Brad Paisley photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Dating back to the “Celebrity” video, Brad Paisley’s developed a running friendship with former “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, which created a weird moment in Brad’s household a year ago.

Shatner had a movie in the Nashville Film Festival, and when he went to Music City, Brad invited him out to visit at the farm. And William apparently had a pretty good time.

“One of the strangest things I’ve ever seen,” Brad told CultureMap.com. “I came home from the recording studio, and [he] was already over at the house, playing with my two-year-old son in the basement — with light sabers. I walked in to see my son and Captain Kirk, dueling with light sabers. I looked over at my wife, and asked, ‘What the hell kind of bizarre universe have I just walked into here?’”

Brad goes into William Shatner’s TV world — kinda, sorta — next month when he takes part in a taping for an upcoming CBS special in Las Vegas. He’s been added to the lineup for “ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn — The Last Rodeo.” Other new additions to the special, which airs May 23, include Jason Aldean, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Antebellum, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland and Taylor Swift.

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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:

• LeAnn has a slot alongside Luke Perry in the movie Good Intentions, which is released Tuesday on DVD. Billed as an “off-beat comedy,” it might represent a bigger commitment to film by LeAnn, who co-starred with Eddie Cibrian last year in the Lifetime movie Northern Lights. “I’ve been wanting to act,” she says. “It’s just been finding the right thing. And Good Intentions was the right thing at the right time. It was the right script.” Two of LeAnn’s songs, “Nothin’ Better To Do” and “Family,” also appear on the soundtrack.

• Dwight has a role in Provinces Of Night, an independent movie about a twisted family shot last year in North Carolina. The picture — which also features Kris Kristofferson, Val Kilmer and Hillary Duff — premiered last month at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It’s slated for a screening next month at the Nashville Film Festival.

• The Last Song, starring Miley and her current beau Liam Hemsworth, hits theaters March 31. The final episode of her Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana” is slated to air March 14.

• Tim and his wife, Faith Hill, were at Sunday’s Oscars, but they also were on hand at a recent wrap party in Nashville, according to The Tennessean. They celebrated at the Mercy Lounge as Love Don’t Let Me Down reached its final week of filming. Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays a country singer in the project, got up during the party to sing a karaoke version of “Killing Me Softly.”

• Taylor has collected another gold single for a song that hasn’t actually been released as a single. “Today Was A Fairytale,” included in the soundtrack to Valentine’s Day, was certified last month for downloads of more than 500,000 copies.

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Taylor Swift on the April 2010 cover of Elle magazine.

ELLE’s April 2010 cover girl is Taylor Swift!  The issue hits stands on March 16 and promises more glamorous photos and a revealing interview.   This is just the latest in an ongoing streak of high profile covers.  Over the past couple years Taylor has graced the covers of People, Rolling Stone, Allure, In Style, Glamour, Blender, Women’s Health, Seventeen, Country Weekly, and the list goes on…

You can see more photos from the shoot and get a taste of the interview at elle.com.  Here’s an excerpt of the online interview where Taylor shares her take…

On who she thinks is hot: “Um, well…Taylor Lautner.”

On whether she’s really “fearless”: “I overthink everything. I overanalyze everything.”

On one of her biggest fears: “Me making a bunch of bad decisions and embarking on a painful, slow, devastating tailspin.”

Watch Taylor’s entire collection of music videos, exclusive interview clips, browse hundreds of photos and more »

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Lady Antebellum on the Orange Carpet at the 44th Annual ACM Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 5, 2009. Photo © Sara de Boer / Retna Ltd.

This was quite a week for Lady Antebellum’s recent monster hit “Need You Now.” The title was announced as a finalist for Single Record, Song and Video of the Year in the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, leading Lady A to the head of the pack with seven nominations total.

In addition, “Need You Now” has been tabbed for the next edition of a major pop CD series. It’s being included among 21 songs on Now That’s What I Call Music! 33, which comes out March 23.

