Stars Welcoming the New Year

Many of them are working to help fans celebrate. Several artists have taken the time off around the holidays and will hit it hard when they return to the road in mid-January. Some artists have resolutions, and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.

Lady Antebellum will perform live on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest as cameras will cut away to their headlining concert during Music City’s New Year’s Eve Bash on Broadway. The ABC show will also feature performances by Taylor Swift, One Direction, Elton John, Gavin DeGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Meghan Trainor, Fergie, Idina Menzel, Iggy Azaela, Jason Derulo, Train, Snoop Dogg and Nashville star Charles Esten, among others. Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest airs at 8pm ET on ABC.

By the way, more than 100,000 people are expected to attend the big New Year’s Eve concert in downtown Nashville. It will be one of the largest crowds Lady Antebellum has performed for in their career, and they are so excited. “It’s such a way to celebrate the end of what was one of the greatest years of our career. It’s fun — rewarding in every sense of the word,” Lady A’s Hillary Scott tells the Tennessean.

Keith Urban will spend New Year’s Eve (along with his family) in Niagara Falls, Canada headlining a free show. Nick Jonas and Shawn Mendes will also perform.

Kelleigh Bannen will be wrapping her stint as opening act on Cole Swindell’s Down Home Tour on New Year’s Eve at Wild Bill’s in Duluth, Georgia.

Sam Hunt will ring in the New Year at Boondocks in Springfield, Illinois.

Lady Antebellum CRS 2015 Humanitarian Award

In December of 2012, Lady Antebellum established LadyAID, through which they continue to raise money and support kids in need on a local, national and global level through Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network, and myLIFEspeaks.

Armed with this overwhelming passion to help kids everywhere, Hillary Scott has spent time in Haitian orphanages helping to rebuild and serve the children. Charles Kelley has hosted his own golf tournament to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and his father’s John W Kelley MD Cardiovascular Endowment at University Health Care Foundation.  And Dave, along with Charles and Hillary, established a ping-pong challenge called Ping Pong & Songs during CMA Music Fest to benefit the children supported through LadyAID (a component fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee).

Since the beginning of their career, Charles, Dave and Hillary of Lady Antebellum have used their music and their likeness to make a difference in people’s lives. Whether it was their most recent week-long 7FOR7 campaign where they traveled across the country to surprise and fulfill seven wishes for seven fans in seven days; to taking on rebuilding a flood damaged elementary school in Kingston Springs or lifting the spirits of the community of Henryville, IN by performing at their high school after tornadoes ravaged the town, raising more than $240,000 for them; to raising money for at-risk youth, Lady Antebellum has been there to lend not only their voices and time, but also their hearts and money to make a difference.

CRS President Charlie Morgan stated, "It is always humbling and inspiring to learn of the great work that Country Artists do behind the scenes to share the many blessings and gifts that come with fame and stardom.  I would argue no format has a more generous group of artists than we do and at CRS 2015 we will pay special tribute to one of the best, Lady Antebellum with our Artist Humanitarian Award."

The CRB Artist Humanitarian Award was created in 1990 by the organization’s board to honor those Country music artists who have exhibited exceptional humanitarian efforts during their career.  Past recipients of the annual award have included Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, Randy Owen, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Reba, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks and Charlie Daniels, among others.

NEWS AND NOTES: Keith, Little Big Town, Strait, Lady A, Kacey, Luke, Dierks

Keith Urban picked up two ARIA Award nominations (Australia’s version of The Grammy Awards). He’s up for Best Country Album (for Fuse) and Best Live Act (for his Light The Fuse Tour). In the States, he’s nominated for several CMA Awards, including Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Album of the Year (for Fuse) and Musical Event of the Year for “We Were Us” with Miranda Lambert.

You can cruise the high seas with Little Big Town during the 2015 Carnival LIVE concert series. The band will perform three times on the “Fun Ships” in Nassau (March 30th, 31st and April 1st). Visit www.carnival.com/CarnivalLIVE for more information.

George Strait is featured cover-to-cover in a new commemorative “bookazine” that was just released by the Academy of Country Music. The collector’s edition celebrates the Country Music Hall of Famer’s career, life (including exclusive photos from his Texas ranch), behind-the scenes and much more. The “bookazine” is on newsstands now.

