Wade Hayes rose to country stardom in the 1990s with hit songs like “What I Meant To Say” and “Old Enough To Know Better.” Now though, instead of performing for his fans and creating music, he’s in and out of treatments for stage IV colon cancer. He sat down with Storme Warren to share his touching story on an all-new Headline Country, airing tomorrow, April 19 at 9/8 CT on GAC.
“The whole ordeal is a big thing,” Wade said. “First of all, you find out that you have cancer, which is a shocker. And then you find out, in my case, that I didn’t catch it in time and that it has now spread.”
Vince Gill invites Keith Urban to become the next member of the Grand Ole Opry during his "All For The Hall" benefit concert at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on April 10, 2012. Photo courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry,. Photo credit Chris Hollo.
The We’re All For The Hall benefit concert hosted by Keith Urban and Vince Gill raised $465,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Now in its third year, the sum pushes the total raised by the annual event to approximately $1.5 million. Nearly 14,000 fans filled Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for a show that featured Keith, Vince, Alabama, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and many more, including surprise appearances by Don Williams and Merle Haggard.
“This museum, and country music in general, could not ask for greater ambassadors and caretakers than Vince Gill and Keith Urban,” Museum Director Kyle Young said. “They have such a reverence for this music’s history, and are passionate about its future. The first We’re All for the Hall benefit, in 2009, was a game changer for this museum in terms of both fundraising and awareness, and this year’s show, the third, has again helped take this institution to another level.”
“The support that We’re All for the Hall has continued to receive truly validates the importance of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and its place at the epicenter of country music,” Keith said. “To all of the fans that have come out to the shows, the artists that have given so generously of their time and to the commitment of dollars, equipment and products that our corporate partners have given us, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. We’ll see you again next year.”
During the show, Keith was surprised with an invitation from Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, The Oak Ridge Boys and Diamond Rio to become the next member of the Grand Ole Opry. Keith will be inducted into the Opry on April 21. You can watch the historic moment live on GAC in our new series, Noteworthy At The Opry airing at 9/8 CT. Here’s a sneak peek of the show:
Nan Kelley & Keith Urban backstage at the We're All For The Hall benefit concert, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
This week on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, Nan Kelley joined Keith Urban at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for his annual We’re All For The Hall benefit concert and learned about the importance of preserving country music’s history straight from Keith! Some of the special guests invited by Keith to perform also stopped by to discuss their involvement in the event, which raises money for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Besides chatting with Keith and his famous friends, Nan also counted down this week’s Top 20 videos! Miss Friday night’s premiere? Check the schedule for re-airs throughout the weekend! Check the full schedule »
On the charts this week, Hunter Hayes’latest video, “Wanted,” debuts on the countdown at No. 1 while Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl” falls to No. 2 after spend the past couple of weeks in the top spot. Jason Aldean’s new video, “Fly Over States,” also debuts on the countdown this week at No. 18.
Steven Haddad, Artist Manager – StevenHaddad: Helping the Legend Merle Haggard send his very first Tweet! #merlehaggard #cma #cmchat #nashville #countrymusic #tourlife #livinglegend
Merle Haggard – MerleHaggard: Greetings all participators, especially all you sweet potaters. There’s always something new… Any songwriters find a rhyme for that?
Lee Brice – LeeBrice: Cheers y’all… My first number one single.. Can’t believe it, hope y’all are having one with me tonight..
Vince Gill invites Keith Urban to become the next member of the Grand Ole Opry during his "All For The Hall" benefit concert at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on April 10, 2012. Photo courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry,. Photo credit Chris Hollo.
Keith Urban received the surprise of a lifetime when Vince Gillalong with Rascal Flatts, Diamond Rio and the Oak Ridge Boys invited him to become the next member of the Grand Ole Opry during Keith’s annual We’re All For the Hall benefit at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on April 11. New Zealand-born and Australian-raised, Keith will be the first artist from outside North America to become a member of the Opry family. Keith will be formally inducted into the Opry on April 21.
