NASHVILLE, Tenn. – George Strait releases Love Is Everything, his 40^th album on MCA Nashville, today, Tuesday, May 14, available at all physical and digital retailers.  Love Is Everything features Strait’s current hit “Give It All We Got Tonight” written by Mark Bright, Tim James and Phil O’Donnell. The song is poised to be the country patriarch’s 60^th career No. 1, an accomplishment no artist except the 60-year old Strait has come closing to achieving. 

For Love Is Everything, Strait again joined forces with longtime friend and producer Tony Brown.  Providing a more personal feel, this album holds four songs written or co-written by Strait with son Bubba and legendary songwriter Dean Dillon.

“I’m not sure they’ll learn anything about me they don’t already know,” Strait says with a laugh when talking about the content of Love Is Everything.  “I’ve been doing this a long time and 40 is a lot of records!”  He continues, “It’s always fun putting together songs for a new record. It can also be difficult at times. This one was both for sure, but worth every minute. I think it’s my best release in a while. I hope people enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.”

In addition, the album features songs penned by Al Anderson, Casey Beathard, L. Russell Brown, Roger Creager, Tom Douglas, Wyatt Earp, Keith Gattis, Monty Holmes, Kyle Jacobs, Donny Kees, Bill Kenner, Pat McLaughlin, Randy Montana, Jeff Silvey and Chris Stapleton. 

After over 30 years in the business, Strait still looks forward to going in the studio and enjoys it more than ever.  Many of the players on the album have worked on a number of Strait’s projects throughout of his career.

Strait kicked off 2013 in high gear for the first leg of his The Cowboy Rides Away Tour. Only the June 1 show in San Antonio’s Alamodome remains in the sold out tour.  Known as the “house they built for George,” the Alamodome sold out within an astounding six minutes of going on sale. Dates for the second leg of the tour will be announced later this year.

For more information on Strait, Love Is Everything, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour, the Sixty For Sixty movement and more, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com.
Love is EverythingTrack List:
1.  I Got A Car

2.  Give It All We Got Tonight

3.  Blue Melodies

4.  I Just Can’t Go On Dying Like This

5.  I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing

6.  That’s What Breaking Hearts Do

7.  When Love Comes Around Again

8.  The Night Is Young

9.  Sittin’ On The Fence

10.  I Believe

11.  Love Is Everything

12.  You Don’t Know What You’re Missing

13.  When The Credits Roll

George Strait is set to release his highly anticipated 40th studio album, Love Is Everything, on Tuesday (May 14th). The King of Country rejoined veteran producer Tony Brown to co-produce the album, which features 13 new tracks, including the current hit single “Give It All We Got Tonight.” Love Is Everything includes four songs written or co-written by Strait, as well as with his son Bubba and legendary songwriter Dean Dillon.

With the new album’s first single “Give It All We Got Tonight” climbing the Country radio charts, the song is poised to become Strait’s 60th #1 single. Fans and fellow Country artists recently started campaigning for the Sixty For Sixty movement, which encourages local radio stations to make the song his 60th #1 single around his 61st birthday on May 18th.

George is also making the rounds as his final tour, The Cowboy Rides Away, makes its way around the country.

AUDIO: George Strait talks about how being in the studio for him has changed over the years.

George Strait (how recording has changed) OC: …to do that. :44
“Oh, I’m definitely a lot more comfortable in the studio these days. It took me a while. I mean, when you go in the studio for the first time with some pretty great players, and it’s pretty intimidating, it was for me anyway. I was nervous, really nervous, and I’m sure it showed. But I think as you continue to make records and stuff, you get a little more comfortable in the studio. A lot of the players are good friends of mine now, and I enjoy seeing them and being with them all week, however long we’re recording. So, it’s fun. I look forward to it these days, not that I didn’t look forward to it then. I was excited as hell to go, you know, I was. Not a whole lot of people get to do that.”

