Pressroom | UMG Nashville

LADY ANTEBELLUM’S CHARLES KELLEY BELIEVES IN ‘LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT’ AFTER MEETING HIS WIFE.

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Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley said it was “love at first sight” when he met his now-wife, Cassie. Bandmate Hillary Scott, who recently gave birth to twin daughters Betsy Mack and Emory JoAnn, helped orchestrate their meeting.

“We actually had just started the band, and Dave and I, we decided we were going to get the band together and go out to this dinner. Little did we know that Hillary kind of secretly was trying to set me up with Cassie, and the reason was because our keyboard player Jonathan, who still plays with us today, was dating Cassie’s sister,” recalls Charles. “I get there and we just lock eyes the whole night. We’re kinda looking at each other, and we’re like holy moly…It was just love at first sight. And the very next day, I called her up and said, ‘Can I take you on an official date? I’d love to take you out to dinner.’ I didn’t have any money at the time. I probably spent the last little bit of money I had on this really nice meal, and we’ve been together ever since.”

Charles and Cassie were married in 2009 and just celebrated the second birthday of their son, Ward.

Lady Antebellum, who are making their way up the country charts with their latest hit “Heart Break,” will head out on the road on their co-headlining Summer Plays On Tour with pal Darius Rucker July 19th.

Lady A (Charles-love at first sight) OC: …ever since. 1:23
“You know, I’m not gonna say it was like a movie, but it was like a movie. The first time I met my wife was like, it really was true love at first sight. We actually had just started the band, and Dave and I, we decided we were going to get the band together and go out to this dinner. Little did we know that Hillary kind of secretly was trying to set me up with Cassie, and the reason was because our keyboard player Jonathan, who still plays with us today, was dating Cassie’s sister. So all this to say they were getting ready and I didn’t know this was kinda going on, but we go out to this place. What is it called? South Street?” DAVE: “South Street.” CHARLES: “South Street. There was like 15, 20 of us, and we’re upstairs, and I get there a little late, but I get there and we just lock eyes the whole night. We’re kinda looking at each other, and we’re like holy moly. She’s the prettiest girl that had ever paid me any attention. It was one of those things where we just started all as a big group going barhopping, and we never left each other’s side. We just started talking. Every bar we went to, it was like us going into the corner talking. It was just love at first sight. And the very next day, I called her up and said, ‘Can I take you on an official date? I’d love to take you out to dinner.’ I didn’t have any money at the time. I probably spent the last little bit of money I had on this really nice meal, and we’ve been together ever since.”

VALENTINE’S DAY 2018 AUDIO

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Alan Jackson / Billy Currington / Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Josh Turner / Lauren Alaina / Little Big Town / Luke Bryan

Wednesday is Valentine’s Day (February 14th), and we’ve got some thoughts and feelings more about love, romance and marriage from several of your favorite country artists. Some are new and some have become our favorites over the years. Which country stars are romantic? Which ones aren’t? Which ones have a good reason to celebrate the holiday that’s all about love?

AJ (Valentine’s Day) OC: …continue to. :24

“We got a lot of history together now, and we’re happier than we’ve ever been. So, she’s still beautiful, and she’s always inspired songs. I mean, one of my early hits was a song called ‘I’d Love You All Over Again,’ I wrote for her for our 10th anniversary. I mean, there’s been a zillion songs that have pieces of our good days and bad days inspired, and they continue to.”

Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day memory) OC: …took off running. :21
“Yeah, I remember my first girlfriend. I was in first or second grade, but anyway, I remember it was Valentine’s Day and your mom going, ‘You’ve got to give your girlfriend something, and you’ve got to go give it to her.’ I’ll never forget — we got her a box of chocolates or whatever it was. I remember going down to her classroom and knocking on the door, getting her to come to the door. I remember handing it to her, and then I took off running.”

Darius Rucker (wife) OC: …her and country music saved my life. :43

“I don’t know what it was about her. I mean, it was EVERYTHING about her. I knew, I told her I was going to marry her on our first date, [laughs] yeah. Beth’s a strong woman. It takes a strong woman to be married to a musician, especially a musician who was drinking and partying as hard as I was, and I think life for us is where we are now. It took a long time for us to get to where we are now, and we say to each other all the time, ‘I love us. I love our family. I love us.’ And I thank her every day for staying with me and being the strong woman she is, because with Hootie & the Blowfish, I could be gone for three months and then I’d come home for two days and then I’d be gone again for a month, and she put up with all that crap. You know, her and country music saved my life.”

