Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Ronstadt Memoir Coming Soon

Linda Ronstadt is opening up about her life in an upcoming memoir titled In "Heart Like A Wheel." 

Linda will chronicle her career, from her rise to fame to the critical acclaim she's received over the years as a performer in multiple genres. Ronstadt's global album sales have topped the 100-million mark, and had success in rock, pop, country, jazz, Latin, and opera as well as on Broadway. 

Linda began her career in the mid 1960s with the band The Stone Poneys. She's naming her book after her 1974 solo album, which established her as one of music's top artists. 

The CD gave Linda her first pop chart-topper with "You're No Good" and her first country number one with "When Will I Be Loved." 

Simon & Schuster is behind the project, and plans to publish "Heart Like A Wheel" in 2013.

Country Stars Subject To "Buffet Tax"

You know, the Buffet tax.  It's the tax proposed in Washington to assure millionaires pay a "fair share" according to the Washington politicians.  Looking at the list of country stars and their incomes, here's a representative list of who would be paying. 

Toby Keith tops Forbes' "Country Music's Highest-Paid Stars" list with $50 million.
Earnings from tour dates (more than $500k at each stop), I Love This Bar & Grill estimates ($8m in 2010), the Wild Shot Mezcal launch and a Ford sponsorship. 

Here are the remaining top 10:
#2 - Taylor Swift ($45million) – Her concerts bring in $750,000 per night in gross ticket sales (Add Merchandise – WOW!).

#3 - Brad Paisley ($40 million) - Nearly doubling last year's earnings thanks to sponsorship deals with Chevy, Sea Ray and others. Sea Gayle Music, the music publishing company Paisley co-founded in 1999 is another revenue generator.

#4 - Tim McGraw ($35 million) - In addition to grossing $575,000 per night on tour, McGraw took in an estimated $3.3 million from films Country Strong and Dirty Girl. His line of cologne is among the best selling celebrity scents.

#5 - Rascal Flatts ($34 million) - rely on touring, merchandise and royalties for the bulk of their earnings.

#6 - Kenny Chesney ($30 million) - Chesney's concerts gross an average of $1.6 million every night. Chesney also raked in an estimated $7.5 million in royalties in 2010.

#7 – George Strait ($24 million) - The oldest singer on the highest-paid list – Touring is the bulk of his earnings in just over thirty shows, spread out over 12 months; each of Strait's concerts pulls in a whopping $1.4 million. 

#8 – Alan Jackson ($22 million) – Making most of his money on touring.

#9 – Carrie Underwood ($20 million) - Branching out in lucrative fashion and she signed a deal to be the first North American spokesmodel for Olay.

#10 – Sugarland ($18 million) – Making most of their money on touring and royalties.

The list reflects earnings between May 2010 and May 2011. 

Forbes consulted agents, managers, publishers, lawyers and others to compute the estimates, which are gross earnings. Taxes and other components (agent and manager fees) are not deducted.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Young On Late Late Show Tonight

After the U.S. Open competition was extended last week the network moved Chris Young‘s appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to tonight, September 26. 

Chris will perform his soulful new single “You” on the show, which airs Weeknights at 12:35am/11:35pm Central on CBS. 

This marks his fourth national TV appearance since the release of his new album, NEON, earlier this summer.

Win A Concert With Alan Jackson

The quake-rocked town of Mineral, Virginia became the epicenter of last month's East Coast earthquake is leading a contest to have Alan Jackson perform in their hometown for free. 

According to Richmond's WTVR, Mineral has a commanding lead. Jackson earlier announced he would perform a free concert for the town with the most online votes. 

The residents of Mineral say a concert like Jackson's could boost spirits and help them raise money to repair the damage caused by the five-point-eight earthquake that took place on August 23rd. 

Sponsored by eventful.com, the contest will remain open until October 10th. A date for the free concert has yet to be announced.

BP Pays For Play

Panama City Beach Tourist Development Council officials had a big concerts last weekend, using BP marketing money.

Miranda Lambert played at Frank Brown Park September 23rd with Jason Aldean September 24th. 

The concerts are being provided to help boost business for the hotels and resorts along the beach that are still struggling from the oil spill.

Randy Travis Honored By Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry will honor Randy Travis as he celebrates 25 years in country music and as an Opry member on Tues., Oct. 4. Travis will take the stage to perform and will be honored in song by fellow artists who appear with him on his newest CD, Anniversary Celebration.