Lady Antebellum premiere the video for their latest single, “Goodbye Town,” on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday (May 13th). Check it out below.

Darius Rucker received his honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of South Carolina, on Saturday (May 11th). He also spoke during the 2013 commencement address, telling the graduating class to follow their dreams and make room for community service. School President Harris Pastides told Darius that while he’s a rock star and a cool guy, he’s now “Dr. Gamecock.”

Darius graduated with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, with hopes of becoming a sportscaster, if his music career didn’t happen. He’s a huge supporter of the University of South Carolina, and said he’d do “anything” for the school. “There’s a lot of things I thought I was going to do in my life, but I never thought that I would speak at somebody’s graduation. You know, what an honor and I’m just really moved by the fact that that day that’s so important to them- the day that they’re graduating after four or five grueling years of having to go to school and having to take these tests with you’re finally graduating, and I’m the one giving a graduation speech. It’s full circle,” says Darius. “It’s another reason I wish my mom were still alive, you know. To witness me speaking at the college that means more to me than any school in the world, you know. The University of South Carolina is my heart.”

Darius is set to release his new album, True Believers, next Tuesday (May 21^st). The collection features his latest Top 3 single, “Wagon Wheel.”

AUDIO: Darius Rucker talks about getting his honorary doctorate from the University of South Carolina.

Darius Rucker (doctorate) OC: …for that school. :54
“I was a Journalism major at USC. I was a Broadcast Journalism major. That’s what I wanted- that was my fallback, if it didn’t work, I was hopefully going to be a sportscaster, but I have an honorary doctorate in humanities in Humane Letters from the University of South Carolina, and an honorary doctorate in Music from the University of South Carolina. There’s a lot of things I thought I was going to do in my life, but I never thought that I would speak at somebody’s graduation. You know, what an honor and I’m just really moved by the fact that that day that’s so important to them- the day that they’re graduating after four or five grueling years of having to go to school and having to take these test with your finally graduating, and I’m the one giving a graduation speech. It’s full circle. It’s another reason I wish my mom were still alive, you know. To witness me speaking at the college that means more to me than any school in the world, you know. The University of South Carolina is my heart. I would do anything for that school.”

Little Big Town’s first chart-topper, “Pontoon,” has been certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) for two-million digital downloads. Also, Lady Antebellum’s “I Run to You,” the trio’s first number-one single from 2009, has also been certified double-platinum.

In addition, Dierks Bentley‘s “Home,” Luke Bryan‘s “Someone Else Calling You Baby” and Lady A’s “Downtown” have all been certified gold for 500,000 digital downloads.

Nashville, TN – May 13, 2013 – GRAMMY winning trio Lady Antebellum is set to premiere their new music video for “Goodbye Town” today on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and on EllenTV.com. The video was shot in Nashville and directed by Peter Zavadil. “Goodbye Town” is the second single off the trio’s new album GOLDEN, released last week. Since it’s release, the track continues to be highlighted as a standout with Rolling Stone calling it “gripping.”

“Quite possibly, the best vocal that Charles Kelley has put down yet. The lyrics strike a nostalgic tone – at least at first – but the chorus tends to suggest that the past is not somewhere he wants to be.” – Billboard

“’Goodbye Town’…pulls you in a direction both surprising and urgent…” – New York Daily News

“’Goodbye Town’ offers a tart flip side to the “Hey, remember when?” strain of songs currently running rampant in contemporary country as the memories encroach with more darkness than light.” – Boston Globe

Lady A visits the west coast this week for appearances on Chelsea Lately (today), The Voice (5/14) and ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer All-Star Special on CBS Sun., May 19. Since its 2006 inception, Lady A has risen quickly to become Country Music’s most influential current group. The group has won the “Vocal Group of the Year” honor from both the CMA and from the ACM’s three times in a row, earned seven GRAMMY awards and sold 11 million albums worldwide. Nine of the band’s singles are certified Gold, with four surpassing the Platinum mark. For a full list of upcoming performances and for more info on new music, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland took to her blog to reveal the first picture of her five-month-old son, Magnus Hamilton, with husband Justin Miller. Read what the new mom had to say below:

“On December 6, 2012 my life was forever changed. I had a baby! Magnus Hamilton Miller was born healthy, hungry and with way more hair than I was expecting after seeing baby pictures of both me and my husband. Needless to say, especially to those of you who have children, the rhythm of my life is way different than the movement and pace before baby. In short, this baby is the boss of me.

