George Strait still has a few months to go on the final leg of his Cowboy Rides Away Tour, and while he’s enjoying every single minute of traveling the country playing for fans, he does see a tropical vacation in his future when it’s all said and done.

“I’m going somewhere. I don’t know where, but I’m going somewhere to celebrate,” says Strait. “I haven’t been to Hawaii in years, so I would love to see it again and try to find my old house over there and all that stuff. And I want to go back to scope the [Army] barracks, I think, too, and see all the old spots [where] I used to hang out. So, I’m gonna do a lot of things.”

George, who’s on the country charts with “I Got a Car,” will take his show, along with Vince Gill, to Louisville on Friday (March 7th) and Chicago on Saturday (March 8th). The trek is scheduled to wrap June 7th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas with special guests Jason Aldean, Asleep At The Wheel, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack.

George Strait (vacation after tour) OC: …lot of things. :24
“I’m going somewhere. I don’t know where, but I’m going somewhere to celebrate. I haven’t been to Hawaii in years, so I would love to see it again and try to find my old house over there and all that stuff. And I want to go back to scope the [Army] barracks, I think, too, and see all the old spots [where] I used to hang out. So, I’m gonna do a lot of things.”

Eric Church continues to mystify and delight his fans and critics with the release of a new video for “A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young,” a song from his new album, The Outsiders. While “Give Me Back My Hometown” is his current single, the videos he keeps releasing first to his diehard Church Choir members feature different songs, as well as the same recurring characters and a much bigger storyline. So, pay attention to each video to see what you can discover (such as the karaoke Elvis in the previous video clip singing “Drink in My Hand”).

Little Big Town, the reigning ACM Vocal Group of the Year, has begun work on their next album, the follow-up to the platinum Tornado. However, they’re still climbing the country charts with their latest single, “Sober.”  

For the band’s Kimberly Schlapman, the song is pretty special. “Whether it’s a brand new love or whether it’s a 60 year old love, you don’t want to ever live without it,” she says. “You can’t let it go.” Her bandmate Jimi Westbrook describes it as “hazy sunshine,” and explains that while listening to the song, he thinks of “the boardwalk…those places that have the piers that go out, and they’ve got the Ferris Wheels and people holding hands.”

The video for “Sober,” which was shot throughout their tour last year, includes behind-the-scenes footage of the group on the road.
 

LBT (Sober) OC: (Kimberly) …that song’s special. :51
JIMI: “Sober—like if I was going to describe it, it’s like hazy sunshine.” KIMBERLY: “Oh yeah, that’s good.” JIMI: “[laughs] I don’t know what about it is, but I think of the boardwalk, well, you think about those places that have the piers that go out, and they’ve got the ferris wheels and people holding hands. [laughs] Those are the images that come in my head.” KIMBERLY: “The other night during that song, there was an older couple that caught my eye. I mean, they’d probably been married for 50, 55, 60 years, and he had his arm around her, and by the end of the song, he was singing the lyrics of the song. To me, that’s what that song is. Whether it’s a brand new love or whether it’s a 60 year old love, you don’t want to ever live without it. You can’t let it go, and I think that song’s special.”

Scotty McCreery’s “See You Tonight” has climbed to No. 8 on the country singles charts, and the song was something that seemed to just come together when he was writing it with pals Ashley Gorley (“All-American Girl,” “Then,” “It Won’t Be Like This for Long”) and Zach Crowell (“Cop Car”).

“It was one of those things, it just came out. It wasn’t something we sat there and had to think about for hours and hours about getting this line right or that line right,” says Scotty. “It just kind of flowed, and that’s when you know you’re writing a really cool one when you don’t have to think about it. It’s just coming straight from the heart. So, it was a good one.”

He’ll be performing “See You Tonight,” in addition to other songs from his latest album of the same name when he stops in West Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday (March 8th) and Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday (March 9th).

Scotty McCreery (any stories behind SYT) OC: …a good one. :25
“Everybody’s had that guy or that girl that they want to go see tonight. We got to writing it, though – It was Zach that had a loop going on, and we just kind of started going with it, Zach Crowell. It was one of those things, it just came out. It wasn’t something we sat there and had to think about for hours and hours about getting this line right or that line right. It just kind of flowed, and that’s when you know you’re writing a really cool one when you don’t have to think about it. It’s just coming straight from the heart. So, it was a good one.”

Nashville, TN – March 5, 2014 – With his seventh studio album RISER, award-winning singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley has earned the No. 1 position on the Billboard Country Albums chart this week, selling more than 63,000 copies. RISER also marks his fifth career debut in the top spot on the country charts.
 
While USA Today awarded thealbum four out of four stars, critics across the country also chimed in to praise RISER for its depth and artistry with the Washington Post commending the singer/songwriter for “excelling outside the bro-zone.”
 