Appearing with Travis will be: Carrie Underwood, John Anderson, Josh Turner, Gene Watson, Connie Smith, Joe Stampley and more.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Take A Back Road Gets You To Front Faster

Rodney Atkins has scored another #1 hit with his latest single, "Take a Back Road." 

It's his sixth #1 on Billboard's Country Songs chart.  

Rodney admits that the writer of the song, Rhett Atkins was a ‘Nemesis’ to him when he first can to Nashville because of his last name.   

Rodney's new album, also titled Take a Back Road, is due out October 4.  It features his hit single, "Farmer's Daughter."

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Top Country Tours For 2011

Just as Kenny Chesney wraps up his “Goin’ Coastal” tour, he moves ahead of Taylor Swift on Pollstar’s ranking of the top-20 tours. For weeks, Swift has been number two and Chesney, three. 

The latest ranking puts Kenny Chesney in second and Taylor Swift in third.

Brad Paisley enters the list at number nine.
Rascal Flatts are in 11th place
Jason Aldean in 14th
“American Idols Live” with Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina in 17th
Sugarland in 18th
Keith Urban in 19th place.

For A Good Time, Call Keith

Keith Urban fans can get up close and personal with him in Milwaukee for a good cause.

One winning bidder and 11 of their fellow friends on Thursday, October 13 will receive backstage passes to meet Keith and have an exclusive photo opportunity with him before the show. 

The Auction includes: Seats in a Luxury Suite at the Bradley Center with unlimited food and beverages

Bidding is open through Wednesday, September 28 on leading charity site charitybuzz.  

Proceeds from this auction benefit Penfield Children’s Center, a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to help infants and young children with and without disabilities to reach their full potential through education, therapy services and family programs.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Lady A Visits Ellen

Lady Antebellum visited the Ellen Degeneres Show Friday. They performed ‘Just A Kiss’ and sat down with Ellen to chat for a few moments.

Highlights:
•    Chatted about the last time they were on the show they had 6 Grammy Award Nominations and won 5 Grammys
•    Hillary talked about how she was proposed to on July 2nd - Hillary’s Fiance Chris wrote love letter and presented them in a book the day he proposed
•    Ellen thanked Charles for wearing the ‘Ellen’ underwear singing during the Thursday night  9/8 NFL opening performance.  (A fan sent Ellen the picture of Charles wearing the Ellen underwear on stage)
•    Dave showed that he was wearing ‘Ellen’ underwear during the show on Friday.
•    Ellen presented Dave & Charles with a pair of ‘New & Clean ‘ Ellen Underwear and mentioned there are now Woman’s Ellen Underwear and presented those to Hillary.
•    Then as part of an ‘Ellen skit‘ she sent a Lady Antebellum disguised as waiters to a restaurant to serve Two Lady Antebellum fans.

Jaron's Long Road Changes

Jaron Lowenstein (formerly of Jaron and the Long Road To Love) is teaming up with Joe Firstman, Jon Loyd, Toby Weaver, Johnny Gray and Caleb Gilbreath in a new band called the Cordovas

A FREE download the self-titled CD is available on their website, http://thecordovas.com.

Jaron's Cordovas co-founder, Joe Firstman, is the former band leader of NBC's 'Last Call With Carson Daly.' The two combine their musical influences -- ranging from rock to country to Gospel -- on the Cordovas release.

Brad and Bennett Duets

Brad Paisley teams up with the legendary Tony Bennett for a new recording of "They Can't Take That Away from Me" on the deluxe Target edition of Tony's Duets II album

The new album is out now featuring collaborations on the regular edition with Carrie Underwood on "It Had to Be You," Faith Hill on "The Way You Look Tonight," and Willie Nelson on "Sunny Side of the Street." Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin, Sheryl Crow and the late Amy Winehouse also share vocals with Tony on Duets II.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Darius Got Somethin'

Darius Rucker is helping the fight against childhood obesity. 

Darius joins legendary funnyman Bill Murray as co-captains of celebrity softball teams at an October 1 game in Darius' hometown of Charleston, S.C., to raise money for the cause.

The Slim Down the South Celebrity Softball Challenge will be held at Charleston's Riley Park, with confirmed players including Jim Sonefeld of Hootie and the Blowfish, several cast members from the Lifetime TV drama, 'Army Wives,' and competitors from the NBC reality competition show, 'The Biggest Loser.'