It’s as if the band is repeating its success with the final single from its debut album, “I Run To You.” That song performed quite well on the awards circuit, winning Single of the Year from the Country Music Association and a Grammy, and it was likewise featured on Now 31. It’s appropriate that “Need You Now” is getting some of the same attention, because the songs have worked together to cement the link between the band and its audience.

“After the success of ‘I Run To You’ and going into ‘Need You Now’ and just our fans responding to it, it was like the two puzzle pieces fit together,” Lady A’s Hillary Scott says. “It’s like the fans and who we are fit together. I think we finally got each other.”

Lady A isn’t the only country act on Now 33. Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” is also featured on the disc alongside pop acts Lady Gaga, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Train. Lady A will find out if “Need You Now” wins anything when the ACMs are presented April 18.

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Lady Antebellum on the Orange Carpet at the 44th Annual ACM Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 5, 2009. Photo © Sara de Boer / Retna Ltd.

Lady Antebellum heard their name called a whopping seven times this morning as Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire announced the nominees for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on the CBS program, The Early Show. The ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 8 at  p.m. ET (delayed PT) on CBS and will be hosted by Reba for the 12th time.

For the third year, fans will select the winner of the Academy’s most prestigious honor, Entertainer of the Year and for the second year, the three newcomer categories for the annual Academy of Country Music Awards —Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duo — will also be opened up to fan voting. The winner in each Top New category will then move on to compete for Top New Artist which is also a fan voted category. Online voting for all fan voted categories will be available at http://www.voteacm.com/.  The winners of Entertainer of the Year and Top New Artist will be announced live during the 45^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. 

Lady A’s seven nominations include Album of the Year for Lady Antebellum and Top Vocal Group.  In addition, the trio was nominated for Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year for “Need You Now.” They were also nominated as a producer for Single Record of the Year and as a composer for Song of the Year.

Miranda Lambert is nominated for six awards, including Album of the Year for Revolution and Top Female Vocalist.  Miranda won the 2007 Album of the Year for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She is nominated for Single Record of the Year and as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for “White Liar,” which is also nominated for Video of the Year.

Carrie Underwood is nominated for six awards, including Entertainer of Year. Carrie is the reigning Entertainer of the Year, and, if she wins that category again, she will be the first female in Academy history to capture two Entertainer of the Year trophies.  Carrie is also nominated as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for “Cowboy Casanova,” as well as Vocal Event of the Year for “I Told You So” with Randy Travis. In addition, Carrie is nominated for Top Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for Play On. If she wins Top Female Vocalist, it will be the fourth consecutive year she has won the category.  Carrie also won the 2006 Album of the Year for Some Hearts.

Taylor Swift is nominated for five awards, including her first nod for Entertainer of the Year.  If she wins Entertainer of the Year, she will be the eighth female in Academy history to win in this category. Taylor is nominated as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for “You Belong With Me,” for which she is also nominated for Video of the Year and she also received a nomination for Top Female Vocalist.  

Kenny Chesney is nominated for four awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. If he wins Entertainer of the Year, it will be his fifth win in the category. He is currently one of only 3 acts in Academy history to achieve four wins for Entertainer of the Year. Kenny is also nominated as an artist and producer for Vocal Event of the Year for “I’m Alive” with multi-platinum recording artist Dave Matthews. 

Brad Paisley is nominated for four awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. Brad is the reigning Top Male Vocalist, and, if he wins the category, it will be his fourth consecutive Top Male Vocalist title. Brad is also nominated for Album of the Year for American Saturday Night and for Video of the Year for “Welcome to the Future.” He won the 2005 Album of the Year for Time Well Wasted.

Zac Brown Band is nominated for four awards including Entertainer of the Year, their first nomination in the category. If Zac Brown Band wins Entertainer of the Year they will be the third vocal group in Academy history ever to win the award. Zac Brown Band is also nominated for Album of the Year for The Foundation, Single Record of the Year for “Toes,” and Top Vocal Group. They are the reigning Top New Vocal Group.

Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band also received two additional individual nominations as the producer for both Album of the Year for The Foundation and Single Record of the Year for “Toes.”  

