Country News

March 9, 2010

» So Much Cooler Online: "Out with a bang." That's what Brad Paisley tweeted after closing his American Saturday Night tour Saturday (3/6) in Charleston, SC with a serious final-song tumble. "Man, am I sore today," he said the day after a hospital visit that revealed no broken bones. "You guys should see the bruise." Watch the "Alcohol" crash here. At Friday's (3/5) Knoxville show, Paisley told the crowd, "It is so great to be in the land of football and Kenny Chesney. I'm not from Tennessee, but I got here as fast as I could." Paisley tailored his performance to the audience (not that he needed to), as the packed Thompson-Boling Arena was fully energized by the hit-laden show.

Stopping "I'm Still A Guy" in mid-song, Paisley told the audience he was about to play the "sissy verse ... or as I like to call it, the Kiffin verse." His reference to cut-and-run former University of Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin drew a roar rivaling a game-winning touchdown. Later, armed only with an acoustic guitar and a stool, Paisley said, "Sorry, but I have to" before playing a verse and chorus of "Rocky Top."

Miranda Lambert received a strong reaction to her new single "The House That Built Me," and later admitted being conflicted in her recent No. 1 battle with "one of my best friends." She then brought out "The Truth" co-writer Ashley Monroe, a Knoxville native, to play the Jason Aldean smash. Opener Justin Moore got the Kiffin-bashing started, dedicating his "I Can Kick Your Ass" to the current USC coach. Paisley will launch his H2O tour later this year.

» Roots Are Showing: Out this summer, Dierks Bentley's Up On The Ridge bluegrass and roots album will feature guests including the Del McCoury Band, Alison Krauss and Miranda Lambert. "This album won’t come as a surprise to my hard-core fans," Bentley says. "They've asked me, 'When are you going to make a bluegrass record?' And I was just waiting for the right time. It’s my version of bluegrass music. It’s not just banjos cranked up to 11."

» Sunshine State Of Mind: Picking up where she left off in October, Taylor Swift opened her Fearless 2010 tour with three sold-out Florida concerts in Tampa, Orlando and Sunrise. "If Swift was a big star last year," Tampa's St. Petersburg Times writes, "she's stratospheric now." Read other rave reviews in the Orlando Sentinel and the Miami Herald. Swift continues the tour Wednesday (3/10) in Austin with openers Gloriana and Kellie Pickler. Details here. In other news, get Swift's new, free iPhone app here.

» The Road: Giving loneliness a new meaning, Jimmy Wayne braved two days in the woods without a cell phone last week on his 1,600-mile Meet Me Halfway walk to Phoenix. "These deserted back roads go for miles and there's no one," Wayne told us in our weekly update Friday (3/5). "When my phone went out, there was really no one. I thought I was alone when I left Nashville with that backpack, but I wasn't until my phone went out. The world got bigger all of a sudden." Armed with a repaired cell and approaching Oklahoma City, Wayne has been getting support back home in Nashville, as a group of women have raised nearly $1,000 in money and goods for his effort. Details on how to contribute here.

» Cooking Country: The encore cookbook to Trisha Yearwood's Georgia Cooking In An Oklahoma Kitchen will be released April 6. Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories And Recipes To Share With Family And Friends includes recipes for Garth's Breakfast Bowl, Tennessee Jambalaya and Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake, with a forward by husband Garth Brooks. Pre-order here. Yearwood's 14-date book tour begins April 7 in Princeton, NJ. Details here.

» Bad To The Bone: The country drama Crazy Heart, about a struggling legend's return to the spotlight, took home two Oscars at Sunday's (3/7) 82nd Annual Academy Awards. "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)" co-writers Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett won Best Music (Original Song), and actor Jeff Bridges earned Best Actor In A Leading Role for his "Bad Blake" character. Watch the winning moments here and here.

» Crib Note: Congrats to Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook on the birth of their first child Elijah Dylan Westbrook Friday (3/5). The Little Big Dude was born in Nashville and weighted 7 lbs., 14 oz.

» In Case You Missed It: Thursday's (3/4) CSI had Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus mysteriously injured in a stage accident. Watch the full episode here. And Sunday's (3/7) Jimmy Kimmel Live hosted Keith Urban, who performed "Til Summer Comes Around" and acted in the "Handsome Men's Club" skit with Sting, Matthew McConaughey, Rob Lowe, Josh Hartnett and others.

