Craig Morgan alongside servicemen and women. Photo courtesy of Black River Entertainment.

Craig Morgan is the NRA Country Artist of the Month for February. Having served 10 years in the U.S. Army before launching his music career, Craig is one of several country stars joining the This Is NRA Country movement in support of our U.S. military, appreciation for the outdoors, and love of family.

“As someone who has served alongside the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, I have a huge sense of pride in what this country stands for and what our freedom means,” Craig said. “As many service men and women make their way home and reunite with family, we are here to give them support and encouragement along with our gratitude. I am Craig Morgan and I am NRA Country.”

Watch Craig’s “This Ole Boy” video now >>

After Craig’s 10 years of service in the U.S. Army, he completed another nine years in the Army Reserves. He continues to support our troops through overseas tours of military bases, Jack Daniel’s Toast To The Troops USO care package packing parties, and free concerts for Army family members. Continue Reading

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Craig Morgan photo courtesy of Monarch Publicity.

Have you written the next big country music hit? If you think you have, don’t forget to enter the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau’s fifth annual Music City Songwriting Competition. Craig Morgan is serving as the honorary ambassador.

The competition will accept entries through January 31, 2012 and is open to amateur songwriters only. All entries received January 27-29 will be reviewed by noted Nashville producer/songwriter Doug Johnson. Doug’s top pick will have the opportunity to perform the song before a Craig Morgan show in 2012.

Songs may be submitted on CD to Music City Songwriting Competition, P.O. Box 190633, Nashville, TN 37219 or as an MP3 file online at www.americansongspace.com/contest/musiccity2011. Submission fee for the first song is $25. Each additional song is $15. For more information and to enter a song, please visit www.themusiccitysongwriter.com.

The winning songwriter will receive a $1,000 cash prize, two roundtrip Southwest Airline tickets to Music City and spend five nights at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in downtown Nashville during CMA Music Fest. While in town, the winner will be interviewed on GAC as well as Sirius XM’s “Music Row Happy Hour with Storme Warren.” Craig Morgan will also offer a mentoring session and autographed CD to the winner.

The winning song will be played on Sirius XM Radio’s “Music City Connection: Heroes Behind the Hits,” a monthly radio show recorded and produced by the Nashville CVB, and the winner will be featured in American Songwriter Magazine. Additionally, the winner will receive a writing session with a professional songwriter, a demo recording session at Sound Stage Studio and a single song publishing deal with Black River Entertainment. Complimentary admission to over 30 Nashville attractions and a pair of Durango boots, as well as two four-day tickets to CMA Music Fest, are also included.

Entries will be narrowed down to the top 25 which will then be judged by a panel of top names in the Nashville music industry, including Craig Morgan, Grammy-winning songwriter Tim Nichols, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, Lawrence Music Group’s Alex Torrez, GAC and Sirius XM personality, Storme Warren and Nashville CVB President, Butch Spyridon. Judges will rate each song based on the following criteria: melody, composition, originality, lyrics and, most importantly, commercial appeal. Continue Reading

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Craig Morgan and actress Angie Harmon. Photo courtesy of Monarch Publicity.

In Craig Morgan’s latest video, “This Ole Boy,” he only has eyes for actress Angie Harmon, who plays his love interest — but he’s not the only one vying for the brunette’s attention. There’s a dog that just won’t let Craig make his move, even bringing Angie a bouquet of flowers in his mouth to win her over. By the end of the hilarious clip, Craig and the dog are best friends – thanks to a bottle of red wine. Does Craig gets the girl, too?

“He literally bit me right on the buttock and made me fall down,” Craig said of his canine co-star. “It was awesome. He was serious about me not getting close to her. Maybe it had something to do with her hotness.”

Watch Craig’s “This Ole Boy” video now! >>

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Keith Urban will return to the stage for the first time since undergoing successful vocal cord surgery late last year with a performance on the Grand Ole Opry February 3. Keith’s performance will take place as the Opry wraps its winter run at the historic Ryman Auditorium. The Opry returns to the Grand Ole Opry House the next day.

