South Carolina native and current resident Darius Rucker has issued an apology to Cam Newton, who was the first-round draft pick for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. You see, Darius is a huge Gamecock fan, even attending the University of South Carolina, and when football star and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton helped to blast the singer’s beloved Gamecocks 56-17 in 2010, Darius said the player would never cut it in the NFL. He was way off the mark , and he has since apologized to the rookie quarterback.

“I was one of those who, when he was coming out of college, me being a Gamecock fan and knowing what he did to us and the SEC last year, I was a hater,” Darius told the Charlotte Observer. “I’ll never forget his first [regular-season] game. I told a buddy that Cam is going to get blown up. I would like to apologize to Cam Newton. I was dead wrong.”

“His football IQ is off the charts,” Darius continues. “I love his body language. I love the way he walks down the field. You know he’s a leader. Every day I’m becoming more and more of a Cam Newton fan. If you’d told me last year I’d be saying that, I’d have said you’re crazy.”

Darius, who’s climbing the country charts with his latest single, “I Got Nothin’,’ is a huge football fan, but you won’t catch him wearing a favored jersey on game day. “No, I’m not that guy. Anybody over 30 who wears a jersey is a dork,” he says jokingly. “My brother-in-law is 40-something and he wears a Steelers jersey. Every time I see him in it I make fun of him.” He may not wear a jersey, but he does have the emblem of his favorite NFL team — the Miami Dolphins — tattooed on his body.

Halloween is right around the corner, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes, and recalling memories of Halloweens past.

As a child, Dierks Bentley says Halloween was all about fireworks and blowing up stuff around his home. “Growing up in Arizona, we couldn’t get ’em, so we’d have ’em shipped in illegally. We were all about M-80s in the mailboxes and bottle-rocket wars.” As a father of two girls, he now takes costume pointers from his daughter Evie.

Audio:  Dierks Bentley talks about the Halloweens of his childhood.

Dierks Bentley (Halloween) OC: … …around home. [laughs]  :23

“Oh, when I was a kid, I was all into fireworks. Growing up in Arizona, we couldn’t get ’em, so we’d have ’em shipped in illegally. I still remember the name of the guy we’d call. His name was Joe, and he’d bring in, ship ’em in a package with no writing on ’em. We were all about M-80s in the mailboxes and bottle rocket wars. To me, as a kid, Halloween was fireworks, was blowing up stuff around home. [laughs]”

Audio: Dierks Bentley reveals what he and the rest of his family will be dressing up as this Halloween.

Dierks Bentley (2011 Halloween) OC: …know about. :45

“Evie’s got, uh, yeah, she’s already got her Halloween costume picked out. She’s decided what everyone’s gonna be this year in our family. So, she’s gonna be The Little Mermaid, and then her younger sister’s gonna be a crab. I think his name is Sebastian. I don’t know The Little Mermaid that well, but she’s decided Jordan’s gonna be the crab. And she wants me to be Swiper, who’s a character from a TV show called Dora, The Explorer. So, I don’t think they make mid-30-year-old male Swiper costumes, so if any fans want to submit one, or if you see me in Joanne’s fabric store putting together like a superhero kind of costume, that’s because I love my daughter and that’s who she wants me to be. She’s in charge. I think she has Cassie going as Dora. So, maybe there’s something secretive thing going on between Dora and Swiper that we don’t know about.”

FYI: Swiper’s description is “a sneaky fox with a blue mask and gloves, who is the antagonist of the TV series and appears in nearly every episode.As his name implies, Swiper steals or attempts to steal key items that help Dora on her adventures. Clever as he is, Swiper never manages to take Dora completely by surprise; an ominous ‘whisking’ sound is always audible just prior to his appearances…he is also considered a master of disguises.”

Little Big Town‘s Kimberly Schlapman has an innovative place to hide goodies for the rest of her bandmates. Check out the latest episode of Little Big Town TV to find out her secret!

Dierks Bentley takes to the hills of Tennessee to shoot the video for his latest single, “Home.” In the new episode of DBTV, fans can get a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the clip.

Most people know Darius Rucker’s passion for watching football, but not the lengths he goes to to watch every single game he can during his spare time, while hanging out in his “man cave.”  “I got six TVs in there,” he reveals. “I’ve got a 65 [inch], and on top of that, I have two 48s and then under that, I’ve got two 36s, I think, and then I’ve got another 65 [inch] on another wall. Football Sunday and Saturday is pretty huge for me. I watch every game [laughs] I’m a TV guy. I love TV! I mean I’ve got a TV in pretty much every room…I think I got 12 or 13 TVs in my house.”

• Darius is currently climbing the country charts with his latest single, “I Got Nothin’.”
• Darius is set to join his labelmates Lady Antebellum on the second leg of their Own the Night 2012 World Tour, kicking off January 27th in Tulsa, Oklahoma and running through June 2012. Fans can purchase tickets to the first dates on sale beginning October 28th.

Darius (TV) OC: …in my house. :35 [NOTE: background noise]

“For me, my man cave is all about sports. I got six TVs in there. I’ve got a 65 [inch], and on top of that, I have two 48s and then under that, I’ve got two 36s, I think, and then I’ve got another 65 [inch] on another wall. Football Sunday and Saturday is pretty huge for me. I watch every game [laughs] I’m a TV guy. I love TV! I mean I’ve got a TV in pretty much every room. I mean, my wife’s not a TV person. Thank God she let me actually put a TV in all the rooms I want. I think I got 12 or 13 TVs in my house.”

