JaneDear Girls at Kix on Beale

JaneDear Girls Perform in Memphis, TN at Kix on Beale. The JaneDear Girls will be performing tonight, Thursday, July 7th in Memphis, TN. The duo is featured in the annual summer concert series presented by local country radio station KIX106 on the iconic Beale Street. We just want to let ya’ll know that we’re headed out to Memphis right now to check out the country scene in Memphis and catch this great concert! Hopefully, we’ll get to some of you there. If you’re in the Memphis area tonight, get your boots on and get ready to have some fun!

Reba McEntire Announces Tour Dates

Reba Releases Dates for Fall 2011 Tour. Reba McEntire has announced the details for her Fall 2011 All the Woman I Am tour. The tour kicks off September 1st and runs through November 19th and will hit 31 cities total! Reba will be joined on tour by The Band Perry, Steel Magnolia and Eden’s Edge on select dates. See below for complete tour details!

Miranda Lambert Performs on GMA

Miranda Lambert Featured on Good Morning America Concert Series. Listen up, Miranda Lambert fans! Miranda will be performing on Good Morning America Friday, July 8th as part of the morning show’s Summer Concert Series. The concert will be held in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park and admission is free to the general public. If you can’t make it to the show in person, though, just set your DVR! The concert will be presented throughout the show between 7am and 9am (ET). Be sure to check local listings!

American Idol Live Kicks Off

American Idol Tour with Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery Kicks Off! The 2011 American Idol Live Tour featuring the Top 11 finalist from this season kicked off Wednesday, July 6th outside Salt Lake City. The tour, of course, will feature Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. As previously reported, both Lauren and Scotty are actively pursing their careers within the country music industry, each having already released a single. All of you who voted Lauren and Scotty to the top, this is your chance to see them perform live for the first time! No doubt we will be seeing a lot of both of them after the tour wraps up on September 10th in Rochester, N.Y.

Taylor Swift Postpones More Shows

Recent Illness Causes Taylor Swift to Delay Performances. Taylor Swift is suffering from a bout a bronchitis, and unfortunately has had to postpone three more concerts as a result. In addition to one previously rescheduled performance in Louisville, KY, Swift, under doctor’s orders, has had to delay three additional shows in Charlotte, N.C. and Atlanta, G.A. Taylor has made the scheduling changes with a heavy heart. “I would never cancel if I thought I was physically able to perform these shows. I am so sorry to the fans, but I look forward to seeing you when we come back through your towns, which we will do.” -Taylor Swift Fans will have the opportunity to attend the concerts at a later date. The Louisville performance originally set for July 2 will be moved to October 11th. The Charlotte, N.C. concert will be moved from July 8th to November 16th. The Atlanta, G.A. concerts on July 9th and 10th will be reschedule for October 1st and 2nd. Taylor will resume her original tour schedule of July 14th in Montreal.

Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum Engaged

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott Engaged to Drummer! Congrats are in order for Lady Antebellum‘s Hillary Scott who has announced her engagement to drummer Chris Tyrell. The couple met while touring with Tim McGraw in 2010. Tyrell proposed to Scott over the 4th of July weekend in East Tennessee while the two were enjoying a much needed break with family. This relationship milestone marks yet another success for Scott who has had a roller coaster of year of award nominations, wins and hugely positive reception from fans and the country music industry. Congratulations to Hillary and Chris!