Darius himself stays in shape by practicing a regular exercise routine, even when he's on the road.

Jackson Song Reunites Family

Alan Jackson and rocker Ozzy Osbourne recently worked together to find and save a missing California boy.
A song from each artist was played over a loud speaker to lure missing 8-year-old Joshua Robb from his hiding spot.

NBC reports that Robb, who is autistic, slipped through a fence at his school in Twin Peaks, Calif. on Monday. Staff members tried to chase him down, but he scurried into the forest before they could catch up to him. A search team found his T-shirt but knew he’d be facing overnight temperatures in the low 60s in only shorts, sandals and his T-shirt.

The boy’s father recommended using two of his son’s favorite songs, Jackson’s ‘Good Time’ and Osbourne’s ‘No More Tears.’ “

Jackson hasn’t commented on the incident.

A-Mazed by Aldean

Jason Aldean is in a corn field. A farmer in Shelby, N.C. has created the likeness in The Shelby Corn Maze. 

The maze is celebrating its 10th anniversary. 

The Shelby Corn Maze is open through October 30th.  The website says they chose Aldean because he is their favorite country artist.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Get Rise Up With Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney composed & performs the theme song to ESPN’s series Rise Up.  

The ESPN show, Rise Up, is a series where they go to needy high schools & give their athletic facilities a makeover. 

The series debuted a pilot last fall at the McMain Secondary High School in New Orleans. This year, Rise Up is scheduled to visit Boston, Seattle, Chicago & Wellston, OH.

Immediately following the series premiere, Chesney announced via Twitter that ‘Rise Up’ was available for download at iTunes. He says he wrote the song in about two hours after watching an episode based in New Orleans.

Platinum Party For Jason

10 months after its release, Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party has been certified DOUBLE PLATINUM by the RIAA for sales of over two million units. 

2011’s best selling country album has spawned three consecutive No.1 hits, each of which have also been certified PLATINUM for digital downloads with the most recent single “Dirt Road Anthem” claiming DOUBLE PLATINUM certification. 

Aldean keeps company with Adele, Lady Gaga and Mumford & Sons at the top of the all-genre list for the year’s top selling albums.

Taylor On Ellen

Taylor Swift was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tuesday. The show will included a performance from Taylor. 

Ellen's homepage featured a promo with footage from when she visited backstage when Taylor's Speak Now tour stopped in Los Angeles, showing the pair of them clowning around in what appears to be Taylor's dressing room. 

Ellen joined Swift on stage to sing “Our Song” at a recent L.A. tour stop.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Tour My Face Off--Underwood

Carrie Underwood, writing on her website’s fan club message board recently blogged about current happenings taking place and mentioned hitting the road in the near future. She says she plans to “tour my face off” in next year.

As far as new music, Underwood is halfway through the process of working on the latest collection of songs. On her blog, Underwood says she needed to take a step back after three albums so she could regain focus on her life and career. 

Carrie explains that she needs it to be about the music, not the money or celebrity.

All For The Hall

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s All for the Hall fundraiser returned to Los Angeles for a third consecutive year September 13, at Club Nokia, with performances by Country Music Hall of Fame members Vince Gill and Emmylou Harris, and Sheryl Crow and Zac Brown.

The Museum launched All for the Hall, first-ever non-bricks-and-mortar fundraising campaign, in 2005. The campaign addresses the Museum’s need for long-term financial security and will provide a safety net for the institution and its work. 

This is the fifth year the Museum has taken its “annual giving” event on the road, hosting previous All for the Hall events in New York in 2007 and 2008 and in Los Angeles in 2009 and 2010.

Go Fish With Craig Campbell

Craig Campbell says it's been great to see his latest release, "Fish," follow in the footsteps of his breakthrough hit, "Family Man." 

Both "Fish" and "Family Man" are from Craig's self-titled debut album, which was released back in April. But Craig cautions listeners against believing "Fish" is a reflection of the entire CD and he admits the track is fun, but also calls it "the outside song" on the album. 

Campbell describes his disc as a fairly typical country album. He explains that most of the songs are "about real life," adding that they represent him and the people he knows.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

CMT Invites Blake, Trace, and Martina

Trace Adkins, Martina McBride, and Blake Shelton are all slated to be featured in upcoming episodes of the CMT series "Invitation Only." 

The series provides a showcase for performers to present their music in an intimate setting and discuss their songs, sharing the inspiration behind certain tracks. 

