James Minchin IIIJason Aldean and Luke Bryan have already been covering “Time Marches On” on the My Kinda Party tour, but Thursday night, the man who made it a hit made a surprise appearance onstage.
Tracy Lawrence joined the two for a twenty-minute set of his signature songs, including “Sticks and Stones” and “Paint Me a Birmingham,” which is appropriate since they were in the Alabama town.
A wide variety of covers have become a staple on the tour, with Luke even sitting down at the piano to perform a solo version of Adele’s hit “Someone Like You,” according to the Fort Wayne, Indiana News-Sentinel.
Luke and Jason have also made more traditional choices, singing their arrangements of Garth Brooks’ “Much Too Young” and John Mellencamp’s “Little Pink Houses." You'll have more chances to see what the two can come up with as they continue touring together through the fall.
BNA RecordsKenny Chesney graces the cover of Men's Health magazine's June issue, and he shares a few secrets behind his intense workouts in the article. According to USA Today, Kenny tells Men's Health he works out hard so he can keep in shape for his two-hour outdoor concerts this summer on the Brothers of the Sun tour.
Comparing his workouts to his live show, Kenny says, "You think you're sprinting on this treadmill. When I'm up there it's like I'm at a constant sprint at a 15 level. But the thing you have onstage that you don't have in the gym is adrenaline."
Kenny works out about an hour with his trainer and they've been getting him ready for the tour since January. The goal isn't for Kenny to gain muscle. He says, "I don't go in here and try to bench-press 200 pounds."
Kenny admits he can do 300 pushups in 10 minutes though. For more, read Kenny's cover story in Men's Health. Kenny's Brothers of the Sun tour with Tim McGraw kicks off June 2 in Tampa, FL.
Schmidt RelationsThe tiny town of Mineral, VA will host an Alan Jackson concert Sunday in their high school parking lot. The town won the concert in an online contest from Eventful.com after experiencing a devastating earthquake in August 2011. Kansas City actually came in second in the contest to Mineral, which has a population of about 400 people.
Alan explains, "Somebody in that town, I believe a fan, got on the Internet and rallied all this together and got everybody across around the country to vote for this little town to win that contest to do the show; that’s how it all started."
The money raised from Alan's show will help rebuild Mineral's high school auditorium. The school was condemned due to damage from the earthquake.
As for the scaled back show Sunday, Alan's actually looking forward to it.
He says, "It’ll just be more charming, I think, is what I’m trying to say, and every now and then, it’s good to do a show like that."
Capitol NashvillleLittle Big Town has found the perfect way to bring their fans on board for the annual CMA Music Festival Kickoff Parade in Nashville on Wednesday, June 6. The four members of Little Big Town will each ride on their own pontoon boat filled with fans at the close of the parade. It's a nod to their latest hit, "Pontoon."
"That's kind of our gift to the fans," band member Karen Fairchild tells ABC News Radio. "Our fan club soiree is going to be in the parade."
Little Big Town will then hope off the boats and perform "Pontoon" at the Block Party at the Riverfront Stage. They'll also perform Saturday night at LP Field during the CMA Music Festival.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Glen Campbell will serve as grand marshal of this year's Kickoff Parade.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for ACAIt's no secret Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are passionate about animals. They've rescued at least 20 dogs as well as cats and horses in the past few years. So, do they plan to add any babies to their ever-growing household?
“Not unless our kids go to the bathroom outside or on the floor!” Blake tells In Touch Weekly. He adds, "“If Miranda’s as good with a human being as she is with dogs, the kid’s going to be golden!”
Pick up the latest In Touch Weekly to read more about Blake and Miranda's animals and see exclusive photos of the couple.
Dolly Parton scored a #1 country hit in 1980 with "Starting Over Again," which was co-written by disco queen Donna Summer. Summer died Thursday after a battle with cancer at age 63. Dolly released a statement on Summer's passing saying she had one of the greatest voices ever.
"I loved her records," Dolly continues. "She was the disco queen, and will remain so. I knew her and found her to be one of the most likable and fun people ever. She will be missed and remembered.”
Reba covered "Starting Over Again" and took it took it to the top 20 on the country charts in 1995. Reba tweeted, "My thoughts and prayers go out to Donna Summer's family. I will miss her but she will live on thru all her wonderful music!"
