Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

JASON ALDEAN, LUKE BRYAN, TAYLOR SWIFT & NE-YO TO PERFORM AT

ACM PRESENTS: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night 

Tickets on Sale NOW at Ticketmaster.com for Taping of CBS Television Network Special at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, April 8, 2013

Encino, CA (February 28, 2013) – The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions announced today that country music superstars Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, and chart-topping R&B artist, Ne-Yo are the first to be added to the all-star lineup performing at the ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night, taping Monday, April 8, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The special will be broadcast at a later date on the CBS Television Network.

ACM PRESENTS: TIM McGRAW’s SUPERSTAR SUMMER NIGHT will feature high-octane performances and musical collaborations in a two hour star-studded concert event to benefit ACM Lifting Lives. Fifteen-time ACM Award winner Tim McGraw is spotlighting the hottest music of the summer and calling on his friends to help kick off the 2013 touring season.

“There’s no better time for live music than in the heat of the summer,” said McGraw. “Country music is hotter than it has ever been, and with some help from a few friends in other genres too, we’re going to get summer started off right. I’ve been lucky enough to have all these artists join me on tour, and it’ll be fun to get everyone back together to help raise money and bring some attention to Lifting Lives. Not enough people know what good work the organization does, and when I was asked to help put this show together, it was a no-brainer.”

Tickets for ACM PRESENTS: TIM McGRAW’s SUPERSTAR SUMMER NIGHT are on sale NOW at Ticketmaster, priced at $105, $155 and $205. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy, and an organization that McGraw was closely affiliated with during his last tour. For more information, log onto www.ACMLiftingLives.org or www.ACMcountry.com or follow on Twitter at @ACMawards for more immediate updates.

The special will be produced for television by dick clark productions and will be taped at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Monday, April 8, 2013 at 7:30 PM PT, with the broadcast airdate to be announced at a later time on the CBS Television Network. Allen Shapiro, Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are executive producers. Barry Adelman is producer, and Bob Bardo is the executive in charge of production. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

About Tim McGraw

For 20 years, McGraw has been providing that kind of powerful connection with his audience. With Two Lanes of Freedom, his new album—and first release for Big Machine Records—the singer is covering his broadest emotional range yet, with a set of songs that looks forward and back, gets deep and gets loose, and reveals that even the biggest stars can continue to grow with consistency and maturity.

In his record-shattering career, McGraw has sold more than 40 million albums, and dominated the charts with 33 No. 1 singles. Since the release of his debut album in 1993, he has won three GRAMMYs, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, 12 Country Music Association Awards, and 10 American Music Awards, while simultaneously maintaining a parallel career as a successful actor in such films as “The Blind Side,” “Country Strong,” and “Friday Night Lights”—as well as hosting Saturday Night Live, a rare honor for a singer in any genre. McGraw has never been afraid of breaking new ground; over the years, he has collaborated with musicians from Nelly to Tony Bennett to Def Leppard and Ne-Yo.

About ACM Lifting Lives

ACM Lifting Lives® is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Each year, ACM Lifting Lives provides grants to music therapy and music education programs. Other giving includes serving members of the country music community who face unexpected medical or financial hardship through the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund and partnering with artists to improve lives through music. For more information, please visit www.ACMLiftingLives.org.

When Luke Bryan and the boys were in Bloomington, Illinois recently, they hit the ice rink to show off their hockey skills in the latest episode of LBTV.

Luke Bryan‘s Spring Break…Here To Party album hits stores on Tuesday (March 5th), and one of the new songs on the project is “Buzzkill.” Check out the video for “Buzzkill” below, and tune in to CMT on Friday (March 1st) at 10am ET for the special highlighting the making of his new spring break project! The special repeats on Sunday at 4am and 9am ET.

While in NYC for a visit to Good Morning America and a performance at NashBash, Lady Antebellum previewed new music off their new record Golden coming May 7th. Check it out in this week’s webisode below.

Kacey Musgraves‘ debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park, is now available for pre-order on iTunes! The collection, featuring her Top 10 single, “Merry Go Round,” will officially be released March 19th.

