Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Darius Rucker has been putting the finishing touches on his upcoming third album for Capitol Records Nashville. He revealed on Friday night after his appearance at the Grand Ole Opry performance, that one of the new songs is “Wagon Wheel,” originally recorded by Old Crow Medicine Show. He was invited by the group to perform the song with them on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

On the tune, he enlisted the help of his tourmates Lady Antebellum to sing backup on the tune. “We cut it, and after we finished it, it was great,” says Darius. “And then so [producer] Frank [Rogers] and I were talking about what we’re gonna do, and I was like, ‘You know, I’m on tour with Lady A. Let’s see if they’ll sing on the backgrounds.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, ask ‘em.’ And they loved the song and came in and did it, and that song went from being…I cut it to put it as the last song on my record, to end the record that way, and when they were done, I was like, ‘Man, it’ll probably be second, and [laughs] if it’s the first single, I’m OK with that too.’”

Grammy Award winner Keith Urban graces the cover of American Airlines’ American Way Magazine this month, to give travelers across the globe his perspective on ‘one of our country’s leading arts and entertainment cities’, his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. A longtime supporter of countless Nashville-based charities, citywide initiatives and of some of Nashville’s best-loved institutions, Urban came to Nashville in 1992 to pursue his musical career. 

He has played an integral role in the preservation of the Country Music Hall of Fame, and has consistently lent his support for citywide initiatives for the betterment of Nashville and its population. 

In American Way’s cover story, Urban dishes on some of his favorite down home eats, sings his praises of some of his favorite places to go for live music and tells what makes Nashville special to him. 

Favorite Eats: “I loved going to the meat-and-three joints, for funky, earthy food,” says Urban. “A lot of those are still around like Brown’s Diner, Rotier’s Restaurant and Jacks Bar-B-Que. (So) if you want something that’s unique to Nashville, those are some of the places to go.’ 

Favorite Live Music Hotspots: “A lot of the places that I went early on to hear live music are still there!” says Urban. He points to places like 12^th and Porter and the Exit/In, which have been Nashville staples for more than 25 years. 

Why Nashville: ‘This is a real family-oriented place,” says Urban. There’s a lot of focus on family, which suits us perfectly.” 

Go to http://www.americanwaymag.com/travel_destinations and click on “an old star shines”.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The members of  Little Big Town are hoping their new song is a hit — on TV.

They co-wrote and recorded the theme song for ABC’s new show “Good Afternoon America.” The song is called “Good Afternoon.” The nine week summer series starts Monday (2 p.m. ET), anchored by Josh Elliott and Lara Spencer, according to the Associated Press.

Keith Urban is back in the U.S. and straight from his clothes closet, the superstar gives fans a quick update in-between writing sessions with David Lee Murphy and Luke Laird.

Luke Bryan will perform the National Anthem at Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in Kansas City next week. The “Drunk on You” singer is looking forward to being there, for both professional and personal reasons. “To have the opportunity to perform the National Anthem at the All-Star game is really special for me. I have a lot of dear friends in Major League Baseball and a lot of people I’ve met over the years and so many little connections, and some of those guys will be there rooting me on to sing the National Anthem,” says Luke, adding, “Certainly it’s nice to have guys like Chipper Jones (Atlanta Braves) and Adam LaRoche (Washington Nationals) to ask hitting tips to pass along to my kids. So, my boys love baseball, and we’re gonna enjoy going and doing the anthem and catching the game.”

The Georgia native, who is currently spending his second consecutive week at the top of the country charts with “Drunk on You,” played baseball as a child. “I was the catcher for most of my Little League years, and in high school, I was a left-fielder.”

Luke’s performance, as well as those of American Idol winner Phillip Phillips and Kellie Pickler (who will sing “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch), will air Tuesday (July 10th) – along with the game – on FOX beginning at 8pm ET.

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about performing the National Anthem at the upcoming MLB All-Star Game next week.

Luke Bryan (All-Star Game) OC: ….and kids. :36
“To have the opportunity to perform the National Anthem at the All-Star game is really special for me. I have a lot of dear friends in Major League Baseball and a lot of people I’ve met over the years and so many little connections, and some of those guys will be there rooting me on to sing the National Anthem. You know, the Anthem is always pretty tough thing to sing, and you never want to mess it up, and it’s always a really personal thing to me…I’m going to really enjoy being up there, being at the All-Star game, taking the family and kids.”

Luke Bryan (baseball) OC: …catching the game. :29
“Baseball for me was really my sport. If I excelled at a sport, I probably excelled the most at baseball and enjoyed that the most. And certainly spend a lot of time with my boys teaching them the game, and certainly it’s nice to have guys like Chipper Jones and Adam La Roche to ask hitting tips to pass along to my kids. So, my boys love baseball, and we’re gonna enjoy going and doing the anthem and catching the game.”

AUDIO: Luke Bryan, who will perform the National Anthem at next week’s MLB All-Star Game, reveals what positions he played in baseball.

Luke Bryan (baseball positions) OC: …left-fielder. :06

“I was the catcher for most of my Little League years, and in high school, I was a left-fielder.”

Dierks Bentley is getting a new guitar. It’s not just any old run-of-the-mill guitar, but his own Custom Signature Edition from Martin Guitars. He even helped design the instrument, as well. “It’s kind of based on the song ‘Home,’ the record ‘Home,’ so there’s the herring bone right on the outside that’s red, white and blue. But it’s, you know, a little of Buck Owen’s influence there as well, because I’m a huge Buck fan,” explains Dierks. “There’s a phoenix on there says where I’m from and just the specs on the guitar, are kinda custom to how I like them.” Each guitar will also feature a special sticker with the singer’s signature.

