• DIERKS BENTLEY SURPRISES SOLD-OUT CROWD AT RED ROCKS WITH SPECIAL GUEST MAREN MORRIS.

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    Dierks Bentley embarked on the first of two sold-out nights at Red Rocks Amphitheatre tonight playing off the landmark’s three iconic walls, boldly opening with his bluegrass-inspired “Up On The Ridge.”  As family, friends and long-time supporters lined side-stage, Bentley wove seamlessly between his biggest party anthems like “What Was I Thinkin’,” “Drunk On A Plane” and “Somewhere On A Beach” and his weightier hits including “Riser,” “I Hold On” and “Different For Girls.”
    “We’re all trying to hold it together here,” Bentley told the crowd. “This is my fifth time playing Red Rocks, but it gets more crazy and crazy every time. It’s not every night you get to play here, so I texted a friend to see if she could be part of tonight. She’s got one of the best voices in Country music and came all the way from Boston to be here tonight…Maren Morris y’all!”
    Mid-way through the epic night, Bentley invited surprise guest Maren Morris to the stage for their haunting duet “I’ll Be The Moon” off his critically-acclaimed No. one album BLACK. The two harmonized on Morris’ “My Church” before Randy Houser joined to swap vices on “Bad Angel.” As the night rolled through Bentley’s jam-packed set and the capacity crowd sang back to hit after hit, fans ultimately demanded an extended set causing Bentley to break curfew.
    “I’ve been waiting so long for this show and trying to think of ways to surprise you,” Bentley continued from stage. “I’ve told you about my friends and family who are here tonight, but I’m here for you fans.”
     
    Known for “traveling his own path…Country music’s most relatable star” (Esquire) shows his depth and diversity as an artist with four CMA nominations in the Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of The Year, Vocal Event of the Year and Video of the Year categories. Bentley will bring the “foot-stomping, fist-pumping good time” (Arizona Republic) of his 2016 SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH TOUR to Denver again tomorrow (9/27) before stops in the Midwest next week on the newly extended leg of the tour. For more information and a full list of tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.

    Photo Credit: Ryan Silver

  • KEITH URBAN STANDS UP TO CANCER.

    Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Dierks Bentley joined up to perform David Bowie’s “Heroes” for the Stand Up to Cancer event, which will air Friday night (September 9th) at 8pm ET. The three acts taped their performance at last week’s ACM Honors to honor Bowie, who died in January, following a battle with cancer.

    Keith, whose father Robert passed away from cancer last December, said he wanted to sign on because “It hit really close to home with the passing of my father with cancer, as well. [I’m] really honored to be a part of it.”

    Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook also lost someone close to him because of cancer when his sister died last year, as well.

    The all-star show will also feature Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Emma Stone, Celeine Dion, Anna Kendrick, Eric Stonestreet, Alison Sweeney and co-founder Katie Couric and producer Bradley Cooper.

    Audio / Keith Urban says he is honored to take part in the Stand Up to Cancer event.

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    Keith Urban (Stand Up to Cancer) OC: …forward to it. :10
    “It hit really close to home with the passing of my father with cancer, as well. [I’m] really  honored to be a part of it, and the fact that I get to play with Little Big Town, that’s always a blast. I’m really looking forward to it.”

  • KEITH URBAN WILL HEADLINE THE NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL IN AUSTRALIA.

    As prestigious as the Super Bowl halftime show is in the United States, so is the National Rugby League (NRL) Telstra Premiership Grand Final in Australia, which multiple Grammy Award (and ARIA Award) winner Keith Urban will headline.  The final match will take place at the ANZ Stadium on Sunday, October 2nd in front of nearly 100,000 fans.  The appearance will feature songs from Urban’s #1 CMA nominated Album of the Year RIPCORD (an award that Urban has never won).

    In Australia RIPCORD has exploded.  It debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album chart and the gold certified album remained in the Top 10 for 15 weeks, setting a new record for Urban for the number of weeks an album has remained in the Top 10 on release.  After 18 weeks the album still is in the Top 20.

    During his trip to Australia, Urban will also perform at 2Day FM’s ‘World Famous Rooftop’ in Sydney.

