• LUKE BRYAN, LITTLE BIG TOWN AND KEITH URBAN AMONG FIRST PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR THIS YEAR’S CMA AWARDS. (PRESS RELEASE)

    NASHVILLE – “Country Music’s Biggest Night™” is bringing together the biggest names in Country Music with today’s announcement of performers for “The 47th Annual CMA Awards.”
    Three-time nominee this year Jason Aldean, three-time nominee this year Luke Bryan, reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert, reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town, former CMA Entertainer of the Year Tim McGraw, reigning CMA Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year Blake Shelton, two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Taylor Swift, and former CMA Entertainer of the Year Keith Urbanare all scheduled to perform.

    Hosted for the sixth consecutive year by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, “The 47th Annual CMA Awards” will air live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 6 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

    Nominated this year for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year, and Musical Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with Aldean and Church, Bryan has seven career CMA Awards nominations. He was first nominated in 2010 for New Artist of the Year and has been a presence at the CMA Awards every year since. This marks his first nomination for the night’s highest honor, CMA Entertainer of the Year.

    Reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town is nominated in that category again, as well as for Album of the Year for Tornado, and Music Video of the Year for the album’s title track. In addition to their win last year for Vocal Group of the Year, their song “Pontoon” was named Single of the Year.

    Male Vocalist of the Year nominee Urban is also nominated for Single, Musical Event, and Music Video of the Year for “Highway Don’t Care” with McGraw and Swift. Urban has been named Male Vocalist of the Year three times (2004-2006) and is a six-time CMA Award winner with 29 career CMA Awards nominations.

    Winners of “The 47th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Thursday. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Monday, Oct. 28 (5:00 PM/CT).

    A limited number of tickets for “The 47th Annual CMA Awards” are still available. Follow CMA on Facebook (Facebook.com/CMA) and Twitter (@CountryMusic) to be the first to learn when additional tickets may be released. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets; by calling (800) 745-3000; or at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office, located at 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Nashville). Ticket prices for the CMA Awards start at $110 for Upper Level seating. Ticket prices include tax, but exclude applicable service fees. The CMA Awards have sold out in advance the past four years.

  • KEITH URBAN FUSES STAGES TOGETHER ON TOUR. (AUDIO)

    On his Light the Fuse Tour 2013, Keith Urban has set stages on fire. Over the summer, he played to thousands at amphitheaters, and the fans who were only able to purchase tickets for lawn seats, probably one had some of the best seats in the house. Nearly every show, Keith goes out into the audience furthest from the stage, and the shed dates were no exception.

    “[We] actually built a fairly good-sized stage out right by the lawn when we do the amphitheater shows, if the venue can make it work,” says Keith. “Midway through the show, I go out there with my drummer and bass player and we do a few songs, stone-cold three-piece. There’s no instruments supporting us from the stage or anything else. It’s just three guys on this tiny little stage, and we do a bunch of songs as a raw three-piece band, and it’s so fun to play like that…We plug in, and everything that you’re hearing is coming from that little stage.”

    Keith returns to the stage on Friday (October 18th) in Omaha, Nebraska.

    Audio / Keith Urban (stage on Fuse tour)

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    AUDIO: Keith Urban talks about the secondary stage on his Light the Fuse Tour.

    Keith Urban (stage on Fuse tour) OC: …little stage. :42
    “I’ve always gone out in the audience and done a song out there, and we do it on this tour, but we’ve gone one step further. [We] actually built a fairly good-sized stage out right by the lawn when we do the amphitheater shows, if the venue can make it work. Mostly, we’ve been able to build this other stage, and midway through the show, I go out there with my drummer and bass player and we do a few songs, stone-cold three-piece. There’s no instruments supporting us from the stage or anything else. It’s just three guys on this tiny little stage and we do a bunch of songs as a raw three-piece band, and it’s so fun to play like that. I have a separate amp, there’s a tiny little amp out there, a tiny little bass amp. We plug in, and everything that you’re hearing is coming from that little stage.”

