• LADY ANTEBELLUM’S BUILDING AN ‘ARMY.’

    The members of Lady Antebellum have teamed up with National Geographic and Musicians On Call and are putting together a music video for their song, “Army,” which is included on their latest album, Heart Break. National Geographic will produce the video, and the channel is asking for your help; they want to see who is in your “Army.” Fans can submit photos or videos via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram through November 7th using the hashtag #MyArmyContest and tagging @NatGeoChannel to showcase the heroes in their life, and have a chance to be featured in the new video.

    “Throughout our career we have been lucky enough to meet some incredible military veterans and their families,” Lady A’s Hillary Scott tells Billboard. “‘Army’ has such a special meaning to us and when we were writing this for our families we had no idea how much of a universal feeling it would draw out of our fans. Whether it be their teacher, mom or best friend, we are looking forward to watching the stories that come through and create an incredible music moment that will also recognize the heroic sacrifices of our troops and their families.”

    National Geographic also launces the #LongRoadHome campaign, and will donate $1 to Musicians on Call for every time fans use the hashtag, up to $75,000 total. Musicians on Call is an organization which brings music directly veterans in healthcare facilities.

    Musicians on Call will also host a concert headlined by Lady Antebellum for their 10th Anniversary at Nashville’s City Winery on October 26th.

    Lady Antebellum will be part of National Geographic’s new mini-series Long Road Home, which will spotlight the U.S. First Calvary Division ambushed in Iraq in 2004, along with their families at home.

    Lady A is currently making their way up the country charts with their latest song, “Heart Break.”

    Video / Lady Antebellum want your 'Army'

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  • JON PARDI RELEASES HIS NEW SINGLE, ‘SHE AIN’T IN IT.’

    Jon Pardi has released his new song, “She Ain’t In It,”  the follow-up to three No. 1 hits from his gold-certified album, California Sunrise.

    He says “She Ain’t In It” is just a great country song. “When I first heard it, I had to listen to it over and over again, and it was just like was so like 1980s George Strait and just something that I hadn’t heard in a long time. I had to record this. I have to. There’s no question,” says Jon. “When I heard it I was like, ‘This is on the record. This has to be on the record. I want this. This is mine.’ Trying to be anything but just pure country. It’s got that heart-break to it and it’s got that moving on and just very good lyrics and a great melody, and it was one of my favorites to ever call mine. It’s going to be great. If you like country music, you’re going to like this song.”

    The song goes for adds at radio October 23rd.

    Jon launches his Lucky Tonight headlining tour Thursday (October 12th) in Birmingham, Alabama.

    Audio / Jon Pardi says “She Ain’t In It” is a good country song.

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    Jon Pardi (She Ain’t In It) OC: …this song. :42
    “She Ain’t In It’ is a great country song and when I first heard it I had to listen to it over and over again and it was just like was so like 1980s George Strait and just something that I hadn’t heard in a long time. I had to record this. I have to. There’s no question. When I heard it I was like this is on the record. This has to be on the record. I want this. This is mine. Trying to be anything but just pure country. It’s got that heart-break to it and it’s got that moving on and just very good lyrics and a great melody, and it was one of my favorites to ever call mine. It’s going to be great. If you like country music, you’re going to like this song.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (She Ain't In It)

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    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (She Ain't In It) 2

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  • LAUREN ALAINA’S ‘ROAD LESS TRAVELED’ FILM WILL MAKE ITS TELEVISION DEBUT NEXT MONTH ON CMT.

    Lauren Alaina’s new romantic comedy “Road Less Traveled” – titled for Alaina’s hit single of the same name – will make its television debut Friday, November 10th at 9pm ET/PT on CMT (encores Saturday, November 11th at Noon ET/PT). In her first feature-length film, Alaina stars as Charlotte, a successful songwriter struggling to balance her career and her dream of the perfect wedding. Charlotte returns to her rural hometown of Harmony, Tenn. where she faces her past and reconsiders her future, especially after a chance encounter with her first love, Ray, played by Donny Boaz (“Six,” “NCIS”). Jason Burkey (“The Walking Dead”) stars as Spencer, Charlotte’s fiancé, and Charlene Tilton (“Dallas,” “The Love Boat”) appears as Babs, Charlotte’s eclectic aunt with a passion for wine-making.