Other artists scheduled to appear on the Opry with Keith are Charley Pride and the Oak Ridge Boys, with more artists to be added. Keith is also scheduled to perform on the Opry on March 9 at the Opry House. Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury, Craig Morgan, Ricky Skaggs, Josh Turner and more will appear on the Opry stage in coming weeks. Continue Reading

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“Partnering with Billboard on this special country edition has allowed us to offer a great value proposition to the consumer,” Tony Bruno, ‘stache media’s SVP of Marketing, said. “Because of the brand’s prominence and the credibility of the magazine, we are able to expose the country music scene to an even wider audience.”

“From ‘The 615,’ Billboard.com’s new country music blog, to the Country charts, Billboard has a deep connection with the country music community, and we’re excited to partner with ‘stache media to expand the brand’s coverage of this genre through this new mini-magazine,” Lisa Ryan Howard, Publisher of Billboard, said. Continue Reading

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Edens Edge photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Have you made your New Year’s Eve plans yet? Check out where you can catch some of your favorite country stars ringing in 2012, both live and on TV:

Edens Edge will perform at the third annual “Bash On Broadway” in Nashville along with The Farm, Jeffrey Steele and headliner Lynyrd Skynyrd.The free show will take place on Broadway beginning at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and will be broadcast live to a national audience on Sirius XM Radio. GAC’s Storme Warren will serve as emcee.

The Band Perry will close out the year with a performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, as part of the Los Angeles celebration. The special will air on ABC December 31.

Rodney Atkins, Joe Nichols and Lauren Alaina will perform live from the Las Vegas strip during FOX’s American Country New Year’s Eve Live special. Hosted by Rodney Carrington, the special will also feature performances by Eli Young Band and Toby Keith and include coverage from the ball drop at New York City’s Time Square. Tune in to FOX at 11/10c December 31 to catch it.

Chris Young will be headlining a New Year’s Eve show at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas.

Sarah Darling will headline the 4^th annual New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop at Pier Parkin Panama City Beach, FL. Taking the stage at 10:45 p.m., Sarah will be the final performer before the 800-pound glowing beach ball begins its descent and final countdown to 2012.

The Grand Ole Opry will ring in 2012 with Friday and Saturday night Opry performances at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. John Conlee, Craig Morgan, Mandy Barnett, Jeannie Seely, Jimmy Wayne, Little Jimmy Dickens and Jean Shepard are all on the schedule for the December 30 show, while Little Jimmy Dickens, Jimmy Wayne, Jett Williams, Jan Howard, Mandy Barnett and Dailey & Vincent are all scheduled to appear on December 31.

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Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, Jason Aldean and  Chris Young thank fans for their American Country Award wins, Blake Shelton sends his appreciation to his fans for their prayers for his father, Kellie Pickler visits a grouch and Trailer Choir’s Big Vinny tweets his Biggest Loser farewell. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/ladyantebellum.

Lady Antebellum  – LadyAntebellum: “robe life” forever. accepting applications for “robe life” warriors via pic if you’re interested. why wouldn’t you be?

Jason Aldean – Jason_Aldean: Thank u guys so much for all the votes for the ACA… Now i gotta figure out where to put 6 guitars! Yall are awesome! See u in 2012, now its time to celebrate in Vegas baby!

Chris Young – ChrisYoungMusic: Holy Hot Damn!! Thanks to the fans! Two ACA awards tonight. Breakthrough artist and Single Of The Year! Thank you!

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/kelliepickler.

Kellie Pickler – KelliePickler: I’m with Oscar “The Grouch”….ha ha! Continue Reading

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Craig Morgan photo courtesy of Monarch Publicity.

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB)’s fifth annual Music City Songwriting Competition is underway, with Craig Morgan serving as the honorary ambassador.

The competition will accept entries through January 31, 2012 and is open to amateur songwriters only. Songs may be submitted on CD to Music City Songwriting Competition, P.O. Box 190633, Nashville, TN 37219 or as an MP3 file online at www.americansongspace.com/contest/musiccity2011. Submission fee for the first song is $25. Each additional song is $15. For more information and to enter a song, please visit www.themusiccitysongwriter.com.