They often talk about other aspects of their lives and careers as well, and field questions from the audience.
The next installment of "Invitation Only" will feature Adkins with a debut on CMT on Sunday, September 25th. 

Air dates for Martina and Blake's episodes haven't been announced yet.

Austin City Limits Smoke Free Weekend

The City of Austin asked people at the Austin City Limits Festival not to smoke in hopes of preventing fires. Seventy-five thousand people packed into Zilker Park, and with the wildfires blowing across Texas the precaution was generally observed.

Austin City Limits festival organizers have an email and text messaging alert system for as a way to feed emergency information to those who bought tickets to the concert. Event promoter C3 Presents began warning people of the smoking ban using this system.

There were off-duty police officers for security and emergency management. In addition, emergency exits were marked within the park. Just like any 21st century meeting, there was an Austin City Limits app for iPhones and Android.

Ronnie Dunn and Taylor Swift On Stage

Taylor Swift's Speak Now tour hit Nashville this past weekend.  The sold out house was treated to something that could probably ONLY happen in Nashville.  Star appearances from Reba and Ronnie Dunn.  Including Ronnie hopping on stage Friday night.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Randy and Rodney in 16 South

Since 1992, Randy Travis has been a part of 38 different TV show, movies, videos, cartoons, etc.

Randy is currently early in the shooting of a new movie. And Rodney Atkins will make a special appearance in the new flick.

Filming for Randy's new movie 16 South is currently underway in Texas with Randy signed on to play George Baker.  Rodney Atkins will play himself in the feature film. 

No word on what the film will be about.  Shooting is reportedly taking place as we speak in the San Antonio/Austin area.  No word on when the movie is schedule to appear (aka T.V or Theaters).

Bryan's Farm Tour Has NRA Sponsorship

Luke Bryan and NRA Country will once again be joining forces for the 2011 Farm Tour. 

The partnership, now in its second year, will have NRA Country on site at all dates to add to the festivities. The Farm Tour will continue for its third consecutive year with 6 shows kicking off in Clemson, South Carolina on September 29 and wrapping October 7 in Carrollton, Georgia.

The idea for the Farm Tour concerts came from Bryan as a way to give back to local farming communities by celebrating and lifting up the American Farmer and offering a fun escape with the outdoor shows. Proceeds from the concerts will go toward scholarships for students from farming families attending local colleges in each community where the shows are taking place.

More details at: ticketsforcharity.com/nracc.

Morgan To Military

Craig Morgan wants to serve in the military again.

Before his music career took off, Morgan spent 10 years of active duty in the Army. Then he spent nine years in the reserves. Part of the time he was stationed in Panama and was part of the military operation that removed dictator Manuel Noriega from power.

About himself, Craig Morgan says “once a soldier, always a soldier.” Since 9/11, he’s made nine trips overseas to entertain U.S. troops and he’s hosted more than a dozen events at military bases stateside. Morgan says “as an entertainer now, it’s very weird.”

Morgan was one of the first performers in Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion. He says they still were sweeping up glass in the Kandahar airport when he arrived. 

In 2006 Morgan was given the USO Merit Award for his support of the military. 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

George Strait Tops New CD's Out This Week

George Strait has earned the title country icon.

Universal Music Enterprises has released George Strait – Icon, an 11-song single disc collection packed with No. 1 hits and signature tracks in honor of one of today’s most successful and beloved country artists.

George Strait – Icon pays tribute to one of the most popular and influential country singers of the last three decades. Icon is a specially priced series of albums featuring the greatest hits, signature tunes and fan favorites of the most popular and influential artists in music history, offering unprecedented value to consumers.

TRACKLISTING:

1. Amarillo By Morning
2. Ocean Front Property
3. All My Ex’s Live In Texas
4. Love Without End, Amen
5. I Cross My Heart
6. Check Yes Or No
7. I Just Want To Dance With You
8. Living And Living Well
9. Give It Away
10. I Saw God Today
11. River Of Love
 
There will be a special TWO CD set of Icon released for the holidays October 24.  

The second CD will have a different mix of songs including these classic Strait cuts:

Disc: 1

1. Amarillo By Morning
2. Right Or Wrong
3. The Chair
4. Ocean Front Property
5. All My Ex's Live In Texas
6. If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')
7. Ace In The Hole
8. Love Without End, Amen
9. I Cross My Heart
10. Easy Come, Easy Go
11. Check Yes Or No


Disc: 2


1. Carried Away
2. One Night At A Time
3. Carrying Your Love With Me
4. I Just Want To Dance With You
5. Write This Down
6. The Best Day
7. Living And Living Well
8. I Hate Everything
9. Give It Away
10. I Saw God Today
11. River Of Love

Tim As A Dancer?

