April 30, 2012 - After negative comments from Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton about Eric Church's distaste for musical reality shows like American Idol and The Voice, Church backtracked, issuing an apology.
Church made comments to Rolling Stone, questioning the reality shows. Shelton is one of the judges on The Voice.... »»»April 30, 2012 - Eric Church canceled a show on Sunday in Bloomington, Ind. because he lost his voice.
Church is in the midst of The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour with Brantley Gilbert and Blueberry Smoke.
Church said on his web site, "I'm so disappointed. I apologize to everybody for having to cancel tonight's show.... »»»April 30, 2012 - Lady Antebellum will perform tomorrow on The View and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, May 2.
The trio's Own the Night 2012 World Tour caps their visit to The Big Apple this week with 2 sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall for a total of 30 sellouts on the tour so far.... »»»April 30, 2012 - Thompson Square will visit the NYC Better Show studios on on Wednesday ahead of their Radio City Music Hall concerts with Lady Antebellum this week.
The duo will sing two songs acoustically in-studio and also interview with the show's hosts on their recent ACM Vocal Duo of the Year win, CMT Award... »»»April 27, 2012 - The inaugural Watershed Music Festival will be headlined by Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton from Aug. 3-5 at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash.
The three-day event will include camping, late night sets, impromptu jam sessions and collaborations. Three-day festival passes start at... »»»April 27, 2012 - Shelby Lynne asked fans to help her recover three guitars and a ukulele that disappeared after her April 5 show in Norfolk, Va.
After investigation, it has been determined that the instruments were stolen. A reward will be offered to the individual(s) who provides information leading to the recovery of the items.... »»»April 26, 2012 - George Jones is recuperating from upper respiratory infection and continues to rest at his Franklin, Tenn. home, forcing the cancellation of nine shows. Most of the concerts were in Canada.
Although, George is doing much better, doctors are ordering mandatory recovery time forcing all tour dates... »»»April 26, 2012 - Lionel Richie and Blake Shelton both continue atop the Billboard charts for the week ending May 5. Richie, once again, has the best selling disc in the U.S. with "Tuskegee," while Shelton's Drink On It leads the country song chart.
Lady Antebellum inched up one to second on the song chart with... »»»April 26, 2012 - When Tyler Farr makes his debut The Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night, he will be stepping into the circle where some of his biggest influences have stood, including one of his biggest hero's George Jones.
"One of the most influential experiences in my life was the first time I went to the Opry," said Farr.... »»»April 25, 2012 - Lionel Richie will stay on top of the Billboard Top 200 chart when it is officially released Thursday with "Tuskegee." The disc, which sold 114,000 units last week - down 11 percent - will be number 1 for a second straight week on the overall and country charts.
Luke Bryan's "tailgates & tanlines"... »»»April 25, 2012 - Pistol Annies, Miranda Lambert's side project, are scheduled to perform on Lambert's On Fire tour beginning April 26 in Fresno, Cal.
The female trio featuring Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley debuted last year with an album and a few performances. Their title track, "Hell on Heels,"... »»»April 25, 2012 - Don't expect Carrie Underwood to take a break from her career to raise a family, just yet. At least that's what she says on Nightline tonight.
"To be honest, one day I'm absolutely fine and happy and, you know, start legitimately thinking about the idea of having kids, and another day, I'm like 'oh... »»»April 25, 2012 - Zac Brown Band will be "Uncaged" on July 10 when the band's new disc comes out on Atlantic Records/Southern Ground Artists.
The album will also mark the official debut of ZBB's newest member - percussionist Daniel de los Reyes.
Influenced by guest performer Trombone Shorty and past appearances with... »»»April 24, 2012 - Brad Paisley visited the "South Park" Studios in California this past weekend and was invited to be a part of the next episode of the television show.
Paisley collaborated will have two appearances as himself in the show that airs tomorrow evening, April 25 at 10 p.m. eastern on Comedy Central.... »»»April 24, 2012 - Clear Channel Media will promote Carrie Underwood's fourth album, "Blown Away," out May 1, in a two-week-long on-air and online effort starting today.
The promotion will also feature a special performance by Underwood for iHeartRadio Live and a Clear Channel entertainment production at the iHeartRadio Theater.... »»»April 24, 2012 - With Lee Brice, Kip Moore and Marty Stuart leading the way, today is a busy release day.
