Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Chris Stapleton continued his winning streak at this year’s CMA Awards, taking home Male Vocalist of the Year (for the third year in a row) and Album of the Year for From A Room: Volume 1, which remains the top-selling country album of 2017.

Chris is grateful for the awards and calls the past few years a fairy-tale.

“It’s an unimaginable, fairy-tale of a thing really, and we’re so proud just to get to just make music and go out and play it for people and make records and that’s the dream,” said Chris. “Then when you have all of these other things that people are nice enough to give you, that makes the dream an even larger dream.”

This was his second Album of the Year trophy. His first win was for his 2015 album, Traveller.

“It sure is a powerful thing when you can pull out an album cut and have everybody sing along and have somebody be excited about it or watch that be somebody’s song they were hoping you were going to play that night,” he said. “I care about the album, quite a bit, and I kind of learned that from Tom Petty. He made my favorite record of all time, which was Wild Flowers, and that album really made me appreciate the album, top to bottom. I try to think about that record a lot when I’m making records, and that’s the way I feel about albums. I want them to be good, top to bottom.”

Chris, who’s making his way up the country chart with “Broken Halos,” will release From A Room: Volume 2 December 1st.

He will wrap up his All-American Road Show Tour this weekend, which includes stops in Little Rock on Thursday (November 16th), Oklahoma City (November 17th) and Omaha (November 18th).

Little Big Town picked up their sixth consecutive trophy for Vocal Group of the Year at this year’s CMA Awards, tying wins by The Statler Brothers and Rascal Flatts, and the achievement has made them even more humble than they are already.

“I was looking out at Randy Owen from Alabama and thinking of all the groups that have come before us and for us to be standing up there, we are truly humbled by it,” says LBT’s Phillip Sweet. “It’s just amazing to be in that category because there’s so much talent in that category. So, we’re just very thankful.”

During the show, the group performed a tribute to the late Glen Campbell by singing his hit “Wichita Lineman” with the song’s writer Jimmy Webb. See a clip below.

As for the gentle and loving tone of this year’s CMA Awards, LBT’s Karen Fairchild gave a personal perspective of harmony and unity.

“It just struck me when I was up there, we’ve been together because we might not agree on everything, but we talk about them across the table and fellowship together and we just say, ‘I love you. I might not agree, but we’re friends,’” says Karen. “We need more of that community in our lives and maybe we can put the differences aside or just agree to just disagree. I think harmony for me, I don’t know, it just struck me like that’s really what we need. It’s the ability to have a conversation without anger. It’s okay to love people you disagree with.”

The group, who will launch The Breakers Tour in February, just released the music video for their latest song, “When Someone Stops Loving You.”

If you can’t wait for their tour, they will be performing at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium November 14th, and they’ll also perform during the CMA Country Christmas Special airing November 27th at 8pm ET on ABC.

Luke Bryan is enjoying every moment of his role as judge, along with Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, on the newly revamped American Idol. In the clip below, he talks about how his father pushed him into going to Nashville to pursue his own dreams, and he can’t wait to do the same for others.

American Idol premieres March 11th at 8pm ET on ABC.

Luke is nearing the top of the country charts with his latest, “Light It Up,” the first song from his new album, What Makes You Country, available December 8th.

Luke Bryan will release a new version of “O Holy Night” on Friday (October 10th). He recorded the holiday classic earlier this year

“I truly believe that ‘O Holy Night’ is one of the prettiest songs, one of the most spiritual Christmas songs that’s ever been. For years and years and years, I’ve just wanted the opportunity to sing it, and hopefully to showcase a little of my south Georgia church voice upbringing,” says Luke. “I just felt like the big man upstairs was on my side singing it, and it was a very emotional, uplifting feeling while I was in the vocal booth, and probably one of my better vocals I’ve performed in my career.”

This isn’t his first Christmas song he’s recorded; in 2008, he released “Run Run Rudolph.”

People gave a sneak listen to the song on Thursday (October 9th). Listen below.

Luke is nearing the top of the country charts with his latest song, “Light It Up,” from his upcoming album, What Makes You Country, available December 8th.

