Reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town has been tapped to present a panel about perseverance in the country music industry at next year’s CRS (Country Radio Seminar), which will be hosted by longtime radio personality Bob Kingsley. The session will take place in Nashville during the annual convention, which runs February 19th – 21st. 

The members of Little Big Town remained (and still remain) steadfast in their goals of achieving musical success despite the trials, tribulations, personal tragedies and triumphs they experienced over the past 14 years. During the panel, they will share stories about their perseverance as a band, which eventually landed them a #1 album, 2 #1 singles, a Grammy Award, ACM/CMA Vocal Group of the Year and various awards and accolades.

Throughout their career, the group, made up of members Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet, have stuck together through several challenging label changes. They received their first record deal with Mercury Nashville Records before moving to Sony’s Monument Records, where they released their debut album. From there, the band went from the small independent label, Equity Music Group, to their current label, Capitol Records, which was later taken over by major label, Universal Music Group.

“It’s an honor to be asked to be a part of CRS this year and especially the chance to share some of our story as a band through the last 14 years,” said Little Big Town. “It’s definitely been about perseverance for us.”

“Throughout every challenge the band has had, they’ve continued to establish and develop so many relationships and give back in so many ways,” said Bob Kingsley.  “Their ability to adapt to situations and stay ahead is a hard feat, and one that we can all learn from.”

Little Big Town are currently scaling the country charts with their latest single, “Sober.” They’re also nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Your Side of the Bed.”

LBT (their story of perseverance) OC: (Kimberly) …perseverance. :43
KAREN: “We were just actually pursuing the wonderful, ‘cause we knew it was out there, but we were just really believing in ourselves and there weren’t too many people around us that were believing in us.[laughs]” PHILLIP: “And there wasn’t a lot to complain about. I mean, we were working part time jobs at that time, so when we got a chance to go out and sing, we were like, ‘This is great! I love this!” KIMBERLY: “This a dream come true.” PHILLIP: “This is way better than that gig I got back at home.” KAREN: “And we never thought about quitting. We were just always moving forward and kept showing up to gigs, ‘cause it really is a story about chasing a dream and…” JIMI: “And friendship.” KAREN: “And friendship.” JIMI: “And just not giving up.” KIMBERLY: “Perseverance.”

Rather than winding down for the holidays, platinum-selling Scotty McCreery is in the midst a whirlwind schedule in December as he travels across the nation to help country radio with holiday events, perform his own headlining shows and appear on a country music awards show.

On Tuesday, he will present an award at the American Country Awards, where he is nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. The show, which will be held in Las Vegas, airs live on Fox at 8 p.m. ET.

In addition to preparing for finals, the North Carolina State sophomore will perform on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Izod Center in the New York City area as part of a once-in-a-lifetime skating spectacular, P&G & Wal-Mart Tribute to American Legends of the Ice” presented by Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card. It will air on NBC on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 2:30 p.m. ET, just two days before the start of the 2014 Winter Games.

He traveled throughout North Carolina last week,performing for radio charity events, including a WRNS holiday food drive in Kinston, the WKML St. Jude benefit in Lumberton and the WQDR Christmas Wish show for his home station in Raleigh. He helped raised thousands of dollars while playing for fans across the state.

McCreery continues with a wide variety of holiday appearances this month, including more country radio holiday events in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and York, Pa.

“Holiday events are a perfect fit for me,” McCreery says.  “I can use holiday tunes from my Christmas album to help lift spirits and encourage others to give back. These events remind why I sing: to give back and do good. It’s an awesome way to end the year.”

Fans can enjoy McCreery’s popular holiday collection,Christmas With Scotty, which was certified gold in just five weeks after being released last year.

McCreery’s new album, See You Tonight, recently debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, his second consecutive studio album to do so.See You Tonight remains in the country albums chart’s Top 10, and the title track’s video has returned to No. 1 on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.Details on McCreery’s appearances, including his upcoming See You Tonight Tour, can be found at ScottyMcCreery.com.

AUDIO: Scotty McCreery reveals his favorite Christmas song, which was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957.

Scotty McCreery (favorite Christmas song) OC: …my favorite. :18
“My favorite Christmas song comes from my favorite Christmas album, and that’s Elvis’ Christmas album. I was an Elvis fanatic growing up. It was ‘Blue Christmas.’ When I was making my album [Christmas With Scotty McCreery], I knew I was going to put at least one Elvis song on there, so it came down to just deciding that nobody was going to sing ‘Blue Christmas’ like Elvis Presley, so we did ‘Santa Claus is Back in Town.’ But ‘Blue Christmas’ is definitely my favorite.” 

