Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. The holiday is commonly associated with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues and concerts. Some of your favorite country stars take time to remember their Fourth of July traditions, memories and what the holiday really means to them.

AUDIO: Darius Rucker explains what the Fourth of July holiday means to him.

Darius Rucker (4^th of July) OC: …in the world. 1:45

“Fourth of July to me is a day to celebrate freedom. We get to travel all over the world and see a bunch of stuff, and I’ve been to countries that aren’t like ours and that’s when we really appreciate that we can do whatever we want. As long as you’re willing to deal with the consequences, you can do what you want. I like to tell the story when we were playing Dubai, and when you play countries like this you get to really see how great our country is. We went to Dubai, and there was this guy that got in to this altercation with our drummer, with the Hootie drummer on the plane, that was probably 6 or 7 months before this happened. So we went to Dubai and we get a phone call at our offices and this guy is in Dubai and he’s from there and his friends are there, he tells us that his friends are mad, and he won’t do anything but he doesn’t know what his friends are going to do. So we’re in the country and one of our security guys comes up to us, and we’re on the golf course, and the security guy comes up and tells us this. And I happen to be playing with a guy that’s the former chief of police, not even the chief of police today, former chief of police I’m playing golf with. So I go, ‘We should probably tell him and see what he says.’ So we go and tell him the story and he goes, ‘Alright, give me a second.’ He makes one phone call and he comes back to us and says, ‘You all want him arrested or deported?’ We were like, ‘He didn’t do anything.’ And the guy looks us straight in the guy and goes, ‘We’re just gonna deport him.’ Ten minutes later he was on a plane out of the country. And you go, ‘Wow, wow that’s crazy.’ And that’s never gonna happen, you’re not gonna kick an American out of the country for nothing. This guy got kicked out of the country for just making a phone call. And it’s like, ‘Wow! We live in a great country, man.’ And stuff like that makes you really appreciate the Fourth of July, and really appreciate those soldiers that died for us to be sitting here and doing this. And, we live in the greatest country in the world.”

AUDIO: Darius Rucker enjoys setting off fireworks.

Darius Rucker (fireworks) OC: …off once. :15

“Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina, it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley says the people of this country are what define America.

Dierks (people are America) OC: …all about. :17

“The definition of America to me, you know, getting a chance to travel across the country on a tour bus, stepping upon stages whether it be county fairs, state fairs, arenas, rock bars, the Opry stage, anywhere across the country and looking out at that crowd and seeing people. The people, to me, are what America’s all about.”

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley explains why he is so patriotic.

Dierks Bentley (4^th of July-patriotic) OC: …all the time. :17

“I’m extremely patriotic. I love this country, and I love the history of this country. I read books on this country. I spend my time on the road traveling physically throughout the country. The soldiers and their families are constantly on my mind. We work closely with the Wounded Warriors Project. We think about this stuff all the time.”

Eric Church (4th of July) OC: …freedoms. 1:17

“The Fourth of July for me, growing up we would always go to the lake, we didn’t live on the lake but we would all go to the lake. Had a buddy who had a pontoon and we would always get on the pontoon and you go out and you’d tie all the pontoons together and just have a big time. This was before, I was younger then, the adults were having more fun than we were, you know it was just to go swim in the water and shoot off fireworks. Basically, water tailgating is what it was. And then as we got older, same thing…we would just, us younger kids had our own boat and we had as much fun as the adults.”

AUDIO: Eric Church feels we sometimes forget what the Fourth of July is really all about.

Eric Church (real reason for 4th of July) OC: …those freedoms. :44

“I think sometimes we forget what the holiday is about because it can be about a party, and it’s really not. It’s about, especially the soldiers I come in contact with on the road. And not only that, to be able to make the music that I’m able to make, to say what I want to say, and that freedom to be able to do those things and to be in a country where we’re able to do that and to be in a country where we’re able to play that stuff on the radio. I don’t think you’re going to have any America argue that America isn’t the best place to live, and I’m certainly one of them. I’m very proud to be from here and very proud that we have the soldiers. I know there are a lot of other countries out there in the world that don’t want to live the way we do, and that’s fine, they can keep living the way they are, but I’m very proud of it. I think that’s a time to celebrate being proud to be an American and celebrate those freedoms…and celebrate the people that are over there fighting for those freedoms.”

