Photo courtesy of ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
For the second year, Chris Youngis sponsoring a special holiday tree in Gaylord Opryland Resort’s fifth annual Hall of Trees to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Each tree in the hall includes major gifts donated by sponsors and is tied to a charity. The trees will be auctioned off to benefit the sponsor’s designated charity and Chris has chosen to give the funds raised by his NEON tree to St. Jude.
“During my visit to St. Jude I met some incredible little kids who were fighting for their lives,” Chris said. “I hope my fans will enjoy the NEON tree and help me raise funds for St. Jude to support its lifesaving mission.”
The NEON tree includes an autographed guitar, $100 worth of iTunes gift cards, a Chris Young snow globe, an autographed 4 pack of Chris Young CDs, a Country Strong hatch print poster autographed by Gwyneth Paltrow, an autographed 8×10 of Miranda Lambert, a 10 inch digital picture frame, a hand smocked baby dress and little black dress tree ornament hand made by Chris’ grandmother, autographed handwritten lyrics of Chris’ current single, “You,” neon tree ornaments, a custom made Neon logo Chris Young sign and miscellaneous Sony music artist autographed CDs and 8x10s. Continue Reading
Joe Nichols photo courtesy of Show Dog-Universal Music.
Joe Nichols will host the 5th Annual ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on September 19. The evening is dedicated to recognizing special honorees and off-camera winners from the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. This is the first time Joe has hosted the event and the second time it will be held at the Ryman, which will be recognized as ACM Venue of the Year.
“Joe has the admiration of music fans worldwide because of his own straightforward, tradition respect for country music,” said Michelle Goble, Senior Vice President, Membership & Events with the ACM. “His appreciation for the genre makes him a great fit for an evening paying tribute to those who have paved way—and those who work behind the scenes.”
“Hosting the ACM Honors is definitely a high point in my career,” Joe said. “To share the stage with such an incredible array of talent is a distinction I don’t take lightly, and I am honored that the Academy of Country Music asked me to host the event.”
Garth Brooks, John Dorris, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, Tom T. Hall, Reba, Taylor Swift and the film Country Strongare some of the night’s honorees. Hank Cochran will also be honored posthumously. Winners of the MBI (musician, bandleader, instrumentalist) and Industry categories, which are not presented during the live telecast of the Academy of Country Music Awards will also be awarded. Continue Reading
Sara Evans photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Sara Evans is back in a big way. Her song “A Little Bit Stronger” is the No. 1 song in the country. Co-written by Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsey, the track sits atop both the Billboard and Country Aircheck charts, making Sara the first female artist to reach No. 1 this year on both charts.
“I am so humbled and overwhelmed that ‘A Little Bit Stronger’ made it to No. 1,” Sara said. “This song has had the biggest emotional response of any other single I’ve ever released. I think it is because almost everyone has gone through a difficult time in their life and most people can relate to the line in the song ‘even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger.’”
Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow on the Sony Nashville Dinner Cruise during CRS 2011.
Every year during the first week of March, radio folks from all over the country come to Nashville for the Country Radio Seminar to attend educational panels, schmooze with each other and hear lots of performances from new country artists as well as established artists. One of the highlights of every convention is the Sony Music Nashville Dinner Cruise, held on the General Jackson showboat. This year’s soiree was hosted by Country Strong star Gwyneth Paltrow, who endeared herself to the audience with her down-to-earth personality and sense of humor. A few GAC staffers attended the dinner — and here are our combined highlights from the evening:
Gwyneth’s surprise duet partner – Tim McGraw, who caused a shower of camera flashes when he joined her onstage for their song from Country Strong, “Me And Tennessee.”
Chris Young performing his No. 1 single, “Voices,” and new single, “Tomorrow,” with a commanding voice that proved beyond a doubt – this guy is on a fast track from “new guy” to “star.”
Carrie Underwood performs on the Sony Nashville Dinner Cruise during CRS 2011.