“On his latest, Riser, Dierks Bentley again elevates himself above the rest of the country pack.” – People
 
“The chiming guitars and slow-boiling melodies add a simmering passion to Bentley’s distinctive vocal and writing style…the singer/songwriter continues to bring a much needed heft to country music.”  – Associated Press
 
“Dierks Bentley is here to save country music.”  – Washington Times
 
“…revitalizes country music on his greatest album yet.”  – Country Weekly
 
“Dierks Bentley has built impressive success– 10 number one songs– on bedrock concepts that feel more quaint all the time: musicianship, emotional integrity, and hard work.  Those elements again make themselves known on his stirring seventh album ‘Riser.’”   – Boston Globe
 
“Bentley bares his soul in meditations on love and loss, death and rebirth.”  – USA Today
 
This whole album is not Nashville conveyor belt country, and nor is it just chasing hit singles. It is a bunch of the most personal and emotion-filled songs of Dierks’ career to date.”    – Maverick
 
Up next, Bentley will head across the Atlantic for shows at Dublin and London’s O2 arenas (3/14 and 3/15) before launching his 2014 RISER TOUR on May 9th in Charlotte, NC.  Fans can catch Bentley take the stage for CMT Crossroads: OneRepublic and Dierks Bentley airing March 21st at 9:00p CT on CMT.  For more information and for a full list of tour dates, visit www.dierks.com. 

Dierks Bentley (marking new ground on Riser) OC: …inside myself. :19
“Obviously, you’re trying to find a new place to go to as a songwriter and as a record-maker. I don’t want to [plow] the same ground. So, you’re looking — is it pushing the boundaries sonically? What is it that’s gonna make it different. For me, it wasn’t pushing outside; it was more searching inside and going deeper inside myself.” 

Luke Bryan is a week away from releasing his new Spring Break 6…Like We Ain’t Ever EP. The album contains six original songs, all co-written by Luke, and it was turned around in just a couple of weeks.

“It’s a quick turnaround, and it would probably be good if we give ourselves a little more time,” says Luke. “But it’s kinda fun being up against the wall, having to knock ‘em out real quick and not overthinking it, and putting music out that you like and you don’t really overthink it or overanalyze it.”

Luke will once again play two free concerts at Spinnaker’s Beach Club in Panama City, Florida on March 11th and 12th for the sixth consecutive year. Last year’s shows saw a 2-day crowd total of 120,000 fans.

Luke’s previous five Spring Break releases have sold over 750k copies.  Last year’s album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country sales chart and earning him his first No. 1 album on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, selling 149,515 units its first week.

Luke Bryan (quick turnaround) OC: …overanalyze it. :16
“It’s a quick turnaround, and it would probably be good if we give ourselves a little more time. But it’s kinda fun being up against the wall, having to knock ‘em out real quick and not overthinking it, and putting music out that you like and you don’t really overthink it or overanalyze it.”

David Nail’s new album, I’m a Fire, is available this week, and the Missouri native says his new project has been a labor of love and renewal, along with perfect timing.

“I think right now I’m just in a very pleasant place. I think for whatever reason in the past, I’ve always just kind of been either really down or really up and can never really find any consistency. I’m lucky that I have a lovely wife who is an amazing person who was patient with me through the journey of kind of trying to figure things out, and the record, I think, is a result of that. Everything was just perfect timing,” says David. “So everything just kind of meshed really well, and I think that being in this new place kind of allowed me to entertain recording songs and being drawn to songs that otherwise in the past I would have never entertained.”

David has started hitting the airwaves with his latest single, “Kiss You Tonight,” which is the follow-up to his No. 1 platinum-selling smash, “Whatever She’s Got.”

Make sure to catch David on NBC’s The Today Show and CBS’ Late Show With David Letterman on Wednesday (March 5th).

David Nail (changes in himself influenced record) OC: …entertained. :59
“I think right now I’m just in a very pleasant place. I think for whatever reason in the past, I’ve always just kind of been either really down or really up and can never really find any consistency. I’m lucky that I have a lovely wife who is an amazing person who was patient with me through the journey of kind of trying to figure things out, and the record, I think, is a result of that. Everything was just perfect timing. We had worked really hard last year and a few of my guys had their first child. And so I just felt like it was good for everybody to kind of take some time off and kind of learn how to be a husband again and it kind of coincided with, ‘Hey! You need to go make a record.’ So everything just kind of meshed really well, and I think that being in this new place kind of allowed me to entertain recording songs and being drawn to songs that otherwise in the past I would have never entertained.”

American Idol ambushed Keith Urban and asked him to tell five facts about himself in 20 seconds! How did Keith do? Check it out below.

Luke Bryan takes to the track for the Daytona 500 in the latest episode of LBTV. He performs the pre-race concert, then enjoys the race in what turned out to be a pretty rainy day after it got started.