Dierks is poised to enter the top of the country charts in the coming weeks with his smash hit, ‘5-1-5-0.’

AUDIO: Last month at this year’s CMA Music Festival, Dierks Bentley explained why he’s such a fan of Martin guitars, and how he’s now getting his own Signature model.

Dierks Bentley (Martin 1) OC: …own Martin. :60

“I’m a huge fan of this certain kind of guitar, a Martin guitar. For me, it’s the official bluegrass guitar, but it’s used for a lot of different styles of music other than just bluegrass. But all the guys I love from Del McCoury  back to Lester Flatts, and guys like Dwight Yoakam too, Marty Stuart, they use this guitar. And I moved here and I couldn’t afford one and I, you know, always wanted one, and…I got a 1971 D18 and I still have it. And I discovered that one, as I discovered with any of those Martin guitars, that they really retain their value and if not even go up. But I always wanted one just because all those guys I looked up to played one, and it happened. So I got my signature model coming out actually, I think, later this month, or July. And it’s pretty cool. I mean, to a lot of people it won’t mean anything but to me it’s a personal thing. It means a lot because there’s, you know. I’m not, you know, when it comes to the guitar I have such respect for musicians. The people I hang out with the most are musicians and I wish I was a great guitar player. I really use it to, you know, I concentrate just on trying to strum well and write songs with it, but I’m really honored to have one, to be in that group of people that have their own Martin.”

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley describes how he designed his own Signature Martin guitar.

Dierks Bentley (Martin 2) OC: … pretty soon [laughs]. :37

“It’s kind of based on the song ‘Home,’ the record ‘Home,’ so there’s the herring bone right on the outside that’s red, white and blue. But it’s, you know, a little of Buck Owen’s influence there as well, because I’m a huge Buck fan and I always loved his…I think I got the very last red, white and blue guitar from Buck before he passed away, so I have that at the house. And so that’s kind of incorporated in there a little bit. There’s a phoenix on there says where I’m from and just the specs on the guitar, are kinda custom to how I like them so pretty cool. ‘Cause it doesn’t feel like, it feels, now the guitar I have that I play all the time has a big hole in it from playing it so much, so it’s kind of weird. Everything I have is kind of beat up a little bit, so it’s weird to have this nice, shiny guitar. It’s kind of freaking me out a little bit, but I’m going to do my best to get it all beat up here pretty soon [laughs].”

Tour Marks Attendance Milestone of More Than One Million Fans While Prepping for Europe and Australia  

Nashville, TN – July 2, 2012 – As the North American leg of Lady Antebellum’s headlining OWN THE NIGHT WORLD TOUR sponsored by GAC with special guests Darius Rucker and Thompson Square comes to a close, the 85 city run that has incited fan hysteria and massive critical acclaim also marks an attendance milestone with over one million fans as they continue into Europe and Australia this summer.

“I remember how exciting and special it was to hear we sold out the first weekend of the tour back in the Fall,” said Charles Kelley.  “I seriously had no idea that so many others would follow, especially places like LA and Chicago, or that we would be sitting here eight months later saying we played to a million fans.  It doesn’t even register.”
 
“What I love is the connection we made with all of those fans,” added Hillary Scott.  “It truly felt like we got to know everyone in the arena every night, which was one of our biggest goals when we started brainstorming on a paper plate last summer in Lake Tahoe.  We invited fans up on stage most nights and just tried to get as close as possible to them…it was one giant sing-along each night.   As a songwriter, it’s so cool to hear the lyrics you wrote with your best friends in the back of a bus echoing back to you by so many people.”
 
“We’ve definitely become closer as a band – musically and personally – over this tour too,” noted Dave Haywood. “We are really proud of our show and how much we’ve grown on stage.  Moments like selling out two nights in our hometown of Augusta, GA with all our friends and family around are really going to make us miss being on the road this Fall, but we’re looking forward to working on new music and getting back into the studio.”
 
A tour concept that started with a simple production sketch on a paper plate, the OWN THE NIGHT WORLD TOUR kicked off in Knoxville, TN on 11/11/11 with an entourage of more than 100 people in 10 buses and eight trucks who travelled more than 46,000 miles across the continent, hitting arenas and amphitheatres in 34 states and six Canadian provinces. Along the way, the trio has earned praise from critics for their spirited live show and proved that Lady Antebellum has long-term staying power as one of the biggest touring groups in country music.

“Nashville’s Lady Antebellum, on its first arena headlining tour, has become such a crowd-pleasing phenomenon that there is arguably no other country band on the planet right now that can steal the trio’s ever-brightening spotlight.” – Salt Lake Tribune

“Lady Antebellum certainly pushes all the right buttons in concert –backdrops dominated by shooting stars

and bucolic scenery, a careful placement of the hits — but there’s more to their appeal than just that. Their

palette is broader, more forcefully colored than most of their peers, and the soulfulness that results is

unmistakable.” – Variety

“The Grammy-winning group has claimed its spot among the elite headliners, moving up from playing theaters to selling out massive arenas.” – San Jose Mercury News

“Its performance erased all doubts that the act’s seemingly meteoric ascendance to the top of the contemporary country world is undeserved…its celebrated vocal harmonies were terrific.”  – Kansas City Star

“While it can be hard to take the studio sound to the live stage, Lady Antebellum proved it can be done. But

more than that, the group’s playfulness, youthful exuberance and unending energy was evident fromstart

to finish.” – Virginian Pilot

Upcoming stops on the OWN THE NIGHT 2012 WORLD TOUR include shows in the UK where they will also open for Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park, and headline in Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden before they head to Australia in September. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.