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

With the No. 1 album in the nation and the most nominations for this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards, Lady Antebellum picked a perfect time to have its personal history intersect with country’s bigger history. The band headlined Wednesday for the first time at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and left little doubt that it will soon be headlining everywhere.

View photos from yesterday’s rehearsal and show — and check back tomorrow for more pics from tonight’s concert!

In the first of two sold-out shows, the trio deftly tied together its pop-sprinkled sound and the venue’s traditional-country background, getting a standing ovation for its encore and demonstrating a flexibility that should serve the group well.

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Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

If she was blowing out candles on her birthday cake on Wednesday, Carrie Underwood likely didn’t bother to count out the 27 wicks that should have decorated the dessert.

She’s piled up some impressive numbers in the music business: 11 straight chart-topping singles, 11 million albums sold, 1.2 million tickets sold on her last concert tour. But she’s a bit nonplussed by all the music-business arithmetic.

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The CMA Board of Directors and nearly 400 Washington luminaries attended an intimate evening of acoustic music in the Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress' Jefferson Building with performances by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, Bob DiPiero, Lorrie Morgan, John Rich of Big & Rich, Randy Scruggs, and Victoria Shaw. (l-r) U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, Morgan, CMA Board President-Elect Gary Overton, Shaw, and Rich. Photo: Mitchell Layton, courtesy of CMA.

Libraries are meant to be quiet, but John Rich and Kix Brooks helped a passel of country figures make some important noise Tuesday in Washington, D.C., as the Country Music Association presented a show in conjunction with the Library of Congress.

“Story Tellers And Story Keepers” featured Kix, John and Lorrie Morgan, as well as ace musician Randy Scruggs and noted songwriters Victoria Shaw and Bob DiPiero, representing voices from several sectors of Nashville’s best-known industry. Delivered to a room that included influential lawmakers, the concert also allowed the music-makers to mingle with their guests in a pre-show reception.

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Gretchen Wilson photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Gretchen Wilson has a new CD and single called “Work Hard, Play Harder” — and she coming to the GAC studios very soon! We need your help interviewing her, so please send us your questions for Gretchen. What to ask? Be creative with your questions! Don’t ask when she’s coming to your city because those questions won’t be chosen (you can check her official website for that info).

We’ll take the most unique questions to Gretchen and then feature her answers on GACTV.com very soon in our Fan Q&A section. Hurry, our deadline for Gretchen Wilson questions is Sunday, March 20 at 4 p.m. Central – so click here to send us your question for Gretchen!

One more thing — and this is very important: Do not leave your question as a comment below; you MUST click on the link above for your question to be considered. Thanks so much — we can’t wait to read your questions!

Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog Nashville.

One of the benefits of earning acclaim in country music is the ability to attract extra income through business deals that build on an artist’s fame even though those deals are not directly related to music.

Artists probably turn down a lot more opportunities than they accept, but a few acts — including Toby Keith, Dolly Parton and Trisha Yearwood — have some ancilliary projects earning attention this week. Grand openings, a book release and — in the case of newcomer Danny Gokey — an endorsement deal are all part of the mix.

Here’s some of the non-musical business currently going down in country music:

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Brooks & Dunn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

As Brooks & Dunn prep for their “Last Rodeo Tour,” we thought it would interesting to have you, the fans, pick their Top 10 videos of all time.  Thousands of fans voted and we compiled the results into our first-ever Fan Voted Superstar Session.  The show premiered last night on GAC.  If you missed it, don’t worry, the countdown will air again this Saturday, March 13 at 10 p.m. ET.

Thanks to all of you who voted! Here are the results: Continue Reading

Tiffany Fallon and Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney in 2005, just after they became engaged. Photo courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

Congratulations to Rascal Flatts‘ Joe Don Rooney and wife Tiffany Fallon, who announced via People magazine that they’re expecting their second child.

“We’re a little more prepared but the same excitement is there,” says Joe Don, already dad to 21-month-old son Jagger Donovan. “There’s such fulfillment in being a father and it’s going to be two-fold now, which is so cool.”

Tiffany, 35, told Joe Don, 34, the big news while they were staying at the same Los Angeles hotel where she revealed she was expecting Jagger. 

“It was late January and we were out by the pool chilling and she said, ‘I have something to show you,’ and she opened her purse and pulled out the stick with the positive sign,” says Joe Don. “I was like ‘Wow! We’re going to have to stop coming to this hotel. We’ll have 16 of these things before long!’ But life just couldn’t get better.”

The magazine reports the couple — due in September – are preparing Jagger to be a big brother, ”but he doesn’t quite understand yet,” Joe Don says. “I pray with him every night and we pray for his brother- or sister-to-be.”

Joe Don says they’ll find out the sex of the baby so Tiffany can “prepare the nest” — but so far they don’t agree on what it’ll be. He thinks it’ll be a girl; Tiffany predicts another boy.

LeAnn Rimes photo courtesy of Curb Nashville.

Ryan Bingham earned a lot of attention for country music when he picked up an Oscar award for the theme from Crazy Heart this weekend, but he’s hardly alone among country recording artists participating in current film projects.

LeAnn Rimes, Dwight Yoakam and Miley Cyrus all have roles in titles that are on the way. Tim McGraw just finished working on another film, and Taylor Swift has racked up more sales for her work on a recent soundtrack.

Here’s a rundown on country’s current ties to Hollywood:

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Jason Aldean photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records; Ashley Monroe photo courtesy of myspace.com/ashleymonroe.

In the space of four days, “The Truth” provided some rather incredible symmetry for singer-songwriter Ashley Monroe. On Friday, Ashley was invited to sing the song during Miranda Lambert’s set in Knoxville at Thompson-Boling Arena — the same venue where Ashley once sat in the nosebleed seats to watch Shania Twain. On Monday, she was the belle of the ball at a Music Row party as Jason Aldean and others toasted her for the song’s recent ascent to No. 1.

The truth about “The Truth” is that the road from conception to the top of the charts was a four-year run. Now 23, Ashley co-wrote the song at age 19 with songwriter Brett James. The two set up a creative office on the living-room floor while his wife was in the kitchen and his kids were goofing around under the coffee table.

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Alan Jackson photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

This week is a significant milestone for Alan Jackson: It marks 20 years since “Here In The Real World” climbed into the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Since then he’s landed more than 50 titles in the Top 10, literally taking him from rags to riches.

Alan was one of the first artists to break through after Arista Records opened its country division, and he’s been with the label ever since, although it appears those days are numbered. What the future holds for him remains to be seen.

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