Dierks Bentley (first date tips for guys) OC: …first date. :19
“You know, just opening the door, it’s such a big deal. It’s just a nice thing to do. It’s a car door, unlocking the door for somebody to get in the car first and hold the door to get in, and I just think that’s just, if you’re doing that, then you’re obviously thinking about ways to be respectful, be considerate, be kind and be thoughtful and make for a good first date.”

Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day-most interesting gift he’s given his wife) OC: …formulate yourself. 1:19
“When ‘What Was I Thinkin’’ was released in 2003, I didn’t know what my life would look like, and all of a sudden, I found myself out on the road full-time, just gone. So, the place where I was staying, I had some friends pack it up and move it into a storage facility. This year, I got that whole thing dumped back out into my house. I’m going through just years of old stuff, and in there I found some letters that she and I had written back and forth when we were dating. I was working at The Nashville Network and she was working out in San Francisco and found some letters I had written her and I’d gotten back and some stuff she’d sent me, including a CD of songs she’d been listening to, back when you made CD mixes and there’s like these three hearts on that CD. I just found that it was so meaningful for me those gifts you give each other before any money, before anything else was going on, just music, giving of mixtapes was so cool. She reminded me of a mixtape I sent her. I’d sent it to her via FedEx, because it was so important she get this as quickly as possible. This was sadly before, I guess we had internet back then, but you really couldn’t send songs over the internet. I think the most interesting thing I’ve given her and she’s given me was just mixtapes, because there’s nothing like music to put into words and the thoughts you have in your head that you can’t formulate yourself.”

Eric Church (Valentine’s) OC: …love song is. :18

“True love to me is when you love a person in spite of all their fallibilities, and for me, I have a lot of ‘em. I’m definitely at times hard to love, and that’s what’s great about Katherine and the way she loves me. She loves me in spite of those things and really for those things.”

Josh Turner (Romantic) OC: …long time to come. :26
“If you ask my wife Jennifer if I was a romantic, she would definitely say, ‘Yes,’ but she knows that sometimes my hectic schedule and our busy lifestyles can kind of interfere with the romantic side of things. But we do try to make efforts towards being together and having adult conversations and taking time away from the children and doing things that husbands and wives do, so we’ll definitely try to continue that for a long time to come.”

Lauren Alaina (Valentine’s Day) OC: …pretty embarrassing. 1:37
“I think my first Valentine’s Day with Alex, I was trying to be super cute and cook him a Valentine’s Day dinner. I was 18 at the time, and I’d just moved into this brand new apartment in Chattanooga. I was trying to get used to not living with my parents before I moved to Nashville, so I did like six months in Chattanooga in an apartment. And [giggles] my mom makes these really great mashed potatoes, which I’ve modified the recipe, but they’re delicious and I wanted to make him these potatoes, because I knew I could make these potatoes. Well, I did not grow up with a very updated kitchen, so I didn’t have a [garbage] disposal, it was very new to me. So, I peeled the bag of potatoes and put the potato peels in to the sink and tried to use the disposal and it broke it before he got there. Annnd, I turned the water on, and I was baking chicken and I was cooking broccoli and mashed potatoes, and just turned the water on and then I forgot I had the water on, so I overflowed the kitchen sink with the potato peels, and it looked like something died in my sink and my sink was like spitting it up. It was horrible. I was panicking and trying to get it all cleaned up before he got there, and he knocked in the middle of it, like knocked on the door. He was early, of course. He’s always early, and he freaking knocked. I had like potato peels flying through the air, my potatoes were boiling over. I was still boiling the potatoes. I was running behind and he was running early, so it was just crazy. But, we’ve had some great Valentine’s.”

Little Big Town (Phillip – reasons fell in love) OC: …real love. :17

“I think everything that I had gone through before had prepared me to be ready to see that there was genuine love there for me, and my Rebecca. So, it was just a great time, I wouldn’t have been ready before I met her…Now it’s just been a really great journey to heal through the past and to know real love.”

Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day) OC: …full day. :11
“Well, I mean Valentine’s Day is, it’s kinda me and Caroline’s day just to go and just being with one another for a full day.”

LADY ANTEBELLUM GIVE FANS AN ACOUSTIC ‘HEART BREAK.’

