luke’s journey to a stadium headliner. Tune in to NBC’s TODAY Show on Tuesday, July 2 to see the story. Later that week, Luke will perform on NBC’s ‘Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks® Spectacular.’

    “Sunset Repeat Tour” 2019

    7/11/19            Saratoga Springs, NY   Saratoga Performing Arts Center

    7/12/19            Canandaigua, NY        CMAC

    7/13/19            Wantagh, NY               Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

    7/14/19            Wantagh, NY               Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater **

    7/19/19            Orange Beach, AL       The Wharf Amphitheater

    7/20/19            Orange Beach, AL       The Wharf Amphitheater

    7/21/19            Brandon, MS               Brandon Amphitheater

    7/25/19            Birmingham, AL          Oak Mountain Amphitheatre

    7/26/19            Atlanta, GA                 Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood

    8/1/19             Jacksonville, FL           Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena

    8/2/19              Tampa, FL                   MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

    8/3/19              West Palm Beach, FL   Coral Sky Amphitheatre

    8/8/19               Bangor, ME                 Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion

    8/10/19            Moncton, NB               Magnetic Hill ***

    8/17/19            St. Louis, MO              Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

    8/18/19            Indianapolis, IN          Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center

    8/22/19            Fresno, CA                  Save Mart Center

    8/23/19            Sacramento, CA           Toyota Amphitheatre

    8/24/19            Mountain View, CA     Shoreline Amphitheatre

    8/25/19            Lake Tahoe, NV          Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys*

    9/5/19             Toronto, ON                Budweiser Stage*

    9/7/19             Holmdel, NJ                PNC Bank Arts Center

    9/8/19              Virginia Beach, VA     Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach

    9/12/19            Bethel, NY                   Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

    9/14/19            Cleveland, OH             Blossom Music Center

    10/10/19           Memphis                   Fed Ex Forum

    10/12/19           Raleigh, NC              Coastal Credit Union Music Park

    10/23/19           Fort Wayne, IN         Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

    10/25/19           Detroit, MI                Ford Field

    *Cole does not appear

    ** Dylan Scott (no Cole)

    ***Kelsea Ballerini (no Cole)

     

    Click HERE for Luke’s “Sunset Repeat Tour” playlist.

  • LITTLE BIG TOWN PERFORMS “THE DAUGHTERS” ON TONIGHT SHOW.

    Video
    Little Big Town

  • CARRIE UNDERWOOD ENJOYS THE ROLE OF MOM TO TWO BOYS.

    Audio
    Carrie Underwood

    Carrie Underwood’s life has changed since giving birth to her second son, four-month-old Jacob. Life is different on the road on The Cry Pretty Tour 360, as well as at home.

    “It’s kind of crazy to think, sometimes I will literally look at my husband and be like, ‘We have two sons. We have two kids. We’ve been married for nine years and we have two children. We live on a farm.’ Life is very different with two. We kind of got out of that baby stage with Isaiah. He’s much more self-sufficient. He can brush his own teeth and put his own clothes own. He’s making decisions for himself, and then we start all over with the little squishy one [Jacob] again. It’s just kind of crazy. You forget how hard it is to be honest, but you just figure your way through it. I’m so blessed to have Isaiah, who is super helpful and super sweet, and he loves his little brother.”

    Carrie wrapped the current leg of The Cry Pretty Tour 360 in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sunday (June 23rd), and she’ll travel across the pond for a handful of dates in the U-K, beginning June 28th. She returns to the States for four performances at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry; two each on July 19th and 20th. The Fall leg of the trek begins September 10th in San Diego.

    Carrie is heading up the country charts with her summer hit, “Southbound.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about how life has changed with two boys.

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    Carrie Underwood (having two boys) OC: …little brother. :44
    “It’s kind of crazy to think, sometimes I will literally look at my husband and be like, ‘We have two sons. We have two kids. We’ve been married for nine years and we have two children. We live on a farm.’ Life is very different with two. We kind of got out of that baby stage with Isaiah. He’s much more self-sufficient. He can brush his own teeth and put his own clothes own. He’s making decisions for himself, and then we start all over with the little squishy one [Jacob] again. It’s just kind of crazy. You forget how hard it is to be honest, but you just figure your way through it. I’m so blessed to have Isaiah, who is super helpful and super sweet, and he loves his little brother.”

    Video / Carrie Underwood Southbound Music Video

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  • TRAVIS DENNING DOESN’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT HIS BASS PRO SHOPS HAT.

    Audio
    Travis Denning

    Travis Denning is rarely without his trusty Bass Pro Shops hat, especially on stage. He first discovered the comfy, classic fit of the ballcap when a friend left one at his house, and he hasn’t been without at least one ever since.

    “I think when I was about 18 or 19-years-old, a friend of mine actually left a Bass Pro Shops hat at my house. I wore it for a little bit. I just loved it. Mainly, it fit my head pretty well. I have a goofy-shaped head, thanks to my folks, but it fit well, and I thought it was just so timeless looking and very cool and nobody else was really wearing ‘em at the time. So, I just wore it all the time on stage,” says Travis. “2015 at CMA Fest, I had a kid come up and he had a Bass Pro Shops hat he bought and wanted me to sign, and that was when I thought, ‘Oh, maybe this is like a thing.’ I haven’t stopped wearing ‘em since.”

     

    The Georgia native, who is climbing the country charts with his latest song “After a Few,” will headline the Bass Pro Shops Night Race pre-race concert August 17th at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Audio / Travis Denning explains why he wears Bass Pro Shops hats on stage.

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    Travis Denning (Bass Pro Hats) OC: …wearing ‘em since. :47
    “I think when I was about 18 or 19-years-old, a friend of mine actually left a Bass Pro Shops hat at my house. I wore it for a little bit. I just loved it. Mainly, it fit my head pretty well. I have a goofy-shaped head, thanks to my folks, but it fit well, and I thought it was just so timeless looking and very cool and nobody else was really wearing ‘em at the time. So, I just wore it all the time on stage. I grew up with a Bass Pro Shops in Macon, Georgia, 20 minutes away. It was cool to go back then, and it’s still cool to go. I mean, it was such a fun place. You could get lost in it for hours, and I still shop there all the time. 2015 at CMA Fest, I had a kid come up and he had a Bass Pro Shops hat he bought and wanted me to sign, and that was when I thought, ‘Oh, maybe this is like a thing.’ I haven’t stopped wearing ‘em since.”

    Video / Travis Denning Official Music Video for After a Few

    View