    Before it concludes Urban’s “ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016” will have visited four countries including the U.S., Canada, Australia and for the first time ever Urban will perform in New Zealand at Westpac Stadium, Wellington. The tour’s arena leg began this month in Canada and will move to the U.S. in October.

    Late last month Urban was nominated for four CMA Awards including the coveted Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist, Best Vocal Event (with Carrie Underwood for “The Fighter”), as well as the previously mentioned Album of the Year.

  • THE 10TH ANNUAL ACM HONORS AIRS FRIDAY ON CBS.

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    Tune-in alert for Friday (September 9th). The 10th Annual ACM Honors will air tomorrow beginning at 9pm ET/PT on CBS. The two-hour special, hosted by Lady Antebellum, is dedicated to celebrating honorees and off-camera category winners from this year’s ACM Awards. 

    The television special features an all-star lineup of live performances as well as award presentations celebrating honorees, including Special Awards recipients Glen Campbell, Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt (awarded posthumously), Tanya Tucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jeff Walker (awarded posthumously), Jimmy Webb, Little Big Town and The Statler Brothers. Additionally, Jason Aldean was honored with the ACM Triple Crown Award and Miranda Lambert was presented with the inaugural ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award. Ross Copperman was also honored as Songwriter of the Year.

    Artists who performed in tribute to the honorees include:

    • Kelsea Ballerini performed “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” in tribute to Crystal Gayle.
    • Dierks Bentley performed “Freedom” in tribute to Ross Copperman, joined onstage by participants of the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp.
    • Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell performed “I Love A Rainy Night” in tribute to Eddie Rabbitt.
    • Alicia Keys and Cam performed a special duet of “Girl Crush” in tribute to Little Big Town.
    • Maren Morris performed “Delta Dawn” in tribute to Tanya Tucker.
    • Chris Young and Dan + Shay performed “Flowers on the Wall” in tribute to The Statler Brothers.
    • The Band Perry performed “MacArthur Park” in tribute to Jimmy Webb.
    • Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley performed an all-star medley in a special tribute to Glen Campbell. The medley consisted of Campbell’s hits “Southern Nights,” “Gentle On My Mind,” “Wichita Linemen,” “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” and the iconic “Rhinestone Cowboy.”

    The Academy’s Studio Recording Award winners were celebrated in a pre-televised ceremony, and many served as the house band for the night under the direction of music director Frank Liddell. Backing up artists during performances on the telecast were ACM Guitarist of the Year Derek Wells, ACM Bass Player of the Year Michael Rhodes, ACM Specialty Instruments Player of the Year Danny Rader and ACM Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year Jim “Moose” Brown, who also served as bandleader.  Other Studio Recording Award honorees included Producer of the Year Dave Cobb, Audio Engineer of the Year Justin Niebank, Drummer of the Year Shannon Forrest and Steel Guitar Player of the Year Paul Franklin.

    The ceremony presenters included Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, Emmylou Harris, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Martina McBride, Mike Fisher, Thomas Rhett, and Toby Keith. The event was taped at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, and sponsored by City National Bank and Kendra Scott.

    About ACM Honors™

    ACM Honors™ is an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Special Awards, Studio Recording Awards and Songwriter of the Year Award winners. The 10th Annual ACM Honors was taped on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and – for the first time ever – was produced for television by dick clark productions to be broadcast on Friday, September 9 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Tiffany Moon is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music. For more information, visit www.ACMcountry.com.

    Photo L-R: Shannon Campbell, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith performing at the 10th Annual ACM Honors in tribute to Glen Campbell. Photo Credit: John Shearer/Getty Images for ACM/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music)

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about honoring the late Eddie Rabbitt at this year's ACM Honors.

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    Luke Bryan (ACM Honors-Eddie Rabbitt) OC: …he had. :24
    Me and Cole Swindell did a version honoring Eddie Rabbitt and we did ‘I Love A Rainy Night.’ It was fun being on stage with Cole. ‘I Love A Rainy Night’ was a song that I covered for years in my band in Georgia so it was like riding a bike up there, I just hopped up there and … And Eddie Rabbitt is one of those artists that you forget just how dynamic of a career that he had.”

    Audio / Toby Keith talks about the legendary Glen Campbell, who he’s paying tribute to at the ACM Honors this week.