Carrie Underwood. Carrie – who was fighting a cold and could barely talk above a whisper – still managed to wow the crowd when she sang “How Great Thou Art.” Continue Reading
Lady Antebellum poses in the press room with the award for Best Country Album for 'Need You Now' at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at the Staples Center, February 13, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kristian Dowling/PictureGroup)
– Written by Shannon Heim
Country’s own Lady Antebellum was the big winner at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night, taking home the trophy in five of the six categories in which they were nominated. The group’s crossover hit “Need You Now” won Song and Record of the Year as well as best Country Album, Best Country Song and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Lady A members Dave Hayward, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott were clearly stunned by the Recording Academy’s accolades. “We just cried our eyes out backstage and I can’t believe we’re up here once again,” Charles said while accepting for Record of the Year.
During their performance, the group slowed down a shortened version of “Need You Now” and sung bits of “American Honey,” and the classic “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” a nod to Teddy Pendergrass, who died last year.
Lady Antebellum was the only country nominee in the Album of the Year category, which ultimately went to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs.
The group’s dominance marked the second straight year a country crossover act was the night’s top story. Continue Reading
Gwyneth Paltrow & Tim McGraw from the movie Country Strong, in theaters January 7, 2011. Photo by Scott Garfield, courtesy of Sony Pictures USA & Monarch Publicity.
The Tim McGraw/Gwyneth Paltrow movie Country Strong was not only a hit with country fans, it also struck a chord with Oscar® voters, who nominated the movie’s “Coming Home” song (performed by Gwyneth) in the Original Song category.
Congrats to “Coming Home” songwriters Tom Douglas, Troy Verges, Hillary Lindsey and Bob DiPiero on the nomination! Continue Reading
If you want to see Tim McGraw on his 2011 Emotional Traffic Tour, his official website has released some of the tour dates (and you can buy tickets now, before the public on sale date, if you’re a fan club member!):
April 8 AmericanBank Center in Corpus Christi, TX
April 10 CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, LA
April 17 Savannah Civic Center in Savannah, GA
May 19 InTrust Bank Center in Wichita, KS
Pollstar.com has these additional dates (though they’re not necessarily part of the Emotional Traffic Tour): Continue Reading
Gwyneth Paltrow & Tim McGraw from the movie Country Strong, in theaters January 7, 2011. Photo by Scott Garfield, courtesy of Sony Pictures USA & Monarch Publicity.
It’s only January 5, but already it’s the year of Tim McGraw. He began 2011 with the No. 1 country song on Billboard‘s chart, “Felt Good On My Lips.” He just announced the Emotional Traffic Tour, which launches this spring and features opening acts Luke Bryan and The Band Perry (tour dates will be announced soon and tickets go on sale Jan. 15). And oh yeah, there’s this little movie he’s in called Country Strong that opens nationwide this Friday, Jan. 7. It’s good to be Tim McGraw.
Tim spent much of last fall promoting Country Strong with co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Garret Hedlund and Leighton Meester. In several interviews with GAC, Gwyneth bragged about Tim’s acting. But she also revealed yet another talent of Tim’s — cooking! Watch the clip below and find out what down-home dish Tim made for Gwyneth and her husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Click HERE to see our special Country Strong section, with interview clips, the movie trailer and photo galleries! Plus, enter for your chance to win a guitar signed by Tim & Gwyneth!
Gwyneth Paltrow & Tim McGraw from the upcoming movie, Country Strong, in theaters January 7, 2011. Photo by Scott Garfield, courtesy of Sony Pictures USA & Monarch Publicity.
If you’re one of the lucky few who’ve seen the movie Country Strong (the movie’s been in limited release since Dec. 22 and opens nationally Jan. 7), you may have noticed Tim McGraw‘s character’s distinguished “beard and turtleneck” look. It turns out Tim — who plays the husband/manager of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, a country singer – looked to none other than Reba McEntire‘s stylish husband/manager, Narvel Blackstock, for visual inspiration.
GAC’s Storme Warren recently interviewed Tim on the red carpet at the Nashville premiere of Country Strong. In the interview, Tim ribbed Storme, saying, “Hey your dad’s missing his jacket.” Watch the clip below for Storme’s retort, plus Tim’s confession of his character’s “stolen identity.” Continue Reading
