Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Nation Tour stopped at Miller Stadium in Milwaukee over the weekend and gave fans a show they won’t soon forget. With a sold-out crowd of 43, 314 in attendance, Kenny debuted “When I See This Bar,” a song from his Life On A Rock album, and brought tour mate Eric Church out to sing it with him.

Read our review of Kenny Chesney’s Life On A Rock >>

“’When I See This Bar’ is the kind of song you have to have lived,” Kenny said. “Most people do, they just never step back and realize what all those lost nights, afternoon beers and friendships really mean. They make you who are, get you through tough things and get you laughing… Obviously, “When I See This Bar” is important to me; I know Eric’s been there, too, and knows that power of place, so it was great to get him up there.” Continue Reading

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Eric Church photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Fans might consider Eric Church a tough guy, but as far as he’s concerned, his mother is the one with the brawn. He’s reflecting on what he’s learned from his mom as Mother’s Day approaches.

“My mom is by far the toughest person that I’ve met,” Eric said. “She’s tough. One of those people that’s been through a lot in her life, adversity wise and never complains, always really resilient with anything that’s happened to her. It’s just that attitude, the positive attitude, regardless of what has happened that I think is the one thing that I got from her.”

Eric Church Photo Gallery »

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Easton Corbin photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

The 6^th Annual GAC Kick-Off Breakfast, the unofficial start of CMA Music Festival, is set for Wednesday, June 5 at 7:00 AM at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. Easton Corbin and Eric Paslay are the first two artist announced to perform. Additional artists will be added in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the event are $45 and include music performances, autograph sessions where fans will have their photos taken by professional photographers and loaded onto an easy access website, admission to the museum and a hearty country breakfast.

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 10 starting at 10a ET and can be purchased  HERE » Continue Reading

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FLORENCE, AZ – APRIL 12: Singer/Songwriter Eric Church performs at Country Thunder Arizona 2013 – Day 2 on April 12, 2013 in Florence, Arizona. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images For Country Thunder)

Fans may have noticed Eric Church sporting a beard that’s a bit longer than usual. There’s a reason for the look – he’s working on the follow up to his Chief album and says when he trims the beard, it will mean he’s got the songs for his next project. It’s an ongoing endeavor for Eric, who is taking his time with songwriting.

“It’s a process for me, so when people ask where we’re at, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t have like a definitive, ‘Here’s where we are.’ I can tell you that we’ve started the process, and then we’ll go on to the next step in the process. There’s like 20 steps to get the record done.” Continue Reading

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A view of the Nightly Concerts at LP Field during the 2011 CMA Music Festival. Photo by Bennett Farkas, courtesy of the CMA.

Tickets for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field during CMA Music Festival are officially sold out six weeks in advance of the June 6-9 festival. With high demand for four-day ticket packages, single night tickets will not be available for LP Field concerts.

“Tickets to LP Field sold faster than ever, but the good news for our fans is if you didn’t get a ticket for LP Field there are nine other entertainment and music stages, plus special events, and activities throughout downtown Nashville to enjoy,” Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer, said. “And with the expansion of our autograph signings, concerts, and family events into the new Music City Center – which we have dubbed Fan Fair X – local and regional residents have affordable, easy access to great entertainment with hundreds of our most popular artists.” Continue Reading

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NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 16: Vince Gill and Keith Urban perform during Keith Urban’s Fourth annual We’re All For The Hall benefit concert at Bridgestone Arena on April 16, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon IV/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

Keith Urban and Vince Gill’s We’re All For The Hall 2013 benefit concert held April 16 raised nearly $650,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, bringing the event’s four-year total to more than $2 million. Nearly 14,000 fans turned out to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the show that included performances from Keith, Vince, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Brantley Gilbert and more.

See photos from We’re All For The Hall! >>

“This year’s All 4 the Hall show was the biggest and best ever,” Museum Director Kyle Young said. “Keith’s theme for the concert, ‘Rebels and Renegades,’ was an inspired celebration of artistic freedom; to have Country Music Hall of Famers Vince, Kris and Willie; legends Rosanne, Jessi, Billy Joe and Hank; and current superstars Keith, Jason, Eric, Tim, Trace, Brantley, Montgomery Gentry, Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock sharing one stage on this museum’s behalf is inspiring and humbling. Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Facebook.com/TaylorSwift.

