TNS Video History- Willie Nelson- "Gravedigger"

Randy Travis Teaming Up With Cracker Barrel For Release Next Week

Randy Travis is the newest country star to join forces with Cracker Barrel. The national chain will carry an album, to be released on May 2nd, that will contain nine hit songs and two original pieces.

With the self-titled CD Travis and Cracker Barrel are giving back to a worthy, well-respected charity. Album sales will help to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.

Here's the track listing:

1) "Forever and Ever, Amen"
2) "No Place Like Home"
3) "1982"
4) "Better Class of Losers"
5) "I Told You So"
6) "I'm Free" (Previously Unreleased)
7) "Forever Together"
8) "It's Just a Matter of Time"
9) "She's Okay and I'm Okay" (Previously Unreleased)
10) "Deeper Than the Holler"
11) "Three Wooden Crosses"

New Music Video From Chris Young- "Tomorrow"

CMT Music Award Nominees Announced

Jason Aldean led all other artists with four nominations for this year’s 2011 CMT Music Awards. The awards nominees were announced Wednesday morning live on the “Today” show by CMT’s Evan Farmer and hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift and Zac Brown Band each received three nominations each. Winners will be selected through an online voting process at CMT.com.

The 2011 CMT Music Award Show is in it's 10th year and will appear live from Nashville on Wednesday, June 8 on CMT and CMT.com.

The nominees in each of the 2011 CMT Music Awards categories include:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
•Jason Aldean– “My Kinda Party”
•Kenny Chesney– “The Boys Of Fall”
•Lady Antebellum– “Hello World”
•Miranda Lambert– “The House That Built Me”
•Rascal Flatts– “Why Wait”
•Sugarland– “Stuck Like Glue”
•Taylor Swift– “Mine”
•The Band Perry– “If I Die Young”
•Carrie Underwood– “Undo It”
•Zac Brown Band– “Colder Weather”

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
•Jason Aldean– “My Kinda Party”
•Kenny Chesney– “The Boys Of Fall”
•Toby Keith– “Bullets In The Gun”
•Blake Shelton– “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”
•Keith Urban– “Without You”

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
•Sara Evans– “A Little Bit Stronger”
•Miranda Lambert– “The House That Built Me”
•Reba – “Turn On The Radio”
•Taylor Swift– “Mine”
•Carrie Underwood– “Undo It”

GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
•Lady Antebellum– “Hello World”
•Little Big Town– “Little White Church”
•Rascal Flatts– “Why Wait”
•The Band Perry– “If I Die Young”
•Zac Brown Band– “Colder Weather”

DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
•Steel Magnolia– “Last Night Again”
•Sugarland– “Stuck Like Glue”
•The Civil Wars– “Barton Hollow”
•The JaneDear Girls– “Wildflower”
•Thompson Square– “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”

USA WEEKEND BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
•Lee Brice– “Love Like Crazy”
•Aaron Lewis – “Country Boy”
•Jerrod Niemann– “Lover, Lover”
•The Band Perry– “If I Die Young”
•Thompson Square– “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
•Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson– “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
•Justin Bieber feat. Rascal Flatts – “That Should Be Me”
•Kid Rock feat. Sheryl Crow– “Collide”
•Aaron Lewis feat. George Jones and Charlie Daniels– “Country Boy”
•Loretta Lynn, Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow– “Coal Miner’s Daughter”

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
•Martina McBride and Train– “A Broken Wing” from CMT CROSSROADS: TRAIN AND MARTINA MCBRIDE
•Reba– “If I Were A Boy” from UNPLUGGED: REBA
•Darius Rucker and Adele– “Need You Now” from 2010 CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR
•Keith Urban and John Mayer– “Sweet Thing” from CMT CROSSROADS: JOHN MAYER AND KEITH URBAN
•Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett– “Margaritaville” from CMT CROSSROADS: JIMMY BUFFETT AND ZAC BROWN BAND

BEST WEB VIDEO OF THE YEAR (New for 2011)
•Jason Aldean–“My Kinda Party” (Live From The CMT Webcast)
•Luke Bryan–“It’s A Shore Thing”
•Lady Antebellum–“Stars Tonight”
•Blake Shelton–“Kiss My Country Ass”
•Taylor Swift–“Mine” (Live from the Speak Now Album Release Party)

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
•Deaton Flanigen(award eligible videos include: Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow’s “Collide” and the JaneDear Girl’s “Wildflower”)
•Trey Fanjoy(award eligible videos include: Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” and Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”)
•Chris Hicky(award eligible videos include: Carrie Underwood’s “Undo It” and Keith Urban’s “Without You”)
•David McClister(award eligible videos include: The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young” and LeAnn Rimes’ “Swingin’”)
•Roman White(award eligible videos include: Lady Antebellum’s “Hello World” and Kellie Pickler’s “Makin’ Me Fall In Love Again”)

New Music Video From Ronnie Dunn- "Bleed Red"

Hear It Here: The Pistol Annies- "Hell On Heels"

This is the favorite track of the year thus far. The performance is from the "Girls Night Out" televised event that was on this last weekend.

