Vince Gill photo by Tim Wright, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Vince Gill released his latest album, Guitar Slinger, in October of last year, five years after his last release of original music [read our review HERE]. Now, Vince is in a time of transition. His recording contract with MCA ended last year and while he still wants to make new music, he tells the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that he realizes the country landscape has changed.

“I still want to have hit records,” he said. “You never get that out of your system. But in some sense, I have been shown the door.”

Vince, known for his traditional country sound as well as his love of bluegrass music, has issues with today’s mainstream country music. He feels fashion and gimmicks often take place of the truthful lyrics he reveres. “For me, it’s lost its traditional bent pretty severely,” he said. “I would love to hear someone write a song like ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ rather than ‘You’re hot. I’m hot. We’re in a truck.’ It’s just mind-numbing to me.”

It’s not just the sound of the songs on the radio that have changed. The business side of Music City has seen plenty of change itself. Vince compared the digital revolution of music to a certain app in the app store that costs the same as a digital single.

“Income streams are dwindling,” he said. “Record sales aren’t what they used to be. The devaluation of music and what it’s now deemed to be worth is laughable to me. My single costs 99 cents. That’s what a (single) cost in 1960. On my phone, I can get an app for 99 cents that makes fart noises – the same price as the thing I create and speak to the world with. Some would say the fart app is more important. It’s an awkward time. Creative brains are being sorely mistreated.” Continue Reading

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David Nail photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Hot Nights at the Hall summer concert series for museum members will return June 5. David Nail, Jana Kramer and Love and Theft will headline the three concerts, which will feature live music, food, autographs and exclusive access to the museum and Museum Store.

Hot Nights at the Hall is free to all museum members. Membership at the museum begins at $40 and includes admission to all three concert events as well as a year of free admission to the museum and much more. To purchase a membership, call (615) 291-8419 or at www.countrymusichalloffame.org/membership.

“Our members are a vital part of our museum family, and their contributions directly support our mission,”  Museum Director Kyle Young said. “We created Hot Nights at the Hall last year as a way to say ‘thank you’ to the members we have, and to encourage others to join us by providing them with a really great value and yet another benefit to museum membership.  We’re excited to bring the series back this summer and again offer members old and new a chance to hear some great music, meet the performers, and enjoy our exhibits after hours.” Continue Reading

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Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog-Universal Music.

The 9^th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic will kick off on May 18 with the groundbreaking of the OK Kids Korral in Oklahoma City. The building will serve as a home-away-from-home for children and families being treated at OU Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital and other nearby facilities. The home has been the ultimate goal of the Toby Keith Foundation and its annual event.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 10 a.m., turning the foundation’s dream into a reality. That evening, a dinner and auction will continue the fundraising tradition having raised $650,000 at last year’s event. Highlights from this year’s auction include a trip to Africa with Pros for Africa, a Brush Creek getaway, a Dallas Cowboys VIP package, having a menu item named for you at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, concerts and golf packages and memorabilia from Coldplay, Carrie Underwood, the Rolling Stones, the Three Stooges and Toby Keith himself.

The next day, participants will hit the links with a wide range of celebrities for the main event. Another highlight from the Classic will be the Built Ford Tough Shootout which will offer a new truck to the winner. Local dealership Seth Wadley Ford has offered up a truck as well, should someone hit a hole-in-one. Continue Reading

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Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert celebrate Team Blake’s Jermaine Paul’s win on The Voice, Jake Owen gets married, Merle Haggard shares why no camera crew will film his family and Edens Edge gives a sneak peek from the set of their latest video. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/Miranda_Lambert.

Miranda Lambert – Miranda_Lambert: Ahhhhhhhhhh !!! Team Blake did it!!!!!

Blake Shelton – BlakeShelton: Still in shock… Thank you America!!! You picked the right guy… Congrats @JermainePaul…. You deserve this.

Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum – HillaryScottLA: So touched by the bromance that is @adamlevine and @blakeshelton…something special! @NBCTheVoice #TheVoiceFinale

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/scottymccreery.

Scotty McCreery – ScottyMcCreery: Met the last guy alive who struck out Babe Ruth today at the game! 98 year old Ray “Lefty” Freeman Continue Reading

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LT Tedrow's lithograph presentation to Kellie post-flight. Photo by Meghann Zolan, Jim Havey PR, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Kellie Pickler was soaring high Wednesday when she took a flight over Middle Tennessee with the United States Navy Blue Angels. #7 Pilot LT Mark Tedrow took Kellie from the ground to 2,000 feet in just four seconds, departing from the Smyrna Airport just outside of Nashville.

Back at the airport and with two feet on solid ground, LT Tedrow presented Kellie with a personalized lithograph to commemorate her flight with the Blue Angels. The Blue Angels will be performing at the airport this weekend for the Great Tennessee Air Show. “THANK YOU @BlueAngels for the fastest most badass ride of my life!!!! Let’s fly again soon!!! ” Kellie tweeted after her flight. Continue Reading

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Photo courtesy of Monarch Publicity.