  • TICKETS FOR GEORGE STRAIT’S FINAL LEG OF HIS TOUR GO ON SALE THIS WEEK. (PRESS RELEASE)

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 4, 2013) – Tickets for the last leg of George Strait’s two-year The Cowboy Rides Away Tour continue to sell out fast, as the second round of concert dates went on sale today, October 4th. Tour stops in Atlanta, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colo.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix, Ariz. and San Diego, Calif. sold out immediately this morning. The only remaining date from today’s sale with tickets still available is Strait’s February 14 stop in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
    Fans clamoring to see the “King of Country” during his final tour will have the chance to buy tickets for the following dates beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the venue’s respective local time zone on Friday, October 11th:
    January 18, 2014 Sprint Center│Kansas City, Mo.
    *With special guest Eric Church
    February 1, 2014 MGM Grand│Las Vegas, Nev.

    *With special guest Miranda Lambert

    February 28, 2014 Wells Fargo Center│Philadelphia, Penn.
    *With special guest Martina McBride
    March 1, 2014 Prudential Center│Newark, N.J.
    *With special guest Martina McBride
    March 7, 2014 KFC Yum! Center│Louisville, Ken.
    March 8, 2014 AllState Arena│Chicago, Ill.
    April 11, 2014 Moda Center│Portland, Ore.
    *With special guest Chris Young
    April 12, 2014 Tacoma Dome│Tacoma, Wash.
    *With special guest Chris Young
    April 19, 2014 BOK Arena│Tulsa, Okla.
    *With special guest Ronnie Dunn
    As previously announced, Strait will continue to record new music for longtime label home MCA Records and will perform select dates across the country after The Cowboy Rides Away Tour has wrapped. For more information, please visit www.georgestrait.com.
  • LUKE BRYAN TAKES FANS BEHIND-THE-SCENES ON HIS DIRT ROAD DIARIES TOUR. (VIDEO)

    Catch Luke Bryan and his crew as the Dirt Road Diaries Tour hits Ohio and Pennsylvania. Check it out in the latest episode of LBTV.

    Video / LBTV Thursdays! Episode 36!

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  • BILLY CURRINGTON OFFERS UP A GREAT PICKUP LINE. (AUDIO)

    Guys, if you’re looking for a simple, yet effective, pickup line, you can’t beat the title of Billy Currington’s latest hit, “Hey Girl.” The song, which is nearing the top of the country charts, is just a natural way to begin a conversation. Just ask the singer himself. “It reminded me of the times that when my friends and I growing up on the beach would see a girl. You know, we were 14 and 15,” says Billy. “It seems like it was always the easiest and best pickup line. [laughs]. It was just naturally what we would always say – ‘Hey girl,’ and it would start a conversation.”

    “Hey Girl” is from Billy’s new album, We Are Tonight.

    Audio / Billy Currington (Hey Girl) 2

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    AUDIO: Billy Currington talks about his latest single, “Hey Girl.”

    Billy Currington (Hey Girl) 2 OC: …definitely real. :20
    “‘Hey Girl’ – instantly loved it, and it reminded me of the times that when my friends and I growing up on the beach would see a girl. You know, we were 14 and 15. It seems like it was always the easiest and best pickup line. [laughs]. It was just naturally what we would always say – ‘Hey girl,’ and it would start a conversation. So, it’s definitely real.”

  • KACEY MUSGRAVES HAS A ‘POETIC’ GIFT. (AUDIO)

    Kacey Musgraves is starting to hit the airwaves with her new single, “Follow Your Arrow,” which has already touched a lot of her fans – and beyond — with its “be who you are” and “live your life” theme. What you may not realize is the song actually began as a poem for a friend. “It started off as a poem, honestly, for this friend who was going off to Paris for four months studying and she was leaving everything she knew behind, going to a foreign country [and] didn’t know the language,” explains Kacey. “I gave her this little arrow necklace and I wrote a little poem and it had ‘follow your arrow’ in it, ‘kiss lots of boys,’ and it kind of started there, but it turned into a bigger idea.”

