Hank Williams, Jr. photo courtesy of Curb Records.

Football, cooking and benefits are on the agenda for the month of September at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

On September 9, the new Hank Williams Jr. Monday Night Football Spotlight Exhibit opened. Each year, Hank Jr. records a new version of his Monday Night Football theme song and stars in the accompanying video shown on ESPN at the start of each weekly broadcast. The shirt and vest he wore in this year’s video, designed by Nashville-based designer Manuel, will both be on display in the Museum’s second floor gallery.

The Museum’s All for the Hall fundraiser returns to Los Angeles for a third year on September 13 with performances by Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Zac Brown and more. You can visit  http://countrymusichalloffame.org/afthla/ for more information and to purchase tickets. There is also an online auction of country music memorabilia and experiences to benefit All for the Hall. To view items up for auction and place your bids, visit www.biddingforgood.com/allforthehall. Continue Reading

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Rascal Flatts photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

April marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and Rascal Flatts is one of several country acts that will remember that moment in American history by appearing in a mini-series.

“To Appomattox” is named after the site where the South eventually surrendered, and the project will employ the guys in a couple of ways. They’ve been enlisted to produce the soundtrack, according to a website devoted to the production. And they’ll also have roles as soldiers. That’s a little bit different than their last attempt at acting, when they appeared as themselves on the CBS drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

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Grand Ole Opry members Brad Paisley (l) and Little Jimmy Dickens (r) unveil the refurbished 6-foot circle of wood (taken from the historic Ryman Auditorium when the show moved to the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974) that was damaged in the May 2010 Nashville flood. Photo courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry.

It’s a six-foot piece of circular wood, scuffed and nicked and grooved, but it’s a monumental symbol. Brad Paisley and Little Jimmy Dickens joined four construction workers Wednesday in installing a major piece of oak into the center of the stage at the Grand Ole Opry House.

The moment was captured by a herd of reporters and photographers as Nashville continues its recovery from a devastating flood in early May. At that time, water from the Cumberland River swamped the historic venue, piling 46 inches of liquid on top of the stage. The waters were so significant that mud was hurled onto the ceiling and Opry VP and general manager Pete Fisher literally floated a kayak through the house.

Dirt and construction dust still litter the grounds around the Opry House, but the placement of the circle back onto the stage was a hardy symbol for the restoration of the Opry and its history. The circle was cut from the floor of the Ryman Auditorium and installed at the Opry House when it opened in 1974, providing a physical link between current generations of Opry members and some of the late performers who stood behind the mic stand on that same wood — people like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Roy Acuff and Marty Robbins. It was damaged during May’s floods, but not so much that it couldn’t be repaired. Its resilience embodies as well as ever the durability of the Opry and its legend.

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Dierks Bentley photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Even before Dierks Bentley had his first hit, he made it a point to pay homage to his roots. He made a passionate plea to take part in a bluegrass tribute album, and his enthusiasm won out: Even though he was unknown, Dierks showed up alongside Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Marty Stuart on Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: The Songs Of The Louvin Brothers.

Seven years later, Dierks is playing up his musical influences again in several different efforts. He debuts his own one-hour radio show Monday afternoon on classic-country WSM, the station that introduced the Grand Ole Opry. He’s got a roots-referencing album, Up On The Ridge, coming out this summer. And next month he launches a 30-date Up On The Ridge Tour with a couple of appropriate opening acts: bluegrass icons the Del McCoury Band and award-winning Americana singer-songwriter Hayes Carll.

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Valentine’s Day is little more than a month away, and guys who might be trying to figure out an economical gift that’s a little different from the usual box of chocolates or floral bouquet might want to take a look at the new Vince Gill compilation, Love Songs.

Set for release Jan. 26, the disc features 14 songs about romance, including “You And You Alone,” “Let’s Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye,” the Grammy-winning “When Love Finds You” and “Whenever You Come Around,” a song Vince was inspired to write about Amy Grant, who became his wife several years later.

Their tenth anniversary comes up March 10, and the couple is on the cover of the new edition of Good Housekeeping, where Amy suggests he is as a husband what he seems to be in his songs. He’s never in a hurry to get through a conversation or to give a cursory kiss, and the time he takes is a key to the happiness they still find in the marriage.

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Mandy Barnett photo courtesy of http://www.myspace.com/mandycarolbarnett.

If you’re in Nashville this week, get your ticket to the Grand Ole Opry’s “Country Classics” show on Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. (Central), hosted by GAC’s own Storme Warren.

As part of the Opry’s 84th Birthday Weekend, Thursday’s theme is ”songs that made the Grand Ole Opry famous.”

The lineup includes Mandy Barnett, Jack Greene, George Hamilton IV, Jan Howard, Hal Ketchum, Jim Lauderdale, the Del McCoury Band, the Opry Square Dancers, Jeannie Seely and Sunny Sweeney.

What can you expect at the show? You’ll hear Mandy singing the Ernest Tubb classic, “Walkin’ the Floor Over You,” Continue Reading

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