Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood Perform Remind Me

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will Perform Remind Me at CMA Awards! The November 9th, 2011 CMA Awards show will officially mark the first live performance of Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood‘s duet Remind Me! So, this is turning out to be quite a busy night for both Paisley and Underwood! In addition to this performance, don’t forget that the pair are reprising last year’s role as hosts for the award show. Also, Paisley has been nominated in a total of five categories and Carrie is nominated for the female vocalist category! I hope they both get plenty of rest the night before the show! The 2011 CMA Awards will take place on November 9th, and air on ABC at 8PM ET. Tickets for the 45th Annual CMA Awards are on sale now!

Rascal Flatts Invited to Join Opry

Vince Gill Invites Rascal Flatts to Join The Grand Ole Opry. During a performance at the Grand Ole Opry, Tuesday, September 27th, Rascal Flatts was surprised on stage by Vince Gill. Gill popped up between songs, and definitely took the boys, Gary Levox, Jay Demarcus, and Jon Don Rooney off guard! The boys of Rascal Flatts were even more surprised when they realized that Vince Gill was their to extend an invitation to join the iconic Opry! The reactions from all three are pretty priceless, and it is more than evident how much the invitation means to each of them. When Levox regained his composure and found his voice, he let the audience in attendance know that the invitation is more than just an invitation. “You know, we’ve gotten to do a lot of amazing things in our career like going to Iraq and visiting our soldiers, selling out arenas, and doing a lot of magnificent things that … you can’t even dream that big. But all three of us grew up listening to the Opry: Jay with his grandfather, me with my grandmother, and Jon Don with his entire family. You can’t even put into words what this means to us. When we first signed our record deal in 1999, our main goal was to play the Grand Ole Opry and someday be members of the Grand Ole Opry. Thank you so much for being here.” – Gary Levox The group will be formally inducted on Saturday, October 8th during the Opry’s 86th birthday weekend. The show will air live at 8pm (CT ) on GAC. Watch the Video of Rascal Flatts’ Surprise Invitation! [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4MjY_X9wiU]

Matt Stell & The Crashers

Let’s Get To Know Matt Stell & The Crashers! Matt Stell is a tall guy with a killer voice looking to play loud music for whoever will listen! Although he has been recording music for the past few years, he has started a new adventure with a fresh new band! Darren Barry (guitar), Cliff Aaron (drums) and Eric Williams (bass) make up what is The Crashers. They are all really enjoying the ride and are excited to see where it takes them! I recently had the opportunity to sit down with band after getting to peek in on their sound check before a show in Fayetteville, Arkansas where the guys opened up for the Eli Young Band. It is hard to pin point exactly what genre this band fits in, there is a bit of everything. I like to call it the rockin’/soulful/smooth/blues/country/story telling genre. MS&C really puts out a sound that is like no other. They all love what they’re doing and you just have to see them perform one song to see that. Cliff Aaron was the first to say that music picks you more than you pick it and the others were quick to agree! “You have to love to play music whether your making money or not” -Aaron Everyone in the band also agreed that they couldn’t picture themselves doing anything else. The combined amount of time put into this craft by these men is quite impressive. Another thing that is impressive is Stell’s songwriting capabilities. He has had a hand in penning all of his songs for the last two records in some way or another. One thing he is adamant about is writing about things he knows. If people can relate to a song, then that is just a bonus! “Vestibule Blues“, is the title track of the album and a song that Stell is pretty proud of. The lyrics speak about a specific church from Stell’s childhood and brings us back to the reason we have funerals in the first place. Stell spent a good amount of time doing radio tours for his single “Robert Tatum” and it is currently in the 50s (call in to request it!). The band is looking to release their next single pretty soon, but still making the final decisions on what it might be. There are a couple front runners but my vote would be “Break Me Down” or “Piney Woods“, so be looking for a new song to hit the radio! The band will be playing the Great Arkansas Pig Out in Morrilton this Friday, September 30. Jason Boland & the Stragglers and the Turnpike Troubadours will also be there. This is about as close to their hometown festival as it gets, so come out, eat some good food and listen to some great music! If you can’t make it to that show have no fear, head on over to www.mattstell.com and find a performance near you! Vestibule Blues Track Listing 1. Break Me Down 2. Continue reading Matt Stell & The Crashers

Eric Church Drink In My Hand Video

Eric Church Releases The Music Video For His Latest Single “Drink In My Hand”! It’s no secret that I am a fan of Eric Church! His latest single and music video, “Drink In My Hand“, highlights just how much his fans are into him! Although I would say the video doesn’t show a very wide variety of people who show up to his concerts it is a perfect example of the energy that goes on during a performance! The follow up to “Homeboy” is definitely more party “friendly” and is the perfect song to jam to at any point in the day! “Drink In My Hand” is the second single released from his third studio album, Chief, that came out this summer. The album is a great one that I highly recommend! “Springsteen“, “Over When It’s Over“, “Keep On” and “Hungover & Hard Up” are just a few of my favorites! My advice to you: go get yourself a drink and watch this brand new video!

