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GRETCHEN WILSON RELEASES NEW SINGLE

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Gretchen Wilson‘s new album Ready To Get ROWDY goes on sale this Friday, June 16, and today her Redneck Records label distributed her new single “Summertime Town” to Country radio via PlayMPE. “Sometimes a song idea is as simple as a great title,” said Gretchen about the single she wrote with Rob Hatch and Bridgette Tatum. “When you picture a summertime town in your head, you begin to imagine the romance and the heartache that could be attached to a place like that.” Gretchen wrote or co-wrote all 12 songs on Ready To Get ROWDY with some of Nashville’s best and most seasoned songwriters, and she produced the album with Blake Chancey (Dixie Chicks, Montgomery Gentry, Kellie Pickler.) Presale of the new album is available now at iTunes. About Gretchen Wilson: Gretchen Wilson exploded onto the country music scene with her smash hit “Redneck Woman” and has since scored three #1 albums. The critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter has won virtually every award for which she’s been nominated, including trophies from the Grammys, ACM, CMA, AMA and more. Her first book, the autobiographical “Redneck Woman: Stories from My Life,” landed her on the prestigious New York Times Best Seller List. She formed her own record company, Redneck Records, in 2009, and her I Got Your Country Right Here CD received two Grammy nominations. She released three albums in 2013: a new Country album entitled Right On Time, a 13-song Rock covers record Under The Covers, and her Christmas In My Heart holiday collection. After an almost three-year hiatus, she is back with her new album Ready to Get ROWDY, and her nationwide tour kicked off in Las Vegas last night. For more information, tour dates and more, visit www.GretchenWilson.com. Keep up with Gretchen at: www.Facebook.com/GretchenWilson https://twitter.com/gw27

Darius Rucker Finishes CMA Week Strong With Eighth Number One Hit

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Darius Rucker Tickets, Tour Dates, and Concert Details on Country Music On Tour!

DARIUS RUCKER SCORES EIGHTH NO. 1 WITH “IF I TOLD YOU” TO CAP OFF MOMENTOUS CMA FEST WEEK NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As Darius Rucker scores yet another No. 1 at Country radio with “If I Told You,” the first single from his forthcoming fifth studio album on Capitol Records Nashville, he looks back on a banner week. “If I Told You” is the eighth No. 1 single for Rucker since his debut in country music in 2008 and comes just a week after another milestone moment for the three-time GRAMMY Award winner, who reached the $1.2 million mark with his yearly kickoff to CMA Fest, the “Darius and Friends” concert and golf tournament to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Friends including Brooks & Dunn, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, John Oates of legendary pop duo Hall & Oates were among those who helped the event reach its record-breaking achievement. On Wednesday morning Rucker visited TODAY’s Kathie Lee and Hoda at Honky Tonk Central in Nashville, presenting two worthy recipients of new homes through his partnership with Ply Gem and Habitat for Humanity’s Home Builders Blitz and serenading the crowd with a performance of “If I Told You.” “If I Told You” marks Rucker’s first collaboration with producer Ross Copperman. The song was written with Copperman’s co-writers Jon Nite and Shane McAnally. “I love this time in country music,” Rucker said. “It’s so wide in range and to have this song — a ballad and one I’ve loved and related to since first hearing the worktape — is pretty incredible.” On Wednesday evening the CMT Performance of the Year nominated star helped kick off the awards show as he joined Jason Aldean and Charles Kelley for a rendition of “Midnight Rider” in tribute to Gregg Allman, as well as reprising his role as CMT president for the second year in a skit airing at the top of the show. Acting as CMT president follows a long list of acting accolades Rucker has collected this year, including playing Johnny Bragg, lead singer of the Prisonaires on CMT’s Sun Records and a career criminal on Hawaii Five-0. Rucker closed out 2017’s CMA Music Fest with performances dedicated to the fans that make the week so special, performing at the HGTV Lodge on Sunday morning and Nissan Stadium Sunday evening. In celebration of the imminent No. 1 status of the first offering of his fall 2017 album, Rucker welcomed Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild for a compelling duet of “If I Told You,” expressing to the crowd, “Thank you for believing in this song!” The emotional rendition had the crowd on their feet and in tears as Rucker and Fairchild crooned “I’ll love you anyway” to each other from either side of the stadium stage. Rucker’s as-yet-untitled fifth Capitol Records Nashville album will be released later this year with Copperman at the helm. It will be yet another signature moment in the multiplatinum career of one of music’s most beloved figures. Rucker has never been busier while working on his new album with a slate of television appearances this spring and summer that show just how popular he is, including his own CMT Crossroads episode with John Mellencamp. He also appeared Continue reading Darius Rucker Finishes CMA Week Strong With Eighth Number One Hit→

Steve Wariner and Blake Shelton Duet on Hit Song “Lynda” During Special Grand Ole Opry Performance

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Blake Shelton performs with Steve Wariner at The Grand Ole Opry on Country Music News Blog.

