Rascal Flatts photo courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

Rascal Flatts kick off their Live & Loud Tour on Friday, May 31 in Jones Beach, New York with The Band Perry and Cassadee Pope along as special guests. The band has added new tailgating events for their fans prior to the start of each show.

Fans can begin their concert experience by tailgating before the show doors open in the @FarmersFans Zone, which is free. They can see a fully-customized Rascal Flatts off-road vehicle, complete with games that include some of the band’s favorite hobbies like archery and golf.

Dance Y’all will also participate in the tailgate experience by teaching fans dance moves and offering them the opportunity to enter a “dance off” for a chance to dance onstage with the Farmers Insurance Dance Y’all Experience Featuring Laura Bell Bundy. Traditional tailgate games like a basketball shootout, ladder golf or a bean bag battle can be found as well. Fans can even test their Rascal Flatts knowledge with LIVE & LOUD tour trivia and sign up to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2013 CMA Awards in Nashville.

Once the gates open, fans can visit the Farmers Insurance tents on the concourse for more fun by taking a spin on the Farmers We Plan, You Jam prize wheel, snap a photo at the Farmers Insurance photo booth or Tweet or Instagram a picture using #WeAreFlatts to get a free commemorative printout.

The Live & Loud Tour runs through October.

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Ash Bowers photo courtesy of Loud Mouth Entertainment.

The 2013 CMA Music Festival will take pace in downtown Nashville June 6-9 with no less than six free stages featuring live music throughout the day and into the evening as well as countless activities. Tickets for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field sold out a record-setting six weeks in advance of the 2013 Festival, but fans will still have many chances to catch their favorite artists at CMA Music Festival.

Performance lineups for the previously announced Chevrolet Riverfront Stage and Bud Light Stage at the Bridgestone Arena Plaza are available at CMAfest.com, but those schedules are just the beginning of what fans can expect from country music’s biggest festival. Everything from autograph signings, meet-and-greets, cell phone charging stations, product demonstrations, auctions, giveaways, and more will take place in Downtown Nashville throughout the festival. Outdoor spaces are free and open to the public.

Some of this year’s events include:

Transitions Performance Park

New in 2013, Transitions® adaptive lenses will host Transitions Performance Park, where fans can get an enhanced view of the CMA Music Festival from atop Transitions’ two-story viewing platform. Fans will be able to test Transitions products, look through customized viewfinders and star in their own professional photo shoot.

Additionally, daily concerts will take place with the Marshall Tucker Band making their first-ever CMA Music Festival appearance to kick things off on Thursday, June 6 at 11 a.m. with a performance. Other artists set for performances include Ash Bowers, Holly Williams, Due West, Danielle Peck, Julie Roberts, Jeff Bates, Kristy Lee Cook and many more. Continue Reading

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Tim McGraw photo by Nigel Parry, courtesy of The Green Room.

Tim McGraw will release live tracks from his Two Lanes of Freedom Tour throughout the summer as part of his new program, McGraw Overdrive Series Live. The first track, “Southern Girl,” will be available Friday, May 24 exclusively at timmcgraw.com with four additional live songs to be released on June 7, June 21, July 12 and July 26. Fans will be able to purchase tracks individually or all five together.

Watch Tim McGraw’s “Highway Don’t Care” music video »

“The sound and energy from a live show gives an entirely new perspective to any song,” Tim said. “I’m always looking for ways to give the fans something extra.  If you’re at the show, it’s a cool memory to add to your playlist. And if you couldn’t get a ticket to the show that night, you can still hear some of what happened and maybe feel like you were there. It’s a first for me to release live tracks this way, and that’s exciting.”

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Thomas Rhett photo by Justin Nolan Key, courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

Thomas Rhett has always had respect and appreciation for our military but it wasn’t until he hit the road with Toby Keith last year that he had the chance to play shows for military people and retired vets. Toby helped reinforce Thomas’ desire to make one of his dreams come true.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to do a USO tour,” he said. “I know that Toby’s done countless USO tours. I know a bunch of my buddies have done them. It is definitely something that will be in my plans for the future.”

See photos from Toby Keith’s latest USO tour >> Continue Reading

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Blake Shelton’s 2013 album, Based On A True Story… Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Records.

Blake Shelton, and NBC are in the process of organizing a benefit concert for the victims of the Moore, Oklahoma tornado that left thousands homeless and killed at least 24 people on Monday, reports Billboard. Blake, a native of Ada, Oklahoma, located about 75 miles south of Moore, revealed the news following Tuesday’s episode of The Voice.

“We’ll know more about it in the next 24 hours,” Blake said. “I’m hoping it will raise a lot of money. Obviously it will be televised and will happen really quickly.” Continue Reading

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Keith Urban penned “For You” for the movie Act of Valor, which was inspired by real-life events and stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALS.  Keith was able to spend time with SEALS featured in the movie and learn about their deep, unique bond.

“They have a mantra, and they say ‘the only easy day was yesterday’ and they have this spirit of brotherhood,” he says. “That’s a particular thing that’s very specific to the Seals,” he said. “Military in general have this very strong brotherhood code.” Continue Reading

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Dierks Bentley in his video for “Home.” Image courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

As Memorial Day approaches, several country stars are taking time to reflect on what the holiday means and the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women. Dierks Bentley looks at the time he spends away from his family while touring and compares it to the time those deployed spend away from their loved ones to keep everything in perspective.

“I just think about being gone two, three days at a time, maybe a couple of weeks at a time,” he said. “That seems like a long time when you have kids and family, but these soldiers, they’re gone for months and years at a time and they have family back home. That, in itself, is such a huge sacrifice, and that’s just the beginning of it. That’s just scratching the surface of what these guys [and gals] are doing every day – preparing for battle, actually being in battle, being wounded in battle, sometimes dying in battle.” Continue Reading

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Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Kenny Chesney has teamed up with Music and Memory, a non-profit organization that brings personalized music players to seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Music has been found to be therapeutic for those suffering from the disease, leading to improved social engagement and quality of life.

GAC is the official media sponsor of Kenny’s No Shoes Nation Tour. Check out photos, videos and more from the tour in our No Shoes Nation Tour section!

As part of his partnership, Kenny recorded a PSA for the organization. Watch the PSA below to learn more about Music and Memory as well as how to help. Continue Reading

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The Henningsens recently sang “American Beautiful” and “Mirrors” with the Acclaimed PS22 Chorus. Photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

The Henningsens recently paid a visit to Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island, New York, to perform with the talented fifth graders of the PS22 Chorus. The chorus joined the trio for a rendition of their debut hit “American Beautiful” as well as a cover of this week’s No. 1 Billboard Pop Songs hit, “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake.

“The @PS22Chorus is such an inspiration!  We had so much fun covering @jtimberlake’s ‘Mirrors’ with them!  So talented!!” the band tweeted after the visit.

Watch clips of their performances below: Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Facebook.com/TaylorSwift.

Taylor Swift is no stranger to acting. She recently appeared on the season finale of FOX’s New Girl and has taken on characters in movies and on television in the past. But these days, it would take a lot to make her step away from music.

“I would love to do a movie that I was so obsessed with that I couldn’t think of anything other than shooting that movie,” she said. “If that happens, you will see pictures of me on set shooting that movie. And if you see me shooting a movie, you’ll know that I was so obsessed with the idea of it and the script and the story and felt that it was so important, that I couldn’t possibly not do it.” Continue Reading

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