Grace Potter Inks It Pink

Grace Potter Helps Support Breast Cancer Awareness. You probably know of Grace Potter now (if you didn’t before) because of her recent (and breathtaking) collaboration with Kenny Chesney on “You and Tequila“. Well, here is another reason to know about her…Potter is teaming up with City of Hope on the Shapie Ink It Pink Campaign. Next month, October, marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Potter among others, is chipping in to help support this cause. The way campaign works is that for each signature received Sharpie will donate $1 to City of Hope’s women’s cancer research and treatment center. You can contribute your signature, like Grace Potter did, by following this link. Check out this video footage of Potter at the historic Rhyman Auditorium in Nashville and hear her discuss the Ink It Pink Campaign. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4PQAFWaMSs] Also, Check out Miley Cyrus’s Shout Out to City of Hope! [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYQyMDWIdnk]

The Band Perry Collaborates with Justin Bieber

The Band Perry Joins Bieber On His Upcoming Christmas Album. It is an epidemic. I am honestly considering calling the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Okay, maybe I’m being just a tad over dramatic here, but country music fans, we have a problem. The Band Perry is collaborating with Justin Bieber on his upcoming Christmas album. Now, maybe if this was the first time this had happened, I would be a little less irritated (or maybe not…). However, I am beginning to notice a trend, and I do not like where it is headed. We have not kept our opinions to ourselves on this topic, over here at the CMNB newsroom. I have discussed this whole Bieber and country music …thing… several times, and HaleighT sounded off on it in her video segment last week (check that out here.) Yet, we’ve really only talked about it in bits and pieces, so right now, I’m going to paint the big picture. So, let’s go over this one more time. Rascal Flatts started this when they collaborated with Justin Bieber on his single “That Should Be Me” released in February of 2011 on his Never Say Never album. Then this summer at the 2011 CMT Music Awards, Justin Bieber won the very first award of the evening for this collaboration. I would like to point out two things. First, this award was won by Justin Bieber not Rascal Flatts. Second, this is not a country song. It isn’t even trying to pretend to be a country song. Actually, this song is so not country, it makes Rascal Flatts sound like they are not country. Yet, there we were at the 2011 Country Music Television Awards watching Justin Bieber win the first award of the evening…for not country music. Then just a couple of weeks ago, Justin Bieber popped up at Taylor Swift’s concert in L.A., and they performed a song together. Did they perform one of Taylor’s songs? No, they performed Justin’s “Baby“. (Sidenote, Bieber collaborated with Ludacris on that song. If you remember, Ludacris performed “Dirt Road Anthem” with Jason Aldean at the close of the 2011 CMT Awards. I’m just sayin’.). Shortly after Taylor and Justin’s performance together, we got word that Taylor and Justin are actually recording an original song together. Now, Taylor is known for branching into other genres that are a little less than country oriented (Think The Story of Us, released as a single earlier this year, pretty much 100% Pop. You can kind of hear the banjo in the background, but only if you ignore the drums and electric guitar.) Also, it could be argued that Taylor and Justin already share a substantial fan base (i.e. 13 year-old girls). Still, did she really have to record with Justin Bieber? Are there no other options? Now, The Band Perry is on the Bieber train. That’s three country artists/groups in just under a year. All three collaborating with a teenage pop sensation. My question is: Why? And Continue reading The Band Perry Collaborates with Justin Bieber

Jason Aldean Sells Out Nashville Tour Date

Jason Aldean Sells Out Upcoming Tour Date In Nashville. This past Friday tickets went on sale for Jason Aldean‘s February 24th “My Kinda Party” tour stop at Nashville‘s Bridgestone Arena. In an exciting turn of events, the show sold out in just minutes (that’s over 15,000 tickets)! While he has been riding a wave of success for awhile now, Aldean is still blown away by such a display of loyalty from his fans! “It feels good to sell out any venue in any city, but to sell out your hometown is just an unbelievable feeling. I can’t wait to come home for this one … you can bet me and the boys in the band will be ready to go that night!” -Jason Aldean For that particular show date, Luke Bryan will be the opening act. So, that really is gonna be one heck of a show!

Willie Nelson Lyle Lovett and More Host Texas Benefit

Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Dixie Chicks and Others Perform Relief Concert. Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, The Dixie Chicks and Asleep at the Wheel will be hosting a benefit concert, “Fire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas” on October 17th at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX. The event will be hosted by “Friday Night Lights” star, Kyle Chandler and actor Turk Pipkin. Other special guests include Shawn Colvin, The Court Yard Hounds, Steve Miller, The Texas Tornados, guitarists Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani. Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 23 at 12pm and are $25, $35, $100 and $250 VIP. The VIP ticket price includes premium seating and access to the VIP Lounge in the Lone Star Room. In addition to performances, there will be a silent auction with specialty items autographed by the artists, and T-shirts with the concert’s logo for sale. This concert event is intended to raise funds to support the families who have suffered complications from and dealt with the wildfires in Texas all summer. All proceeds from this event will of to Central Texas Wildfire Fund at the Austin Community Foundation. It’s great to see that no matter the need, country musicians and fans are willing to step up to the plate, pitch in, and help those in need.

Reba McEntire Somebodys Chelsea Video

Reba Debuts New Video for Somebody’s Chelsea! One of everyone’s favorites, Reba McEntire, has released yet another powerful song, “Somebody’s Chelsea“, and now there is a brand new video to go with it that is just as moving. I will be honest, it really does’t take a whole lot to make me to tear up, but with this song, Reba pretty much had me crying with the first three notes. Both the song and the video are simple and predictable, but this really doesn’t detract from the emotional appeal of it. Reba’s powerful and unmistakable voice gives depth and life to lyrics and a theme that in anyone else’s hands would sound whiny and trite. Overall, it’s a well-performed song and video! Watch “Somebody’s Chelsea” Now! Tags: Somebody’s Chelsea, Reba McEntire, Reba McEntire Videos