Charlie Daniels Receives Spirit of America Award

At a special ceremony in Murfreesboro, Tenn., April 8, Charlie Daniels received the Joe M. Rodgers Spirit of America Award. The honor is presented to a businessperson who best demonstrates the spirit of America through significant contributions in government, education and/or civic and charitable organizations. Charlie received the award at the Executives-in Residence program at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. "Charlie is a successful businessman with more than 50 years in the music business and a working ranch," said Dr, Jim Burton, business dean at the university. "He has dedicated considerable time and talent to entertaining and building the morale of American servicemen and women, and he never fails to honor their service and dedication."

Golf & Guitars Celebrity Pro-Am & Children’s Charity Concert In Sacramento To Be Held May 15

Earlier this week, we teased you about a great event in Sacramento coming up featuring 11 established and up and coming new country stars... here's the detailed scoop...

Country superstars like John Michael Montgomery, Jamie O’Neal and American Idol alum Bucky Covington may be busy with the launch of their latest albums, but they're never too busy to help those in need. Whether it's Morton Golf Foundation or Hope Productions Foundation, these country stars can always be counted on to bend their schedule to lend a hand. As such, The Golf & Guitars Celebrity-Am Tournament and Children’s Charity Concert is set for May 15th at the legendary Alister MacKenzie Golf Course at Haggin Oaks. This year's event includes a celebrity golf tournament, silent auction and concert. The event kicks off Friday morning in Sacramento as tournament participants enjoy a tournament round with a major label country music act or sports celebrity. The evening will continue with the chance to bid on an astounding array of celebrity items and one-of-a-kind event packages. Topping the evening is a performance by all of our artists - nearly 3 hours of music.

What is Golf & Guitars?
Golf and Guitars is a celebrity pro-am golf tournament and concert featuring nationally recognized & major label country music artists that raises money for two key children's charities here in Sacramento. Each golfer in the tournament gets to play with one of the celebrities and then gets a seat next to the stage where these artists put on a tremendous concert underneath the beautiful golf course sky. The tournament…
Each artist will be play 18 holes with a foursome in this scramble event. It’s one of the rare opportunities to spend several great hours with a great musician in a relaxed atmosphere.

Who gets the money…
The mission of the Morton Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity, is to provide golf programs that provide exercise in a healthy outdoor environment, to create a recreational environment that builds lasting personal development and that seamlessly introduces life’s core values of the great game of golf to the youth, disabled and underserved communities in the Sacramento region. Hope Productions Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, provides fundraising and marketing resources to strengthen nonprofit organizations and benefit local children and youth programs. They do this through developing sustainable, large-scale and profitable community events that can be easily supported through a variety of partnerships.

