Edens Edge photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Have you made your New Year’s Eve plans yet? Check out where you can catch some of your favorite country stars ringing in 2012, both live and on TV:

Edens Edge will perform at the third annual “Bash On Broadway” in Nashville along with The Farm, Jeffrey Steele and headliner Lynyrd Skynyrd.The free show will take place on Broadway beginning at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and will be broadcast live to a national audience on Sirius XM Radio. GAC’s Storme Warren will serve as emcee.

The Band Perry will close out the year with a performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, as part of the Los Angeles celebration. The special will air on ABC December 31.

Rodney Atkins, Joe Nichols and Lauren Alaina will perform live from the Las Vegas strip during FOX’s American Country New Year’s Eve Live special. Hosted by Rodney Carrington, the special will also feature performances by Eli Young Band and Toby Keith and include coverage from the ball drop at New York City’s Time Square. Tune in to FOX at 11/10c December 31 to catch it.

Chris Young will be headlining a New Year’s Eve show at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas.

Sarah Darling will headline the 4^th annual New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop at Pier Parkin Panama City Beach, FL. Taking the stage at 10:45 p.m., Sarah will be the final performer before the 800-pound glowing beach ball begins its descent and final countdown to 2012.

The Grand Ole Opry will ring in 2012 with Friday and Saturday night Opry performances at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. John Conlee, Craig Morgan, Mandy Barnett, Jeannie Seely, Jimmy Wayne, Little Jimmy Dickens and Jean Shepard are all on the schedule for the December 30 show, while Little Jimmy Dickens, Jimmy Wayne, Jett Williams, Jan Howard, Mandy Barnett and Dailey & Vincent are all scheduled to appear on December 31.

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Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, the Grand Ole Opry celebrates Little Jimmy Dickens’ 91st birthday, Martina McBride ponders her youngest daughter’s Christmas list, Chris Young and Frankie Ballard face last minute Christmas shopping and funny man Ray Stevens puts a certain 91-year-old on his list to Santa. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Grand Ole Opry on WhoSay

Opry – Opry: Breaking News: @opry star Little Jimmy “Tater” Dickens parties with his Mr Tater Head birthday cake celebrating 91 …

Martina McBride: MartinaMcBride – On Ava’s list to Santa: chocolate fountain, popcorn machine, dippin’ dots maker, cotton candy machine! What the heck????

Chris Young – ChrisYoungMusic: Going Christmas shopping…. Someone pray for me…

Dierks Bentley on WhoSay

Dierks Bentley – DierksBentley: merry christmas from @bradpaisley and me. that was special brad… Continue Reading

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Miranda Lambert’s autographed cowboy boots, worn during her first tour.

The Nashville Music Garden, the only public garden in the world that pays tribute to the artists, songs and industry leaders who make Music City unique, will host their first ever online auction on November 25. The Country Music Blooms Online Auction will offer fans the chance to bid on a wide array of country music items from celebrities such as Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes, Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert. Bidding on eBay will be open through December 5 when the auction closes at 9:00 PM/CT.

Some of the many items up for auction include Kenny Chesney’s autographed cowboy hat, cowboy boots worn on the Grand Ole Opry stage by Little Jimmy Dickens, an acoustic guitar autographed by Carrie Underwood, dresses from Sara Evans and Leann Rimes and a pair of autographed cowboy boots worn by Miranda Lambert on her first tour. Continue Reading

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Opry General Manager Pete Fisher, Opry member Little Jimmy Dickens, Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts. Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

Rascal Flatts is officially the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. With the help of Little Jimmy Dickens, the trio was inducted into the Opry family on October 8, the same night the Opry celebrated its 86th birthday. Vince Gill surprised the band with an invitation to join the Opry during their performance on September 27.

Watch the Video of Their Invitation >>

“The Opry has had such a special place in my heart for such a long time,” Gary LeVox said. “I mean even before we were artists and musicians we were children growing up, you know, our grandparents, our mothers and fathers were big fans of the Opry. We had no idea if this was ever going to happen. But when Vince came out a couple weeks ago when we were onstage it was really shocking, it was mind blowing, so humbling and we’re so honored and proud to be a part of this legacy. There is no bigger pinnacle than the Grand Ole Opry. It is country music.”

“We are humbled by this,” Joe Don Rooney said. “We are absolutely blown away by this and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store with us through the Opry. Tonight is a great platform from which to set sail.” Continue Reading

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Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

The Grand Ole Opry celebrated its  86^th birthday with a night of music, the Opry debut of one of country music’s most recognizable voices, the induction of its newest member, a giant cake and lots of balloons. The show was aired live on GAC as part of Opry Live.