Brice has enjoyed a career of hits on his own and as a songwriter. His second disc, "Hard to Love," has a hit already with A Woman Like You, which went to number one. His current single is the title track.... »»»April 23, 2012 - Carrie Underwood will perform at London's Royal Albert Hall on June 21.
This will mark Underwood's first performance at the hall opened bin 1871 by Queen Victoria.
Underwood releases her new disc, "Blown Away," on May 1. The CD includes the hit single Good... »»»April 22, 2012 - Keith Urban was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry Saturday by Opry members Trace Adkins and Josh Turner.
On stage after Urban had performed his hits Days Go By and Without You, Adkins presented him with his Opry Member Award and made membership official.
"Thank you very much! Yee haw! That is... »»»April 20, 2012 - Miranda Lambert is headed home to Texas, to headline the 5th Annual Cause for the Paws concert benefitting the singer's own MuttNation Foundation on June 22 in Beaumont, Texas.
She will be joined by Wade Bowen and The Josh Abbott Band. Tickets go on-sale Friday, April 27 and are available at the Ford... »»»April 20, 2012 - Lee Brice has an endorsement deal with Anheuser-Busch beer.
Brice, whose number one single, A Woman Like You, was recently certified Gold, releases "Hard 2 Love," on Tuesday.
"Looks like all the years I spent supporting Bud Light are paying off," Brice joked. "I'm honored that they recognized my efforts.... »»»April 19, 2012 - Lionel Richie had the best selling disc in the U.S. with "Tuskegee" for the week ending April 28. Blake Shelton moved to the top of the Billboard Country Songs chart with Drink On It, switching spots with Lee Brice's A Woman Like You." This was Shelton's sixth straight number one hit.... »»»April 19, 2012 - Levon Helm, 71, the drummer for The Band and later forging his own successful solo career, died today of cancer.
A statement from his family said several days ago that Helm was in the "final stages" of his illness.
His web site said, "Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon.... »»»April 19, 2012 - The music video for Feel Like a Rock Star, Kenny Chesney's hit duet with Tim McGraw, premieres on Friday.
The video will begin posting online early tomorrow morning on various outlets. Access Hollywood is then scheduled to show 30 seconds during tomorrow night's broadcast and post the full video online at 7:30 p.m.... »»»April 18, 2012 - Joe and Heather Nichols became parents to a daughter, Dylan River Nichols, on Tuesday. This is the first child for the couple, who married in 2007.
Mother and child are doing fine, according to Nichols. "Our prayers have been answered," said Nichols. "We went through years of loss and heartbreak to... »»»April 18, 2012 - Lionel Richie has the best-selling album in the nation this week with "Tuskegee," his country duets project. When the charts are out on Thursday, Richie will be atop the Billboard Country Albums chart for the second week. A television special airing last week doubtlessly helped spur sales.... »»»April 17, 2012 - Glen Campbell, Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers and reunited group The Mavericks joined the performer lineup for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field held during 2012 CMA Music Festival.
The event takes place Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10, in downtown Nashville.
Campbell, who is in the midst of his... »»»April 17, 2012 - Carrie Underwood will perform in a live webcast concert from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on Monday, April 30 at 8 p.m. eastern as part of the Live on Letterman series.
Underwood will play music from throughout her career, including her newest single, Good Girl, from the forthcoming... »»»April 17, 2012 - Levon Helm is near death, his family reported Monday.
Helm, who forged his own career as head of the Levon Helm Band after drumming for The Band, has been suffering from cancer.
"Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way... »»»April 17, 2012 - Lee Brice's single, A Woman Like You, was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of more than 500,000 digital downloads, his publicist announced today.
The hit single also hit the top spot last week on both Billboard Hot Country Songs and Mediabase charts and currently resides in the Top 5 on the... »»»April 16, 2012 - Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood got married over the weekend, becoming the last of the trio to tie the knot.
Haywood married Warner Brothers records staffer Kelli Cashiola on a private farm outside of Nashville.
Bandmates Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott were on hand for the wedding.... »»»April 16, 2012 - Blake Shelton is celebrating his sixth consecutive number one hit this week with Drink On It, his 11th chart topper overall.
Shelton will take over from Lee Brice's A Woman Like You.
"I really couldn't be happier about this one y'all," said Shelton. "Bob Reeves and the WMN team, you beat the odds... »»»April 16, 2012 - In honor of Record Store Day on April 21, Domino Records commissioned two very Arctic Monkeys covers from Caitlin Rose, the young indie artist from Nashville.
