Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Gary Allan‘s new album, Set You Free, debuted at number-one on the Billboard Top 200 chart last week, and we’ve got clips of him talking about a couple of cuts on the album — “One More Time,” “Sand in My Soul,” “Hungover Heart” and “It Ain’t the Whiskey.”

Lady Antebellum’s new hit, “Downtown,” is available on iTunes on Tuesday (February 5th), and the song reminds the group’s Hillary Scott of her college years at M.T.S.U. (Middle Tennessee State University). “I was in Murfreesboro at MTSU and Nashville is 40 miles away, like it’s not that far.  But, if you got asked on a date and he drove you to Nashville that was a big deal, you know, because that’s like you’re in college, paying for gas and all that stuff,” says Hillary. “It’s like a guy really liked you if he took you all the way to downtown Nashville.”

If you go to ladyantebellum.com, you can play to win all sorts of prizes, including handwritten lyrics, behind-the-scenes content and many other prizes. The online game is titled Downtown Go Round, and you can start playing now!

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott says “Downtown,” the band’s latest single, reminds her of dating when she was in college.

Lady A (Downtown-Hillary college) OC: …downtown Nashville. [laughs] :25
“I went to school, went to college before I met the boys. I was in Murfreesboro at MTSU and Nashville is 40 miles away, like it’s not that far.  But, if you got asked on a date and he drove you to Nashville that was a big deal, you know, because that’s like you’re in college, paying for gas and all that stuff. That’s the one thing I thought about, it’s like a guy really liked you if he took you all the way to downtown Nashville. [laughs]”

Alan Jackson and Keith Urba are among the artists featured on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty’s new album, Wrote a Song For Everyone. Alan is featured on “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” while Keith performs on “Almost Saturday Night.” Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley are also featured on the album, due out May 28th.

Darius Rucker and Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley have hit the links in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Celebrity Challenge in Monterey, California this week. Jake Owen, Clay Walker, Bill Murray, Huey Lewis, Wayne Gretzky, Ray Romano and Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers are also playing in the tourney running through February 10th.

Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Josh Turner, along with Greg Bates have been added to the performance lineup of the “Grand Ole Opry at CRS” show set for February 27th. As previously announced, Grand Ole Opry members Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Vince Gill along with Dustin Lynch and Scotty McCreery are also set to perform.

Gill is set to host the special opry performance, and Radio Hall of Famer Bill Cody will be the announcer for the event, which is sponsored by Humana’s My Well-Being.

CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne states, “We are excited about the reaction to this event at the Seminar. Support from both the Radio and Records community has been overwhelming. It will certainly be one of the highlights of CRS this year”.

The event will be held in the Performance Hall of the Nashville Convention Center and open to CRS 2013 attendees.  Register for CRS 2013 at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com. CRS attendees can visit www.opry.com/radio/CRS2013.html for all the details on the show. Plus, the first 50 CRS attendees to register through the special RSVP link on the website will receive two tickets to attend the Grand Ole Opry at the Opry House Sat., March 2.

Keith Urban checks in from onstage in Melbourne, Australia in the latest episode of Urban Chat.

Dierks Bentley complete vignette for his latest single, “Tip It On Back.”

TRT: 3:54

Jon Pardiis excited to hit the road with headliner Justin Moore and Dustin Lynch next month. The Outlaws Like Me trek is set to kick off March 14th in Pikeville, Kentucky and is currently set to run through April 20th in Corbin, Kentucky. “It’s [Justin’s] first headlining tour, so I know he’s excited…I know Dustin really well, so it’ll be cool to have him around and hang out and do stuff,” says the California native. “I know it’s gonna be a wild crowd, so it’s gonna be fun. I’m gonna get in there and do my thing.”

Jon is also getting ready to hit the airwaves with his new single!

OUTLAWS LIKE ME Tour Dates:
March 14 — Pikeville, KY – Eastern Kentucky Expo Center
March 15 — Troy, OH –Hobart Arena
March 21 — Kearny, NE – Viaero Event Center
March 22 — St. Joseph, MO – St. Joseph Civic Arena
March 23 — Farmington, MO – Farmington Civic Center
March 28 — Davenport, IA – Adler Theatre**
March 29 — Brookings, ND – Swiftel Center
March 30 — Bismarck, ND – Bismarck Civic Center
April 13 — Dodge City, KS – United Wireless Arena**
April 18 — Erie, PA – Erie Insurance Arena
April 19 — Johnston, PA – Cambria County War Memorial Arena
April 20 — Corbin, KY – The Corbin Arena

** Jon Pardi will not appear at these dates

AUDIO: Jon Pardi talks about going on the road with Justin Moore’s Outlaws Like Me Tour.

Jon Pardi (Justin Moore tour) OC: …do my thing. :20
“I’m excited and my buddy Dustin Lynch is gonna be on it too. It’s really cool, I don’t know, it’s [Justin’s] first headlining tour, so I know he’s excited and getting me out there was awesome. I know Dustin really well, so it’ll be cool to have him around and hang out and do stuff…I know it’s gonna be a wild crowd, so it’s gonna be fun. I’m gonna get in there and do my thing.”

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott is set to join Adam Levine on the next season of The Voice as a guest mentor. “I was so happy that Hillary was interested in coming on The Voice to mentor my team,” Adam told Access Hollywood. “Maroon 5 and I recorded a song with her for our last studio album and we had a great time collaborating in the studio.” Adding, “She is an incredible performer and artist. I know my team will be able to learn a lot from her.” The Voice” Season 4 premieres on March 25th at 8pm ET on NBC.

Keith Urban has been added as a presenter at the 55th annual Grammy Awards Sunday, February 10th on CBS. Dierks Bentley will team up with tour mate Miranda Lambert for a performance, while Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are also added as presenters. The show will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in L.A.

Little Big Town will play a free concert in California on Wednesday (February 6th) to benefit The Dogwood Project, which helps to comfort young children dealing with the death of a parent. The show is in honor of Kimberly Schlapman’s brother-in-law Allen, who was hit and killed by a drunk driver on Thanksgiving.

Eric Church has scored a bunch of gold and platinum certifications for a number of his singles from the R.I.A.A. “Hell on the Heart” and “Creepin’” have been certified gold for more than 500,000 downloads, while “Drink in My Hand,” “Smoke a Little Smoke” and “Homeboy” have earned platinum certification for one-million downloads. “Springsteen” picks up double-platinum status for two-million downloads.

Eric, who is currently on tour in Canada, is nominated for a pair of Grammy Awards, including Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Springsteen”. The 55th GRAMMY Awards will air Sunday, February 10th on CBS.

AUDIO: Eric Church says he owes a lot to his hit, “Smoke a Little Smoke,” from his Carolina album.

Eric Church (Smoke a Little Smoke) OC: …that song. :36
“I think subject-matter wise, it’s another situation where everybody told me…you’re nuts to release that song, there are other things that’ll be easier to get up the chart. I saw the crowd though, I followed the crowd. They’d go crazy on that, and they still do. I mean, I think it’s one of those songs. In our set, what they do during that song, when they tear those walls down and they tear it down, is very, very hard to recover from, show-wise. So, I just followed the crowd on it. And I said, ‘You know, this is what some people think we shouldn’t release, but I’ve seen how people respond to it. Let’s put it out.’ And, it took off. Then the digital part, the sales part, was just huge for that song. I owe a lot to that song.”