The Band Perry photo courtesy of Republic Nashville.

When The Band Perry learned they were hitting the road with Brad Paisley on his Virtual Reality Tour, they knew they had a lot to look forward to. One of the things the sibling trio was most excited about however was catering. Brad is known for going all out, serving up things like prime rib and crab legs.

“That is, actually, how we gauge tours are how good catering is,” Reid Perry joked. “Just because when you’re out on the road, at least for us, food is a passion that feels like home for us.” Kimberly Perry says their love of food comes from the fact that they were born and raised in the South.

Watch The Band Perry’s “All Your Life” video! >>

The trio will step away from Brad’s Virtual Reality Tour this weekend for a trip to the GRAMMYs, where they are nominated for Best New Artist. They will also perform with Glen Campbell and Blake Shelton during the show.

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Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/hankjr.

Hank Williams Jr. – HankJr: Just came across this pic, such an honor to be on stage with these ol’ boys

Blake Shelton – BlakeShelton: There’s one thing I’ve learned this week… The only thing that’s stronger than a broken heart is opening your heart. I love you dad…

Chris Young – ChrisYoungMusic: Holy crap!!!!! 2 ACM nom’s?!?! Are you freaking kidding me!! #thisisagreatmorning

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/kelliepickler.

Kellie Pickler – KelliePickler: Me & my gang! #NYwillneverbethesame

Brad Paisley – BradPaisley: Denver is such a cool city. And thanks for singing with me @TimTebow . But don’t quit your day job pal.

Martina McBride – MartinaMcBride: If there was ever a house that needed someone to go to the grocery store…this would be it. #cupboardsarebare #pleasestopraining

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/LukeBryanOnline.

Luke Bryan – LukeBryanOnline: Luke recently stopped by SeaWorld Orlando to meet one of his biggest fans Clyde the sea lion.

The Band Perry – The BandPerry: On our way to The Land of Potatoes.

Sarah Darling – _SarahDarling: Crazy night in Nashville as I took shelter in my Shower! Not a fan of tornados!! Glad we are all safe. #tired

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/joeyandrory.

Joey + Rory – JoeyandRory: my wife, the singer/cow-whisperer… helping a new born calf this morning. Another reason I love her so much

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Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, Miranda Lambert thanks fans for their support after Blake Shelton’s father passed away, Jake Owen  keeps fans updated on his broken collarbone from the waiting room, Josh Kelley shares a photo of wife Katherine Heigl that may land him in the doghouse and Taylor Swift puts her TV remote in its place. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/ladyantebellum.

Lady Antebellum – LadyAntebellum: We are all ready and excited! #OwnTheNightWorldTour

Miranda Lambert – Miranda_Lambert: Thank you all for your kindness and prayer. Our family means everything to us. Blake and I appreciate the support so much.

Jake Owen – JakeOwen: In the Dr. waiting on my sentence.. You know it’s not good when he comes in and says “That break is worse than the football teams”. Damn.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/joshkelley.

Josh Kelley – JoshBKelley: My girl getting her hair done for ONE FOR THE MONEY movie press

Storme Warren – StormeWarren: Hard lesson learned. Wear ski pole straps PROPERLY! Lazy = injury. Almost got BOTH thumbs. Close call. Better yet… Don’t use straps!

Charlie Daniels - CharlieDaniels: Went back and snowmobiled the mountain where I had my stroke 2 years ago,had a ball,ain’t God good!

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/kelliepickler.

Kellie Pickler – KelliePickler: Found a picture of me & Kyle fishing’ at one of Saddam’s Palaces on a USO tour. #BringingTheRedneckToAPalaceNearYou

Taylor Swift – TaylorSwift13: Apparently my only way of dealing with a remote control that isn’t working right is to bang it on the table and scream ‘COME ON!’

Little Big Town – LBTMusic: I wish @mattnathanson would serenade me from the top of my stairs…. sexy devil. jimi

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/BradPaisley.

Brad Paisley - BradPaisley: I’ve never been cooler than this…

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Luke Bryan photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, and Zac Brown Band have been added to the lineup for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field during this year’s CMA Music Festival. Jason Aldean, The Band Perry and Carrie Underwood were previously announced as performers. This year’s CMA Fest will take place June 7-10 in Nashville.