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Lady Antebellum

Lady Antebellum broke down their current hit, ‘Heart Break,’ into a breathtaking piano acoustic version. Check out the video below.

The members of Lady A will team with pal Darius Rucker to co-headline the Summer Plays On Tour beginning July 19th in Toronto.

KACEY MUSGRAVES IS FEATURED ON THE UPCOMING JOHNNY CASH PROJECT, FOREVER WORDS.

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Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves will be featured on the new Johnny Cash project, Forever Words, a collection of unknown poetry and unfinished lyrics from the Man in Black. The album was produced by John Carter Cash, the only son of the country icon and June Carter Cash.

Kacey and her husband, Ruston Kelly, put music to the song, “To June This Morning,” a letter Johnny wrote to his wife. Other artists on the project include close friends and fellow Outlaws, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, as well as Brad Paisley, the late Chris Cornell, daughter Rosanne Cash and June’s daughter Carlene Carter, John Mellencamp, Jewel and Elvis Costello, among others.

https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/961873410967052288

JON PARDI TEAMS UP WITH PEPSI MIDAMERICA TO SEND A PAIR OF FANS TO LAS VEGAS FOR THE ACM AWARDS.

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Jon Pardi

Pepsi MidAmerica and Capitol Records Nashville’s platinum-selling country star Jon Pardi have joined forces to send two lucky fans to Las Vegas, N.V. for a VIP experience with Pardi at the 53^rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

Pardi is currently reigning ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year and CMA New Artist of the Year, and his latest single “She Ain’t In It” is playing on country radio now. “She Ain’t In It” follows Pardi’s three consecutive chart-topping hits – the Platinum-selling “Head Over Boots,” the three-week No. 1 “Dirt On My Boots,” and the up-tempo, feel-good No. 1 “Heartache On The Dance Floor,” all from his GOLD-certified album California Sunrise.

Fans can enter the text-to-win and online contest now. One winner will be chosen to receive a VIP prize package for two (2) tickets to the 2018 ACM Awards in Las Vegas, N.V. including a private meet & greet with Pardi plus, airfare and a two (2) nights of hotel in Las Vegas. Entries are being accepted now at http://www.pepsimidamerica.com/jonpardi.

The contest is being promoted with Dr. Pepper products on over 3 million cans featuring Jon Pardi’s image across portions of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. The contest also features in-store activation at thousands of retail stores throughout the Pepsi MidAmerica service area.

About Jon Pardi
Jon Pardi’s GOLD-certified album California Sunrise (Capitol Records Nashville) debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart earning him CMA’s New Artist Of The Year and ACM New Male Vocalist Of The Year. Pardi dominated the top of the country music charts with consecutive #1 hits including “Dirt On My Boots,” Platinum-selling “Head Over Boots” and “Heartache On The Dance Floor” (#1 on Mediabase). Fourth single “She Ain’t In It” is currently Top 30-and-climbing. California Sunrise (Capitol Records Nashville) is the follow up to Write You A Song (Capitol Records Nashville), which debuted at #3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and yielded Top 10 GOLD-selling song “Up All Night,” “What I Can’t Put Down,” “Missin’ You Crazy” and “When I’ve Been Drinkin” (all co-written by Pardi). Pardi made major National TV appearances on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and ABC’s “Good Morning America” and landed on several ‘Best’ lists including the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone Country, Rhapsody and more. Since then, he’s toured with country music forerunners; Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Zac Brown Band, Miranda Lambert and Dwight Yoakam. Pardi’s third headlining tour “CMT On Tour Presents Jon Pardi’s Lucky Tonight Tour” marked the fastest-selling CMT Tour series to date with record-breaking numbers featured in Pollstar Magazine. This past year, the West Coast native and fast-rising newcomer received multiple first-ever nominations at the CMA Awards, CMT Awards, ACM Awards and AMA Awards. He is currently nominated for iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Song Of The Year (“Dirt On My Boots”) and Best New Country Artist. For more information, visit www.jonpardi.com.

About Pepsi MidAmerica
Pepsi MidAmerica (PMA), headquartered in Marion, Illinois, is proud to distribute quality beverages in portions of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. With continued innovation and dedicated staff, PMA has grown to be one of the largest individually owned Pepsi Bottler’s in the U.S. For more information about PMA, visit www.pepsimidamerica.com.