The Artists

John Michael Montgomery- John Michael has produced more than thirty singles on the Billboard country charts, including two of Billboard’s Number One country singles of the year: "I Swear" (1994) and "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" (1995). Besides these two songs, five more of Montgomery's singles have reached the top of the country charts: "I Love the Way You Love Me", "Be My Baby Tonight", "If You've Got Love", "I Can Love You Like That", and "The Little Girl", while thirteen more have reached Top Ten.
Megan Mullins- At age 3, this Broken Bow Label artist won the Indiana State Fair Showmanship award at the state fiddling championship, singing and playing "Rocky Top" and also began performing professionally with her brother, Marcus. At age 5, she performed on the Crook & Chase TV show. At 10, Mullins became the youngest concertmaster in the Fort Wayne Youth Symphony. She won the Ohio Grand Champion fiddle contest at age 10 and the Young Artist Classical Competition in Fort Wayne at age 11. She and Marcus performed on the Grand Ole Opry when she was just 14. A year later, she graduated from high school. Mullins is proficient in fiddle, mandolin, guitar, viola, piano, accordion, clarinet and cello and has one several national championship awards in multiple instruments.
Jamie O’Neal- In her career, she has released 11 singles, charted two #1 Country singles, and has released two studio albums and has a third on the way. Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2000, O'Neal released her debut album, Shiver in 2000. The album reached #14 on the Top Country Albums chart, and featured five charted singles. Two of which, "There Is No Arizona", and "When I Think About Angels", reached #1 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs chart).
Sarah Darling- Sarah started off as an actress in country music videos, including “Red High Heels” with Kellie Pickler, “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” with Joe Nichols, “Too Much Blood In My Alcohol Level” with David Ball, and “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy” with Big & Rich. It was in that video where she played a mannequin and her stiff, non-blinking portrayal was so convincing that “CMT Insider” held an on-air contest to determine whether she was a live person or a dummy. When viewers overwhelmingly voted “mannequin,” Sarah went on the show live to prove she was real! A failed romantic relationship became a gold mine of songwriting material for Sarah, and inadvertently led to her record deal with Black River. “I wrote a song called ‘Stop the Bleeding’ that I put on my MySpace page,” says Sarah. “At the same time, Jimmy Nichols had just started Black River Records, and he was looking for a new artist to sign.” Jimmy asked the label’s interns to start checking MySpace and let him know if they heard anyone exciting.
One Flew South- Composed of Eddie Bush, Chris Roberts, and Royal Reed, all three of whom sing lead vocals and play acoustic guitar. The group's first recording was a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 Disney animated film The Fox and the Hound 2. In 2007, One Flew South signed to Decca Records, releasing their debut album Last of the Good Guys in May 2008. This album, which featured collaborations with Marcus Hummon and J.D. Souther, has produced the single "My Kind of Beautiful", which has charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Love and Theft- Love and Theft are a new band out of Nashville on the Lyric Street Label consisting of three incredibly talented singer/songwriters coming together blending rich harmonies over powerful, inspiring, profound and infectiously catchy songs. Eric Gunderson, Stephen Barker Liles and Brian Bandas each take turns singing lead over tasteful organic arrangements. Their live shows are captivating and the deep sonic wave of fullness that comes from their passionate and expressive voices in full harmony is just amazing.
Trent Tomlinson- Tomlinson was signed to Lyric Street Records in 2005, with his debut album Country Is My Rock, released in early 2006. This album produced three Top 40 singles on the U. S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Drunker Than Me" at #19, "One Wing in the Fire" at #11, and "Just Might Have Her Radio On" at #21. A fourth single, "That's How It Still Oughta Be", was released in January 2009 on Lyric Street subsidiary Carolwood Records.
Marcel- Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2003, he released his debut album You, Me, and the Windshield that year and charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with the single "Country Rock Star". Five years later, he signed to Lyric Street Records and released the single "I Love This Song", which has also charted. In addition, he has written two singles for Josh Gracin and two for his girlfriend, Jessica Andrews.
Bucky Covington- He placed eighth on the 5th season of the Fox Network's talent competition series American Idol. In December 2006, he signed a recording contract with Lyric Street Records. His self-titled debut album, produced by Mark Miller of the band Sawyer Brown, was released on April 17, 2007. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and produced three hit singles on the Hot Country Songs charts: "A Different World" at #6, "It's Good to Be Us" at #11, and "I'll Walk" at #10.
Jypsi- Jypsi is an American country music group composed of four siblings, all with the surname Rische: Amber-Dawn (fiddle, vocals), Frank (guitar, vocals), Lillie Mae (lead vocals), and Scarlett (mandolin, vocals). Formed in 1994, Jypsi was discovered in 2000 by Cowboy Jack Clement, a record producer from Nashville, Tennessee. They performed in Nashville for several years before being signed to Arista Nashville in 2007.

Steve Holy- Signed to Curb Records since 1999, he has released two studio albums: 2000's Blue Moon and 2006's Brand New Girlfriend. Thirteen of his singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One hits "Good Morning Beautiful" (which was featured in the movie Angel Eyes) and "Brand New Girlfriend".

