Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Keith Urban’s third annual All for the Hall benefit concert has been rescheduled for April 10 after having to be postponed while Keith underwent and recovered from successful vocal cord surgery. The concert, which benefits the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s All for the Hall fund, will feature performances by Keith, Vince Gill, Alabama, Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Band Perry, Blue Sky Riders, Diamond Rio, Exile, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, The Oak Ridge Boys,  Pistol Annies, Rascal Flatts and Thompson Square.

“My goal for the concert, is really the same as the halls,” Keith said. “To help country fans connect the dots – to find out where their music came from, how its evolved and is still evolving and to hear the artists that have influenced their favorite artists. Country music is like a big beautiful strange family tree and nowhere is that more honored than at the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum.”

“The first two We’re All for the Hall concerts have been landmarks for this institution,” said Museum Director Kyle Young.  “They have been the most successful fundraisers in the museum’s history, together raising roughly $1 million.  And they have not only set a new standard for fundraising and event coordination, but also brought together an entire community and helped us to see what can be done by individuals when there is a collective passion for a cause. Continue Reading

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The Henry Cho Show will premiere on GAC Thursday, September 8 at 8/7c.

Comedian Henry Cho has an over-active imagination and a phone full of country stars’ numbers. Watch what happens when he combines the two tomorrow night on The Henry Cho Show, premiering Thursday, September 8 at 8/7c.

Tune in to see Henry getting migraine-inducing singing lessons from a few famous friends, and receiving questionable advice from his fellow comedians. Henry’s special guests include Vince Gill, Continue Reading

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The perfect country song, according to David Allan Coe’s hilarious classic “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” requires that you refer to trains, trucks, prison, gettin’ drunk and – of course – mama. By those standards, none of these songs are perfect, but they’re all at least very good at paying homage to Mom as we slide into Mother’s Day.

It’s probably not the definitive list – you could argue that others, such as Merle Haggard’s “Mama’s Hungry Eyes” – belong here, but it’s good enough to give you a full-bodied picture of your mom, my mom, somebody’s mom.

In no particular order, here are 20 country songs – and one bonus title – for moms everywhere:

“Mama’s Song,” Carrie Underwood (2010) – A rolling music bed and Carrie’s own romantic storyline with hockey player Mike Fisher form the backdrop for a song that shows a mother just what a great job she’s done. She parented a daughter who picks the right kind of partner.

“The Hand That Rocks The Cradle,” Glen Campbell with Steve Wariner (1987) – “There ought to be a hall of fame for mamas.” Well, there’s not, but there is this nifty little duet built around the psychologies of birth, breast feeding and teaching life lessons.

“Mama Don’t Forget To Pray For Me,” Diamond Rio (1991) – In many families, Mom is the one who provides the strongest moral compass. In this case, she gets a phone call from her adult son, looking for advice from his best-loved guidance counselor.

“So Much Like My Dad,” George Strait (1992) – “Mom, can we talk?” George is as good at anyone at delivering a song that’s essentially a conversation set to music. In this case, it’s a mother/son chat as he tries to figure out exactly why his own household is falling apart.

“Mama Tried,” Merle Haggard (1968) – Perhaps the hardest part of the job for mothers: You can do everything right, and the kid insists on messing up anyway. In this mostly autobiographical account, the adult Merle takes responsibility for ignoring Flossie Haggard’s wisdom and ending up in prison by age 21. Continue Reading

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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

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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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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Hello, world: Just in case anyone was left on the planet that hadn’t figured out how significant Lady Antebellum was this year, the Recording Academy slipped the band into three of the big-four, multi-genre categories on the prestigious Grammy Awards ballot. Finalists in the general-interest categories were unveiled Wednesday during a one-hour nominations special on CBS.

“Need You Now” and the album of the same name were tabbed as finalists for Record, Song and Album of the Year, pitting Lady A against such pop, rock and rap acts as Eminem, Katy Perry and Arcade Fire.

Miranda Lambert sang her snarky “Only Prettier” on the special, which also saw “The House That Built Me” gain a Song of the Year nomination for composers Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin. As a result, two country titles — “Need You Now” and “House” — are among the five Song of the Year finalists, something that’s only happened seven times in the Grammys’ previous 52 years.