Little Jimmy Dickens, Jeannie Seely, The Whites, Charley Pride, Jimmy C. Newman and Chuck Mead were all on hand to start off the evening. Opry member Craig Morgan was also in the Opry House. He kicked up the tempo with his new single, “This Ole Boy,” before performing his first ever No. 1, “That’s What I Love About Sunday.” He also debuted a brand new song, “More Trucks Than Cars,” for the Opry audience that will be on his upcoming album. Continue Reading

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Country music stars sure love Twitter! In this week’s edition of Top 10 Tweets, Brad Paisley shares a photo of his European tour (see his timeline for more!), Jake Owen and James Otto celebrate birthdays, the Grand Ole Opry hires a ‘little’ help, Billy Currington shares a George Jones memory and The Band Perry has some interesting fans in line for their show. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/BradPaisley.

Brad Paisley – BradPaisley: You see a priceless French painting…

Billy Currington – BillyCurrington: last time I saw Jones he said hey Dierks hows ur wife. I said I don’t have a wife. He laughed and said u a funny one. Im like not u 2 jones

Jake Owen – JakeOwen: Wow. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes. I’m so thankful for life, happiness, and amazing friends. I’m ready for this chapter in life.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/Reba.

Reba McEntire – Reba: Who are all these people????

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Little Jimmy Dickens at the grand opening of the Opry Backstage Grill on Friday, August 5, 2011. Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

During the grand opening of the Grand Ole Opry’s Opry Backstage Grill restaurant on Friday, August 5, Little Jimmy Dickens was presented with a Chef’s hat and named the restaurant’s Honorary Executive Chef. Little Jimmy toasted the crowd with a glass of the restaurant’s specialty frozen dessert, the home-baked shake, which is made daily from the pie of the day, plus ice cream and milk.

The restaurant, located across from Gaylord Opryland Resort, provides both one of a kind dining and entertainment from Opry artists. Servers double as performers on the Backstage Grill stage and share details about the daily specials using Opry members’ recipes. Continue Reading

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Left to right: Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, Dickens, Opry Vice President & General Mgr Pete Fisher, William Lee Golden, Richard Sterban. Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

GAC congratulates the Oak Ridge Boys, who were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry this evening by Opry member Jimmy Dickens!  The legendary country music group made up of William Lee Golden, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban, and Duane Allen was invited to join the Opry last month by Dickens, who surprised the group by walking onstage dressed as a 4’11” William Lee Golden, including long beard and sunglasses.

Tonight the group was surprised onstage by a video greeting from President George Bush. “I cannot think of any group or any person who deserve this honor more,” President Bush said, explaining that he’d been an Oak Ridge Boys fan since he first heard the group from inside the White House while they were singing “Elvira” on the White House lawn. “I ran outside like a little kid,” he said, “and I’ve been blessed to call them friends ever since. I think of the Opry and the Oaks both as American icons, beloved from coast to coast and known around the world. I can’t think of a better union. I love you boys, and my best to everyone at the Grand Ole Opry, one of my favorite places in America.”

After Dickens presented the members of the group with their Opry member awards, Joe Bonsall spoke first for the group, saying, “We’ve always been a friend of the Opry. We’ve always believed in the Opry and loved and respected every member of this brotherhood and sisterhood of country music. We’ve been nervous wrecks all day long because we knew how special this would be. This is a meaningful night, and is it different tonight than it ever has been when we’ve come down here to sing? You bet your life it is!” Continue Reading

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The Oak Ridge Boys Photo Credit: Jarrett Gaza

On July 8, The Oak Ridge Boys were asked by Little Jimmy Dickens to become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry. Banjo player Joe Bonsall penned a letter for the band’s website, expressing their gratitude and excitement as well as reflecting on the journey to receive the invitation.

“On July 8th, upon the legendary stage of THE Grand Ole Opry, in between Y’all Come Back Saloon and Elvira, history was made,” Joe wrote. “The oldest living Opry star, Little Jimmy Dickens, strode onto the stage dressed as William Lee Golden and surprised us all by announcing that The Oak Ridge Boys were to become the newest members of the prestigious sisterhood and brotherhood that IS the Grand Ole Opry! That night is now etched in music and Oaks’ history. The official induction will take place August 6th on the same stage.” Continue Reading

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Opry member Little Jimmy Dickens invites the Oak Ridge Boys to join the Grand Ole Opry. Photo courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

A show at the Grand Ole Opry can be full of surprises — and tonight was no exception. Congratulations to the legendary Oak Ridge Boys, who were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry! The quartet, made up of William Lee Golden, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban, and Duane Allen, will be formally inducted into the Opry family on Saturday, August 6.

After the Oaks performed their hit “Y’All Come Back Saloon,” 62-year Opry member Jimmy Dickens surprised the group by walking onstage dressed as a 4’11” William Lee Golden, including long beard and sunglasses. “All my life I’ve wanted to be a little bitty Oak Ridge Boy,” Dickens announced to raucous laughter in the Opry House. “On August 6th, I will become the newest member of the Oak Ridge Boys, and at that time, you will become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry!”

Joe Bonsall responded for the group, saying, “Jimmy, that’s the funniest thing we’ve ever seen, first of all. This is a brotherhood and sisterhood unlike any other. We have been friends Continue Reading

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