Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

King of Country Music George Strait’s brand new single “Every Little Honky Tonk Bar” debuts as the most-added single at country radio this week with 117 stations, landing the tune in the Top 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart.

“This is Straight Up the best Country song that has crossed my desk in a long time.  The King still reigns supreme.”  – Bill Black, WKSJ (Mobile)

“The format’s standard is back! Tempo….a little two-step and all is well in the world! Great to have new music from The King of Country.” – Tom Hanrahan, WDXB (Birmingham)

“We love this new George single. It’s got tempo and exactly what we need on KMLE right now.” – Tim Richards, KMLE (Phoenix)

“George Strait, ‘The King,’ is back at it, asking everybody else to hold his beer while he delivers another solid performance.” – Danny Dwyer, KUPL (Portland OR)

“‘That ain’t country;’ ‘We don’t play new songs;’ ‘Too poppy;’ ‘No tempo.’ Yep, pretty much there is no excuse not to play this huge hit song from the icon in the format.” – Nate Deaton, KRTY (San Jose CA)

“Every Little Honky Tonk Bar,” written by George Strait, Bubba Strait and longtime collaborator Dean Dillon, is the first radio single to come from Strait’s upcoming 30^th studio album, Honky Tonk Time Machine, due out March 29 on MCA Nashville. “Every Little Honk Tonk Bar” is available now on all digital and streaming partners HERE, and album pre-order available HERE.

With an unmatched 60 singles hitting the top of the charts – more than any other artist in any genre – during the span of his 30-year career, Strait is the undeniable “King of Country Music.” He has collected 33 Platinum or multi-Platinum-selling albums, more than any country artist and ranking third across all genres behind only The Beatles and Elvis Presley. Strait is the only act in history to have a Top 10 hit every year for over three decades and has sold nearly 70 million albums and earned more than 60 major entertainment industry awards, including induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

The Country Music Hall of Famer recently played his 21st and 22nd sold-out shows at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The “Strait to Vegas” series began with six shows in 2016 and extended with 10 more in 2017. In 2018, Strait headlined Bayou Country Superfest to a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Superdome crowd in New Orleans, Louisiana, two nights in Tulsa, Oklahoma and one night in Austin, Texas. This year, fans can catch Strait at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on March 30, Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on June 8, two additional engagements of “Strait to Vegas” at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on August 23 and 24, and Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on November 22 and 23. For more information, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com.

Just weeks after earning his 18th career No. One, multi-Platinum singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley continues to reveal ambitious, complex sounds with lyrics reflective of his own personal journey over the last 18 months through the writing and the recording of his latest No. One album THE MOUNTAIN. With the release of “Living” to radio today, the “poignant” (Rolling Stone) track “offers up the album’s most easily likable vocal melody and some electric guitar crunch” (Paste) right on the heels of two back-to-back No. One hits from the record with “Woman, Amen” and “Burning Man.”

“The idea for this song started from being on the road and realizing how little ‘living’ we were actually doing out there,” said Bentley. “Whole days would go by where you never leave the bus and all you would see is the back parking lot of the arena. Going to Walgreens was a big deal! That is when the idea was born that there is a true difference between being alive and actually ‘living.’ This song is certainly about big moments in life and adventure…but it’s more about finding the beauty and that feeling in everyday moments. My goal for 2019 is to get outdoors and seek adventure whenever possible while also being fully present and living in even the ordinary moments…whether it be my son’s hockey practice and my girls’ theater performances or sitting around the table having dinner in catering with my band and crew.”

His introspective single “Living” not only serves as a standout on THE MOUNTAIN, but has also been dubbed as “a highlight of the show” (Country Aircheck) during his 2019 BURNING MAN TOUR, which will be on full display at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena this Friday (2/22). Critics alike agree as the track “provides lyrical content with depth beyond what’s normally on the charts” (Wide Open Country).

Pegged as “one of Country music’s most enviable brands, equal parts affability and authenticity” (Forbes), Bentley continues to be a dominant voice for the genre with over 8.6 billion overall digital streams. Reaching a new creative high while “making music designed to challenge” (New York Times), Bentley co-wrote 10 of his current album THE MOUNTAIN’s 13 tracks, which earned him the highest debut sales of his career and became his seventh chart-topping album. Known to deliver “the most thoughtful, complete collections in Country music” (USA Today) Bentley has amassed 18 career No. Ones, countless nominations from the ACMs, CMAs, Billboard Music Awards and more while also earning 14 GRAMMY  nominations. Bentley will make notable stops throughout the country on his 2019 BURNING MAN TOUR with special guests Jon Pardi, Tenille Townes and the Hot Country Knights. For more information visit www.dierks.com.

photo credit: Reid Long

This past weekend, EMI Nashville’s Brothers Osborne crossed a huge milestone off their career bucket list, headlining at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium for the first time. The reigning ACM and CMA Vocal Duo of the Year ended up selling out three shows in one week as part of their headlining world tour and continued to impress critics and fans alike with their dynamic live show. Rolling Stone praises, “a performance that emphasized their musical chops and improvisation country-rock that has made them consistent Award favorites.” To help celebrate the momentous occasion, the duo was surprised backstage with plaques for their Top 10 hit “It Ain’t My Fault” reaching Platinum Certification by the RIAA.