»Hit List

The Country Throwdown Tour 2010 featuring Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Jack Ingram, Eric Church, Eli Young Band, the Lost Trailers, Heidi Newfield, Ryan Bingham, Jonathan Singleton & The Grove and Emily West opens May 14 in Tampa. A Bluebird Café tent will feature emerging singer-songwriters. More than 20 dates are scheduled through June 20. Details here; download the iPhone app here.
Pre-order Zac Brown Band's DVD/Double CD set Pass The Jar - Zac Brown Band And Friends Live From The Fabulous Fox Theatre In Atlanta (out May 4) and receive a unique code for pre-sale access to ZBB's May 8 Atlanta show. Details here.
Gretchen Wilson, Stoney LaRue, Robert Earl Keen, Rio Grande, the Grascals and others have joined the Verizon Wireless BamaJam Music & Artist Festival June 3-5. They join previously announced headliners Hank Williams, Jr., Kenny Chesney and others for the Enterprise, AL event. Tickets and full lineup here.

Birthdays

Carrie Underwood (3/10)
Kristian Bush (Sugarland) (3/14)
Jerry Jeff Walker (3/16)

On TV

Tuesday (3/9): Various Artists, ACM Showcase 2010 (re-air) (GAC).

Wednesday (3/10): Sugarland, Soundstage (re-air) (GAC).

Thursday (3/11): Gary Allan, Live From The House Of Blues (re-air) (GAC).

Friday (3/12): Blake Shelton, Top 20 Country Countdown (GAC).

In Stores Tuesday (3/9)

Gary Allan Get Off On The Pain
Mark Wright, Greg Droman and Allan co-produced his eighth album, which features the title track lead single. Allan co-wrote five of 10 songs. Ringtone downloads are free with a CD purchase. The Deluxe Edition includes "Long Summer Days" and live tracks "Right Where I Need To Be," "Best I Ever Had" and "Watching Airplanes." Purchase here .

Christian Kane Christian Kane EP
TNT's Leverage actor Kane previews his upcoming label debut with this five-song digital release. Kane co-wrote three of the tracks with artists including Whitney Duncan and Jonathan Singleton. The project is available at all online outlets.

Upcoming Album Releases

Brantley Gilbert Halfway To Heaven (3/16)
Travis Rush Feel (3/16)
Various Artists Sunday In The Country (3/16)
Alan Jackson Freight Train (3/30)
Gretchen Wilson I Got Your Country Right Here (3/30)

» Country Crossroads: Vince Gill (l) and Eric Clapton (r) trade guitar licks during Clapton's Nashville concert last week. Derek & The Dominos' "Nobody Knows When You're Down And Out," "Layla," Clapton's "Running On Faith," "I've Got A Rock And Roll Heart" and Cream's "Crossroads" rounded out the five-song Gill and Clapton jam. The two will reunite June 26 for Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago. Details and tickets here.

» Postcards And Souvenirs: Jack Ingram takes in the scenery in front of the Sydney Opera House on his Australian tour. Ingram will pick up his stateside Acoustic Motel tour March 23 in Atlanta. Complete schedule here.

» You Can Go Home Again: Danny Gokey performs during his return to American Idol Thursday (3/4). He sang his new single "My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me."

March 5, 2010

» Leaving Las Vegas: Lady Antebellum were flying out of Las Vegas following a show with Tim McGraw when they learned of their industry-leading seven ACM nominations. They'll find out how many trophies they'll get during the April 18 CBS-TV telecast, which just happens to air live from, you guessed it, Vegas at 8pm ET. "I can't wait to get back there," the band's Charles Kelley says. "It's always one of the most fun events of the year, and we have special memories of winning the New Artist award a few years ago. I never thought we'd have a bigger night than that." Miranda Lambert was on the CBS Early Show set when her boyfriend Blake Shelton and Reba announced that she tied with Carrie Underwood for six ACM nods. Taylor Swift received five, Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley each had four, as did the Zac Brown Band. Brown himself received two additional nominations for producing entries in the Album and Song categories. Nominees for the prestigious Entertainer Of The Year are: Chesney, Toby Keith, Paisley, George Strait, Swift, Underwood, Keith Urban and ZBB; complete nominees list here. Online voting for the semi-final round of newcomer categories (Top New Solo, Vocal Duo and Group) ends March 12 here.

» Something To Be Proud Of: In other ACM news, Montgomery Gentry have been honored with the organization's Humanitarian Award for their charitable efforts. "This isn't something that we ever expected when we started out 10 years ago," Troy Gentry says. "We just set out to entertain people, and getting the opportunity to help such deserving organizations is just a real honor for us." The duo helps raise money and awareness for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the USO and Eddie Montgomery's Camp Horsin' Around for children with life-threatening illnesses and physical difficulties. Details here.