BILLY CURRINGTON ANNOUNCES HIS 2018 TOUR BEGINNING NEXT MONTH.

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Billy Currington

Following his back-to-back, multi-week No. 1 hits “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To” and “Do I Make You Wanna,” Billy Currington announces his 2018 tour beginning this March. The country star will crisscross the U.S. on a 16-stop tour with support act LOCASH.

The talented Georgia native has spent more than a decade in the spotlight proving he’s truly a man for all seasons. Currington has earned 12 No.1 singles to his name, including the double-platinum hits “People Are Crazy” and “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right.” Possessing one of the smoothest and most distinct voices in any genre of music, Currington is equally skilled at delivering upbeat summertime anthems as well as exploring the complexities of life and love with a poignant ballad. His latest album Summer Forever debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.

Additionally, country duo LOCASH will be joining Currington on the upcoming tour, bringing their signature high energy live performance. LOCASH broke out in 2015 with their gracious gold-certified hit, “I Love This Life,” followed by the flirtatious gold-certified No.1 smash, “I Know Somebody.” Their current single “Don’t Get Better Than That” is climbing the country charts. The full tour schedule is as follows:

http://www.billycurrington.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/BillyCurrington/ | https://www.instagram.com/bccoconutman/ | https://twitter.com/billycurrington

DIERKS BENTLEY LAUNCHES FASHION BRAND, DESERT SON, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FLAG & ANTHEM

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Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley has partnered with Flag & Anthem to create an exclusive new lifestyle collection, Desert Son, launching this month. With its name inspired by some of the more autobiographical lyrics off his upcoming ninth studio album, THE MOUNTAIN, the initial Spring offering will feature primarily men’s items including vintage-washed tees, raglans, hoodies and hats along with a handful of women’s tees. Desert Son will continue to roll-out with 2018 Summer and Fall assortments including button-down shirts, knit tops, denim and jackets. Working alongside his longtime stylist Annie Psaltiras, the two created a line customized to reflect Bentley’s own personal style. Desert Son is now available at retailers including Buckle, Von Maur and Dillard’s and online at flagandanthem.com.

“This has been such a fun thing to create and develop. I love clothes that are perfectly worn-in like you’ve had them a lifetime, but can also take the wear and tear that comes from an active lifestyle,” explained Bentley. “I’ve learned over the last few months that there’s a real art to getting that just right. The Flag & Anthem guys have been doing it at the highest level and have helped me put together a collection that I think is totally authentic to me and one that hopefully people all over the country will dig too.”

“Dierks’ lifestyle perfectly embodies our brand,” said Flag & Anthem co-founder Brad Gartman. “There is a strong synergy between his fans and our customer. We see Dierks and Desert Son as a natural integration with Flag & Anthem and look forward to a long partnership.”

The Desert Son campaign captures the essence of Bentley’s new clothing line as he traveled back to his home state of Arizona for its iconic landscapes. For high-resolution images, click here.
Dierks Bentley is “notorious for his spectacular, high-energy live performances loaded with lots of fan interaction” (Creative Loafing) with 17 No. One hits, more than one billion digital streams, countless nominations from the ACM, CMA, GRAMMY and Billboard Music Awards and has been a Grand Ole Opry member for over a decade. Bentley “continues to challenge himself” (Billboard), which is evident through his upcoming ninth studio album, THE MOUNTAIN due out later this year. Its lead single “Woman, Amen” gives a taste of the record’s “themes of questing and self-actualization across a wide-open terrain of arid deserts and rugged ridgelines, cactus flowers and tumbleweeds,” (NPR). After his 2017 WHAT THE HELL WORLD TOUR claimed the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Tours selling over 750,000 tickets, Bentley will fuel arenas and amphitheaters throughout the summer with his 2018 MOUNTAIN HIGH TOUR, launching May 17th in Columbia, MD. For more information visit www.dierks.com.

VALENTINE’S SPECIAL HOSTED BY LADY ANTEBELLUM’S CHARLES KELLEY AND DAVE HAYWOOD, AKA ‘MANTA-BELLUM.’

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Lady Antebellum

Here is a link to download the two-hour special from Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, aka “Manta-bellum.”

The Dropbox folder includes all of the segments, promos, clock and extra liners. The spot-free special can run now through February 14th.

Lady Antebellum is currently making their way up the country charts with “Heart Break.”

