Marty Stuart photo courtesy of The GreenRoom.

Marty Stuart hopes to develop a museum dedicated to Mississippi’s musical heritage, reports WTOK.com. Marty was born and raised in Philadelphia, Miss. and wants to bring recognition to some of the musicians who have come out of his home state.

“Country music in my opinion is a culture,” Marty said. “The same way that jazz had to fight to become a culture, or ballet. It’s a part of the arts that I have fought for and I believe in. Country music is the voice of America. It is a big part of the American picture.”

In the summer of 2010, a museum in Meridian, Mississippi hosted Marty Stuart’s Sparkle & Twang collection, a small fraction of Marty’s many country music artifacts. He says he may have as many as 20,000 pieces in his collection and wants to put them in a museum in his hometown. Continue Reading

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Alison Krauss & Union Station photo courtesy of McDonough Media.

Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas have been added to the MerleFest 25 lineup as the festival’s closing performance. MerleFest 25 will take place April 26-29 on the Wilkes Community College campus in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Held in memory of Eddy Merle Watson, son of Doc Watson, MerleFest is the primary fundraiser for the WCC Endowment Corporation, which funds scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.

Alison has performed at MerleFest numerous times, most recently in 2007. Jerry Douglas has performed at every MerleFest with this year’s performance marking his 25^th appearance at the festival. More than 90 artists are scheduled to perform on 14 stages throughout the weekend, including Marty Stuart, Sierra Hull, Sam Bush, Dailey & Vincent, and the Punch Brothers. A complete list of performers is available at www.merlefest.org. Continue Reading

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Marty Stuart photo courtesy of The GreenRoom.

The first performers of MerleFest 25 have been announced. Marty Stuart, Sierra Hull, Sam Bush, Dailey & Vincent, and the Punch Brothers are just some of the artists who will take part in the annual festival in memory of musician Eddy Merle Watson, son of Doc Watson. The festival will take place April 26-29 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Doc Watson will serve as host.

“This year’s initial lineup will bring back a little nostalgia for the core MerleFest audience, those fans who return year after year to hear the traditional sounds of roots music,” Ted Hagaman, director of the festival, said. “We have some of the leading names in the music industry, of today and yesteryear, lined up to perform at the historic 25th festival. The MerleFest 25 lineup is made up of many of the artists who have helped make this festival the premier, internationally-recognized event that it has become.” Continue Reading

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Marty Stuart will be attending the Americana Music Association Festival & Conference, October 12-15, 2011.

Lucinda Williams, Peter Rowan, Nanci Griffith, James McMurtry and the Blind Boys of Alabama will attend the Americana Music Association Festival & Conference, to be held in Nashville October 12-15. More than twenty additional artists including Sierra Hull, Will Hoge, Marty Stuart and Matraca Berg are scheduled to appear during the event.

The Americana Music Festival & Conference will include showcases, luncheons, a trade show and a panel discussion. The Honors & Awards presentation at the Ryman Auditorium on October 13 is one of the highlights of the event and will feature Lucinda as well as Jim Lauderdale, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy, Gregg Allman, Hayes Carll, The Civil Wars, Elizabeth Cook, Justin Townes Earle, Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Secret Sisters and more. Continue Reading

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Connie Smith's 2011 CD, Long Line of Heartaches. Photo courtesy of Sugar Hill Records.

Though nominated for a Grammy in 2010 on a duet with husband Marty Stuart, Connie Smith’s new album, Long Line of Heartaches, is the first time the classic country singer can be heard on a full release of her own since 1998’s self-titled effort. Long Line of Heartaches, a collection of 12 burning tracks, is a poignant return to form as Connie delivers the heartbreak beautifully through her timeless voice.

Connie wrote five of the album’s songs with Marty, who serves as the project’s producer. Opening with a trademark “Connie Smith Sound” pedal steel guitar lick, the record’s title track issues a statement that followers of traditional country should stand on high alert. Oh, it does you no good, when those burning teardrops fall/ sayin’ everything’s gonna be alright to a heart that’s seen it all, Connie sings with a vintage honky tonk touch on “Long Line of Heartaches,” reminiscent of greats like Loretta Lynn. Many of the songs on the album tell stories with heart-wrenching clarity about trying to be as strong as possible in the face of lost love. Surrounded by reverb-heavy guitar on the dreamy “I’m Not Blue,” Connie sings, You may think I’m falling apart/ but I’m just missin’ all the love we knew, before admitting, The truth gets hard to say when pride stands in the way/ So just let me lie to you/ I’m not blue.

