Lionel Richie and Shania Twain photo by Alan Silfen, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Lionel Richie has been added to the list of performers at this year’s CMA Awards. Lionel will debut select duets from his upcoming country duets album, Tuskegee. Lionel is scheduled to perform selections from the album with duet partners Little Big Town, Darius Rucker and Rascal Flatts. The CMA Awards will air live on ABC on November 9 at 8/7 CT.

Tuskegee contains 13 duets with some of the biggest names in country music. Other artists joining Lionel on the album include Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Jason Aldean, Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett.

“As my songwriting progressed, I realized that my songs perfectly translated to the country genre,” Lionel said. He was born and raised in Tuskagee, Alabama. “I am a country boy and proud of it. To do this project just felt natural,” he said. Continue Reading

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Jason Aldean photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records; Zac Brown Band photo courtesy of Southern Ground Artists/Atlantic Records.

The second annual American Country Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Monday, Dec. 5, 8-10 p.m. ET live/PT tape-delayed, on FOX. Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band lead the nominees with eight nominations each; Thompson Square earned seven nods; and The Band Perry and Taylor Swift each garnered six.

Starting today, fans can vote once each day for their favorite American Country Awards nominees at www.theacas.com. Voting is open until Friday, Nov. 11 for all categories, except for Artist of the Year, which closes on Friday, Dec. 2. The nominees for each award category have been determined by four media measurement companies: BigChampagne (record sales and media consumption); Great American Country (video airplay); Mediabase (radio airplay); and Pollstar (touring data).

Hosted by Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth, the two-hour live music spectacular is the only country music awards show that gives fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists not only in traditional categories but also in previously unrecognized areas of the business such as touring, encompassing the entire spectrum of country music and bestowing honors that no other awards show has.

The American Country Awards will feature performances and appearances by the year’s chart-topping country artists. Performers and presenters will be announced soon.

Following is the list of categories and nominees for the American Country Awards:

ARTISTS:
Artist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Lady Antebellum                          
Taylor Swift
Zac Brown Band

Artist of the Year: Male
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton

Artist of the Year: Female
Sara Evans
Alison Krauss
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Artist of the Year: Duo or Group
The Band Perry
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland
Zac Brown Band

Artist of the Year: Breakthrough Artist
Eric Church
Eli Young Band
Justin Moore
Jake Owen
Chris Young

Artist of the Year: New Artist
The Band Perry
Scotty McCreery
Jerrod Niemann
Pistol Annies
Thompson Square

Album:
Album of the Year
Jason Aldean, “My Kinda Party”
Kenny Chesney, “Hemingway’s Whiskey”
Brad Paisley, “This Is Country Music”
Taylor Swift, “Speak Now”
Keith Urban, “Get Closer”
Zac Brown Band, “You Get What You Give”

SINGLES:
Single of the Year
Billy Currington, “Let Me Down Easy”
Tim McGraw, “Felt Good On My Lips”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Chris Young, “Voices”
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away” Continue Reading

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Mac McAnally photo credit: Stan Kellam.

Singer-songwriter Mac McAnally will release his first live album, Live in Muscle Shoals, on October 11. Recorded during his show at Norton Auditorium at the University of North Alabama during the W.C. Handy Music Festival, the album will include hit songs Mac penned such as Kenny Chesney’s “Back Where I Come From” and “Down The Road” and Sawyer Brown’s “All These Years.”

Without the help of advanced equipment and the opportunity to sing a song over and over that recording in a studio offers, Mac embraces the flaws heard in his live recordings, taking his cue from W.C. Handy himself. Continue Reading

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Zac Brown Band photo courtesy of Girlilla Marketing.

Zac Brown Band and Jack Daniel’s have teamed up to provide fans with a one-of-a-kind concert experience. Officially kicking off at the band’s upcoming sold out two night stand at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado on September 5 and 6, the partnership includes U.S. and Canada advertising, a dedicated responsibility campaign and co-presenting tour support. It is the first major partnership between the famous Tennessee distillery and a musical artist in more than a decade.

“There is a natural affinity between Jack Daniel’s friends and Zac Brown Band fans,” said Jeff Arnett, Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller. “They are folks who embrace authentic values, love great music and the spirit of friendship. We couldn’t be happier to partner with ZBB.”

