Category Archives: Concerts

Darius Rucker Begins First Solo Tour

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Darius Rucker Begins His First Solo U.S. Tour This Fall. Darius Rucker is currently touring the European leg of Brad Paisley‘s H2O II: Wetter and Wilder Tour. As soon as he gets back to the states though, he will be beginning his first headlining tour of the U.S.! Rucker will be joined by Rodney Atkins, Thompson Square, Frankie Ballard and Justin Moore on select dates of his tour. This is an exciting development for Rucker, and he is definitely excited! “I haven’t headlined a tour since Hootie, so to say I’m excited is an understatement. It has been such an incredible experience to tour with Paisley and Rascal Flatts, and I’ve learned a lot being on the road with them. With this tour, I’m just excited to perform again for our fans, and I’m thrilled to have Rodney, Frankie, Justin, and Thompson Square joining us.” -Darius Rucker You can check out the list of upcoming tour dates below. A complete list will be available as soon as the remaining dates are announced. Upcoming tour dates are as follows: 10/6 Glens Falls, NY w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/7 Indiana, PA w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/8 Syracuse, NY w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/20 Charlotte, NC w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/21 Raleigh, NC w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/22 Cincinnati, OH w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/23 Pikeville, KY w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 11/12 North Charleston, SC w/ Thompson Square and Justin Moore

Jennifer Nettles Hosts CMA Christmas Special

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Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland Will Host 2011 CMA Country Christmas Special! For the second consecutive year, the Country Music Association is bringing together country stars to help celebrate the holidays with their own memories and stories as well as performances with the CMA Country Christmas television special. Just like last year, Jennifer Nettles, one half of the duo Sugarland, will be hosting this special holiday event. “I love holiday traditions and am so excited to add hosting CMA Country Christmas to my new list of traditions now. I’m gonna have to up my game this second time around, so I’m putting Brad and Carrie on speed dial for hosting emergency consulting services.” -Jennifer Nettles The special will be taped on November 10th (the day after the CMA Awards!) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The taped “live” show will be aired on ABC, but a date has not been set yet. So, check back with us for details on air dates and times, performance line-ups and other info! As soon as it’s announced will make sure you hear about it!

The Band Perry Sold Out Ryman Concert

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The Band Perry’s Upcoming Ryman Performance Sold Out in 20 Minutes! This past Friday, August 26th, The Band Perry experienced one of the true signs a band can receive that they are headed on the path towards a successful career. All 2300 tickets for their upcoming headlining performance at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville sold out in twenty minutes. Now, it would be impressive just for the tickets to have sold out period in any other span of time, but twenty minutes? Twenty. Minutes. That is a sure fire way for country music fans to show their love for this family trio! The Ryman performance is scheduled February 20, 2012. This impressive sell-out comes on the heels of the group announcing their first solo tour, Purveyors of Performance, which kicked off August 15th and will run through November 19th. Their tour will include not only their solo performances but also performances with Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and others. The Band Perry also recently released the video for the next single, “All Your Life“, which has the makings to be their next big hit! Click here to watch the video. So, you might not get to see them perform at the Ryman, but be sure to check back in for more details on The Band Perry, as they are sure to come with so many exciting things unfolding for them right now!

Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber Perform Together

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Justin Bieber Sings Surprise Song with Taylor Swift at LA Performance. Taylor Swift is currently in the midst of the North American leg of her Speak Now world tour, and last night she began the first of four sold-out shows in Los Angeles. At last night’s concert, Swift provided a little extra bit of entertainment for her, no doubt primarily female and teenage, (I’m judging this from the screaming in the video below) fans in the form of Justin Bieber. Bieber as you may know is a teenage pop sensation being catapulted to fame and stardom by throngs upon throngs of screaming, hormonal teenage girls. Swift and Bieber performed one song together, Bieber’s hit song “Baby“, and they definitely pleased the crowd. “You think you’ve heard loud screaming in your life..then @justinbieber comes out and does a surprise song during your show. Woah. Unreal.” Taylor Swift tweeted post-performance So, the fans were happy (clearly), and that is all fine and good. But I really want to stop here and raise a question: what is going on with the country music world and Justin Bieber? At the 2011 CMT Music Awards Bieber was the recipient of the first award for the evening for his collaboration with Rascal Flatts on “That Should Be Me“. Not long after that CMT posted an article claiming something along the lines of that all Bieber needed was a banjo, and he could qualify as a country artist. Now, he is popping up and performing his songs at Taylor Swift’s concerts. Granted, Taylor Swift is not seen by many as strictly a country artist. She has always had a little bit of pop crossover, which has honestly increased as her career has progressed as is evident with her recent single The Story of Us. But still, what is the deal? I think what is bothering me the most is CMT’s heavy endorsement of Bieber. You may or may not know this, but CMT is currently owned by the MTV Networks. This definitely explains why Ludacris popped up to perform with Jason Aldean in the finale of the 2011 CMT Music Awards, and why shows like Texas Women and Sweet Home Alabama are being produced (these shows follow reality formulas made popular by MTV). Some may argue that this is MTV’s way of marketing to and providing entertainment to a specific audience (you, the country music fan). What I am afraid of however, is that this demonstrates that networks like CMT are slowly trying to change and shape the country fan’s taste instead of providing original entertainment that country music fans can relate to. So, what we end up with is “country” versions of programming or music from other genres instead of something that is genuinely country. I am not suggesting that country music is being attacked necessarily, but there is a definite trend toward the “popifification” (I just invented that word!) of country music which is demonstrated by the fact that Justin Bieber, in just the past Continue reading Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber Perform Together→