Also, in its ninth year, the Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award will be given to Montgomery Gentry for their ongoing community service and charitable giving of their time and talent.   The award recognizes country music artists who serve others, have a generous spirit and help build the dreams of those in need.

Following is the list of final nominees. Winners in each of the following categories, except where noted, will be presented with an ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD during the live television broadcast:

Entertainer of the Year

• Kenny Chesney
• Toby Keith
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait
• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood
• Keith Urban
• Zac Brown Band

Top Male Vocalist of the Year

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley
• Darius Rucker
• George Strait
• Keith Urban 

Top Female Vocalist of the Year

• Miranda Lambert
• Reba McEntire
• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood
• Lee Ann Womack

Top Vocal Group of the Year

• Lady Antebellum
• Little Big Town
• Randy Rogers Band
• Rascal Flatts
• Zac Brown Band

Top Vocal Duo of the Year

• Brooks & Dunn
• Joey + Rory
• Montgomery Gentry
• Steel Magnolia
• Sugarland

TOP NEW SOLO VOCALIST of the Year *

• Luke Bryan
• Jamey Johnson
• Chris Young

TOP NEW VOCAL DUO of the Year *

• Bomshel
• Joey + Rory
• Steel Magnolia

TOP NEW VOCAL GROUP of the Year *

• Eli Young Band
• Gloriana
• The Lost Trailers

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]

• American Saturday Night - Brad Paisley (Arista Nashville) 

Produced by: Chris DuBois, Frank Rogers

• Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)

Produced by:  Victoria Shaw, Paul Worley

• Play On - Carrie Underwood (19/Arista Nashville)

Produced by: Mark Bright

“Quitter” Produced by Max Martin & Shellback for Maratone Productions and Mark Bright

• Revolution - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)

Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke

• The Foundation - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)

Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown

Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]     

• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)

Produced by: Lady Antebellum, Paul Worley

• People Are Crazy - Billy Currington (Mercury)

Produced by: Carson Chamberlain, Billy Currington

• Red Light - David Nail (MCA Nashville)

Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke

• Toes - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)

Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown

• White Liar - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)

Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke

Song of the Year [Awarded to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

• Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

Composers:  Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood 

Publishers:   Brett James Cornelius Music (ASCAP), Carrie Okie Music (BMI), Rincon Ave Music

(ASCAP), Stage Three Songs (ASCAP)

• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum

Composers:  Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott

Publishers: EMI Foray Music (BMI), Darth Buddha (ASCAP), Dwhaywood Music (BMI), Hillary Dawn Publishing (SESAC), Radiobullets Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Year Of The Dog Music (ASCAP)

• People Are Crazy - Billy Currington

Composers:  Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones

Publishers:  Crozier Music Enterprises LLC (BMI), Mighty Nice Music (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)

• White Liar - Miranda Lambert

Composers:  Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert

Publishers:  Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)

• You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

Composers:  Liz Rose, Taylor Swift

Publishers:  Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Taylor Swift Music (BMI)

Video of the Year [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] (Off Camera Award)

• Boots On – Randy Houser

Producer: Eric Welch

Director: Eric Welch (Drake footage: Vickie Vaughn)         

• Need You Now – Lady Antebellum

Producer: Clarke Gallican

Director: David McClister

• Welcome To The Future – Brad Paisley

Producers: Mark Kalbfeld, Jim Shea, Peter Tilden

Director: Jim Shea

• White Liar – Miranda Lambert

Producer:  Tameron Hedge

Director: Chris Hicky

• You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

Producer: Randy Brewer

Director: Roman White

Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (Off Camera Award)

• Hillbilly Bone – Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins (Reprise Records / Warner Music Nashville)

Producer: Scott Hendricks

• Honky Tonk Stomp – Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons (Arista Nashville)

Producer: Ronnie Dunn, Terry McBride

• I Told You So – Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis (19/Arista Nashville)

Producer:  Mark Bright

• I’m Alive – Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews (Blue Chair/BNA)

Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney

• Seeing Stars – Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin (Big Machine Records)

Produced by: Jack Ingram, Jeremy Stover 

* Fan voting for Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duo began at VoteACM.com on Friday, February 26 and will close on Friday, March 12.  The winner in each of the three categories will be announced March 23, and will move on to compete for Top New Artist.  Fan voting for Top New Artist and Entertainer of the Year begins on Thursday, April 1 at VoteACM.com. Fan voting for Top New Artist will close at 5pm PT on April 18^th (before the LIVE show starts) and fan voting for Entertainer of the Year will close during the third hour of the LIVE broadcast.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination which factors into their official count. For example, Billy Currington received two nominations in the Single Record of the Year category—one each as artist and producer—because that category recognizes both.