Nashville, TN — MCA Nashville recording artist Gary Allan has released his brand new haunting video for his current single, “It Ain’t The Whiskey,” to all video partners. “It Ain’t The Whiskey” is Allan’s third single off his acclaimed album Set You Free which at release earlier this year debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and Billboard Top 200 Pop Chart. 

The haunting video was directed by TK McKamy and was shot in downtown Nashville. Check out the full video below, as well as behind-the-scenes access to the video shoot, as well. 

This week, Gary will appear on an episode of Guitar Center Sessions featuring an extensive performance and intimate interview with country music’s maverick. Allan’s episode of Guitar Center Sessions airs Friday, December 13th at 9pm ET on DIRECTV’s Audience Network (channel 239). For more information on Guitar Center Sessions please visit http://sessions.guitarcenter.com/.

The video for Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow” premieres on CMT, iHeartRadio and kacemusgraves.com on Monday (December 9th). The Grammy-nominated artist shot the clip, which also features her band, in Joshua Tree, California.

“Follow Your Arrow” is from Kacey’s Same Trailer, Different Park album, which finds itself on a lot of “Best Album” lists of 2013, including Spin, Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine and Acoustic Guitar magazine.

KACEY MUSGRAVES 2013 TOP 10 LISTS

#1 – Top 10 Albums of 2013 – Washington Post
The dread of the millenials can’t be captured in a selfie, so Nashville’s newest star is picking up the slack and singing about what happens when a generation of idealists inherits a broken country. With optimism in her melodies and calm in her delivery, she’s dropped one of country music’s strongest debuts in forever.

#4 – 10 Best albums of 2013 – Entertainment Weekly
“But while she may not be a country outlaw, she’s a girl next door you’d be wise not to underestimate.”

#28 – “50 BEST ALBUMS OF 2013” – Rolling Stone
This charmingly matter-of-fact 25-year-old Texan makes commercial country sound artistically fertile again. Singing about a friend with benefits (“It Is What It Is”) or weed smokin’ and same-sex kissing (“Follow Your Arrow”), she’s ballsy, traditional and pop. Call her the millennials’ Loretta Lynn.

#20 – The 50 Best Albums of 2013 – Paste
When it comes to humor, straightforwardness and never, ever giving a shit, Kacey Musgraves is taking all the right cues. Lyrics about same-sex kissing and double standards may still be scarce on commercial country airwaves, but that hasn’t stopped Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow” from rising as a fan favorite. A top-seller despite its lack of radio play, the song has become popular across genre lines by promoting open-mindedness in a way country music hasn’t necessarily seen before. The writing on Same Trailer Different Park builds on the simplicity and straightforwardness of country classics while mixing in distinctly modern romantic sentiments, freshening the sound for a new generation of music-lovers.—Dacey Orr

#7 – 50 Best Songs of 2013 – Paste
If country radio balked at the notion of “kiss lots of girls—if that’s something you’re into” and “Roll up a joint—just follow your arrow wherever it points,” Musgraves’ bit o’ sunshine declared country fans are willing to embrace the modern world as it really is. In spite of its exuberance, the slight songwriter nails hypocrisy from both sides (“if you can’t lose the weight, you’re just fat/ but if you lose too much, you’re on crack” and “if you don’t go to church, you’ll go to hell/if you’re the first one on the front row, you’re a self-righteous son of…”) and embraces the notion to live life as you wish, be kind and enjoy the ride. Easily country’s true single of the year.

#17 – 50 Best Albums of 2013 – SPIN
Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park (Mercury Nashville)
Hopefully, 10 years hence, this doesn’t feel revolutionary — may the casually devastating dead-ender real talk of “Merry Go ‘Round” and cheerful smooch-whoever-you-want humanism of “Follow Your Arrow” scan as mere common sense to our children, and theirs. But in 2013, surrounded by a cacophony of sleeveless, guileless bros pimping small-town, truck-bed-beauty-queen false utopias, both tunes are witty, cutting gunshots fired from the front rows at the CMAs. When you tire of those, “Blowing Smoke” is a catty riot and “Back on the Map” a pristine pity party. She’s the Venom to Taylor Swift’s Spider-Man, and a poison we can’t live without.