    The film samples a number of songs from Alaina’s sophomore album “Road Less Traveled,” including her newest single “Doin’ Fine,” along with “My Kinda People,” “Queen of Hearts,” “Painting Pillows,” “Holding the Other” and of course the #1 hit single “Road Less Traveled.”

    Alaina just released her follow-up single “Doin’ Fine,” and is currently on a cross-country Canadian tour.

    She’s nominated for her first CMA Award in the Best New Artist category, and earlier this year earned CMT’s Breakthrough Video of the Year award and MusicRow’s Breakthrough Artist Writer of the Year award.

    For more information on Lauren, her music and tour dates, visit www.LaurenAlainaOfficial.com.

    Audio / Lauren Alaina (Road Less Traveled movie) 1

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    Lauren Alaina (Road Less Traveled movie) 1 OC: …new world for me. :29
    “I am so excited that I have filmed a movie and I am like an actress. It was awesome. It was the craziest schedule of all time thought, because I had to squeeze it in between like touring and recording an album and getting it out, but it was such a learning experience for me. I love to learn. I love to push myself to be better at things, and I’ve never really acted before, so this was a whole new world for me.”

  • DIERKS BENTLEY VISITS THE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER OF SOUTHERN NEVADA IN VEGAS.

    Dierks Bentley piloted a plane to Las Vegas on Monday to meet and perform for the survivors and first responders, as well as the doctors, nurses and staff at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada following the horrific tragedy at the Rt. 91 Festival a week ago. Last week, Dierks said he was “at a total loss for words” over the mass shooting that took nearly 60 lives and left hundreds injured.

    stopping by #vegas to say hi to some folks

    A post shared by Dierks Bentley (@dierksbentley) on

    few more from #Vegas tonight. everyday heroes among us.

    A post shared by Dierks Bentley (@dierksbentley) on

     

  • DIERKS BENTLEY ATTENDS THE HOLLYWOOD PREMIERE OF ‘ONLY THE BRAVE.’

    Dierks Bentley attended the Hollywood premiere for the new film, Only the Brave, for which he contributed the song, “Hold the Light.” The film, which stars Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Taylor Kitsch, Jennifer Connelly and Andie MacDowell, is the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite Arizona firefighters who risk their lives to protect Prescott from one of the worst wildfires in history.

     

    “This song hits really close to me because we wrote it based on the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots,” said Dierks in a recent press release about the song “Hold the Light.” “One of the most powerful takeaways for me from working on this project has been the need to search for hope and light even in the darkest of times. I think right now that message is more meaningful than ever.”

    Only the Brave opens in theaters nationwide October 20th.

    Video / Hold the Light music video

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    Video / Only the Brave movie trailer

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  • KIP MOORE WRAPS SOLD-OUT UK TOUR.

    kip uk 1 Kip UK 2
    Kip Moore is continuing to build a fervent following across the pond, returning this past week for a headlining sold-out stint kicking off in Birmingham, UK on 10/2, also stopping in Manchester, UK (10/3), Glasgow, UK (10/4) and London, UK (10/6). Playing to capacity crowds each night, Moore treated audiences to songs from his “strongest, most artistic album” (Forbes), the recently released and critically acclaimed SLOWHEART, as CMT declares “it’s the way he expresses what’s on his mind that draws sold-out audiences around the world.”
    The triumphant run culminated in a special show on Friday night (10/6) as part of Country Music Week in London, UK at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, with Entertainment Focus noting the “rapturous reception from the audience…Throughout the set Kip mixed in songs from all three of his albums, with highlights including a raucous rendition of ‘Beer Money’, the high energy of ‘The Bull’, and the sing-along ‘Heart’s Desire’ and the rocky ‘Bittersweet Company.’” Moore, who first made an impression overseas at Europe’s Country To Country Festival in 2015, will return to the festival in 2018 for the annual festival taking place March 9-11 in London, UK, Glasgow, UK, and Dublin, I.E.
    Moore has hit his stride with SLOWHEART, and his current Top 5 single “More Girls Like You,” is the fastest rising single of his career and is receiving praise from critics such as Entertainment Weekly declaring he “has made a name for himself weaving vignettes of Southern, blue-collar life and love into rollicking country anthems.” SLOWHEART follows the acclaim that surrounded his sophomore album WILD ONES heralded as “an impressively singular release from Music Row” by The Guardian. Moore first turned heads with his debut album UP ALL NIGHT which was recently certified Double-PLATINUM by the RIAA and spawned three No. One hit singles including GOLD certified “Beer Money,” PLATINUM certified “Hey Pretty Girl,” and the DOUBLE PLATINUM breakout hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck. Moore, who has trail-blazed his own path with his reputation-making live show recently announced his headlining PLEAD THE FIFTH TOUR kicking off on 10/19. For more information and a full list of tour dates visit kipmoore.net.
  • DARIUS RUCKER HAS A FEW THINGS TO CROSS OFF ON HIS ‘FOR THE FIRST TIME’ BUCKET LIST.