We are a just a week away from the release of Luke Bryan‘s Spring Break…Here to Party album, the full-length release featuring two brand new songs — “Just a Sip” and “Buzzkill” — and several Spring Break favorites over the past four years. In the video below, Luke explains why he made a full-length album and why he keeps releasing Spring Break music.

Kip Moore is set to appear in ABC’s hit TV show, Nashville, on Wednesday night (February 27th). Kip, along with Vince Gill and Pam Tillis will play themselves in a scene where “Deacon” (played by Charles Esten) is surprised with a birthday party. Kip enjoyed himself on the set, especially meeting the actor who plays Deacon, he doesn’t believe the show portrays how Nashville really works. “They’ve got to put the drama in, and you’ve got to do something entertaining for people,” says Kip. “I think there’s bits and pieces that are somewhat correct. I don’t think it’s portraying us in a bad light. It’s entertainment. I don’t think that everybody believes that’s exactly how Nashville is.” Nashville airs on Wednesday (February 27th) at 10pm ET on ABC.

Kip is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Hey Pretty Girl.”

AUDIO: Kip Moore says there’s a few differences between the television show, Nashville, and the city in real life.

Kip Moore (Nashville show) OC: …Nashville is, you know? :21
“Is it exactly the way Nashville is? Not 100% by any means, but it’s TV. They’ve got to put the drama in, and you’ve got to do something entertaining for people. I think there’s bits and pieces that are somewhat correct. I don’t think it’s portraying us in a bad light. It’s entertainment. I don’t think that everybody believes that’s exactly how Nashville is, you know?”

The members of Little Big Town are a few dates into their Tornado Tour, and the crowds have been amazing. This past weekend, they had sold-out shows in Huntsville and Knoxville, and the band is thrilled over the crowd’s reaction, especially to the handful of songs from their Tornado album. “It’s exciting…to watch people in the crowd singing the songs that are on the record, but not on the radio yet, but they know all the words to the songs that are on the record,” says LBT’s Kimberly Schlapman. “That’s just so much fun to watch and hear.” Bandmember Phillip Sweet agrees, because one of his favorite moments to perform is on a song that hasn’t been released from their latest album. “I really love the moment of ‘On Your Side of the Bed’ with Karen and Jimi – that’s a really special moment in the show. I really love performing that with them.”

The show, which currently features opening act Kacey Musgraves, is an amazing night of music from top to bottom, but the fans will also appreciate some other fun moments during Little Big Town’s set, including their acoustic medley of their popular web series, “Scattered, Smothered and Covered,” as well as their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.”

Check out Billboard’s review of their Knoxville show here.

David Nail is set to join the tour on March 8th in Buffalo, Michigan.

Little Big Town’s latest single, “Tornado” – the title track of their latest album and headlining tour, is closing in on the top of the country charts. It’s the follow-up to their number-one hit, “Pontoon.”

LBT (Tornado tour exciting) OC: (Kimberly) …watch and hear. :28
PHILLIP: “We’re just getting rolling on the tour, and it’s so exciting so far. It just feels so good to play a lot of songs from the Tornado album and to get to do some really cool production. It’s just amazing to do this and to sell our own ticket. It’s a good feeling.” KIMBERLY: “It’s exciting too to watch people in the crowd singing the songs that are on the record, but not on the radio yet, but they know all the words to the songs that are on the record. That’s just so much fun to watch and hear.”

LBT (tour moments) OC: (Jimi) …of the show. :28
PHILLIP: “We’ve got a few little tricks up our sleeve that we’re bringing out new for this tour, some new songs, some things we haven’t done before. And I really love the moment of ‘On Your Side of the Bed’ with Karen and Jimi – that’s a really special moment in the show. I really love performing that with them.” JIMI: “We’re bringing out a little medley of some cover tunes that we do online, and we’ve added a new one to that too, and that’s been a lot of fun. I think fans have really been responding to that, so that’s a fun little part of the show.”