Hank Williams Jr. Old School, New Rules Tour

Hank Williams Jr. Gears Up For His 2013 Summer Tour. Hank Williams Jr. is getting ready to launch a 2013 summer tour in celebration of his latest album, Old School, New Rules, which is in stores now. Hank will take the stage with a string of hits, along with new tunes. “I always have fun playing shows. I love to get out in front of my loyal fans and making my mark on this great country,” says Hank Williams Jr. This tour is sure to be a rowdy party, that you don’t want to miss! Click below the track listing for Old School, New Rules for a list of dates and see if Hank is coming to a city near you! Track Listing: 1. Takin’ Back the Country 2. I’m Gonna Get Drunk and Play Hank Williams (feat. Brad Paisley) 3. Three Day Trip 4. Old School 5. We Don’t Apologize for America 6. You Win Again 7. The Cow Turd Blues 8. Who’s Taking Care of Number One 9. That Ain’t Good 10. Keep the Change 11. Stock Market Blues 12. I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink (feat. Merle Haggard)

Country Wins Big On TV Shows

Trace Adkins and Kellie Pickler Dominate On National TV Shows. In less than a week, two of country music’s own have taken the top spots, winning the ultimate prize on two national TV shows. On Sunday night, May 19, Trace Adkins become the winner of this season’s All-Star Celebrity Apprentice. Adkins was representing the American Red Cross and was able to raise more than $1.5 million for Red Cross. Just last night, May 21, Kellie Pickler and her partner won this season of Dancing with the Stars. She danced her heart out this season and took the mirror ball trophy home! To say that these two made country music and country music fans proud would be an understatement! Congratulations to them both!

Giveaway: Jessta James Prize Pack

Your Chance to Win Some Cool Jessta James Merch! Yesterday (Tuesday, May 21st) Jessta James released his album Time To Get Right, and in celebration of the new record, we’re giving our readers the chance to win some cool Jessta-themed merch including a T-shirt, album copy and decal! All you need to do is follow the very simple directions below. After you enter, be sure to give James’ new music a listen. You’ll be glad you did…promise! Giveaway Guidelines: Step 1: (If you aren’t already!) Follow us @CMNBlog and @JesstaJames on Twitter! Step 2: Send out the following tweet: “I entered to win a country prize pack from @JesstaJames via @CMNBlog! You can too! Details here: http://ow.ly/kyZbB #CountryMusic” Step 3: When we receive your tweet, you’re entered to win! Important Info: Winners will be randomly selected and notified individually via Twitter. Prizes provided by Girlilla Marketing. Tweets must be received by 12:00pm Wednesday, May 29th. Winners will not be eligible for another prize drawing until 90days after this one. Check out the Jessta James Merch for Giveaway!

Thunder On The Mountain Presents JJ Lawhorn

Exclusive Pre-Festival Google + Interview with JJ Lawhorn Hosted by CMNB and Thunder On The Mountain! Thunder On The Mountain is just around the corner, and amidst all our excitement we’re hosting a series of interviews with some of the very talented artists featured in the festival line-up! This week, we’ll be “hanging” out with JJ Lawhorn, and he can fill us in on what’s new in his neck of the woods! Tune in on Wednesday, May 22nd at 11am CST! We’ll feature the video below, and you can find more details on Google +, Facebook or Twitter! Thunder On The Mountain takes place June 6-8 on Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, AR! For more info on the line-up, tickets, accommodations and more, head over to their official website. Thunder On The Mountain Presents…JJ Lawhorn! Be sure to check out our previous hangouts with folks like Rose Falcon, J.T. Hodges, Colt Ford, Easton Corbin and Clayton Anderson!

Darius Rucker True Believers Available Now

Darius Rucker New Album, True Believers, Available Now! Darius Rucker has released his third country album, True Believers, and it is available via iTunes and Amazon now! The album features Rucker’s cover of “Wagon Wheel” which made it to the number one spot on Billboard’s Country Singles Chart this week. “I am so excited that today is finally here and I can share True Believers with my fans. Having ‘Wagon Wheel’ reach No.1 this same week is amazing to me. I’m very proud of this album, and hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.” -Darius Rucker Rucker will be stopping by ABC’s late night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” He will also be hosting a live twitter chat via iTunes. Use #AskDariusRucker to follow along. True Believers Track Listing: 1. “True Believers” (Darius Rucker, Josh Kear) 2. “Miss You” (Darius Rucker, Frank Rogers) 3. “Wagon Wheel” (Bob Dylan, Ketch Secor) 4. “Love Without You” (Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally) 5. “Radio” (Darius Rucker, Luke Laird, Ashley Gorley) 6. “Lost In You” (Darius Rucker, Mark Nesler, Phillip White) 7. “I Will Love You Still” (Darius Rucker, Josh Kear) 8. “Take Me Home” (Darius Rucker, Frank Rogers, Monty Criswell) 9. “Shine” (Darius Rucker, Frank Rogers) 10. “Heartbreak Road” (Darius Rucker, Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins) 11. “Leavin’ the Light On” (Darius Rucker, David Lee Murphy, Phil O’Donnell) 12. “Lie To Me” (Darius Rucker, Rodney Clawson, Bob DiPiero)

