Gary Allan Get Off On The Pain Nightclub Promotion

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Carrie Underwood : St. Jude video

Carrie Underwood visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radio seminar on January 15, 2010.

“When you walk in the door of St. Jude, it is happy,” said Underwood. “There are pictures on the wall—kid-created pictures—and it is not like a hospital. It is not a cold environment.”

Please consider giving the gift of hope by making an online donation to St. Jude in honor of your favorite country music artist.

Little Big Town : St. Jude video

Little Big Town visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radio seminar on January 15, 2010.

Phillip Sweet has been to St. Jude before, but not since becoming a parent. And that, he said, made a difference in his perception of the hospital.

“This place is even more important now that I have a little 2-year-old daughter,” he said. “I can see her in these children, and you just want to do so much for the families.”

Please consider giving the gift of hope by making an online donation to St. Jude in honor of your favorite country music artist.

Carrie Underwood Visits St. Jude Kids

Carrie Underwood visited St. Jude patients, including Jordyn (age 8), during the annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids® seminar in Memphis, TN on January 15, 2010.

The hospital visit was part of the annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radio seminar. More than 650 members of the country music industry gathered in Memphis this week to kick off a new season of fundraising on behalf of St. Jude. Forty of country music’s hottest stars joined Country Music Hall-of-Famer Randy Owen to bring bright smiles and warm words to the patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“We’re so caught up in what’s going on today and with the economy,” said Owen. “And you wonder if people are still going to care. So yeah, every year I’m concerned that a dream that we all have, that we all share together, could get pushed aside, and [the mission of St. Jude will] be less important [to listeners] than it should be.”

Joining Owen were country artists Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Azar, Danny Gokey, Little Big Town, Darryl Worley, Joe Nichols and many others. Also touring the hospital were representatives from country radio stations around the country and a number of country music labels.

“When you walk in the door of St. Jude, it is happy,” said Underwood. “There are pictures on the wall—kid-created pictures—and it is not like a hospital. It is not a cold environment.”

Please consider giving the gift of hope by making an online donation to St. Jude in honor of your favorite country music artist.

David Nail : ARF Stars To The Rescue

David Nail toured the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) campus prior to his performance at Tony La Russa’s ARF Stars To The Rescue benefit concert in Walnut Creek, California on January 9, 2010.

ARF saves the lives of loving dogs and cats who have run out of time at public shelters, giving another chance at life to animals who otherwise would have been killed. ARF provides the care and attention they need, including spay or neuter surgery, until a new home of their own can be found.

ARF’s People Connect programs strengthen the human animal bond for the elderly, residents of assisted living centers, high school students, grade school students, and young children through programs that are national models of excellence. ARF programs allow people to experience the unconditional love and acceptance of dogs and cats. People rescuing animals...animals rescuing people…

You can make a difference in the lives of both animals and people by donating online to ARF.

Photo by Eduardo Hanke

Houston Rodeo Concerts

Location: One Reliant Park, Houston, Texas 77054
Start Date: Tue, March 02, 2010
End Date: Sun, March 21, 2010
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Rodeo Houston

The 2010 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo concert lineup features some of music’s biggest stars. Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith and Alan Jackson anchor a star-filled lineup which includes Dierks Bently, Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Gary Allan, Eli Young Band. Brooks & Dunn’s Last Rodeo Tour will cap off the Rodeo Championship.

Tickets for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo are on sale now.

2010 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo concert lineup:

Tues Mar 2 ..... Alan Jackson Buy tickets

Wed Mar 3 ..... Dierks Bentley Buy tickets

Thu Mar 4 ..... Kenny Chesney Buy tickets

Fri Mar 5 ..... Mary J Blige Buy tickets

Sat Mar 6 ..... Jason Aldean Buy tickets

Sun Mar 7 ..... Jonas Brothers Buy tickets

Mon Mar 8 ..... Tim McGraw Buy tickets

Tue Mar 9 ..... Darius Rucker Buy tickets

Wed Mar 10 ..... Rascal Flatts Buy tickets

Thu Mar 11 ..... Brad Paisley Buy tickets

Fri Mar 12 .....Toby Keith Buy tickets

Sat Mar 13 ..... Blake Shelton Buy tickets

Sun Mar 14 ..... Pesado / El Trono De Mexico Buy tickets

Mon Mar 15 ..... Lady Antebellum Buy tickets

Tue Mar 16 ..... Keith Urban Buy tickets

Wed Mar 17 ..... Gary Allan Buy tickets

Thu Mar 18 ..... Black Eyed Peas Buy tickets

Fri Mar 19 .....Eli Young Band Buy tickets

Sat Mar 20 ..... Brooks & Dunn Buy tickets

Sun Mar 21 ..... Selena Gomez / Justin Bieber Buy tickets

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a 501 (c)(3) charitable event, committed to benefiting youth and supporting education throughout the state. Since presenting its first scholarship in 1957, the Show has committed more than $250 million in educational support to the youth of Texas.

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Easton Corbin

Easton Corbin knew he wanted to be a country singer well before he learned how to play guitar.

“One of my earliest memories is from when I was three or four,” he remembers. “I was sitting between my parents in the car and a song came on the radio—it was Mel McDaniel’s ‘Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On’. I began using the gearshift as my microphone. The desire has always been there.”

Born and raised in rural Gilchrist County, Fla., Easton spent much of his time on his grandparent’s cattle farm after his parents divorced when he was young. “I lived a mile from the Suwannee River,” he says. “I grew up fishing on it and I loved to work on the farm. Every weekend, that’s where I’d be.”

A member of FFA and 4-H, Easton showed cattle at the local livestock fair. Growing up the smallest county in the state on farmland nestled between two small towns had its advantages. “It’s a close community,” he says. “Everybody knows everybody.

“There’s no Walmart there,” he says. “There was a Hardee’s, but it closed. That was the only franchise fast food place in the county. Trenton has a red light; Bell has a blinking light. It’s a great place.”

While no one in his family played a musical instrument, music was a big part of his upbringing. “My grandparents liked to watch the Opry,” Easton remembers. “We’d start Saturday night off with ‘Hee Haw’ and then ‘Opry Backstage’ and then ‘Opry Live’.”

It was also at his grandparent’s house that he discovered a record player and his father and aunts’ left-behind records in a front room. “I’d go in there and play those records for hours,” he says.

When Easton was 15 years old he began taking guitar lessons from Pee Wee Melton, a local musician who had at one time played on sessions in Nashville. “He was a great mentor,” Easton says. “He was a great player and a great teacher. He was a really big influence on me.”

Every day when he got home from school, Easton would practice guitar for hours, sometimes until his fingers were raw, then help his grandfather around the farm.

Encouraged by Melton, Easton began playing lead guitar in a local band. “I’d always wanted to play and sing, but up until that time I never really did do it in public,” he says. “We’d play school functions and parties. We were too young to play bars, but we played everything else.”

An impromptu audition at a local music store led to a slot on the Suwannee River Jam, a nearby festival that attracts thousands of people and national touring acts. “It was just me and a guitar in front of a 40-acre field full of people,” Easton remembers. “It was great.”

Soon he was opening for other national acts when they played the area, including Janie Fricke and Mel McDaniel, the man whose song Easton had performed in the car years earlier.

After earning a business degree through the College of Agriculture at the University of Florida, Easton took two important steps. “My wife and I got married on September 2, 2006, and on October 14 we moved to Nashville,” he says. “I always knew I wanted to move up here. There was never any question about it. I didn’t want to wake up one day and wish I would have tried it, but I had to get my education first so I had something to fall back on.”

Easton, who had been making regular trips to Nashville to perform at writer’s nights, took a day job at a local Ace Hardware and his wife found a job at a doctor’s office.

When a distant cousin, also a professor of music management at the University of Montana, heard Easton’s music, he asked if he could send it to some of his Nashville contacts. Among those who were impressed by Easton’s music was booking agent James Yelich, who asked if he could hear him play in person. Easton, eager for a shot to pursue his dream, quickly agreed.

Also at the meeting was Joe Fisher, who had recently joined Universal Music Group Nashville as Senior Director of A&R. The two men were blown away and Fisher quickly signed him to the label.

Easton, whose musical influences include George Jones, Merle Haggard, George Strait and Keith Whitley, found a kindred spirit in producer Carson Chamberlain, who years earlier had toured with Whitley as his steel guitar player and bandleader. “We really hit it off,” Easton says. “I love traditional music and he does too. I knew he was the producer for me.”

The two men began working in earnest. “We worked our butts off trying to find the right songs,” Easton says. The result is an over-the-top album that includes cuts from Nashville’s top songwriters, including Mark D. Sanders, Wynn Varble, Tony Lane and David Lee, among others.

Like his heroes Strait and Whitley, Easton is unapologetically country. His songs, while rooted in the present, call to mind simpler times when the back porch was where folks gathered to network. Steel guitars and fiddles are as much a part of his sound as his baritone drawl.

First single, “A Little More Country Than That,” which was written by Rory Feek, Don Poythress and Varble, paints a picture of rural life that speaks to Easton’s small town sensibilities. “Even though I didn’t write it, this song identifies who I am,” he says. “It shows character and that’s important where I’m from. You learn to say ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘no, sir,’ and to open the door for the ladies.”

Among the songs included on the album are three Easton co-wrote with Chamberlain and Sanders during a trip to Colorado. “When I came to Nashville I realized how important it was to write songs,” Easton says. “The opportunity to sit in a room with experienced songwriters and learn their craft has helped me become a better writer.

“I’m still working and developing as a writer, but I was fortunate enough to get some songs on the album,” Easton says, perhaps more humble than he needs to be.

“The Way Love Looks,” which Easton co-wrote with Chamberlain and Sanders, is a love song pure and simple. “It’s just a fun upbeat song,” Easton says. “I love the line ‘when you beg and plead to go fishing with me and I have to bait your hook,’ because that’s what happens when I take my wife fishing.”

Tony Lane, David Lee and Johnny Park wrote “Roll With It,” which speaks to the important things in life like sunsets and pick-up trucks. “I love that one,” Easton says. “I can imagine listening to it just floatin’ down the river on the boat on a Saturday.”

The tender “I Can’t Love You Back,” written by Chamberlain, Clint Daniels and Jeff Hyde, has a universal message of loss. “It can mean different things for different people,” Easton says. “She could have died, she could have left him—people can interpret it the way they feel.”

