Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

When Dierks Bentley hit the road last fall on his Country & Cold Cans Tour, a HUGE Boot was part of the stage show. In the latest episode of DBTV (reminiscent of the VH1 series, Behind the Music), Dierks and his bandmembers go “Behind the Boot” to take a look at the rise and tragic demise of The Boot. Will The Boot will make an appearance now that the Country & Cold Cans Tour has kicked off its spring leg? You never can tell! 

Dierks Bentley will be featured in an upcoming episode of MTV’s renovated Unplugged series. An airdate for Dierks’ installment has yet to be announced. 

Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild will appear on the new episode of GAC-TV’s Day Jobs on Wednesday (April 18th) at 10pm ET.

Lady Antebellum have been nominated for a People’s Voice award in the ‘Websites: Celebrity/Fan’ category for the 2012 Webby Awards. They honor the best content on the web each year. The band’s website LadyAntebellum.com has already been selected as an official honoree in the ‘Music’ category. Voting ends Thursday, April 26th. 

Keith Urban and Alan Jackson are among 18 top country artists taking part in the charitable song, “The Choice,” to benefit Soles4Souls. The song was co-written by Billy Gilman, best known for the 2000 hit “One Voice.” One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the organization, which provides shoes for the less fortunate. Reba, Kenny Rogers, Craig Morgan and many more have also contributed their voices to the song. 

Eric Church has been tapped to perform at this year’s Sturgis Bike Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota later this summer. He’ll take to the Buffalo Chip main stage August 8th. 

Luke Bryan is set to take part in the Artist Development Case Study at this year’s Billboard Country Music Summit, taking place June 4th-5th in Nashville. The panel will be an in-depth discussion with Luke and other key players in his career to talk about his current growth as an artist and how they plan to grow his career over the long-term.

Luke Bryan’s tailgates & tanlines album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (R-I-A-A) for selling more than one-million copies. The Georgia native’s third album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart (and No. 2 overall) with 145,000 copies sold. The collection has produced two back-to-back platinum singles – “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and “I Don’t Want This Night to End.” Luke’s current single, “Drunk on You,” is sitting inside the Top 15 and flying up the country charts. Luke wrote or co-wrote eight of the 13 songs for the record, but says that’s a little bit less than his previous two albums. “I just try to write the best song and…so, more and more you know I’m weaning myself off my own albums, but it’s fun to get great songs from the town, from Nashville and the songwriting community,” says Luke. “So, as long as I’m able to do that and find great songs, I’ll always continue to do that. And also, I’m going to always work hard to try to put my stamp in the album as a songwriter too, because I feel like that’s as important as anything.” 

Luke recently debuted last month’s EP release, “Spring Break 4…Suntan City,” in the #2 spot on the Billboard Country Albums chart with sales near 30,000 units in its first week and his fourth annual spring break shows at Spinnaker’s in Panama City Beach brought a crowd of 80,000 to the beach. Earlier this month, he performed on the Academy of Country Music Awards and participated in the “ACM Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends- In Concert” taping, which aired this past Friday, April 13 on the CBS Television Network.   

In addition to headlining his own dates, Luke is currently on the road with Jason Aldean on the 2012 leg of his My Kinda Party Tour.  For more information, visit www.lukebryan.com. 

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about writing songs for his albums, including his new album, tailates & tanlines. He co-wrote 8 of the 13 songs on the collection. 

Luke Bryan (writing songs for t&t) OC: … as anything. :40

“With this album, I’ve never gone into a writing appointment going, ‘Oh, well we need a song that does this because the album doesn’t have it.’ I mean, I just try to write the best song and then, if you know, Nashville, like I said we were talking about how I had 8 of the 13. My first album had like 10 of 11. My second had like 9 of 11. So, more and more you know I’m weaning myself off my own albums, but it’s fun to get great songs from the town, from Nashville and the songwriting community. So, as long as I’m able to do that and find great songs, I’ll always continue to do that. And also, I’m going to always work hard to try to put my stamp in the album as a songwriter too, because I feel like that’s as important as anything.”