Lady Antebellum and Kacey Musgraves will be among the artists performing on the new ABC TV Special, Countdown to the CMA Awards: 15 Songs That Changed Country Music next month. The special, which is hosted by Robin Roberts and also features Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line, Hunter Hayes, Rascal Flatts and Martina McBride, will air Monday, November 3rd at 10pm ET on ABC.

Lady Antebellum are together again with Stevie Nicks. They appear on the song “Blue Water” from the legendary performer’s new album, 24 Karat Gold.

  -- Universal Music/Nashville

Country Is Well-Represented In Film

Thomas Rhett, Hunter Hayes, Lady Antebellum, Eric Paslay, Kacey Musgraves, Kip Moore, David Nail, Thompson Square and Colbie Caillat, among others, are among the artists featured on The Best of Me soundtrack.

“Having a song in The Best of Me soundtrack is really cool for me," says Thomas. "Me and my wife have been huge fans of Nicholas Sparks for a long time. I thinkt hat most girls were since they saw The Notebook. For me, I actually got to read the book, The Best of Me, which was awesome. This is the first song I’ve ever had in a movie before. So, it’s a really cool thing,"

Hunter agrees, and says it's a dream come true for him to have a song in the movie. "One of the coolest things as a songwriter is being anywhere at any point in time and being caught off guard by hearing your song," says Hunter. "And one of the coolest, I’ve always thought, one of the biggest dreams is sitting in a movie theater watching a movie [and having your song come on]."

The soundtrack to the film was released this week, while the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' film hits theaters nationwide October 17th.

Lady Antebellum's "7 For 7" Goes Into Day #3 And From Miami To "Today" In New York

LA's second stop on the 7 For 7 campaign brought them to NYC on 747 release day to surprise longtime fan, Katharine Laventis, on The Today Show!

Simply put – Katharine is a loyal, understanding, and kindhearted friend to many of her peers and is diligently putting herself through nursing school. Katharine – you rock and we're proud to have you as a fan.

More on the event (click here).

A New "Baby-Bellum"

Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood and wife Kelli Cashiola Haywood welcomed their first child on Sunday (September 7th).

“So happy to have a healthy baby boy here with us! Cash Van Haywood was born last night,” Dave announced on Twitter Monday afternoon. “Mom and Dad are doing great and couldn’t be happier!”

The newest Baby A weighed in at 7 lbs. and is 19 inches long. Cash is taken from Kelli’s maiden name Cashiola and Van is Dave’s father’s name.

The baby's arrival came a bit earlier than everyone expected, causing the group to cancel their show Sunday evening at Allegan County Fair in Michigan (Joe Nichols filled in for the band).

Dave has a few days to spend with his family before the release of the band's album release, 747, September 30th.

Country Stars Stand Under Ice Buckets

Luke Bryan was challenged by his buddy and opening act Cole Swindell in the #icebucketchallenge to fight ALS. Dierks Bentley, who had already done the challenge, and Lee Brice were in attendance and added a little commentary to the event.

Darius Rucker braved the icy cold water and took the #icebucketchallenge and in turn challenged Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley, who was also called out by Luke Bryan. Charles called out model/actress Kate Upton, who appears in the band's video for "Bartender."

The #icebucketchallenge has helped raise more than $2 million for the national ALS Association since July 29th.

In addition to Darius, Luke and Charles, folks like Dierks Bentley, Scotty McCreery, Lee Brice, Cole Swindell, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Justin Timberlake, Martha Stewart, NBC's Matt Lauer and Hoda Kotb and even the Kennedy family.

Lady A Will Be Up Very Late On 12/31

Seven-time GRAMMY-winning country trio Lady Antebellum will headline the Jack Daniel’s New Year’s Eve Bash on Broadway, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) announced today. Music City will once again offer one of the biggest New Year’s Eve celebrations in the country with a free concert and Nashville’s own midnight “Music Note Drop®.”

“In just six years, the event has rapidly grown to be one of the biggest New Year’s Eve productions in the country,” said Ken Levitan, chairman of the NCVC board of directors and president of Vector Management. “It’s a major draw for visitors and locals alike, generating a tremendous amount of revenue for Nashville. The event has grown every year and drawn international attention to Music City. Lady A assures that we continue that upward trajectory.”

