RYAN SEACREST, LITTLE BIG TOWN, THE BAND PERRY, BETH BEHRS,

SCOTTY McCREERY, NANCY O’DELL & ROB MARCIANO, AND MORE

TO ANNOUNCE NOMINEES FOR THE

48^TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

COUNTRY MUSIC’S PARTY OF THE YEAR®

ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013 VIA

www.facebook.com/AcademyOfCountryMusic AND www.twitter.com/ACMAwards

COUNTRY MUSIC FANS INVITED TO ANNOUNCE ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR CATEGORY

& SPECIAL VIP GUESTS WILL ANNOUNCE CATEGORIES VIA VIDEO POSTS

Tweet: Join Ryan Seacrest, Little Big Town, The Band Perry, Beth Behrs & more announcing @ACMawards nominees! How? http://youtu.be/6A_400wmheM #ACMs

WHAT:                 The second annual ACM digital press conference, hosted by the Academy of Country Music, CBS Television and dick clark productions via ACM social media channels, to announce the nominees for the 48^th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, Country Music’s Party of the Year® to be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.   

WHO:                   The Band Perry, 2 Broke Girls star Beth Behrs, Little Big Town, Scotty McCreery, Ryan Seacrest, Entertainment Tonight hosts Rob Marciano and Nancy O’Dell and more surprise guests will announce categories via videos posted in real time to fans and media simultaneously.  The press conference will culminate with country music FANS announcing the nominees for Entertainer of the Year (see below).

WHEN:                 Wednesday, February 13, 2013

                                6:30 AM PST       Nominations announced via social media followed by a press release

posted on www.ACMcountry.com.

WHERE:               ACM Facebook Page:     www.facebook.com/AcademyOfCountryMusic

                                ACM Twitter Feed:         www.twitter.com/ACMawards

MORE:                  FANS ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS ONLINE EVENT!  Beginning TODAY, fans are invited to visit the ACM YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/acmcountry to learn how to post videos announcing the name of the artist(s) they would like to see receive an Entertainer of the Year nomination.  On Wednesday, February 13^th during the real-time digital press conference fans can watch to see if their video submission is used to announce their pick for the Academy’s biggest prize. And they’re in good company: Past participants in the ACM nominations press conferences have included Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Lionel Richie, Blake Shelton, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood and many more!

Kacey Musgraves co-produced her debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park, with hit songwriters Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. Kacey talks about some of the songs on the album, due out March 19th, below.

Kip Moore has been announced as the special guest on Toby Keith’s upcoming Hammer Down Tour, which is set to kick off June 8th in Ozark, Arkansas. “I am excited to go out with Toby, because I have heard so many stories about what the tours are like. I know that he has a big, big rowdy crowd, and I know he has a different kind of fan base than I probably do, which is why it’s going to be so fun to get in front of that fan base,” says Kip. “The guy has been at the top of his game for no telling how many years. I mean 10-15-20 years, so I know it’s definitely something I can learn a lot from, and I think it will better my career going out with him.”

Kip, who is currently on the road with Brantley Gilbert on the Hell on Wheels Tour, is scaling the country charts with his latest single, “Hey Pretty Girl,” the follow-up to back-to-back number-one singles – “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” and “Beer Money.”

Hammer Down Tour dates:
6/8       Ozark, AR*
6/14     Cincinnati, OH
6/15     Pittsburgh, PA
6/22     Philadelphia, PA
6/28     Oshkosh, WI*
6/29     Cadott, WI*
6/30     Chicago, IL
7/19     Cleveland, OH
7/20     St. Clairsville, OH
7/21     Buffalo, NY
7/27     Cheyenne, WY*
7/30     Davenport, IA Mississippi Valley Fair *
8/2       Sweet Home, OR
8/6       Sturgis, SD*
8/14     Springfield, IL
8/24     Washington, DC
8/25     Hartford, CT
8/31     Allentown, PA
9/1       Essex Junction, VT
9/7       Indianapolis, IN
Dates with * = Kip Moore does not appear.