The silent auction…
· Dozens of Northern California GC green fee gift certificates
· Original Germain Gratton Tiger Woods painting
· Zac Brown Band autographed memorabilia
· Toby Keith autographed memorabilia
· Callaway BMW pedal car
· John Legend autographed den caddy
· Darryl Worley autographed mandolin guitar
· Hal Ketchum autographed guitar
· Jessica Simpson autographed guitar (2)
· LeRivage overnight stay vacation
· Kirkwood vacation
· Mizuno GTX stand golf bag
· Fred Couples autographed Masters flag
· Paula Creamer autographed memorabilia
· Rocco Mediate autographed Callaway staff bag
· Leupold EX-1 Digital laser rangefinder
· Cleveland staff bag signed by all the artists
· Grandfather clocks (3)
· Chad Campbell autographed Adams staff bag
· Kenny Chesney autographed straw hats by several artists & lots more!

Listen To New Oak Ridge Boys Music Here

The Oak Ridge Boys are releasing an album in May called The Boys Are Back, and it features the little gem you can hear above. Surprisingly, the title track was written by none other than Shooter Jennings. The Oak Ridge Boys also cover The White Stripes' hit "Seven Nation Army" and you can listen to it here…

Dolly Parton's 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs Album Reissued With New Songs

Dolly Parton's 1980 album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs (RCA Nashville/Legacy) has been reissued in an expanded edition. With its Norman Rockwell-style cover and booklet full of movie photos, you might think that this was the movie's soundtrack, but it's not. It does, however, contain "9 to 5," the infectious title song from the film. A combination of dated and timeless material, the songs range from Parton originals including the traditional-inspired "Hush-a-Bye Hard Times" and "Poor Folks Town" (both ironically well-timed) to mind-blowing covers of Merle Travis' "Dark as a Dungeon" (also both timely) and Mel Tillis' "Detroit City." The album, containing several Parton originals and a # 1 cover of the First Edition's 'But You Know I Love You,' as well as a version of Woody Guthrie's 'Deportee,' eventually hit #1 on the Billboard country chart. A previously unreleased cover of Sly Stone's "Everyday People" works the 9 to 5 vibe but still sounds terrific. A subtle nod to her LGBT fans can be found in the Love to Infinity dance remix of "9 to 5," which will likely be a new dance-club anthem.

John Anderson Readies New Album On New Label

It has been a productive winter for legendary country artist John Anderson. With plans to return to the studio to record a new album, Anderson soon found himself with both a production and label partner when he called old friend James Stroud about becoming involved with the project. The two have collaborated many times over the years on such Anderson classics as "Seminole Wind" and "Straight Tequila Night." The new album, Bigger Hands, was co-produced by Anderson and Stroud and will be released on Country Crossing Records, a division of Stroud's recently launched Stroudavarious Records.

As often happens when old friends and collaborators are reunited, old memories weave their way into the present. While sitting behind the board at Loud Recording Studios (formerly Masterfonics Studio) on Nashville's Music Row, Stroud turned to Anderson and said, "John, this is just where we sat when we were working on "Seminole Wind"." A hush fell over the room of musicians and engineers as the importance of that collaboration resonated.

"James and I have been together as friends and partners a long time," Anderson states. "He and I have recorded quite a bit over the years, and he even played that signature drum track on my comeback single "Straight Tequila Night." I feel like we're giving this one our very best effort and so far it is feeling pretty true to what I do," he says of the new music.

Anderson and Stroud are currently putting the finishing touches on Bigger Hands, which is scheduled for release on June 9th. The release will be preceded by a single and video, "Cold Coffee & Hot Beer." Anderson is continuing his touring activity as the album nears completion and will launch a full-scale tour upon the release of the new album.

Doug Stone Arrested In Florida

Country music singer Doug Stone lands behind bars after a fight with his son.

Douglas Jackson Brooks, better known as Doug Stone, was arrested early Thursday morning by Panama City Beach Police. According to Police, Brooks got into a physical fight with his adult son at the Grand Panama.

