Little Big Town Turn The Lights On

LBT released their album, Pain Killer, this week.

Anchored by their current Top 10 hit, “Day Drinking,” the album boasts several key life-affirming tracks, including “Quit Breaking Up With Me,” the title track, “Girl Crush” and “Turn the Lights On,” which the band can certainly identify with and even use to help other artists who have given up.

“We were talking about when you’re chasing something that you want to do as an artist, and you get knocked down or you’re gonna get rejected, you have to decide what you’re gonna do at that moment,” explains Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild. “You’re either gonna pick yourself up and be a better artist, better person, or you’re just gonna lie down and take it and just go away. We see it happen all the time. So many talented people come to Nashville and some quit, and they might be the best singers and songwriters and they just give up, because they get knocked down a couple of times.”

If Little Big Town had done that when they lost a record deal…or three…it would have been a very sad day in Nashville to not hear these four voices blend and soar as they were born to do.

Little Big Town, who is nominated for CMA Vocal Group of the Year, will sing the National Anthem at Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals on Friday (October 24th) beginning at 8pm ET on FOX.

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

Little Big Town Invited To Join The Opry

The critically acclaimed Grammy®-winning vocal group (Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook) was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry by Opry member and friend Reba McEntire.  The group will be formally inducted into the Opry on Fri., Oct. 17 by Opry member Vince Gill.

As the group finished a three-song set with its smash “Pontoon,” McEntire appeared from the side of the stage, improvising on the song’s last few words. “I know the Grand Ole Opry is very important to y’all, because this is the first place you guys played together as a group in 1999,” McEntire began after the impromptu collaboration. “I have been asked to ask y’all, Little Big Town, would y’all like to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry?”

After hugs with McEntire and between the members as well as a collective “yes” from the group, McEntire said, “Special moments like this—they’re priceless.”

Speaking for the group, Fairchild cheered, “Thank you, Grand Ole Opry! We will try to make you proud!”

Little Big Town Welcomes You to CMA Music Festival

For more on Music City's annual BIG event, celebrating country music and our fans, click here.

Little Big Town Impressed with Canadians Tolerance with Cold and Nanny’s Good Ear

Little Big Town stopped by AOB partners CJBX in London recently to chat with afternoon host Gary Taylor of BX93.

The quartet were on a Canadian tour during what some are calling the winter of a century with the extreme cold and told Gary that they were impressedwith people in Canada handling the -17temperatures with no worries.

Little Big Town’s latest single ‘SOBER’ was discussed and the group revealed that the song made the ‘Tornado’ album at the last minute but was actually discovered at a songwriters round atthe famous Bluebird Café by their kids nanny.

Eli Young Band Gets Good Advice From Little Big Town

The Eli Young Band has two babies in the family now, Mike Eli’s daughter, Kline, who is 1 ½ and Jon Jones’ son, Hudson, who is one, and the guys say some of the best advice they ever got about how to bring their kids on the road came from Little Big Town.

“We’ve been on two different tours with them, and the first time when they just pretty much had newborns, like really small babies,” says Jon. “And now they’re running around and it looks like a playground explodes out of their bus every time it stops. But it’s just like, they’re all on the bus together and they make it work, and it’s very seamless.”

The Eli Young Band, who just released their new single, “Dust,” says one of the things that impressed them about how Little Big Town balances family and career is that they still find time to hang out and party and be part of the tour fun while still being great parents. “You can tell their children are having this great upbringing on the road and it’s very normal for them,” says Jon. “So I think just seeing their experience, seeing them go through it, I think for us was just a confirmation that yeah we can make this work.”

Little Big Town Embodies Perseverance

The reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year has been tapped to present a panel about perseverance in the country music industry at next year’s CRS (Country Radio Seminar), which will be hosted by longtime radio personality Bob Kingsley. The session will take place in Nashville during the annual convention, which runs February 19th – 21st.

The members of Little Big Town remained (and still remain) steadfast in their goals of achieving musical success despite the trials, tribulations, personal tragedies and triumphs they experienced over the past 14 years. During the panel, they will share stories about their perseverance as a band, which eventually landed them a #1 album, 2 #1 singles, a Grammy Award, ACM/CMA Vocal Group of the Year and various awards and accolades.