In addition, the Song of the Year category recognizes the artist, composer and publishing company as a nominee but does not recognize an individual as owner or partial owner of the publishing company.  For example, Taylor Swift Music is a nominee in that category, separate from Taylor Swift the performer, who is nominated in that category twice as artist and composer.

Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.

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Bridgette Tatum photo courtesy of Route Forty-Nine Records.

The Country Radio Seminar is a tough nut for a new artist to crack. Between the official performances, the unofficial side events and general hanging about by the genre’s stars, an attendee can catch the likes of Alan Jackson, John Rich, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Craig Morgan or Darius Rucker. How does an artist who hasn’t even released an album get some attention?

In the case of Bridgette Tatum, working her feisty single “(I Like My) Cowboys Dirty,” you rename the hotel’s Bridge Bar as the Bridgette Bar. You slap your video on the club’s screens, throw over-sized banners along the glass walls, set out Bridgette Tatum placards on all the tables and put the waitresses in “(I Like My) Cowboys Dirty” T-shirts — or, better put, dirty T-shirts. Not enough? It helps that your record company is owned in part by NASCAR driver Ryan Newman — bring him in to race in a video game with guests and promise attendees you have a special “Dirty” drink just for them.

Bridgette’s already started making a name for herself as a co-writer of the massive Jason Aldean power-chord special “She’s Country,” but even with those credentials, CRS is a tough sell. She wasn’t even the only artist in the Bridgette Bar on Wednesday night. You could spot former Shenandoah vocalist Marty Raybon, newcomer Katie Armiger and even much-publicized Mindy McCready. And Kix Brooks might well have been headed for the Bridgette Bar when he rolled into the lobby of the Renaissance Nashville Hotel around 11 p.m.

It’s all a whirlwind of experiences — particularly for the overworked radio programmers who pop in from across the country for a mind-numbing introduction to the latest research on their business, topped off with a lot of out-of-town partying. They’re not the only ones who feel it. Even the artists start their days early, and Bridgette didn’t leave the Bridgette Bar Wednesday night until 1 a.m. The next morning, she started in again with interviews and a series of introductions to radio execs.

“It’s a little mind-blowing — the days and when they start and what you’re doin’,” she said at the end of lunch Thursday. “It’s just very busy, but there’s a lot of electricity, a lot of energy in the air, and it’s all positive for music, so that’s the whole purpose for bein’ here at the end of the day.”

For Bridgette, it’s all about establishing an identity. Her debut album, Sex, Church & Chicken, hasn’t yet hit the streets. She was making plans for its release in the fall of 2008 when she found out Jason had recorded “She’s Country.” The AC/DC-style chords were, she correctly believed, destined to make an impact. Rather than put her project out right away, she and her business partners decided to let it marinate in the vaults a little longer while “She’s Country” built a story for her to tell. Between that song, “(I Like My) Cowboys Dirty” and some of the titles on that upcoming CD — “Funky In The Country,” “Sex Machine,” “Hillbilly Rock Star” — the wild-and-crazy bar atmosphere might help people figure her out. Or at least give her an edgy head start on making a connection.

“I’m not different on purpose, it just kinda ends up that way,” she suggested. “I just kinda like to have different sounds, things that people haven’t heard before, things that I haven’t heard before, because I like to be excited about the music. If you can’t have that, then you’ve just got the same thing we’ve already heard before, and — well, we’ve already heard it. So we need to do somethin’ different… I wanted it to be a love-or-hate thing, and I think a ‘She’s Country’ or an ‘(I Like My) Cowboys Dirty,’ they either love it or they hate it.”