The argument apparently started with an incident earlier in the night. Police responded near the pier, to a car with slight damage. When they arrived Brooks’s car was wrecked, and he appeared to have been drinking. Because Brooks was not in the car, officers were unable to determine if he had been driving drunk, but they assisted in getting a tow truck to take Brooks and his car to Grand Panama.

Investigators say it appears the fight started because Brooks’s son was angry over the wrecked car. Brooks was booked into the Bay County Jail on a charge of Domestic Battery.

Douglas Stone’s career was launched after “I’d be Better Off (In a Pine Box),” in late 1990. Stone has charted 22 singles, four of which reached number one. Stone also made a brief venture into acting, starring in the 1995 Disney movie, “Gordy.”

New Johnny Cash Documentary Film To Premiere At Nashville Film Fest

Entitled Out Of Darkness Comes Light- Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison is set to premiere at the Nashville Film Fest later this month. The documentary is Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, and it’s about Cash’s 1968 concert at California’s Folsom State Prison.

The filmmakers will be in Nashville for the screenings, at 5 p.m. April 19 and 3:30 p.m. April 20.

There’s plenty of footage from the actual show, but filmmakers also went back in for more current day footage. There also are bunches of interviews with folks were who there, including several inmates.

The World's Most Uncomfortable Interview- Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters

Shannon over at Nasville Gab posted this video of alt-country-rock band The Boxmasters (featuring actor Billy Bob Thornton) yesterday. Billy Bob and his band visited CBC's Q Show in Canada yesterday morning and what inspired was the world's most uncomfortable interview ever recorded. Either Billy Bob was drunk, stoned or just incredibly non-cooperative. All I know is that I felt passion for the DJ behind the mic.

Watch it here...

Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum To Honor ‘Little Miss Dynamite’ Brenda Lee With Biographical Exhibit

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will pay tribute to Lee with the cameo exhibition Brenda Lee: Dynamite, Presented by Great American Country Television Network, which opens in the Museum’s East Gallery on August 7, 2009, and will run through June 2010.

“Brenda Lee is one of the most versatile singers ever to record in Nashville, and the only female artist to be enshrined in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “She possesses a powerful voice that belies her four-feet-nine-inches-tall frame, and her innate interpretive skills have allowed her to tackle many disparate musical genres with equal authority. She has sold millions of records worldwide and charted in multiple categories, including country, pop, R&B and easy listening. In doing so, Brenda Lee has transcended musical boundaries to earn the awards and respect of fans and peers worldwide.”

In 1997, Lee was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2002, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and that same year bowed her autobiography, Little Miss Dynamite: The Life and Times of Brenda Lee, co-written with Robert K. Oermann and Lee’s daughter Julie Clay. In February 2009, Lee received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for her creative contributions to the field of recording. Although she has scaled back her personal appearances and recordings in recent years to spend more time with her family, she continues to write and perform.

Brenda Lee: Dynamite will be accompanied by an ongoing series of programs throughout the exhibit’s duration.

Happy Birthday To That Nashville Sound's Favorite- Hal Ketchum

That Nashville Sound thinks today's birthday boy- Hal Ketchum is the bomb. All that AND a bag of chips. He's celebrating his 56th birthday today.

Signed to Curb Records since the 1991 release of his gold-certified Past the Point of Rescue, he has released nine studio albums and two compilations. Ketchum has also charted six top ten hits on the Hot Country Songs charts, with his highest-peaking singles, "Small Town Saturday Night", "Past the Point of Rescue" and "Hearts Are Gonna Roll", all reaching #2.

His 2008 album, Father Time, was one of our top ranked 5 albums in all of country music and he's worth any amount of money to see play live. Celebrate his big day by watching the official music video for the song that made him a country star, Small Town Saturday Night, here...

Up & Coming New Nashville- Jasmine Rae (With Exclusive Interview)

That Nashville Sound heads down under to Australia for this week’s Up & Coming New Nashville column and features one of Australia’s top new young talents- Jasmine Rae.