    Darius Rucker is getting ready to release his new album, When Was the Last Time, which is a line taken from his new song, “For the First Time.”

    “When was the last time you did something for the first time?
    Yeah, let yourself go, follow that feeling
    Maybe something new is what you’re needing
    Like a real life, let your hair down, feel alive
    When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

    Darius has experienced a lot of firsts in his lifetime, but there are still a few things he’d like to experience “for the first time.”

    “I wanna go back to Africa, I wanted to see [Paul] McCartney, I want to see, I’ve never seen U2. It’s one of my favorite bands in the world. I want to see U2,” says Darius. “I’ve been lucky. I’ve gotten to do a lot of stuff that I’ve wanted to do. I’ve lived a really blessed life, but then I started thinking about it. There’s so much stuff, I’ve never been to Iceland, stuff like that that I want to do that I’ve never took the time to do, and I think now is the time to start doing that stuff.”

    He’s already crossed off a couple of things on his list – seeing Paul McCartney live in concert was at the top and he was able to do that earlier this year. He also visits a psychic for the first time, which you can see for yourself below.

    When Was the Last Time will be released October 20th.

    Audio / Darius Rucker lists off a handful of things he’s never done.

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    Darius Rucker (When Was the Last Time bucket list) OC: …doing that stuff. :32
    “No. 1 was see [Paul] McCartney [laughs] and I got to do that this year, and that was awesome. That was awesome. But I wanna go back to Africa, I wanted to see McCartney, I want to see, I’ve never seen U2. It’s one of my favorite bands in the world. I want to see U2. I’ve been lucky. I’ve gotten to do a lot of stuff that I’ve wanted to do. I’ve lived a really blessed life, but then I started thinking about it. There’s so much stuff, I’ve never been to Iceland, stuff like that that I want to do that I’ve never took the time to do, and I think now is the time to start doing that stuff.”

    Video / Darius Rucker at a psychic reading

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  • SHANIA TWAIN’S ‘NOW’ ALBUM DEBUTS AT NO. 1 ON BILLBOARD.

    Shania Twain’s new album, NOW, bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart this week. The superstar’s first studio album in 15 years sold 137,000 in sales and equivalent streams during its first week. According to Billboard, 134,000 were in traditional album sales, which is the third largest sales week for a country album this year and the largest for a woman in nearly two years (Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller album debuted in November 2015 with 164,000 in sales and streams).

     

    The album, which features “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed” and “Life’s About to Get Good,” along with “Soldier” and many more, includes many varied styles and moods, according to Shania.

    “Stylistically, the album is very diverse. I really took the freedom to just approach with an anything goes attitude. I really didn’t want to box myself in to any specific style or mood, and just let my creativity flow, and that resulted in a lot of just all of my favorite musical ideas in one,” she says. “So, I really had fun with it and explored things I’d never done before stylistically or things I always wanted to explore. I knew that I wanted the album to sound, you know, to not lose authenticity in the mix of everything. Once we got into production, I really wanted to make sure and my direction was I want to use authentic string instruments, acoustic instruments and use musicians with a lot of soul and a lot of really great live experience playing.”

    NOW has also debuted at the top of the U-K chart, beating out Wolf Alice’s Visions of a Life by fewer than 800 copies, as well as topping the album chart in Australia and Canada, where it has already been certified platinum.