Rose recorded Alex Turner's Piledriver Waltz and Love is a Laserquest. The former first appeared in the British film "Submarine" as a... »»»April 16, 2012 - Keith Urban's We're All for the Hall benefit concert on April 10 raised $465,000, bringing the event's 3-year total to approximately $1.5 million.
Nearly 14,000 fans packed Nashville's Bridgestone Arena to enjoy the one-of-a-kind show with appearances from Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Lady Antebellum,... »»»April 16, 2012 - Bucky Covington released his new single I Wanna Be That Feeling to country radio through Entertainment One Music Group.
The song from Covington's sophomore album expected mid 2012, is an up-tempo country love song, written by Jimmy Yeary and Ben Hayslip. The song goes for adds May 7.... »»»April 12, 2012 - Curb Records relaunched its Sidewalk imprint with Heidi Newfield as its first artist.
Newfield, who has enjoyed a solo career after being the lead singer of the trio Trick Pony, was the frst artist signed to the label, according to Country Aircheck.
Label head Mike Curb first formed the label in 1963.... »»»April 12, 2012 - Mindy McCready and David Wilson announce the birth of their son, Zayne, on Monday morning.
"Zayne is truly a blessing and a joy. It was a long and trying pregnancy; we're so happy he's here. There are no words to convey how happy we are," McCready said.
There was no word on where the birth occurred.... »»»April 12, 2012 - Josh Turner is slated to release his fifth studio album, "Punching Bag," on Tuesday, June 12. The first single from the new album, Time Is Love, is in the Top 20 on the Country Billboard chart .
Turner co-wrote 8 of the 11 tracks, many penned at his newly built cabin located on his property behind his... »»»April 12, 2012 - Beachwood Sparks are back.
The Los Angeles based alt.-country band is releasing "The Tarnished Gold" on June 26 on SubPop, the group's first new album in 11 years. Available digitally and on such popular formats as CD and LP (double-LP at 45 rpm), the album features the singles Forget the Song and Sparks Fly Again.... »»»April 11, 2012 - Rascal Flatts will lead the Billboard Country Album chart when it is released tomorrow with "Changed." The disc, third best selling in the U.S. overall, sold 130,000 units.
The disc s the trio's eighth top 10 on the Billboard 200 and seventh number one on the country chart.
Lionel Richie's country... »»»April 10, 2012 - Keith Urban got a little bit more than he bargained for at his All for the Hall concert in Nashville tonight. The concert featured a bevy of stars with the goal of raising money for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Urban also managed to get an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry from Vince Gill.... »»»
|
|
Country News Digest
 CST
 CST
April 10, 2012 - Ryan Adams will release an iTunes Session on April 24. The set captures eight solo performances by Adams that were recorded at the Capitol Studios in Hollywood. The track listing features a mix of Adams classics from his 2000 solo debut "Heartbreaker," the Whiskeytown era Houses On The Hill and songs... »»»April 10, 2012 - Willie Nelson will get a different kind of tribute treatment this month. No covers of his tunes. Just a big statue of the singer in Austin.
The statue will be unveiled April 20. The eight-foot statue sculpted by Clete Shields is a gift from Capital Area Statues.
"Creating a sculpture of such an icon... »»»April 10, 2012 - Wilco will play the Newport Folk Festival on Friday, July 27 at 5 p.m. on the opening gig of the three-day festival.
The festival takes place at Fort Adams State Park. Special guests Blitzen Trapper and Megafaun will play on the Wilco bill. "We are excited to return to the tradition of presenting a... »»»April 10, 2012 - Lady Antebellum has sold more than 750,000 tickets at the halfway point of their Own the Night World Tour.
"This tour has exceeded our expectations in every way," said Lady A's Dave Haywood. "Every day is new and exciting...I really don't ever think the feeling of being a headliner will get old.... »»»April 10, 2012 - Steep Canyon Rangers leave Steve Martin behind for a bit anyway with the release of "Nobody Knows You." The bluegrass band recorded several albums with Martin and toured with him as well. The disc, the band's debut on Rounder, contains a dozen songs.
Fellow bluegrassers, although from more of the jam... »»»April 10, 2012 - Lee Brice will have another number one under his belt when the Billboard Country Songs chart is out Thursday with A Woman Like You, his label announced today. Brice takes over from Jake Owen's Alone With You.
Curb Records is releasing today a second iTunes exclusive download, Parking Lot Party, from... »»»April 9, 2012 - Alan Jackson's first post-Arista Records release, "Thirty Miles West," drops June 5.
