Lady Antebellum on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the Ryman Autitorium in Nashville. Photo courtesy of The Greenroom.

Just two years ago, Lady Antebellum was on the road for the first time on a major tour, opening shows for Martina McBride. Last year, the group played a bundle of stadiums on the Kenny Chesney summer tour, and Lady A is currently opening arena dates for Tim McGraw.

Last week, the group upped the ante a little more, taking top billing on a pair of sold-out shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Playing in the band’s hometown was part of the attraction for Lady A, but it was also an attempt to test the water and see if the group could deliver a strong enough set to warrant a full headlining tour. The trio — Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — has gone from playing about 25 minutes per show on Kenny’s tour to doing a full hour opening for Tim.

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Kellie Pickler photo by Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of Sony BMG.

Didn’t you know how much we love her? Kellie Pickler takes part in this week’s edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, but she’s not just making a guest appearance. She’ll actually join Nan Kelley to co-host the run-down of the genre’s top videos.

Kellie knows a thing or two about making successful videos. She’s frequently among the five biggest titles on the Top 20 list, and “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You” is still at No. 8 this week, five months after it first appeared among fans’ favorites.

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David Nail photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

You’ve likely heard of the rock band Train. The group has a pop hit at the moment with “Hey, Soul Sister,” and its history includes the 1999 single “Meet Virginia” and the Grammy-nominated 2001 hit “Drops Of Jupiter.”

David Nail is certainly familiar with Train. His new album, I’m About To Come Alive, is titled after a song that first appeared on the band’s 2003 album My Private Nation. David’s producer suggested they do a version of it for his album after hearing David perform it repeatedly in concert.

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Gary Allan photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Gary Allan’s latest album, Get Off On The Pain, got off to a good start selling 65,000 copies in its first week of release. That’s enough to land him at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart — trailing only Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now — and at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

The title of the album is dark, which is typical for Gary, though the actual music is a little lighter in tone than his previous two releases.

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Colt Ford photo by Sean Cokes.

One of the longest-running debates in country music pits traditionalists against pop-leaning sounds, and it’s tough to find a better illustration of how wide the genre’s gotten than the calendar. Specifically April 20. On that date, country’s releases will include competing albums by old-school singer David Ball and rap-influenced Colt Ford.

David, who played with the late Walter Hyatt in Uncle Walt’s Band, has had a couple of peak periods as a solo artist. He threw George Jones-like, back-of-the-throat vocals onto 1994’s “Thinkin’ Problem,” an ultra-catchy song that bordered on novelty. He signed with an independent label around the turn of the century and his military ghost tale, “Riding With Private Malone,” became a Top 10 hit in the aftermath of 9/11.

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Faith Hill photo by Andrew Southam, courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Faith Hill made her mark on the charts by adding a little pop and rock spice to her brand of country. Monday night she honored the legendary pop group ABBA during their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with her rendition of their hit, “The Winner Takes It All.” ABBA member Benny Andersson accompanied her on piano.

It’s not the first time Faith’s performed the number in concert. She thrilled fans with her version during the 2006/2007 “Soul2Soul Tour. Watch Faith and Benny below:

Steve Wariner at the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy® Grammy Nominee party. Photo courtesy of The Recording Academy® 2009 & Rubin Media. Photograph by Rick Diamond/WireImage.com.

Four country acts that launched a series of hits in the 1980s and ‘90s — Steve Wariner, Patty Loveless, John Michael Montgomery and the late Keith Whitley — are set to enter the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame when it holds its next induction ceremony in April 2011 in Lexington.

They’ll be joined as new members by bluegrass duo the Goins Brothers; gospel singer Larnelle Harris; and Molly O’Day, a country vocalist who left a critically acclaimed body of work in a short five-year recording period in the late 1940s.

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Sugarland photo by Kate Powers, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

The dates and lineups for the first eight of this summer’s Lilith Fair dates suggest organizer Sarah McLachlan is committed to providing a little country music in most of the outings. The rosters in six of those cities, released Tuesday, boast at least one country act — such as Miranda Lambert, Sugarland or Loretta Lynn — and the gigs in Atlanta and West Palm Beach have two apiece.

The lineup of all-female talent was a regular feature on the summer concert circuit during the late 1990s, and Sarah’s carting a reinstituted version of Lilith to a total of 36 cities this year. Each of the shows promises 11 acts from a pool of 80 performers. As it currently stands, a July 2 show in Portland is the earliest date on the schedule.

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

It’s a tour made in country rock Heaven. The Eagles will headline a June stadium tour with country superstars the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban* as opening acts. It’ll be the first time the three acts have toured together – and the fun begins on June 8 in Toronto.

Fans attending the shows will not be disappointed, as all three acts have a long list of greatest hits. The Eagles – Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit – will perform songs from their more than 35-year career, such as “Hotel California,” “Desperado,” “Life In The Fast Lane,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Take It To The Limit,” “One Of These Nights,” and “Heartache Tonight.”  

The Dixie Chicks – Martie Maguire, Emily Robison and lead singer Natalie Maines – will hit the stage for the first time in four years, performing songs from all three of their albums including “Wide Open Spaces,” “Goodbye Earl,” and “Not Ready to Make Nice.” 

Keith’s career already boasts 11 No. 1s, including “Days Go By,” “Sweet Thing,” Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me,” “You’ll Think of Me” and “Better Life,” as well as Billboard’s Country Song of the Decade, “Somebody Like You.”

If you have an American Express® account, membership does, in fact, have its privileges. Cardmembers will have early access to tickets beginning Monday, March 22 at 10 a.m. and tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Monday, March 29, at 10 a.m.  Check http://www.livenation.com/ for complete ticket information.

The concert utilizes All-In ticketing, which allows fans to purchase tickets without any added fees and streamlines the ticket buying process. 

Tour dates are as follows (check artists’ official websites for more info): 

8-Jun              *Toronto, ON                       Rogers Centre

10-Jun           East Rutherford, NJ             New Meadowlands Stadium

12-Jun           Boston, MA                          Gillette Stadium

14-Jun           Philadelphia, PA                   Citizens Bank Ball Park

15-Jun           Washington, DC                   Nationals Park

19-Jun           Chicago, Il                            Soldier Field

22-Jun           *Winnipeg, MB                     Canad Inns Stadium

24-Jun           *St. Louis, MO                      Busch Stadium

*Keith Urban is not appearing at these concerts.

Montgomery Gentry photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Tomorrow is a good day to be wearin’ the green and countin’ your lucky stars. Wednesday is St. Patrick’s Day, a celebration of the luck of the Irish. And if you need a few country songs to make the day run smoothly, good luck’s gonna shine, as Keith Urban would say. We’ve got country’s “Lucky 13” titles, which run the whole gamut from the best of times to the worst.

Montgomery Gentry, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Alison Krauss are among the country stars who’ve used their music to embrace supposedly random fortune — good luck, bad luck, no luck at all. Luck’s been a central theme in songs about love, songs day-to-day living and even Jerry Reed’s “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” — a classic about a game of craps.

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