CLERMONT, Ky., May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — This summer, Jim Beam® is building on its bold music legacy while continuing its ongoing commitment to our nation’s troops with the 2012 Live Music Series. The Jim Beam® Live Music Series is a string of six live concerts, each featuring one of six artists who has partnered with the world’s No. 1 bourbon to bring bold music experiences to fans across the country – Kid Rock, Daughtry, David Gray, Darius Rucker, Bush and Train. Extending the program beyond live concerts, Jim Beam is offering bold, legendary cover songs recorded by the Live Music Series artists on JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries*.

Together with Rolling Stone, Jim Beam is leveraging the publication’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Each of the six Live Music Series artists have chosen and recorded a song from Rolling Stone’s historic list and are offering it to fans exclusively on JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries during the promotion period. Beginning in June, specially marked bottles of Jim Beam®, Jim Beam Black®, Red Stag by Jim Beam® and Devil’s Cut® bourbons will be marked with offer details and instructions on how to download tracks from the six artists on JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries. Fans across the country can also join the Live Music Series experience by visiting the website to view portions of the live concerts that will be streaming online. Additional content – including exclusive artist interviews – will also be available on JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries.

“I’m proud to extend my relationship with Jim Beam for the second year of their Live Music Series. We’ve had a great time celebrating with fans of both music and bourbon, and I am excited to continue the party for another year,” said Kid Rock.

2012’s Live Music Series builds on Jim Beam’s tradition of groundbreaking music programs. In 2010, the world’s No. 1 bourbon launched a breakthrough consumer program for both the spirits and music industry by offering exclusive Kid Rock music downloads on specially marked boxes of Jim Beam® and Red Stag by Jim Beam® bourbons. And last year, in 2011, the company boldly expanded the Jim Beam music platform by launching the first Live Music Series, offering fans a wide array of live performances throughout the year as well as giving fans a wider selection of exclusive content. The 2012 Live Music Series furthers Jim Beam’s rich heritage in music and expands the program this year to benefit U.S. troops.

Supporting our Troops through Music

Jim Beam is continuing its commitment to the troops through a partnership with Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization providing emergency financial and other assistance to the families of service members and Wounded Warriors. As part of the 2012 Live Music Series, the world’s No. 1 bourbon will donate more than $100,000 to the organization, a portion of which will be used to purchase musical instruments for soldiers both in the U.S. and overseas who have a passion for music. Jim Beam will present Operation Homefront with a check for $100,000 onstage at Kid Rock’s concert in Boston on June 1 – the first show in the Live Music Series. Fans across the country can join in and show their support by texting the word SALUTE to 27722 to add $5 to their phone bills as a donation to Operation Homefront(1). Jim Beam will also be contributing to the troops and military musicians by matching the number of Live Music Series downloads redeemed on JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries and donating those to soldiers 21 years of age or older through Operation Homefront.

“For more than five years, Jim Beam has supported the troops and the families they leave behind through Operation Homefront,” said Rob Mason, Senior Director, US Bourbon, Beam Inc. “The Live Music Series is the perfect way to build on that commitment and give back to the soldiers who have a passion for music.”

VIP Sweepstakes

In addition to the live concert experiences and exclusive content available at JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries, including the artists’ cover tracks from Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, Jim Beam is supporting the 2012 Live Music Series with advertising, media, PR and social media. Jim Beam is also hosting trivia nights in each of the concerts’ cities and hosting a nationwide sweepstakes** for a chance to win a VIP experience at the final 2012 Live Music Series concert event.

Fans 21 years of age or older can join the Live Music Series experience by entering for a chance to win a VIP trip to the final Live Music Series concert on JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries. The grand prize includes backstage access; a meet-and-greet with the band; an autographed Live Music Series customized guitar and the opportunity to be the Jim Beam® Live Music Series blogger for the day.

For more information on the Jim Beam music experience, including, upcoming concerts and exclusive downloads, visit www.JimBeam.com/LiveMusicSeries or www.facebook.com/jimbeam .

Live Music Series 2012 Concert Schedule

Kid Rock: Friday, June 1, at the House of Blues in Boston

Daughtry: Thursday, June 7, at the Temple Hoyne Buell theater in Denver

David Gray: Saturday, June 30, at the House of Blues in Chicago

Darius Rucker: Tuesday, July 24, at the House of Blues in Dallas

Bush: Thursday, Aug. 2, at The Ritz theater in Tampa

Train: Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Mann Theater in Philadelphia

* Must be 21 or older to participate in the download offer, see full offer details on specially marked bottles of Jim Beam®, Jim Beam Black®, Red Stag by Jim Beam® and Devil’s Cut® bourbons, where legal.

** Text LMSVIP to short code 66937 now or go to www.jimbeam.com/livemusicseries to enter online.

Standard text messaging rates apply.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Must be a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. (except CA) and 21 years of age or older to participate. Void where prohibited. Subject to complete official rules, available at www.jimbeam.com/livemusicseries . Sweepstakes begins on June 1, 2012 at 12:00:01 a.m. ET and ends on July 30, 2012 at 11:59:59 p.m.

Jim Beam is committed to social responsibility and advises legal purchase age consumers to drink smart®. Through drinksmart.com, Beam Inc. educates legal purchase age consumers about how to make responsible choices about alcohol.