“We’re so looking forward to celebrating New Year’s this year in our hometown,” said Lady A’s Hillary Scott. “It’s such a magical time of year, so getting to be home with our friends, family and all of Nashville downtown on Broadway will be such a fun way to ring in 2015!”

The Bash on Broadway has grown exponentially since its inception, with the 2013 event generating $13.6 million in direct visitor spending. City officials estimated a record 85,000 people lined the streets of Broadway to experience the live concert series, Music Note Drop® and fireworks display, up from 55,000 in 2012.

Jack Daniel’s Bash on Broadway is produced by the NCVC for the city of Nashville and presented by Jack Daniel’s. The celebration is sponsored by Advance Financial, Anderson Benson Insurance, Carl Black Chevrolet, McDonald’s, Durango Boot, Korbel, Miller Lite and Coors Light.

Announcement of additional artists will be forthcoming. For the latest details about talent and events, visit www.visitmusiccity.com/newyearseve.

Lady Antebellum Does Some Experimentation

The seven-time GRAMMY award winning trio dropped the lead single “Bartender” off their upcoming fifth studio album today. The swampy, sultry breakup anthem is available on Country Radio now and will be available for purchase at digital retailers on May 20th.

Written by Lady A’s Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and co-writer Rodney Clawson, the trio enlisted Nathan Chapman to co-produce the new single featuring Scott’s lead vocal and the trio’s signature harmonies.

“For this new stuff, we wanted keep the core of Lady A, while also experimenting with new sounds and ideas,” said Kelley. “Nathan was really instrumental in pushing us to try different harmonies and new songs that were a little out of the box for us. There’s a lot of energy that comes with those changes and ‘Bartender’ is just of taste of what we’ve been working on.”

Rather than the late night drunk-dial approach of the band's international smash hit "Need You Now," these lyrics are poised to become a female anthem centered around washing an ex's memory away with whiskey on a wild girls' night out.

“I love this song because there’s something empowering about not going for the rebound or just moping around over a guy,” said Scott. “There are those times in your life when you need to feel sorry for yourself and be sad, but this song is all about hitting the dance floor with your girlfriends and just forgetting him.”

“We’ve been crazy busy writing, and when we’re this deep into it, we get so excited about new music that we can’t wait to get it out,” added Dave Haywood. “We’ve been outdoors playing amphitheaters and are loving the energy that the fans bring to those outdoor shows. So, when we sat down to write with Rodney for the first time, we really wanted some new stuff to keep fans on their feet.”

The trio is set to perform the new single when they kick off Good Morning America’s summer concert series live from Central Park on May 23rd. From New York City, the trio will continue on their headlining 2014 TAKE ME DOWNTOWN TOUR.

LA And Kip Moore Exchange Gifts

It was his last night on Lady Antebellum's Take Me Downtown Tour and so a special event was in order.

Click to watch the video.

ACM Presents: An All Star Salute to the Troops

Coming to Vegas for the ACM Awards? Want to show your appreciation to our nation’s service men and women? Stick around on Monday, April 7^th, for ACM Presents: An All-Star Salute to the Troops, a live concert special.

Country music superstars Merle Haggard, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, and The Band Perry are the first artists to be added to the star-studded line-up of performers taking to the stage Monday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The special will be broadcast Tuesday, May 20 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS.

Tickets for ACM Presents: An All Star Salute to the Troops are on sale NOW at Ticketmaster, beginning at $105. All ticket sales will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music. Get your tickets HERE!

ACM Honors Tuesday Night

The 7th Annual ACM Honors is shaping up to be an incredible evening! Dierks Bentley is amped up about hosting the event, and YOU can be a part of it with us. Why listen to us? 

 

Hear it straight from Dierks. WATCH HERE

 

ACM Honors will take place Tuesday, September 10th at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The evening is dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Honorees include Special Award recipients Jason Aldean, Guy Clark, Blake Shelton, Tommy Wiggins, Lady Antebellum and The Judds. Keith Whitley and Hank Williams will also be honored posthumously.