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Little Jimmy Dickens and Brad Paisley at the Grand Ole Opry House on Tuesday, September 28, 2010. © 2010 Grand Ole Opry® Hollo Photographics

Five months after a flood left the hallowed stage of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House submerged under 46 inches of water, the venue reoped Tuesday as the Opry held a three-hour event — two hours airing as a GAC special, Country Comes Home: An Opry Live Celebration.

The flood’s assault on the Opry House has been the biggest story in country music this year, so it’s only appropriate that the evening was heavy on music from 2010: Jason Aldean’s “My Kinda Party,” Blake Shelton’s “All About Tonight,” Brad Paisley’s “Anything Like Me” and Keith Urban’s “I’m In,” among them.

But the night also included performances that offered a smattering of country music history — of which, the Opry has been central. Dierks Bentley and Del McCoury injected bluegrass into the proceedings with a cover of Bill Monroe’s “Roll On, Buddy, Roll On.” Martina McBride and Connie Smith traded lines in the 1964 classic “Once A Day.” Charlie Daniels teamed with Montgomery Gentry on a sizzling version of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.” And Josh Turner and Lorrie Morgan turned in a stunning version of the George Jones & Tammy Wynette hit “Golden Ring.” (Lorrie, incidentally, wore a leopard-patterned dress — not something in red…)

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Don Henley photo by Andrew Macpherson.

The Eagles have long been hailed as an influence on modern country music, a fact that’s never been lost on drummer Don Henley. Now it appears Don is aiming to release an album that plays on that history.

He’s been working on an album of country songs — some originals, some covers. He’s in good company in the process. He’s been putting the project together with Stan Lynch, who used to be the drummer with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

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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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Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog-Universal Music.

By David Scarlett, with Sarah Wyland

If you want to hear patriotic songs, whether openly saluting the military or just extolling the virtues of everyday life in America, country music is a great place to start. In recent years we’ve heard heartfelt songs by several artists who may not be household names yet–like ex-soldiers Luke Stricklin (“American by God’s Amazing Grace”) and Keni Thomas’ (“Not Me”). But the tunes that made it on our list of the 20 Greatest Country Patriotic Songs are by some of country’s most influential artists, and these patriotic tunes are among their most enduring. For those counting, we even included an extra song. In no particular order, here they are:

“If You’re Reading This” (2007) co-written and performed by Tim McGraw

When Tim McGraw performed “If You’re Reading This” at the 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The song is a tribute to fallen soldiers and takes the form of a letter, meant to be read only if the soldier didn’t return home. Co-written with Brad and Brett Warren of the Warren Brothers, the track was inspired by an article the three men read about war casualties. After Tim’s performance at the ACM awards, one hundred relatives of soldiers who died in the line of duty appeared onstage under a banner that read ‘Families of Fallen Heroes.’ An emotional Tim rightly received a standing ovation from his fellow country artists.

“Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)” (2002) written and performed by Toby Keith

Written just days after the attacks of 9/11, this tune makes no bones about it—Toby was fighting mad. Written partly as a tribute to his war veteran father, the song summed up the feelings of a lot of Americans who wanted a very forceful response to an assault by terrorists on innocent men, women and children. It became a rallying cry for our troops and a thorn in the side of people like Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks who called the song “ignorant” and Peter Jennings of ABC News, who uninvited Toby to be part of a patriotic television special after reading the lyrics of “Courtesy.” While Toby doesn’t describe himself as a very political guy, he is a “very patriotic” guy. “If you believe in it enough, it’s worth fightin’ for,” he’s been quoted as saying. “And if you’re not gonna fight for it, then you deserve to be dictated to, you know—and I’m not willing to do that.”

“God Bless the USA” (1983), written and performed by Lee Greenwood

Often called the “unofficial National Anthem,” in 2003—the 20th anniversary of its release—online voters named this powerful song the “most recognizable patriotic song” in the nation. And, after nearly 25 years, the song Lee wrote to show his appreciation for his country and his willingness to defend it still routinely brings crowds to their feet at the opening strains of the first chorus. While cynics may describe it as jingoistic, there are a good many citizens who, to this day, cannot hear its heartfelt championing of America’s virtues without getting misty. Continue Reading

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