At just twenty years old, Jasmine Rae is a brand new talent with a very exciting future, following her huge win at the 2008 Telstra Road To Tamworth in January. She’s quirky, she’s funny, she’s fresh and, even though she’s small in stature, Melbourne-based singer/songwriter, Jasmine Rae has a powerful, classically-trained voice that is hugely impressive. In 2004, at sixteen, she was invited to perform with Melbourne’s prestigious, brass band, The Moreland City Band. Jasmine took up the opportunity to sing live with “real musicians” and became addicted to the rush of live performance.

In 2005, the band made a video clip of their version of the hit track, ‘Killing Me Softly’, featuring Jasmine’s wonderful vocals, and also performed live-to-air on ABC Radio nationally. It was the same year Jasmine graduated from High School and decided to learn more about making music. At NMIT, where she studied and completed her Advanced Diploma in Music, Jasmine mixed with more of Melbourne’s finest musicians and now fully focuses on her career as a vocalist, writer and performer.

She first embraced country music in the late 90’s after watching country music videos on pay television. She became the lead singer of alternate-country band, Jazz Lasso, in 2007, competing in the Battle Of The Bands Grand Final at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. The diversity of the band members’ various backgrounds from Rock, Reggae, Jazz and Country, helped create a raw and unique style of country music for Jasmine and, it was during that time, she wrote a couple of songs which will appear on her debut album.

One of those songs is her debut single, ‘Country Singer’ which she performed during her winning Telstra Road to Tamworth performance in January 2008. By winning this National Competition, (think Nashville Star here in the US) Jasmine was given the opportunity to perform at one of the biggest music festivals in the world in June this year - the 2008 CMA Music Festival in Nashville. Over 200,000 people attended the event over four days this year. Jasmine also received a recording deal with ABC Music as part of the TRTT competition prize. She released her first album this past September.

Rae’s record deal with ABC Music presented her with the opportunity to record in both Australia and the US with two of Nashville’s leading record producers. ‘Country Singer’ was recorded with esteemed producer, Richard Landis, who has produced hit singles and albums for US artists including Vince Gill, Eddie Rabbitt, Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers and Juice Newton, as well as Australia’s Steve Forde and Peter Allen. Rae recorded four tracks in all with Landis, and then completed the album in June with ex-pat Australian producer, Mark Moffatt in Nashville, after her performance at Nashville’s 2008 CMA Music Festival. Moffatt’s credits include Keith Urban, Tim Finn and Nick Cave.

Rae also performed the Australian national anthem at the 3rd State of Origin game in Sydney in July, in front of a television audience of nearly 2 million people.

Jasmine Rae’s remarkable vocal talent has allowed her to stretch the boundaries in her debut album. It features a unique mix of raw country, country-pop and alt-country/blues. She’s supporting the album release with a stack of appearances from now till the end of 2009.

Watch the music video for her single “Country Singer” below and then read the interview she was kind enough to grant That Nashville Sound below that.



That Nashville Sound- What brought you to country music?

Jasmine Rae- My parents put on a Dolly Parton CD when i was a little girl and i was in love with the stories that were told. I knew that album word for word and still sing along to it to this day. I loved the energy and truth in every song. Dolly inspired me to go out and look for other country music artists to sing along to like the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Lila McCann and great Australian country music artists like Kasey Chambers.

TNS- Describe your music- what’s the mission behind the music?

JR- I like to sing songs that go all the way! Id rather not sing songs that take you half way there, dance around a little then leave you confused about where you’ve been. If we are gonna rock out - lets rock it till our fingers bleed. If we’re gonna be cheeky - lets be cheeky. And if I've got something to say, I like to say it with every inch of honesty within me.

TNS- What might people be surprised to find out about you?

JR- I live in the suburbs of Melbourne - not very country at all! (The country comes from my soul, not my surroundings) Oh, and I’m smaller than 5 rulers stacked on top of one another.

TNS- What kind of music are you listening to? What’s in your iPod?