AUDIO: Keith Urban recalls coming over to America for the first time.

Keith Urban (coming to America 1^st time) OC: …as I could. :39

“1989 was the first year I came to the States, and it had always been my goal, but I had no plan on how to get here. It was just a case of keep playing, keep getting better at what you do, and then hopefully, somehow, some way I’ll end up over here. The guy who was managing me at the time, we just planned a trip over here – it was actually for the New Music Seminar in New York. And we came over for that, and then we did a trip down to Nashville, and I shopping my little demo around. I think I humored everybody more than anything else [laughs] with my tragic, ill-fitting demo for the time. So, I left there, but I was just so committed to coming back as quick as I could.”

AUDIO: Keith Urban, who’s climbing the charts with his single “For You” from the Act of Valor soundtrack, defines patriotism.

Keith Urban (patriotism) OC: …the unity. :24

“It’s common, shared beliefs and identity. And I think at its core, it’s an incredibly strengthening, vital thing for our people to have, and it’s particularly gratifying in the midst of so much separating of ideas that it can get fractious. And it’s kind of nice that a sense of patriotism can remind everybody of the unity.”

AUDIO: Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild talks about the big sacrifices the military AND their families make to keep this country free.

LBT (military) OC: (Karen) …whenever we can. (Kimberly: “Yeah.”) :

“It’s such a huge sacrifice what these men and women do for us, and not only the ones that are serving, but the families that are left here at home. Kimberly and I met a young girl that, she’s 21 years old and she has a third baby and her husband has served multiple times overseas. She’s raising these children at home, and doing a great job and the best she can, and he’s serving his country. And he’s making a monstrous sacrifice, but so is she and so are those children, and we just can’t take it for granted. I mean, it’s just a huge commitment that they make, and what an honor. We love to be able to sing for them and entertain them and to say thank you whenever we can.” (Kimberly: “Yeah.”)

AUDIO: Luke Bryan recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.

Luke Bryan (4th of July memories) OC: …we used to. :21

“Some of my favorite Fourth of July memories were spent on Lake Blackshear down in Georgia with my family. I was always kind of in charge of driving home from Tennessee and picking up all the fireworks and my nieces and nephews always got excited when I rolled in because they knew I had all the fireworks. But, it was always a great memory, and I miss not getting to do that as much as we used to.”

AUDIO: Luke Bryan explains his definition of what it means to be an American.

Luke Bryan (American) OC: …we want. :17

“I think the definition of an American is somebody who stands up during the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ and stands up when ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is being sung and just appreciates what all the fallen heroes and soldiers have done to keep us living in a country that’s free where we have the right to do anything we want.”

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about a couple of his favorite summertime activities.

Luke Bryan (favorite summer activities) OC: …the family. :11

“My favorite summer activity is definitely the opportunity to go fly-fishing out West when I’m out there touring, or really just fly-fishing anytime. And obviously getting a week off down at the beach with the family.”

LINER AJ (4^th of July)

“Hey! This is Alan Jackson, wishing you a happy and safe Fourth of July.” 

LINER Darius (4^th of July)

“Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a very, very happy Fourth of July!” 

LINER Eric Church (4^th of July)

“Hey this is Eric Church, wishing you a very happy Fourth of July.” 

LINER Jon Pardi (4^th of July)

“Hi, it’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a happy Fourth of July.” 

LINER Keith Urban (summer)

Hey everybody, Keith Urban here, wanting to wish you all a fantastic and safe summer. Enjoy the sunshine. Hopefully, you’ll get to spend some time with the ones you love, and hopefully, we’ll also get to see you out on the road.” 