We are just one week away from the release of Alan Jackson‘s new album, Thirty Miles West, which arrives in stores and online retailers on Tuesday (June 5th). The album is the first under the ACR (Alan’s Country Records) banner, in conjunction with EMI Records Nashville.

The collection’s title was inspired by a stretch of road that runs from Michigan to South Florida, titled “Dixie Highway,” which is also a track on the album, featuring one of Alan’s pals, Zac Brown. “I think back to all the albums I made, I’d say they’re all similar in that they’re songs about what I’ve always thought what country music’s all about. You know, whether it’s songs about your family and where you grew up or somebody dying or heartache from a lost love or a drinking song or a fun, partying song, It’s just a mixture of songs about your children and what you go through,” says Alan. “As a writer, you always pull from that stuff, and then when you put the album together, you always look for songs that fill all those same subjects.”

Thirty Miles West — Alan’s 14th studio album — also features his latest hit, So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore, which is currently making its way up the country charts.

AUDIO: Alan Jackson says some of the songs on his new album, Thirty Miles West, reflect his own life.

AJ (album content) OC: …ended up. :47

“I think back to all the albums I made, I’d say they’re all similar in that they’re songs about what I’ve always thought what country music’s all about. You know, whether it’s songs about your family and where you grew up or somebody dying or heartache from a lost love or a drinking song or a fun, partying song. It’s just a mixture of songs about your children and what you go through. As a writer, you always pull from that stuff, and then when you put the album together, you always look for songs that fill all those same subjects. But most songs are written about love or lost love, and most of the time, lost love and heartache, so you usually end up with a little heavier hand with that type of song, but I think that’s probably how this album ended up.”

Dierks Bentley recently covered Adele‘s “Set Fire to the Rain” in his exclusive CMT: Unplugged performance.  Catch the full show, which airs Tuesday (May 29th) at 2pm ET on CMT.

NASHVILLE TN (MAY 24, 2012) – Platinum-selling country group Little Big Town will world premiere the music video for their hot new single “Pontoon” on People.com tomorrow (Friday, May 25th).  People.com is one of the most visited entertainment news websites in the United States and receives millions of views each day. Click here to check it out for yourself.

The video, directed by Declan Whitebloom (Sugarland, The Fray, Taylor Swift), was shot on Percy Priest Lake outside of Nashville, and features the foursome lounging on a pontoon in a remote cove (aka, “Party Cove”) offshore. Karen and Kimberly soaked up the sun and enjoyed lake drinks, while Jimi and Phillip played golf off of the top of the pontoon and grilled out on board. 

The summer track was released on iTunes for purchase this past Tuesday and quickly climbed into the top 10 of the Top Country Songs. 

“Pontoon” is the first single off of Little Big Town’s fifth studio album, due out this fall.

Tune in to see Little Big Town’s Kimberly and Karen help Sugarland‘s Jennifer Nettles mentor on the new talent competition, Duets, TONIGHT (May 24th) at 8pm Central on ABC!

LINER Darius (Memorial Day Weekend)

“Hey y’all, it’s Darius Rucker, hoping you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.”

LINER Eric Church (Memorial Day)

“Hey everyone, this is Eric Church, hoping you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.”

LINER Eric Paslay (Memorial Day Weekend)

“Hi! This is Eric Paslay. Hope you have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend.”

LINER Jon Pardi (Memorial Day Weekend)

“Hi! It’s Jon Pardi, hoping you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!”

LINER Keith Urban (Memorial Day)

“Hi everyone, this is Keith Urban. Now please take time to remember all those who sacrificed their lives during this Memorial Day Weekend.”

LINER LBT (Memorial Day)

“Hi! This is Little Big Town. Take time to remember our fallen heroes during this Memorial Day Weekend.”

LINER Luke Bryan (Memorial Day)

“Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, hoping you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.”

The 2012 CMT Music Awards are less than two weeks away, and that means fans will be able to see country superstars Lady Antebellum perform live on the show. Their performances are always a highlight of the CMT Music Awards, and it’s always a shame when they have to be archived — until now. Thanks to Lipton, CMT will open its vaults for the first time and allow fans to experience all of Lady A’s CMT Music Awards performances. But you need a key to unlock anything, and that’s where the fans come in. All you have to do is tweet the hashtag #UNLOCKLADYA from your Twitter account. Once we reach 5,000 tweets, we’ll add their performances to CMT.com, and you’ll get to relive those classic performances.

(from CMT.com)

LAKESIDE HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND SURPRISES LADY ANTEBELLUM IN CELEBRATION OF 200TH “WEBISODE WEDNESDAY” AT AUGUSTA, GA TOUR STOP

 
Nashville, TN – May 23, 2012 – Last night, on the eve of their 200th Webisode Wednesday, reigning CMA and ACM Vocal Group of the Year Lady Antebellum played the first of two hometown shows at James Brown Arena in Augusta, GA. Mid-set the group was surprised when Dave and Charles’ alma mater Lakeside High School’s marching band appeared behind them playing the trio’s No. one hit “We Owned The Night.”
 
“Our show is so dialed in after all these months of touring that it takes a lot to surprise us,” said Lady A’s Dave Haywood. “A full marching band did it though!  It was incredible…I’m sure we had a ‘deer in the headlights’ look.  I can’t believe we’re at 200 webisodes already.  We have so much fun making them with Adam Boatman, who puts them together for us each week.  He really deserves all the credit.”