Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has released their list of the Top Country Artists of 2011. Artists are ranked based on album sales, song downloads and airplay, touring revenue, Social 50 chart action, ringtone sales and streaming data provided by Nielsen BDS. Congratulations to Taylor Swift for being named the Top Country Artist of 2011! What do you think of this ranking? Who’d top YOUR Top 50 list? Leave us a comment below!

1. Taylor Swift
2. Jason Aldean
3. Lady Antebellum
4. Zac Brown Band
5. Blake Shelton
6. The Band Perry
7. Rascal Flatts
8. Kenny Chesney
9. Brad Paisley
10. Luke Bryan
11. Keith Urban
12. Miranda Lambert
13. Sugarland
14. Eric Church
15. Scotty McCreery
16. Toby Keith
17. Thompson Square
18. Chris Young
19. Billy Currington
20. Tim McGraw Continue Reading

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Darius Rucker photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Darius Rucker is set to headline his first tour since his days with Hootie  & the Blowfish. Fresh off a European tour with Brad Paisley that took him through England, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, Darius will kick off his tour on October 6 in Glens Falls, New York. Rodney Atkins, Frankie Ballard, Thompson Square and Justin Moore will join him on select dates.

“I haven’t headlined a tour since Hootie, so to say I’m excited is an understatement,” Darius said.  “It has been such an incredible experience to tour with Paisley and Rascal Flatts, and I’ve learned a lot being on the road with them.  With this tour, I’m just excited to perform again for our fans, and I’m thrilled to have Rodney, Frankie, Justin, and Thompson Square joining us.”

Watch our Fan Q&A with Darius >> 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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Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

If you can’t make it to Boston tonight to see Kenny Chesney and fellow songwriters Bob DiPiero, Matraca Berg, Brett James, Wendell Mobley and Craig Wiseman as part of the CMA Songwriter’s series, you can stream the event online. NoShoesRadio.com and CMASongwritersSeries.com will both carry the show from Boston’s Royale Nightclub starting at 8/7c.

Tonight’s show isn’t your only chance to catch Kenny in Boston this weekend, however. Kenny has moved his show scheduled for Sunday, August 28 to tomorrow, August 26, in light of the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene. Following the devastating stage collapse as a result of high winds just before Sugarland took the stage at the Indiana State Fair almost two weeks ago, Kenny made the decision to move the show with the safety of his fans in mind. 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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Country music stars sure love Twitter! Here at GAC, we follow them too. This week, Jake Owen and Colt Ford have a little fun with a mask, Lee Brice shares his secret to keeping beer cold, Lady Antebellum‘s Charles Kelley offers his solution to hoarding and Brett Eldredge does his best MC Hammer impression. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/jakeowen.

Jake Owen – JakeOwen: @coltford feeling the awesomeness of my horse mask. It’s not just a mask. It’s a lifestyle.

Eric Church – EricChurch: Thank you fans for making CHIEF the #1 Country & Top 200 album this week! Can’t thank my fans enough & look forward to where this takes us

Justin Moore – JustincoleMore: Had a blast at the brickyard today. Got to present paul menard with the trophy in victory lane alongside Reba. Be jealous!

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/leebrice.

Lee Brice – LeeBrice: It’s just how we roll… Continue Reading

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Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Kenny Chesney‘s Goin’ Coastal Tour can add another milestone to it’s growing list of accolades. The August 13 stop at New Jersey’s New Meadowlands Stadium has sold more tickets than any country concert in the New York/New Jersey area since 1983. More than 44,100 tickets have already been sold and the show is on track to become the 28th sold out date of the tour.

“When I first heard we’d be playing at the Meadowlands, I was ecstatic,” Kenny said. “It has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember and will be an unforgettable evening for everyone involved.” Continue Reading

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Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter onstage at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Kenny Chesney took fans to the beach Saturday night when his Goin’ Coastal Tour stopped in Philadelphia. Kenny played to a sold-out crowd of 52,000 at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, for the fourth time in five years. Grace Potter made a surprise appearance during the show to perform “You And Tequila” and The Eagles classic, “Take It Easy.”

“Philadelphia is a very passionate city and our fans there reflected that this year like they never have,” Kenny said. “They love their food, their sports, and their music. The band and I sure felt a lot of energy and love in that stadium. And to stand up there for the first time at a show and sing ‘You And Tequila’ with Grace was very special.” Continue Reading

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Kenny Chesney photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Kenny Chesney has sold more than one million tickets to his 2011 Goin’ Coastal Tour, marking the eighth time the superstar has passed the million mark in ticket sales. Having sold more than 10 million tickets since 2002, Billboard recently named Kenny “the biggest ticket seller in country music and among the elite touring artists in the world.”

“We’ve had a blast so far with ‘Goin’ Coastal’ and there have already been so many memorable moments,” Kenny said. “After taking time off in 2010, seeing all the fans out there still supporting me really puts a smile on my face, and to know that they’re having fun makes it all worthwhile.” Continue Reading

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