 

Performers for the night include Dierks, Rodney Crowell & Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill & Paul Franklin, Kree Harrison, Dave Haywood & Charles Kelley, Jamey Johnson, Robert Earl Keen, Lorrie Morgan, Jesse Keith Whitley, Chris Young, The Mavericks and Thompson Square. Presenters include Big & Rich, Deana Carter, Vince Gill, David Nail, Darius Rucker, Don Schlitz and Steve Wariner.

Lady Antebellum Adds 40 New 2014 Tour Dates

Previously announced guests for the 2013 run, Kip Moore and Kacey Musgraves, will also continue with the group for the second leg of the tour that begins January 9th in Charleston, West Virginia and runs through April.

 

Lady A recently announced their 50-plus city North American TAKE ME DOWNTOWN TOUR, which will open November 8th in Southaven, Mississippi. First tour dates begin to go on sale September 13th. Fans can visit www.ladyantebellum.com for the most updated on-sale information for all tour dates and www.cidentertainment.com/ladyantebellum for VIP opportunities.

TAKE ME DOWNTOWN TOUR 2014 North American Dates:

1/9  Charleston, WV  Charleston Civic Center on sale Oct 4

1/10 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena on sale Nov 15

1/11 Greenville, SC Bi-Lo Center on sale Oct 4

1/14 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena on sale Oct 4

1/18 Wichita, KS Intrust Bank Arena on sale Nov 15

1/19 Lubbock, TX United Spirit Arena on sale Nov 8

1/30 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center on sale Nov 8

2/7 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum on sale Oct 18

2/8 Jacksonville, FL Veterans Memorial Arena on sale Oct 18

2/14 Bossier City, LA CenturyLInk Center on sale Dec 6

2/15 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena on sale Nov 15

2/16 Lafayette, LA Cajundome on sale Oct 18

2/20 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center on sale Oct 18

2/21 New York, NY Madison Square Garden on sale Oct 4

2/22 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena on sale Nov 22

2/28 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre on sale Nov 22

3/1 London, ON Budweiser Gardens on sale Nov 22

3/6 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre on sale Nov 22

3/7 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place on sale Nov 22

3/8 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome on sale Nov 22

3/10 Vancouver, BC Pacific National Exhibition on sale Nov 22

3/12 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena on sale Oct 4

3/14 Reno, NV Lawler Events Center on sale Oct 4

3/15 Ontario, CA CBBankArena on sale Oct 4

3/16 Fresno, CA Save Mart Arena on sale Sep 27

3/18 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center on sale Oct 4

3/21 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center on sale Oct 4

3/22 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center on sale Dec 13

3/24 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center on sale Dec 13

3/25 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center on sale Nov 15

3/27 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena on sale Sep 27

3/28 Tulsa, OK BOK Center on sale Sep 20

4/11 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena on sale Nov 15

4/12 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena on sale Dec 6

4/26 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena on sale Nov 22

4/27 Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena on sale Oct 18

ADDITIONAL TOUR NOTES: The tour will make a stop in Roanoke, VA at Roanoke Civic Center on Thursday, December 12th, 2013. Tickets go on sale September 13th. Cincinnati, OH, previously scheduled on December 12th, moves to Tuesday, January 14th, 2014.
Last year, Lady A hosted over one million fans across the globe in 11 countries on their first headlining world tour, which earned them Billboard Touring’s “Breakthrough Award,” CMA’s “International Artists Achievement Award” and will accept the “Jim Reeves International Award” at this fall’s ACM Honors. For updates on tour dates and ticket info, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

Carrie Underwood Hosts "After Midnight"

RadioInfo reports Carrie is the first star to guest host Premiere Networks’ syndicated radio program, hosting the show August 1 and 2.  

With the departure of longtime host Blair Garner, Premiere is opening the mic to country music superstars to guest host the show through the rest of 2013 and Underwood is the first of 20 artists who will appear on the program.  

The rest of August will be hosted by Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood and Jake Owen.  Underwood is pictured here in the studio recording her first “After Midnight” program.