Jennifer Nettles tells ABC News Radio that she viewed Summer as a trailblazer. The Sugarland member says there wasn’t a direct musical influence, but “there is a direct influence in what [Summer] brought to the [music] industry as a woman. Nettles says, “When you think of songs like “Love To Love You” and her bravery at the time for coming out with a song that was so empowering to women and their sexuality, people, you know, it was scandalous at the time...”
Donna Summer lived in Nashville and served on the board of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum according to Music Row.
Dolly Parton scored a #1 country hit in 1980 with "Starting Over Again," which was co-written by disco queen Donna Summer. Summer died Thursday after a battle with cancer at age 63. Dolly released a statement on Summer's passing saying she had one of the greatest voices ever.
"I loved her records," Dolly continues. "She was the disco queen, and will remain so. I knew her and found her to be one of the most likable and fun people ever. She will be missed and remembered.”
Reba covered "Starting Over Again" and took it took it to the top 20 on the country charts in 1995. Reba tweeted, "My thoughts and prayers go out to Donna Summer's family. I will miss her but she will live on thru all her wonderful music!"
Donna Summer lived in Nashville and served on the board of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum according to Music Row.
Dolly Parton scored a #1 country hit in 1980 with "Starting Over Again," which was co-written by disco queen Donna Summer. Summer died Thursday after a battle with cancer at age 63. Dolly released a statement on Summer's passing saying she had one of the greatest voices ever.
"I loved her records," Dolly continues. "She was the disco queen, and will remain so. I knew her and found her to be one of the most likable and fun people ever. She will be missed and remembered.”
Reba covered "Starting Over Again" and took it took it to the top 20 on the country charts in 1995. Reba tweeted, "My thoughts and prayers go out to Donna Summer's family. I will miss her but she will live on thru all her wonderful music!"
Donna Summer lived in Nashville and served on the board of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum according to Music Row.
Capitol NashvilleLuke Bryan has given a YouTube shout out to fellow Leesburg, GA native Phillip Phillips, who is in the top three on American Idol this season. Luke tells Phillip in the video, "I've been watching every episode, and it's truly amazing watching your climb." Luke adds that he's pulling for Phillip to win the entire competition too.
Phillip will learn if he gets the boot or makes it to the top two on American Idol's Thursday night results show, airing at 8:00 Eastern on Fox.
Warner Music GroupFaith Hill's NBC Sunday Night Football opening has won an Emmy Award for the production company behind the spots. Iron Claw walked away with the trophy in the Outstanding Production Design/Art Direction category for producing the spot.
The show opening places Faith riding through a busy city in a leather cat suit on a motorcycle. The company used state-of-the-art technology to digitally place Faith in these different locations.
Big Machine RecordsTaylorSwift has pledged $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Working on a Building campaign. The money will go to build the Taylor Swift Education Center, featuring three classrooms and a new children's exhibit gallery, as part of the Hall of Fame's next expansion project. It's set to open in early 2014.
Taylor's contribution is the largest capital contribution by an individual artist in the Country Music Hall of Fame's history. The overall expansion project will increase the size of the Hall of Fame form 140,000 square feet to 350,000 square feet.
EMI/ACRAlan Jackson is trading in his Music City mansion for a slice of Heaven. While the country superstar tries to sell his lakefront home in Nashville for close to $3.4 million, he appears to be taking up residence in the exclusive Heaven’s Landing development in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia.
The gated community is geared toward residents who prefer to fly in, with some properties even boasting their own airplane hangar. The Heaven’s Landing newsletter even features a picture of Alan’s plane, with a mention that “You’ll notice (Alan and Denise Jackson) flying in regularly in either their Falcon 50 or their Lear 24.” The developer goes on to call the couple “some of the most down-to-earth people you will ever meet.”
The Clayton, Georgia property is only about 40 miles from Alan’s hometown of Newnan.
CurbThough he’s already been to the top of the country charts as a songwriter, “A Woman Like You” is Lee Brice’s first number one as an artist.
Celebrating at a party earlier this week in Nashville, Lee believes both accomplishments are simply a matter of keeping his nose to the grindstone. “You know, writing a song and having a number one is like a really pride thing for me. It’s like, I work so hard,” he says.