The release will be out on ACR (Alan's Country Records)/EMI Records Nashville and is produced by long-time producer Keith Stegall. Jackson's current single from the album is So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore.... »»»April 9, 2012 - Kenny Chesney's duet with Tim McGraw, Feel Like a Rock Star, debuted at 13 days after its premiere at the Academy of Country Music Awards, making it Chesney's highest debut ever on Billboard's Country Songs chart.
Chesney's highest Billboard debuts were Don't Blink (16) in 2007 and The Boys of Fall (17) in 2010.... »»»April 9, 2012 - Carter's Chord's video for Love A Little Bigger premieres exclusively on VEVO April 16.
The trio - sisters Becky Robertson, Emily Fortney, Joanna Ott - recently took a trip to the Dominican Republic to shoot their music video in conjunction with international humanitarian organization, World Vision.... »»»April 9, 2012 - Keith Urban announced today that all artist and publishing royalties from For You, a song written for the movie "Act of Valor," will be donated to the Navy SEAL Foundation.
The foundation supports SEAL families and their parent commands by easing financial burdens, establishing support networks, and... »»»April 9, 2012 - Jake Owen went home on Saturday night and added a once-in-a-lifetime twist to the night - he proposed to his girlfriend.
While playing in his hometown of Vero Beach, Fla. in front of 5,500 family, friends and fans, Owen proposed to his girlfriend Lacey Buchanan during the performance of his hit song... »»»April 6, 2012 - "Hank Cochran: Livin' For A Song," a bio-documentary of the Nashville songwriter, will have its world premiere April 25 as part of the Nashville Film Festival.
The film will repeat at noon on April 26.
Wes Pryor of Reel Cool Films directed, while Greg Welsch and produced, written and edited.... »»»April 5, 2012 - Lionel Richie made a successful turn to country as "Tuskegee" topped the Billboard Country Album chart for the week ending April 14. Jake Owen once again held down the number one spot on the Country Songs chart with Alone With You.
Richie took over from Luke Bryan's "tailgates & tanlines," which slipped to second.... »»»April 5, 2012 - Kathy Mattea signed with Sugar Hill Records. The label has plans to release "Calling Me Home," what Mattea describes as a love letter to her home state of West Virginia, in September.
"Signing at Sugar Hill is like coming home. It's a wonderful fit for the music I am making these days, and I'm so... »»»April 4, 2012 - Dolly Parton is pushing her just released "An Evening with... Dolly," a DVD/CD set available exclusively at all Cracker Barrel, on TV.
The double-disc set includes live performances of Dolly's biggest hits, including 9 to 5, Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, Here You Come Again, Islands in the Stream,... »»»April 4, 2012 - Lionel Richie will be the leading country album when the Billboard Country Albums chart is out Thursday and second on the overall chart with "Tuskegee."
"The Hunger Games" soundtrack, featuring many country songs, also in the top 10. The soundtrack, which sold 64,000 and was fifth on the overall... »»»April 4, 2012 - Hank Williams Jr. left Curb Records for Blaster for a three-year licensing deal. A new disc will be out in June.
The deal is a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement. The deal, which was signed this week, licenses Blaster Records, a division of Blaster Entertainment, to distribute Bocephus Records'... »»»April 3, 2012 - George Jones was released from a Nashville area hospital after being admitted last Thursday with a respiratory ailment.
Jones' web site said he "wants to thank all his friends and fans for their prayers and well wishes over the past few days. Mr. Jones will be resting at home until he plans to return... »»»April 3, 2012 - Lee Brice may be near the top of the songs chart with A Woman Like You, but a new single from his upcoming CD already is out.
The single, I Drive Your Truck, is now available for download only on iTunes. One of the writers heard an interview with a couple whose son was killed a month after joining the military.... »»»April 3, 2012 - John Fogerty will release a new disc this fall, getting help from Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Bob Seger and Keith Urban.
"Wrote a Song for Everyone" will be his debut for Vanguard Records. The disc is a collection of classics and deep tracks from his background plus new songs,... »»»April 3, 2012 - Lionel Richie's first country disc, "Tuskegee," is the second best selling CD in the country beyond Madonna's "MDNA."
For Richie, the showing is his highest-charting album since 1986. Richie sold 199,000 units, his best sales week since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991.... »»»April 3, 2012 - Two days after Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw premiered a new duet, Feel Like a Rock Star, on Sunday's 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, the song is the most-played title on country radio, according to Billboard.