If you want to visit the Opry in person, Gaylord Opryland Resort’s ‘Night at the Opry’ package is a great way to do it. The package includes a preferred ticket to the Opry and room accommodations. For a limited time, the package starts at $106 per person based on double occupancy for select dates through May. Additional dates are available from only $132 per person based on double occupancy. For reservations, call 1-888-677-9872 or visit www.GaylordOpryland.com. While there, you can shop at Opry Mills too, which recently re-opened following severe damage from record flooding in Nashville in May of 2010. Continue Reading
Nan Kelley & Keith Urban backstage at the We're All For The Hall benefit concert, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
This week on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, Nan Kelley heads to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for Keith Urban’s annual We’re All For The Hall benefit concert to learn about the importance of preserving country music’s history straight from Keith himself! Plus, some of the special guests Keith invited to perform stop by to discuss their involvement in the event, which raises money for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Tune in tonight at 8/7 CT to hear what Keith and his friends have to say about All For The Hall and why it’s so important for them to work to ensure country music’s history survives for future generations. Plus, Nan counts down this week’s Top 20 videos! Check the full schedule »
If you missed the last few episodes of Top 20 or want to re-watch some of your favorite interviews, head over to our Top 20 section for videos, photos and more! You can also catch Top 20 Extras, cast your votes, and take a look at the current chart to see where your favorite videos land. Visit Top 20 » Continue Reading
Vince Gill invites Keith Urban to become the next member of the Grand Ole Opry during his "All For The Hall" benefit concert at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on April 10, 2012. Photo courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry,. Photo credit Chris Hollo.
Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winner Keith Urban was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry this evening by Opry member Vince Gill along with fellow members Rascal Flatts, Diamond Rio and the Oak Ridge Boys during Urban’s “All For The Hall” benefit at Bridgestone Arena. New Zealand-born and Australian-raised Urban will be the first artist from outside North America to become an Opry member. Keith Urban will formally be inducted into the Opry on Sat., April 21 live on the premiere of NOTEWORTHY at the Opry on GAC at 9/8c. The 16-episode series will feature musical performances and personal stories from the top acts in country music plus interviews with other celebrities about the artists and music featured in each episode.
Near the end of tonight’s show, Vince called Rascal Flatts back out onstage to bring a gift for Keith. As Keith opened a large black duffel bag revealing the Opry’s signature microphone stand, Vince said, “We would like to invite Keith Urban to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry!” Keith covered his face in surprise as he began, “I don’t know what to say – but first, YES! Thank you very much to everybody at the Grand Ole Opry who made this possible. I’m shocked. How beautiful for this to happen tonight of all nights.”
“I will always remember the first time I played the Opry,” Keith continued, “seeing this stand and standing in the circle was an extraordinarily surreal moment. So this right here is just a whole other stratosphere! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Keith Urban will donate all of his artist and publishing royalties of his latest single, “For You,” to the Navy SEAL Foundation, which supports SEAL families and their parent commands by easing financial burdens, establishing support networks and funding command sponsored activities. Keith co-wrote “For You” with Monty Powell for the motion picture Act of Valor.
“I felt so privileged and honored to have been given the opportunity to be a part of Act Of Valor and to shine a different kind of light on the work that the SEALS do,” Keith said. Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALS, along with actors Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle and Nestor Serrano.
“For You” plays during the closing credits of Act of Valor and is featured on the film’s soundtrack, along with songs from several other country stars. Keith recently released the video for the song and performed it during the ACM Awards. The single was sent to radio this week. Fans can purchase “For You” from Keith’s website or on iTunes and Amazon. Watch Keith’s “For You” video now! >>Continue Reading
Little Big Town photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.
Little Big Town is one of the acts set to perform at Keith Urban’sthird annual All For The Hall benefit concert tonight, April 10, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The concert will benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s All For The Hall Fund, which goes towards helping the Museum with its mission to preserve the legacy of country music. Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman remembers her first visit to the Museum as a teenager.
“I think the Country Music Hall of Fame is so important to the whole world of country music,” she said. “When I was 14, we took a family trip and came up to the Hall of Fame. It’s one of the family trips in my whole life that stands out the most. I know what I wore and everything. It just was so special and so important.”
At 14, Kimberly had no way of knowing she would one day be performing with her bandmates to raise funds for the Museum, but realizes the impact that first visit had on her life as a musician. She supports the Museum’s goal of preserving the history country music for future generations.
“Country music is important, not only to our community but to families all over our country who want to see what Nashville is all about and what Nashville history is all about,” she said. “And now that the Hall of Fame is amazing, it’s incredible, one of the best museums I’ve ever been in, I think it’s so important that we continue our history and that we show the rest of the world what Nashville is all about.” Continue Reading
Suzanne Alexander & Toby Keith backstage at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 1, 2012.
GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdownhit the red carpet at the ACM Award with hosts Nan Kelley and Suzanne Alexander. They caught up with some of your favorite country stars both on the carpet and backstage. Between chatting with the stars, they counted down this week’s Top 20 videos!
On the charts this week, the Top 5 remain unchanged with Carrie Underwood still in the top spot. Luke Bryan’s latest video, “Drunk On You,” makes its countdown premiere in the No. 13 spot with Lionel Richie and Shania Twain’s “Endless Love” debuting at No. 19.