When asked who his dream Opry duet partner was in an interview, Blake Shelton answered “Steve Wariner.” It’s not surprising as Wariner has had one of the longest-lasting and most influential careers in country music history. On Thursday night, during a special star-packed CMA Week Opry performance, the pair sang a duet on “Lynda” — one of the singer/songwriter’s 22 No. 1 hits. 2017 also marks the 30th Anniversary of the song released in 1987. “I am humbled by Blake’s answer to that question and singing with him on the Grand Ole Opry stage was a heck of a time. He’s one of the giants of today so I am glad we got to do this,” said Steve Wariner.

A Look Back At The History Of The CMT Music Awards

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CMT Music Awards 2017 on Country Music News Blog!

Who among us hasn’t been both embarrassed and enthralled when our parents pull out the old photo album and start walking us through the pictures of our past? Things aren’t much different when we start paging through the moments that made up country music history. Some are legendary moments in the making while others are disasters just waiting to unfold, but they are all a part of where we came from. Join me, WhiskeyChick, as I take a look today through the story of the CMT Music Awards! While the award show has had its roots in Nashville since 1967, first as the Music City News Awards, then later as the The Nashville Network’s Viewer’s Choice Awards, then finally as the CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards the ceremony is now known as simply the CMT Music Awards. These awards separate themselves from other established awards shows by putting the main focus on fan voting and on in-show performances with the actual presentation of trophies taking a back seat. Over the years those performances have been nothing short of amazing, so let’s take a look at a few: When CMT took over the award show they were trying to cross over the mainstream audience from their sister station MTV and this is obvious in the focus they put on flashy pop-styled performances. This of course turned a lot of the more traditional fans away from the show all together but cemented the CMT Awards as an influence in the younger markets. Shania Twain – 2002 CMT Music Awards – “I’m Gonna Get You Good” Brooks & Dunn feat. ZZ Top – 2002 CMT Music Awards – “Only In America” As the awards grew up alongside technology, the balance between pop and flash and classic country crooning started to settle into more epic showcases of modern talent. Keith Urban – 2004 CMT Music Awards – Opening the show with “Who Wouldn’t Want To Me” Rascal Flatts – 2004 CMT Music Awards – “I Melt” Eventually the channel realized they had an opportunity with this younger audience to have a lot more fun than those other stuffed-shirt formal affairs and started showing their softer side with comedic hosts like Jeff Foxworthy to kick things off. 2005 CMT Music Awards opener But don’t let all that fun and funny fool you… they’re still all about the performance here! Carrie Underwood – 2006 CMT Music Awards – “Before He Cheats” Of course some of those moments are ones the country bloggers tend to sweep under the rug, but can we all take a moment and admit that this pairing got all us parents misty-eyed JUST long enough to forget about Billy Ray’s achey breaky heart after watching his baby girl swinging on a wrecking ball? Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus – 2008 CMT Music Awards – “Ready, Set, Don’t Go” Of course, who can forget the moment another teenage sweetheart took over country radio in a way nobody saw coming! Taylor Swift – 2009 CMT Continue reading A Look Back At The History Of The CMT Music Awards→

Voting Still Open for CMT Music Video of the Year!

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CMT Music Awards 2017 on Country Music News Blog!

It’s not too late to say you care… about who wins Video of the Year at the 2017 CMT Music Awards! Take a gander at our nominees below, then click on over to CMT.com to cast your vote! Carrie Underwood – “Church Bells” Artists of Then, Now & Forever – “Forever Country Cole Swindell – “Middle of a Memory” Florida Georgia Line – “H.O.L.Y.” Keith Urban – “Blue Ain’t Your Color” Luke Bryan – “Huntin, Fishin, and Lovin Every Day” Miranda Lambert – “Vice” With just a few hours until show time, CMT today revealed the finalists for the highly-coveted ‘Video of the Year’ award at the “2017 CMT Music Awards,” the loudest night in country music. Fan votes narrowed the pack down to Carrie Underwood, Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and the CMA- produced 50th anniversary video, “Artists of Then, Now & Forever.” If Underwood wins she will maintain her record of most “Video of the Year” wins, with seven won.  Finalists were announced this morning on the Today Show with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, which aired lived from Nashville. Voting is now open at CMT.com for these seven finalists and voting will continue through the live show.

