Eric Church launches his first arena headlining tour on Thursday (January 19th), and he’s looking forward to seeing familiar faces when he hits the stage each night. “I can remember playing ‘em when there were 50 people there, and to step into these arenas and have these many people, it’s directly responsible for those first 50, and I hope they’re up front,” says the Grammy nominee. “You know, we’ve done everything we can to have them there, and it’s gonna be neat to see their faces and think about where we’ve came from every night.”

The much-anticipated Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour will also feature newcomer Brantley Gilbert, who appeared on Eric’s radar a few years ago. “I was getting all these calls from bar and club owners in the Southeast where we had set quite a few attendance records, and told me this kid was down there breaking my records,” recalls Eric. “I remember I wrote his name down and pushed it to the side, and made sure that if my day ever came…he’d be at the top of the list for a tour.”

For more information and tour dates, go to ericchurch.com.

• What a week it’s been for Eric, who is experiencing a lot of firsts this week, including his first arena headlining tour AND his first No. 1 single with “Drink in My Hand.”

Eric Church (Blood, Sweat & Beers) OC: …went down. :34

“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen some of these places, so I know what I’m gonna be feeling inside and I hope it explodes out there. That’s what I’m gonna be doing when I stand up on that stage. It’s been a long time coming for us to be here. And I can remember playing ‘em when there were 50 people there and to step into these arenas and have these many people, it’s directly responsible for those first 50, and I hope they’re up front. You know, we’ve done everything we can to have them there, and it’s gonna be neat to see their faces and think about where we’ve came from every night. And it’s gonna be fun and gratifying to go out there and think about all the hard work and think about all the paths we’ve went down.”

Eric Church (Brantley Gilbert) OC: …kick-ass tour. :26

“I choose Brantley, because actually he got on my radar a couple of years ago. I was getting all these calls from bar and club owners in the Southeast where we had set quite a few attendance records, and told me this kid was down there breaking my records. And I remember I wrote his name down and pushed it to the side, and made sure that if my day ever came, I was definitely gonna, he’d be at the top of the list for a tour. So, when it was time for us to do the headline tour, he was the first person I thought about, and I’m glad he’s joining us. I think it’s gonna be a pretty kick-ass tour.”

Butch Allen, the production designer for Eric Church‘s new Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour, has previously worked on tours for Van Halen, Def Leppard and Ozzy Osbourne. The trek, which also features Brantley Gilbert, kicks off Thursday (January 19th) in Fort Smith,Arkansas.

Newcomer Eric Paslay makes his Grand Ole Opry debut on Friday (January 20th). He’s expected to perform “Deep As It Is Wide” and “If The Fish Don’t Bite,” both of which will appear on his upcoming debut album.

In the latest episode of Lady Antebellum’s Webisode Wednesdays, take a look back at the best of their Lady Haze videos and stay tuned for a new one coming soon!

Lady Antebellum‘s Own the Night once again tops the Billboard Country Album chart.  Luke Bryan‘s tailgates & tanlines follows at No. 2.

Keith Urban’s third annual All for the Hall benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has been re-scheduled for Tuesday, April 10th at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. This year’s show will feature performances from Country Music Hall of Famers Vince Gill and Alabama, as well as Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, The Band Perry, Thompson Square, Miranda Lambert’s trio Pistol Annies, Oak Ridge Boys, Exile and Diamond Rio, among others. “Our genre is rich in great groups, past and present, and I loved the idea of getting to see and hear some of them on one stage in one concert,” Urban said of this year’s lineup. “I also liked the idea of having everyone hear how groups like The Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama and Diamond Rio have influenced others and to hear just how good they all are.”

Keith had to postpone the original date, which was supposed to take place this month, due to his recovery after undergoing throat surgery.

“My goal for the concert is really the same as the hall’s,” Urban said in a statement. “To help country fans connect the dots — to find out where their music came from, how it’s evolved (and is still evolving) and to discover the artists that have influenced their favorite artists. Country music is like a big beautiful strange family tree and nowhere is that more honored than at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.”

Tickets for the show are $25-$35 and will go on sale at 10 am January 27 through Ticketmaster, 1-800-745-3000.

The concert will benefit the not-for-profit educational institution’s need for long-term financial security and provides a safety net for its work. 

AUDIO: Keith Urban talks about the importance of his All for the Hall benefit.