The special dirty drink, by the way: turns out it was just a shot of tequila. Bridgette only convinced one guest to cowboy up: the GACTV.com reporter. (Don’t judge me — I had to research the story!)

Between the dirty T-shirts, the banners, the videos and the cleverly renamed Bridgette Bar, she’s hoping she made an impression. She’s not naïve enough to think it means instant stardom, but if it cut through the CRS event clutter and created a little more recognition, it served its purpose.

“I hope that they’ll be able to identify who I am and they’ll know at least a little bit more about me,” Bridgette said. “I hope at the end of the day, they’re gonna be playin’ this music one way or another. You might not be playin’ this song, but you’ll play one.” Click here to watch the video for “(I Like My) Cowboys Dirty.”

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Taylor Swift photo by Ash Newell, courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Taylor Swift’s new music video is for the title track of her Grammy Award winning album, Fearless.  The clip plays out like a video journal/documentary, showcasing a collection of Taylor’s onstage and behind-the-scenes highlights from this past year’s  “Fearless World Tour.”   The video, directed by Todd Cassetty, not only shows off her passion for performing, it really shows off her passion for her fans and how connected she is to them.

Click here to watch the video for “Fearless” at GACTV.com now »

I’ve seen Taylor in concert more than once, and each time I have shared the experience with my 11-year old daughter.  Seeing Taylor in concert is not about going to a music recital for a quiet, pristine performance. It’s about having a stand-up-and-dance, scream-out-loud-good-time.  Taylor’s video for “Fearless” captures that attitude and the experience of what she brings to her fans each and every night she steps onstage.  She’s definitely been the source of some unforgettable moments and wonderful experiences for me and my daughter this past year!  Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think about Taylor’s new video!

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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Lady Antebellum wasn’t sure when it wrote “Need You Now” how Capitol Records would react to it. Likewise, the band wasn’t entirely convinced that radio stations would like it or that the general public would warm to it.

They certainly weren’t expecting the song to become a major pop record, but that’s exactly what’s happened. “Need You Now” reached No. 9 this week on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, and it’s likewise at No. 22 on the magazine’s Top Pop Songs list.

It’s not a development the band tried to create. A handful of pop stations started playing the song in November or December. Once the label figured out what was happening, it got proactive in promoting the song to the pop market. In the meantime, Lady A wants to reassure its core country fans that the band won’t suddenly start chasing the other genre.

“We’re a country artist,” group member Charles Kelley says. “The song just started to get played randomly, and so our label obviously saw some opportunity there and has pursued it. It’s been exciting for us to reach more fans, but we’re not goin’ anywhere. It just happens to be the sound of this record. It kinda crosses genres, but I think a song like ‘American Honey’ probably won’t have the flavor to do that. It’s been obviously cool to see, but we aren’t goin’ anywhere.”

“American Honey,” the second single from the Need You Now album, is doing just fine in country. The song jumped into the Top 15 on this week’s USA Today Mediabase country chart, reaching the No. 12 position.

In the meantime, “Need You Now” is sort of symbolically showing just how hot country music has become. In addition to Lady A’s single, the USA Today Adult Contemporary chart also features a pair of Taylor Swift titles — “You Belong With Me” and “Fifteen” — and Keith Urban’s “Kiss A Girl.” Not too long ago, it also boasted Brad Paisley’s “Then.”

The pop success “just represents how the country genre, it’s really broadening itself a lot,” Charles says. “It’s open, it’s America’s music, and we’re just tryin’ to represent country music well. It’s nice to see more fans come into the genre. Taylor Swift’s opened that up, Rascal Flatts have opened the doors of that, Keith Urban had several records that did that, Shania Twain — so we’re not the first, but we definitely want everyone to realize we’re not goin’ anywhere either. We’re just gonna create our music and wherever it gets played, let it be.”