» Ballot Ballet: Speaking of the ACMs, the first campaign "contribution" for new artist categories has been posted on YouTube. Luke Bryan gets endorsements from fellow artists and other celebrities – including St. Louis Cardinals Tony LaRussa and Mark McGwire – in the clip, viewable here.

» Orchid Around: Tuesday (3/2) was CMT Crossroads' first taping at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, and Kenny Chesney and the Steve Miller Band kept it "old school" by following a Grand Ole Opry tradition. The 11-song set included Chesney's "Livin' In Fast Forward" and "I Go Back," Jimmie Vaughan's "Hey Yeah," and SMB's "Fly Like An Eagle," "Jet Airliner" and "The Joker." Halfway through, Miller suggested, "I think we should do ["Abracadabra"] at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge after this." Chesney warned the approving crowd, "Y'all are going to be late to work tomorrow if you come to Tootsie's. [But] you can tell we don't work for a living." The trek across the alley yielded performances of "Take The Money And Run," Hank Williams' "Mind Your Own Business" and Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Love Struck Baby." The episode (minus the Tootsie's experience) will premiere in July.

» Four The Love Of Country: More 2010 CMA Music Festival performers have been added with Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw and Kellie Pickler now set for the June 10-13 Nashville event. This is McGraw's first performance at the festival since a surprise 2001 appearance during Kenny Chesney's performance. The new additions join Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Reba, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and the Zac Brown Band on the bill. Tickets are available for $110-$185 here.

» History In The Making: Soldiers at Nashville's Veterans Affairs hospital were visited last week by Darius Rucker at the request of the charity Musicians On Call. "It was really hitting home with a couple guys," Rucker told AP of performing his hits for patients. "That one guy who got the tears, that's why you write music, but you never expect it to happen. When it does, it's a great feeling. To be part of their day for a minute was a great experience." Rucker headlined a local Wednesday (3/3) sold-out benefit concert for the organization, which brings live music to hospital patients. Watch here.

» Honky Tonk Tube: The morning and late-night show circuits were overrun with country artists this week as Brad Paisley, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw all made major network appearances. On Monday (3/1), Underwood appeared as "Tiffany" on How I Met Your Mother, Paisley performed "American Saturday Night" for Jay Leno's return to the Tonight Show and Turner played "Why Don't We Just Dance" on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Shelton entertained the Today show plugging his latest album Hillbilly Bone, as did Lady A with "Need You Now" and "American Honey." McGraw also sang "Still" and gabbed with Robin Roberts about The Blind Side's Oscar noms.

» Harp Days' Night: The Wreckers alumna Jessica Harp has discontinued her artist career to focus on songwriting. "The decision wasn't easy," Harp writes in an open letter to her fans. "It’s not the end of the book, it’s just a new chapter." Harp's A Woman Needs will be available for digital download at all online retailers March 16. Read more here.

Hit List

Taylor Swift graces the March 16 cover of Elle, which reads "Gorgeous, talented, smart, rich – and we still like her." The magazine's website has Swift fashion and trivia quizzes posted here and here.
Faith Hill will perform at the March 15 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony honoring ABBA, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis and others. The New York City event airs live on FUSE-TV at 8:30pm ET.
Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott goes undercover as "Sheila the Crewmember" to watch Tim McGraw in concert. Watch here. Also in Lady A news, Charles Kelley and brother Josh Kelley will have a chance to reunite their childhood band Spork when Josh opens with Randy Montana at the group's two-night sold-out Ryman Auditorium shows March 10-11.
Martina McBride and the Courtyard Hounds (Dixie Chicks Martie & Emily) have been added to the 2010 Lilith Tour. Other country artists on the bill are Loretta Lynn, Sugarland and Miranda Lambert. Details and cities here.

Birthdays

Skip Ewing (3/6)
Trent Willmon (3/6)

On TV

Friday (3/5): Gary Allan, Blake Shelton, Top 20 Country Countdown (GAC).

Saturday (3/6): Jason Aldean, Special: Wide Open (re-air) (GAC).

Sunday (3/7): Gary Allan, Live From The House Of Blues (GAC); Keith Urban, Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC).

Monday (3/8): Laura Bryna, Hannity (FOX News); Lady Antebellum, The View & Late Show With David Letterman (CBS).