Brothers Osborne picked up an early CMA Award already. The reigning CMA Duo of the Year won Music Video of the Year for their Top 10 hit “It Ain’t My Fault,” which was directed by Wes Edwards and Ryan Silver.
John and TJ Osborne partnered with directors Wes Edwards and Ryan Silver for the eccentric video that originated as a comedic spoof on the action film Point Break. Brothers Osborne portray pawn shop owners who are robbed at gunpoint by four masked men disguised as former presidents. Hijinks ensue as the video chronicles the consequential police chase.

“We got a lot of good treatments for the video, but this one seemed to be the most bold and daring, and we laughed the whole time we were reading it. It definitely have a huge political undertone to it, but at the end of the day, we hope people come away laughing because politics these days has been so polarizing and such a dark part of American culture that we want people to be able to laugh at it for a second.”

Y'all!! Honored beyond words here. HUGE props to our directors Ryan Silver and Wes Edwards. They're the true heroes behind the video. They shot it all in 2 days and NAILED it! Let the celebration begin! pic.twitter.com/SdK1ZcCBIX

— Brothers Osborne (@brothersosborne) November 8, 2017

Jon Pardi kicks off CMA Awards week with multiple CMA Award nominations, in-depth feature stories and a sold-out headlining “CMT On Tour Presents Jon Pardi’s Lucky Tonight Tour.” Country Living shares how ‘”Dirt On My Boots is the most relatable country song of the year,” HERE.  The Tennessean has more on his first-ever CMA performance and nominations (HERE) and Pollstar is breaking the news about his SOLD-OUT headlining “CMT On Tour Presents Jon Pardi’s Lucky Tonight Tour.” Read more about his “…eye-catching numbers…” and 17-date sellout, HERE.

Pardi is currently nominated for CMA’s New Artist of the Year and Single of the Year, and “Dirt On My Boots” is also up for CMA Song Of The Year. Pardi recently earned his first-ever American Music Awards nomination for Favorite Song-Country.

The headlining “CMT On Tour Presents Jon Pardi’s Lucky Tonight Tour” is CMT’s fastest-selling tour to date and includes venues nationwide with audiences ranging from 1,000 – 5,500. Venues like Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA sold-out with the most tickets sold since Bob Dylan in ‘05 (Peachtree Ent.) and Billy Bob’s sold out days in advance – a rare feat considering the last show to sell out in advance was Florida Georgia Line in ‘13 (Chris Spinks, Marketing Director, Billy Bob’s). The tour features special guests Midland and Runaway June.

Pardi’s traditional sound and tireless work ethic is resonating with fans. Fourth single “She Ain’t In It” was most-added with 50 first-week stations and Billboard called it “a stone-cold weeper that would make George Strait nod with approval.” “She Ain’t In It” follows Pardi’s three consecutive No. 1 hits with his Platinum-selling “Head Over Boots,” the three-week chart-topper “Dirt On My Boots,” and most-recently, “Heartache On The Dance Floor.”

Fans can tune in to the 51^st CMA Awards airing live from Nashville Nov. 8 at 8pm ET on ABC, and voting is now open for AMA’s Favorite Song-Country with results airing live from Los Angeles Nov. 19 at 8pm ET on ABC.

Pardi is set to join Miranda Lambert’s Livin’ Like Hippies Tour in early 2018. For more information, images, music and tour dates, please visit www.JonPardi.com.

www.JonPardi.com | facebook.com/JonPardi | twitter.com/JonPardi | instagram.com/JonPardiPics

Keith Urban received the Champion Award at Tuesday night’s (November 7^th) BMI Country Awards. Maren Morris and the Nashville School of the Arts Choir performed Keith’s first No. 1, “But for the Grace of God,” using guitars he had donated to the school.

Keith was honored by the performing rights organization for his assistance in helping the next generation of songwriters and musicians, as well as furthering music education.

He just released a new song, “Female,” to country radio. The tune was written by Nicolle Galyon, Ross Copperman and Shane McAnally.

#Female is available everywhere now. https://t.co/lgG61zyZiv

— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) November 8, 2017

Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Alan Jackson, CB30 will all perform during this year’s CMA Country Christmas. The show, hosted by Reba McEntire for the first time, will air November 27th at 8pm ET on ABC. Dustin Lynch, Brett Eldredge, Kelsea Ballerini, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Young, Dustin Lynch, CeCe Winans and Dan + Shay will also perform during the show, which will be held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

Darius Rucker will perform “Winter Wonderland” during ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration this year. The show will premiere November 30th at 9pm ET, as well as “Home for the Holidays” during Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration on Christmas Day.