Now that his life long dream is upon him, Easton says he’s ready. “I just want to make great country music,” he says. “Just the opportunity to play music for a living is a great thing. I’m just thankful to have the opportunity to do what I’m doing now.”

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Laura Bell Bundy

Giddy On Up and check out Laura Bell Bundy’s hot new video.

There are two sides to every story, as the old adage goes, and there are certainly two sides to the story of singer-songwriter Laura Bell Bundy’s daring Mercury Records debut release, Achin’ and Shakin’. Laura Bell bypassed the tried-and-true Music Row approach usually taken on country albums and instead created a bold concept album that is essentially two separate albums within one project.

The album’s title aptly describes the project’s division: Achin’ is a collection of slow and sultry country songs and Shakin’ is a group of sassy songs that are equal parts humor, confidence and attitude. One side presents a modern-day mixture of Loretta Lynn, Minnie Pearl and Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw; the other unveils country’s answer to Norah Jones. The debut single, “Giddy On Up,” is an irresistibly upbeat and saucy kiss-off to a cheating lover, while the romantic “Drop On By” oozes sensuality as she beckons a lover to visit. Both sides pay homage to traditional country and soul music with a reinterpretation featuring modern production. “’Two records, one woman’ is my motto,” jokes Laura Bell, who penned all but one of the songs on the album.

“I have two different sides of my personality,” she explains. “I have a crazy, wild, humorous, outspoken personality, and then I have a depth that only opens up when I am alone or with one other person, and that is captured with this album. I really couldn’t do one without the other.”

“I listen to music depending upon the mood that I’m in. If I want to chill out, I will listen to certain music and almost make a playlist for it. If I am running or driving and want to hear up-paced music, I listen to different songs, so I created a two-sided album.”

It’s no surprise that Laura Bell shattered the usual industry formulas because nothing about her entertainment career has been normal. Like two of her idols Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, she traveled the musical highway that spans from Nashville to New York’s famed Broadway.

She originated the lead role of Elle Woods in the Broadway musical Legally Blonde, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She also originated the role of Amber Von Tussle in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hairspray and played Glinda in the smash hit Wicked. Prior to that, she originated the role of Tina Denmark in the successful off-Broadway production Ruthless, The Musical!, for which she received the Outer-Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk nominations. (Her understudy, Britney Spears, also pursued a recording career.) Her professional career, which began at age nine, includes numerous network TV shows (Cold Case, Veronica Mars) and touring productions of Gypsy (featuring Betty Buckley) and The Sound of Music (featuring Marie Osmond). Her movie credits include Dream Girls, Jumanji, Life with Mikey and The Adventures of Huck Finn.

Her theatrical career has been a wonderful life experience that was a natural extension of her original dream of having a music career. Indeed, her time on Broadway propelled her pursuit of music, exposed her to a community of talented creative people and helped her become a better writer and performer.

After moving to New York at 18, she formed a country duo with roommate Amber Rhodes and they wrote and performed songs in various New York clubs. “In the meantime, I got Hairspray and Wicked, and honestly, that’s how I supported myself.”

“People can look at it and go, ‘You went from Broadway to doing country,’” she says. “I actually went from the country to Broadway. I’m from Kentucky and I always listened to country music. When I started writing songs, it all came out country.

“I moved to New York and my intention was to have a music career, not to do Broadway. For me, it was like I had two different baskets of eggs and one was the acting basket and the other was the music basket and the acting basket of eggs hatched first. The others were incubating, and honestly I’m glad because where I am in terms of the emotional place I am in my life and my ability to express myself is much better now that I’m a bit older. I have more life experience to talk about when I write music and I’m a better performer now that I’ve been doing it for so long. My ability to put on a good show is stronger now, and I’m more in tune with who I am.

“It wasn’t until I was on the Broadway radar that Nashville noticed me. Isn’t that ironic? My showcase was my show, in some ways.”

Born in Lexington, her father is an electrical engineer who owns a manufacturing plant and her mother manages a Victoria’s Secret. Growing up, she had two older half-sisters, and at 16 her parents divorced and later remarried, so now her extended family is like a modern-day Brady Bunch.

Her father was raised in Sheffield, Ala., which is near musical hotbed Muscle Shoals (where his friends started Muscle Shoals Sound and Fame studios), so he introduced his daughter to 1960s soul, while her mother played country music in the house and car. “When I was three or four, I distinctly remember listening to ‘Islands in the Stream’ in the car and thinking it was the best song ever written,” she says. “My mom kind of looked like Dolly Parton, so I thought Dolly Parton was my mom.”

The strongest influence, however, was her grandfather, who was a radio DJ and newscaster who had a voice that was reminiscent of Bing Crosby and introduced her to Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra, Pearl Bailey and Willie Nelson. “For me, being in Kentucky, the world was country music, and as I got older, I listened to country and oldies. It’s all in this album.”

At a young age she studied at the Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, KY. She landed her first professional job at age nine, requiring her to move with her mother to New York to be in Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular. A year later, she was appearing in Ruthless, which helped hone her comedy chops, and two years later began acting in movies and touring the nation with musicals.

She returned to Kentucky at age 14 so that she could have a normal high school experience. She ran track and cross country and limited her performances to school productions. “I started high school and within two months, my parents separated, which was heavy,” she says. She began writing poetry in high school that she wouldn’t show to anyone, and soon began creating melodies for her words.

After high school, she returned to New York, this time to attend New York University and run on its track team. But she landed the recurring role of Marah Lewis on The Guiding Light from 1999-2001, so her college plans were put on hold. It was during this time that she formed the country music duo with Amber. “Everything we did, our Kentucky came out. We were in the middle of New York singing country songs, which was kind of our gimmick in some way. We took it very seriously. Then we decided to do our own thing.”

After a successful run on Broadway, she moved to Nashville in the fall of 2008 and has spent 18 months doing her own thing in her own unique way. Achin’ and Shakin’ is a culmination of her experiences on and offstage combined with her musical experiences, songwriting and Southern heritage.

“Songwriting and recording is my passion; this is my love,” she says. “There’s a part of myself that has come out that I really like and it’s very important to me.”

“This is a dream,” she says of releasing her debut album. “It has been a dream since I was a kid. I think I always wanted to be an entertainer. There’s an element of that at the Grand Ole Opry, where you can be funny and also be a singer. That is what I really want, that full scope of being a true entertainer.”

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Lady Antebellum

Lady Antebellum’s new album, Need You Now debuted at Number One on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

Need You Now is the title of Lady Antebellum’s second album, lifted from its leadoff track, which explores the desperate longings that make separated lovers yearn to reconnect in the wee small hours of the morning. But that “need you now” mantra isn’t just a refrain that exes leave on each other’s answering machines in the middle of the night. That message could just as easily serve as an SOS sent out to the group from fans and the music industry. The band’s first album, from 2007, was the very rare freshman effort to debut at No. 1 and/or go Platinum these days, and the emotional connection that was forged with audiences over the short course of several hit singles and high-profile tours clearly left ‘em wanting—no, needing—more.

Thankfully, unlike in the song, we won’t even have to do any drunk-dialing to get what we’ve craved. Less than two years after the trio’s debut first hit stores with a splash, Need You Now is at hand to satisfy the hunger. There’s been no lull in the roll Lady Antebellum is on. They’ve had back-to-back chart-topping singles, proceeding directly from the previous effort’s “I Run to You” hitting the top spot in July to their “Need You Now” single enjoying a multi-week run at No. 1 just prior to the new album’s release. Even without any pop radio play, “Need You Now” cracked the top 10 of Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100, and the tune went to No. 1 on the iTunes all-genre singles chart.

Need You Now comes right on the heels of a couple of prominent Grammy nominations and two key wins at November’s CMA Awards - Single of the Year (“I Run to You”) and Vocal Group of the Year.

The CMAs recognition did bring about a fairly urgent sense of ante-upping. “It puts expectations on us,” says Charles Kelley, who shares lead vocal duties with Hillary Scott. “We already felt like there was a lot to prove after winning Best New Artist the year before—like people are invested in us and saying ‘All right, go get ‘em.’ Which is why we’re excited to get this album out.”

“I’ll be honest,” says Hillary. “Somebody asked me if I was on such a high about the awards, and I said ‘Absolutely,’ But I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m also a little terrified.’ Because you hit a point like that and you really can’t go backwards…”

“Well, we can go backwards,” chimes in Charles, the pragmatist, laughing nervously.

“If anything, though, it makes us want to work harder and record even better songs and continue to grow as performers and prove that we’re deserving of it,” says Hillary.

You can hear that burning flame throughout Need You Now, which continues their delicate—or delicately rowdy—balance of emotional, gut-level balladry and high-octane, arena-ready rockers. Members of the trio co-wrote eight of the 11 tracks and were able to rely on a much tighter intra-band bond than they had when they were crafting the first album, which was recorded not that long after old pals Charles and Dave got together with new acquaintance Hillary to form the group back in 2006.

“Because of the success of the first record, we could get with some really great songwriters that’ll take an appointment with us now,” says Dave, the group’s guitarist and background vocalist. “But more importantly, the three of us are the closest we’ve ever been as friends. Out on the road, we’ve spent almost every single day together for the past three and a half years. So by the time we were writing songs for this record, I think we’d all learned how to interact with each other better. We can write songs individually, but we definitely have something special when we do it together, and that’s gotten elevated. I know what Hillary is thinking, I know what Charles is thinking, and I think we play off each other a lot better.”

“We would know if something personally was going on with Hillary,” says Charles. “We would say, ‘How about we tap into your personal ... for a little bit? Let’s bring that out in a song!’ When we’re all songwriting, we know what’s going on in everybody’s lives.”

“When they let me talk about it!” laughs Hillary, suggesting that there might be a slight gender divide in the group when it comes to complete candor. “I could see their eyes glaze over. But when we all get into talking about these things together, you get a song like ‘Ready to Love Again’ (the album’s closer) out of it.”

“Songwriting,” Charles asserts, “is almost kind of like our little group therapy.”

Any such therapeutic discussions don’t involve too many regrets about professional roads not taken. Least of all would they have any reason to regret having abandoned the option of solo careers to come together as a group, at a time when the conventional wisdom was that individuals usually work better than bands in marketing country music. There were a few tentative moments during Lady Antebellum’s formation, though, as Charles and Dave danced around the idea of doing anything so brash as forming a band.