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    Toby Keith (Glen Campbell) OC: …to ’75? :57
    “The amazing thing about Glen’s deal is, Glen looks so good. Glen looks 15 years younger than he is, and he has full-blown Alzheimer’s. It’s just really sad to think that he’s in as great a shape as he is physically, except for that debilitating affliction. But, man! He was one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and I don’t think most people realize that. I think most people saw him on the Glen Campbell Good Time Hour and some movies, and they just thought he’s a singer that sings some pop country. But Glen was one of the greatest guitar players of all time too, and even when he couldn’t remember his songs he could still play them without remembering the words. It’s nice that they’re paying tribute to Glen, ‘cause he’s certainly an icon and worked with the Wrecking Crew back in the day in L.A. which is probably the band that played on most of the hits that you heard from ’65 to ’75?”

     

    Audio / Keith Urban says Glen Campbell is one of his biggest musical influences.

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    Keith Urban (Glen Campbell) OC: …guitar player. :22
    “I’ve always been a fan of what I like to call guitartists, you know those guitar-artists like Glen Campbell, who’s probably one of my biggest influences; those guys who knew a good song, had a great voice and played great and just the all-around guys with a guitar, you know? When you think of Glen Campbell, you think of, I think of ‘Galveston,’ ‘Wichita Lineman,’ then I also think of him being a phenomenal guitar player.”

     

  • LAUREN ALAINA SITS DOWN WITH THE LEGENDARY DOLLY PARTON.

    Lauren Alaina got the chance to sit down and ask the legendary Dolly Parton some questions.

    “I am literally dying inside,” Lauren says before her meeting with Dolly. “I do not know what to do. I never get nervous, and I feel like I’m gonna stutter.

    Lauren is sporting a vintage Dolly tee, which the Country Music Hall of Famer admires. The two chat about their own “Coat of Many Colors,” dealing with people who aren’t so nice and on-screen kisses.

    Video / Lauren Alaina interviews Dolly

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  • LAUREN ALAINA PERFORMS ON THE TODAY SHOW.

    Catch Lauren Alaina‘s performance of her single, “Road Less Traveled,” on NBC’s Today show on Thursday (September 8th).

    Lauren is opening for Alan Jackson on the Still Keepin’ It Country Tour, which makes it next stop September 30th in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

  • GARY ALLAN CHALLENGED CO-WRITERS OF “DO YOU WISH IT WAS ME” TO BE THE FIRST SINGLE FROM HIS UPCOMING ALBUM.

    Gary Allan’s latest release, “Do You Wish It Was Me,” had some tough competition when it came time to pick the first single.

    “Jonathan Singleton and Andrew Dorff. Man, I’ve always wanted to write with both of ‘em. I had a song already that I wanted to beat, so I basically took that song and played it for them and said, ‘If we beat this, we have a single,’” says Gary. “And, then we went through a couple of their hooks, landed on the hook. It was a great write. It was an easy write, and then I tracked it with my band and my band absolutely delivered. I love the track, so proud of it.”

    Fans will be able to hear the song when he performs it during his show September 30th in Little Rock.

    Audio / Gary Allan wrote his latest single, “Do You Wish It Was Me,” with Jonathan Singleton and Andrew Dorff.

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    Gary Allan (writing Do You Wish It Was Me) OC: …proud of it. :27
    “Jonathan Singleton and Andrew Dorff. Man, I’ve always wanted to write with both of ‘em. I had a song already that I wanted to beat, so I basically took that song and played it for them and said, ‘If we beat this, we have a single.’ And, then we went through a couple of their hooks, landed on the hook. It was a great write. It was an easy write, and then I tracked it with my band and my band absolutely delivered. I love the track, so proud of it.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Lauren, Dierks, Darius

    Lauren Alaina debuts her current single, “Road Less Traveled,” on the Today show Thursday (September 8th) on NBC.

    Dierks Bentley performs “Freedom,” from his album, Black, Thursday night (September 8th) on the 2016 NFL Kickoff at 7:30pm ET on NBC.

    Darius Rucker recently narrated the NASCAR Production, Southern Speed: The Legend of Darlington for NBCSN. Current NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch were featured, along with racing legends Dale Jarrett, Kyle Petty and Jeff Burton. They reflected on how the Southern 500 became a stock car racing edition.