During Tim McGraw‘s “Emotional Traffic” tour stop in Salt Lake City, UT, Donny, in a surprise appearance, told the crowd that he thinks Tim would be a great fit for the show.

“You know, Tim’s in pretty good shape here. He’s got his muscles and the whole bit. I think he should do Dancing With the Stars,!’” Donny mentioned during a radio interview after the concert.

Country Music is not represented this season but in the past, Sara Evans appeared on “Dancing With The Stars” back in 2006 while Chuck Wicks danced with then-girlfriend Julianne Hough on the hit show in 2009. Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, and LeAnn Rimes have reportedly all turned down offers from ABC to appear on the show. 

Tim has made no remarks concerning the ‘Dancing’ revelation from Donnie.

Zac Brown--Foodie

Zac Brown may be taking his love for food into your homes via his own cooking.
 
"We've talked about it," Brown said about possibly doing a cooking TV show. 

The Zac Brown Band are known for their pre-concert "eat-and-greets," where they treat about 200 lucky fans to a huge spread of down-home southern fare. Most everything on the buffet is an original Zac Brown recipe, cooked in a 53-foot tractor trailer that serves as a "kitchen on wheels." 

Zac is a former restaurant owner and has his own cookbook, 'Southern Ground.'

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Toby's New CD Coming Soon

Toby Keith picks the closeness of a bar over the stadium mega show experience.  In the past years Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley have headlined large stadium shows and Toby has played them too, including Cowboys stadium, but tells of intimacy being a key factor of a bar show that appeals to him.

Toby is prepping the release of his ‘Clancy Tavern’ album, which is now officially releasing on Monday October 24th.  Toby currently on his ‘Locked & Loaded’ tour will embark on some European dates beginning October 30th.

Saturday In The South With Tracy Lawrence

Tracy Lawrence is showcasing his song “Saturday In The South” as the music centerpiece for the FOX Sports and SportSouth college football campaigns. 

The networks will broadcast over 70 games from the SEC, ACC, Conference USA, Big 12 and Pac-12 and the weekly college football shows SEC Gridiron LIVE and The NEW College Football Show during the season.
The “Saturday In The South” will be featured in all promotional tune-in messaging of college football games, plus 
The network is exploring additional opportunities to shoot a video to incorporate Lawrence performing the song for the campaign.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Canadian Country Music Award Winners Announced

Johnny Reid and rising star Dean Brody each took home three trophies at the Canadian Country Music Awards tonight being held this year at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum.

Reid won the Fans' Choice Award, Male Artist of the Year and the CMT Video of the Year honors with "Today I'm Gonna Try and Change the World.". The Scottish-born, Toronto-transplant came into the evening holding a leading six nominations, including Album of the Year, for his sixth studio album
A Place Called Love, which is certified double platinum in Canada.

But it was Dean Brody that took home the Album of the Year Award for his stellar work on
Trail in Life. Brody also won Songwriter of the Year for the album's title track and won the Single of the Year for the same song.

Longtime country veteran
Terri Clark took home the female artist of the year category for her fourth career CCMA. Clark was choked up during her speech too, telling the audience "I'm going to try and do this without crying." It was her first CCMA without her mother, who passed away due to cancer at 60. "It was a little bittersweet winning the award tonight," said Clark. "She was extremely important to me."


2011 CCMA WINNERS LIST:


FANS’ CHOICE AWARD

Johnny Reid

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Trail in Life — Dean Brody

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Trail in Life — Dean Brody

SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR

Trail In Life (written by Dean Brody; recorded by Dean Brody)

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Terri Clark

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Johnny Reid

CMT VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Today I’m Gonna Try and Change the World — Johnny Reid

GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR

Hey Romeo

ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

Jimmy Rankin

RISING STAR

Chad Brownlee

Jake Barefoot and Number One

Jake Owen loves getting up close and personal with his fans on Twitter.  He's actually used the social network to organize spontaneous trips to the lake in Nashville on his boat and hang out with fans in bars. 