JR-I listen to a variety of genres and artists all the time. I like to keep it changing! Deana Carter, The Dixie Chicks and Tori Amos are all artists that are definitely on my iPod at the moment.

TNS- If you had a crystal ball and looked forward ten years, what do you see for yourself?

JR- A theme park!

TNS- I guess that Dolly was a big influence after all!

New Eddie Rabbitt Album Of #1 Hits Arrives In May

A very long overdue album will be arriving next month with Eddie Rabbitt's Number One Hits will be released May 12 by Rhino Records. The compilation includes 17 singles that topped Billboard's country chart from 1976 through 1989, including the pop crossover hit, "I Love a Rainy Night." Other tracks include "Drivin' My Life Away," "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight," "Step by Step" and "On Second Thought." It also features his duet with Crystal Gayle, "You and I," and his collaboration with Juice Newton, "Both to Each Other (Friends & Lovers)." In addition to his hits as an artist, he wrote Elvis Presley's "Kentucky Rain." Rabbit has had best of albums released, but due to songs being owned by different labels, never on the same album. This is one that I’m looking forward to having in my collection. Rabbitt died of cancer in 1998 at age 56.

Amazon Puts New Rascal Flatts & Jason Aldean Albums On Sale

For a limited time, Amazon is offering the brand new Rascal Flatts album Unstoppable and the new Jason Aldean album Wide Open (both introduced this week) at $4.99 and $3.99 respectively.

Golf & Guitars Celebrity Pro-Am & Children's Charity Concert

In my job that pays the bills (music reviewer doesn't quite bring in the bacon), I run three golf courses in Sacramento. I'm excited to announce that, in conjunction with KNCI 105.1 FM, we're hosting our second annual Golf & Guitars event on Friday, May 15th- consisting of a country music celebrity pro-am golf tournament and evening concert benefitting two children's charities- Hope Productions Foundation and our own 501 3c Morton Golf Foundation. We have eleven artists committed to the event thus far including:

John Michael Montgomery,
One Flew South
Steve Holy
Marcel
Jamie O'Neal
Sarah Darling
Jypsi
Love & Theft
Trent Tomlinson
Megan Mullins
Bucky Covington

We'll have lots more information as we get closer to the event, but in the meantime, tickets for both pieces to the event can purchased at www.golfandguitars.com.

CD Review- Rodney Atkins- It’s America

The Background-
It's America is the new album that follows in the wake of the platinum selling CD, If You're Going Through Hell which produced four #1 singles, three #1 videos and a slew of accomplishments including ACM s New Male Vocalist of the Year. The new album features the down home message of 'Tell A Country Boy' to the raucous and playful '15 Minutes' to the fist pumping hit single, 'It's America'. Rodney Atkins music has always had the uncanny ability to relate to people s everyday lives. As Rodney puts it, 'sometimes it is the simple things in this great country that really make me appreciate it. When we share this sense of pride through music, you become friends with everybody listening. It s an honor to go out there and represent the everyday man and woman, to represent country music and what it's all about.'

The Review-
Four number one singles off his last album makes it a very tough uphill climb for this effort to match. But sure enough, however, this album is chock full of radio friendly tunes. Atkins has tabbed some of Nashville’s most celebrated writers including Doug Johnson, Dave Berg, Rivers Rutherford, Brett James, Casey Beathard, and Neal Coty. The set is a very chart-oriented selection of songs targeted heavily to the 30-something soccer mom as well as the beer-drinking, "young country" crowd- owing more to Lynyrd Skynyrd than Waylon Jennings. He’s hit all the warm and fuzzy spots including the patriotic ("It's America"), the blue-collared ("Tell a Country Boy" and "Friends with Tractors"), the family nods ("Chasin' Girls" ), the spiritual (“The River Just Knows”) and the inspirational (“It’s My Time”). Nothing is overly deep, controversial or the slight bit non-radio friendly. The title track and debut single seemingly uses Brooks & Dunn's "Only in America" as a map- "It's America" hits you with a two by four across the forehead with American ideals. It’s all about notions of teenagers selling lemonades on the streets and songs of Bruce Springsteen as icons of American life. While there’s not a deep emotionality except a patriotism of where you come from on this album, there’s sometimes nothing wrong with partying a little and wrapping yourself in a flag. And that’s where this album lies- it’s the perfect modern honkytonk-I'm-A-Country-Boy album. It’s not Jennings- it doesn’t pretend to be. It will, however, get today’s country fans off their fannies and out on the dance floor to boogie. He’s not taking big chances, just being an honest version of himself.- a passionate country American self.

