Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, Kellie Pickler gets a well-deserved break while her husband Kyle Jacobs and GAC’s Storme Warren celebrate with her Mirror Ball trophy, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert reflect on Moore, Oklahoma, Brad Paisley isn’t impressed with his Nashville appearance and Chris Young mans the grill pre-show. Here are our picks for this week’s Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week:

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/kelliepickler.

Kellie Pickler – KelliePickler: After a crazy 3 months its nap time w/my 3 babies. #puppylove

Carrie Underwood – CarrieUnderwood: Growing up in tornado alley, you always know what could happen…it doesn’t change how devastating it is when something does happen. #pray

Miranda Lambert – MirandaLambert: Sometime I feel helpless. I hope that if we can bring awareness through music that we did and will continue to do so. #PrayForOklahoma

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/stormewarren.

Storme Warren – StormeWarren: @kelliepickler ‘s hubby @kylecjacobs and me with Kellie’s trophy ball. Continue Reading

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Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Carrie Underwood wrapped her Blown Away Tour in Abbottsford, BC Thursday night with a one million dollar donation to the American Red Cross for disaster relief. The charitable contribution comes from the tour’s concert proceeds. While the charitable component was established when the tour launched in the spring of 2012, it has a very personal meaning for Carrie now, following the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.

“I have watched the devastation in my home state of Oklahoma over the past several days with great sadness,” she said.  “With the help of my fans who attended my concerts over the past year, we can offer the Red Cross a little extra help in comforting those affected by the recent tornadoes.” Continue Reading

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Travis Tritt’s 2013 album, The Calm After… Photo courtesy of Shock Ink.

Travis Tritt will celebrate Father’s Day by releasing “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough,” a remake of the Patty Smyth and Don Henley hit he recorded with his 15-year-old daughter, Tyler Reese. The single will be available June 16 and is featured on his new album, The Calm After…, out July 9.

“We were driving home from a wedding in Florida when the song came up on my iPod,” Travis said of how the duet came to be. “She started singing along in the backseat. When we got home I told my wife that I thought Tyler Reese could really do a great job on this. I know I sound like a biased parent, but she’s got a lot of talent and charisma. The recording speaks for itself. She really nailed it.” Continue Reading

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Alabama photo courtesy of Hot Schatz PR.

Alabama has announced their first “Alabama & Friends Festival at Sea,” a musical cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl. The four night luxury cruise will take place October 24-28 and travel from Miami to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.

Diamond Rio, Craig Morgan, Randy Travis and Meghan Linsey of Steel Magnolia along with DJ DU, Joe Bachman, Scott Munns, Striking Matches, Hudson Moore, Natalie Stovall Band, Rockit City with Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook and the AGB will also be aboard the boat for performances and more. For more information, visit www.alabamafestivalatsea.com. Continue Reading

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Craig Morgan and Nan kelley photo courtesy of GAC staff.

In honor of Memorial Day, GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown is paying a visit to Fort Campbell army base in Clarksville, Tennessee. Craig Morgan, a proud Army Veteran, joins host Nan Kelley for the visit as she chats with recent Silver Star recipient SFC Matthew Loheide and S.O.A.R. program founder MSG Michael Byers.

Top 20 Photo Gallery »

Nan and Craig also visit the Don F. Pratt Museum, which chronicles the history of the 101^st Airborne Division. Can Nan keep up when she and Craig go rappelling at Sabalauski Air Assault School? Tune in tonight at 8/7c to find out on this special episode of Top 20! Full schedule » Continue Reading

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Little Big Town photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Little Big Town debuted their brand new video, “Your Side of the Bed,” Thursday morning during a visit to Good Morning America. Directed by Becky Fluke, the heart wrenching video takes place at the historic Tennessee Theater and The Oliver Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee over the course of one night.

“Your Side of the Bed” was co-written by Little Big Town and Lori McKenna and has gained rave reviews from critics who describe the song as “stunning” and “…an unusually subtle power ballad.” They will join Keith Urban’s Light The Fuse Tour in July.

Watch the “Your Side of the Bed” video below: Continue Reading

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Tim McGraw photo courtesy of The Green Room.

This Memorial Day, country stars are taking time to pay tribute to our service men and women who sacrifice for our freedoms. Tim McGraw has been a longtime supporter of the troops and believes everyone should remember them , not just on Memorial Day but every day.

“It doesn’t matter what your politics are, it doesn’t matter what your religion is or any of those things,” he said. “If you’re an American, you’re proud to have those guys out there and they sacrifice quite a bit; they sacrifice everything. We just need to vocalize that as much as possible.” Continue Reading

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Darius Rucker photo by Jim Wright courtesy of Essential Broadcast Media.

By Kip Kirby

© 2013 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Darius Rucker wasn’t expecting interruptions during his Grand Ole Opry set on the night of Oct. 2.

He was nearly through with his performance, playing songs from his upcoming third album True Believers and enjoying the response from the sellout house. Then, Opry VP/GM Pete Fisher stood up in the audience, stopping the show and inviting Rucker to answer questions from fans. When the final audience member took the microphone, there was an audible gasp as Rucker realized it was none other than Brad Paisley. Nothing could have prepared him for what came next: Paisley’s invitation for his good friend to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Read our album review of True Believers >>

That moment, and the audience’s joyous reaction, underscored the Country community’s embrace of Rucker as one of its own. His journey toward this achievement began years ago back in his home state of South Carolina, long before the singer had become a household name as front man for Hootie & The Blowfish. Growing up, Rucker listened to all kinds of music: “Hee Haw” with his mother on Saturday nights, church music on Sunday mornings, big band swing standards, beach music, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll. Rucker’s musical explorations took him into all kinds of genres, and he sang along enthusiastically to them all. It never occurred to him to limit himself to one particular style or format.

“Ever since I was a kid, I was always baffled by the different labels for music because it seemed to be the same notes and the same words,” said Rucker. “I sang everything I heard and let the music take me wherever I wanted to go. I just thought all singers could sing everything. Later on, I realized they can’t.” Continue Reading

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

Following the announcement of his benefit concert for the victims of the Moore, Oklahoma tornado, Blake Shelton and his fans helped raise $50,000 just by sharing a link on Facebook. For every share of the jcp cares post, JC Penney donated $1 up to $50,000 to the American Red Cross Disaster Giving Program. In under 10 minutes, the post had already raised more than $10,000.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people of my home state of Oklahoma,” Blake wrote. “Please share this post within the next 24 hours, and my friends at jcpenney will donate $1 to the American Red Cross for each share – up to $50,000!” Continue Reading

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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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