Throughout the three shows, the five-time GRAMMY nominees played hits such as “Stay A Little Longer” and “It Ain’t My Fault” in addition to fan favorites including “21 Summer” and “Pawn Shop”. Each night featured different special guests such as Dierks Bentley performing their No.1 hit “Burning Man,” Maren Morris singing “Greener Pastures,” which she co-wrote with the duo, as well as Lee Ann Womack for their duet “Loving Me Back.”  Additional special guests included Dan Auerbach for a cover of Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time” and Lucie Silvas for a cover of her song “Everything Looks Beautiful.”

Brothers Osborne recently debuted the music video for their current single “I Don’t Remember Me (Before You),” watch HERE. The sentimental video centers around a professional bull rider who struggles to get his life back on track as he battles with substance abuse and includes a surprise ending that will tug at your heartstrings.

The Maryland Natives will continue on their headlining world tour with upcoming sold out shows in Washington DC, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Later this year, the singer/songwriters will join Chris Stapleton’s “All-American Road Show” tour.

For a full list of tour dates, news, images and more, visit www.BrothersOsborne.com

American Idol returns March 3rd and with it, so do Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie as the show’s judges. While the bond between the three has solidified even more this season, Luke says the most important aspect of the talent competition is the contestants.

“It’s always about the contestants,” says Luke. “That’s what makes the show fun for us – the surprises, the talent, the youthfulness of the talent. I mean, we have so many 15, 16, 17-year-olds that are unbelievable, and watching them handle the pressure and have fun and the tears and the joy and the smile and all that. So, we’re loving it.”

The Georgia native and four-time Entertainer of the Year says he loves being a judge on the show and helping make dreams come true. “We love the role – me and Katie and Lionel and Ryan – we’re having a great time doing this. If we weren’t having a good time, it would change the whole dynamic. To be able to facilitate these kids’ dreams is very special.”

Luke is currently poised to hit the top of the country charts with his latest smash, “What Makes You Country.”

The new season of American Idol premieres Sunday, March 3rd at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC.

Multi-award-winning singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina heads to late night this Tuesday (February 19th) to sing her latest tune, “Ladies in the ’90s,” for her debut performance on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

Lauren co-wrote “Ladies in the ’90s” with Jesse Frasure and Amy Wadge. The fun, upbeat song pays homage to an era and the artists who helped define Lauren’s youth and cultivate her love for music and song. Including nods to Alanis Morissette, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Madonna, Reba, Shania, and more, fans can listen to “Ladies in the ’90s” and hear Lauren’s full 90s playlist HERE

As the reigning ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year, Lauren is also on one of the hottest tours of the year with Blake Shelton on the Friends And Heroes 2019 Tour. They are currently coming out of a huge opening weekend in Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Sioux Falls before heading to Indianapolis, Buffalo and Pittsburgh this weekend with upcoming dates Louisville, Jacksonville, St. Paul and more. For more information, visit www.LaurenAlainaOfficial.com.

In addition to hitting the road with five major tours in the past 12 months alone (Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, Cole Swindell, Jason Aldean and Cole Swindell/Dustin Lynch), Lauren has also earned back-to-back major awards for ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year and CMT Collaborative Video of the Year, she co-hosted the prestigious 12^thAnnual ACM Honors, and she performed on the 38^th annual broadcast of the top-rated PBS special “A Capitol Fourth” alongside music legends CeCe Winans, the Temptations, The Beach Boys, Pentatonix and more. For ABC’s CMA Fest TV special, Lauren joined her good friend Kane Brown for an electric performance of their now 4x Platinum-selling No. 1 hit, “What Ifs,” which went to No. 1 simultaneously topping five Billboard charts.

Kacey Musgraves has just been announced as a presenter for this year’s Oscars. Fresh from winning four GRAMMY Awards, including Album of the Year for Golden Hour, she’ll join previously announced presenters Gary Oldman, Allison Janney, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Daniel Craig, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Charlize Theron, Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Emilia Clarke, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy, Jason Momoa and Sarah Paulson, among others.