Darius (wife &TV) OC: …400 through. :15  [NOTE: background noise]

“Still to this day, I’ll walk into my bedroom and my wife’ll be watching TV and I’ll have to pick up the remote control and turn it to the HD channel whien she’s watching and go, ‘Honey, doesn’t that look a lot better?’ [laughs] And she’s like, ‘Yeah, but I don’t know those channels.’ I’m like, ‘They’re 400! How many times do I have to tell you that? They’re 400 through.”

Luke Bryan takes fans behind-the-scenes of his recent Farm Tour in the latest episode of LBTV!

As we mentioned previously, Dierks Bentley hosted his sixth annual Miles & Music for Kids celebrity motorcycle ride and benefit concert on Sunday (October 16th) in Nashville. The event, which included more than one-thousand motorcycle riders, raised more than $205,000 dollars to benefit the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Expanding to other cities, such as Chicago, Columbus (Ohio) and Atlanta, the event has raised more than $2 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The event began south of Nashville and ended at Riverfront Park in downtown Nashville with a concert, featuring Dierks and special guests including Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, Eli Young Band, Colt Ford, Craig Campbell and Josh Thompson.

Dierks (Miles & Music check) 101811 OC: …huge check. :30

“We just did our ride this past weekend for Miles & Music for Kids, something we started six years ago that raises money for the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Every year, even though it’s our sixth year, you never really know what you’re getting into or what to expect. Certainly, the economy this year has been just brutal and so many people are out of jobs and there’s a lot of uncertainty out there so you never know when you’re doing a charity event what to expect in the turnout or the giving or whatnot. We’ve done this in a couple of different cities this year; Nashville, certainly that’s the most money we’ve raised. It’s a huge check.”

Dierks (Miles & Music check) 2 OC: …let us down. :40

“They bring out a big check on stage, a fake check, you know, but some of the kids from the hospital that are benefitting fromn the great nurses and doctors and staff and research at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, these kids come out carrying this great, big check and I get to autograph it and a real check will be going out very soon, this week. It’s a great feeling, and I take a great pride in the people that are making it happen. Obviously, the fans that come out and buy the tickets and support it; all the volunteers from the hospital, from different places all come out and they donate their time. It takes a lot of people to raise that money, and a lot off people giving their time to raise that money, so it’s been a real blessing. And we’ll do it as long as the community is excited about it. They’ve never let us down.” 

DIERKS BENTLEY’S “HOME” NAMED OFFICIAL SONG OF THE ARIZONA CENTENNIAL COMMISSION

Bentley Discusses Writing “Home” on NPR’s All Things Considered

Nashville, TN – Oct. 19, 2011 – Award winning singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley’s anthemic new single “Home” has been hand-picked by the Arizona Centennial Commission to serve as its official song for the state’s 100 year celebration. The Arizona native will also return to his home state next Feb. to join the festivities as the Honorary Chairman of the Arizona Centennial Motorcycle Ride.   
 
Bentley was a featured guest on NPR’s All Things Considered yesterday, where he discussed writing “Home” and both his inspiration during the writing process, along with the challenges that come with taking on such a big subject.
 
To listen to Bentley’s NPR interview, visit: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/18/141468103/dierks-bentley-a-tough-song-to-finish-the-right-way
 
“Home” is the latest single off Bentley’s sixth Capitol Nashville studio project that is scheduled for release in early 2012.  Fans can catch Bentley’s “Country & Cold Cans” Tour this weekend at Irving Plaza in New York, NY (10/20 and 10/21) and Uncasville, CT (10/22). For more information and a full list of tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.

Lady Antebellum are back in Nashville, having hit the media circuit overseas. The trio are getting prepared for their Own The Night Tour 2011, hitting the rehearsal halls working out set lists, staging and more.The band, who are nominated for CMA Vocal Group of the Year, gave their fans a short behind-the-scenes teaser of one of their rehearsals. The trek kicks off November 11th in Knoxville. Check out the video clip below. 

Lady A (international success) OC: …amazing. :42

“I think honestly that’s one of the coolest emails we get every couple of weeks is what the album sales are in countries all around the world. And truthfully, that’s just proof of what a song like ‘Need You Now’ has done for our career. I mean it’s bizarre and so humbling to think about the journey that that song has taken literally around the world…honestly, too, we use those album sales in what countries those are in as indicators of when we’re not touring in the States where we need to travel to next. And that’s always fun too, because this career that we set out to pursue is now allowing us to travel the world, and it’s just really amazing.”

Eric Church and Luke Bryan have joined the list of performers at this year’s CMA Awards. The two are up for New Artist of the Year, along with The Band Perry, Chris Young and Thompson Square.

This is the second time Luke has been nominated for the same award, while Eric is a first-time CMA nominee. He secured his first ACM Award earlier this year for Top New Solo Artist, and this will be the first time he’s performed on an awards show in front of his peers. At the ACMs, he performed at the ACM Fan Jam off-site from the actual awards show.

Luke took home the ACM Top New Artist of the Year award in 2010.

Other than the five New Artist of the Year nominees, the performance list includes Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney with Grace Potter and Rascal Flatts with Natasha Bedingfield.

The 45th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, November 9th at 8pm ET on ABC.