Thank you, radio and fans for another #1 smash hit with “Drunk On You.” Hear from Luke Bryan and the songwriters at Luke’s No. 1 party for “Drunk On You” at the CMA building in Nashville.

Little Big Town’s Tornado remains at the top of the Billboard Country Album chart. The new album sold another 50,000 copies to stay at No. 1 on the Country chart and at No. 5 on the overall chart (right behind Dave Matthews Band). Tornado debuted at the top of the Country album chart last week, selling nearly 113,000 during its first week of release.

The band approached recording the album in a totally different way from their previous offerings, especially with producer Jay Joyce at the helm. “It allowed us to be free and get lost in the music, and then we knew and trusted that Jay was going to be listening, and he would be the moderator of the feel,” says LBT’s Phillip Sweet. “We weren’t sitting there overthinking it while we were performing. We were lost in the performance.”

Little Big Town, who are appearing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tonight (Wednesday), are beginning to hit the airwaves with their latest single, the title track “Tornado.”

AUDIO: Little Big Town explain what it was like in the studio while recording their album, Tornado.

LBT (not overthinking recording) OC: …lost in the performance. 1:08
PHILLIP: “Everyone was laying down their parts together at the same time. It wasn’t like one person was sitting in the booth and this guy was sitting over here. We were all out there and could see one another in different ways and we were feeding off of each other. You didn’t want to be the one person who messed up that take. You wanted to give everything you had and give all your brain energy to that take, and everybody was doing it…” KIMBERLY: “Everybody was!” PHILLIP: “…at the same time, so you listen back and ‘Oh, that felt great. Let’s take it again.’ We wouldn’t stop and listen to it, and then we’d go again and then go again.” KIMBERLY: “And a lot of that was because of the leadership that Jay [Joyce] gave us. He was stirring everybody up and just keeping everybody on their toes, and he really was the leader of just a great energy and feel and…” KAREN: “Craziness.” KIMBERLY: “…craziness.” PHILLIP: “One thing I was about to say was it allowed us to be free and get lost in the music, and then we knew and trusted that Jay was going to be listening, and he would be the moderator of the feel, and if we were getting off-base then, but we weren’t sitting there overthinking it while we were performing. We were lost in the performance.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 25, 2012

 “CAPITOL STREET PARTY 5: LUKE BRYAN TAKES BROADWAY” ANNOUNCES VIP EXPERIENCES FOR EVENT OCTOBER 17  

Capitol Street Party 5 moves to Lower Broadway with headliner Luke Bryan along with Kelleigh Bannen and Jon Pardi performing at the free and open to the public music event  

Nashville, TN – “Capitol Street Party 5: Luke Bryan Takes Broadway” will take place on Wednesday, October 17 at 7pm.  The event sponsored by Wrangler, Cricket Wireless, Middle Tennessee State University and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment will be offering Hard Rock Café VIP and Ultimate VIP Experiences this year (www.capitolnashvillevip.com).   

Starting at $100, there are two VIP experiences available including Hard Rock Café VIP and Ultimate VIP.  Both VIP Experiences include an exclusive VIP viewing area near the stage, private VIP restrooms, complimentary food and drinks, a VIP laminate, an exclusive event t-shirt and an autographed limited edition poster.  The Hard Rock Café Ultimate VIP Experience also includes reserved parking and a backstage meet & greet with Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi and Kelleigh Bannen.   

The free music event, which is open to the public, is moving from Demonbreun Street to Lower Broadway this year.  Live performances by superstar Luke Bryan and newcomers Kelleigh Bannen and Jon Pardi will literally take to the street, as a stage will be set up on Broadway between 1st and 2nd Avenues.  Bryan performed at the inaugural Street Party in 2007 and this year will mark the fourth time that he has participated in the event.  

Sponsors include Wrangler, Cricket Wireless, Middle Tennessee State University, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, Carl Black Chevrolet, United States Marine Corps, Concrete / TEC Direct Media, The Tennessean, Coca-Cola, Miller Lite, and Live at LongHorn. Additional partnerships include: WSIX, WKDF, WSM, Whiskey Bent Saloon, Silver Dollar Saloon, and Bootleggers Inn. 

