Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

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?”

Luke Bryan stops by Ocean Way Studios this week to hand out hugs, encouragement and smiles to the ACM Lifting Lives campers.

Luke Bryan teams up with Joe Walsh on “Life’s Been Good” during the special installment of CMT Crossroads this weekend. “Joe made me feel comfortable right off the bat. And he obviously knows those scenarios when people are quite nervous around him, and I was pretty dang nervous about all of it,” says Luke. “In the recording process of the show, we ran it a couple of times, and the second take was really good because, you know, I was much more comfortable.” 

CMT Crossroads: Joe Walsh & Friends, which also features appearances by Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Hunter Hayes and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, premieres Saturday (June 23rd) at 11pm CT. 

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about performing with Joe Walsh for the CMT TV special, CMT Crossroads: Joe Walsh & Friends. 

Luke Bryan (Joe Walsh CMT) OC: …first pick. :34

“Joe Walsh is certainly a rock-n-roll American music legend, and his music just stands alone and his voice has such a uniqueness about it that you know it’s him right when you hear it whether it’s something new he’s recorded [or] certainly one of his legendary songs. If you would’ve told me that this opportunity to do this Crossroads could’ve ever  been presented to me and they were gonna recommend that I do ‘Life’s Been Good,’ life has been good, because that would’ve been my first pick.” 

AUDIO: Luke Bryan says he was a bit nervous around the legendary Joe Walsh during the taping of the CMT Crossroads special, but the rocker made him feel quite comfortable. 

Luke Bryan (Joe Walsh CMT) 2 OC: …my career. :31

“You know, we came in and rehearsed, and Joe made me feel comfortable right off the bat. And he obviously knows those scenarios when people are quite nervous around him, and I was pretty dang nervous about all of it. And in the recording process of the show, we ran it a couple of times and the second take was really good because you know I was much more comfortable then…but just hearing him play the guitar and hearing the way he’s able to make the sounds come out of that guitar was pretty amazing, and it was definitely a highlight of my career.”

Keith Urban checks in from the backlot of The Voice Australia and runs into fellow coach, Joel Madden! Vote for Darren and #TeamKeith!

Eric Church’s critically-acclaimed album CHIEF has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. CHIEF, released last July, debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 and Country album charts. The album’s third single “Springsteen,” co-written by Church, continues to hold the No. 1 spot on the country radio charts for the second consecutive week. Ironically 28 years ago on the same week that Church’s “Springsteen” went No. 1, Bruce Springsteen charted his first and only No. 1 on the pop charts with “Dancing in the Dark.”

Previous Church albums, Sinners Like Me and Carolina are both certified Gold by the RIAA.

CHIEF was hailed as one of the best album of 2011 by the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine, among others.  

“On his third album, Church hits his stride, chronicling wild nights and epic hangovers with just the right amount of critical distance.” NPR’S Favorite Albums of 2011 

“Church is a country singer a rock fan could love…” Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of 2011 (No. 19) 

“…one of the year’s best country albums. Captivating.” Los Angeles Times 

“Chief supplies a vibrant sonic alternative.”  SPIN Magazine (Named No. 1 Country/Americana Album of 2011) 

AUDIO: Eric Church talks about his own process of making a record. 

Eric Church (process of making album) OC: …let us have it. :57

“I’m so reverent about the process of making records. I look at the records Waylon [Jennings] made and [Johnny] Cash made, and you could go back and AC/DC or [Led] Zeppelin, you can go through any format. I feel like I’m given a small window of opportunity to make a certain number of records and it’s my responsibility to them, and to the format, and to the reverence I have for it to make records that stand up and that you can put up on a shelf with them. I think it’s every artist’s responsibility. I think if you’re not making records that way you shouldn’t be making records.  So, I get real, real, real crazy about…is the mix right, does this need to be more…just the tweaking part. And then the sequencing, I want you to start at the first song and take a journey to the end and never have any misses, and never go, ‘I wish this song was here,’ or ‘I felt that the record got to slow here.’ So I re-sequence it 15, 16, 17, 20 thousand times to where I’m finally going, ‘Ok, this is the record.’ And finally people have to intervene. They have to come in and go, ‘It’s done. It’s great, let us have it.’”

In DBTV Episode 68, Dierks Bentley celebrates Father’s Day by sharing a special performance of “My Last Name” from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN. Here’s to all the Fathers out there!

Nashville, TN – June 18, 2012 – Friday afternoon, GRAMMY winning trio Lady Antebellum officially sold out their Australian OWN THE NIGHT 2012 WORLD TOUR dates in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney where they added and sold out a second night at the Opry House due to demand.  The group has now sold over 900,000 tickets to the global tour with upcoming dates scheduled in the US, Europe and Australia.
 