LINER Lady A (4^th of July)

“Hi! This is Charles, Hillary and Dave of Lady Antebellum, wishing you a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend. 

LINER LBT (4^th of July)

“Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Fourth of July!” 

LINER Luke Bryan (4^th of July)

“Hey! This is Luke Bryan, wishing you a very happy Fourth of July.

Lady Antebellum has announced that their brand new music video for Wanted You More will premiere on Friday (June 29th)! This is video is guaranteed to be one of the best from Lady A yet, and right now you can go behind the scenes and on set with Lady A and VEVO. Make sure to stay until the end where you’ll see an exclusive Sneak Peek of the new video!

Keith Urban checked in on Friday to alert folks he was headed back into the studio to work on his next album, the follow-up to 2010’s Get Closer. He’s been Down Under finishing up his stint on The Voice Australia, and he says he’s “jonesing” to get back on the road to play for his fans. Keith also revealed he will be in the recording studio in July and August and is currently planning a tour for the U.S. for next year.

Keith is currently on the verge of Top 10 with his single, “For You,” which he wrote and recorded for the Act of Valor soundtrack.

Luke Bryan’s “Drunk on You” has climbed to the top of both the Mediabase/Country Aircheck and Billboard country singles charts. The smash hit, which is his fifth No. 1 chart-topper, is the third single from his album, tailgates & tanlines, AND his third consecutive platinum single! “From the time that we released tailgates & tanlines and were doing ‘Drunk on You’ live, we could really see a lot of people participating and doing the ‘boom booms’ and singing along,” says Luke. “And so to have it as being a number-one and my fifth number-one and watching it really be a huge song, is so fun gratifying  and fun for me.” The song has spent four weeks as the No. 1 country digital seller. 

Luke has a few days off from the road to spend a little vacation time with his family. He returns to the stage July 6th in St. Leonard, Maryland. 

AUDIO: Luke Bryan explains why his fifth No. 1 single is so gratifying. 

Luke Bryan (Drunk 1) OC: …my camp! :43

“‘Drunk on You’ was the song on the album that we really felt like was the cornerstone of the album. We were just making sure that we wanted to pick the right singles to get to the summertime and to get to ‘Drunk on You’…From the time that we released tailgates & tanlines and were doing ‘Drunk on You’ live, we could really see a lot of people participating and doing the ‘boom booms’ and singing along. And so to have it as being a number-one and my fifth number-one and watching it really be a huge song, is so fun gratifying  and fun for me and everybody on stage and everybody on the road and everybody associated with my camp!”

Dierks Bentley had a day off on Sunday, and he and a couple of his friends decided to head out on the lake to enjoy the beautiful day. He actually tweeted a photo and message to Little Big Town touting their hot single, “Pontoon.”

“Yo @LBTmusic we’re listenin to “pontoon” out on percy priest lake on the actual pontoon boat y’all used in the video!”

The following is a Q&A with Eric Church and the Village Voice about his participation in Metallica’s Orion Fest this weekend. 

With Sinners Like Me and Carolina, Eric Church established himself as one of the most exciting young artists in the country music, mixing man-up rockers like “Lotta Boot Left to Fill” with mature, never-quite-melancholy reflections (“Those I’ve Loved,” “What I Almost Was”) on the different paths and people that open and close over the course of a lifetime. Last year’s Chief, meanwhile, proved to be his breakout, leading to a tour and a spot at this weekend’s Metallica-curated Orion Fest. In advance of that once-in-a-lifetime gig, the two of us talked over the phone about the music he heard growing up, his history of playing rock bars, and how it feels to be the only country act on the festival’s bill.

Hey Eric, how’s it going? I’m sure you’re excited for this weekend.

Man, I’m excited and I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m a little bit nervous about it. I’ve been to Metallica shows, and I’ve seen that. Being from another genre, I think it’s a crazy thing and a great thing that they’re doing this. It says a lot about them, involving other genres like they are is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard of. I’m just nervous to get out there and see what people think of us.

