Eddie Montgomery (center) & Heidi Newfield (right) jam during some downtime on the Country Throwdown Tour. Photo by Beth Brinker.

As The Country Throwdown tour makes its way up the east coast, each stop continues to serve up memorable performances and behind the scenes action with country’s hottest stars.

North Carolina stops included Charlotte and Raleigh, where I got to hang with Little Big Town and hear all about how much fun they are having with their “Little White Church” Country Throwdown weddings. Getting to know these four and their adorable families, who are out on the road with them, has been a tour highlight!

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was a hot one! In between sets, artists could be found hitting golf balls into a lake behind the amphitheater. Nice swing, Little Big Towners!

My favorite stop of the week was Saratoga Springs, New York. Not only was the venue beautiful, the musical collaborations were epic. That’s a fancy word, but it was a fancy day at The Country Throwdown, people. Continue Reading

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(l-r): Little Big Town's Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, Anne & Josh York, Statt with WUBE, and Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild & Jimi Westbrook.

We are now officially seven stops into The Country Throwdown Tour! As this traveling music circus makes its way across the country, everyone is finding their groove out here on the road and really get to know each other. This past week we hit Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Indianapolis – rain or shine, The Country Throwdown was a party all day. What you may not know is that the party continues all night.

After the lights go down on the main stage, the grill is cranked up backstage thanks to Tyler Reeve. Affectionately called “The BBQ Band,” Tyler and his crew cook up a feast every night after the show, and the music starts up again. You never know who’s going to play together, what they will sing, or how many shakers Sarah Buxton will pass out (and whether or not the recipients have rhythm.) In Cleveland, Cory Branan sang an Irish song that had Emily West, Sarah Buxton and Country Throwdown creator Kevin Lyman doing a jig that earned him the nickname “Crazy Legs.”

In Cincinnati, I spent most of the day soaking wet and my Texas hair was getting curlier by the minute.  Some fans were covered in brown slime from head to toe after going down the mudslide. You could even catch members of The Eli Young Band out there throwing down with fans. This was the day that Mike Eli told me I had “Wal-Mart feet.” I hate to admit that my flip-flop feet were dirty from the weather, but c’mon Mike! What do you expect “when it rains”?

Fans didn’t let rain get in the way of their good time, or even their wedding! Little Big Town’s latest single, “Little White Church,” has inspired weddings at various stops along the tour. Anne Zimmerman and Josh York were the first couple married on The Country Throwdown Tour. The members of LBT even served as their wedding party. The second wedding, held Sunday in Indianapolis, IN, was a renewal ceremony for Maggie and Adam Clark. Continue Reading

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Montgomery Gentry photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

In light of the recent devastation in Nashville, the Country Throwdown Tour and its artists are lending a hand to the local residents in need.

Country Throwdown artists are coming forward to help in a collective way. As of today, main stage headliners Montgomery Gentry, Jack Ingram, Eric Church, Eli Young Band and Bluebird Café Tent singer-songwriters Sarah Buxton, Heather Morgan, Jedd Hughes, Ashley Ray, Troy Olsen, Brad Tursi, Cory Branan and Dave Pahanish will be donating the net proceeds from the sale of their merchandise at select shows throughout the U.S.

“We’re excited to be a part of the Throwdown Tour and through the course of the tour the artists get to participate in generating a lot of revenue for Nashville,” explains Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry. “Donating in one lump sum at the end of the tour gives us the opportunity to help any folks who may have fallen through the cracks, either through not having insurance or not being eligible for FEMA coverage. We’ll be able to place the money directly with the people who need it the most to rebuild.” Continue Reading

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Montgomery Gentry photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

This morning, tickets went on sale for the 2010 Country Throwdown Tour, sponsored by GAC. The tour kicks off May 14 at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa, Fla. and goes through June 20 in Mountain View, Calif. at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

The tour features Montgomery Gentry, Jack Ingram, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Eric Church, Emily West, Eli Young Band, Heidi Newfield, The Lost Trailers, Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses and Jonathan Singleton and the Grove.

In addition to the artists above on the main stage, there will be a Bluebird Cafe Stage Continue Reading

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Montgomery Gentry photo courtesy of Sony Nashville.

Country Throwdown 2010, a multi-act outdoor tour produced by the same company that created rock’s annual Vans Warped Tour, has enlisted Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town and Jack Ingram among the initial acts for a five-week, GAC-sponsored series of concerts next spring. Specific markets and the entire lineup have yet to be revealed, though the Throwdown will feature 21 total acts on an itinerary from May 13-June 20.

“When Eddie [Montgomery] and I were approached about doing the Country Throwdown Tour we immediately said yes,” Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry said. “We loved the idea of it being like a big festival, a big party. I mean, that’s what Montgomery Gentry is all about. We’re keeping the ticket prices low because we know it’s hard out there. Fans are going to get a lot of entertainment for their money. This tour is going to be a great experience for us, the other artists and especially the fans.”

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Darryl Worley photo courtesy of Stroudavarious Records.

Darryl Worley might be a big ol’ country star, but he’s still got the same small-town sensibility he was raised with, which is part of the reason he raises about 75 head of cattle on his farm near Savannah, Tenn.

“It’s just one of those little things that were kind of the way we grew up,” Darryl told The Decatur Herald & Review of Central Illinois. “I think sometimes those things help you keep your feet on the ground.”

One other thing that will keep you grounded is a little lull in success. “Sounds Like Life To Me” is in the Top 15 on the Country Aircheck singles chart, the first song Darryl’s had reach that plateau in a good three years. He went through a major adjustment when his label folded in 2005. In the aftermath, he signed with an independent company that Neal McCoy started up, and that company ran out of money. Continue Reading

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