Faith will be returning to the CMA Fest stage for the first time since 2008 after debuting her current single, “Come Home,” on the CMA Awards, while Eric will be making his LP Field debut. Fans can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster.com or 1-(800)-745-3000. They can also purchase them by calling 1-(800)-CMA-FEST (262-3378).

ABC will again film the Nightly Concerts during CMA Fest for the network special CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock. The special will air later this year. Re-live last year’s CMA Music Festival! >>

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Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/kelliepickler.

Kellie Pickler – KelliePickler: Fishing in St. Lucia!

Brad Paisley – BradPaisley: Happy 2012. Here’s hoping the Mayans are full of sh:@+

Lee Brice – LeeBrice: She said YES! I’m one lucky man!!

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/thompsonsquare.

Thompson Square – ThompsonSquare: all celtic’d out and yes we won!

Justin Moore – JustinColeMoore: You know you’re gettin older when you’re fallin asleep in your recliner on new years eve at 8:04 pm

Frankie Ballard – FrankieBallard: I respect mechanics, except when they go right from a brake job to their turkey sandwich

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/ScottyMcCreery.

Scotty McCreery – ScottyMcCreery: Here’s a pic of me and a little boy I gave a shoebox present to [sic] today!

Miranda Lambert – Miranda_Lambert: Spring cleaning in December! Blake even cleaned the garage and people that is HUGE! No more random carcasses!

Jaron and the Long Road To Love – JaronATLRTL: Just heard a guy say “Not gonna lie, some of my cousins are pretty hot.” #nicetobebackinthesouth

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/BrettEldredge.

Brett Eldredge – BrettEldredge: Im back on land! Apparently at this moment, I thought floating above a shark was a good idea, glad they werent hungry!

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Brad Paisley photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

During the month of December Brad Paisley and his band had several days of tour rehearsals. During the stage set-up and rehearsals, Brad realized the tour begged to have a new name –  “Virtual Reality World Tour 2012” presented by Chevy.

Goodbye, Camobunga!

“When you see plans and sketches on paper it’s one thing but to actually see it in real life is something else, and that’s what happened to me when we were in tour rehearsals,” said Brad. “When I saw the visuals and how exciting and sometimes mind-blowing they were, I just felt the tour name needed to reflect what the fans were going to see. “For two hours each night of the tour they can be taken away from reality – literally.”

The tour kicks-off next week with special guests, CMA New Artist of the Year, The Band Perry and 2011 American Idol winner Scotty McCreery. Live Nation is the national tour promoter.  Log on to www.bradpaisley.com and www.livenation.com for on-sale and current information.

2012 First Quarter Tour Dates:

January 12                   Grand Rapids, MI                   Van Andel Arena

January 13                   Milwaukee, WI                       Bradley Center

January 14                   St. Paul, MN                           Xcel Energy Center

January 19                   Kansas City, MO                    Sprint Center

January 20                   Wichita, KS                            Intrust Bank Arena

January 21                   Denver, CO                             Pepsi Center

January 26                   Boise, ID                                 Idaho Center

January 27                   Salt Lake City, UT                  Maverik Center

January 28                   Las Vegas, NV                       Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino

February 9                   Spokane, WA                          Spokane Arena

February 10                 Eugene, OR                            Matthew Knight Arena

February 11                 Tacoma, WA                           Tacoma Dome

February 16                 Lubbock, TX                           United Spirit Arena

February 17                 Las Cruces, NM                      Pan American Center

February 23                 Madison, WI                           Alliant Energy Center

February 24                 Moline, IL                               iWireless Center

February 25                 Springfield, MO                      JQH Arena

March 1                       Baltimore, MD                        1^st Mariner Arena

March 2                       Knoxville, TN                         Thompson-Boling Arena

March 3                       Lexington, KY                        Rupp Arena

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Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Each year GAC asks fans to help us choose the best of the best country music videos released during the prior 12 months for our year end Top 50 Videos of the Year countdown. Here are the voting results for 2011 based on videos released and added to the GAC playlist from Nov. 1, 2010 to Oct. 31, 2011.

