Encino, CA (April 2, 2014) – The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions announced today that Dierks Bentley with Sheryl Crow, Lee Brice, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Rascal Flatts will all perform on the 49^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. It was also announced that presenters including Thea Andrews, Guy Fieri, LL COOL J, Jewel, Olivia Munn, Nancy O’Dell, Chris O’Donnell, Clay Walker and Trisha Yearwood will appear on the ceremony which will be co-hosted by Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton and broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

All of these artists join previously announced performers including Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brett Eldredge, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Toby Keith, Justin Moore, Kip Moore, Shakira, George Strait, Keith Urban, The Band Perry, Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum with legendary musician Stevie Nicks, as well as previously announced presenters including Garth Brooks and Florida Georgia Line.

Dierks Bentley and Sheryl Crow will perform, “I Hold On,” Lee Brice will perform his hit single, “I Drive Your Truck,” Brad Paisley will make the national television debut of his new single “River Bank” from his forthcoming album with a special performance at MGM Grand’s Talent Pool, Darius Rucker will perform “Wagon Wheel,” and Rascal Flatts will be performing “Rewind” at the 4^th Annual ACM Fan Jam via live remote at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

For more information on the ACM Awards and all ACM events, visit www.ACMcountry.com, www.ACMAwards.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter at @ACMawards for more immediate updates.  

Kacey Musgraves and Katy Perry are a musical match made in Heaven. Not only will they hit the road together on the Pop singer’s Prismatic Tour later this summer, but they’ve now been announced as the latest pairing for CMT Crossroads. The show takes a country artist and teams them up with an act from a different genre, frequently trading vocals on each other’s songs.

The invitation-only event – CMT’s 50th episode – will tape in Los Angeles later this month and air on CMT June 13th.

“From the moment I heard ‘Merry Go Round’ by Kacey Musgraves, I knew we were cut from the same songwriter’s cloth,” Perry tells Billboard in a statement. “I have been a fan and a friend of hers from the beginning, always championing her prolific songs every opportunity I get. To me, Kacey Musgraves is an artist that should be a household name because she offers a unique perspective with her writing style.  It’s going to be a BLAST to play on each other’s songs this Crossroads. It will be a preview to our Prismatic World Tour road trip this summer WHICH I CAN’T WAIT FOR!”

Musgraves adds in a statement, “I’ve been such a HUGE fan of Katy and her vision since I found out about her. And since she’s found out about me she’s been an amazing light and friend to me. So, joining forces with her for Crossroads is going to be incredible. In some ways we’re on opposite ends of the spectrum, but in a lot of ways our music makes total sense together. Her songs, while having grit, are so fun and it’ll be a cool challenge to throw a little country on ’em. I love her brain and her heart and I can’t wait for our two musical worlds to collide!”

The two singer-songwriters have already been collaborating on stage and off, with Kacey appearance at Katy’s We Can Survive charity concert last October to a handful of writing sessions.

For the first time, Crossroads will air on CMT’s sister Viacom networks — VH1, MTV, MTV Hits and Palladia — at later dates to be announced soon. 

Previous Crossroads pairings include Dierks Bentley and One Republic, Lady Antebellum with Stevie Nicks, Keith Urban and John Mayer, Luke Bryan and The Doobie Brothers and Sugarland with Bon Jovi.

Kacey, who is up for several ACM Awards, is currently making her way up the country charts with her latest single, “Keep It To Yourself.”

NOTE: Kacey tweeted the news, as well.

“SAVE THE DATE, Y’ALL! @katyperry & I are going to be on #CMTcrossroads June 13 sangin each other’s songs on @CMT!” pic.twitter.com/kwjuKJrf0N

Kacey Musgraves is going into this month’s ACM Awards with a truckload of nominations, including Female Vocalist, Album of the Year (Same Trailer Different Park), Video of the Year (”Blowin’ Smoke”) and Song of the Year (co-writing “Mama’s Broken Heart”). She’s already picked up the CMA New Artist of the Year award, as well as a pair of Grammys.

Kacey has been at the forefront of the handful of country female artists, with her forthright lyrics and traditional/neo-traditional songs and melodies. She’s definitely a quadruple threat – smart, sassy, beautiful and very talented — which finds her following in the footsteps of her music idols.