Bucky Covington’s tour bus was involved in an accident on I-65 in Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday. Bucky was not on the bus at the time of the accident. While a few passengers from both vehicles involved were taken to the hospital for closer examination, there appear to be no serious injuries. His show went on as scheduled, but he will be in the market for a new  tour bus to continue his run of tour dates this summer and fall.

A tour bus isn’t the only thing new thing on Bucky’s agenda. The video for his long-awaited new single, “I Wanna Be That Feeling,” premiered on GAC last week. Directed by Kristin Barlowe, the video was filmed at Nashville’s abandoned Tennessee State Prison.

Watch the video!

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Top 20 Country Countdown host Nan Kelley with Dollywood potter, Tim Kerns. Photo by Jared Spicer.

This Week, GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown is going on an adventure. Host Nan Kelley is in the family-friendly town of Pigeon Forge to count down this week’s Top 20 videos –  and what’s a trip to East Tennessee without a trip to Dolly Parton’s Dollywood?

While at Dollywood, Nan will show off the newest addition to the park – the Wild Eagle Roller Coaster. The steel wing coaster is the first of its kind in the U.S. and lets riders experience the freedom of flight seated four abreast with two riders actually seated on the ‘wings’ with nothing but air above and below them.

Will Nan be brave enough to give the coaster a try? Tune in tonight at 8/7 CT to find out, as well as see where your favorite videos fall on this week’s chart. Check the full schedule »

And while you’re watching Top 20 tonight, you’ll have a chance to win $1,000 in our Top 20 for $20,000 Sweepstakes! Just watch Top 20 then come back here to GACTV.com and answer the weekly question. A new $1,000 winner will be chosen each week and one grand prize winner will win $20,000! Enter Now >>  Continue Reading

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Kenny Chesney photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Kenny Chesney has added the Academy of Country Music’s 2012 Guitarist of the Year Kenny Greenberg to his already-versatile backing band for his Brothers of the Sun Tour, which he’ll co-headline with Tim McGraw. Kenny Greenberg, a noted Nashville session musician, has worked with Bob Seger, Willie Nelson and Etta James, among others.

Greenberg moved to Nashville at 21 and began writing, producing and recording for artists across a wide range of genres including folk, gospel, pop and country. He has produced several GRAMMY-winning and Oscar-nominated songs and frequently collaborates with Kenny Chesney, most recently on Kenny’s upcoming album, Welcome To The Fishbowl, out June 19.

“Kenny is one of the best guitarists out there today, period,” Kenny Chesney said. “He’s been a great friend and collaborator over the years, right through Welcome To The Fishbowl, and it’s going to be amazing to have him at the party each night this summer.” Continue Reading

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Tim McGraw photo courtesy of timmcgraw.com.

Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Craig Campbell, Montgomery Gentry, Josh Gracin, JT Hodges and more will participate in The Tug McGraw Foundation’s inaugural ‘Celebrity Sporting Clay Shootout’ on Tuesday, June 5 at the Nashville Gun Club. Proceeds will benefit the Tug McGraw Foundation and its efforts to improve the lives of military service members affected by Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.

The Celebrity Sporting Clay Shootout will feature a lineup of celebrities, all competing to be crowned Celebrity Sporting Clay Shootout champion. Bill McGuire, the 2011 National Sporting Clay Champion, will head up the professional contingent for the event. Additional celebrities will be announced soon.

The event will be a sporting clay shooting competition between 15 teams consisting of four shooters, a pro, and a celebrity. Unlike trap and skeet, sporting clays simulates live-quarry shooting, offering a variety of trajectories, angles, speeds, elevations, distances, and target sizes. Continue Reading

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Darryl Worley receives special recognition from MSG Sean Arnts. Photo courtesy of Hot Schatz PR.

Darryl Worley recently made his 10th visit to troops serving overseas, entertaining service men and women in Afghanistan and Kuwait. For this visit, Darryl wanted to visit the tiny and elite Special Ops sites, where military serving on the front lines rarely receive celebrity visits. The tour was sponsored by Armed Forces Entertainment, Morale, Welfare and Recreation and Stars for Stripes (SFS).

“I’ve had the opportunity to travel to some of the small FOBs on previous tours and saw the impact our visits made on the men and women in those sites,” Darryl said. “It has been a dream of mine for several years to do an entire tour focused on the remote sites where our Special Ops Forces are located. Those guys are our unsung heroes, facing the most dangerous situations and not asking for any recognition for their service. To be able to personally visit and thank that segment of our nation’s heroes was truly a special blessing.”

See photos from Darryl’s tour >>

On this trip, Darryl was accompanied by his longtime friend and guitarist, Jeff ‘Soir’ Jared, and Stars for Stripes President Judy Seale. Judy founded SFS in 2003 and helped make it possible for Darryl to visit the special op sites.

“When I founded Stars for Stripes, my goal was to reach the most remote sites where our men and women serving rarely receive celebrity visits,” Judy said. “I’ve accomplished that goal throughout the years, but never to the extent that we managed on this tour. It was life-altering for all of us, and we were so fortunate to have the opportunity to say thank you in person to those who rarely receive those accolades. I will forever be grateful to Darryl for his support and having the foresight to recognize the need for tours like this.”   Continue Reading

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