When met Hillary,” says Charles, “she had all these contacts in town and had some development deals—just basically really tied into the system.” She had a bit of a head start on understanding the business, too, being the daughter of the well-known singer Linda Davis. “We were like, “All right, she’s got one of the best voices. We’ve got to write for her project.’ So we got together with her and wrote ‘All We’d Ever Need’ and ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,’ which ended up on the first record. We thought, ‘Wow, this is really great,’ but we didn’t want her to think we were little weasels trying to get in there and ride her coattails.”

Hillary: “And I was sitting there thinking, ‘This takes so much of the pressure off!’ You could not pay me enough money to go back and NOT be in a band. Being a solo artist wasn’t for me. I wasn’t cut out for it. I didn’t handle the pressure at all.” Even now, she eagerly confesses, “I’m the baby of the group. But I’ve grown up!”

For the band itself, there was an element of growing up in public, a little. The debut album itself was an immediate smash, debuting at No. 1 on the country albums chart, an example of a rare phenomenon that is referred to in the arcane parlance of the music industry as… love at first sight. But their first real tour was an arena tour, opening for Martina McBride, and they acknowledge that, as a still fairly newly founded combo, there were rough patches in their performances. “It felt a little early, even though the crowds were really gracious and great to us,” remembers Charles. “Then we said, ‘All right, this is what we need to improve on,’ and we went out to these fairs and festivals and made plenty of mistakes in a safer environment where it wasn’t quite as big a deal if you were to mess up. We did close to 200 shows our first year. Lost a ton of money, because we were doing smaller shows that cost us twice as much as we were getting paid.”

Their live performance chops finally properly in order, they planned to halt their rigorous touring schedule to concentrate on the second album, which they’d planned to put out in 2009. They wrapped up a tour supporting Kenny Chesney and had recorded much of the sophomore effort when the call came in to support Keith Urban on his tour. And faster than you can say “Who Wouldn’t Wanna to Be Me?,” they took the offer, even while regretting delaying the new album. In hindsight, the postponement no longer felt like a mixed blessing, but a complete one.

“At the time we were bummed out, because we had just cut the first half of the record, and we had a big batch of songs and we were ready to go back in and finish,” explains Charles. “But because we didn’t, we had time to write three or four better songs, and then we found a couple of outside songs that we didn’t write that we just had to do”—namely, “American Honey” and “Hello World.” “It was the best thing that ever happened to us, having that gap of time before we came back in and finished the back half of the record. It totally in my mind took the record from here to here,” he says, placing his hand a few inches even higher than his 6-foot-6 frame.

This time, the band nabbed co-producer credit for themselves, with Dave acknowledged by all as the member most comfortable with the ways of the studio. Continuing on in the director’s chair from the last album is veteran Paul Worley, who produced smash albums by some of mainstream country’s biggest stars. “Paul trusts our gut instincts of where we think things should go, but there’s no substitute for his 30 years of experience,” Charles says. “There’s not anything he hasn’t tried on a record in the past, so he’s able to know why this wouldn’t work or this would. I was always the one to want him to stack guitars and thicken the ... thing up, and he was always like, ‘Man, let this thing lie back and live more organic and let every instrument shine through.’ Without someone like that keeping you down, you’d go in there and botch up what was beautiful about the thing in the first place. If I’d just known when I was listening to those first couple of Dixie Chicks records that I would be working with this guy and he would be a fan of what we’re doing, it would have been too wild to believe.”

Of course, Worley realizes that there’s no need to “stack” anything that would get in the way of those harmonies, or the group’s traded-off lead vocals.

With male and female front-people, Hillary says, “I think we’re able to say so much more and reach so many more people. Because there’s no way that I could have been able to put my vocal on a song like ‘Hello World’ and make it believable like Charles did.” The diffused focus also makes for a more dynamic live experience. “When it’s a song I’m singing lead on, Charles and Dave can go be buddy-buddy on stage. When Charles and I do a duet, we can, without being too theatrical, almost play out the songs and tell the story a little bit more, whether we’re making it dramatic or fun and flirty.”

Charles agrees: “Having the two lead vocals there can take people into different journeys. And I think there are people who are just naturally gonna gravitate to her voice that aren’t gonna gravitate to mine, and vice versa. And then on top of it, you’ve got this harmony potential, with Dave. When we mix the record, we don’t even realize how important the three-part harmony is until it’s not there. In the mix, they sometimes tend to blend in together, these two men’s voices. But it warms it up so much. If there was one little piece of the puzzle that wasn’t there on anything, or if his voice was too high or vice versa… We definitely feel very fortunate that we found each other and it all happened.”

Not every song on Need You Now is a heavy one. A tune like “Stars Tonight” is intended as “get up on your feet live song,” as Dave laughingly puts it, “there to remind our fans, ‘Hey, we’re the ones that sing ‘Lookin’ for a Good Time,’ too!’” But for every dose of sheer escapism on the album, there are two shots of unvarnished truth.

“I was up until 5 in the morning one night while we were making the album, writing Dave and Charles an email,” says Hillary. “I stepped back from it and just looked at why we wrote or chose each song, and it hit me that all of these songs are just about feeling to the utmost of your ability. Whether it’s ‘I’m so desperate for you, I miss you so much, I need you NOW’ desperation,’ or ‘American Honey,’ which is nostalgic and wanting to go back to that innocence and sweetness. And then you have ‘Hello World,’ which is this man’s story of this awakening in his soul, opening his eyes and seeing what’s important in his life again.”

“When you’re in the valleys, they suck and it’s not fun, but you appreciate the mountaintop way more whenever you’ve gone through something tough,” Hillary continues. “That’s how I personally try to live my life, just enjoying every moment—but when it hurts, let it hurt. Because you loved something or someone so much, it’s only natural to grieve that. So that’s what I verbalized to them, that I was proud of our ability to be that honest and just lay it all out there.”

NEED YOU NOW has a good deal of subtle mirroring in its themes. “American Honey,” a gorgeous ballad about being awakened to life by wistful remembrance of things past, is followed by “Hello World,” which deals with the same kind of wake-up call, but looking toward a more hopeful future. The album is bookended with two of its most emotionally naked numbers; the closing “Ready to Love Again,” which Hillary calls “probably the most personal song on the record,” provides a sort of answer to the title track, which opens the album.

They’re still a little surprised that “Need You Now,” as a single, made such a quick trip to the top of the chart. “Honestly, I thought it would be a grind,” Charles says. But I know there’s something honest in it that people gravitate toward.”

To paraphrase Casablanca, this feels like the second step in a beautiful friendship. “With ‘I Run to You’ being our first No. 1, it was really the first moment where I felt like with us as artists and the audience, the puzzle pieces fit,” Hillary says. “They figured out more about what we wanted to say and the kind of artists we were, and that’s what they ended up liking. And then the same thing with having our second No. 1 be ‘Need You Now,’ this song that we believe in its honesty and vulnerability so much. It’s exciting to feel like that bond is just growing, and we’re getting tighter in that relationship. Like, they get us! We get them! This is great!” Here’s to many more years of both sides getting their needs met.

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Josh Turner

Josh Turner’s new album, Haywire, features the Number One hit single, “Why Don’t We Just Dance.” Check out the video interview as Josh discusses making the new album and get ready to go Haywire!

Whether it’s with his deep, soulful voice, his South Carolina accent or his philosophy on life, Josh Turner has never been one to hurry. But a memorable country song recently convinced him to pick up his pace.
The singer-songwriter was months away from scheduled recording sessions when he first heard “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” which became the debut single from his fourth studio album, Haywire. Josh placed the song “on hold” with the music publisher so they wouldn’t allow anyone else to record it. But when another artist expressed interest in the song, the publisher asked Josh to record the song to see if he liked it enough to keep it, and he did.

“We felt like we couldn’t lose that one,” Josh says. “It’s a strong song and something that I could have a lot of fun with vocally. I felt it would be a great center point for the record. It is positive and a love song and you can dance to it. Nowadays, that’s a good formula.”

The excitement over that song fast-tracked the recording process and inspired his songwriting, propelling him to write or co-write five of the album’s 11 songs: “Haywire,” “As Fast As I Could,” “Eye Candy,” “Friday Paycheck” and “The Answer.”

“This record has been the quickest record we’ve ever made from start to finish,” says Josh. “But I’m glad our haste didn’t make waste. I love every single song. One thing I’ve noticed is that you are definitely hearing more of my range, high and low on this album. I’m really proud of this record.”

And that’s saying something, given what he’s accomplished so far. Since earning a standing ovation as an unknown singer on the Grand Ole Opry stage in 2001 with his impressive delivery of “Long Black Train,” he has established himself as one of the most identifiable male vocalists in country music.

The Hannah, S.C. native has sold more than 4 million albums and garnered two multi-week No. 1s (“Your Man” and “Would You Go With Me”). His debut album was certified platinum for more than 1 million copies sold, and his sophomore album, Your Man, was one of only four country albums to reach double-platinum status in 2006. Six years after his Opry debut, he was inducted into the prestigious organization, becoming one of the youngest artists to receive such an honor. He recorded a CMT special with his musical hero, Randy Travis, and has spent time writing songs with another one of his heroes, John Anderson.

“For me, it is icing on the cake,” he says of his success. “My biggest goal in life when I was growing up was to find the right woman to marry and get a record deal. I’ve accomplished both of those things, so regardless of what happens beyond that, I’m happy.”

“When I wake up in the morning, I think about writing and performing and singing country music. I’m happy I get to go out on the road making a living doing what I love to do and it’s all because I chased my dream and never gave up.”

Blender magazine says Josh “is a country Barry White. His burring voice can tease our sensuality in unlikely places.” His rich baritone brings an undeniable sexuality to a love song, so it’s no surprise that love songs have been among his most popular recordings. The majority of songs on Haywire are love songs; there’s not a heart-break or cheating song to be found.

“I don’t feel like you can have too many love songs,” he says. “The world is always looking for that next great love song. It’s like what Eddy Arnold told me a long time ago. ‘If you have the opportunity to record a great love song, do it. That is what people like the best, the songs that are about a man and a woman.’ I’ve really taken his advice to heart. If you look at my two number-one songs, those are big-time, positive, straight-forward love songs.”