Sounds Like-

Tim McGraw & Luke Bryan

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):

Chasin’ Girls
Friends With Tractors
15 Minutes
Simple Things
The River Just Knows

The Verdict:

Three & A Half Stars Out Of Five

New Music Video From New Artist- Bluefield

Bluefield is Rick Ferrell and Jennifer Hicks, two of Nashville's most gifted and eclectic writers and artists. Their sound is timeless, with elements of country, rock, and a persistent honesty that defies any description except pure American music. Rick and Jennifer have spent over four years blending their already well-developed skills into a whole that is greater than the sum of it's parts. Bluefield took their songs and their vision into the studio many times over the last few years to emerge with a body of work that is feeding well even the most discriminating of tastes, most importantly ~ their own. The result is a true and honest reflection of life, love and the never ending process we call growing up. They have a brand new music video that you can watch here...

Big Ratings Boost For This Year's ACM Awards

Last night’s “Academy of Country Music Awards” on CBS aired more than a month earlier than it did last year, and that led to significant ratings increases among both viewers 18-49 and total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights.

The award ceremony averaged 14.8 million total viewers over its three hours last night, up 26 percent from last year’s 11.7 million. The 44th annual event also averaged a 3.8 overnight rating among 18-49s, a 31 percent boost over last year’s 2.9.

The reason for the significant increases was diminished competition on the other networks. Last year’s “Country Music Awards” aired at the height of May sweeps against the season finales of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Desperate Housewives” on ABC and “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill” on Fox.

By contrast, last night the special aired against mostly reruns on ABC and Fox, the night's strongest performers, outside of an original “Simpsons” from 8 to 8:30.The awards show led CBS to first place among 18-49s last night with a 3.3 average overnight rating and a 9 share. The network also averaged 14.1 million total viewers for the night, more than 8 million viewers better than No. 2 ABC.

Academy of Country Music Performances

We've culled a few different performances for you to watch from last night's awards (email subscribers, click on the headline to go straight to the site to stream them live...)

2009 ACM Award Winners

Last night was a very special evening for country music. Between Reba's amazing grace up on stage, Carrie Underwood's monstrous dress, Taylor Swift's musical magic and Jamey Johnson's big win, it represented country (all genres) amazingly well. Here's a rundown of last night's winners iin each category. The winners have the asterisk...