Interview: Jessta James Talks New Album and Fresh Sound

Interview: Jessta James Shares About His Brand New Album and The Fresh Hybrid Sound It Features. Jessta James hails from Montana originally, and his brand of country features clear influences that reach far beyond the bounds of Nashville, TN. The music you’ll hear on his debut album, Time To Get Right, skillfully blends country with rock and hip hop. Now, there really are a lot of folks out there putting these seemingly unrelated genres together, but James stands apart in that there is a naturalness to his songs that I haven’t heard from others representing this sound. He currently records and produces his music out of a studio in Atlanta, and this new album will be featured on his own label. It is currently available, having released Tuesday, May 21st, and I highly suggest you give it a listen! Before you do though, hear from Jessta himself on why his music is the way it is, and where it comes from. So, you’re working on this new album, what is your creative process like? My creative process is really anything and everything. Usually, typically speaking, I will sit down with my producer and my guitar player and I’ll have an idea, a concept, different musical elements I want to incorporate. And we’ll sit there and mess around with a riff, and I’ll come up with a chorus and once we have a solid start we’ll go from there. I’ve learned that its best that I finish an idea once I start. I read that you didn’t start writing till your early 20’s, what inspired you to get into it? I was raised on country and rock music all my life. I had never written any songs or sang but my friends and I would freestyle when we were just hanging out. Another artist heard me, and told me I really needed to write it down. When you’re writing, where do you pull the most inspiration from? The title track is about my brother Matt. I wrote that song to him, all the things I never got to say to him. That was a very deep, personal song. The song “Better Man” is to my whole family, about my Dad, the relationship with my son, my wife…It strikes a chord with people everywhere, when we perform it live. “Rock N Roll Angel” is for my wife. There’s no way I could be doing this without the support of my wife. You have actual experience in the hip-hop genre, what lead you to that scene? I got into hip hop because it was new to me. I would just find myself listening to whatever was different, whatever caught my ear. There weren’t really any artists that I could relate to because I couldn’t relate to the content in the material. But I like the sounds, it was appealing to my ear and I wanted to take it and hone it into something that fit me. When I started to make music, I Continue reading Interview: Jessta James Talks New Album and Fresh Sound

Thunder On The Mountain Presents Easton Corbin

Thunder On The Mountain and CMNB Bring You an Exclusive Interview with Easton Corbin! In this week’s installment of our on going Google + Hangout interview series with Thunder On The Mountain, we are talking to the talented and on the rise Easton Corbin! We will be getting his insight into the upcoming and brand new country music festival, as well as checking in with him and what’s new for him! So, don’t miss it at 2pm CST on Tuesday, May 21st! Thunder On The Mountain Presents…Easton Corbin!

Brian Davis Invited To Open The Jägermeister Tour

Brian Davis Has Been Invited To Open Up For Aaron Lewis On The 2013 Jägermeister Country Tour. Brian Davis has been invited to be the opening act for the 2013 Jägermeister Country Tour this summer. Davis will be opening for Aaron Lewis now through June 23 where he will play his last show in Evansville, IN. “This is going to be the kickoff to a rocking summer being asked out on the 2013 Jägermeister Tour with my buddy Aaron Lewis,” Davis said. “I can’t think of a better way to continue my touring year having just gotten off the road with Brantley Gilbert and now heading out with Aaron Lewis! This is right up my alley and my fans are going to love it and I hope to get to meet and make some new ones.” You can check out this VIDEO to learn more about Davis’ life on the road and his current album, Under the Influence. Check out all the tour dates for this tour by clicking below and pick up Davis’ current album, Under the Influence, now.

Ben Wells Teams Up With Fireball Whisky

Ben Wells Teams Up With Fireball Whisky, Lake Life Freshwater Apparel and JH Audio For His Untuck Ya Shirt Tour. Ben Wells has an exciting couple of months ahead and we couldn’t be more happy for him! For those of you who haven’t heard, he is gearing up for his first independent headlining tour, Untuck Ya Shirt. If that wasn’t exciting enough, he now has teamed up with three brands (Fireball Whisky, JH Audio and Lake Life Freshwater Apparel) to make his tour just that much better. “It’s awesome how these opportunities keep coming to us,” Wells said. “We’re going to take them one step at a time, and hopefully continue to grow with the partnership and with the fans.” If you haven’t heard of Fireball Whisky then you might be living under a rock…because it is ALL I hear people ordering these days. The brand describes itself as a “Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the face if his legs were on fire and tasted like cinnamon.” If that doesn’t get you interested in trying it, then I don’t know what will! Lake Life Freshwater Apparel is a worldwide clothing/apparel company found & operated in North Carolina. Wells marks the companies first music endorsement relationship. JH Audio is one of the best in the business at making the most detailed, accurate in-ear monitors. “One of the endorsements I’m personally excited about is JH Audio. I rely on my in-ear monitors day in and day out while on stage, the quality of JH16’s are incredible. I definitely can’t wait to grow with this company and it’s awesome to be apart of such an awesome family.” Wells Untuck Ya Shirt tour kicks off June 7 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Find a show near you, because you won’t want to miss this party!

George Strait Love Is Everything Album Details

George Strait Releases His Latest Album, Love Is Everything. Yesterday, May 14, George Strait released his latest studio album, Love Is Everything. The album includes his current single and latest #1, “Give It All We Got Tonight.” I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it and as George would say, “it’s pretty risqué.” As some of you may know, there has been a huge effort made by fans and radio to get this single to #1 on the charts, making it George’s 60th #1 hit for his 60th birthday. Well 60 for 60 worked! The song is currently sitting at #1 on real-time charts and if it can hold that position until Saturday, it will become official. Love Is Everything has plenty more great songs on it and I’m sure George will surpass that 60 mark with one of them. Take a look at the track listing below and watch this video that features George talking with Storme Warren about his new album! Love Is Everything Track listing: 1. I Got A Car 2. Give It All We Got Tonight 3. Blue Melodies 4. I Just Can’t Go On Dying Like This 5. I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing 6. That’s What Breaking Hearts Do 7. When Love Comes Around Again 8. The Night Is Young 9. Sittin’ On The Fence 10. I Believe 11. Love Is Everything 12. You Don’t Know What You’re Missing 13. When The Credits Roll