LA Announces "Take Me Downtown" Tour '13

Seven-time GRAMMY award-winning trio Lady Antebellum has announced the first leg of their headlining tour 2013. The group has invited Kip Moore and Kacey Musgraves to join the arena tour kicking off Nov. 8 in Southaven, MS and running through December. Fans can purchase tickets and special VIP experiences beginning Sept. 13. Visit www.ladyantebellum.com for the most updated on-sale information and www.cidentertainment.com/ladyantebellum for VIP opportunities.

“We spent almost every day last year backstage writing for our album GOLDEN, so we were really focused on writing songs that would connect with the fans in these arenas.  We definitely learned a lot about ourselves as live performers and the type of catalog we wanted to have so that we could go out and try to give the fans the best show they've ever experienced," explains Lady A's Charles Kelley.  "All of that was the jumping off point for this tour, and now it's time to take it to the next level."

 Last year, Lady A hosted over one million fans across the globe in 11 countries on their first headlining world tour, which earned them Billboard Touring’s “Breakthrough Award,” CMA’s “International Artists Achievement Award” and will accept the “Jim Reeves International Award” at this fall’s ACM Honors. The shows were inspirational and critics praised the band’s “youthful exuberance and unending energy.”

Lady A Cuts The Ribbon: Fan Fair X Opens

The Tennessean reports that thousands gathered in a hallway at the Music City Center, craning for a view of the ribbon-cutting and then entering a massive exhibit hall to view vendor booths and to attend a question-and-answer session and performance by Lady Antebellum.

Lady A’s Hillary Scott:  “(We) just really want to engage with the fans that way and really give them something extra.”

The trio performed an acoustic set on the CMA Close Up Stage and answered audience questions before heading to sign autographs at their booth.

CMA Fan Fair eXperiences and eXpands

Fan Fair X takes over Nashville's newest, most state-of-the-art venue - the Music City Center on Thursday, June 6.

Lady Antebellum will kick off the week with "Lady A Day at FFX" when the group cuts the ribbon as the Fan Fair X doors officially open.

From the new Fan Fair X, Lady A will perform, sign autographs in their custom "backstage" booth @ClubLabellum, answer questions from fans in an interview segment called CMA Close Up, and launch their PING PONG & SONGS event to include the thousands of fans in town for the Festival.

Lady Antebellum's "Golden" LP Debits At #1

The seven-time GRAMMY winning trio scores their third consecutive debut this week atop Billboard’s all-genre Top 200 Chart with their fourth studio album GOLDEN, which sold more than 167,000 copies in its first week.

“It’s been so fun to get feedback from our fans,” said Hillary Scott. “There are so many ways for us to hear from them and I love finding out how people are relating to different songs. We’re really proud of this album and thankful for all the fans and to Country Radio for supporting both ‘Downtown’ and now 'Goodbye Town’ this week!” 

People awarded the new album 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it “their best yet.”

Country Star Favorite Charities

“My Cause” artist and charities:

• Tim McGraw: Operation Homefront
• Jason Aldean: Susan G Komen
• The Band Perry: Notes for Notes
• Dierks Bentley: Miles & Music
• Luke Bryan: Shriners Hospital
• Florida Georgia Line: The Boot Campaign
• John Fogerty: Wounded Warrior Project
• Brantley Gilbert: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
• Faith Hill: Neighbor’s Keeper
• Lady Antebellum: LadyAID
• Nelly: Make-A-Wish Foundation (St. Louis Chapter)
• Ne-Yo: Compound Foundation
• Pitbull: Imagination Foundation
• Taylor Swift: MusiCares
• Keith Urban: MusiCares

Country artists are superstars with big hearts, and that was clearly displayed at this year’s ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night, which airs this Sunday on CBS. It was a night of laughs and great music in addition to supporting the charitable arm of the Academy,  ACM Lifting Lives.

 

Each artist that performed on the show was given the opportunity to select a charity of their choice to receive a $10,000 donation from ACM Lifting Lives. Click on the links below to watch “My Cause” videos and find out more about these great organizations.

Lady Antebellum's Special Disneyland Steaming Event

"LA" is doing a special show this week and it will be streaming online starting at 8am ET on Monday the 29th (click) from the 'Golden Horseshoe' at Disneyland.