Taylor Swift, along with fun. and Maroon 5, leads the finalists for the 2013 Billboard Music Awards with a total of 11 nominations, including several in all-genre categories. In addition to nominations for Top Country Artist, Top Country Song and Top Country Album, Taylor is also up for the coveted Top Artist award as well as Top Female Artist.

Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean are tied as the second most-nominated country artists with three nominations each. Luke is up for Top Country Artist, Top Country Song for “Drunk On You” and his tailgates & tanlines album is up for Top Country Album. Jason Aldean is up for Top Country Artist and Top Country Album for his Night Train album, but he’s also up for the all-genre Top Male Artist award.

See photos from the 2012 Billboard Music Awards >>

See photos from the 2011 Billboard Music Awards >>

“I’m really proud to be the guy that gets to represent our genre in that ‘Top Male’ category and wave that flag for country music,” Jason said. “Our genre is bigger and more diverse than ever, and it’s just cool to be part of this movement that’s happening right now. I’ve been so focused on getting the tour going this year and just making certain our first run of stadiums is everything the fans expect it to be, that this totally caught me by surprise. Thanks to everyone who has bought a ticket or downloaded an album. I’ll do my best to represent and make y’all proud!”

Nominations are based on album and single sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and social media interactions with data tracked by Billboard, Nielsen and Next Big Sound.  The 2013 Billboard Music Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 19 at 8/7c on ABC.

See a full list of country nominees below and visit Billboard.com for a complete list of nominees!

Top Country Artist

Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Carrie Underwood
Taylor Swift
Hunter Hayes Continue Reading

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Gary Allan photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Gary Allan, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Amy Grant, Dustin Lynch and Jonathan Cain from the band Journey are set to attend the 14th Annual Nashville Best Cellars Dinner on Monday, April 29 at the Bridge Building in Nashville. This exclusive wine and food event benefits the T.J. Martell Foundation and its funding of life-saving cancer research at the Frances Williams Preston Labs at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

The evening will pair “Best Sellers,” popular chart-topping artists with “Best Cellars,” some of the top wine collectors in the United States who will share rare wines from their collections with guests at their tables. Since the inaugural event created by Billy Ray Hearn in 1999, the dinner has raised more than $1.65 million. Continue Reading

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FLORENCE, AZ – APRIL 12: Singer/Songwriter Eric Church performs at Country Thunder Arizona 2013 – Day 2 on April 12, 2013 in Florence, Arizona. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images For Country Thunder)

For the first time in Country Thunder Arizona history, the four-day country music festival sold out, bringing in a capacity crowd of 25,000 patrons that filled 5,100 campsites. Among the artists who performed were Lady Antebellum, Toby Keith, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, Kip Moore, Jerrod Niemann and many more.

See photos from Country Thunder Arizona 2013 >>

See photos from Country Thunder Wisconsin 2012 >>

See photos from Country Thunder Arizona 2012 >>

See photos form Country Thunder 2011 >> 

See photos from Country Thunder 2010 >>

Held April 11-14, more than 50,000 rolls of toilet paper, over 900 port-o-potties, 5,000 lemons for lemonade and 20 tons of trash passed through the festival grounds. In addition to performances, the event also featured a wide variety of lifestyles activities ranging from Electric Thunder, which features music nightly, to thrill rides. Continue Reading

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LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 07: Luke Bryan attends the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards held at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 7, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

The artists who performed on Sunday night’s ACM Awards have seen a significant impact on digital downloads, reports Billboard. The program was the No. 1 most-watched show of the night, directly leading several artists to see jumps on the Billboard charts even though the show took place in the final hours of the most recent Nielsen SoundScan sales tracking week (Monday through Sunday).

See photos from the ACM Awards >>

Artists seeing a positive impact included The Band Perry, whose new Pioneer album jumped to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart after the group performed its current single, “Done.” Other artists who saw positive sales increases were Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood and Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift.  Continue Reading

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