AUDIO: Kip Moore talks about going out on the road with Toby Keith.

Kip Moore (Toby Keith) OC: …out with him. :35
“I am excited to go out with Toby, because I have heard so many stories about what the tours are like. I know that he has a big, big rowdy crowd, and I know he has a different kind of fan base than I probably do, which is why it’s going to be so fun to get in front of that fan base. And it’s going to be a bunch of those outdoor amphitheaters, the sheds, which is always a lively good time. I mean, the guy has been at the top of his game for no telling how many years. I mean 10-15-20 years, so I know it’s definitely something I can learn a lot from, and I think it will better my career going out with him.”

Gary Allan‘s new album, Set You Free, debuted at number-one on the Billboard Top 200 chart last week, and we’ve got clips of him talking about a couple of cuts on the album — “One More Time,” “Sand in My Soul,” “Hungover Heart” and “It Ain’t the Whiskey.”

Lady Antebellum’s new hit, “Downtown,” is available on iTunes on Tuesday (February 5th), and the song reminds the group’s Hillary Scott of her college years at M.T.S.U. (Middle Tennessee State University). “I was in Murfreesboro at MTSU and Nashville is 40 miles away, like it’s not that far.  But, if you got asked on a date and he drove you to Nashville that was a big deal, you know, because that’s like you’re in college, paying for gas and all that stuff,” says Hillary. “It’s like a guy really liked you if he took you all the way to downtown Nashville.”

If you go to ladyantebellum.com, you can play to win all sorts of prizes, including handwritten lyrics, behind-the-scenes content and many other prizes. The online game is titled Downtown Go Round, and you can start playing now!

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott says “Downtown,” the band’s latest single, reminds her of dating when she was in college.

Lady A (Downtown-Hillary college) OC: …downtown Nashville. [laughs] :25
“I went to school, went to college before I met the boys. I was in Murfreesboro at MTSU and Nashville is 40 miles away, like it’s not that far.  But, if you got asked on a date and he drove you to Nashville that was a big deal, you know, because that’s like you’re in college, paying for gas and all that stuff. That’s the one thing I thought about, it’s like a guy really liked you if he took you all the way to downtown Nashville. [laughs]”

Alan Jackson and Keith Urba are among the artists featured on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty’s new album, Wrote a Song For Everyone. Alan is featured on “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” while Keith performs on “Almost Saturday Night.” Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley are also featured on the album, due out May 28th.

Darius Rucker and Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley have hit the links in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Celebrity Challenge in Monterey, California this week. Jake Owen, Clay Walker, Bill Murray, Huey Lewis, Wayne Gretzky, Ray Romano and Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers are also playing in the tourney running through February 10th.

Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Josh Turner, along with Greg Bates have been added to the performance lineup of the “Grand Ole Opry at CRS” show set for February 27th. As previously announced, Grand Ole Opry members Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Vince Gill along with Dustin Lynch and Scotty McCreery are also set to perform.

Gill is set to host the special opry performance, and Radio Hall of Famer Bill Cody will be the announcer for the event, which is sponsored by Humana’s My Well-Being.

CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne states, “We are excited about the reaction to this event at the Seminar. Support from both the Radio and Records community has been overwhelming. It will certainly be one of the highlights of CRS this year”.

The event will be held in the Performance Hall of the Nashville Convention Center and open to CRS 2013 attendees.  Register for CRS 2013 at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com. CRS attendees can visit www.opry.com/radio/CRS2013.html for all the details on the show. Plus, the first 50 CRS attendees to register through the special RSVP link on the website will receive two tickets to attend the Grand Ole Opry at the Opry House Sat., March 2.

Keith Urban checks in from onstage in Melbourne, Australia in the latest episode of Urban Chat.

Dierks Bentley complete vignette for his latest single, “Tip It On Back.”

TRT: 3:54