Author Archives: Shauna "WhiskeyChick" Castorena

About Shauna "WhiskeyChick" Castorena

Shauna "WhiskeyChick" Castorena is a freelance writer for both Country Music News and Country Music On Tour. Want to collab on some content? Email me. Want my rates for commercial promo work? Get them right here.

A Taylor-Free Award Show?

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In a spectacular ACM Awards Show tonight, one thing was blaringly clear: Taylor Swift is NOT an industry darling anymore! Taylor Swift may have performed during tonight’s Academy of Country Music awards show, but that’s the only stage time she’d get as the peer-voted industry award show shunned the pop princess. Miranda Lambert walked away with 3 awards including Top Female Vocalist and Album of the Year, Carrie Underwood takes away Entertainer of the Year for the second year straight, and Taylor… well Taylor’s probably counting the days till the next fan-voted awards show so millions of texting teens can keep her thanking Mom and God with her shaking hands and ever-surprised face. So what led to this lack of industry peer votes for team Taylor? Perhaps over-saturation? Much like the Hannah Montana craze, have many grown adults heard Taylor’s tunes courtesy of their little girls radios so often that they are now on absolute burnout? Perhaps. Or perhaps, and far more likely, Taylor has been outdone by pure talent. With such a rock-solid performance of “The House That Built Me” from Miranda Lambert, the flaws in Taylor’s live vocals were painfully clear. Add to it the almost too-technically-perfect Carrie Underwood, and the timelessly amazing Reba McEntire all on the same show, and suddenly Taylor is looking more like the little kid they let in for fun. I KNOW I’ll get a ton of hateful comments, but please, just for one minute, do the math and open your mind to the idea that the perfect princess may not be so perfect after all.Country Music Photo Gallery

2010 ACM Award Winners – Full List

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Congratulations to all the amazing winners from the 2010 ACM Awards The 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards are over and all the winners awarded. Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum and more gave some of their best performances to date. Meanwhile Taylor Swift, Laura Bell Bundy, and Rascal Flatts all seemed to struggle with the live audio. Top it all off with Carrie Underwood winning Entertainer of the Year! 2010 ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD WINNERS ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Carrie Underwood TOP MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Brad Paisley TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Miranda Lambert TOP VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR Lady Antebellum TOP VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR Brooks & Dunn TOP NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR *Luke Bryan ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)] *’Revolution’ – Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville) Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)] *’Need You Now’ – Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville) Produced by: Lady Antebellum, Paul Worley SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)] *’Need You Now’ – Lady Antebellum Composers: Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott Publishers: EMI Foray Music (BMI), Darth Buddha (ASCAP), Dwhaywood Music (BMI), Hillary Dawn Publishing (SESAC), Radiobullets Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Year Of The Dog Music (ASCAP) VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] ‘*White Liar’ – Miranda Lambert Producer: Tameron Hedge Director: Chris Hicky VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] *’Hillbilly Bone’ – Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins (Reprise Records / Warner Music Nashville) Producer: Scott Hendricks HUMANITARIAN AWARD – Montgomery GentryCountry Music Photo Gallery

Rocklahoma Line-Up Schedule

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Rocklahoma 2010 as finally released their set schedule! Now I KNOW it isn’t country music, but who doesn’t have a bit of a guilty love for Cinderella, Ratt, Tesla, Chevelle, or even ZZ Top? The daily performance lineup for Rocklahoma 2010 has been revealed, and single day tickets for the Memorial Day Weekend event will go on sale Monday, April 19 at 10:00 AM CST. Rocklahoma 2010 features an all-star roster of top rock artists from the past three decades, including ZZ Top, Godsmack, Tesla, Buckcherry, Cinderella, Chevelle, Theory of a Deadman, Saliva, Saving Abel, Fuel, Sevendust and one additional Main Stage band to be announced on May 10 (see below for the full line-up listed by day). Single day tickets will be available for $45 plus service fees. Three-day general admission tickets are still available for $110 and three-day VIP tickets start at $292. The multi-day destination camping rock festival takes place May 28-30, 2010 at “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK. The daily lineup is as follows: FRIDAY, MAY 28 Godsmack Special Guest Band to be announced May 10 Buckcherry Saving Abel Adelitas Way Richy Nix The Veer Union Brookroyal New Medicine Bad Things Krank Firstryke O’Dette Mad Max New Cool World Black Tora SATURDAY, MAY 29 ZZ Top Cinderella Saliva Fuel Janus Shaman’s Harvest Burn Halo Like A Storm Taking Dawn Gypsy Pistoleros The Last Vegas Problem Child The Glitter Boys Wildstreet O’Dette – Set #2 Krank – Set #2 Bad Things SUNDAY, MAY 30 Tesla Chevelle Theory of a Deadman Sevendust Aranda Lacuna Coil Taddy Porter Nigel Dupree Band Year Long Disaster Within Reason Bad Things Wildstreet – Set #2 Problem Child – Set #2 The Glitter Boys – Set #2 Firstryke – Set #2 Mad Max – Set #2 New Cool World – Set #2 Established in 2007 as a classic rock destination festival with the motto “life, liberty and the pursuit of rock,” Rocklahoma was revamped for 2010 as organizers teamed with AEG LIVE to create an event encompassing a much broader mix of classic, current and up-and-coming rock artists. Rocklahoma is located just 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, in Pryor, OK. The “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds is a premiere destination for a multi-day festival and includes on-site camping with access to restrooms and shower house, a general store for campers, VIP reserved seating, hospitality areas & much more. For additional information, please visit www.rocklahoma.com.Country Music Photo Gallery

Country Thunder

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Hey all you Country Thunder fans here is a little sweet tea from your Sweet T! Sweet Leaf Tea Country Thunder Text-To-Win Guitar Giveaway What: To celebrate their participation and presence at the Country Thunder music festival in Florence, AZ, Sweet Leaf Tea will be hosting a text-to-win guitar giveaway of a Sweet Leaf Tea branded Gibson Melody Maker. When: The giveaway will begin on April 14th and will end on April 17th. The winner will be announced via the Sweet Leaf Tea blog “The Sip” on Monday, April 19th. Contestants can check to see if they are the lucky winner of their own Sweet Leaf Tea guitar on www.sweetleafteablog.com. How: To enter, festival attendees must stop by the Sweet Leaf Tea booth in the food and beverage concession stand area for more information. More: In addition to the text-to-win giveaway, Sweet Leaf Tea invites all festival attendees to stop by the booth and enjoy free samplings and swag giveaways of the company’s famous chapsticks, pins, stickers, bandannas, and temporary tattoos! Sweet Leaf Tea will have the following delicious flavors on hand for all music-lovers to enjoy while listening to and watching their favorite acts: – Original Sweet Tea – Raspberry Iced Tea – Citrus Green Tea – Lemon Iced Tea – Peach Iced Tea – Mint & Honey Green TeaCountry Music Photo Gallery