Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Eric Church, his wife, Katherine, and son, Boone, will be heading home to North Carolina to celebrate their first Christmas as a family, which will allow Eric’s parents to spoil their new grandson. It’ll also allow Eric to get some much-needed time off before he kicks off his first arena headlining tour in January. “I just look forward to relaxing and enjoying our first Christmas at home and can’t wait, and same time, I can’t wait to dial it back up next year,” Eric says. “We’re gonna take [Boone] on the road, so it’ll be his first tour. So, it’s gonna be a lot of firsts over the next year, and we’re just soaking it in and enjoying every one.”

• Eric is currently enjoying his first Top 5 hit with “Drink in My Hand,” from his Grammy-nominated album, Chief.
• Eric is set to kick off his Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour, with special guest Brantley Gilbert, January 19th in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

AUDIO: Eric Church talks about his family’s plans for Christmas.

Eric Church (Christmas plans 2011) OC: …every one. :24

“This year, there’s not a lot of firsts in your life – first child and first Christmas with him is certainly not something I’m going to miss. We’re gonna be in North Carolina with my family. I just look forward to relaxing and enjoying our first Christmas at home and can’t wait, and same time, I can’t wait to dial it back up next year. We’re gonna take him on the road, so it’ll be his first tour. So, it’s gonna be a lot of firsts over the next year, and we’re just soaking it in and enjoying every one.”

Darius Rucker will perform music by Frank Sinatra during a funraising concert February 13th in Charleston, South Carolina. Taking place at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, the show will raise funds Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital.

Eric Paslaygrew up in Texas with much of his extended family in the same town, so at there were many toys to play with at Christmas time.

AUDIO: Eric Paslay talks about his Christmas holidays when he was a child.

Eric Paslay (Christmases growing up) OC: …and football. :37

‘I remember always [on] Christmas Eve, we’d go 5to my Mom’s mother’s house, my grandmother, and we’d open up gifts kinda from the family. And my great-aunt, lived across the street, so all of those cousins, we’d go over there and hang out and steal some more cookies and kind of show…what’cha got and play with the toy for five minutes and move on to the other cousin’s toys. And then the next morning, maybe when we were younger, open up some more presents, you know, and then go to my other grandparents’ [house], my dad’s parents and hang out with that family, and it was always fun. We’d always have turkey, ham and football.”

AUDIO: Eric Paslay talks about his favorite Christmas song.

Eric Paslay (Christmas Song) OC: …Christmas. :07

“My favorite Christmas song is ‘Away in a Manger.’ The melody’s so beautiful, and I think it’s the true meaning of Christmas.”

Lady Antebellum talk favorite Christmas gifts, songs, movies and more!

AUDIO: Lady A’s Dave Haywood recalls his favorite Christmas gift. OC: (Charles) …album cover, too. :15

“My favorite Christmas gift was probably my very first guitar from my Grandpa about 15 years ago. And more recently, I got a red Gibson about 5 or 6 years ago. That red one we use on stage was given to me by my Dad for Christmas years ago.” CHARLES: “It was on our first album cover, too.”

AUDIO: Lady A talk about their favorite Christmas movies.

LADY A (Christmas movies) OC: (Hillary) …Christmas Vacation. :14

CHARLES: “Favorite Christmas movie would have to be A Christmas Story! I never get tired out of it – ‘shoot your eye out’ is my favorite line.” DAVE: “National Lampoon’s…” HILLARY: “Yes! My favorite Christmas movie is – it’s close between It’s a Wonderful Life and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

AUDIO: Lady A reveal their favorite Christmas songs.

LADY A (Christmas songs) OC: (Hillary) …His Child.’ :15

CHARLES: “Favorite Christmas song for me would have to be ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.’ How ‘bout you guys?” DAVE: “My favorite Christmas song would have to be ‘We Three Kings.’” HILLARY: “One of my favorite all-time Christmas songs is one that Trisha Yearwood recorded called ‘It Wasn’t His Child.’”

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley says he is a last minute Christmas shopper.

LADY A (Charles-last minute shopper) OC: …last-minuter. :08

“I’m probably a last-minute shopper for sure. Hillary says she’s already been doing her Christmas shopping really early, but I would have to say I’m a last-minuter.”

Keith Urban now is probably making some of his favorite Christmas memories, especially with his two little girls – Sunday and Faith – to spoil during the holidays. The entertainer, however, remembers his Christmases as a child growing up in Australia, which usually involved spending time at the beach. ““Most of my memories of Christmas in Australia were loading up the station wagon and going to the beach,” recalls Keith. “The four of us – my brother and me and Mum and Dad – would all go to the beach, and there’d be families everywhere and we’d take a lunch with us. And a lot of times, we’d take a lot of the presents with us and we’d open ‘em up either on the beach or in the backseat of the car; usually in the car because we couldn’t wait ‘til we got to the beach.” One particular present stands out for the singer. ““I got a yellow Tonka truck when I was about 6, I think, and it’s probably still my favorite Christmas gift ever. Those things last forever, too.”

Keith is currently (ahem) “flying” up the country charts with his latest single, “You Gonna Fly.”

Keith Urban (beach) OC: …memories of Christmas. :29

“Most of my memories of Christmas in Australia were loading up the station wagon and going to the beach, which sounds like a strange thing to do, unless you live in Florida, maybe. But that’s mostly what we did. The four of us – my brother and me and Mum and Dad – would all go to the beach, and there’d be families everywhere and we’d take a lunch with us. And a lot of times, we’d take a lot of the presents with us and we’d open ‘em up either on the beach or in the backseat of the car; usually in the car because we couldn’t wait ‘til we got to the beach. That’s most of my fond memories of Christmas.”