Some of the people on his team have tried to discourage this behavior though.  "I've had more and more people tell me, 'Jake, you need to have some sort of mystique and mysteriousness to you,'" Jake tells Billboard.  "I've never had that.  I like being in the bar with people having beers.  I don't want to be the guy hiding on the bus." 


You can follow Jake on Twitter -- @jakeowen. 


His new album, Barefoot Blue Jean Night, is now in stores and online featuring the hit title cut.

Hat-less Cowboys On Display

people.com
New York Times reporter Jon Caramanica has written and scoped out latest country music trend…The cowboy hat-less.

While it seems the cowboy hat is a thing of the past for much of what’s popular in Nashville, the article assumes it’s part of a “plan.”  

Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Rodney Atkins, and Dierks Bentley normally opt for a ball cap, while hat-less…Keith Urban, Joe Nichols and recently Chris Young. Seem to do fine wearing no head wear. 

Now to really confuse you…Kenny Chesney wears a ‘Cowboy Hat’ during his shows but never when not on stage and this year during the ‘Water  Tour 2’ Brad Paisley took of his Cowboy hat and tossed it into the crowd and then put on a baseball hat.  Garth Brooks on his last appearance on the Oprah show wore a baseball hat choosing to not wear the traditional Cowboy Hat. 

Now I am going to blow your mind and the writer for the New York Times. Zac Brown is the most innovate act I have seen in some time in country music yet he wears a ball cap off stage but on stage he “Keeps His Head Warm” with a Beanie.  

Zac cooks too!  That should be really confusing to that writer!

Ashton Shepherd Welcomes Number Two

Congratulations goes out today to singer Ashton Shepherd and her husband Roland Cunningham who welcomed the birth of their daughter Friday. Raden Delilah Cunningham was born in Demopolis, Alabama and weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and she was 19 1/2 inches.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Keith Urban and Mercury Blues Video

Keith Urban made a ‘shadowy’ appearance on Alan Jackson’s 1994 Mercury Blues video. Keith was new to Nashville when he heard that Alan was shooting a video and needed a long-haired guitar player in the video. 
Keith got the job thanks to Alan’s manager who at the time was running the publishing company that Keith signed with.  

Keith on shooting the video said he knew Alan was known for being ‘quiet’ and kept waiting for Alan to acknowledge him but Alan never said a word.  Keith admits they are friends now.

Underwood and Tony Bennett Duet

Video of Carrie Underwood and Tony Bennett's upcoming performance on CBS's Blue Bloods has surfaced. 
The show will air on September 23, and Entertainment Weekly has posted a trailer of the season premiere featuring Tony and Carrie's duet on "It Had to Be You."  

The song also appears on Tony's new album Duets II, coming out September 20.  Faith Hill and Willie Nelson are also featured on Tony's new project.

Brad Paisley's Diary

Brad Paisley‘s first major book, titled The Diary of a Player, with Howard Books, will be available in hard cover November 1st, according to Simon and Schuster.

The book is a salute to the guitar gods of country, blues, and rock & roll who have shaped his life. The Diary of a Player is the very personal story of how Brad became who he is today.  The essence of the book is captured in the liner notes he wrote for his instrumental album Play.

“When I was eight I got a gift from my grandpa. No coincidence that around that time I also got an identity. See, no matter how I have changed, learned and evolved as a person, the guitar has been a major part of it, and really the only constant. A crutch, a shrink, a friend, love interest, parachute, flying machine, soapbox, canvas, liability, investment, jackpot, tease, a sage, a gateway, an addiction, a recovery, backstage pass, pickup line, weapon of revenge, a makeover, compass, target, icebreaker, a temptress, a church, a voice, veil, armor, and lifeline. My grandpa knew it could be many of these things for me, but mostly he just wanted me to never be alone. He said if I learned to play, anything would be manageable, and life would be richer. You can get through some real tough moments with that guitar on your knee. When life gets intense, there are people who drink, who seek counseling, eat, watch TV, pray, cry, sleep, and so on. I play.”  

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Zac Is Your Host In Charleston

Zac Brown Band will host its Southern Ground Music & Food Festival in Charleston, SC, October 21 through 23.

Eric Church will perform along with Train, My Morning Jacket and other acts including some from Zac Brown's Southern Ground record label. 

Some of the world's top chefs will also be there to provide gourmet meals for festival-goers. Tickets go on sale to the general public Saturday, September 10 at 10 a.m. ET through SouthernGroundFestival.com and Ticketfly.com.