    “Follow Your Arrow” is from Kacey’s debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park, which has been nominated for the CMA Album of the Year Award.

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves (Follow Your Arrow origins)

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    AUDIO: Kacey Musgraves explains where the idea for her new single, “Follow Your Arrow,” originated.

    Kacey Musgraves (Follow Your Arrow origins) OC: …bigger idea. :35
    “‘Follow Your Arrow’ means so much to me. I could literally get emotional talking about it because it’s so near and dear to my heart. I wrote it with two friends of mine – Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. It started off as a poem, honestly, for this friend who was going off to Paris for four months studying and she was leaving everything she knew behind, going to a foreign country [and] didn’t know the language. I gave her this little arrow necklace and I wrote a little poem and it had ‘follow your arrow’ in it, ‘kiss lots of boys,’ and it kind of started there, but it turned into a bigger idea.”

  • KEITH URBAN JOINS HIS FELLOW ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ JUDGES ON THE ‘ELLEN DeGENERES SHOW.’ (VIDEO)

    Keith Urban and the other American Idol judges — Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr., as well as host Ryan Seacrest — were on the Ellen Degeneres Show Thursday (October 3rd) to talk about the new season and how they’re enjoying the show.

  • JENNIFER NETTLES PREMIERES ‘THAT GIRL’ VIDEO TODAY. (PRESS RELEASE AND AUDIO)

    Nashville, TN (October 3, 2013) – Mercury Records recording artist Jennifer Nettles will exclusively premiere the video for her new single “That Girl” at LiveNation.com today at 3pm ET/12pm PT for 24 hours. Nettles plays the lead role in the video which was shot in New York City and directed by Philip Andelman (Beyonce, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift). The video can be viewed at http://bit.ly/ThatGirlJNettles.
     
    Nettles who wrote “That Girl” with fellow Georgian Butch Walker didn’t plan to write the song from the perspective of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” The song about a woman who is bamboozled into getting involved with another woman’s man evolved through the writing process and in the end could be called The Ballad of Jolene.
     
    “That Girl” is the title track of Nettles’ highly anticipated debut solo album to be released in early 2014. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and recorded at the famous Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California.

    Audio / Jennifer Nettles (That Girl) 2

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    AUDIO: Jennifer Nettles explains why her new single, “That Girl,” kind of turned into an answer song to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”

    Jennifer Nettles (That Girl) 2 OC: …Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene.’ :42
    “Initially, it wasn’t about ‘Jolene.’ It was just about a character. And as the song evolved, I said ‘This is Jolene. This is from her perspective. Wouldn’t that be interesting to hear that, because all we hear is Dolly’s perspective of saying ‘Please don’t take my man,’ which is why then once we realized that, we put that line in there ‘I’m not the scarlet devil/I don’t want to take your man.’ I was so excited to have that connection in that way, and that it happened so organically and wasn’t intentional. That it was a story that is super classic, and yet telling it was its own story and an answer to a super legendary song, which is of course Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene.’”

  • LADY ANTEBELLUM ARE FOLLOWING THEIR ‘COMPASS’ IN THE LATEST WEBISODE WEDNESDAY. (VIDEO)

    Lady Antebellum‘s new single, “Compass,” is hitting the airwaves, and the latest episode of Webisode Wednesday shows just why the trio wanted it for their latest release.

    Video / Webisode Wednesday 265 - Lady Antebellum

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  • LUKE BRYAN CRASHES THE TOP OF THE COUNTRY ALBUM CHART…AGAIN!

    Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party, which was certified platinum this week, moved back up to the top of the country album chart. The collection sold enough to land at No. 1 on the country chart and at No. 6 overall.

    Justin Moore’s Off the Beaten Path falls to No. 2, followed by the debut of Alan Jackson’s The Bluegrass Album at No. 3. Keith Urban’s Fuse and Chris Young’s A.M. round out the Top 5.