This weekend, Lady A continued to delight Canadians with the connection they are making back to the last row of fans in the massive venues.  Stops on the Eastern Canadian run included Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
 
“The group is now on its first headlining arena tour and you have to play to the back seats…those who were there certainly ate it up. The fans cheered, sang and swayed with their cell phones on.”   – The Montreal Gazette

“The Grammy-winning, Nashville-based Lady Antebellum took it even higher with a surprisingly terrific performance…they demonstrated an ability to connect with every fan in the crowd.”  – Ottawa Citizen

“And on their Own The Night world tour they didn’t seem to own the world. Instead they had to be satisfied with owning part of the 16,000 fans belting out each and every country crossover hit for 80 minutes.”  – Toronto Sun

Before heading overseas, the tour continues this week in the US with stops scheduled in Birmingham, AL (6/21), Atlanta, GA (6/22), Greenville, SC (6/23) and Indianapolis, IN (6/24). For a full list of tour dates, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

On another note: Lady A will host a live online chat Thursday (June 21st) from onstage in Birmingham, Alabama at 2:30pm CT. You can submit your questions now on their facebook page, and then watch live beginning at 2:30pm CT on Thursday. The chat is serving as the kickoff of their Own The Night Tour in Europe, which launches July 10th in Dublin, Ireland.

Luke Bryan is taking part in the third annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp this week June 18th-22nd in Nashville. The event is a residential program open to musically-talented individuals with developmental disabilities. The camp includes a visit in the studio by Luke Bryan and producer Paul Worley, and Luke says it will be a special moment for him. “I’m gonna stop by the studio and just pat ‘em on the back, get some hugs, get some pictures, and I’m looking forward to hearing the song,” says Luke. “I’m sure it’ll be great, and cheer ‘em on, and I can’t wait to see their performance and see them get out there and do what they do so well. And that really feels special, and they have such a great way of brightening our day.” 

The campers will also write a song with Brett Eldredge and David Lee Murphy, as well as dinner and karaoke with Lauren Alaina, a cookout with newcomer Jana Kramer and a performance at the Grand Ole Opry with Big & Rich. 

Luke is currently sitting near the top of the country charts with his latest smash hit, “Drunk on You.” 

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about taking part in this year’s ACM Lifting Lives event. 

Luke Bryan (ACM Lifting Lives) OC: …our day. :44

“The Lifting Lives campaign and charity is such a special moment of the ACM show, and seeing Chris Young and Darius do it the past few years, it’s such a heartwarming event when you see the kids on stage singing and you see the joy that it truly brings to them and their heart, and it brings that type of joy to us also. So, I’m gonna stop by the studio and just pat ‘em on the back, get some hugs, get some pictures, and I’m looking forward to hearing the song. I’m sure it’ll be great, and cheer ‘em on, and I can’t wait to see their performance and see them get out there and do what they do so well. And that really feels special, and they have such a great way of brightening our day.”

Little Big Town hit the road with Rascal Flatts on their Changed Tour. The trek, which also features the Eli Young Band and Eden’s Edge, kicks off Friday (June 15th) in Hartford, Connecticut. They’re expected to visit 60 cities on the tour, which is currently scheduled to wrap in mid-October. 

LBT’s Karen Fairchild is thrilled to check out both the crowds and their tourmates when they hit the road. ““I can’t wait to see what their crowd is like! I mean we’ve never toured with them, so I don’t even know, but [their fans are] fiercely loyal to them,” she says. “We’ve been friends of theirs forever, and we’ve never toured together. We’ve really only done two shows in a decade, I think, together.” 

Rascal Flatts recently told Country Weekly that they have teamed up with Little Big Town to record the Grand Funk Railroad classic “We’re An American Band,” which Gary says they will perform with Little Big Town during the encore of their shows during the show. 

LBT is currently making waves on the country charts with their latest single, “Pontoon.” 

AUDIO: Little Big Town talk about going on the road with Rascal Flatts. 

LBT (RF Tour) OC: (Karen) …exciting too! [laughs] :22 

KAREN: “I can’t wait to see what their crowd is like! I mean we’ve never toured with them, so I don’t even know, but [their fans are] fiercely loyal to them!” PHILLIP: “I, for some reason, expect a lot of energy, (KAREN: “Me too!”) a high-energy crowd. I mean, that’s exciting to us, I think.” KAREN: “I expect a lot of pretty girls…” PHILLIP: “That’s exciting, too!” KAREN: “…swooning over…(laughs) listen to Phillip, that’s exciting too! [laughs]” 

AUDIO: Little Big Town can’t wait to check out the Rascal Flatts show. 

LBT (RF Tour) 2 OC: …and again and again. :20

KAREN: “I can’t wait to see the Flatts’ show. We’ve been friends of theirs forever, and we’ve never toured together. We’ve really only done two shows in a decade, I think, together. (KIMBERLY: “Probably.”) And then CMA Fest last year when we did the collaboration, I think maybe that’s what inspired the whole thing was like, ‘This is fun. We should it do it again and again and again.”