Dierks Bentley kicked off the spring leg of his Country & Cold Cans Tour at the Nokia Theater in L.A., and he had a couple of special guests crash the stage, in addition to his opening acts, the Eli Young Band and singer-songwriter Will Hoge. Chris Schifflet of the Foo Fighters joined Dierks for a Gram Parsons’ song, and actor Garrett Hedlund (Friday Night Lights) also showed up on stage to sing with Dierks…Garrett, as you may know, sang in the film Country Strong as character “Beau Hutton.” 

The trek will hit more than 20 cities, including Monday night’s (April 16th) date in Anchorage, Alaska. “Country & Cold Cans was such a great tour last fall…it’s just way too much fun to stop and we knew we had to continue it into the spring and make another run across the U.S. when we get home from Canada and Australia. We’re even going to Alaska…giving new meaning to COLD cans,” laughed Bentley.

NOTE: The opening slot on the Country & Cold Cans Tour will feature Will Hoge and The Cadillac Black at alternating shows.

Dierks is currently scaling the country charts with “5-1-5-0,” the follow-up to back-to-back No. 1 songs, “Am I The Only One” and “Home.”

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley talks about the Eli Young Band, who are featured on the 2012 leg of his Country & Cold Cans Tour.

Dierks (Country & Cold Cans Tour) OC: …great time. :29

“Eli Young Band’s done some benefits, some Miles & Music stuff for me in the past , and they like to have fun. When they’re putting on a show, it’s not just go up there and entertain and go back to the bus and go back to what you’re doing. They really give it their all and get into it. I like shows and tours and other artists that really invest everything they have into it, and get dirty. You know, I have a torn ACL from jumping around on stage. I don’t go up there just to fake it. I want it to be a real, down-and-dirty, fun country tour. And these guys are the right people to bring along for it.”

Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood is off the market! He tied the knot with Kelli Cashiola during an intimate ceremony on a private farm outside of Nashville on Saturday night.  

Check out the story from People.com below: 

The sun was setting over a breathtaking view from a hill as family, friends and Haywood’s bandmates, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott, gathered around the couple at Front Porch Farms in Ashland City.

Singer/songwriter Dave Barnes provided the music for the intimate outdoor ceremony, which was followed by dinner and dancing. Guests were shuttled into the secret location.

The couple, who have been friends for nearly six years, publicly revealed their romance on November 9th when Cashiola walked the CMA Red Carpet with him.

On December 19th, Dave surprised her with an early Christmas present when he spelled out “Will you marry me?” on the side of her house in Christmas lights. As he put the engagement ring on her finger, Cashiola said “Yes!”

The bride, 30, an executive with Warner Bros. Records in Nashville, wore a lacy white dress with a sash tied at the small of her back and a white flower in her hair. The groom, 29, wore a suit and tie.

Dave was the remaining single member of Lady A, until Saturday, that is. Hillary married drummer Chris Tyrrell on January 7th of this year, while Charles has been married to wife Cassie McConnell since 2009. 

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood talks about wedding planning with his bandmates, backstage at this month’s ACM Awards. 

Lady A (Dave-wedding plans) OC: (Dave) …play a couple songs. [Hillary laughs] :26

DAVE: “[Hillary] just got married, so I actually have asked her a couple of things. I’m like, ‘What did you do for the flowers for this part,’ ‘cause she just went through it, and Charles has been married for a couple of years, so he’s the veteran.” CHARLES: “He has two perspectives.” DAVE: “I do get female and male perspectives on wedding planning. So, it’s all encompassing. I think I got it knocked out.” HILLARY: “We’re definitely going to crash the band at some point.” CHARLES: “I told him if he has live music, they have to know ‘Mustang Sally’ and ‘Let’s Stay Together.’” DAVE: “Because in the rider, you have to let us play a couple of songs.” [Hillary laughs]

Keith Urban was certainly surprised when a duffle bag was brought out on stage with a “present” for him during his All for the Hall concert this week. He got an even bigger shock when he was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry. Not even his beautiful wife, Nicole Kidman, breathed a word of the news to him, even though that goes against their promise to each other to not withhold any secrets in their relationship. “My wife and I have a very strict rule that we don’t keep secrets and we’re not into surprises. You know, my wife’s like, ‘I don’t like surprises. Don’t ever have a surprise. Always tell me if there’s going to be a surprise party,’ that sort of thing,” explains Keith. “We’ve never surprised each other with anything, or kept any secret about anything, and this is the rare exception.” So, does he wish she would’ve told him about the invitation? Well, yeah AND no. “On the one hand, yeah, in the sense that I might’ve felt a little more prepared, but no, in the sense of genuine shock. [I’m] grateful that she didn’t.”

