Randy Travis photo courtesy of Webster & Associates.

Randy Travis is celebrating his 25th anniversary in country music with a new tour. The 25th Anniversary Celebration Tour kicks off February 10 in Grand Ronde, Oregon at Spirit Mountain Casino. He will stop in more than 20 cities, including Boise, Denver, and Fort Worth plus Calgary. More shows will be announced at a later date.

“I’m surprised at how fast the first 25 years have gone by,” Randy said. “It feels like only five. There’s no better feeling than being onstage and the connection with a live audience.”

To mark the beginning of his 25th anniversary, Randy released his Anniversary Celebration duets album, which houses a combination of his biggest hits such as “He Walked on Water” and “Forever and Ever, Amen” as well as new music. Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Kris Kristofferson, Carrie Underwood, George Jones, Zac Brown Band, Lorrie Morgan, Jamey Johnson and more are featured on the album. Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has released their list of the Top Country Artists of 2011. Artists are ranked based on album sales, song downloads and airplay, touring revenue, Social 50 chart action, ringtone sales and streaming data provided by Nielsen BDS. Congratulations to Taylor Swift for being named the Top Country Artist of 2011! What do you think of this ranking? Who’d top YOUR Top 50 list? Leave us a comment below!

1. Taylor Swift
2. Jason Aldean
3. Lady Antebellum
4. Zac Brown Band
5. Blake Shelton
6. The Band Perry
7. Rascal Flatts
8. Kenny Chesney
9. Brad Paisley
10. Luke Bryan
11. Keith Urban
12. Miranda Lambert
13. Sugarland
14. Eric Church
15. Scotty McCreery
16. Toby Keith
17. Thompson Square
18. Chris Young
19. Billy Currington
20. Tim McGraw Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD. Photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has just released its year-end charts for 2011. Here are the 50 most popular country albums for the year (based on album sales). Congratulations to Taylor Swift for taking the top spot with her Speak Now album!

1. Speak Now – Taylor Swift
2. My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
3. Nothing Like This – Rascal Flatts
4. Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
5. You Get What You Give – Zac Brown Band
6. Own The Night – Lady Antebellum  Read Our Review >>
7. The Band Perry – The Band Perry
8. The Incredible Machine – Sugarland
9. Get Closer – Keith Urban
10. Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kenny Chesney
11. This Is Country Music – Brad Paisley  Read Our Review >>
12. Clear As Day – Scotty McCreery  Read Our Review >>
13. Number One Hits – Tim McGraw
14. Tailgates & Tanlines – Luke Bryan  Read Our Review >>
15. Chief – Eric Church  Read Our Review >>
16. Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton – Blake Shelton
17. Red River Blue – Blake Shelton  Read Our Review >>
18. The Foundation – Zac Brown Band
19. Revolution – Miranda Lambert
20. Country Strong Soundtrack – Various Artists Continue Reading

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Pictured L-R: Jamey Johnson, Ken Levitan, Hank Williams Jr., Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings, Carolyn Tate, Michael McCall, Pamela Johnson, Hilary Williams, Holly Williams and Kirt Webster. Photo courtesy of Webster & Assoc.

Hank Williams Jr. helped bring the four-year run of the exhibit Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy to a close with a powerful solo acoustic performance at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The sold-out December 6th concert raised $75,000 for the Museum. The exhibit will officially close on December 31, but Hank plans to leave several of the artifacts in the Museum’s archives. “I’m going to work with them and leave quite a few of these items here—where they should be,” he said.

Hank performed for 90 minutes and played hits like “A Country Boy Can Survive,” “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound” and was joined by his son Sam on “The Blues Man.” He also played some of his father’s material and songs by his heroes, notably Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. Special guests in the audience included Jessi Colter, her son Shooter Jennings and Jamey Johnson. Hank’s wife, Mary Jane,  and daughters Hilary and Holly as well as son Sam were also in the audience. Continue Reading

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Carrie Underwood helps Randy Travis celebrate 25 years as a Grand Ole Opry member. Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

Legendary country icon Randy Travis recently released his new album, Anniversary Celebration, which features duets with country music’s hottest stars.  Beginning today, fans can log on to GAC’s Facebook page for the Randy Travis Duets App. Fans can record and share their duet with Randy himself with available sing-alongs from Anniversary Celebration duets: “Is It Still Over?”, “A Few Ole Country Boys” and “Forever and Ever, Amen”.  Try it out and record your duet here »

Our very own Nan Kelley, host of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, couldn’t resist the temptation to try it out.  Watch this clip and see what happened: Continue Reading

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Reba McEntire photo courtesy of Valory Music Co. Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Artists, music industry elite and country music fans turned out for the Academy of Country Music’s 5th Annual ACM Honors, an evening dedicated to recognizing special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on September 19. Hosted by Joe Nichols, the event was held at the historic Ryman Auditorium which was awarded with the ACM for Venue of the Year.