#7 – Top 50 Albums of 2013 – American Songwriter
For an album whose title is a riff on the phrase “same shit, different day”—the ultimate expression of indifference when you’re stuck in a rut—Same Trailer, Different Park completely avoids the defensive, down-home partying posture and manufactured nostalgia of so much contemporary country music. In 2013, the genre was home to no other singer as casually, fetchingly frank and no other songwriter as resistant to cliché as Kacey Musgraves. At any given moment, you could find two or three country hunks singing about the unchaperoned, beer-fueled, footloose-and-fancy-free feeling that tends to elude anyone over the age of 18, and sounding rather strained doing it. Meanwhile, this Texas native, who only turned 25 this summer, applied tuneful finesse and timely narrative detail to fleshing out what it’s like to live with a hemmed-in state-of-mind versus a liberated one, and made an army of smart, young listeners feel like she was speaking their language in the process.

#3 – Best albums of 2013 – Taste Of Country
Kacey Musgraves proves herself to be one of Nashville’s top songwriters on her debut project ‘Same Trailer, Different Park,’ an album that truly stretches the genre. While just short of groundbreaking — the Pistol Annies may have paved the way, or at least cut the trail for her — Musgraves’ ideas are bold and refreshing without being so edgy that she cuts those trying to get close. ‘Silver Linings,’ ‘Dandelion’ and ‘Follow Your Arrow’ are three one wants to hear again and again, but the entire album is packed with substantial lyrics that will stand the test of time.

1 of 5 – Best Albums of 2013 – Acoustic Guitar Magazine
It’s refreshing to find country music that’s so unabashedly unafraid of marijuana and homosexuality, but even better isMusgraves‘ singing and guitar playing. She’s a songwriter who doesn’t rely on the same old Nashville lyrical tropes, and manages to make even simple riffs sound fresh. (Mercury)

#16 – Best Albums of 2013 – The Guardian
What we said: “At her core, she’s a country traditionalist … [her] songs are populated by characters as old as country music itself: the trash-talking waitress of Blowin’ Smoke, the substance-addicted family whose plight she treats sympathetically on Merry Go Round … Musgraves’s rural heart is tempered with an outsiderish scepticism, and her real work is urging people to think for themselves.”

The final stop for Quicken Loans Presents George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas sold out within hours of tickets going on sale today, Dec. 6, 2013. The show, which will be the star-studded grand finale of George Strait’s final two-year tour, is set to take place June 7, 2014 with a crowd of more than 100,000 in attendance.

Six-time Grammy Award-winning group Asleep At The Wheel will open the show at AT&T Stadium, and country superstars Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack will perform three songs each. Strait will perform a full set of his legendary career-making hits.

“Wow. To see this response from the fans to our final show is humbling and exciting at the same time,” said Strait. “This is going to be an incredible night and I feel very blessed this holiday knowing how many of you we’ll get to see next year on our final tour.”

Strait will also be auctioning off two pairs of front row seats plus meet-and-greet passes to each show on Quicken Loans Presents George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 2014, with proceeds benefiting The Jenifer Strait Foundation, a foundation that focuses its donations on various children’s charities including Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio and St. Jude’s Ranch.

For more information or to participate in the auction, click here.

Special guests have been invited to perform with Strait at each stop on the tour. Dates and performers are as follows:

January 9, 2014  CenturyLink Center│Bossier City, La.

*With special guest Jason Aldean

January 10, 2014   Frank Erwin Center│Austin, Texas

*With special guest Jason Aldean

January 17, 2014   CenturyLink Center│Omaha, Neb.

*With special guest Eric Church

January 18, 2014   Spring Center│Kansas City, Mo.

*With special guest Eric Church

January 30, 2014   SAP Center│San Jose, Calif.

*With special guest Martina McBride

January 31, 2014   Valley View Casino Center│San Diego, Calif.

*With special guest Miranda Lambert

February 1, 2014   MGM Grand Garden Arena│Las Vegas, Nev.

*With special guest Miranda Lambert

February 7, 2014   US Airways Center│Phoenix, Ariz.

*With special guest Martina McBride

 February 8, 2014   STAPLES Center│Los Angeles, Calif.

*With special guest Martina McBride

February 14, 2014   The Palace│Auburn Hills, Mich.

*With special guest Little Big Town

February 15, 2014   Nationwide Arena│Columbus, Ohio

*With special guest Little Big Town

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, Ky.

*With special guest Vince Gill

March 8, 2014   Allstate Arena│Chicago, Ill.

*With special guest Vince Gill

March 21, 2014   Bridgestone Arena│Nashville, Tenn.

*With special guest Sheryl Crow

March 22, 2014   Phillips Arena│Atlanta, Ga.

*With special guest Sheryl Crow 

April 4, 2014   INTRUST Bank Arena│Wichita, Kan.