1. Blake Shelton — “God Gave Me You”
2. Jason Aldean w/Kelly Clarkson — “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
3. Keith Urban — “Without You”
4. Jason Aldean — “Dirt Road Anthem”
5. Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood — “Remind Me”
6. Blake Shelton — “Honey Bee”
7. Lady Antebellum — “Just A Kiss”
8. Alan Jackson — “Long Way To Go”
9. Scotty McCreery — “I Love You This Big”
10. Trace Adkins — “Just Fishin’”
11. Brad Paisley w/Alabama — “Old Alabama”
12. Toby Keith — “Made In America”
13. Martina McBride — “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”
14. Chris Young — “Tomorrow”
15. Taylor Swift — “Mean”
16. Brad Paisley — “This Is Country Music”
17. Blake Shelton — “Footloose”
18. Lady Antebellum — “We Owned The Night”
19. Keith Urban — “Long Hot Summer”
20. Kenny Chesney w/Grace Potter — “You And Tequila”
21. Jason Aldean — “Tattoos On This Town”
22. Scotty McCreery — “The Trouble With Girls”
23. Taylor Swift — “Back To December”
24. Tim McGraw — “Felt Good On My Lips”
25. Taylor Swift — “Sparks Fly”
26. Shania Twain — “Today Is Your Day”
27. Kellie Pickler — “Tough”
28. Jake Owen — “Barefoot Blue Jean Night”
29. Billy Currington — “Let Me Down Easy”
30. Lauren Alaina — “Like My Mother Does”
31. Justin Moore — “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away”
32. Loretta Lynn/Sheryl Crow/Miranda Lambert — “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
33. Rascal Flatts — “I Won’t Let Go”
34. Zac Brown Band — “Knee Deep”
35. Zac Brown Band — “Colder Weather”
36. Reba McEntire — “When Love Gets A Hold Of You”
37. Alison Krauss + Union Station — “Paper Airplane”
38. Reba McEntire — “Somebody’s Chelsea”
39. Josh Turner — “I Wouldn’t Be A Man”
40. Sugarland — “Tonight”
41. Billy Currington — “Love Done Gone”
42. Martina McBride — “Teenage Daughters”
43. Reba McEntire — “If I Were A Boy”
44. Ashton Shepherd — “Look It Up”
45. Rascal Flatts w/Natasha Bedingfield — “Easy”
46. Pistol Annies — “Hell On Heels”
47. Gloriana — “Wanna Take You Home”
48. Luke Bryan — “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)”
49. Toby Keith — “Red Solo Cup”
50. The Band Perry — “You Lie”

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Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/BradPaisley.

Brad Paisley – BradPaisley: Here it is, your moment of zen:

Danny Gokey - DannyGokey: Dear Santa: I have been good for the past week or so. Lets just focus on that.

Lady Antebellum – LadyAntebellum: Home for the holidays, riding around in moms car with license plate that reads “LADY A”. #notsoincognito Merry Christmas guys! -Dave

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/CharlieDaniels.

Charlie Daniels – CharlieDaniels: Neither one of them has a drivers license.

Jake Owen – JakeOwen: Laughing my ass off. Dad thought woman’s foot was armrest at movie and was jerking on it trying to get it down #movieseatfail She said ouch

Chris Young – ChrisYoungMusic: Haha I just locked myself out of the house. Dont take a page from my book today guys #MerryChristmasanyway

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/taylorswift13.

Taylor Swift – TaylorSwift13: I get sort of crafty when I wrap gifts. Like.. I had to stop when I found myself hot-gluing Christmas figurines on

Kellie Pickler – KelliePickler: My grandpa got me a radar detector for Christmas. Think he’s trying to tell me something??

Randy Montana – RandyMontana: Twas the night before Christmas, and it’s getting late, my brothers gift needs wrapping, and we’re out of scotch tape…

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/joeyandrory.