The evening was a mix of live music, historical video retrospectives and current video tributes and interviews. Garth Brooks, the late Hank Cochran, John Dorris, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, Tom T. Hall, Reba, Taylor Swift and the film Country Strong were the Special Award recipients of the night. The winners of the Musician, Bandleader, Instrumentalist (MBI) categories and Industry Awards were also honored.

Several performances honored artists during the event. Rodney Atkins and Jerrod Niemann honored Garth by each performing a song of his each. Brett Eldredge performed his current single “It Ain’t Gotta Be Love” which is featured in Country Strong while The Isaacs honored Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers with a medley of their hits. Dean Dillon, Jamey Johnson and Joe Nichols paid tribute to Hank Cochran while Montgomery Gentry and The Whites honored John Dorris. Buddy Miller and Lee Ann Womack honored Tom T. Hall. Randy Houser, Thompson Square, Jack Ingram and Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, with Romain Virgo, also performed.

Presenters included Ronnie Dunn, Ralph Emery, John Michael Montgomery, The Oak Ridge Boys and the Academy’s Bob Romeo. Robin Meade presented Industry awards while Laura Bell Bundy handed out MBI awards. Continue Reading

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The Oak Ridge Boys Photo Credit: Jarrett Gaza

The Oak Ridge Boys, Brett Eldredge and Robin Meade have been added to the lineup for the 5^th Annual ACM Honors. Joe Nichols is set to host the event and will also perform. ACM Honors is an evening dedicated to recognizing special honorees and off-camera winners from the 46^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. This year’s event will be held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on September 19.

Artists previously announced include Ronnie Dunn, Rodney Atkins, Randy Houser, Jack Ingram, Jamey Johnson, Montgomery Gentry, Jerrod Niemann, Thompson Square, Lee Ann Womack, Dean Dillon, Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, The Isaacs, The Whites, Laura Bell Bundy, Ralph Emery, John Michael Montgomery and songwriter/producer Buddy Cannon. Continue Reading

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Lee Ann Womack & Alan Jackson performing during Opry member George Jones' 80th birthday party. Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

Country music’s most famous show is returning to television. The Grand Ole Opry_® will return to GAC: Great American Country for six star-packed “Opry Live” episodes to begin airing Tuesday, Oct. 4. The first show scheduled to air, an 80^th birthday salute to country legend George Jones, was filmed last night and will feature performances by Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Lee Ann Womack, and more.

Shows airing on Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays in subsequent weeks will feature a who’s who of new stars, superstars, and legends of country music, including: Trace Adkins, Lauren Alaina, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Ronnie Dunn, Scotty McCreery, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Randy Travis, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood and more. Airdates will be announced at Opry.com and GACTV.com. Continue Reading

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Ronnie Dunn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Ronnie Dunn, Rodney Atkins, Randy Houser, Jack Ingram, Jamey Johnson, Montgomery Gentry, Jerrod Niemann, Thompson Square and Lee Ann Womack are among the artists who have been added to the 5^th Annual ACM Honors lineup. Joe Nichols is set to host the event and will also perform. Other artists scheduled to perform include Dean Dillon, Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, The Isaacs, and The Whites.

ACM Honors is an evening dedicated to recognizing special honorees and off-camera winners from the 46^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. This year’s event will be held at the Ryman Auditorum in Nashville on September 19. Laura Bell Bundy, Ralph Emery, John Michael Montgomery and Buddy Cannon are also scheduled to appear. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com and are $37 each. Continue Reading

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Willie Nelson photo by David McClister, courtesy of Lost Highway.

Willie Nelson will be inducted into the National Agricultural Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas next month. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on August 13, the same day the 26^th annual Farm Aid concert will be held nearby Kansas City. Willie told the Associated Press that he’s “honored and humbled to become the 39th inductee in the Agricultural Hall of Fame.”

Willie organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 with John Mellencamp and Neil Young to raise money for family farmers and bring awareness to their economic struggles. All three,as well as Dave Matthews, Jamey Johnson and Jason Mraz among others, are scheduled to perform at this year’s Farm Aid concert. Continue Reading

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