Keith Urban (all for the hall) OC: …we’re doing it. :37

“The history and the weight of what it is that they’re maintaining and bringing forward and presenting to the public is vitally important. I mean, this town has only got tourism because of what’s in that hall ultimately. So, for me, it’s not just bringing money to the hall, it’s bringing awareness that the hall is there and what it’s about. It’s keeping, for me, remembering the center of it all. I came here just to play music and I was inspired by music, and the history of this genre is right there. And as I’ve said before, if we’re going to pull it forward, then we’ve got to know where it came from, and we know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”

Eric Church has scored his first No. 1 single with “Drink in My Hand.” The song, which is the latest release from his No. 1 album Chief, hit the top of both the Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase country charts. The singer was inspired to write “Drink in My Hand” after coming off-stage while on tour with Miranda Lambert. “I was on the bus with a couple of co-writers of mine, and we had just walked offstage and saw the crowd, saw our fans and saw ‘em put their beers in the air,” recalls Eric. “You could just tell that they had worked all week and this was their moment to let all that wash away. And that was where the title was born from really. ‘Everything’s OK now, I’ve got a drink in my hand, and I’m relaxing and I’m chilling.’ That just became a really good song born from our fans.” Catch Eric on tour when he hits the road on Thursday with his Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour.

• Eric was signed to Capitol Records in 2006 and released his debut album, Sinners Like Me, which included the Top 20 hits, “How ‘Bout You,” “Two Pink Lines” and “Guys Like Me.” The album also featured the critically-acclaimed “Lightning,” which helped Eric secure both his publishing and record deals.
• In 2009, the North Carolina native released his sophomore project, Carolina, containing his first two Top 10 hits – “Love Your Love the Most” and “Hell on the Heart,” as well as the party favorite, “Smoke a Little Smoke.” The disc has now been certified gold for more than 500-thousand copies sold. His third album, Chief, was released last summer and has already been certified gold.

AUDIO: Eric Church explains how he came up with his latest single, “Drink in My Hand.”

Eric Church (Drink in my Hand) OC: …play that one. :42

“‘Drink in My Hand’ is absolutely, when we wrote this song …we were on tour, this is a song that was written after the cabin, and we were out on tour. I think we were on tour with Miranda at the time, and I was on the bus with a couple of co-writers of mine, and we had just walked offstage and saw the crowd, saw our fans and saw ‘em put their beers in the air. You could just tell that they had worked all week and this was their moment to let all that wash away. And that was where the title was born from really. ‘Everything’s OK now, I’ve got a drink in my hand, and I’m relaxing and I’m chilling.’ That just became a really good song born from our fans. They’re the ones that inspired that, and it was on tour. It was on a tour bus, and I’ll never forget it. I’m happy it turned out the way it did, and I think our fans are gonna love putting their beer, or whatever they’re drinking, up in the air when we play that one.”

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott has been hand-selected by Cosmopolitan as one of six “Fun Fearless” women featured in their February issue, on newsstands now. HIllary joins the short list alongside “Fun Fearless Female of the Year” actress Dakota Fanning as well as Zoe Saldana, Lucy Hale, Rose Byrne and Frieda Pinto. This year marks the 15th Anniversary of Cosmopolitan‘s “Fun Fearless Awards” which recognize entertainers and show business professionals who have had extraordinary years in their careers and taken bold risks in their professional and personal lives.

Fans can catch Scott on the road when Lady Antebellum kicks off the second leg of their OWN THE NIGHT 2012 WORLD TOUR on Friday, January 27th in Tulsa, Oklahoma with Darius Rucker and special guest Thompson Square.  For a full list of upcoming tour dates and appearances, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

Dierks Bentley and the band check in from their rehearsals in Nashville, where they’re preparing for the 2012 leg of the Country & Cold Cans Tour in the latest episode of DBTV.

Lady Antebellum have been nominated in the Best International Group category for the 2012 Brit Awards. Other artists included in the category are Foo Fighters, Jay-Z & Kanye West, Fleet Foxes and Maroon 5.

The band was also nominated for a 2012 Music Award from Australia’s Country Music Channel for International Artist of the Year.

Lady A are among the performers paying tribute to the legendary Lionel Richie in a new CBS-TV special. ACM Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends – A Lifetime of Hits will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 2nd, the day after this year’s ACM Awards will be handed out. The special, which will air on a later date, will benefit ACM Lifting Lives organization which works to improve lives through music.

The second leg of Lady Antebellum’s Own the Night tour, featuring special guests Darius Rucker and Thompson Square, is set to kick off January 27th in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The trio has danced onto the country charts with their latest single, “Dancin’ Away With My Heart,” from their album, Own the Night.

On a sweet note, this Valentine’s Day, you can send your special someone a treat from Lady A! The new featured item in the online store is Lady A’s Sweet Treat “Just A Kiss” chocolate CD. Place your order today and it will ship on Jan. 30th, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Go to ladyantebellum.com for more information.

Lady A were just added to the list of performers at this year’s CMA Music Festival, taking place June 7th through June 10th in Nashville,