*With special guests Lee Ann Womack and Merle Haggard

April 5, 2014   Pepsi Center│Denver, Colo.

*With special guests Lee Ann Womack and Merle Haggard

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 18, 2014   Wells Fargo Arena│Des Moines, Iowa

*With special guest Ronnie Dunn

April 19, 2014   BOK Center│Tulsa, Okla.

*With special guest Ronnie Dunn

May 23, 2014   Tiger Stadium│Baton Rouge, La.

*Bayou Country Superfest

May 31, 2014   Gillette Stadium│Foxborough, Mass.

*With special guests Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

June 7, 2014   AT&T Stadium│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

In his latest My Name is Jon webisode, Jon Pardi takes a look back at his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2012. Check out the clip — and the hairstyle — below.

During the Grammy Nominations Live special on Friday night (December 6th), several Universal Music Group artists walked away with a nod or two. 

Kacey Musgraves picked up four Grammy nominations, including overall Best New Artist, Best Country Song for both “Merry Go ‘Round” and “Mama’s Broken Heart” and Best Country Album for Same Trailer Different Park. Darius Rucker picks up Best Country Solo Performance for “Wagon Wheel,” while Little Big Town’s “Your Side of the Bed” was nominated in the Best Duo/Group Country Performance, alongside “Highway Don’t Care” (Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban) and “Don’t Rush” (Kelly Clarkson with Vince Gill).

During the special, Keith Urban performed the Bill Withers’ classic, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” with R&B singer Miguel.

Kacey Musgraves (title of album) OC: …I love it. :40
“All along I wanted the title to be something that stands out. I never wanted it to be one dimensional or completely obvious — you know, Kacey Musgraves… Or even Merry Go Round, you know? I kind of love it when album titles make you think, and sometimes they don’t even have anything to do with the actual, it’s just an abstract idea. This came from a lyric in ‘Merry Go Round’ and it’s one of my favorite lyrics in the record. The lyric is ‘Same hurt in every heart/same trailer, different park,’ and it kind of just means we’re all kind of in this together. We’re all hurt the same way. We all feel the same way, although we’re all different. That’s why I love it.”

First dances, first kisses, an impromptu Tim McGraw Tribute, and an acoustic version of “And The Radio Played”… all here on an action-packed Webisode Wednesday with Lady Antebellum! Check it out below.

Lady A are heading in the right direction with their latest single, “Compass” — up the country charts!

KNOXVILLE, TENN. (December 5, 2013) – Kimberly’s Simply Southern, a one-of-a-kind cooking show featuring Little Big Town founding member Kimberly Schlapman, has been renewed for a third season with 13 new episodes on Great American Country. New episodes will premiere in early Spring 2014.

In each episode of the hit series, Kimberly hops off the tour bus while on the road with her Grammy Award-winning country band, Little Big Town, to discover America’s best local foods, ingredients, culinary customs and treasures. Once back in her Nashville kitchen, she is joined by family and celebrity guests to create authentic southern meals combining her traditional family recipes with the ingredients she learned more about during her travels, which in past seasons included citrus, chocolate, dairy, mushrooms, oysters, goat cheese and bacon and in 2014 will include Sourwood honey glazed ham, Louisiana shrimp, homemade biscuits, hot and spicy chicken and others.

“This series is a childhood dream of mine and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to get to share all the fun things I learn out there in my travels,” said Schlapman. “I love sharing my passion for cooking and hunting down treasures across the country with Great American Country’s viewers.”

“Kimberly’s Simply Southern is a natural fit for Great American Country and embodies our renewed focus on exploring and celebrating everything America has to offer,” said Sarah Trahern, senior vice president and general manager of Great American Country. “It’s been among our highest-rated original series, and the audiences love the opportunity to visit fascinating places across our nation and learning about ingredients before Kimberly invites them into her kitchen to meet her friends and share a great meal.”

Critics and fans alike adore the Great American Country series and its charming host. Following the successful second season of Kimberly’s Simply Southern, host Kimberly Schlapman was nominated for a TASTE AWARD in the category of “Best Home Chef in a Series.” The TASTE AWARD, also known as the TASTY Awards, recognizes excellence in programs, series and films across platforms including on television, online, on mobile, in theaters and on radio. Fan voting for the honor is ongoing now through Dec. 18. To learn more about Kimberly’s nomination and how to vote, visit http://GACtv.com/simplysouthern.