The 91st Academy Awards will be handed out live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday (February 24th) at 8pm ET/5pm PT on ABC. The Oscars will also be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Kacey, who has hit the airwaves with her new single, “Rainbow,” from her Grammy-winning album, takes her Oh, What a World Tour to Portland, Oregon on Monday (February 18th) and Seattle on Tuesday (February 19th).

The King of Rock and Roll is getting a star-studded treatment as the Elvis All-Star Tribute recreates his iconic ’68 Comeback Special on Sunday night. Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town and Darius Rucker are joined by Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Post Malone, Mac Davis, Shawn Mendes and Kelsea Ballerini, and hosted by Blake Shelton. Check out a few of the performances below. As a companion album to the TV special, The Best of the ’68 Comeback Special is now available in digital and CD formats. The album contains 15 remastered Elvis performances from the “stand-up” and “sit-down” shows filmed for the 1968 broadcast, as well as three original studio recordings inspired by the upcoming tribute. The Elvis All-Star Tribute two-hour special airs Sunday (February 17th) at 9pm ET on NBC.

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Everyone knows how much Darius Rucker loves golf, and that includes the PGA. They’ve just named him brand ambassador for PGA Tour as part of their Live Under Par campaign. As part of his new role, Darius will make regular appearances as a commentator on PGA Tour Live, and in-person at tour events.  “I am so proud to be a part of the PGA Tour,” he says. “Proud they want me to be out there representing them in a different way. I’ve been friends with so many guys on the tour and have done some really cool things with them over the years. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Darius Rucker, Lauren Alaina and Maddie & Tae, among many other artists will take part in the ACM’s 7th Annual Party for a Cause, taking place at different events April 5th – 7th in Las Vegas leading up to the ACM Awards on April 7th. Scotty McCreery, Morgan Evans, Chris Lane, Brett Young are also among the performers of the three-day event benefitting ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, which works to lift lives through the power of music. Tickets are now on sale at partyforacause.com.

EMI Records Nashville/32 Bridge Entertainment artist Jon Langston celebrated CRS week with a late-night performance on Wednesday at Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink which included a surprise visit from the bar’s namesake superstar showing his support for Langston. Fans lined up out the door to be admitted to the show and once inside, the rowdy crowd sang along to every song in Langston’s set. For more information about this event, click HERE.

Due to an overwhelming demand from his fans for new music, the Georgia native also released new song, “Dance Tonight.” Written by Langston and Jody Stevens, “Dance Tonight” tells the sweet story of a man who will do anything to make his significant other happy, even if it is as simple as dancing together at home to her favorite records. Langston’s debut and current single, “When It Comes To Loving You,” continues to climb the country radio charts.

Langston kicks off his Dance Tonight Tour with back-to-back sold-out shows in Chicago, IL and Lansing, MI. Additionally, Langston hits the road this summer on Luke Bryan’s Sunset Repeat Tour. To see all of Langston’s upcoming tour dates, fans can check out his website jonlangston.com.

DANCE TONIGHT TOUR

February 16                 Joe’s On Weed Street                         Chicago, IL – SOLD OUT
February 22                 Tequila Cowboy                                 Lansing, MI – SOLD OUT
March 1                       Whiskey Barrel Music Hall                Laconia, NH
March 21                     The Music Farm                                 Charleston, SC
March 22                     Saddlebags                                         Savannah, GA
March 28                     Midnight Rodeo                                 Springfield, MO
March 29                     Slide & Ride Saloon                           Martin, TN
April 12                       The Tavern                                         Milledgeville, GA
April 13                       Barrelhouse LIVE                              August, GA
April 19                       Grizzly Rose                                       Denver, CO
April 20                       Warehouse 2565                                 Grand Junction, CO

Singer-songwriter Jon Langston grew up on the music of his heroes like Alan Jackson and the Eagles. Then, following multiple concussions and the end of his Division I football career, Jon focused on music and worked to develop his own style and sound while drawing from that variety of influences. In 2013 with the release of his first song, “Forever Girl,” Jon’s live shows began to grow, and he found himself opening for Chase Rice at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University.  It was his first-ever full band show, and when the crowd sang “Forever Girl” along with him, Jon knew he wanted to pursue a career in music. The now 27-year-old Music City resident has since signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV, management with KP Entertainment, landed a record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville, and is fostering his own voice in country music. The Georgia native is the first artist under Luke Bryan’s new label, 32 Bridge Entertainment, and will be worked in conjunction with EMI Records Nashville. He recently released his major label debut and current single “When It Comes To Loving You” which landed in the Top 5 of the all-genre iTunes Chart and has accumulated over 9 million streams.