That Nashville SoundBites- Steve Earle- I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive

That Nashville Sound receives many different CD releases throughout the year from indie, small majors, bluegrass and artists just off the country mainstream radar- or smaller projects like EPs- that we’re doing short mini CD reviews on. We call them That Nashville SoundBites- it’s a feature that will allow us to give some props to some albums and artists that deserve a spotlight on their work.

The Review:
Producer T Bone Burnett is on dials for alt-country rocker Steve Earle's latest and gives this album a raw sound that occassionaly feels a bit unifinished. But the songwriting is stellar, especially when Earle uses his powerful pen and voice to champion a cause. “The City,” which previously appeared in the HBO show Treme, revisits the city of New Orleans and the aftermath of Katrina and "The Gulf of Mexico" talks about the oil disaster there. Both songs pack a powerful perspective without being too overtly political. The other outstanding track is "Heaven or Hell," a beautiful duet with Earle's wife, Allison Moorer. Interestingly enough, the album is being released just before a book of the same title. I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive is also the name of Earle’s debut novel, which is due May 12 via Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It tells the story of Doc Ebersole, a doctor who is haunted by the ghost of his former patient Hank Williams.

Sounds Like:
John Mellencamp's latest

Stand Out Tracks
The Gulf of Mexico
Heaven or Hell
This City

The Verdict:
Three stars out of five

Hear It Here- Terri Clark Releases New Single "Northern Girl"

Under the radar of U.S. radio airplay, Grand Ole Opry member and longtime hitmaker Terri Clark has just released a brand new single called "Northern Girl." The Canadian celebrates her roots on this uptempo song and it has just entered the Canadian Hot Country charts as a single.

The Dirt Drifters Added To Golf & Guitars Line-Up

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. Golf and Guitars, hosted by Jack Ingram and sponsored by 105.1 FM KNCI, will be held on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at the Haggin Oaks Golf Course. Ticket prices start at only $30 and are on sale now! Click HERE to buy now! The Dirt Drifters will join Jack Ingram, Clay Walker, Ty Herndon, Love & Theft, Deana Carter, Julie Roberts, Chuck Wicks, Bryan White, John Berry, Jimmy Wayne and Steel Magnolia.

Who are The Dirt Drifters?
They met in Nashville, five musicians from four states with backgrounds from across the spectrum and a hunger to make music that matters. Their growing suspicion that they had something special was confirmed over and over as they took to the road. Fans in one club after another reacted as they always do in the presence of the real thing, and the Dirt Drifters began attracting a rabid and loyal following.

By name and position they are lead singer/guitarist Matt Fleener, vocalist/guitarist Ryan Fleener, vocalist/guitarist Jeff Middleton, bassist Jeremy Little and drummer Nick Diamond. They bring resumes that embrace country, rock, funk and R&B to bear on a gritty, lyrical roadhouse country that offers something substantial to the heart, the mind and the dance floor. One of the best summations of their brand of magic came from the last member to join the group. Bass player Jeremy Little saw the others live and, he says, "I was floored. I knew this was where I belonged musically. It was fun. It was entertaining. I thought Matt was one of the most charismatic people I'd ever seen onstage. It was everything about music I wanted to be a part of."

After several years together, road-tested, club-polished, they signed to Warner Bros. Records, which is turning them loose on a full-scale national audience with a soon-to-be-released CD called This Is My Blood. Produced by Justin Niebank, the phenomenal musical talent known for work with Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban, among others, it comes from that place where world-class songwriting weaves compelling stories from life's good and bad—stories all the more riveting for their truth.

"Everything on the record is our life," says Matt. "Not only are we playing all the music on the album and writing the songs, we've lived them."

“Luckily,” adds Ryan, “we had the opportunity to do our own thing. We weren’t pigeonholed and we’re very happy to be in that position.”

Their first single, "Something Better," is the perfect distillation of their sound, loud, raucous, insightful and intelligent all at once.

The Dirt Drifters play top-drawer country music, bringing vintage sounds and sensibilities up to date in a country landscape hungry to reconnect with its roots.

“We’re a country band,” says Jeff, “and I think that comes from the songwriting. We’ve all lived out the lyrics of these songs, struggling from paycheck to paycheck. I think that’s one of the main reasons audiences connect with this music.”

Theirs is music that wears the dust and grit of life's highway, and it's about to be catapulted from the roadhouses to the nation's airwaves, to be cranked in old pick-ups and vintage Cadillacs alike. It is music meant to be experienced by all the senses. Strap yourself in.

Click HERE to check out The Dirt Drifter's video for Something Better.

To buy tickets to this year's Golf & Guitars, click HERE to go to http://www.mortongolfsales.com/

TNS Video History- Johnny Cash- "Redemption"