Entertainer of the Year

* Carrie Underwood

Kenny Chesney

Brad Paisley

George Strait

Keith Urban

Album of the Year

* Fearless, Taylor Swift

That Lonesome Song, Jamey Johnson

Back When I Knew It All, Montgomery Gentry

Troubadour, George Strait

Carnival Ride, Carrie Underwood

Top Male Vocalist

* Brad Paisley

Kenny Chesney

Toby Keith

George Strait

Keith Urban

Top Female Vocalist

* Carrie Underwood

Miranda Lambert

Heidi Newfield

Taylor Swift

Lee Ann Womack

Top Vocal Group

* Rascal Flatts

Lady Antebellum

Little Big Town

Randy Rogers Band

the Lost Trailers

Top Vocal Duo

* Sugarland

Big & Rich

Brooks & Dunn

Joey & Rory

Montgomery Gentry

Top New Male Vocalist

* Jake Owen

Jamey Johnson

James Otto

Top New Female Vocalist

* Julianne Hough

Sarah Buxton

Ashton Shepherd

Top New Vocal Duo or Group

* Zac Brown Band

Eli Young Band

The Lost Trailers

Single Record of the Year

* "You're Gonna Miss This", Trace Adkins

"Gunpowder & Lead", Miranda Lambert

"In Color", Jamey Johnson

"Johnny and June", Heidi Newfield

"Waitin' on a Woman", Brad Paisley

Song of the Year

* "In Color", Jamey Johnson

"I Saw God Today", George Strait

"Johnny and June", Heidi Newfield

"Waitin' on a Woman", Brad Paisley

"You're Gonna Miss This", Trace Adkins

Video of the Year

* "Waitin' on a Woman", Brad Paisley

"Johnny and June", Heidi Newfield

"Just a Dream", Carrie Underwood

"Love Story", Taylor Swift

"Troubadour", George Strait

Vocal Event of the Year

*"Start a Band", Brad Paisley Duet With Keith Urban

"Another Try", Josh Turner Featuring Trisha Yearwood

"Cowgirls Don't Cry", Brooks & Dunn Featuring Reba McEntire

"Down the Road", Kenny Chesney With Mac McAnally

"Life in a Northern Town", Sugarland Featuring Little Big Town and Jake Owen

Happy Birthday To Merle Haggard- He's An Even Par 72 Today

That Nashville Sound wishes Merle Haggard a very happy 72nd birthday today. Haggard and his band helped create the Bakersfield Sound featuring Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville studio recordings of the same era. By the 1970s, Haggard was aligned with the growing outlaw movement, and has continued to release successful albums through the 1990s and into today. He has an amazing list of 38 #1 songs.

I'm A Lonesome Fugitive (1966)
Branded Man (1967)
Sing Me Back Home (1968)
The Legend Of Bonnie And Clyde (1968)
Mama Tried (1968)
Hungry Eyes (1969)
Workin' Man Blues (1969)
Okie From Muskogee (1969)
The Fightin' Side of Me (1970)
Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) (1971)
Carolyn (1971)
Grandma Harp (1972)
It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) (1972)
I Wonder if They Ever Think of Me (1972)
Everybody's Had The Blues (1973)
If We Make It Through December (1973)
Things Aren't Funny Anymore (1974)
Old Man from the Mountain (1974)
Kentucky Gambler (1974)
Always Wanting You (1975)
Movin' On (1975)
It's All In The Movies (1975)
The Roots Of My Raising (1975)
Cherokee Maiden (1976)
Bar Room Buddies (with Clint Eastwood) (1980)
I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink (1980)
My Favorite Memory (1981)
Big City (1981)
Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones) (1982)
Going Where the Lonely Go (1982)
You Take Me For Granted (1982)
Pancho And Lefty (with Willie Nelson) (1983)
That's The Way Love Goes (1983)
Someday When Things Are Good (1984)
Let's Chase Each Other Around The Room (1984)
A Place to Fall Apart (1984)
Natural High (1985)
Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Star (1987)

Celebrate his big day with a quick watch of his famous video with Willie Nelson, Pancho & Lefty here…

ACM Awards Preview Video

Watch it here...

ACM Pre-Party Pics

Some of country music’s biggest names gathered at The Bank Nightclub at Bellagio in Las Vegas last night for a rockin’ birthday bash for Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott. Kicking off a weekend of activities in Las Vegas surrounding the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music’s Awards show airing Sunday night on CBS, Hillary celebrated her 25th birthday in Vegas with band mates Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood. The group greeted and partied with their country star pals Kenny Chesney, Kellie Pickler, Gary LeVox, John Rich, Luke Bryan, Jamey Johnson, Emily West, Holly Williams, and Matt Stillwell, among others. This Sin City soiree at the most sophisticated nightclub on the Strip really kicked into high gear when Hillary was presented with a gorgeous birthday cake created by Jean-Philippe Patisserie. After posing for photos with her famous friends, Hillary joined Kelly Pickler and Emily West as the country hotties “partied like rock stars dancing wildly on top of the banquettes” according to an onlooker.