Dierks Bentley and the world’s leading live entertainment company Live Nation announced that Seven Peaks Music Festival will officially return for a second year on Aug 30 – Sept 1 over Labor Day Weekend. Set against the heart-stopping mountain views of Buena Vista, CO, fans traveled from 49 states and as far as Australia for the inaugural event in 2018.

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By signing up to the festival’s official newsletter at SevenPeaksFestival.com, fans can gain access to a special Pre-Sale code to purchase passes before they go on sale to the general public. Additionally, Alumni fans, that bought passes for the inaugural year, will have the first chance at passes with the Alumni Pre-Sale. More information on the upcoming event including lineup and ticket details will be revealed in the coming weeks.

To be considered for on site media credentials please reach out to press@sevenpeaksfestival.com.

Follow further Seven Peaks Festival updates on Facebook: Seven Peaks Festival, Twitter: @sevenpeaksfest and Instagram: @sevenpeaksfest.

About Dierks Bentley:
Pegged as “one of Country music’s most enviable brands, equal parts affability and authenticity” (Forbes), Bentley continues to be a dominant voice for the genre with over 8.6 billion overall digital streams. Reaching a new creative high while “making music designed to challenge” (New York Times), Bentley co-wrote 10 of his current album THE MOUNTAIN’s (Capitol Records Nashville) 13 tracks, which earned him the highest debut sales  of his career and became his seventh chart-topping album. Critics continue to applaud “one of the most joyful, brazen, and cohesive collections of his career” (Entertainment Weekly) as it was featured as one of “2018 Best Albums” by Esquire, USA Today, Rolling Stone, The Tennessean, and more as it was also of the only Country albums on Billboard’s all-genre year end list. THE MOUNTAIN garnered multiple nominations including “Album of the Year” nods from the ACM and CMAs and has been streamed more than 245 million times. Bentley has amassed 18 career No. Ones, billions of digital streams, countless nominations from the  ACMs, Billboard Music Awards and more while earning 13  GRAMMY  nominations – including at least one stemming from each of his last six albums. Bentley will make notable stops throughout the country on his 2019 BURNING MAN TOUR with special guests Jon Pardi, Tenille Townes and the Hot Country Knights, including his return to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena next week after making a sold-out headlining debut in 2016. For more information, visit www.dierks.com.

About Seven Peaks Music Festival:
Seven Peaks Music Festival is the latest addition to Live Nation’s family of country festivals spread across the country including Watershed in George, WA; Faster Horses in Brooklyn, MI; Country LakeShake in Chicago, IL and Tortuga Music Festival in Ft. Lauderdale. FL. Launched in 2018, the three-day, two-stage camping experience festival offers an eclectic and comradery-filled lineup with fans enjoying the unexpected with late-night jams and surprise guests, as well as activity-filled excursions during the day. PEOPLE heralded the festival’s “authenticity in every component” with Rolling Stone praising the “community-first, play-every-set take on a country festival.” The natural beauty of the site’s sprawling grounds provides the perfect homegrown vibe for a Labor Day weekend camp out under the stars, where festival-goers will have multiple camping options from tents to full-sized RV accommodations. For more information visit sevenpeaksfestival.com.

PLATINUM-selling duo, Maddie & Tae revealed the “wistful” (Rolling Stone) acoustic performance video for “Die From A Broken Heart,” today exclusively on Rolling Stone, watch it HERE. The candid, heart-wrenching track is the second song off their forthcoming album due this year. In “their finest moment yet,” (Esquire) the song has universally resonated, breaking into Spotify’s Viral 50 charts in both the U.S. and Canada, wrapping the year on Esquire’s Top Country Songs of The Year list.

Rolling Stone praises the duo for their “signature harmonies” showcased in the “new acoustic version foregrounding their sisterly vocal interplay.”

Award-winning duo Maddie & Tae are drawing praise for their new single “Friends Don’t,” anchored around their stellar vocal pairings and some of the tightest harmonies on Music Row (Rolling Stone). “The sound is identifiable while still representing a distinct step forward” (Billboard), giving fans a taste of what to expect from their highly-anticipated forthcoming full-length album, due in 2019. Maddie & Tae first broke out in 2013 with their brilliant take down of bro-country, “Girl In A Country Song,” which took Country radio by storm, skyrocketing to the top of the charts and quickly going PLATINUM. The duo became only the third female duo in 70 years to top the Country Airplay charts, also earning trophies from the Country Music Academy and Radio Disney Music Awards along with multiple ACM, CMA and CMT Award nominations. Receiving widespread praise from NPR, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, Glamour and others, country music’s hottest stars including Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice and Brad Paisley have welcomed Maddie & Tae on the road, with Carrie Underwood recently inviting the duo out as direct support on her 2019 Cry Pretty Tour 360 kicking-off in May. For additional information, visit www.maddieandtae.com.