He’s at his most masculine and sensual on “Lovin’ You On My Mind” and the Don Williams’ classic “I Wouldn’t Be a Man” while he reveals his sweetness in “As Fast As I Could.” He’s timelessly romantic in “Your Smile,” and “Haywire” and “Eye Candy” capture his playfulness and humor.

It was a father’s love that inspired the Phillip White/Steven Dale Jones song “I’ll Be There,” and Josh was moved by lyrics such as, “When you need a coach or you need a fan/Need a castle built out of ocean sand/ Or a rainbow chaser, I’m your man/ I’ll be there.” While they were recording the song, keyboardist Gordon Mote suggested an arrangement change.

“The music fades away and then I start singing with just the piano and it builds up to the line where it says, ‘Need a daddy or you just need a friend,’” says Josh, the father of two boys. “The first time we changed the arrangement, the words wouldn’t come out because I was getting choked up. That had never happened to me in the studio. I was extremely emotional when that part rolled about because it was just a touching way to sing that last verse. There were so many images running through my mind. That was the first time the father in me really came through on a song and I didn’t even see it coming. It just happened naturally.”

Josh explores his love for Jesus in “The Answer,” a soaring song that required Josh to step out of his comfort zone in the studio. “There was a spot in that last chorus where I was like, ‘This song has got to just bust wide open,’” he says. “It was a little tough for me because I’m not used to singing way up there in the high part of my register, but you definitely hear that on that song. It is such a powerful song so I just gave it all that I had.”

Josh uses this same approach to his career in the music industry, where many artists seem to come and go quickly. “I don’t ever want to take anything for granted,” he says. “I’ve learned from certain people that it takes a lot of hard work, passion and love for what you do to have longevity in this career.”

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Josh Turner Official Website

Robert Earl Keen : Merry Christmas From the Family Video

Merry Christmas From The Family is the companion book for Robert Earl Keen’s popular Christmas tune of the same name. Using authentic Keen family photos, recipes, and craft instructions, it illustrates all the verses of the song, which you can sing along with on the accompanying CD. Whether you"re one of Robert Earl’s legion of fans, or you’ve just had enough of Perry, Bing, and the other crooners, Merry Christmas from the Family is what you need to keep the holidays in hilariously skewed perspective.

Merry Christmas From The Family lyrics

Mom got drunk and Dad got drunk
At our Christmas party
We were drinkin’ champagne punch
And homemade eggnog
Little sister brought her new boyfriend
He was a Mexican
We didn’t know what to think of him
Til he sang Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad

Brother Ken brought his kids with him
The three from his first wife Lynn
And the two identical twins

From his second wife Mary Nell
Of course he brought his new wife Kaye
Who talks all about AA
Chain smokin’ while the stereo plays
Noel, Noel, The first Noel

Carve the turkey turn the ball game on
Mix Margaritas when the eggnog’s gone
Send somebody to the Quik-Pak store
We need some ice and an extension cord
A can of bean dip and some Diet Rite
A box of pampers , some Marlboro Lights
Hallelujah everybody say cheese
Merry Christmas from the family

Fran and Rita drove from Harlingen
I can’t remember how I’m kin to them
But when they tried to plug their motor home in
They blew our christmas lights
Cousin David knew just what went wrong
So we all waited on our front lawn
He threw the breaker and the lights came on
And we sang Silent Night
Oh Silent Night o’ holy night

Carve the turkey turn the ballgame on
Mix Bloody Marys cause we all want one
Send somebody to the Stop ‘n Go
We need some celery and a can of fake snow
A bag of lemons and some Diet Sprite
A box of midol, some Salem Lights
Hallelujah everybody say cheese
Merry Christmas from the family
Feliz Navidad

: : : : :

Buy the Merry Christmas From The Family book now from Amazon

St. Jude Kids Holiday Video

Take a break from the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and take a moment to watch this amazing holiday video by the kids of St. Jude. As you’re looking for the perfect holiday gift, please consider giving the gift of hope by making an online donation to St. Jude in honor of your favorite country music artist. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. And St. Jude covers the cost of lodging, food and travel for patients and a family member. No donation is too small!

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tennessee, is one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer research centers. Its mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Research efforts are directed at understanding the molecular, genetic and chemical bases of catastrophic diseases in children; identifying cures for such diseases; and promoting their prevention. Research is focused specifically on cancers, some acquired and inherited immunodeficiencies, sickle cell disease, infectious diseases and genetic disorders.

About 5,700 active patients are seen at St. Jude yearly, most of whom are treated on a continuing outpatient basis as part of ongoing research programs. The hospital also has 78 beds for patients requiring hospitalization during treatment. St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.

Patients at St. Jude are referred by a physician, and nearly all have a disease currently under study and are eligible for a research protocol. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.

Country Cares

KILT Raises $263,587 for St. Jude

ACountry salutes Houston’s KILT as their KILT Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon raised $263,587 on December 17-18, 2009. Thanks to the generosity of Houston country music fans for once again opening their hears and wallets for this worthy cause. You can still become a partner in hope by making an online donation.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world.

Thousands of children have benefited from the cutting-edge research and treatment at St. Jude since its opening in 1962. As a Partner in Hope, you will join a select group of committed donors who pay for chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries that St. Jude patients desperately need. Today, as always, no child admitted to St. Jude is ever turned away because of his or her family’s inability to pay for life-saving medical care.

Country Cares

St. Jude web site

KILT web site

Sugarland Gold and Green : Behind The Scenes Part 1

Go behind the scenes with Sugarland during the recording of Gold and Green, Sugarland’s Christmas album. Part one features Jennifer and Kristian in the studio recording “Coming Home.”

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Ches-Arena

Ches-Arena Entertainment Complex in Cheswick, Pennsylvania treated country music fans to a sweet night of country music at Sugarland Gold and Green Night November 25, 2009.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages, including Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Ches-Arena Entertainment Complex is located at 1216 Pittsburgh St., Cheswick, PA 15024. For more information, call (216) 854-0027.

Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, is in stores now.

Sugarland Gold and Green At Ches-Arena

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland : Winter Wonderland Video

Sugarland’s Winter Wonderland video features claymation Holiday cartoons that are sure to brighten your holidays. Gold and Green, Sugarland’s Christmas album, is the perfect stocking stuffer for all the music fans on your list.

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Electric Cowboy

Sugarland fans lit up like Christmas trees at Electric Cowboy in Louisville, Kentucky during Sugarland Gold and Green Night December 4-6, 2009.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages, including Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Electric Cowboy is located at 8021 Dixie Highway, Suite 104, Louisville, KY 40258 . For more information, call (502) 271-3233 .

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Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, is in stores now.

Sugarland Gold and Green At Electric Cowboy

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Christmas 4 Kids Tour Bus Show 2009

Keith Anderson with Sean, Tommy, and Cassie of Hendersonville, TN

Keith Anderson and Darryl Worley joined over thirty country music artists last night (Dec. 14) at the 2009 Christmas 4 Kids Tour Bus Show at Wal-Mart in Henderson, Tennessee. Artists including Gretchen Wilson, Randy Houser, Cowboy Troy, Bo Bice, Bryan White, T.G. Shephard, and Danielle Peck welcomed fans onto their tour buses for photos and autographs to help raise money for the Christmas 4 Kids organization. The organization will take over 400 children Christmas shopping at this same Wal-Mart today.

“It’s cool to be able to open it up and show them basically our home, our house on wheels. I spend more time every year on this bus than I do in my house,” said Keith Anderson.

Christmas 4 Kids Tour Bus Show

Darryl Worley with Courtney & Tracey of Westmoreland, TN

Christmas 4 Kids Tour Bus Show

Keith Anderson’s Christmas tree

Christmas 4 Kids Tour Bus Show

Darryl Worley with Denise, Frankie, Jasmine, Haley and Hannah of Hendersonville, TN

Keith Anderson showing off his trusty hand sanitizer

Darryl Worley with Zackary and Raven Stroebert of Hendersonville, TN

Photos by April Arceo : ACountry.com

The Christmas 4 Kids Tour Bus Show is held in December each year. On the first day (for a small donation per person) the public has the opportunity to tour the buses of some of their favorite country music stars. The bus companies and artists lend their buses to the drivers and many even furnish the fuel. We have approximately 50 buses on display each year. The buses are open on the first day from 5:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. at Walmart in Hendersonville (weather permitting). Some of the artists who have stopped by for autograph sessions in past years include Conway Twitty, Chris Young, Trisha Yearwood, Naomi & Wynonna Judd, Jeff Bates, Larry the Cable Guy, Gretchen Wilson & Taylor Swift.

Garth Brooks & Tim McGraw & Faith Hill & Charlie Daniels are a few of the artists who donate items for all 300 children. A concession table is set up in Walmart on the first day and merchandise is sold that the artists have donated.

The second day of the event, all the buses are sent to the schools to pick up the children. Adult chaperones are assigned to each bus. The children are taken to a local church in Hendersonville. They enjoy a meal provided by Garth Brooks and a photo session with Santa. After a couple of hours of fun at the church, they once again board the buses. Their destination...Wal-Mart and shopping! Each child is assigned an adult chaperone before entering the store to ensure that each child spends their $150 on anything THEY want.

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Graham Central Station Las Cruces

Graham Central Station in Las Cruces, NM put country music fans in the holiday spirit with Sugarland Gold and Green Night December 4-6, 2009.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages, including Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Graham Central Station is located at 505 S Main St, Las Cruces, NM 88001-1206. For more information, call (575) 524-9131.

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Sugarland Gold and Green At Graham Central Station

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Cadillac Ranch

The sweet sounds of Sugarland rang in the holidays in Warrensburg, MO on November 27-29, 2009 as Cadillac Ranch hosted Sugarland Gold and Green Night November 27-29, 2009.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages, including Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Cadillac Ranch is located at 822 S Maguire St, Warrensburg, MO 64093-2613 . For more information, call ((816) 847-5650.