    Video / Chris Tyrrell (Hillary Scott's husband) and daughter Eisele

  • LUKE BRYAN SAYS GROWING UP AROUND FARMERS GAVE HIM A GREAT FOUNDATION FOR HIS MUSIC CAREER.

    Luke Bryan released his first-ever Farm Tour EP, Here’s to the Farmer, on Friday (September 23rd). The five-song collection, three of which he co-wrote, coincides with his eighth annual Farm Tour, which is set to kick-off October 5th in Gaston, South Carolina.

    Luke says being surrounded by farmers – including his father who was a peanut farmer – gave him a great work ethic and foundation, especially after moving to Nashville to pursue his dream of being a country artist.

    “My whole existence and 90% of the men that I grew up with in my life were all farmers and of that background. So, it was just what I knew. I saw all of the struggles that all of them dealt with – the things that they could control and the things that they can’t,” he says. “Just that whole farming mentality, you can learn so many things from, from just how to properly do business and how to do business like you should. It’s a pretty resilient business, and at the end of the day, it was a great foundation of upbringing to prepare me for another type of farming, which is music. So, it’s all farming up something whether you’re farming corn or songs, I guess. So, certainly growing up like that taught me a lot.”

    Luke is also “moving” up the country charts with his latest single, “Move,” from his Kill the Lights album.

    Buy Link: http://umgn.us/farmtourep

    Stream link: http://strm.to/FarmTour

    D2C: http://lukebryan.gobigwin.com/

     

    Audio / Luke Bryan says being surrounded by farmers while he was growing up gave him a great foundation, especially after moving to Nashville to pursue a career in music.

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    Luke Bryan (grew up with farmers) OC: …coming out. 1:12
    “My whole existence and 90% of the men that I grew up with in my life were all farmers and of that background. So, it was just what I knew. I saw all of the struggles that all of them dealt with – the things that they could control and the things that they can’t. I mean, it’s an interesting dynamic being a farmer. I watched my dad deal with the ups and the downs, and so much of it is weather-related and we all know we certainly can’t do anything about that. Just that whole farming mentality, you can learn so many things from, from just how to properly do business and how to do business like you should. It’s a pretty resilient business, and at the end of the day, it was a great foundation of upbringing to prepare me for another type of farming, which is music. So, it’s all farming up something whether you’re farming corn or songs, I guess. So, certainly growing up like that taught me a lot, and certainly honored to have started the Farm Tour and now to have an album coming out.”

    Video / Here's to the Farmer video

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  • DIERKS BENTLEY SUITS UP TO HIT THE SMALL SCREEN THIS WEEK!

    “Country music’s most relatable star” (Esquire) Dierks Bentley has a full week ahead with national television performances that showcase his depth and diversity across all major broadcast networks. Ahead of the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl rematch against the Carolina Panthers tomorrow (9/8), the multi-CMA nominee will perform the anthemic album cut “Freedom” off his No. One album BLACK during the 2016 NFL KICKOFF PRESENTED BY HYUNDAI (NBC & NFL Network at 7:30P ET on 9/8) pregame festivities. He will perform that same track, as well as honor Glen Campbell, on CBS’ broadcast of 10th Annual ACM Honors the following night at 9:00P ET. Additionally, Bentley was tapped to reimagine David Bowie’s “Heroes” with Keith Urban and Little Big Town during the 5th Annual Stand Up To Cancer telecast (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC at 8P ET on 9/9).

    Bentley’s “game-changing” (Taste Of Country) single “Different for Girls” with friend Elle King climbs up the Top 5 at Country radio after receiving a CMA nomination last week for “Musical Event of the Year.” As a top nominee with four total nods, Bentley was also recognized in the “Album of the Year” category for his No. One selling and critically acclaimed BLACK, “Male Vocalist of the Year” and “Music Video of the Year” for his Platinum multi-week No. One summer anthem “Somewhere On A Beach.”

    This weekend Bentley will bring his “massive summer trek” (Entertainment Weekly) to the West Coast with capacity crowds (9/9 in Mountain View, CA; 9/10 in Irvine, CA; 9/11 in Chula Vista, CA) on his 2016 SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH TOUR. Bentley has extended the run with additional arena dates through the end of October with Randy Houser and Drake White. For more information and a full list of tour dates, visit www.dierks.com