Keith’s induction into the Grand Ole Opry will take place Saturday, April 21st. He’s getting ready to hit the airwaves with his new single, “For You.” 

AUDIO: Keith Urban says his wife, Nicole Kidman, kept mum about his surprise Grand Ole Opry membership invitation, even though they don’t keep secrets from each other. 

Keith Urban (wife kept Opry secret) OC: …she didn’t. :30

“[It’s] not every day that you get a duffle bag brought up on stage. I had no clue what it was, and it’s funny, because my wife and I have a very strict rule that we don’t keep secrets and we’re not into surprises. You know, my wife’s like, ‘I don’t like surprises. Don’t ever have a surprise. Always tell me if there’s going to be a surprise party,’ that sort of thing. And so we’ve never surprised each other with anything, or kept any secret about anything and this is the rare exception. When we got home, she said, ‘Do you wished I would’ve told you?’ And I said, ‘No.’ On the one hand, yeah, in the sense that I might’ve felt a little more prepared, but no in the sense of genuine shock. [I’m] grateful that she didn’t.”

Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker are featured on the new CBS-TV special, ACM Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends – In Concert. The show features duets between the legendary performer and some of today’s biggest country stars, along with some solo performances. Little Big Town are among the artists taking part in Lionel’s new country duets project, Tuskegee. The band sang with Lionel on his hit, “Deep River Woman.” Not only do they love his music, but the members of Little Big Town also really enjoyed hanging out with the man. “He’s everything you want him to be,” says LBT’s Kimberly Schlapman. “He is what you dream that he is. He’s really that.” Band member Phillip Sweet says Lionel Richie’s music still resonates with fans. “I think it’s very satisfying for the fans to hear those songs in a new way with these different artists,” he explains. “It’s really fresh and different, but at the same time, so familiar, because these songs, I think, take people back to memories of his great legacy of his music.” Lionel Richie and Friends – In Concert airs Friday (April 13th) at 9pm ET on CBS. 

Little Big Town will hit the airwaves with their new single, “Pontoon,” at the end of the month. It’s the first release from their upcoming album, due in stores this fall.

AUDIO: Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook talk about Lionel Richie’s music. 

LBT (Lionel Richie music) OC: (Jimi) …great guy. :32

PHILLIP: “I think it’s very satisfying for the fans to hear those songs in a new way with these different artists. It’s really fresh and different, but at the same time, so familiar, because these songs, I think, take people back to memories of his great legacy of his music. It’s amazing his body of work. You don’t really think about it until you kind of see them one after another, laid out in front of you, and you hear those songs and they take you back.” JIMI: “You know, it’s just cool to be able to sing with him. Man, that was a part of my formative years, musically, and he’s such a great guy.”

AUDIO: Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman explains how Lionel Richie couldn’t be any nicer. 

LBT (Lionel nice) OC: …really that. :06

KIMBERLY: “He’s everything you want him to be [Jimi laughs]. He is. He is what you dream that he is. He’s really that.”

Eric Church‘s “Springsteen” is getting ready to enter the Top 10 on the country singles charts, and the video for the song is about to hit the video channels. Check out the behind-the-scenes of Eric’s video shoot below.

Keith Urban celebrated the recent two-week No. 1 success of his most recent single, “You Gonna Fly,” with a party at a local Nashville eatery on Wednesday (April 11th). The tune is his 14th chart-topper, and it was written by the LoCash Cowboys‘ Preston Brust and Chris Lucas, as well as pal Jaren Johnston — all three were enjoying their first No. 1 song.

The writers comedically recalled meeting Keith, and they presented him with a 24-karat gold whistle (download audio below) to commemorate the “best use of a whistle in a song.” Keith took to the mic to thank the duo for allowing him to record their song and to thank others involved in helping him climb to No. 1 in just 19 weeks — one of the fastest-rising singles of his career.

Now, Keith is starting to hit the airwaves with his latest single, “For You,” which he originally wrote and recorded for the Act of Valor fim soundtrack.