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Whiskey Tango

Country music fans at Whiskey Tango in Kansas City, MO kicked up their heels at Sugarland Gold and Green Night November 27-29, 2009.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages, including Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Whiskey Tango is located at 401 SE Outer Belt Road, Grain Valley, MO 64029. For more information, call ((816) 847-5650 or visit http://www.whiskeytangokc.com

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Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Round Up

Gold and Green lit up Tampa, FL December 4-6, 2009 at Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Round Up.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages, including Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Round Up is located at 13918 W. Hillsborough Avenue, Tampa, FL 33635. For more information, call (813) 855-1464 or visit http://www.theroundup.com

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Sugarland Gold and Green At Round Up

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Duke’s Country Bar and Grill

Sugarland fans in Portland, OR celebrated the holidays in style at Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Duke’s Country Bar and Grill November 27-29, 2009.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages, including Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Duke’s Country Bar and Grill is located at 14601 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97236-2333 . For more information, call (503) 760-1400 or visit http://www.dukesbar.com

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Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Duke's Country Bar and Grill

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland Gold and Green Night at Bobby Mackey’s Music World

Bobby Mackey’s Music World in Wilder, Kentucky gave country music fans a sweet taste of the holiday spirit at Sugarland Gold and Green Night November 27, 2009.

Fans listened to songs from songs from Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, throughout the evening and entered to win Sugarland prize packages. Sugarland Gold and Green Weekends continue December 4-6 at participating nightclubs across the country - with your chance to win Sugarland prize packages, Gold and Green CD’s, plus a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Bobby Mackey’s Music World is located at 44 Licking Pike, Wilder, KY 4107. For more information, call (859) 431-5588 or visit http://www.bobbymackey.com

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Sugarland Gold and Green At Bobby Mackey's Music World

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Billy Currington : 2009 Macy’s Parade

Billy Currington performed his number one hit, “People Are Crazy” at the 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on November 26, 2009. Currington rode the Herald Square Express float from Central Park down to 34th Street.

Watch Billy Currington’s “People Are Crazy” video and see why Billy is one of country music’s hottest stars.

photo credit : Mercury Nashville

Artist Pages

Billy Currington

Sugarland On Oprah

Sugarland brings Gold and Green to Oprah on Monday, November 30, performing a Christmas classic during the show with Oscar winning actress, Jennifer Hudson. This is Sugarland’s second appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show this year.

Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, is the perfect stocking stuffer for music fans on your shopping list. Don’t miss your chance to share holiday fun with Sugarland fans at Sugarland Gold and Green Weekends at participating nightclubs across the country - with your chance to win Sugarland prize packages, Gold and Green CD’s, plus your chance to win a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Don’t miss even more Gold and Green on your television as Sugarland will be featured on TNT’s holiday special, Christmas In Washington, premiering Sunday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Hosted by George Lopez, Christmas In Washington also features Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Rob Thomas and Usher.

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Taylor Swift Wins 5 American Music Awards

Taylor Swift was the big winner at the 2009 American Music Awards with five trophies - Artist of the Year, Favorite Country Album for “Fearless,” Favorite Country Female Artist, Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist, and Favorite Adult-Contemporary Artist

Other country winners include Keith Urban - Favorite Country Male Artists, Rascal Flatts - Favorite Country Band, Duo, or Group, and Gloriana - Breakthrough Artist.

Buy Taylor Swift tickets catch Taylor Swift as the Fearless Tour continues in 2010.

2009 American Music Awards Winners

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift

POP/ROCK - Favorite Male Artist
Michael Jackson

POP/ROCK - Favorite Female Artist
Taylor Swift

POP/ROCK - Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Black Eyed Peas

POP/ROCK - Favorite Album
Fearless - Taylor Swift

COUNTRY - Favorite Male Artist
Keith Urban

COUNTRY - Favorite Female Artist
Taylor Swift

COUNTRY - Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Rascal Flatts

COUNTRY - Favorite Album
Fearless - Taylor Swift

RAP/HIP-HOP - Favorite Male Artist
Jay-Z

RAP/HIP-HOP - Favorite Album
Relapse - Eminem
Blueprint 3 - Jay-Z
Paper Trail - T.I.

SOUL/R&B - Favorite Male Artist
Michael Jackson

SOUL/R&B - Favorite Female Artist
Beyonce

SOUL/R&B - Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Black Eyed Peas

SOUL/R&B - Favorite Album
I Am...Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
The E.N.D. - The Black Eyed Peas
Number Ones - Michael Jackson

SOUNDTRACKS - Favorite Album
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana 3
Twilight Soundtrack

ALTERNATIVE ROCK - Favorite Artist
Green Day

ADULT CONTEMPORARY - Favorite Artist
Taylor Swift

LATIN - Favorite Artist
Aventura
Luis Fonsi
Wisin Y Yandel

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL - Favorite Artist
Jeremy Camp
Brandon Heath
Mary Mary

Artist Pages

Related Event Pages

Event Tickets

Sugarland : Christmas In Washington

Get ready for a bit of Gold and Green on your television as Sugarland will be featured on TNT’s holiday special, Christmas In Washington, premiering Sunday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Hosted by George Lopez, Christmas In Washington also features Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Rob Thomas and Usher.

Annually attended by the President and First Lady and other Washington VIPs, Christmas In Washington is a holiday musical celebration benefiting the National Children’s Medical Center. The show will be taped at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Sunday, Dec. 13.

Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, is the perfect stocking stuffer for music fans on your shopping list. Don’t miss your chance to share holiday fun with Sugarland fans at Sugarland Gold and Green Weekends at participating nightclubs across the country - with your chance to win Sugarland prize packages, Gold and Green CD’s, plus your chance to win a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

Sugarland has sold more than 8 million records since exploding onto the music scene in 2004 with Twice the Speed of Life (“Baby Girl”/“Something More”). Enjoy the Ride (“Want To”/“Settlin’”/“Stay”) quickly followed in 2006, and their third studio album, Love On The Inside (“It Happens”/“Love”/“All I Want To Do”/“Already Gone”) in July 2008, which skyrocketed them to superstardom and drew fans from all genres and critics abroad. Sugarland is credited with co-writing all tracks from all three albums and co-producing the last two. In August 2009, the duo offered thanks to their loyal fans with Live On The Inside, a CD/DVD set of live tracks, covers and footage from their tour. They have performed in six European countries and toured and headlined shows tirelessly. They’ve received trophies from the Grammys, American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music, CMT Music Awards and the Country Music Association. Nettles has performed for the Obama Presidential celebration, and the duo performed on Oprah. Their latest album is Gold And Green, a 10-track holiday collection consisting of half standards and half originals, all of which Nettles and Bush co-wrote and co-produced.

George Lopez is host of TBS’s new late-night series Lopez Tonight and one of the top five highest grossing comedians in the world. His groundbreaking sitcom, George Lopez, remains a hit in syndication and helped catapult Nick at Nite to one of the top 10 cable networks. His 2009 comedy special, George Lopez: Tall, Dark and Chicano, was the highest rated stand-up special on HBO in five years. This year, Lopez received the Teen Choice Award for Favorite Comedian. Lopez’s feature film career continues to thrive as well. Next year, Lopez has three films set for release: The Spy Next Door, Valentine’s Day and Marmaduke.

Rob Thomas is a Grammy-winning superstar who has sold more than 80 million albums and penned a remarkable string of #1 smashes, including “Her Diamonds” off his acclaimed new solo album, cradlesong, as well as “Lonely No More,” “This Is How a Heart Breaks,” “Ever the Same,” “Streetcorner Symphony” and the Matchbox Twenty hits “Push,” “3AM,” “If You’re Gone,” “Bent,” “Disease” and “Unwell,” to name a few. In 1999, Thomas’ smash collaboration with Santana, the Thomas-penned “Smooth,” earned him three Grammys and today ranks #1 on Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Rock Songs chart and #2 on the magazine’s Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs. He has also worked with the likes of Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Marc Anthony and Bernie Taupin. In 2004, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented Thomas with its first ever Starlight Award. He has won numerous BMI and ASCAP Awards and has earned the Songwriter of the Year crown from both Billboard and BMI for two consecutive years. With the 2005 release of his first solo album, the #1 multi-platinum …Something to Be, Thomas embarked on a major, sold-out world tour. In 2007, he reunited with Matchbox Twenty for Exile on Mainstream, their first album in five years. Debuting at #3 on the Billboard 200, the RIAA gold album scored the biggest first week ever for a greatest hits collection. In December 2008, he performed at the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C., where he paid tribute to Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey with an emotionally charged rendition of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” featuring a choir of 150 New York City policemen and firefighters.

Neil Diamond, whose most recent releases include A Cherry Cherry Christmas, Hot August Night NYC and the critically acclaimed #1 album Home Before Dark, has been a fixture in the music world for over four decades. This summer, CBS aired a primetime special featuring performances from his hugely popular Hot August Night NYC Live from Madison Square Garden DVD, which won the night in ratings. He has sold more than 125 million albums worldwide, with a remarkable track record of 16 Top 10 albums and 37 Top 10 singles. A Grammy-winning artist, Diamond has been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. Among his many other honors, he has received a Golden Globe® and 12 Grammy nominations, and he was named the 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year. His many chart-topping songs include “Sweet Caroline,” “I Am…I Said,” “Song Sung Blue,” “Love on the Rocks” and “America.”

Mary J Blige is a nine-time Grammy-winning singer and songwriter with eight multi-platinum records and more than 40 million units sold since her 1992 debut of the modern classic What’s the 411. She has helped to redefine R&B and more importantly has been an artist that uses her gift of song to lift spirits and touch lives while bringing her heart, soul and truth to those who are willing to listen. She is loved for her passionate, chart-topping hits like “Be Without You,” “No More Drama” and “Family Affair,” all of which have made her a force in music. Blige’s new album, Stronger, is due for release on Dec. 22.

Usher, whose latest CD, Raymond v. Raymond, is due in stores Dec. 21, has achieved global superstardom as a singer, composer, producer, film and television actor, businessman and philanthropist. Since hitting the music scene in 1994, he has sold more than 40 millions albums worldwide and won countless awards and accolades, including five Grammys. His fifth album, Confessions in 2004, sold more than a million copies during its first week of release, the highest debut-week numbers ever for a male R&B artist. It went on to become the biggest selling album of the year and earned Usher three Grammys and numerous other accolades. “Yeah!,” “Burn” and “Confessions Part II” all topped the charts as Usher became the first solo artist in history to have three singles within Billboard’s Top 10 simultaneously.

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Sugarland Gold and Green Nightclub Promotion

Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, is in stores now.