Upcoming Album Releases

Gary Allan Get Off On The Pain (3/9)
Brantley Gilbert Halfway To Heaven (3/16)
Travis Rush Feel (3/16)
Various Artists Sunday In The Country (3/16)
Alan Jackson Freight Train (3/30)
Gretchen Wilson I Got Your Country Right Here (3/30)

» Livin' In Rewind: Kenny Chesney (third from l) and director Joe Thomas (third from r) take a photo break from putting the finishing touches on Kenny Chesney: Summer In 3D with the rest of the editing crew. The movie opens April 21 in select theaters nationwide. View the trailer and check theaters here.

» Helping Hand: Taylor Swift and Big Kenny hang backstage at the Help Haiti Live event at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium Saturday (2/27). Big Kenny hosted the show, which featured Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Jars of Clay, Mat Kearney, Brandon Heath and others.

March 2, 2010
» Guys & Dolls: Capping a busy week in Music City, Miranda Lambert hosted a late-night No. 1 party for "White Liar" at a Lower Broadway bar Friday (2/26) with the song's co-writer Natalie Hemby. Dressed in a vintage-inspired black dress with white gloves, Lambert praised the industry crowd for being good sports. "Thanks for joining in my hair-brained idea," Lambert said. "My poor manager, I called her at midnight under the influence and said, 'I want to have a '40s themed No. 1 party,' and I only was at [No.] six at that point." After the presentation, Lambert led a group dance with boyfriend Blake Shelton and friend Kellie Pickler as a big band covered Santana's "Smooth," Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" and more. Details here. In other Lambert news, her album Revolution has been certified gold for selling more than 500,000 copies. Lambert was given a plaque for the achievement during a boat party Thursday (2/25). » Hockey Luck: As People magazine's March 8 cover girl, Carrie Underwood gives the inside scoop on her upcoming nuptials to fiancé Mike Fisher. While Underwood didn't disclose how the hockey star popped the question (she'd like to keep the specifics to herself), she did share that the wedding will be this summer at Checotah, OK's First Free Will Baptist Church. "We'll be little nomads for awhile, until one of us retires," Underwood says of keeping up the long-distance romance after their marriage. "Not being in the same room won't lessen our relationship." In other Underwood news, she appeared on How I Met Your Mother as the pharmaceutical rep "Tiffany" Monday (3/1), received a $50,000 check from Pedigree dog food for her C.A.T.S. Foundation and was presented with a plaque celebrating 20 million worldwide digital sales last week. » Fan Fare: Releasing singles is usually the stuff of record label marketing meetings, budgets and careful planning. Don't tell that to the fans of the Eli Young Band. A funny thing started happening at this Texas-based quartet's concerts – audiences went crazy for their song "Guinevere," screaming out requests and, when EYB obliged, singing the lyrics back to the band at top volume. "Fans were downloading the song like crazy, so we decided to make a video and pay for it ourselves," says frontman Mike Eli. "And because we made the video, fans started requesting it and stations started playing it." EYB's label, which hadn't planned to release any further singles from their Jet Black And Jealous album, was forced to make an about-face. "Sometimes the fans don't realize how powerful they are," Eli says. Watch the video here. » Unanswered Prayers: Tickets for the second round of Garth Brooks shows at the Encore Theater in Las Vegas have sold out. More than 75,000 callers and 2.1 million page hits on wynnlasvegas.com helped sell out Brooks' 20 shows within hours of Saturday's (2/27) on-sale date. Future Brooks dates will be announced in the next few months. Details here. » Longtime Gone: Imagine going two solid months without sleeping in your own bed. Jimmy Wayne doesn't have to. Since starting his 1,600-mile Meet Me Halfway walk to Phoenix on New Year's Day, Wayne hadn't been home once ... before this past weekend. A date at the Grand Ole Opry Saturday (2/27) offered him a chance to take a break from his mission for homeless teens. "You have access to the world when you're home," Wayne told us backstage at the Opry for his weekly update. "I spent all day downloading pictures. I think there's something to be said about coming home and being in your house, where you can walk around in your pajamas and don't have to worry about getting up and getting out." The Grand Ole Opry also presented Wayne with a $250 check for MMH during his two-song set, which included single "Just Knowing You Love Me." Wayne concluded his weekend visit home by headlining the post-Opry show Midnite Jamboree. Keep up with Wayne on his journey west here. » DB & His Keg Killers: The Texas edition of Dierks Bentley's Miles & Music for Kids celebrity motorcycle ride is scheduled for April 25 