Clay Walker photo courtesy of Curb Nashville.

Clay Walker and  GAC’s own Nan Kelley will host this year’s Holiday Notes From Home Christmas concert at the Grand Ole Opry on October 6. The annual concert will feature performances from Lee Ann Womack and Little Big Town. Outlaw country artist Adam Fisher will also be on hand to play a pre-show set before the 7pm taping begins.

Members of the United States Air Force and Air Force Reserve, service members from Fort Campbell, KY, and the Tennessee Army & Air National Guard will be special guests at the event. They, along with participating artists, will be able to send their holiday greetings to our soldiers and their families serving our country around the world. The show will air numerous times throughout the Christmas season on the Armed Forces Radio and Television Network. 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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Lee Ann Womack photo courtesy of MCA Nashville. Photo credit Danny Clinch.

Lee Ann Womack is heading into the studio to begin work on a new album and will kick off the process by honoring George Jones at the Grand Ole Opry tonight as the Opry celebrates George’s 80^th birthday. Then on September 19, she will participate in the Academy of Country Music’s ACM Honors event at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville where she will honor Tom T. Hall.

“What a great way to start work on a new record,” Lee Ann said. “When you want to get your horizon line, any time you can start with someone as great as George Jones – or be part of this year’s ACM Honors, singing for Tom T. Hall, it reminds you what it takes to make music that lasts.

“There are so few true country singers out there like Jones… not that anyone will ever sing like George Jones. But when you’re listening to Alan [Jackson], like when you’re listening to George Strait, that’s pure country. No matter what kind of song they’re singing. And the same thing goes when you’re singing a Tom T. Hall song: that’s country!”

Watch Lee Ann’s Fan Q&A! >>

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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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Country music stars sure love Twitter! In this week’s edition of Top 10 Tweets, Katy Perry is ‘country strong’ in Nashville, Chuck Wicks and Chris Young find themselves in front of GAC cameras, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley reveals his TV show of choice and Taylor Swift learns what loud screams sound like. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

(l-r): Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack, Katy Perry and Faith Hill. Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/katyperry.

Katy Perry – KatyPerry: It was a country strong night!!! Reba, Kitty, Lee Ann, Katy & Faith!

Laura Bell Bundy – LauraBellBundy: As I lay me down to sleep, I think… This was the best day ever! Got to finish tracking my record & Katy Perry said ‘OKRR?!’ on stage. : )

Lady Antebellum – LadyAntebellum: if u didn’t believe me the first time I said it maybe u will now. jersey shore is the best show ever. are u watching this drama? come on- ck

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/chuckwicksmusic.

Chuck Wicks – ChuckWicksMusic: Shooting a Special with @gactv right now in Massachusetts and my dad always gets Lobster and always wears the bib… Continue Reading

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Trace Adkins & Kristin Chenoweth

Trace Adkins will return as host of the second annual American Country Awards, this time joined by Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth. The ACAs will air live from Las Vegas on Monday, December 5 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox and are the only country music awards show that is fan voted in both traditional categories and previously unrecognized areas such as touring.

Last year’s inaugural ACAs last year featured performances by Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Easton Corbin, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, Steel Magnolia, Josh Turner, The Band Perry and Uncle Kracker. Laura Bell Bundy, Rodney Carrington, Jeff Dunham, Travis Pastrana, Jaron and The Long Road to Love, Jewel, Lady Antebellum, Jennette McCurdy, Bret Michaels, Ty Murray, Jerrod Niemann, Michael Waltrip and Lee Ann Womack also appeared.

Nominees, performers and presenters for this year’s show will be announced at a later date. Browse photos from last  year’s show >>

Trace just released his latest album, Proud to Be Here. Read our review >>

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The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum has an exciting schedule of events for the month of June, including CMA Music Festival events, songwriter nights, film screenings and more. The GAC-sponsored Tammy Wynette exhibit will  close in June. The curtain will fall on the display of some of Tammy’s most prized memorabilia June 13. Here are some of the other events lined up for June:

June 4, join the Hall of Fame for Poets and Prophets: Salute to Legendary Songwriter Don Schlitz. Don is the man behind hit songs like “The Gambler,”  “On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen,” “When You Say Nothing at All” and “I Feel Lucky” among others. After the show, Don will sign a Poets & Prophets Hatch Print Poster and his two CDs, Allergic To Crazy and Greatest Hits.

On June 8, you can join GAC for the 4^th Annual Kick Off Breakfast. Lee Ann Womack as well as Ashton Shepherd, David Nail, and Laura Bell Bundy are all scheduled to perform. Limited seating is still available and the ticket price includes breakfast, acoustic performances from each artist, and an autograph session. Check out video highlights from last year’s Kick Off Breakfast HERE.

June 18, bring your kids to the Hall of Fame to learn the basics of a song. Designed for kids ages 5 to 11, Songwriting 101 with Jerry Vandiver and Tim Buppert teaches kids the basics of song form, rhyme scheme and meter as well as some of the secrets behind the creative process. Families are invited to tour the museum at a discounted rate afterward.

June 29 and 30, the Hall of Fame will venture to Nashville-area libraries for community outreach programs designed to expose children to musical instruments they may not have seen or heard of before.

For a complete list of Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum events, visit their website.

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Reba McEntire photo courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

Reba McEntire has more than earned a vacation. Having spent the last year putting out a new album, touring with George Strait and Lee Ann Womack, hosting the ACM Awards, co-headlining two tornado relief concerts with Blake Shelton, appearing as a mentor on NBC’s The Voice and being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Reba has been one busy superstar. Whether she’ll stay in the States or hop a plan abroad is unknown.

“I love so many different places,” Reba said. “I love the South Pacific, but then I also love to visit places like Wyoming.” With her father recovering from a stroke, Reba is also planning to spend as much time in her native Oklahoma as she can to visit with her parents. Continue Reading

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Lee Ann Womack photo courtesy of MCA Nashville. Photo credit Danny Clinch.

For the fourth year in a row GAC will host its Annual Kickoff Breakfast.  This unique event gets things started leading into the summer’s biggest country music festival — CMA Music Festival. Fans get a one-of-a-kind experience featuring an intimate concert, full breakfast, admission into the Country Music Hall of Fame, plus a meet and greet with the stars. And once again, we have a stellar lineup — here are all the details:

Who: Lee Ann Womack, Ashton Shepherd, David Nail and Laura Bell Bundy

Where: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

When: Wednesday June 8 at 7 a.m. (doors open at 6:15 a.m.)

Tickets: $45/each

Tickets will go on sale this Thursday, May 12 at 11 a.m. ET at GACTV.com through our online store.

Check out photo highlights from last year’s Kickoff Breakfast »

Watch video highlights from last year’s Kickoff Breakfast »

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