“I’m so excited to be part of the women in country music movement. I mean, I look at people like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton – songwriters who were sassy and beautiful and also intelligent and humorous. They inspired me,” says Kacey.  “I just think it’s a great time for women in country music, but it’s also a good time for music in general. And I’m just really proud to be existing in this time period and being a part of it all.”

Kacey, who is currently on tour with Lady Antebellum, is making her way up the country charts with her latest single “Keep It To Yourself.”

AUDIO: Kacey Musgraves talks about being a woman in Country Music.

Kacey Musgraves (women in Country) OC: …of it all. :37
“I’m so excited to be part of the women in country music movement. I mean, I look at people like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton – songwriters who were sassy and beautiful and also intelligent and humorous. They inspired me, and if I can be at all any part of that in carrying that on, that is just icing on the cake for me and I feel like I’ve done my job. You know, I just think it’s a great time for women in country music, but it’s also a good time for music in general. And I’m just really proud to be existing in this time period and being a part of it all.”

Keith Urban is excited to return to the stage with his Raise ‘Em Up Tour this summer. The trek, which will feature Jerrod Niemann and special guest, Brett Eldredge, will feature an all-new stage production and some music that wasn’t performed during his previous Light the Fuse Tour.

“Whatever my vision may be, it’ll keep moving and changing as we actually start to put the tour together, but I want to be able to create a different experience for everybody than what we’ve done in the past,” says Keith. “There’s a lot of anthemic quality to the record and a lot of energy to the record. So, to expand upon songs from that album in the set, but also to bring in some sort of album track rarities from Be Here, potentially Golden Road, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing, some of those records, because we get fans coming to multiple shows. I like the fact that so many of ‘em, they’re really, really knowledgeable of my whole catalog, and this would be a good opportunity to pull out some songs we’ve never even done in concert before.”

The Raise ‘Em Up Tour kicks off July 12th north of the border at the Calgary Stampede, before opening in the U.S. July 17th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The tour is currently scheduled to wrap September 13th at the Washington State Fair.

On Sunday, Keith will be performing at the ACM Awards, where he’s up for six awards including Male Vocalist of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year for both “We Were Us” (with Miranda Lambert) and “The Highway Don’t Care” (with Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift).

AUDIO: Keith Urban talks about what could be in store for fans attending his Raise ‘Em Up Tour later this year.

Keith Urban (Raise ‘Em Up Tour) OC: …concert before. 1:07
“Whatever my vision may be, it’ll keep moving and changing as we actually start to put the tour together, but I want to be able to create a different experience for everybody than what we’ve done in the past. Part of it is the set list, but it’s obviously its production as well. I do like that we’ll be back in the amphitheaters again, which we only did last year for the first time, but I had such a good time out there that I was anxious to get back and do it again. With the songs off of Fuse, they’re so built for that environment, you know, people out on the lawn and that sort of thing. There’s a lot of anthemic quality to the record and a lot of energy to the record. So, to expand upon songs from that album in the set, but also to bring in some sort of album track rarities from Be Here, potentially Golden Road, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing, some of those records, because we get fans coming to multiple shows. I like the fact that so many of ‘em, they’re really, really knowledgeable of my whole catalog, and this would be a good opportunity to pull out some songs we’ve never even done in concert before.”

Nashville, TN – EMI Nashville singer/songwriter duo Brothers Osborne have just released their new single, “Rum,” to country radio. The Brothers, TJ and John, wrote “Rum” with fellow Nashville songwriter Barry Dean.

To learn more about Brothers Osborne and to hear some of the music that will make up their debut album, check out the video below.

“Rum,” the kick back, feel-good song from the Maryland natives, is a subtle reminder to take a moment, slow down, celebrate being with those you enjoy surrounding yourself with and create your own paradise; even if you are landlocked.

“Starin’ at the prettiest part of this powder keg world/Sittin’ with the finest example of a beautiful girl/If we hadn’t hit the brakes, we’d have no idea/Paradise was hidin’ right here”

In a recent issue Country Weekly listed Brothers Osborne as one of their “ONES TO WATCH IN 2014” touting “If you like your country with a tablespoon of bluesy grit and a dash of roots rock, check out Brothers Osborne.” The country music staple goes on to say “These boys are far from subscribing to country-music trends – instead, they’re setting them.”