in Dallas-Fort Worth. "I'm going to try and keep all my special guests a secret for as long as I can," Bentley says. "I'll just say that they are five of my favorite Texas country artists, and you better get there early because if you don’t, they will drink all the beer." Event proceeds will benefit the Children's Medical Center Dallas and Cook Children's in Fort Worth. Tickets go on sale Monday (3/1) at ticketmaster.com. » In Case You Missed It: The CBS Early Show hosted Steel Magnolia, who performed "Keep On Lovin' You" and "Edge Of Goodbye" on Saturday's (2/27) Second Cup Café. More here. » It Ain't Too Much For Me To Jam: The 3^rd Annual Verizon Wireless BamaJam Music & Arts Festival has added the Zac Brown Band, Rodney Atkins, Chris Young, Danny Gokey, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Travis Tritt and Train to the bill. They join previously announced performers Kenny Chesney, Hank Williams, Jr., Jake Owen, Miranda Lambert, the LoCash Cowboys, Dierks Bentley, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson and Colt Ford for the June 3-5 festival in Enterprise, AL. Tickets and details here. »Hit List Gary Allan "gets off on the pain" by getting tattooed. He discusses that practice and his upcoming album Get Off On The Pain here. The autographed 12-string Taylor-brand acoustic guitar Taylor Swift played during last October's We're All For The Hall concert sold for $16,250 in an online auction that closed Friday (2/26). All proceeds benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. In other Swift news, she's posted a video blog of her Fearless tour to Australia and Japan here. Little Big Town are hosting an onlie baby shower for Jimi Westbrook and Karen Fairchild. In lieu of gifts, the band is encouraging donations to Danita's Children & Hope For Haiti Children's Center, which is helping impoverished children recovering from January's earthquake. Learn more here. Wynonna will play herself in a May 16 Army Wives episode on Lifetime. Jack Ingram will tour various Australian cities beginning May 6 in Sydney as part of the CMC Rocks tour with artists Doc Walker and Steve Forde. "Guess Things Happen That Way," recorded by the late Johnny Cash, was the 10 billionth iTunes download from the U.S. online store. Woodstock, GA's Louie Sulcer will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card for his purchase. Birthdays Skip Ewing (3/6) Trent Willmon (3/6) On TV Tuesday (3/2): Blake Shelton, Reba, CBS Early Show; Blake Shelton, Today (NBC); Larry Gatlin, Hannity (FOX News). Wednesday (3/3): Lady Antebellum, Today (NBC); Blake Shelton, Hannity's America (FOX News). Thursday (3/4): Rascal Flatts, CSI (CBS); Danny Gokey, American Idol (FOX). Friday (3/5): Gary Allan, Blake Shelton, Top 20 Country Countdown (GAC). In Stores Tuesday (3/2) Luke Bryan Spring Break 2: Hangover Edition Bryan's three-song iTunes exclusive EP features never-before-released, self-penned tracks "Wild Weekend," "Cold Beer Drinker" and "I'm Hungover." Bryan's first Spring Break compilation was released this time last year. Easton Corbin Easton Corbin Single "A Little More Country Than That" leads Corbin's debut. He co-wrote three of the album's 11 songs during a trip to Colorado. Other writers on the project include Joey+Rory's Rory Feek. Danny Gokey My Best Days Gokey draws his debut album's title from first single "My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me," one of the collection's 11 cuts. American Idol's Kara DioGuardi co-wrote "I Still Believe." Mark Bright produced. Point Of Grace No Changin' Us Shelley Breen, Leigh Cappillino and Denise Jones' eighth studio album is their first Country-targeted release behind single "Come To Jesus." The trio wrote one of the collection's 11 tracks. Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift) produced. The group's 150-page Cooking With Grace releases today as well. Blake Shelton Hillbilly Bone This "Six Pak" album is anchored by the title track single featuring Trace Adkins. Shelton embraced the shorter format as a way to get music to fans at a lower price while releasing new music more frequently. Lee Brice and Jerrod Niemann co-wrote "You'll Always Be Beautiful," and Shelton has credit on "Delilah," about girlfriend Miranda Lambert's dog. Upcoming Album Releases Gary Allan Get Off On The Pain (3/9) Brantley Gilbert Halfway To Heaven (3/16) Alan Jackson Freight Train (3/30) Gretchen Wilson I Got Your Country Right Here (3/30) » Fresh Faces: Love And Theft, Randy Houser, Chris Young, Gloriana and Justin Moore concluded the annual Country Radio Seminar with performances at the New Faces concert Friday (2/26). Each were voted by radio executives across the country to play the showcase. Pictured (front row l-r) are Gloriana's Cheyenne Kimball, Rachel Reinert; Moore; Young and Houser. Pictured (back row l-r) are Gloriana's Tom Gossin, Mike Gossin; and Love And Theft's Eric Gunderson, Stephen Barker Liles and Brian Bandas.