Brantley Gilbert Announces Baby Boy With A Blast!

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Brantley and Amber Gilbert Baby Gender Reveal on Country Music News Blog!

Brantley Gilbert has never seemed like much of a traditionalist, so when it came time to let friends and family know the gender of his and wife Amber’s coming first born, of course he thought outside of the box! Surrounded by around 40 of his closest friends and relatives, Brantley carefully loaded a rifle, took aim at a specially loaded Tannerite target in the distance, and fired. The moment the resulting cloud of blue smoke came bellowing up, cheers and tears started flowing all around! “Everybody was crying,” Gilbert exclusively told People Magazine about the reaction. “I turned around, and I think that’s when it hit me that everybody’s wanted this for us as much as we did for so long. When the blue cloud went up, well, that made it even more real. Now we know it’s a little boy, and he’s going to have to get ready for a whole lot of love.” “It seemed like a fun, different way to do the reveal,” says the man with the back-to-back platinum albums of shooting the target “about the size of a beef jerky container” packed with powder. “And it felt like something that I’d really do. But I don’t think any of us thought we would get so emotional.” Read more about Brantley Gilbert’s big baby gender reveal from our friends at People Country!

Wynonna Judd Releases First Music Video in 14 Years ‘Keeps Me Alive’

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Wynonna Judd on Country Music News Blog

In a day full of hot news, it doesn’t get any hotter than this for me! As a lifelong nearly obsessive fan of The Judds, finding out about Wynonna‘s first new music video in 14 years in the same moment you hear that The Judds are releasing their All-Time Greatest Hits on June 30th, my head and heart are both in a whirl. The mother-daughter duo has been hands-down one of the most sensational acts in country music for decades and there’s no reason why their music should live on in today’s Nashville landscape. Let’s dig in deeper as we take a closer listen to Wynonna’s sultry, bluesy “Keeps Me Alive” which just sends chills down my spine. From Wynonna’s press team: Wynonna Judd releases her first music video in 14 years, “Keeps Me Alive.” Along with her band, The Big Noise, this special project also features American guitarist Derek Trucks. The visually captivating video was shot at the historic Oaklands Mansion in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and directed by Todd Cassetty of HiFi Fusion. Over the weekend (June 3), the video premiered on AMC’s after The Son which stars Pierce Brosnan. More about The Judds All-Time Greatest Hits: Together, Country Music icons Wynonna and Naomi Judd made musical history throughout their career receiving eight Gold and eight Platinum records, selling over 20 million albums and scoring twenty Top 10 hits between 1984-1990. Now, Curb Records is excited to bring fans the ultimate collection of those years together. The Judds – All-Time Greatest Hits will be released on Friday, June 30 – and will feature each of the classic hits that helped to make them a household name on Country Radio in the 1980s and 1990s. “Some things continue to get better with time, like fine wine and the Judds music,” says Naomi Judd. “I’m so proud that our music has stood the test of time. It makes my heart smile when I turn on Country Radio and I can sing along with our hits.” The twenty-one song set will feature each of the duo’s top ten hits, as well as “You Can’t Go Home Again (Flies On The Butter),” a recording from 2011. Beginning with the classic #1 hit “Mama, He’s Crazy” in 1984, and continuing through 1991’s “One Hundred and Two,” the duo established a career that will stand with one of the top duets in Country Music history. Fourteen times the duo topped the Billboard Country Singles chart, and each of their five studio albums were certified Gold or Platinum. Along with their sales and airplay success, The Judds also dominated the awards shows like no artist before their time. Starting in 1984, the duo netted nine CMA Awards, including a run from 1985-1991 as either Vocal Duo or Vocal Group of the Year. Their trophies also include the 1985 Single of the Year “Why Not Me,” which is also included on The Judds – All Time Greatest Hits. They also won seven straight trophies from the Academy of Continue reading Wynonna Judd Releases First Music Video in 14 Years ‘Keeps Me Alive’→