The new revamp of American Idol, starring Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry as judges, will premiere Sunday, March 11th on ABC.

Shania Twain is featured in the new free mobile game Home Street, as an in-game character throughout the month of November. The international superstar, who recently released her new album NOW, is the first guest character to appear in the game.

Four-time Entertainer of the Year and 2017 CMA Entertainer of the Year nominee Luke Bryan wrapped his “Huntin’, Fishin’, And Lovin’ Every Day Tour” over the weekend playing for 1.5 Million fans this year.

The tour bookends a year of new heights for Luke as he kicked off 2017 as the Super Bowl LI National anthem performer, co-hosted the ACM Awards for the fifth consecutive year, broke a record as the only artist in the 27-year history of the Billboard Country Airplay chart to garner six No. 1 singles from one album, played for 80,000 fans during his ninth annual “Farm Tour,” joined ABC’s first season of American Idol as a judge along with Lionel Richie and Katy Perry and soon to be releasing his sixth studio album on Dec. 8, What Makes You Country.

During the tour’s Houston stop in September, Luke invited first responder teams to attend the show and donated the concert proceeds to benefit the Houston Community Fund. A week prior, Luke participated in the Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief Telethon special live from Nashville as part of the celebrity phone bank answering donor calls. The show was broadcast across multiple networks and benefited Hurricane Harvey and Irma.

In February of 2018, Luke will launch the first leg of “What Makes You Country Tour” named after his soon to be released album, due out Dec. 8.  Kip Moore and The Cadillac Three are the special guests on first leg and ticket sales began last Friday.

Pre-orders of What Makes You Country are available now at http://strm.to/whatmakesyoucountry and exclusive album packages available here:  https://LukeBryan.lnk.to/storePR

Luke is making his way up the country charts with his latest song, “Light It Up.”

About Luke Bryan
Country music superstar Luke Bryan is a two-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, a five-time host of the ACM Awards and the 2017 Super Bowl LI National anthem performer. He has sold over 10 million albums, 40 million tracks with three Billion music streams. He has had 18 career No. 1 singles and has headlined arena tours and sold-out stadiums across the U.S. When the sixth song from his Kill The Lights album hit the top of the chart, Luke became the only artist in the 27-year history of the Billboard Country Airplay chart to garner six No. 1 singles from one album. Luke’s previous two albums, tailgates & tanlines and Crash My Party, both generated five No. 1 singles.

Visit www.LukeBryan.com or follow Luke on Twitter @LukeBryanOnline, Instagram and Facebook

SESAC, the only music rights organization in the U.S. honored seven-time GRAMMY award-winning trio Lady Antebellum with the SESAC Humanitarian Award at its Nashville Music Awards this past Sunday (November 5th).

The members of Lady Antebellum – Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and SESAC writer Hillary Scott – were recognized for their generous contributions and philanthropic efforts through LadyAID®.

LadyAID® is a philanthropic effort founded by Lady A to bring awareness to and generate support for those in need locally, nationally and globally. The multi-level organization is a component fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and is funded by ticket sales, donations and fundraising efforts. Most recently, the urgency to continue raising awareness and support for those affected by this fall’s hurricanes prompted a significant donation made from LadyAID® to hurricane relief efforts via MusiCares® and United for Puerto Rico. Fans can continue to take part in the ongoing relief efforts by contributing at LadyAID.org.

“Over the years we have watched Hillary, Charles and Dave accomplish their dreams and receive so many accolades—not only for their creative contributions but also their kind hearts and willingness to simply do the right thing,” said Shannan Hatch, Vice President, Creative Services. “It brings me great pleasure to recognize Lady A’s charitable efforts to create awareness for the plight of children and those in need, here in Nashville and around the globe.”

In addition to receiving the Humanitarian Award, Hillary Scott was on hand during the awards ceremony to present Kenny Rogers with the SESAC Legacy Award. The annual awards show, which celebrates the successes of SESAC’s songwriters and publishers, was held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville.

Lady Antebellum is  nominated for CMA “Album of the Year” and “Vocal Group of the Year” following more than 18 million album units sold, nine No. 1 hits, ACM and CMA “Vocal Group of the Year” trophies three years in a row and countless other honors including seven GRAMMYs, Billboard Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards.  For more information visit www.ladyantebellum.com