In late 2013 Paste Magazine listed Brothers Osborne on Paste’s “Best Of What’s Next” annual list touting “Like a more aggressive post-Americana guitarslinger/singer duo, a got-to-be-real country act, the pair offers the kind of kinetic chemistry that made Chris and Rich Robinson such a flint strikes rock spark in the Black Crowes.”

Perfect timing for “Rum” to hit the airwaves since Fans can catch Brothers Osborne at this year’s Rock The Ocean Tortuga Music Festival, April 12-13 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Over 25,000 music fans attended last year’s inaugural event, set in the sun, sand and surf of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, raising over $70k for the Guy Harvey Foundation and other marine conservation organizations.

Brothers Osborne are two of five siblings from Deale, Maryland; a water town on the Chesapeake Bay.  After moving to Nashville, Brothers Osborne began writing and playing every open-mic in town that they could. In 2012 the brothers signed to EMI Nashville (part of the Universal Music Group Nashville). Brothers Osborne mark the first duo signed to the EMI Nashville imprint.

Brothers Osborne have opened up shows for Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson and Thompson Square.

Brothers Osborne official Website
Brothers Osborne Facebook
Follow @brothersosborne on Twitter  #Rum

Brothers Osborne (writing without a purpose) OC: …the rest later. :45
“It all just kind of happens, you know. I mean it’s really random. It comes and goes. A lot of it starts off with music and that kind of starts to spark up. We’re really feeling it, if it really gets us inspired musically, typically it’s kind of hand-in-hand with the lyric starts to come out then. Sometimes we go in to writes with lyrical ideas, and it just all changes. Sometimes, it’s never really one way, and that’s kind of a good thing. When you’re trying to do it a certain way, it seems to maybe work for a little while, but eventually, it just gets stuck and it just doesn’t work anymore….We don’t even like to go in to writes with any rules at all, not even, ‘this has to be for us.’ So, we like to go in and write a song and figure out the rest later.”

Luke Bryan is spending this week gearing up to co-host the ACM Awards for a second time, and on his calendar is a little planning time with fellow host Blake Shelton and performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (on Thursday, April 3rd). Luke is looking forward to not only hosting the show again, but spending time with his old friend. “I’m so excited about getting to spend some time with Blake and start planning up what we’ll do and how we’ll host it and stuff like that,” he says. “It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be a fun night.”

Last year was such an emotional ride for the Georgia-born performer, hosting the awards and picking up the night’s top honor, Entertainer of the Year, for the first time. “Winning Entertainer of the Year truly changed my life in a lot of ways and just put me in a whole other place professionally and mentally,” says Luke. “It was just an amazing thing to happen, and really really kind of kicked off the top of last year with an amazing start.”

Luke, who is flying up the country charts with his single “Play It Again,” is also nominated for Male Vocalist and Album of the Year (Crash My Party).

The 49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 6th at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

Luke Bryan (ACM 2014) 2 OC: …amazing start. :48
“You know, I can’t believe I’m even hosting the ACMs again, that they would have me back. But I’m so excited about getting to spend some time with Blake and start planning up what we’ll do and how we’ll host it and stuff like that. It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be a fun night, and to go into that show hosting it, which is a huge honor, to be the reigning Entertainer of the Year is pretty amazing. Last year, you know winning Entertainer of the Year, truly changed my life in a lot of ways and just put me in a whole other place professionally and mentally. It was just an amazing thing to happen, and really really kind of kicked off the top of last year with an amazing start.”

Vote #TeamLuke for Entertainer Of The Year at the 2014 ACM Awards at http://www.voteacm.com and be sure to watch the ACM Awards on Sunday, April 6 at 8/7c.

Another video has been released surrounding the release of Eric Church‘s The Outsiders album. This is for the track “A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young.” Eric appears in the clip with just his electric guitar, and it’s interspersed with more of the story which began with “Give Me Back My Hometown.”

Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton return to host the 49th ACM Awards Sunday, April 6th 8pm ET on CBS! Check out random thoughts from “Bluke” below.