    Shania will launch her NOW Tour May 3rd in Tacoma, Washington.

    Audio / Shania Twain says the songs on her NOW album are pretty diverse.

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    Shania Twain (album stylistically different) OC: …playing. :53
    “Stylistically, the album is very diverse. I really took the freedom to just approach with an anything goes attitude. I really didn’t want to box myself in to any specific style or mood, and just let my creativity flow, and that resulted in a lot of just all of my favorite musical ideas in one. So, I really had fun with it and explored things I’d never done before stylistically or things I always wanted to explore. I knew that I wanted the album to sound, you know, to not lose authenticity in the mix of everything. Once we got into production, I really wanted to make sure and my direction was I want to use authentic string instruments, acoustic instruments and use musicians with a lot of soul and a lot of really great live experience playing.”

    Video / Swingin' With My Eyes Closed video

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Keith, Jon, LBT, Eric, Kacey, Kip

    Keith Urban will be honored with BMI’s (Broadcast Music Incorporated) Champion Award during the 65th Annual BMI Country Awards November 7th in Nashville. Keith is being honored by the performing rights organization for his assistance in helping the next generation of songwriters and musicians, as well as furthering music education.

    Jon Pardi, who’s headlining his own Lucky Tonight Tour, has already planned dates for next year by heading out on Miranda Lambert’s Livin’ Like Hippies Tour beginning January 18th in Greenville, South Carolina.

    Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” has caught the ear and the voice of Harry Styles, who recorded the song for the UK version of Spotify Singles. He later performed the tune during his show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

    Eric Church is set to perform at the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association’s 2018 Hall of Fame induction ceremony February 24th. Maren Morris, Radney Foster, Jack Ingram, Joe Ely, Lori McKenna and Hayes Carll will also perform in honor of this year’s inductees – Buddy Holly, Liz Rose, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Mickey Newberry.

    Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Kip Moore are among the performers announced for next year’s C2C: Country to Country Festival. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, Luke Combs, Emmylou Harris, Margo Price, Midland, Lukas Nelson, Ashley McBryde, Lindsay Ell and Jillian Jacqueline will also perform during the three-day festival running March 9th – 11th in London.

  • CARRIE UNDERWOOD RELEASES THE TRAILER FOR HER ‘STORYTELLER TOUR’ LIVE VIDEO.

    On November 17th, Carrie Underwood‘s highly successful Storyteller Tour – Stories in the Round will be released digitally. The live concert video was filmed at her sold-out Madison Square Garden show.

    2016’s top touring country female of the year took her critically-acclaimed world tour across nine countries, playing more than 100 shows for over one million fans. Carrie Underwood: The Storyteller Tour – Stories In The Round, Live from Madison Square Garden will be available digitally on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and Qello.

    MSG cover

    “We had the best time on ‘The Storyteller Tour’ performing for the fans last year,” said the reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year. “The amazing production and 360-degree stage let me get closer to them than ever before.  I saw so many of their social media posts asking for a release of the show and we knew we had to do it.  I’m so happy to get this out and relive the most fun I’ve ever had on tour!”

    “The Storyteller Tour – Stories in the Round” received rave reviews for its massive in-the-round 360-degree stage production as well as Carrie’s command of it.

    Check out the trailer for the film below.

    Stories in the Round, Live from Madison Square Garden Set List:

    1. “Renegade Runaway”
    2. “Last Name/Somethin’ Bad”
    3. “Undo It”
    4. “Good Girl”
    5. “Church Bells”
    6. “Cowboy Casanova”
    7. “Heartbeat”
    8. “Jesus, Take the Wheel”
    9. “Wasted”
    10. “Blown Away”
    11. “Two Black Cadillacs”
    12. “Dirty Laundry”
    13. “Choctaw County Affair”
    14. “I Will Always Love You”
    15. “What I Never Knew I Always Wanted”
    16. “Mountain Music” feat. Easton Corbin and The Swon Brothers
    17. “Clock Don’t Stop”
    18. “All-American Girl”
    19. “Little Toy Guns”
    20. “Before He Cheats”
    21. “Smoke Break”
    22. “Something in the Water”

     

     

    Video / Storyteller Tour trailer

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