Reba McEntire photo courtesy of Valory Music Co. Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Artists, music industry elite and country music fans turned out for the Academy of Country Music’s 5th Annual ACM Honors, an evening dedicated to recognizing special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on September 19. Hosted by Joe Nichols, the event was held at the historic Ryman Auditorium which was awarded with the ACM for Venue of the Year.

The evening was a mix of live music, historical video retrospectives and current video tributes and interviews. Garth Brooks, the late Hank Cochran, John Dorris, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, Tom T. Hall, Reba, Taylor Swift and the film Country Strong were the Special Award recipients of the night. The winners of the Musician, Bandleader, Instrumentalist (MBI) categories and Industry Awards were also honored.

Several performances honored artists during the event. Rodney Atkins and Jerrod Niemann honored Garth by each performing a song of his each. Brett Eldredge performed his current single “It Ain’t Gotta Be Love” which is featured in Country Strong while The Isaacs honored Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers with a medley of their hits. Dean Dillon, Jamey Johnson and Joe Nichols paid tribute to Hank Cochran while Montgomery Gentry and The Whites honored John Dorris. Buddy Miller and Lee Ann Womack honored Tom T. Hall. Randy Houser, Thompson Square, Jack Ingram and Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, with Romain Virgo, also performed.

Presenters included Ronnie Dunn, Ralph Emery, John Michael Montgomery, The Oak Ridge Boys and the Academy’s Bob Romeo. Robin Meade presented Industry awards while Laura Bell Bundy handed out MBI awards. Continue Reading

ShareThis

The Oak Ridge Boys Photo Credit: Jarrett Gaza

The Oak Ridge Boys will release their new album, It’s Only Natural, through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s exclusive music program on September 19. The album celebrates the 30th year of the band’s hit song “Elvira,” with a re-recording of the song as well as six other hits and five new songs.

“The heart of the CD was inspired by a collection of time-honored songs, but its soul comes from the collaboration we had on this project with talented producers Ron Chancey and Michael Sykes,” said Joe Bonsall.  “Ron originally produced ‘Elvira’ and all of our gold and platinum albums. This is Michael’s ninth project co-producing with Duane.” Continue Reading

ShareThis

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

ShareThis

Joey + Rory photo credit: Bryan Allen

Lee Greenwood, Joey & Rory, Ricky Skaggs and The Roys are set to perform at the 17^th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards on October 28 in Nashville. Storme Warren and Megan Alexander will host the event, held at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Additional events during ICM-Faith, Family and Country Week will be held at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel, including the Power Source No. 1 party, showcases, talent and songwriting contests, seminars, worship services, retail exhibits and more.

Before the awards, the first-ever PINK Carpet Gala Event will take place as breast cancer survivors and country artists celebrate and raise awareness for the cause. During the ceremony, orchestra seating will be filled with breast cancer survivors, each of which will be sponsored by a family member, friend, or business. Continue Reading

ShareThis

Country music stars sure love Twitter! Here at GAC, we follow them too. This week, Dolly Parton stops by GAC, David Nail offers up his pick to win the Miss USA pageant, Reba shares some good news about her father and Sara Evans posts a photo of an expensive “oops.” Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/blakeshelton.

Blake Shelton – @BlakeShelton: Ba! Ha! Ha! I forgot to show y’all this… It’s on Christina’s dressing room door on The Voice!!!

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/Dolly_Parton.

Dolly Parton – @Dolly_Parton: Hanging out with Nan Kelley and the folks over @gactv talkin’ up the new album and tour!

Reba – @Reba: Just want to let you all know that my Daddy is back home after a long stint in hospitals and rehab. Thanks so much for all your prayers.

Miranda Lambert – @Miranda_Lambert: Law & Order SVU marathon was on sunday. Thank God for TiVo! I can watch em all 100 more times!

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/saraevansmusic.

Sara Evans – @saraevansmusic:  The catering truck hit our bus last weekend. It was a pretty expensive oops!

Continue Reading

ShareThis

l-r: Josh Turner photo courtesy of UMG Nashville; Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville; Blake Shelton photo courtesy of WBR Nashville.

The Grand Ole Opry and Cracker Barrel have teamed up to release four new albums. The three-CD series Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection and the contemporary Our Kind of Country albums together feature more than 50 legendary and contemporary country music stars spanning six decades.

“The classic collection is truly ‘classic’ in every sense of the word,” said Julie Craig, marketing manager for Cracker Barrel.  “It’s as close to an Opry experience as you can get without actually being in the Opry House.  Listeners will enjoy high quality sound on every track, songs by historically renowned artists and enduring examples of some truly great performances. And Our Kind Of Country is an incredible showcase of the Opry’s current superstars and more recent additions—a dozen of the Opry’s best available on one CD for the first time.”

Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Martina McBride and more are featured on the Our Kind of Country album. All artists are Grand Ole Opry members and have collectively won every major award presented by the Country Music Association. Continue Reading

ShareThis

Becoming a father doesn’t necessarily take a lot of talent. But being a good dad – well, that is a tough undertaking. And just when Pop gets it figured out, the kid gets a little older and treats him differently. Or another one comes along and changes up the family dynamics.

Parenthood is actually a rich vein for songwriters to tap, and with Father’s Day upon us, it’s a perfect time to run through some of the best songs that deal with the old man. Some of your favorites might be missing. You could argue, for example, that the Mac Davis song “Watching Scotty Grow” belongs here or that “I Saw God Today” is a better fatherly entry from George Strait than “The Breath You Take.” But hey, that’s what lists are for: starting up a conversation. If you don’t see your favorite on here, let us know what’s missing!

In no particular order, here are 20 country songs for dads everywhere:

“Love Without End, Amen,” George Strait (1990) – The father/son relationship is often used by the church to explain God. George makes those allusions here, portraying Dad – and the guy upstairs – as someone who’s strict, loving and ultimately forgiving.

“That’s My Job,” Conway Twitty (1987) – Dad as protector, Dad as financier, Dad as inspiration from the grave. It sounds heavy, and it is. Beautifully so, with Vince Gill on supporting vocals.

“Drive (For Daddy Gene),” Alan Jackson (2002) – If your dad spent a lot of time under the hood of the car in the driveway, then Alan likely hit the nail on the head for you. There are plenty of car and boat parts in the song, but they’re just a vehicle to show how Dad steered you right.

“Seein’ My Father In Me,” Paul Overstreet (1990) – “I notice I walk the way he walks / I notice I talk the way he talks.” Get used to it, guys. Unless you work really hard at it, you’re going to be more like dear old dad than you ever expected.

“Daddy What If,” Bobby Bare (1973) – There’s something distinctly schmaltzy about this quasi-lullaby that Bobby recorded with his son, Bobby Bare Jr., who was all of seven years old when it was released. That schmaltzy quality, coupled with the obvious affection between Sr. and Jr., is exactly why it works. Continue Reading

ShareThis

Country music stars sure love Twitter! Here at GAC, we follow them too. This week, we bring you a special CMA Music Festival edition of Tweets of the Week in honor of country music’s largest festival going on in Nashville. Don’t forget to follow GAC at @gactv for the latest scoop on what we’re into around Music City – you might even win a prize! Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week. Don’t forget to check out our photos from the CMA Music Festival, HERE — and also don’t forget to share yours with us, HERE!

Lady Antebellum's view of the crowd waiting to meet them at CMA Music Festival 2011. Photo courtesy of Lady Antebellum.

Lady Antebellum – @LadyAntebellum: Signing booth at CMA fest!!!! Love u guys!!! -lady a

Frankie Ballard – @FrankieBallard: Back for CMA Fest!!! Its toasty down here….. Might have to do this in my underwear

David Nail – @DavidNail: Blown away by fan party, thank u all so much, hope to see ya Saturday too!

Josh Thompson – @TheJoshThompson: Headin to the River Stage here in Nashville. Gonna make some noise in about an hour. Continue Reading

ShareThis

Oak Ridge Boys member Joe Bonsall.

Joe Bonsall, best known as a member of The Oak Ridge Boys, will be signing his book, From My Perspective, from 2-4 p.m on Wednesday, June 8, at the downtown Nashville LifeWay Christian Store. The signing will include Joe and other musicians holding a jam session on the ‘front porch’ of the LifeWay store in between questions from the audience.

From My Perspective is a collection of stories about life, music, faith, and America. In the book, Joe shares stories from 35 years on the road with The Oak Ridge Boys, moments with celebrity friends such as the late Johnny Cash and draws on his own life experiences with his faith laced tightly throughout.

“My publisher gave me a broad canvas to write upon and I took advantage of the opportunity, sharing stories and thoughts about most everything imaginable,” Joe said. “I hope readers will enjoy my anecdotes, at the heart of which is a definite message of optimism and faith.” Continue Reading

ShareThis

Jamey Johnson photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

By Robert K. Oermann
© 2011 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Jamey Johnson has a way of defying our expectations. At a time when it is harder than ever to sell full-length albums relative to single digital tracks, he has followed his Mercury Nashville Gold-certified That Lonesome Song with a double album. The Guitar Song contains 25 songs and demands more than an hour of a listener’s attention – yet in September it debuted at the top of the Country chart and at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200.

The music video for his anti-Hollywood song “Playing the Part,” written by Johnson and Shane Minor, was filmed in Hollywood and directed by actor Matthew McConaughey. And though at the top of his game as a Country songwriter and record producer, Johnson has also taken a left turn to produce a gospel album for the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama. Continue Reading

ShareThis