“Ain’t You Even Gonna Cry,” a slow, acoustic-based ballad and one of the album’s standouts, features Connie’s voice richly conveying the hurt and dumbfounded disbelief of a woman realizing she cares more than the man she’s leaving. Continue Reading

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Blake Shelton on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Photo courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry.

Fans touring the Grand Ole Opry will now have Opry member Blake Shelton along as a video guide. While a tour guide will be accompanying visitors during their look behind the scenes of the Opry, Blake will join the group via video at the Opry’s backstage entrance, in Studio A and in the Opry Green Room. He will be providing fans with both historic information and personal stories of his Opry experiences.

In the backstage check-in area and Opry Member Gallery, Blake will appear to recall the night he was asked to join the Opry family. There will also be highlights of Opry invitations and inductions featuring Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan, Josh Turner, and Carrie Underwood. “Opry membership is a thrill that never gets old,” Blake says during the video. Continue Reading

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Dolly Parton photo courtesy of Dolly Records.

Dolly Parton is returning to the CMA Music Festival for the first time since the mid 1970s. She will sign autographs on Saturday, June 11, at noon for a limited number of winners in the Fan Fair Exhibit Hall. Her return to country music’s biggest festival is her way of celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Fan Fair. She will also appear at Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam at 10 p.m. on June 8 at the Ryman Auditorium.

CMA Music Festival isn’t the only thing Dolly is returning to after a long absence. She is set to make her first trip to Australia in more than 30 years in November, reports Pedestrian TV. Her visit Down Under will be one of the highlights of the summer concerts scheduled to trek through the country.

Dolly has fans all over the world, including the UK. The UK’s music magazine The Q recently asked Dolly who she thought should play her in a biopic. She had an answer – but she also had a couple of exceptions. Continue Reading

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Marty Stuart photo courtesy of The GreenRoom.

The lineup for the 10^th Annual Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam has been announced. Joining Marty this year will be Dolly Parton, Mel Tillis, Connie Smith, The Quebe Sisters Band, Doug Kershaw and other surprise guests. The Late Night Jam has become known as the unofficial kick-off of the CMA Music Festival and tickets this year have sold faster than ever, despite a previously unknown lineup. Continue Reading

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Brad Paisley photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Brad Paisley is giving fans his new music a day earlier than originally planned. He has decided to move the release date of his latest studio album, This is Country Music, from May 24 to May 23. The album includes the hit song “This Is Country Music” that he debuted at last year’s CMA Awards as well as his current single, “Old Alabama,” featuring Alabama.

This Is Country Music has Brad once again joining forces with longtime producer and collaborator Frank Rogers. His first new music since 2009′s  American Saturday Night, the album features  a variety of special guests, including Carrie Underwood, Don Henley, Blake Shelton, Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow and Carl Jackson. Movie legend Clint Eastwood also makes an appearance, whistling on the instrumental track “Eastwood.”

“We wrote [it] as a Western,” Brad tells The Boot.” It’s an epic movie soundtrack-sounding Western. I’ve become friends with Clint and his wife, Dina. So I emailed Dina and said, ‘Does he whistle?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, you want him to whistle on something?’ I said, ‘I have a thing that sounds like an Ennio Morricone, the guy that did all the spaghetti western music like The Good, Bad and the Ugly, and of course it has to have [the whistles] all that kind of stuff. I asked, ‘Can he do that?’ She wrote back and said, ‘He’d love to.’” Continue Reading

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Josh Turner visits host Nan Kelley on the set of Top 20 Country Countdown.

The Colon Cancer Alliance announces the 3rd Annual “Stars Go Blue” benefit concert for colon cancer at the Country Music Hall of Fame this Wednesday, March 16, 2011. The event benefits the Blue Note Fund, which provides financial support for colon cancer patients in need of financial assistance.

The theme of this year’s show is “Couples in Country Music.” GAC host Storme Warren and his wife, Allison, will host the benefit, which will feature multi-platinum MCA recording artist and Grand Ole Opry member Josh Turner and his wife and band member, Jennifer, along with Grammy winning singer Linda Davis and her husband singer/songwriter, Lang Scott. Continue Reading

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