Tickets for legendary country artist and CMA Entertainer of the Year George Strait’s final tour stop at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas will officially go on sale tomorrow, Dec. 6, 2013. The 100,000-seat capacity stadium is home to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and a fitting venue for the last date on Quicken Loans Presents George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 2014.

A star-studded lineup will join the “King of Country” on June 7, 2013; six-time Grammy Award-winning group Asleep At The Wheel will be the opening act and country superstars Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack will each perform three songs during the show.

Tickets will go on sale on Strait’s official website Friday, Dec. 6 at 10:00 a.m. CST. Country fans will also have the opportunity to purchase standing-room-only (SRO) tickets for the final show, starting at an affordable $35 per ticket.

Additionally, CID Entertainment is offering VIP experiences and travel packages for purchase. The “Ace in the Hole” package includes premium seating, an invitation to an exclusive pre-show party in “The King’s Tavern Lounge” with complimentary food and cash bar, a tour of “The King’s Exhibit” (a private exhibit of George Strait memorabilia from his own collection), a VIP parking pass, VIP laminate, limited merchandise gift and tour poster, private merchandise shopping, and an on-site event host. A limited number of “The Troubadour” VIP packages secures one front row seat in addition to the pre-show events and access listed above, plus a guitar signed by George Strait.

Travel packages for two people include a choice of “Troubadour VIP,” “Ace in the Hole VIP” or “Premium Reserved” tickets for the show; hotel accommodations at top-quality properties near AT&T Stadium with shuttle transportation to and from the show, and official George Strait merchandise. For more information about travel packages or VIP tickets, please visit www.cidentertainment.com/georgestrait.

George Strait will be auctioning off two pairs of front row seats plus meet-and-greet passes to each show on the tour, with proceeds benefiting The Jenifer Strait Foundation, a foundation that focuses its donations on various children’s charities including Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio and St. Jude’s Ranch. For more information or to participate in the auction, click here.

Special guests have been invited to perform at each stop on Quicken Loans Presents George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 2014. Dates and performers are as follows:

January 9, 2014  CenturyLink Center│Bossier City, La.

*With special guest Jason Aldean

January 10, 2014   Frank Erwin Center│Austin, Texas

*With special guest Jason Aldean

January 17, 2014   CenturyLink Center│Omaha, Neb.

*With special guest Eric Church

January 18, 2014   Spring Center│Kansas City, Mo.

*With special guest Eric Church

January 30, 2014   SAP Center│San Jose, Calif.

*With special guest Martina McBride

January 31, 2014   Valley View Casino Center│San Diego, Calif.

*With special guest Miranda Lambert

February 1, 2014   MGM Grand Garden Arena│Las Vegas, Nev.

*With special guest Miranda Lambert

February 7, 2014   US Airways Center│Phoenix, Ariz.

*With special guest Martina McBride

 February 8, 2014   STAPLES Center│Los Angeles, Calif.

*With special guest Martina McBride

February 14, 2014   The Palace│Auburn Hills, Mich.

*With special guest Little Big Town

February 15, 2014   Nationwide Arena│Columbus, Ohio

*With special guest Little Big Town

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, Ky.

*With special guest Vince Gill

March 8, 2014   Allstate Arena│Chicago, Ill.

*With special guest Vince Gill

March 21, 2014   Bridgestone Arena│Nashville, Tenn.

*With special guest Sheryl Crow

March 22, 2014   Phillips Arena│Atlanta, Ga.

*With special guest Sheryl Crow 

April 4, 2014   INTRUST Bank Arena│Wichita, Kan.

*With special guests Lee Ann Womack and Merle Haggard

April 5, 2014   Pepsi Center│Denver, Colo.

*With special guests Lee Ann Womack and Merle Haggard

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 18, 2014   Wells Fargo Arena│Des Moines, Iowa

*With special guest Ronnie Dunn

April 19, 2014   BOK Center│Tulsa, Okla.

*With special guest Ronnie Dunn

May 23, 2014   Tiger Stadium│Baton Rouge, La.

*Bayou Country Superfest

May 31, 2014   Gillette Stadium│Foxborough, Mass.

*With special guests Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

June 7, 2014   AT&T Stadium│Arlington, Texas

*With special guests Jason Aldean, Asleep At The Wheel, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack

Although this is Strait’s final concert tour, he will continue to record new music for longtime label home MCA Records and will perform select dates across the country after the tour has wrapped. Strait’s current single, “I Got A Car,” is the third release from his chart-topping 40th album Love Is Everything and was penned by Tony Douglas and Keith Gattis.

For more information on forthcoming music and Quicken Loans Presents George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 2014, please visit www.georgestrait.com.