Yonder Mountain Hosts Harvest Music Festival

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Bluegrass Quartet Yonder Mountain Hosts 6th Annual Harvest Music Festival. Summer is winding to a close, school is starting back up, and the worst of the heat (fingers crossed!) has passed! While one of the best things about summertime is live music and the fact that we can count on our favorite artists to be on tour, there are also plenty of music events packed into the Fall season as well (and cooler weather to boot!). One such event to look forward to is the 6th Annual Harvest Music Festival hosted this year by the bluegrass quartet Yonder Mountain String Band at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas Thursday, October 13th through Sunday, October 16th. The Harvest Music Festival is a family friendly event with a four day line-up of live music in addition to other events and access to hiking, biking, fishing, river-rafting and disc golf. The confirmed musical line-up features many other notable acts in addition to Yonder Mountain String Band including: Bela Fleck & the Flecktones Railroad Earth 7 Walkers featuring Papa Mali & Bill Kreuztmann Emmitt-Nershi Band Corey Smith, Cornmeal Split Lip Rayfield The Travelin’ McCoury’s Peter Rowan, The Wilders Trampled By Turtles Reckless Kelly Todd Snider James McMurtry Sara Watkins Great American Taxi Dirtfoot Mountain Sprout Greensky Bluegrass The Greencards Steep Canyon Rangers Matthew and the Atlas That 1 Guy David Lindley Jay Nash Adam Aijala and Larry Keel Danny Barnes Larry Keel & Natural Bridge Nathan Moore Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band The Trishas The David Mayfield Parade Elephant Revival Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings Big Smith Oakhurst Deep Fried Pickle Project Deadman Flats Truckstop Honeymoon PKB – Pete Kartsounes Band The Alaska String Band Gleny Rae Virus & Her Tamworth Playboys Whistle Pigs Dead Winter Carpenters Mountain of Venus Charliehorse Dumptruck Butterlips The Blackberry Bushes String Band Honeyshine Festival attendees will also have the pleasure of either participating in or just viewing the “First Annual Fiddlin’ and Pickin’ Contest” which will be judged by celebrity musicians (who have yet to be announced). The contest will include four instrument categories: Mandolin, Banjo, Flat Picking Guitar, and Fiddle, and contests will be held on October 13, 14, and 15. Those interested can submit their name up to 15 minutes before the competition. You can click here to sign up! Besides the full list of musical performances and the fiddlin’ and pickin’ contest the festival will include a couple of socially-conscious initiatives as well. Conscious Alliance (a Boulder, CO-based national non-profit organization committed to the distribution of much-needed food to impoverished communities across the United States) will be spear-heading the “Art That Feeds” Food Drive which will benefit the River Valley Regional Food Bank in Fort Smith, AR, and all donations will be distributed to those displaced in the region by the devastating tornadoes in Spring 2011. Also, Rock The Earth will be combining forces with with river-rafting experts Turner Bend and the Shimon Presents Work Exchange Team to lead a “River & Road Cleanup” on Wednesday, Continue reading Yonder Mountain Hosts Harvest Music Festival→