The winning songwriter will receive a $1,000 cash prize, two roundtrip Southwest Airline tickets to Music City and spend five nights at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in downtown Nashville during CMA Music Fest. While in town, the winner will be interviewed on GAC as well as Sirius XM’s “Music Row Happy Hour with Storme Warren.” Craig Morgan will also offer a mentoring session and autographed CD to the winner. The winning song will be played on Sirius XM Radio’s “Music City Connection: Heroes Behind the Hits,” a monthly radio show recorded and produced by the Nashville CVB, and the winner will be featured in American Songwriter Magazine. Additionally, the winner will receive a writing session with a professional songwriter, a demo recording session at Sound Stage Studio and a single song publishing deal with Black River Entertainment. Complimentary admission to over 30 Nashville attractions and a pair of Durango boots, as well as two four-day tickets to CMA Music Fest, are also included.

Entries will be narrowed down to the top 25 which will then be judged by a panel of top names in the Nashville music industry, including Craig Morgan, Grammy-winning songwriter Tim Nichols, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, Lawrence Music Group’s Alex Torrez, GAC and Sirius XM personality, Storme Warren and Nashville CVB President, Butch Spyridon. Judges will rate each song based on the following criteria: melody, composition, originality, lyrics and, most importantly, commercial appeal. Continue Reading

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Trevor Brazile wins his 8th All-Around World Title at the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Photo courtesy of PRCA.

Some of the bravest and toughest athletes in the world have gathered in Las Vegas for the Wrangler National  Finals Rodeo and you can catch all the action live right here on GAC. Starting tonight, December 1, GAC will air exclusive live coverage of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at 10/9 PM CT through December 10.  The sold-out event includes bareback riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, team roping and bull riding.

Starting December 4 at 9:30/8:30 PM CT through December 10, GAC will get fans ready for the night’s live coverage with Inside the NFR, an insider’s look at the rodeo. GAC host Suzanne Alexander and Justin McKee, the voice of professional bull riding, will interview top contenders as well as country stars scheduled to perform during the rodeo. Craig Morgan will serve as a roving reporter, taking fans behind the scenes to learn about caring for rodeo livestock, maintaining the competition ring, what the job of a flag girl is and more.

Check out GAC’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo section » Continue Reading

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Joe Nichols 2011 CD, It's All Good. Photo courtesy of Universal Records South.

In many ways, It’s All Good is like the first page in the next chapter from the book of Joe Nichols. Just this past January, the 34-year-old Arkansas native released a greatest hits project that included chart-toppers like “Brokenheartsville” and “Gimmie That Girl.” Now with an empty canvas, Joe returns with his eighth studio album, a collection of 10 traditional-leaning tunes that display his natural everyman ease through lighthearted fun and moments of tight introspection.

5 Things You Don’t Know About Joe Nichols >>

Joe wastes no time on the front end of It’s All Good, jumping right into the swampy groove of lead single “Take It Off.” Against banjo and lightly distorted guitars, the message is one that whether it’s stress on the job, a bottle cap or clothes over a bikini – they all must go. You got a week-of-worries on your mind/ Go on do whatcha wanna do/ Soak you up a little sunshine, he sings with an easygoing southern drawl. Joe’s laid-back vocal delivery has always been engaging, and things are no different here. “This Ole Boy” (written by the trio of hit songwriters known as the “Peach Pickers,” Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip) features upbeat drums and an accessible fiddle hook, while Joe shows off some serious agility moving through quick lines like, She sweetens my tea and butters my biscuit/ I am who I am and brother she gets it, before slowing up to smoothly add, I ain’t gotta change a thing. [Incidentally, "This Ole Boy" was also recorded by Craig Morgan and is Craig's latest single.]

The record is more “country” than some of its contemporaries, and Joe shines on the more traditional pieces. The title cut “It’s All Good” features twin fiddles and a deep melody over bright production. I don’t get blue, I don’t get mad/ If I’ve learned one thing from the year I’ve had/ It’s even if it all goes bad/ It’s all good, he sings with tight phrasing. Self-examination and introspection are probably most evident on the standout track “Somebody’s Mama,” which takes on the subject of regret. Continue Reading

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