Featuring five holiday classics and five songs co-written by Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, Gold and Green is the perfect stocking stuffer for the country music fans on your shopping list.

Don’t miss your chance to share holiday fun with Sugarland fans at Sugarland Gold and Green Weekends at participating nightclubs across the country - with your chance to win Sugarland prize packages, Gold and Green CD’s, plus your chance to win a nationwide grand prize - an autographed Sugarland lyric sheet.

December 4 - 6 Gold and Green Weekend

Seattle, WA
Little Red Hen
7115 Woodlawn Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 522-1168
www.littleredhen.com

Houston, TX
Big Texas Saloon
19959 Holzwarth
Spring, TX 77388
(281) 353-8898
www.bigtexassaloon.com

Houston, TX
Big Texas Saloon
803 E. Nasa Rd 1 Suite 140
Webster, TX 77598
(281) 461-4400
www.bigtexassaloon.com

Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN
The Hydrant
124 Main St NW
Bethel, MN 55005
(763) 434-5226
www.thehydrantbar.com

Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN
Nacho Mama’s
312 Main St S # 100
Stillwater, MN 55082
(651) 439-9544
wwwstillwaternachomamas.com

Plainville, CT
Celebrations Unlimited
161 Woodford Ave
Plainville, CT 06062
(860) 793-0642
celebrationsdancehall.com

Tampa, FL
Round-Up
13918 W. Hillsborough Avenue
Tampa, FL 33635
(813) 855-1464
www.theroundup.com

Atlanta, GA
The 3 Legged Cowboy
931 Monroe Drive
Atlanta, Ga 30308
(404) 876-0001
www.3leggedcowboy.net/

Nashville, TN
Silverado East
427 S College St
Lebanon, TN 37087
(615) 453-0797
www.silveradonightclub.com

Nashville, TN
Silverado Rivergate
Silverado Rivergate
709A Rivergate Parkway
Goodlettsville, TN 37072
(615) 851-4490
www.silveradonightclub.com

Phoenix, AZ
Charlie’s Phoenix’
727 W Camelback Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85013
(602) 265-0224
www.charliesphoenix.com

Las Cruces, NM
Graham Central Station
505 S Main St
Las Cruces, NM 88001-1206
(575) 524-9131
www.grahamcentralstationlascruces.com

Baytown, TX
Chrerokee Country Club
1909 N. Pruett
Baytown, Texas 77520
(281) 427-5066
www.myspace.com/cherokeebaytown
www.cherokeebaytown.com

Bossier City, LA
Rockin’ Rodeo
1003 Gould Drive
Bossier City, LA 71111
(318) 742-7888
www.myspace.com/southbeachbossier
www.rockinrodeobossiercity.com

Denver, CO
Electric Cowboy
8811 Harlan Street
Westminster, CO 80031
(303) 412-1133
www.myspace.com/electricdenver
www.electriccowboydenver.com

Fort Worth, TX
Electric Cowboy
8740 Camp Bowie Highway West
Fort Worth, Texas 76116
(817) 560-2813
www.myspace.com/electriccowboyftw
www.electriccowboyftworth.com

Clifton, CO
Cactus Canyon
3210 I-70 Business Loop. Suite 18R
Clifton, CO 81520
(970) 434-0320
www.myspace.com/cactuscanyongjt
www.cactuscanyon-grandjunction.com

Greeley, CO
Cactus Canyon
1742 Greeley Mall
Greeley, CO 80631
(970) 351-8178
www.myspace.com/cactuscanyongreeley
www.cactuscanyongreeley.com

Longview, TX
Graham Central Station
1016 McCann Road
Longview, TX 75601
(903) 753-5885
www.myspace.com/grahamslongview
www.gcslongview.com
Teen MySpace

Louisville, KY
Electric Cowboy
8021 Dixie Highway, Suite 104
Louisville, KY 40258
(502) 271-3233
www.myspace.com/eclouisville
www.electriccowboylouiville.com
Teen MySpace

Victoria, TX
Cactus Canyon
3613 N. Navarro
Victoria, TX 77901
(361) 576-4875
www.myspace.com/cactuscanyonvictoria
www.cactuscanyonvictoria.com

***

November 25 Gold and Green Night

Pittsburgh, PA
Ches A-Rena Entertainment Complex
1216 Pittsburgh St.
Cheswick, PA 15024
(216) 854-0027
www.chesarenapgh.com/

*******

November 27 - 29 Gold and Green Weekend

Tacoma, WA
Martin Henry Coffee Co.
3121 38th Street
Tacoma, WA

Cincinnati, OH
Bobby Mackey’s Music World Inc.
44 Licking Pike
Wilder, KY 41071
(859) 431-5588
www.bobbymackey.com
www.myspace.com/bobbymackey
View Photos of Sugarland Gold and Green NIght at Bobby Mackey’s Music World

Kansas City, MO
Whiskey Tango
401 SE Outer Belt Road
Grain Valley, MO 64029
(816) 847-5650
www.whiskeytangokc.com

Hartford, CT
Cadillac Ranch
822 S Maguire St
Warrensburg, MO 64093-2613
(660) 429-5200
www.myspace.com/217380198

Portland, OR
Duke’s Country Bar and Grill
14601 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97236-2333
(503) 760-1400
www.dukesbar.com

St. Louis, MO
Electric Cowboy
4109 N. Cloverleaf Drive
Saint Peters, MO 63376
(636) 447-9291
www.myspace.com/electriccowboystlouis

Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN
Hunter’s Bar and Grill
20454 Highway 65
Cedar, MN 55011
(763) 434-3331

Columbia Heights, MN
Star Bar
4005 Central Ave NE
Columbia Heights, MN 55421
(763) 788-6673
www.starbarlive.com

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

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2009 CMA Awards Highlights

Relive Country Music’s Biggest Night with video highlights of the 2009 CMA Awards including Taylor Swift’s crowning as Entertainer of the Year.

2009 CMA Awards Winners

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Brad Paisley

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Sugarland

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
Fearless - Taylor Swift
Produced by Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Darius Rucker

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum

SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“In Color”
Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
“I Run To You” - Lady Antebellum
Produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Love Story” - Taylor Swift
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Start A Band” - Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Mac McAnally - Guitar

Taylor Swift : Entertainer of the Year

Taylor Swift was named Entertainer of the Year at the 2009 CMA Awards, becoming the youngest artist ever to win the award. “I’ll never forget this moment because in this moment everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me,” Swift said. “Every single person in that category let me open up for them this year. Thank you all so much. I love you.”

Buy Taylor Swift tickets and see for yourself why Taylor Swift is country music’s entertainer of the year!

Backstage, Taylor stated, ““Tonight I’m just gonna dance around and freak out,” she said, “because I never imagined that the unattainable thing I always held in my imagination would happen to me at 19. I couldn’t be more grateful but I love a challenge, and right now the challenge is to find that next challenge.”

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2009 CMA Awards Winners

2009 CMA Awards winners were announced live tonight (November 11) live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on ABC-TV.

Congrats to Taylor Swift - Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year “Fearless” and Video of the Year “Love Story;"Brad Paisley - Male Vocalist of the Year; Sugarland - Vocal Duo of the Year; Lady Antebellum - Single of The Year “I Run To You,” and Vocal Group of the Year; Darius Rucker - New Artist of the Year; Brad Paisley and Keith Urban - Musical Event of the Year, and Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto - Song of The Year “In Color.”

2009 CMA Awards Winners

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Brad Paisley

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Sugarland

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
Fearless - Taylor Swift
Produced by Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Darius Rucker

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum

SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“In Color”
Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
“I Run To You” - Lady Antebellum
Produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Love Story” - Taylor Swift
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Start A Band” - Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Mac McAnally - Guitar

By winning Entertainer of the Year, 19-year-old Swift is the youngest performer to ever win the honor and the first female to win since Shania Twain in 1999. “I’ll never forget this moment,” an emotional Swift said, “because at this moment everything that I have ever wanted just happened to me.”

Accepting the Female Vocalist Award, Swift poked fun at her famed Kanye West interruption experience: “I want to thank every single person here tonight for not running up on stage during this speech.”

Fearless , Swift’s five-time Platinum sophomore release, produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, was named Album of the Year, “This album is my diary, and so for all the people who voted for it, thank you for saying you like my diary,” Swift said. “The fans, you made this album into what it is.”

Swift kicked off “Country Music’s Biggest Night” with “Forever & Always” from Fearless. Later in the broadcast, Swift, with only her guitar and surrounded by former classmates, performed new current single “Fifteen.”

Watch Taylor Swift Highlights at 2009 CMA Awards

Top nominee Paisley picked up his third consecutive Male Vocalist Award and fourth Musical Event of the Year for “Start A Band” with Keith Urban. Those Awards bring Paisley’s career CMA Awards total to 13. He performed his recent No. 1 hit “Welcome to the Future” from his nominated album American Saturday Night.

After winning New Artist of the Year in 2008, Lady Antebellum’s momentum didn’t slow down in 2009. The trio picked up two Awards, the Vocal Group and Single of the Year for “I Run To You,” produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley. “I’d like to thank my two best friends I get to do this with every day of my life,” Hillary Scott said about her partners Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood. “That was a complete shock, that was not expected,” Kelley said

backstage. “We’ve got a lot left to prove.” The group performed “Need You Now,” from their forthcoming sophomore album.

Sugarland picked up their third consecutive Vocal Duo of the Year Award, giving thanks to 14-time Vocal Duo Brooks & Dunn, who announced they were disbanding in 2010. “Thank you for what you’ve done for us and thank you for what you’ve done for Country Music,” Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles said to Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. “It’s an honor to be nominated in your category.”

Soon after Sugarland performed the poignant ballad “Keep You,” Brooks & Dunn tore the place down with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top performing “Honky Tonk Stomp.”

Winning the coveted New Artist of the Year, Darius Rucker thanked the people who “took a chance on a pop singer from Charleston, S.C. God bless y’all for that.” Earlier, Rucker performed “Alright,” his third consecutive No. 1 hit from his debut Country album Learn to Live.

Jamey Johnson picked up his second CMA Song of the Year Award for “In Color” co-written with James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller. “I never thought y’all would even let me come to stuff like this,” Johnson joked. “Thank you for listening to my music and letting me do what I do.” Johnson won Song in 2007 for George Strait’s “Give It Away” with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon. Johnson teamed with Kid Rock to perform “Between Jennings and Jones.”