CARRIE UNDERWOOD WILL WATCH ‘THE CHAMPIONS’ EMERGE DURING THE 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS.

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Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood will not only be heard during the 2018 Winter Olympics with her inspiring song, “The Champion,” but she will also be tuning in to several of the competitions rooting on the US.

Growing up, she was fascinated by the figure skaters and would often pretend she was one of them. “I always loved figure skating. I always thought the girls were so beautiful and graceful and strong and athletic,” says Carrie. “I mean, I remember dancing around our living room pretending I was an ice skater, even though I’d never been on the ice before. That’s always one that’s fun to watch, and I am always in awe just how high everyone jumps and twists and spins. It’s incredible.”

One sport that now has Carrie captivated is hockey, for obvious reasons (she’s married to NHL superstar Mike Fisher). “I think an Olympic sport I found myself watching, one I never really watched growing up is hockey,” she reveals. “I didn’t know that much about hockey growing up in Oklahoma and now, obviously, that I’m married to a hockey player, he’s tuning in. He’s checking things out and obviously I’m into hockey these days. So, it’s something that is fun to watch and I’m glad it’s something I’ve gotten into and I’m glad that I get to watch even more hockey during the Olympics.”

“The Champion,” which was used for this year’s Super Bowl, will also be used for NBC’s coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Competition will kick off on Thursday, February 8th, a day before the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 9th, and runs through Sunday, February 25th, the day of the Closing Ceremony.

Carrie is currently in the studio working on her next album which will be released on Capitol Records Nashville.

Carrie Underwood (Olympics) 1 OC: …incredible. :44
“It is really hard to pick one Olympic sport that I love to watch and is my favorite because there’s always something going on, and it’s always just kind of nice to tune in and see how we’re doing as a country. Growing up, I always loved figure skating. I always thought the girls were so beautiful and graceful and strong and athletic. I mean, I remember dancing around our living room pretending I was an ice skater, even though I’d never been on the ice before. That’s always one that’s fun to watch, and I am always in awe just how high everyone jumps and twists and spins. It’s incredible.”

Carrie Underwood (Olympics) 2 OC: …the Olympics. :33
“I think an Olympic sport I found myself watching, one I never really watched growing up is hockey. I didn’t know that much about hockey growing up in Oklahoma and now, obviously, that I’m married to a hockey player, he’s tuning in. He’s checking things out and obviously I’m into hockey these days. So, it’s something that is fun to watch and I’m glad it’s something I’ve gotten into and I’m glad that I get to watch even more hockey during the Olympics.”

CHRIS STAPLETON DOMINATES THE COUNTRY ALBUM CHARTS.

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Chris Stapleton

Chris Stapleton has kicked off 2018 in a big way, sweeping the GRAMMY Awards by winning three awards and also dominating Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart (dated February 10th) with the top three spots, marking the first time the feat has been achieved in over 25 years.

The Kentucky native is the first artist to hold the three top spots on the Top Country Albums since Garth Brooks achieved this accomplishment in 1992 with Ropin’ the Wind, No Fences and his self-titled debut, according to Billboard. Following the GRAMMY Awards, the singer’s latest release From A Room: Volume 2, holds tight at No. 1, followed by Traveller and From A Room: Volume 1.

Chris’ latest song, “Broken Halos,” has reached the Top 10 on the country singles charts.

You can catch Chris on his All-American Road Show Tour with special guests Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb when it resumes June 16th in Brandon, Mississippi.

Chris Stapleton (making music Vol. 2) OC: …making music. :59
“You know, my goal with making Traveller, I hoped to possibly sell 50,000 records, and that was my goal. I was like I was gonna make this record and I was going to go out and play music, because that’s what I knew how to do and that’s what Universal allowed me to do. Obviously, we did a little better than that, and so this time around I tried to reset – to a degree – and go, but let’s put this into perspective here. None of this was expected stuff. What were you trying to do? What are we trying to do? We’re trying to make music that we like and make a record that we like. So, very much I would love to be able to sell enough records that I can still go play shows and keep making records. That’s the goal. That’s the dream, whether it’s 20,000 records or 50,000 records or getting to play a room for 300 people or 20,000 people. That’s the dream still. I’m still making a living playing music. So, no, I didn’t feel any pressure from it whatsoever, because all that came from just making music for the sake of making music.”