Joey + Rory - JoeyandRory: “somebody” doesn’t want Christmas to be over. Rory’s wearing his Santa hat to go out and load the wood stove…

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Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD. Photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has compiled their list of the Top 200 Albums of 2011. Adele’s 21 was named the No. 1 album of the year, but Taylor Swift’s Speak Now album came in at No. 2. Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party was also in the Top 5, coming in at No. 4. Rascal Flatts‘ Nothing Like This album took the No. 17 spot and Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now came in at No. 19.

Other country albums in the Top 50 include Zac Brown Band’s You Get What You Give at No. 23, Lady Antebellum’s Own The Night at No. 25, The Band Perry’s self-titled debut at No. 30, Sugarland’s The Incredible Machine at No. 33, Keith Urban’s Get Closer at No. 36, Kenny Chesney’s Hemingway’s Whiskey at No. 42, and Brad Paisley’s This Is Country Music at No. 46.

The Year-End top-selling albums are ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.

Top 20 Albums of 2011:

1. 21 – Adele
2. Speak Now – Taylor Swift
3. Born This Way – Lady Gaga
4. My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
5. The Gift – Susan Boyle
6. Tha Carter IV – Lil Wayne
7. Pink Friday – Nicki Minaj
8. Sigh No More – Mumford & Sons
9. Loud – Rihanna
10. Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
11. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
12. Doo-wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars
13. Recovery – Eminem
14. Watch The Throne – Jay-Z & Kanye West
15. O Holy Night – Jackie Evancho
16. Born Free – Kid Rock
17. Nothing Like This – Rascal Flatts
18. My World 2.0 – Justin Bieber
19. Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
20. Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Soundtrack – Various Artists

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Taylor Swift on stage during her Speak Now...Help Now benefit concert at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN on May 21, 2011. Photo credit Christie Goodwin.

When tornadoes ravaged the southeast in the spring, country stars picked up their guitars and went to work, raising money through a series of concerts and benefits to aid recovery and relief efforts. Tornadoes struck seven states in the South, killing 329 people and destroying entire communities.

Alabama spearheaded ‘BAMA RISING: A Benefit Concert for Alabama Tornado Recovery’ at Birmingham’s BJCC Arena on June 14 for Alabama tornado victims. The concert raised funds for relief efforts and featured performance from Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Kellie Pickler, Sara Evans and Darius Rucker, just to name a few. There was also an online auction component. The benefit raised more than $2 million for tornado relief efforts.

“We are so thankful that the show was a huge success and that we’re going to be able to do positive things to help those that the storm hurt so badly,” Randy Owen said. “The response has been incredible, and it’s a real tribute to the people of Alabama to see them helping their fellow Alabamians.”

Taylor Swift also pitched in, making the decision to open the doors of her final dress rehearsal for the North American leg of her Speak Now World Tour to fans as a fundraiser. One hundred percent of ticket sales from the Speak Now… Help Now show went directly to help tornado victims. Taylor expanded her fundraising efforts by streaming two performances during the Speak Now … Help Now benefit event.

View Taylor Swift’s Speak Now… Help Now photo gallery »

“I was watching the coverage of the tornadoes backstage at rehearsals, and I wanted to do something for the families affected by the damage,” Taylor said. “I’ve never opened a rehearsal to the public before, but I felt that inviting my fans to the last rehearsal for the Speak Now Tour would be a great way to raise money.”

Taylor’s Speak Now… Help Now show raised more than $750,000.

Kenny Chesney also got in on the action, making the decision to donate his fees from his Goin’ Coastal Tour stop in Tuscaloosa, AL on May 25 to GiveTuscaloosa.com, a clearing house for Tuscaloosa-area charities and services founded to aid in the recovery process. Kenny’s management team and booking representatives also donated their fees. Kenny nearly cancelled the date, but was encouraged by Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox to let the show go on.

“When we first heard about this tragedy we were stunned, as we have so many fans in the area and have enjoyed every visit that we’ve made there over the years,” Kenny said. “But Mayor Maddox convinced us that this is a great opportunity to bring the people of Tuscaloosa together in a positive way, and we are grateful for the opportunity to help them in this way.”

Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire also teamed up to raise money to help with recovery efforts. The pair raised $500,000 for Oklahoma tornado victims during their two sold-out Tornado Relief Concerts held May 25 and 26 in Durant, Oklahoma.

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