Lee admits to having a familial feel about the chart toppers he’s written for Garth Brooks and Eli Young Band, saying“More Than a Memory” and “Crazy Girl” are “my babies.”
His current single, “Hard 2 Love,” happens to be a song he didn’t write, even though it’s the title track of his new CD.
Arista NashvilleGreat American Country rolls out its new Noteworthy at the Opry series with a special Memorial Day weekend salute to the troops. Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, Kellie Pickler, and Montgomery Gentry are just some of the artists who’ll perform on the 90-minute special.
The 16-episode season continues through the summer, with special themed episodes focusing on Heartache, Love Songs, and Fan Favorites. Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Scotty McCreery, Keith Urban and Chris Young are all set to take the Opry stage. The June 2 edition will pay tribute to Alan Jackson.
Noteworthy at the Opry premieres Saturday, May 26 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on GAC.
Big Machine RecordsIf you ever get the chance to go out to dinner with Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, you’ll definitely want to put your cellphone away.
Jay admits that people who are “totally tuned out just texting away” are one of his biggest pet peeves. “It’s a little bit disconcerting when you’re at dinner trying to hang out with friends and everybody’s text messaging,” he complains. “That’s kind of getting’ on my nerves.”
Jay proudly admits that he and his wife Allison are bucking the trend, having made a vow to put their phones away whenever they sit down at a restaurant.
Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockThe 2012 CMA Music Festival will feature the debut of the BMI Tailgate Party. The free event will take place each night, Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10, with BMI songwriters and artists performing outside LP Field before the nightly concerts.
Merle Haggard tells The Boot.com that Hunter Hayes, Jamey Johnson and Willie Nelson’s son Lukas are some of his favorite new artists in country music.
Arista NashvilleCarrie Underwood marks a first this week on the Billboard 200 album chart, as Blown Away notches a second week at the top.
While it’s her third project to claim the top spot, it’s the first one ever to spend multiple weeks at number one. Carrie’s fourth career CD sold 120,000 copies during the Mother’s Day week. She picked up the plaque for Blown Away’s debut week this past Saturday while performing on the Grand Ole Opry.
Carrie makes dueling TV appearances on Sunday, on The Billboard Music Awards on ABC and Oprah’s Next Chapter on Own.
Big Machine RecordsYou can think of Taylor Swift as the country music J-Lo. While Jennifer Lopez sits at number one on Forbes’ list of The Worlds’ Most Powerful Celebrities, Taylor is the highest-ranking country artist on the list, at number 11.
The financial site credits Taylor’s lucrative deal with CoverGirl, as well as more than 65 tour dates that raked in more than $1 million a night, as some of the reasons for her ranking. It’s interesting to note that Taylor did out-earn J-Lo, raking in $57 million so far this year, compared to the American Idol host’s $52 million. However, Lopez pulls in more from endorsements and production deals.
Three other male country artists make the list as well, with Toby Keith at number 49, Kenny Chesney at 53, and Brad Paisley at 68.
Capitol NashvilleLittle Big Town is gearing up to head out on the highway for their sixth annual Ride for a Cure on Sunday, June 10. The motorcycle trek kicks off with a pre-ride concert outside Nashville, and ends with an all-star jam session with Lauren Alaina, Love & Theft and others.
Over the past six years, more than 2,500 bikers have ridden with Little Big Town, with 2,000 more joining them for the post-ride concert. In all, they’ve raised more than $260,000 to fund leukemia, cancer and AIDS research through the T.J. Martell Foundation.
Little Big Town’s fifth CD, featuring their single “Pontoon,” is due in September. This summer, they’ll hit the road on the Changed tour with Rascal Flatts, Eli Young Band and Eden’s Edge.
OWNCarrie Underwood and husband Mike Fisher sat down for their first joint interview this week in Nashville with Oprah Winfrey. The interview will air this Sunday on Oprah's Next Chapter.
It was the first time cameras have ever been inside Carrie and Mike's cabin retreat south of Nashville. The couple talks about balancing their hectic careers and marriage. They also show Oprah the plot of land where they plan to build their dream house.
Oprah's Next Chapter airs Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on OWN.