Dolly Parton Together You and I Video

Dolly Parton Releases New Video for Together You and I. Dolly Parton has debuted the video for the single “Together You and I” which is featured on her recently released album, A better Day. Parton has acknowledged that her new album is definitely different than her earlier work channeling a more modern vibe. The video for “Together You and I” also reflects this sentiment. The theme of this song and the imagery reflected in the video is definitely not the full on country fans are used, but it is a hybrid between country music and something else. It is almost a throwback to the hippie era of peace, love and happiness from the 60’s. The video features individuals clasping hands in a chain that begins in Nashville and continues all throughout the world from Washington D.C. to India. The individuals range from sick people to healthy people, from black to white, from young to old. The message is clear: together and with love anything is possible. Let me say, I really do like this song, and I am a huge Dolly Parton fan. However, there is something going on in country music right now that is different. Dolly is not the first country artist of late to present a song with such a message. Ronnie Dunn‘s “Bleed Red” has a similar globally minded, we-are-all-the-same theme. Newcomer Jennette McCurdy‘s “Generation Love” also encourages a positive world view focused on the power of love. These are good songs with admirable messages, but something about them does not sit right. The messages in these songs and their videos are recycling an older way of thinking from a time in American history where there was a wave of hope for change. Dolly and Ronnie lived during the 60’s, and it makes sense that they would revisit these themes. It seems though, the release of these songs are ill-timed. They simply do not take into account the past forty to fifty years of American history and all that encompasses. Country music is all about the hard times, getting the job done, dealing with life as it hits you. While Dolly’s (and Ronnie’s and Jennette’s) song is hopeful and lovely, I am not sure it is necessarily relateable for country fans. Yet, I might just be approaching Dolly’s new single and video from a too cynical angle. What do you think? You can check out the video here. Together You and I – Dolly Parton – Dolly Parton Videos

Jake Owen Barefoot Blue Jean Night Video

Jake Owen’s Barefoot Blue Jean Night Music Video Is Here! Jake Owen‘s music video for “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” premiered last week. The song has become a summer anthem, playing through speakers all over the country side! The video looks like one huge party I would love to join! Spend all day on the water and all night listening to the guitar at the campsite? Yes please! “Never gonna grow up, never slow down!” [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRh-vBOS-dU]

Willie Nelson Country Throwdown Eufaula Oklahoma

Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour Hits Eufaula Oklahoma For A Party At The Cove! If anyone knows how to throw a party it is Willie Nelson and his friends! This summer that rowdy bunch was Willie, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Jack Ingram, Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, Craig Campbell, Lukas Nelson (Willie’s son) & Promise of the Real, Drake White, Caitlyn Smith, Erin Enderlin, Adam Hood, Dani Flowers, Brent Cobb, Tyler Reeve, and Austin Lucas. The 2nd Annual Country Throwdown Tour was little over a month, starting May 28 in Philadelphia and ending tonight, July 4, in Fort Worth. I was lucky enough to get my country fix in Eufaula, Ok on July 2 after an awesome day at the lake! I regret to say I missed a couple performers, I’m very sad about it and have made it my mission to catch them the next chance I get. My only excuse is I was trying to find Willie on the lake! I spent the 4th of July weekend with a lifelong friend and her family on the water. As we were leaving the marina around noon, we got word that Willie was just there, the same dock as us! I tried and I tried to see those braids catching some sun on a boat all afternoon but unfortunately was unsuccessful. Once we made it to the amphitheater I realized we had missed Lee Brice, heartbroken I held my chin up in excitement for the artists I was soon to see. My group caught the tail end of Brantley Gilbert’s show on the side stage as we were walking in and was pleasantly surprised in the very small window of time (I’m talking minutes) until the next performer, Randy Houser, took the main stage. He started off with his hit “Boots On” and never dropped his energy until after his last song “Whistlin’ Dixie“! In between “stage” performer was a group of songwriters from the “Bluebird Cafe Stage“. They were an awesome addition to the day, keeping live music flowing at all times. I really enjoyed Caitlyn Smith’s “Hank Drank” and the good-timing-party-having attitudes of Brent Cobb, Tyler Reeve, and Adam Hood! Jack Ingram, who only toured June 30 through July 3, seemed to have a different look, but the same voice! He had the crowd going with songs like “Love You“, “Barbie Doll“, and “Barefoot And Crazy“. Jamey Johnson was the last performer before Willie and he put on one hell of a show! He was joined on stage a couple different times, once with Lucas Nelson, once with Dani Flowers, and once with three little girls to sing his song “In Color“. Another treat he had for the Oklahoma crowd was his cover of Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time“! Once the legend took the stage all bets were off! Nelson had the cove roaring with excitement as he famously opened with his classic “Whiskey River“. It seemed like he never took a breath, flowing from one song to another, “Mammas Continue reading Willie Nelson Country Throwdown Eufaula Oklahoma