Keith Urban photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

A year ago, Keith Urban raised $500,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame when he threw an all-star All For The Hall concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

This year, he’s pitching in again, but it’s not the only thing going on in country music with hall of fame overtones. Hall of Famer Loretta Lynn will be celebrated with a tribute album, fellow Hall of Famer Merle Haggard will receive another rare honor, and five composers — including a former Beatle — are being added to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Here’s a rundown of the hall of fame-related events of note:

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Loretta Lynn's 2010 tribute album. Photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Country legend Loretta Lynn has been entertaining fans with her singing and songwriting for 50 years. To commemorate that anniversary, Sony Music Nashville is releasing Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn. When the label started putting the lineup together, they turned to the Coal Miner’s Daughter herself to choose which artists would be on the CD.

In alphabetical order, Loretta peronally chose: Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Allison Moorer, Paramore, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, The White Stripes, Lucinda Williams, Gretchen Wilson, and Lee Ann Womack. Continue Reading

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#5 on GAC’s Top Stories of 2009 |  View all »

Country fans who listen only to the mainstream commercial outlets in their neck of the woods are missing out on some really great music, and that message was driven home in a big way in 2009. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand album, produced by T Bone Burnett, took home five trophies during the Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Please Read The Letter.”

The first single, “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On),” was a favorite GAC video in 2008 with its underplayed vocals and throbbing pulse. It was a unique release, but it called attention to the hip, left-of-country’s-center genre known as Americana music. Once referred to as alt-country, it’s become a sort of catch-all for roots-driven music that’s not easily categorized, blending folk-rock, country-rock, traditional country, western swing and blues music forms into a loose genre that values authenticity — warts and all — over slick perfection.

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T Bone Burnett photo courtesy of tboneburnett.com.

Producer T Bone Burnett has had a hand in a slew of important albums this decade, including the Robert Plant & Alison Krauss project Raising Sand, Elvis Costello’s current Secret, Profane And Sugarcane, plus the soundtracks to O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain and Walk The Line.

Now T Bone’s got his fingers on a picture that has pre-release Oscar buzz all over it, and the song that runs over the end credits should heighten the profile of Americana artist Ryan Bingham.

Jeff Bridges stars in the new picture, Crazy Heart, in which a formerly successful country singer grapples with life after his career has faded. Robert Duvall, who won an Oscar for a similar role in the 1983 movie Tender Mercies, is a co-producer of the new release. In an unconventional move, T Bone wrote the music before shooting commenced with co-producer Stephen Bruton, a Kris Kristofferson band member who died this year after working on the project. Much as he did when he oversaw the vocal performances of actors Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix in Walk The Line, T Bone also produced Jeff’s performances as a has-been singer.

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Lucinda Williams photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

With three Grammy Awards to her credit, Lucinda Williams ranks among the top artists in Americana music, and she’s got an unusual concert plan slated this month for the night after the annual Americana Honors & Awards.

Lucinda is set to marry Tom Overby on stage during a concert Sept. 18 at First Avenue in Minneapolis, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Tom is originally from the Twin Cities area, though he and Lucinda both currently live in Los Angeles. They’ll tie the knot at the end of her regular set before she delivers the encore. Continue Reading

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