The Band Perry Announce Tour

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The Band Perry Launch Purveyors of Performance Tour. The Band Perry has announced they will be launching their own tour, Purveyors of Performance. The tour will include their own headlining performances in addition to support performances for Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and one other artist who has yet to be announced. The tour will kick-off August 15th in Lewisburg, West Virginia, will cover approximately 75 shows all over the country, and will conclude in Tupelo, Mississippi on November 19th. “It has always been our dream to play Country music. We’ve been on the road as a family band for thirteen years and experienced the intimacy of theaters, the energy of county fairs and the joy of connecting with new faces as we support these amazing artists at arenas and amphitheaters. Artists like Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Reba were the ones who originally inspired us to dream big…now they have helped our dreams come true. We couldn’t be more grateful to them or excited about the future.” -The Band Perry The group is currently finishing up with Tim McGraw‘s Emotional Traffic tour before they embark on Purveyors of Performance. They were recently honored with two nominations at the Teen Choice Awards, and have more exciting events to come in the rest of August! They will be performing Sunday, August 14th on CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night To Rock in addition to being featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on August 17th.

Jamey Johnson Performs at Farm Aid 2011

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Jamey Johnson Joins Willie Nelson and Others at 2011 Farm Aid Performances. Even though Jamey Johnson is currently on tour and simultaneously recording a new album, he is still taking the time to perform at the Farm Aid 2011 Saturday, August 13th at the Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City. Johnson is joining a line-up of performers which includes Willie Nelson among others. Farm Aid is a long running benefit concert founded to support American family farmers. The benefit has managed to raise over $39 million to aid family farmers all over the country and help them thrive. The mission of Farm Aid has a special meaning to Jamey as he grew up on a family farm in Alabama. “When I was a kid, we had a little bit of land and just about every bit of it was farm…I can’t even name for you everything that we grew from this land. But the fact that we couldn’t make enough money to sustain it meant that we had to eventually move off of it and let it go to someone else.” -Jamey Johnson Especially considering the current climate in the nation from government to the economy, support systems like Farm Aid are little beacons of hope for American farmers. By focusing on family farmers, Farm Aid helps to promote American grown food which fills plates in American homes for American citizens. “Farm Aid is not just important to me, it’s important to anybody who eats. Farm Aid is set up to look after the family farmer, the ones that actually take part in the same crops that they produce for other people. They are not just growing food to send down the line; their family eats the same foods that they sell.” -Jamey Johnson Beyond taking the time to help support American farmers, Jamey Johnson has a lot going on. He recently finished up touring on Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown, and is now traveling all over the country on his own tour. He will be performing at the 5th Annual ACM Honors in Nashville on September 19th (which will also be in part a tribute to his good friend, singer/songwriter Hank Cochran, who passed away in 2010.). Somewhere in the middle of all this, Johnson is also finding time to complete his next album.

Luke Bryan Performs Country Girl

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Luke Bryan Promotes Album Release with TV Performances of Hit Single. As you are no doubt aware by now, Luke Bryan released his new album, Tailgates & Tanlines, Tuesday, August 9th (You can check out HaleighT’s full review by clicking here), and in between performing on Tim McGraw‘s Emotional Traffic tour, Luke has been out and about promoting his new release with TV performances! I have yet to be lucky enough to see Luke perform live and in person (Unlike HaleighT who caught him on the Emotion Traffic tour stop in OKC! Read her full account here!), but fortunately, for now, Luke’s television performances will suffice. This week he was featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live performing his hit Country Girl (Shake It For Me) (see the video below!), and he also stopped by and performed the single on the Today Show. I caught the performance of Luke featured on Jimmy Kimmel, and I have to say I am impressed. I was already sold on Luke because of his obvious talent and penchant for catchy, clever songs (Rain Is a Good Thing, Country Girl (Shake It For Me)) and softer, more emotional tunes (Do I, Someone Else Calling You Baby). However, there are artists who can produce quality work and stellar albums, and there are artists that can perform live. I am happy to report that Luke Bryan qualifies in both categories. It is obvious that when he is on that stage, he is really giving it his all and doing everything he can to make it a great show for his fans. It also doesn’t hurt that the man knows how groove. If you really want to know what I’m talking about (and ladies, especially, you DO want to know), check out the video below and enjoy! Check out Luke’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Performance Here: [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60S4c2BSAjA] So, what do you think? Is Luke Bryan as good a performer as I say he is?

Miranda Lambert on CMA Music Fest 2011

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Miranda Lambert shows why they call it Country’s Night To Rock on the 2011 CMA MusicFest! Take a gander at some clips of Miranda Lambert‘s performance from the upcoming broadcast of the 2011 CMA Music Fest which airs THIS Sunday night. August 14th at 8/7c on ABC! [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcFNIa79PnI] Other artists to watch for include Alabama, Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Big & Rich, Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Sara Evans, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, Reba, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Josh Turner, Shania, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson and Zac Brown Band.