For information about “Capitol Street Party 5” check out www.facebook.com/capitolstreetparty. 

About Wrangler

Wrangler^® apparel is available nationwide in specialty stores, including work apparel chains, farm & fleet, and western stores, as well as through on-line and catalog retailers. To find a retailer or for more information on the Wrangler family of products visit www.Wrangler.com or call 888.784.8571. 

About Cricket Wireless

Cricket is the pioneer and leader in delivering innovative value-rich prepaid wireless services with no long-term contracts serving approximately 6 million customers. Cricket offers nationwide wireless voice and mobile data services over high-quality, all-digital wireless networks. Cricket’s innovative products and services, including the award-winning Muve Music® – the first music service designed for a wireless phone, are available nationwide at Cricket branded retail stores, dealers, national retailers and at www.mycricket.comFor more information about Cricket, please visit www.mycricket.com.

Middle Tennessee State University

Middle Tennessee State University, the state’s No. 1 choice for undergraduates and home also to a wide variety of master’s and doctoral degree programs, offers academic quality, affordable tuition and student-centered learning. MTSU’s College of Mass Communication, the fifth-largest in the nation, includes three signature departments – Electronic Media Communication, Journalism and Recording Industry – and specialty centers devoted to Popular Music and Innovation in Media. The university, located in Murfreesboro in the exact center of Tennessee, is about an half-hour’s drive southeast of Nashville. 

WME

William Morris Endeavor (also known as WME) is the largest and oldest global talent agency, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including Motion Pictures, Television, Music and Personal Appearances, Broadway Theatre and Theatrical Touring, Book Publishing, Physical Production, Commercial Endorsements, Sports Marketing, Corporate Consulting, Digital Media, and Video Games. WME also advises some of the world’s most recognized consumer brands to create “entertainment-based marketing solutions”. Industry breadth and diversity form the foundation of WME’s success. With its worldwide entertainment presence, the Agency is uniquely equipped to provide its clients with a global, cross-cultural perspective, introducing them to new and exciting opportunities in virtually every area of the media and entertainment industries. For more information about WME, please visit www.wmeentertainment.com.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Academy of Country Music held the 6th annual ACM Honors awards show Monday night at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville.

The show honored musicians, as well as industry leaders, and is a continuation of the Academy’s awards show held every April in Las Vegas.

Hundreds of fans lined 5th Avenue North in front of the Ryman Auditorium as stars arrived on the red carpet. Luke Bryan, Hunter Hayes and Dierks Bentley were among those who stopped to sign autographs, according to local CBS affiliate, NewsChannel 5.

“All these fans lined up, it’s going to be a pretty amazing night,” said Bentley, who also hosted the show.

Legendary performers like Ricky Skaggs were honored with the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award.

“Oh, it’s well deserved. There’s no award that Ricky could get that wouldn’t be deserved,” Bentley said.

Dwight Yoakam also took home the honor of the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. Up and coming country artist Hunter Hayes paid tribute to Yoakam by performing one of his songs.

“I don’t know if I’m even going to be able to look at him I’m going to be so nervous. I’m just going to have to block it out for a minute, then look afterwards and make sure he’s cool with it,” Hayes said.

The legendary Yoakam was humbled to have Hayes perform in his honor.

“I told him, I said look you play way too many instruments and are way to good to be saddled with simple old tunes like you’re going to play tonight,” Yoakam said.

Luke Bryan took to the Ryman stage to honor his good friend Dallas Davidson. He was honored as the ACM Songwriter of the Year.

“Songs that he and I have written have changed my life, his life, making this night possible. So it’s really great to be here,” Bryan said.

Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney and Vince Gill were just two of a long list of performers and musicians the Academy of Country Music honored Monday night.

Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, along with Carrie Underwood, are among the celebrities taking part in CMT’s new Empowering Education Initiative, encouraging people to get their post-secondary education. The stars share their stories of the importance of a college degree on the website, CMTEmpoweringEducation.com.

Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman premiered her cooking show, Simply Southern, on GAC over the weekend. You can catch a repeat of the debut show on Tuesday (September 25th) at 5:30pm ET. The second episode, The Chicken & the Egg, has Kimberly heading for a chicken farm just outside Milwaukee. Back in Nashville, she welcomes guest Lauren Alaina to make her own Simply Southern fried chicken dinner. The new episode airs Saturday (September 29th) at 1pm ET, and repeats Sunday (September 30th) at 10:30am ET.

Don’t forget to watch (or set your DVRs) as Little Big Town will perform their latest single, “Tornado,” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (check local listings) on Wednesday (September 26th).

Lady Antebellum were among the winners of this year’s British Country Music Awards. The band picked up a trophy for International Song of the Year for “We Owned the Night.” They weren’t able to attend the awards show that was held earlier this month, but sent a video thank you in their place. They’re currently on tour in Australia.

DIERKS BENTLEY DEBUTS NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “TIP IT ON BACK” TODAY

ACROSS MULTIPLE VIDEO PLATFORMS

Nashville, TN – Sept. 24, 2012 – Award winning singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley premieres the music video for his current single “Tip It On Back” across multiple video platforms and channels today.
 
The new video was shot on opening day of Bentley’s COUNTRY & COLD CANS: BACK TO COLLEGE TOUR last month in Athens, GA.  Director Wes Edwards captured the raw energy of Bentley’s live show at the Georgia Theatre, while following the storyline of a young couple putting their family farm up for sale after an economic downturn.
 
“This video shoot took me back to the ‘High Times & Hangovers’ days when we were playing dirty rock bars and sustaining on beer and Jager bombs,” said Bentley. “We just started texting people to come down to the Georgia Theatre, and hundreds of UGA students showed up to day-drink with us.  It was a total blast and a great kick off to the college shows we did across the Southeast the rest of the week.”

For a behind the scenes look from the video shoot, visit: http://dierks.com/btstipitonback
 
“Tip It On Back” is the current single off Bentley’s CMA nominated album HOME and can also be found on his COUNTRY & COLD CANS EP. On top of its “Album of the Year” nomination, HOME’s title track received two additional nods for “Single of the Year” and “Song of the Year.” For more information and for a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.

Check out the behind-the-scenes of the video in the latest episode of DBTV below:

Little Big Town celebrated their first No. 1 single, “Pontoon,” at a rooftop party at the performance rights organization, BMI, on Friday (September 21st) in front of friends, family and Music Row executives. Along with the songwriters – Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird and Barry Dean – the members of Little Big Town were feted with a Mexican-themed party on what had to be one of the most beautiful days of the year in Middle Tennessee. The group received news of their No. 1 by text while on the road.

“College football Saturday, it was kind of like dead time, I guess, it would’ve been during the daytime out on tour, and all of the sudden we all got the text, and I immediately got off the bus and went looking for Jimi,” recalls LBT’s Phillip Sweet. “We found each other and saw each other from across the way, and we were like, ‘Whoo Hoo.’ We both raised our arms up high like we just scored a touchdown. And it was like we were kids again.”

The band’s new single, “Tornado,” is beginning to hit the airwaves, and it’s the second single from their new album of the same name, which just debuted at No. 1 on the country album chart with nearly 113,000 copies sold.

Little Big Town will perform “Tornado” when they appear on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday.

AUDIO: Little Big Town explain how they received the news of their first No. 1 single, “Pontoon.”

LBT (finding out No. 1) OC: (Phillip) …kids again. :35
KAREN: “We were on the road.” KIMBERLY: “We got text messages at the same time.” KAREN: “We were grilling out with Rascal Flatts. It was Saturday.” PHILLIP: “College football Saturday, it was kind of like dead time, I guess, it would’ve been during the daytime out on tour, and all of the sudden we all got the text, and I immediately got off the bus and went looking for Jimi.” JIMI: “Yeah, Phillip and I ran and hugged each other from across the parking lot and slapped each other five!” PHILLIP: “Yeah, we did the whole thing. We found each other and saw each other from across the way and we were like, ‘Whoo Hoo.’ We both raised our arms up high like we just scored a touchdown. And it was like we were kids again.”