Urban, who won his first Musical Event of the Year Award with Paisley in the pre-telecast ceremony, offered the pensive new single, “‘Til Summer Comes Around.” Four-time nominee Strait performed his latest hit, the title track from his Album, Twang.

Country Music Hall of Fame 2009 inductee and two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Barbara Mandrell was feted by Female Vocalist nominee Martina McBride and Strait, who dueted on Mandrell’s signature hit “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”

The Female Vocalist nominees proved that the ladies of Country Music are some of the strongest performers in all music. Miranda Lambert offered “White Liar” off of her third album Revolution, and Reba McEntire performed “Consider Me Gone” from her latest album Keep on Loving You. Underwood, who currently has the No. 1 album and single in the nation, performed that single “Cowboy Casanova” with a bevy of back-up dancers.

In one of the many exciting collaborations of the evening, rock band Daughtry was joined by 18-time CMA Awards winner Vince Gill for a stripped down performance of “Tennessee Line” from Daughtry’s album Leave This Town.

Four-time Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney performed the duet “I’m Alive” with Dave Matthews.

Other noteworthy performances included Jason Aldean with his No. 1 “Big Green Tractor” and superstar Tim McGraw’s return to the CMA Awards stage after four years, performing “Southern Voice,” the title track from his latest album. Multiple-nominee Zac Brown Band did a rousing rendition of Charlie Daniels Band’s “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

Fellow Georgian Billy Currington performed the Single and Song of the Year-nominated “People Are Crazy.”

CMA Awards presenters included Dale Earnhardt Jr.; stars of ABC’s “The Middle” Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton; Faith Hill and husband McGraw; Julianne Hough; nominee Randy Houser; nine-time Awards winners The Judds; Kid Rock; Country Music Hall of Fame member Kris Kristofferson; nominee Jake Owen; Kellie Pickler; LeAnn Rimes; ABC News’ Robin Roberts, co-anchor of “Good Morning America”; and six-time CMA Awards winner Lee Ann Womack. Love and Theft hosted the Pre-Telecast Awards.

source: Country Music Association

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Sugarland Receives Platinum Plaques From GAC

ACountry salutes Sugarland as Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush received early Christmas presents yesterday (November 10). GAC executives Ed Hardy, President; Sarah Trahern, Sr. VP, Programming and Suzanne Alexander, On-Air Host, presented them with a triple platinum plaque for their debut record Twice The Speed of Life and double platinum plaque for Love On The Inside, which vies for “Album of the Year” at tonight’s CMA Awards.

Nettles and Bush taped an episode of GAC Nights in support of their newly released holiday record Gold And Green, which will air 12/9 at 7pm and 11pm and 12/10 at 11am. GAC’s Headline Country will also feature the duo in their last episode of the year, which premieres 12/10 at 8pm and will air the entire month of December. All times Central.

Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, is in stores now and ready to put you in the Christmas spirit. Featuring five holiday classics and five songs co-written by Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, Gold and Green is the perfect stocking stuffer for the country music fans on your shopping list. Stay tuned for a very sweet ACountry Christmas - your chance to experience Gold and Green holiday cheer with Sugarland fans across the country at a nightclub near you - including your chance to win cool Sugarland prize packages.

photo credit: Jenny Dew/GAC

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2009 CMA Awards Performers

2009 CMA Awards performers include Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Jamey Johnson and Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney and Dave Mathews, Billy Currington, Vince Gill and Daughtry, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band.

The 43rd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, airs live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 11 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

News update: 2009 CMA Awards Winners

Presenters include The Judds, Country Music Hall of Fame member Kris Kristofferson, six-time CMA Award winner Lee Ann Womack, Dale Earnhardt Jr.; stars of ABC’s “The Middle” Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton; Julianne Hough; nominee Randy Houser (for both New Artist and Music Video of the Year for “Boots On"); nominee Jake Owen (New Artist of the Year); Kellie Pickler; LeAnn Rimes; and ABC News’s Robin Roberts, co-anchor of “Good Morning America” and host of the upcoming “Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville” ABC television special (airing Nov. 10). Love And Theft will host the Pre-Telecast Awards.

2009 CMA Awards Nominations

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strai
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Randy Houser
Jamey Johnson
Jake Owen
Darius Rucker
Zac Brown Band

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eagles
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
“Chicken Fried” - Zac Brown Band
Produced by Keith Stegall

“I Run To You” - Lady Antebellum
Produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley

“In Color” - Jamey Johnson
Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys

“People Are Crazy” - Billy Currington
Produced by Carson Chamberlain and Billy Currington

“Then” - Brad Paisley
Produced by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
American Saturday Night - Brad Paisley
Produced by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois

Defying Gravity - Keith Urban
Produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban

Fearless - Taylor Swift
Produced by Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift

Love On The Inside - Sugarland
Produced by Byron Gallimore, Kristian Bush, and Jennifer Nettles

That Lonesome Song - Jamey Johnson
Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys

SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown/Wyatt Durrette

“I Told You So”
Randy Travis

“In Color”
Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto

“People Are Crazy”
Bobby Braddock/Troy Jones

“Then”
Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Ashley Gorley

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry” - Brooks & Dunn featuring Reba McEntire

“Down The Road” - Kenny Chesney (with Mac McAnally)

“Everything But Quits” - Lee Ann Womack (duet with George Strait)

“I Told You So” - Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis

“Old Enough” - The Raconteurs featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe

“Start A Band” - Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Boots On” - Randy Houser
Directed by Eric Welch

“Love Story” - Taylor Swift
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

“People Are Crazy” - Billy Currington
Directed by The Brads

“Start A Band” - Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)
Directed by Jim Shea

“Troubadour” - George Strait
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Eddie Bayers- Drums
Paul Franklin - Steel Guitar
Dann Huff - Guitar
Brent Mason - Guitar
Mac McAnally - Guitar

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Taylor Swift Fearless Tour

Location: Taylor Swift Tour Dates
Start Date: Thu, February 04, 2010
End Date: Wed, June 02, 2010
Buy Taylor Swift Tickets

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s Fearless Tour continues in 2010 with 37 shows in 29 cities. “I’m so excited to take the Fearless tour back out on the road again in 2010!” says Taylor. “This year’s tour has been so much fun and even more unforgettable than I ever imagined. The fans have been so amazing, and I’m thrilled to play in new cities and see even more of my fans on the 2010 Fearless Tour!”

“Swift’s fans don’t just believe in her savvy songwriting and gracious, magnetic stage presence. They trust her as a peer. And if the unerring pleasures of her set – and the crowd’s Beatles-sized reactions – were any indication, they’ll be trusting her for a long time.” – The Los Angeles Times

Taylor Swift Fearless Tour Dates:

Feb 04 ..... Brisbane, Australia
Feb 06 ..... Sydney, Australia ..... Sydney Olympic Park Buy tickets

Feb 07 ..... Sydney, Australia
Feb 08 ..... Newcaste, Australia
Feb 10 ..... Melbourne, Australia
Feb 11 ..... Melbourne, Australia
Feb 12 ..... Adelaide, Australia
Mar 04 ..... Tampa, FL ..... St. Pete Times Forum Buy tickets

Mar 05 ..... Orlando, FL ..... Amway Arena Buy tickets

Mar 07 ..... Sunrise, FL ..... Bank Atlantic Center Buy tickets

Mar 10 ..... Austin, TX ..... Erwin Center Buy tickets

Mar 11 ..... Dallas, TX ..... American Airlines Center Buy tickets

Mar 12 ..... Corpus Christi, TX ..... American Bank Center Buy tickets

Mar 18 ..... Philadelphia, PA ..... Wachovia Center Buy tickets

Mar 19 ..... Philadelphia, PA ..... Wachovia Center Buy tickets

Mar 20 ..... Charlottesville, VA ..... John Paul Jones Arena Buy tickets

Mar 26 ..... Detroit, MI ..... Palace of Auburn Hills Buy tickets

Mar 27..... Detroit, MI ..... Palace of Auburn Hills Buy tickets

Mar 28 ..... Cincinatti, OH ..... US Bank Arena Buy tickets

Mar 31 ..... Oklahoma City, OK ..... Ford Center Buy tickets

Apr 02 ..... Kansas City, MO ..... Sprint Center Buy tickets

Apr 06 ..... Denver, CO ..... Pepsi Center Buy tickets

Apr 07 ..... Denver, CO ..... Pepsi Center Buy tickets

Apr 10 ..... Fresno, CA ..... Save Mart Center Buy tickets

Apr 11 ..... San Jose, CA ..... HP Pavilion at San Jose Buy tickets

Apri 15 ..... Los Angeles, CA ..... Staples Center Buy tickets

Apri 16 ..... Los Angeles, CA ..... Staples Center Buy tickets

Apr 29 ..... Lexington, KY
Apr 30 ..... Columbia, SC
May 01 ..... Raleigh, NC ..... RBC Center Buy tickets

May 06 ..... Des Moines, IA ..... Wells Fargo Arena Buy tickets

May 07 ..... St. Paul, MN ..... Xcel Energy Center Buy tickets

May 08 ..... Moline, IL ..... I Wireless Center Buy tickets

May 12 ..... Newark NJ ..... Prudential Center Buy tickets

May 13 ..... Newark NJ ..... Prudential Center Buy tickets

May 14 ..... Uniondale, NJ ..... Nassau Coliseum Buy tickets

May 15 ..... Uniondale, NJ ..... Nassau Coliseum Buy tickets

May 20 ..... Ottawa, ON ..... Scotiabank Place Buy tickets

May 21 ..... Toronto, ON ..... Air Canada Centre Buy tickets

May 22 ..... Tornoto, ON ..... Air Canada Centre Buy tickets

May 25 ..... Houston, TX ..... Toyota Center Buy tickets

May 26 ..... Houston, TX ..... Toyota Center Buy tickets

Jun 02 ..... Washington, DC ..... Verizon Center Buy tickets

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Sugarland Christmas Album : Gold And Green

Sugarland’s Christmas album, Gold and Green, is in stores now and ready to put you in the Christmas spirit. Featuring five holiday classics and five songs co-written by Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, Gold and Green is the perfect stocking stuffer for the country music fans on your shopping list.