The song was serviced to country radio stations by Chesney's label, BNA, during... »»»April 3, 2012 - Johnny Cash is the subject of yet another release with unreleased songs - "Bootleg Vol. IV: The Soul of Truth." The double CD contains "A Believer Sings the Truth," "Johnny Cash - Gospel Singer" and an untitled, unreleased 1975 set. Johnny's son, John Carter Cash, contribute liner notes, starting with... »»»April 2, 2012 - Alan Jackson has re-released his 2006 gospel album "Precious Memories," which broke records by topping three Billboard charts on its week of release - Top Country Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Christian & Gospel Albums.
The release is on ACR (Alan's Country Records) and EMI Records Nashville... »»»April 2, 2012 - Social media during the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday was three times that of the previous year, according to Blue Fin Labs. Activity peaked during Taylor Swift's win for Entertainer of the Year.
Blake Lambert's award Male Vocalist of the Year was the second biggest moment.... »»»April 2, 2012 - In honor of the centennial of Woody Guthrie's birth, the 26th annual Green River Festival in western Massachusetts this summer will be headlined by Arlo Guthrie & The Guthrie Family Reunion.
"We are thrilled," said festival organizer Jim Olsen, who also runs Signature Sounds Records.... »»»April 1, 2012 - The Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday marked the debut of Kenny Chesney's duet with Tim McGraw, Feel Like a Rock Star, the first single from Chesney's upcoming release 'Welcome To The Fishbowl," due June 19.
Chesney will perform songs from 'Welcome To The Fishbowl' - his 13th studio album -... »»»April 1, 2012 - Toby Keith and Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson won off-camera awards at the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Keith won Video of the Year for Red Solo Cup. Producer Mark Kalbfeld and Director Michael Salomon shared in the award.
Don't You Wanna Stay by Aldean and Clarkson... »»»April 1, 2012 - Taylor Swift's night ended on a great night - she won the ACM Entertainer of the Year.
Swift beat out a tough field including Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney. After Swift's name was announced, she kissed a few of her fellow artists, including Aldean.
"Thank you so much to... »»»April 1, 2012 - The good night continued for Blake Shelton as he won the Male Artist award at the ACMs Sunday night.
"Man, holy crap," Shelton said in taking the honor. "I didn't see that coming at all. It's amazing, co-hosting this. I hadn't even thought about this at all." Shelton said he had been backstage singing... »»»April 1, 2012 - A surprised Miranda Lambert won another ACM award Sunday - Female Vocalist of the Year.
Lambert earlier won Album of the Year with "Four the Record."
Lambert was waiting in the wings to perform on stage when her name was called. "I can't believe it. I'm really humbled...I'm about to perform and then this.... »»»April 1, 2012 - Scotty McCreery took the Best New Artist Award on Sunday at the ACMs. The singer took the honor over Hunter Hayes and Brantley Gilbert.
McCreery acknowledged his competitors before thanking Jesus and fans. The North Carolinian was pumped on his way to the... »»»April 1, 2012 - Jason Aldean was award Single of the Year at the ACMs on Sunday for Don't You Wanna Stay with Kelly Clarkson.
Aldean told the crowd that when he was in the studio with producer Michael Knox, he thought a female voice was needed. Clarkson was the first person he thought of. "I'm really glad I did... »»»April 1, 2012 - Lady Antebellum won the ACM Vocal Group Award on Sunday.
The trio was given the award by KISS, causing Charles Kelley to joke that he was looking to show some hair on his chest, a reference to KISS' outfit.
Others nominated were The Band Perry, Eli Young Band, Rascal Flatts and Zac Brown Band.... »»»April 1, 2012 - Miranda Lambert won the Academy of Country Music Album of the year with "Four the Record."
"Seriously?" said Lambert as she got on stage. She said she bought each ofthe other four CDs nominated for the award. " \I've been listening to every record in this category, and I thought man, I'm not going to... »»»April 1, 2012 - Eli Young Band won the first award handed out the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night for Song of the Year for Crazy Girl.
"I have dreamed about this my whole life," said Mike Eli, clearly excited to win the award. The other band members were equally jazzed about the song which Lee Brice... »»»April 1, 2012 - Thompson Square won the Academy of Country Music's 2011 "Vocal Duo of the Year" Award last night in an upset.
The husband/wife duo comprised of Keifer and Shawna Thompson was surprised with the award onstage by ACM CEO Bob Romeo in front of thousands of fans at the ACM Salute to the Military Concert... »»»
|