Throughout their career, the group, made up of members Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet, have stuck together through several challenging label changes. They received their first record deal with Mercury Nashville Records before moving to Sony’s Monument Records, where they released their debut album. From there, the band went from the small independent label, Equity Music Group, to their current label, Capitol Records, which was later taken over by major label, Universal Music Group.

"It's an honor to be asked to be a part of CRS this year and especially the chance to share some of our story as a band through the last 14 years," said Little Big Town. “It's definitely been about perseverance for us."

"Throughout every challenge the band has had, they've continued to establish and develop so many relationships and give back in so many ways," said Bob Kingsley.  "Their ability to adapt to situations and stay ahead is a hard feat, and one that we can all learn from."

Less Than A Month To The CMA Awards

In addition to celebrating the Country genre by honoring the best in the format with industry voted awards, the CMA Awards are also home to some of the most memorable performances and collaborations in music.

The first round of performers hitting the stage this year include Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.

Keith Urban Will Be In Cleveland Sunday!

Severe weather in New York City grounded Urban's flight to Cleveland, causing him to miss his concert date last night (9/12). The show at Blossom Music Center went on with openers Dustin Lynch and Little Big Town. 

Urban sent his apologies via YouTube and promised a raincheck for ticket holders this Sunday (9/15).   -- Country Aircheck

Keith Urban and Little Big Town Are "Flying High"

Many collaborations are happening (click to watch one of them) on Keith Urban's Light the Fuse Tour 2013, but here's one that happened in Cincinnati between him and Little Big Town on his No. 1 hit, "You Gonna Fly."

Little Big Town Raises $115,000 for Blood Water Mission

The Grammy award-winning group recently took the stage at Rolling Hills Farm in Franklin, TN in an effort to raise money for Blood:Water Mission, a local non-profit committed to empowering communities to work together against the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa.

This event is the second house concert that Little Big Town has performed for Blood:Water Mission, drawing an impressive crowd on both occasions. From government officials to sports superstars, support of Blood:Water Mission has crossed multiple societal thresholds. This year's guest list included Governor and First Lady Haslam, Titans quarterback Jake Locker, author John Acuff, EPSN College Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, and Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney with his wife Tiffany Fallon Rooney, to name a few.

The evening began with the story of how Jars of Clay and Jena Nardella formed Blood:Water Mission with just $1,000, the goal of the event being to raise 100 times that amount. With this goal in mind, the attendees contributed a total of over $115,000 to be used for Blood:Water Mission's HIV/AIDS and water projects throughout subsaharan Africa.

Country Music On New Years Eve

CMT's Edward Morris checked the venues and tour schedules:

Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve telecast on ABC hosted by Ryan Seacrest (Dec. 31) with Swift performing in New York's Times Square, while Aldean will be performing in Los Angeles. 

Willie Nelson is set to do an Austin City Limits show that evening at Austin's Moody Theater that will be broadcast live on Sirius XM satellite radio.

The Zac Brown Band is at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Little Big Town heats things up at Wild Bill's in Duluth, Ga.

Florida Georgia Line headlines an already-sold-out show at Boondocks in Springfield, Ill.

Gary Allan carries country music's flag into the House of Blues in Las Vegas.

The Eli Young Band plays Choctaw Casino in Grant, Okla.

Meanwhile, the supergroup Alabama just announced a "Festival at Sea" celebration cruise for next October to commemorate their 40 years together.

Little Big Town Joins 'X-FACTOR' Winner

Little Big Town joined season #2 winning contestant Tate Stevens on X-Factor.

They performed the group's No. 1 tune, "Pontoon," together on the show.

"He makes country music proud," said Little Big Town's Kimberly Schlapman.

Stevens was mentored by music exec L.A. Reid on the second season of "The X Factor," and won the Fox singing competition.

The 37-year-old country singer from Belton, Mo., beat runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar, a 13-year-old schoolgirl from Westchester, N.Y., and teenage girl group Fifth Harmony on the finale that aired live Thursday night.

"Grammy Nominations Live" From Nashvile

Last night's Grammy Nominations Concert Live broadcast from Nashville featured country performers, Little Big Town, and Chris Young, as presenters…plus…performances by Luke Bryan, Hunter Hayes, a terrific tribute to Johnny Cash by The Band Perry and Dierks Bentley singing "Jackson."  Also, 6-time grammy winner, Taylor Swift, co-Hosted the show with LL Cool J.