This ‘boss’ status should come as no surprise. From the onset, Magnus had his own timing and plans. I was merely the willing, excited and inexperienced hostess. For example, doctors predicted his due date to be November 29th. Now I took the birthing classes and knew that a ‘due’ date was an estimation. I also heard that first babies were often born after their due date. I heard all this and understood. But somewhere in the back of my type A, Virgo mind, I thought my little overachieving bundle would come, well, early. This expectation was only exaggerated by hosting the CMA Country Christmas Special. I was so anxious about hosting the show at 36 weeks pregnant that I was sure, once it had passed, Master Miller could ‘come anytime.’ (Try over four weeks later!)

Now, a month may not seem like a long time but trust me, when one is gigantron pregnant, even a week is a long time. And so, 4 weeks and several, several packs of Pillsbury break and bake cookies later, Magnus made his big debut. Since that time I have been enjoying snuggling and feeding and learning. Big time. About myself.

For example, I am really good at following directions. If you give me a recipe I will follow it exactly and expect the predicted results, or else I’m trading it in. These good student proclivities have served me well in different aspects of my life and career. Spoiler alert! The shit does not work this way with babies. You can read every book and website (I’ve read them all), and listen to the well meaning advice of family and friends, on how to get your baby to, for example, sleep more or through the night. But guess what? This stuff is not one size fits all. Anyone who tells you it is, lies. The best advice I’ve gotten was, of course, from my mother who told me to remind myself “this works SOMETIMES!” And don’t get me started on sleep deprivation.

There is a reason why sleep deprivation is one of the first stages of torture. You’ll tell someone anything and they won’t even have to touch you. ‘Mommy brain’ is absolutely real as a result of your brain being deprived the sleep it needs to function normally. I was making a grocery list and said to my mom, ‘What’s it called? A ‘glass’ of peanut butter?’ She said kindly, ‘No honey, it’s a JAR!’ Dear Lord! And so I am reveling in and hopefully gracefully fumbling through, this most beautiful, challenging, precious, sleep deprived time as a new mommy.

I have appreciated all of your supportive messages and tweets as I have been giving myself the space to enjoy this most sacred, precious time. However, I am also bursting at the seams with pride! And so, it gives me great pleasure to say to you,

Meet Magnus”

Nashville – (May 8, 2013) – The Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year and four-time CMT Music Award nominee Luke Bryan will appear on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday, May 13. Luke will perform his new single “Crash My Party,” the first song from his next studio album due out later this summer.

Luke debuted the tune on the ACM Award show telecast last month and its release to radio has become his fastest charting career single.After The Late Show with David Letterman appearance Luke will head out for the summer leg of his highly successful headline tour, the “Dirt Road Diaries Tour,” which begins on May 17th in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Luke’s recent Academy of Country Music Award wins for Entertainer of the Year and Vocal Event (“Only Way I Know”) with Eric Church and Jason Aldean, along with his first-time ACM hosting duty with Blake Shelton, are just a few of the career highlights Luke has enjoyed lately. Additional accolades include multi-Platinum albums sales, back-to-back #1 singles and his first #1 album debut with “Spring Break…Here To Party.” His spring break shows in Panama City Beach, Florida this past March brought in 120,000 fans during the 2-day concert event and his performance at the Houston Rodeo was the second largest attendance in the rodeo’s history with 75,000 fans.