Stay tuned for a very sweet ACountry Christmas - your chance to experience Gold and Green holiday cheer with Sugarland fans across the country at a nightclub near you - including your chance to win cool Sugarland prize packages.

Sugarland Gold and Green Track Listing:

1. City Of Silver Dreams
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Coming Home
5. Gold And Green
6. Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)
7. Nuttin’ For Christmas
8. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
9. Little Wood Guitar
10. Silent Night

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Garth Brooks Vegas Concerts

Garth Brooks has confirmed a series of concerts at Wynn Las Vegas starting December 11, 2009. The confirmed dates include December 11, 12, 13, January 1, 2, 3 and 22, 23, 24, and February 12, 13, 14 and 26, 27, and 28. Tickets priced at $143 go on sale Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 8 am PT.

Tickets may be booked by calling 702.770.7469 or online at www.wynnlasvegas.com/boxoffice. Tickets are not available for purchase in-person at the Wynn Las Vegas box office on October 24. For more
information, please visit wynnlasvegas.com and/or garthbrooks.com.

Specific procedures have been put in place in an effort to ensure that the tickets for concerts are accessible to fans at face value and through authorized sales channels exclusively.

Ticketing Rules and Regulations:
— Limit 6 concert tickets per order or per person or per credit card. Persons who exceed the ticket limit may have any or all of their orders and tickets cancelled without notice by Wynn Las Vegas, LLC at its discretion. This includes orders associated with the same name, e-mail address, billing address, credit card number or other information. No exceptions.
— Tickets will be available for pick-up at Will Call at Wynn Las Vegas after 12 p.m. PT on the day of the concert upon presentation of valid photo I.D., confirmation number and actual credit card used for payment. Under no circumstance will tickets be distributed in advance.
— Ticket holders must enter the Encore Theater with their entire party. Wynn reserves the right to request valid I.D. of the ticket holder prior to entry into the Encore Theater at show time. The person who purchased the ticket(s) must be a member of the party entering the theater.
— All ticket sales are final and are non-refundable and non-transferable.
— Tickets must be picked up no later than one-hour prior to show time or will be subject to cancellation with no refund.
— To guarantee your seat location, please arrive to be seated no later than 15 minutes prior to concert start time on ticket. Arrivals after this time will be seated at management’s discretion.
— The age limit for concerts is five years or older; anyone under 16 years must be accompanied by an adult.
— Concert dates, times and prices are subject to change without notice. Wynn Resorts LLC will not be held legally responsible for any consequential or incidental damages relating to show cancellation or change including transportation and hotel. Customers accept all customary risks associated with live entertainment.

— Cellular phones, cameras, flash photography and audio/video recording devices are not permitted inside the theater.

Certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as the #1 selling solo artist in U.S. history, Garth Brooks has sold in excess of 128 million albums. He is the only solo artist in RIAA history to have six albums top the 10 million mark. His most recent release, The Ultimate Hits, has been certified five times platinum. Garth became the first artist to put out a simultaneous edition of his latest collection for a charitable cause. November 6, 2007 saw the launch of the pink edition of The Ultimate Hits available only at the Susan G. Komen Web site. His body of work--including the groundbreaking No Fences, Ropin’ The Wind, The Hits, and Double Live--propelled country music as a genre to the front pages of newspapers worldwide and the covers of magazines, to the point where Forbes declared on its cover, “Country Conquers Rock,” and featured Garth in a major music piece. According to RIAA, Garth is the top-selling solo artist of the 20th century.

Garth has received every accolade the recording industry can bestow on an artist, including, two Grammys, 17 American Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, 18 Academy of Country Music Awards, five World Music Awards, 12 People’s Choice Awards and 36 Billboard Music Awards. He was named Artist of the ‘90s at the 1997 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, received the
Artist Achievement Award at the 1997 Billboard Music Awards and was named Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards in 2000 and the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1999.

In the midst of one of the most successful careers in music history, Garth retired in 2001, delivered his last record for Capitol Records and moved back to Oklahoma to raise his children. While in retirement, when called upon by events greater than his own self-interest, he returned to the stage. The latest of these was when the President himself requested that Garth headline President Obama’s Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. He performed as Barack and Michelle Obama, their girls, Joe and Jill Biden and a crowd of over 300,000 lined the mall from the Lincoln Memorial all the way to the Washington Monument. It was a moment in history when all did the “wave” to Garth’s performance of “Shout,” while the President sang along. Once again, Garth was called upon by the NBC network to perform for President Obama’s very first late night TV appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. When the Governor of California asked for Garth’s help, he responded by performing five
concerts in two days, where proceeds from 83,000 tickets sold were donated to efforts to prevent fire catastrophes. Portions of the live concerts were shown as a TV special titled, “Garth Brooks: Live in L.A.,” where viewers donated to the organization Fire Intervention Relief Effort (FIRE).

source: Wynn Las Vegas

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Garth Brooks Ends Retirement

Garth Brooks is dusting off his cowboy hat and ending his retirement. “‘We’re going to take the retirement roof off over our head, and I already feel taller,” Garth announced at a press conference this morning (October 15) at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. “I know this is a young industry, so I’m not sure I’ll be welcomed back but, if the fans want me, I still want to pursue my music,” Brooks said.

After the Nashville press conference, Garth and members of the music media boarded at private plane headed for an afternoon press conference. Garth is expected to announce a four-month run at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

“If we ever do tour again, if we ever put out new music again, it’s going to be another five years,” Brooks said, He also spoke about the music industry. “We need to take back the music. We don’t realize how powerful we are. CEO of Capitol Records Nashville Jimmy Bowen told me that once, and he was absolutely right.”

Garth stated that fans should not expect his music on Itunes until album-only sales and variable pricing are allowed. “You won’t see my stuff on there.”
He also spoke of his love of the Opry. “I’d love to play the Opry more. I know I owe them, and if they want it, they should have it.”

News update: Garth Brooks Confirms Vegas Shows

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Taylor Swift : Fifteen Video

Taylor Swift’s Fifteen video features a barefoot Taylor in a white dress with a montage of scenes from high school. Directed by Roman White, the fourth single from Fearless features Taylor’s real-life best friend Abigail Anderson. “‘Fifteen’ talks about how my best friend, Abigail, got her heart broken when we were in ninth grade and singing about that absolutely gets me every time.”

“Cause when you’re fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen, don’t forget to look before you fall
I’ve found that time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you’re supposed to be
I didn’t know who I was supposed to be at fifteen”

2010 Stagecoach Festival Lineup

The 2010 Stagecoach Festival will be held Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25, 2010 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA. Sugarland, Keith Urban, Toby Keith, and Brook & Dunn have been confirmed as headliners.

Additional performers include Billy Currington, Gary Allan, Phil Vassar, Merle Haggard, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jamey Johnson, Ray Price, Carlene Carter, Joey + Rory, BJ Thomas, The Avett Brothers, Bobby Bare, Nick 13, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Baxter Black, Steel Drivers, Easton Corbin, Mallary Hope, Chuck Mead, Mary Gauthier, Bill Anderson, Waddie Mitchell and Trampled By Turtles..

Tickets for Stagecoach go on sale Friday, October 16 at 10:00 AM (PT) at all Ticketmaster locations and www.stagecoachfestival.com. Ticket prices start at just $99.00 for two-day passes. A variety of reserved seating, camping and RV packages are also available; to view a complete breakdown of available ticketing and onsite camping/RV options, please visit www.Stagecoachfestival.com.

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Toby Keith

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Sugarland : Keep You Video

Sugarland’s “Keep You” video is the fifth single from Love On The Inside. The video features Jennifer Nettles having a nervous breakdown and cutting off her hair.

Carrie Underwood : Cowboy Casanova Video

Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” video was filmed in New Orleans. Written by written by Carrie Underwood, Brett James, and Mike Elizondo, the song is the lead single from her new album, Play On. The video features a western theme, with Carrie warning other women about the “cowboy casanova.”

“He’s a good time cowboy casanova,
Leanin’ up against the record machine
He looks like a cool drink of water,
But he’s candy-coated misery
He’s the devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don’t wanna fight,
You better run for your life”

Toby Keith American Ride Video

Toby Keith’s American Ride video is the title track from his American Ride Album. The song, Toby’s nineteenth number one hit, spotlights various problems in America, including illegal immigration, political correctness, frivolous lawsuits, and the decreased importance of religion.

“That’s us, that’s right
Gotta love this American ride
Both ends of the ozone burnin’
Funny how the world keeps turnin’
Look ma, no hands
I love this American ride
Gotta love this American ride”

Taylor Swift Shines, Kanye West Goes South at MTV Video Awards

Kanye West disrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Awards. Kanye lept on stage, grabbed the mic from Taylor, and proclamined, “"Taylor, I’m really happy for you. I’ll let you finish. But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time ... one of the best videos of all time!”

Kanye was booed off the stage and removed from the venue. Later in the show, Beyone won Video of the Year and, remembering what it was like being nominated for a VMA at age 17 with Destiny’s Child, she called Taylor back to the stage, saying “I’d like Taylor to come out and have her moment.”

Kanye’s Apology To Taylor Swift

“I’m sooooo sorry to Taylor Swift and her fans and her mom,” “I spoke to her mother right after and she said the same thing my mother would’ve said. She is very talented! I like the lyrics about being a cheerleader and she’s in the bleachers! I’m in the wrong for going on stage and taking away from her moment!”

“Beyoncé’s video was the best of this decade!!!! I’m sorry to my fans if I let you guys down!!!! I’m sorry to my friends at MTV. I will apologize to Taylor 2mrw,” “Welcome to the real world!!!! Everybody wanna booooo me but I’m a fan of real pop culture!!! No disrespect but we watchin’ the show at the crib right now cause...well you know!!!! I’m still happy for Taylor!!!! Boooyaaawwww!!!! You are very very talented!!! I gave my awards to Outkast when they deserved it over me...That’s what it is!!!!!!! I’m not crazy y’all, i’m just real. Sorry for that!!! I really feel bad for Taylor and I’m sincerely sorry!!! Much respect!!!!!”

“I feel like Ben Stiller in “Meet the Parents” when he messed up everything and Robert De Niro asked him to leave… That was Taylor’s moment and I had no right in any way to take it from her. I am truly sorry.”

Kayne on The Jay Leno Show The Night After the VMA Incident

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