So what’s it mean to be the only country act picked for this?

Oh, it’s huge for me. The kind of music that I’ve always strived to make—and I think by and large most of the time we’ve done it—is not overly definable by what genre it is. We play a lot of places where I get people that come up and say, “I don’t really listen to country, but I like what you guys do.” I get that comment a lot, so I think for us to have somebody like Metallica, who are one of the hardest bands, maybe the hardest band in the history of heavy metal, to come out and say, “Hey, we want you to be the only representative of country,” is a great honor for us. You look at the rest of the lineup: Avenged Sevenfold, who I love, the Arctic Monkeys—there are some great bands who have nothing to do with and have probably never heard of anyone in my side of the world, so to be able to go over and do that is an honor.

What’s your plan of attack? Are you going to play as if it were a straightforward country crowd, or are you going to do something a little different for the new audience?

I think we’re going to do something a little different. Part of the reason that it somewhat makes sense for us to be the band they chose is that the way we came up was a little different. We didn’t play the traditional country clubs that everybody else out there played: Frankly, our music wasn’t very welcome there, and we just weren’t invited to play. So we would have to play the rock clubs, and there were many nights in the back of bars where everybody in there was tattooed and never heard of you, and there’s 12 of them at the bar drinking, and it’s up to us to make them care. Some nights we’d go a little harder than other nights, so it’s not foreign to me. We’re gonna try to do some stuff we haven’t done in a while, maybe some stuff that’s all in your face, stuff that we love doing but that we don’t have in our show right now. The great thing about is that you do have the Metallica guys who have come out and not blessed the performance but sent us the invitation.

I take it you listened to a lot of Metallica when you were younger?

I grew up in the ’80s, so that was when they were coming into their heyday. So they were everywhere. AC/DC was the same way, in every pickup truck or car you get in, it’s in the cassette player. I’m a fan of their music, but I’m also a fan of their path: They pretty much created their own spot, and I think they still own it. For all the time they’ve been doing it, is it about 25 years maybe?

Yeah that’s about right.

So for 25 years, you know? And they’re still the biggest band out there.

Lady Antebellum and VEVO take fans behind-the-scenes of the band’s “Wanted You More” video in the special clip below, which was filmed in Nashville last month. The group co-wrote “Wanted You More” with their  band prior to one of their shows. 

Jon Pardi was weaned on country music, thanks to his grandmother, but he did listen – and still does – to a variety of musical styles. Some of his all-time favorites include The Beatles, Tom Petty and Garth Brooks. In fact, when something bad recently happened to one of his idols, he was a little over-protective. “The Beatles were cool because they never ever the same. They always changed, and it was cool,” says Jon. “But Tom Petty by far, though, is one of my all-time favorites, like so much so that when I heard he lost all of his guitars, I was tweeting and facebooking – ‘Somebody find his guitars!’ And I’m so glad they found his guitars. ‘Who would steal his guitars?’ Back in high school, his 17th Greatest Hits, like that one that’s all red on the outside cover, we played that a lot in high school.”

Jon is currently making his way up the country charts with his debut single, “Missin’ You Crazy.”

AUDIO: When pressed, Jon Pardi revealed a few of his favorite artists.

Jon Pardi (a few favorite artists) OC: …Garth Brooks? :40

“Well, The Beatles were cool because they never ever the same. They always changed, and it was cool. But Tom Petty by far, though, is one of my all-time favorites, like so much so that when I heard he lost all of his guitars, I was tweeting and facebooking – ‘Somebody find his guitars!’ And I’m so glad they found his guitars. ‘Who would steal his guitars?’ Back in high school, his 17th Greatest Hits, like that one that’s all red on the outside cover, we played that a lot in high school…I mean, who doesn’t like Tom Petty? But there’s so many [that] I don’t like saying favorites, [but] Garth Brooks! I mean, who was a 9 year old, 7 year old kid back in the ‘90s who didn’t worship Garth Brooks?”