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Vince Gill photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Dwight Yoakam sang about “guitars, Cadillacs and hillbilly music,” and the guitar is central to current stories involving three different Halls of Fame — one of which contains a Cadillac owned by the late Elvis Presley.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, previously known as the Cowboy Hall of Fame, has a new guitar exhibit at its home in Oklahoma City, where instruments used by the likes of Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and Marty Robbins are on display.

A guitar Taylor Swift used during a fundraiser to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame in the fall is now being sold at auction to raise even more money for the facility. And the Musicians Hall of Fame, located just blocks from the Country Hall in downtown Nashville, has to put guitars owned by some classic figures — including Charlie Daniels and Elvis musician Scotty Moore — into storage by the end of the week.

Vince, who’s one of the top guitarists in country music today, opted to put the guitar owned by his late father on display in the Cowboy Museum because the instrument is the one that started his entire journey as a musician.

“I got my own guitar when I was 10,” he told The Oklahoman, “but until then, that was the guitar that I tried to learn on. [Dad] had two guitars. That’s the one I was always drawn to, to try to learn to play. I think it’s got to be the first instrument I ever remember seeing.”

Here’s the rundown, good and bad, on guitars and Halls of Fame:

• The Cowboy Museum exhibit, “The Guitar: Art, Artists and Artisans,” opened Friday with some 50 instruments on display. It aspires to draw the connection between cowboys and the music they made, and the guitar was just one of several instruments used in the Old West. Rooted in Mexico, according to a story in The Oklahoman, it became associated with the cowboy in the 20th century through western movies, thanks in great part to Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

• Taylor used a Taylor 12-string guitar during her performance at the All for the Hall benefit organized by Keith Urban in October. Her lucky number is 13, so it’s rather appropriate that the fundraiser took place Oct. 13. To keep the good vibes going, the auction began Saturday, Feb. 13, and runs 13 days through Feb. 26, with receipts tabbed for the Country Music Hall of Fame. As of Monday morning, the top bid was more than $7,000.

• As expected, a Nashville judge gave the city the right on Friday to seize the land occupied by the Musicians Hall of Fame to make way for a new convention center, The Tennessean reported. Facility owner Joe Chambers has thus far been unable to reach agreement with the city on appropriate compensation for the property and is considering moving the attraction to another market. In the meantime, he has to move a bundle of exhibits by Friday, including guitars owned by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Peter Frampton and session player Ray Edenton. Who is Ray Edenton? And why should you care about his guitar? A member of Nashville’s legendary A-Team, Ray contributed to such important recordings as David Allan Coe’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” Roger Miller’s “King Of The Road,” Kenny Rogers’ “Love The World Away” and Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Like it or not, Valentine’s Day is almost here. We gave you our list of the Top 20 Country Love Songs – but life isn’t always moonlight and roses, is it? So after we dried our eyes and pulled ourselves together, we came up with a list of our favorite anti-love songs. Are you breaking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend? Your spouse? Your job? Did you find out your sweetheart’s been less than faithful? Whatever the heartbreak occasion, there’s usually a country song that’s a perfect fit.

By no means is this a definitive list, so please, tell us what other songs you’d add! Put your suggestions in the comments section below.

Top 20 Country Breakup Songs (in no particular order):

• “Lonely And Gone” – Montgomery Gentry
• “I’m Moving On” – Rascal Flatts
• “White Liar” – Miranda Lambert
• “I Will Always Love You” – Dolly Parton
• “The Most Beautiful Girl” – Charlie Rich
• “There Is No Arizona” – Jamie O’Neal
• “Today My World Slipped Away” – Vern Gosdin/George Strait
• “Whiskey Lullaby” – Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss
• “Kiss This” – Aaron Tippin
• “Take This Job & Shove It” – Johnny Paycheck
• “Before He Cheats” – Carrie Underwood
• “Consider Me Gone” – Reba McEntire
• “Blame It On Your Heart” – Patty Loveless
• “Unwound” – George Strait
• “You’ll Think Of Me” – Keith Urban
• “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” – Glen Campbell
• “Cheatin’” – Sara Evans
• “Goodbye Says It All” – BlackHawk
• “Should’ve Said No” – Taylor Swift
• “Brokenheartsville” – Joe Nichols

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