Keith Urban (Christmas—yellow Tonka truck) OC: …forever, too. :09

“I got a yellow Tonka truck when I was about 6, I think, and it’s probably still my favorite Christmas gift ever. Those things last forever, too.”

Eric Church has many fond memories of Christmastime when he was growing up, but he’s looking forward to the memories he’ll make with his son, Boone, who was born just a couple of months ago (October 3rd, 2011). “The one thing about Christmas is through the eyes of a child, I’m most looking forward to that, you know to seeing that magic. ‘Cause I remember I loved Christmas, and I still do, but I remember it was different when I was a child,” says Eric. “I may not get it as much because he’s a newborn, but I look forward in the next few years to seeing that. It just gives a whole new meaning and feeling to Christmastime, you know, and I’m looking forward to that as a household and as a family. There’s a little more pull to be around and to feed that magic as a parent that hasn’t been there  maybe before for Katherine and I both, to making sure that that feeling permeates the holidays that we had growing up as kids.”

The “Drink in My Hand” singer says he’s also looking forward to putting together the toys Santa Claus brings to young Boone McCoy in the years to follow.

AUDIO: Eric Church says he’s looking forward to seeing Christmas through the eyes of his son, Boone.

Eric Church (Christmas-eyes of a child) OC: …by sunrise, you know? 1:07

“The one thing about Christmas is through the eyes of a child, I’m most looking forward to that, you know to seeing that magic. ‘Cause I remember I loved Christmas, and I still do, but I remember it was different when I was a child. I may not get it as much because he’s a newborn, but I look forward in the next few years to seeing that. It just gives a whole new meaning and feeling to Christmastime, you know, and I’m looking forward to that as a household and as a family. There’s a little more pull to be around and to feed that magic as a parent that hasn’t been there  maybe before for Katherine and I both, to making sure that that feeling permeates the holidays that we had growing up as kids. I’m looking forward to that, and I’m looking forward to putting some of that…I’ve really underestimated how complicated things I’ve had. I’ve been trying to put together the stroller, and I’m still not sure it’s safe for him to ride in that thing. We haven’t done it yet. I’m gonna have to try that out a few more times, because that’s a lot of parts…I remember my dad talking about when I was young having to stay up all night to put together the toy truck and whatever those things are, so I’m looking forward to some of those experiences and seeing if we can get it done by sunrise, you know?”

As 2011 comes to close we are one step closer to Arizona Country Thunder, and organizers are proud to unveil over ten additional acts that have joined the festival line-up, including 3-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Alan Jackson as Sunday’s headliner!  Jackson has earned 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards, 35 #1 hits, and has sold nearly 60 million albums to date – all of which make him one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters in music today. Jackson is set to close out the 19th annual Arizona Country Thunder festival and will join previously announced headliners Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, and Big & Rich for the premiere country music, camping, and entertainment festival taking place on April 12-15, 2012.

Go on the last run of the CMT Tour with Luke Bryan and his crew…and witness the pranks and antics that go along with it…toilet paper and opening acts, Lee Brice, Josh Thompson and Matt Mason. More LBTV coming in 2012.

Lady Antebellum’s Own the Night and Eric Church’s Chief have both been nominated for Best Country Album for the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Following the Grammy nominations announcement last night, Lady A tweeted, “We are so excited about our Grammy nomination! Congrats to all the nominees! Incredible. Thank you!!”

Eric poured a lot of heart, soul and energy into his latest offering, Chief, and says the album was driven by his fans’ passion. “We have built our career on the backs of our fans. We have not cared what else was going on around us,” he says. “The other thing, we went and played shows, and we have given those fans the keys to this vehicle, and we said, ‘Drive it!’ And they have told people about it, and they’ve spread the word, and they’ve preached that gospel, and they’ve just become an army out there.”

The two compete against Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party, Blake Shelton’s Red River Blue, George Strait’s Here for a Good Time and Taylor Swift’s Speak Now. The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will broadcast live February 12th at 8p ET on CBS.

AUDIO: Eric Church talks about making his latest album, Chief.

Eric Church (making of Chief) OC: …its heartbeat. :59

“We have built our career on the backs of our fans. We have not cared what else was going on around us. The other thing, we went and played shows, and we have given those fans the keys to this vehicle, and we said, ‘Drive it!’ And they have told people about it, and they’ve spread the word, and they’ve preached that gospel, and they’ve just become an army out there. This record when we made it, it needed, for me, to sound like a live show. It needed to sound like we had recorded it live, like you were watching something that we didn’t rehearse, that we didn’t think out. And there’s so many tracks on this record, where I am interacting with the musicians, because I am in the room with them, and either I will sing a melody line or the guitar will be playing a melody line, and we’ll pick up on each other, and it will turn into this little jam moment. And that is where the magic happens. We didn’t plan it, we didn’t talk about it, there’s as much unrehearsed magic on this record as we’ve ever had. There’s a lot of mistakes on it, and I think that’s part of a live show. We mess up every night live, and we talk about it after a show. We left it on this record. Those mistakes are in there, and I think that’s what gives it its heartbeat.”

AUDIO: Own The Night is the title of Lady Antebellum’s third album, and the band’s Hillary Scott explains what kind of statement she hopes the album makes.

Lady Antebellum (Title statement) OC: …celebrate it. :23

HS: “We hope that this album makes an honest statement and one of just truly enjoying your life, every moment in it, whether it’s a heartbreaking moment or a moment where you’re about to float off the ground you’re so head-over-heels for someone. It’s really — embrace every single moment and choose to celebrate it.”

Lady Antebellum reveal all the crazy fun antics they pull while waiting to go on stage for their Own the Night 2011 Tour. Check out the song Lady A’s Charles Kelley and his brother Josh come up with prior to a show, as well as the “music” the band creates on the bus!