In the opening Taylor welcomed LL Cool J. to town, offering to be his tour guide of music city.  Taylor then tried her best rapping ability and LL sang a bit of Taylor's "Mean."
Hunter Hayes lead off the singing announcements of nominees singing the list of nominees that included Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5.

The show, broadcast from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, was broadcast on HDTV and CBS TV..

Launching in conjunction with last night's  "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live…Countdown To Music's Biggest Night, airing Dec. 5 on CBS, music fans can log on to GRAMMY.com or CBS.com to pre-order the album and enter to win a trip for two to the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Music's Biggest Night will be held on Sunday Feb. 10, 2013 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

 - NEIL HAISLOP's NASHVILLE IQ ©

Is There A Country Song Called "Golf And Target?"

Nashville's Country Aircheck interviewed Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook this week and he says playing golf keeps him sane as the band tours together.

"A lot of times you’re in these buildings all day long, and it’s nice to unwind outdoors. The girls go to Target. We should own stock there. We were out for three weeks straight over the summer, and we have a lot of people on our bus with all our babies, so it can get stressful. At one stop, the girls rented a car and spent four hours at Target."

Capitol/Nashville Is Country Aircheck's Label Of The Year

The honor is their third year's in a row, driven by the radio airplay success of Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker and other newcomers who are connecting with listeners. Here's the musical Christmas card (click to see and hear it) from President/CEO Mike Dungan, SVP/Promotion Steve Hodges and their teams to the entire industry. It's a clue to their smarts and success that they use Little Big Town to deliver the greeting instead of one of their superstars.

Urban Headlines "All For The Hall" Concert

Keith Urban's We're All for the Hall benefit concert returns to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on January 18.

Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Little Big Town and The Oak Ridge Boys have already signed on to perform, and more artists will be announced later.

Tickets go on sale November 4 through Ticketmaster and proceeds go to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

The first two We're All for the Hall concerts have raised about $1 million for the Hall of Fame.

Sugarland Helping Tornado Victims

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of Sugarland are standing up in support of the victims of last month’s Alabama tornados, as well as the more recent victims in Joplin, Missouri, with a special performance and video clip of “Stand Up” from their Platinum certified The Incredible Machine album.


“Stand Up (For Tornado Relief),” featuring friends and tour mates Little Big Town, premiered May 31st on iTunes. All proceeds will go to the American Red Cross.


“Stand Up (For Tornado Relief),” featuring Little Big Town, was filmed in Chicago and Minneapolis earlier in May while on their 2011 The Incredible Machine Tour.

Little Big Town Follows Sugarland Around

Little Big Town has toured with Sugarland numerous times throughout the past few years, including on Sugarland’s current tour.


So what is it about LBT that Sugarland admires so much?


“We love their voices, and we are friends with them and love them as people,” Jennifer Nettles says. “You want to surround yourself with people with similar work and they are most certainty that.”


“Come on, what’s not fun about getting up there and singing with a whole choir of beautiful voices,” she adds.
Kristian Bush agrees with Nettles. “They are fearless and that’s something that doesn’t happen often in music and I love it.”


Fans can catch Little Big Town with Sugarland on select dates of the 2011 The Incredible Machine Tour.

Little Big Town Sings in the Shower with Sugarland

Credit: sugarland.com and littlebigtown.com

Little Big Town has been touring with Sugarland on The Incredible Machine tour for quite a while now, and the two groups have gotten so close they're even singing in the shower together.

While working up their cover of the Mumford & Sons song "Sigh No More," the members of Sugarland and Little Big Town were having trouble hearing each other singing in their dressing room. Little Big Town's Kimberly Schlappman explains, "Somebody said, 'Let's just go to the shower,' and we did. It sounded killer in there, but it was just a nasty, old venue shower."


Little Big Town and Sugarland have also talked about writing songs together on this leg of their tour. "We love collaborating together, but we love watching each other too, you know, perform," Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild says. "Their show is really exciting. If you haven't seen the Incredible Machine tour, it's incredible." Little Big Town resumes their spot on Sugarland's tour May 13th in Ohio.