Jack Daniel’s will have a presence at the band’s pre-concert ‘Eat & Greets’ and the Jack Daniel’s experience, ‘Lynchburg on Wheels,’ will appear at several of Zac Brown Band-branded food and music festivals. There will also be ticket giveaways and other activities as well as a commemorative bottle program in support of Camp Southern Ground, Zac Brown’s camp for children with special needs. Continue Reading

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Jimmy Buffett photo courtesy of Discover Boating.

Summertime is in full swing and what better way to beat the heat than on a boat with good friends and good music? Discover Boating, the U.S. recreational boating industry’s non-profit awareness program, asked its 195,000 Facebook fans what music best captures time spent on a boat. More than 1,500 votes put Jimmy Buffett’s “A Pirate Looks at 40″ in the top spot and filled the rest of the Top 10 list with songs by Craig Morgan, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band and more.

“Music adds to the escape factor you feel when you’re out on the water with friends and family,” says Carl Blackwell, president of Discover Boating. “Boating allows you to disconnect from the stress on land and when you add your favorite songs to that experience, it takes the relaxation element of boating to a whole new level.”

Here are the Top 10 Boating Songs according to Discover Boating fans.

1. “A Pirate Looks at 40″ - Jimmy Buffett

While it doesn’t look like there is an official video of this track, this is a great live performance by Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA. Released in 1975, it was a No. 1 hit and is a Parrothead favorite. Written by Jimmy, the song is a modern day pirate’s reflection of the first 40 years of his life.

2. “Come Sail Away” - Styx

This track starts off as a piano ballad before a guitar-heavy second half comes in to close out the song. Styx member Dennis DeYoung admitted to writing the song while depressed over lower than expected album sales. The song has been featured on adult cartoons South Park and Family Guy.

3. “Redneck Yacht Club” – Craig Morgan

It wouldn’t be a boating Top 10 without Craig Morgan’s “Redneck Yacht Club.” Filmed at Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, the video shows Craig and his buddies having fun on and around the water. A long-haired Blake Shelton and Aaron Tippin make cameos and you have to admire both Craig’s jet ski skills and his daredevil stunt that lands both himself and a four wheeler in the water. Continue Reading

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Zac Brown Band on the set of their video, "Knee Deep." Photo courtesy of zacbrownband.com.

You could subtitle Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett’s new “Knee Deep” video “the return of Flody Boatwood.” Shot in Careyes, Mexico and directed by Darren Doane, ZBB’s new summertime anthem features Flody, who starred in “Toes,” along with a couple new siblings, including guest star Juliette Lewis as “Jody Boatwood,” with ZBB and Jimmy Buffett.

“Knee Deep” is the latest single from the southern six-piece’s acclaimed You Get What You Give album.

Watch the video Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift will be inducted into the International Bowling Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of gobowling.com.

Taylor Swift is best known for her songwriting and her singing, but that’s not what has propelled her into a hall of fame.

Taylor has been added to the International Bowling Hall of Fame in a popularity vote that had her competing against pop singer Justin Bieber, sports star Dwight Howard and comedian Bill Murray, among others.

Jim “Moose” Brown, a songwriter known for “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” is also getting a place in the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, and Buck Owens has been permanently installed in a sidewalk hall, the Bakersfield Walk of Stars.

Details on these Hall of Fame inductions:

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Photo courtesy of Atlantic Records/Southern Ground Artists, Inc.

When the Zac Brown Band serves up its next album, You Get What You Give, Sept. 21, it will feature several bonus appearances.

Jimmy Buffett and ace bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice both show up, as does Alan Jackson, who sings on “As She’s Walking Away,” which was released as a single earlier this week.

Alan contributed, in part, because he and the band have a similar connection: Keith Stegall produces both acts, and that made it a little easier to line everything up. It makes for a unique collaboration — Alan is decidedly traditional country, while the Zac Brown Band has one foot in country and the other in a sort of jam-band philosophy.

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Tim McGraw photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of Curb Records.

He’s touring, he’s finished work on a movie and has yet another on the way. Now Tim McGraw’s been added to the lineup for a concert TV special and there’s speculation that he — or another of his fellow country stars — could become the halftime entertainment at next year’s Super Bowl.

Fitting in more recording sessions might be difficult, but you can bet Tim will be doing that, too.

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