Country Music News Round-Up- McBride Teams With NASCAR & Yoakam Returns To WB

* Dwight Yoakam is returning to the Warner Brothers music label after doing his own independent thing for nearly a decade and will be releasing a brand new album in early 2012. It will be produced by Yoakam and Joe Chiccarelli, who has worked with such alt-rock acts as My Morning Jacket, the Shins and the Strokes. Yoakam also has been recording some tracks with Beck.

 “When I heard his current music, I was blown away,” Warner Music Nashville’s President and  Chief Executive John Esposito said in a statement. “I think that it is some of the best music he has ever done,  and I’m incredibly proud to have him back at Warner Bros. Records.”

 * The 2001 Grammy Album of the Year, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Is celebrating its 10^th anniversary with an expanded two-CD deluxe edition with a new bonus disc that includes 12 previously unreleased recordings.  Legendary original producer T Bone Burnett is personally involved in all aspects of this release.

* Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott got engaged.

* Martina McBride has a brand new music video that she’s done in collaboration with NASCAR called “One Time.”

“The fans seemed to be so up close and have a lot of access. It reminded me of country music in a lot of ways. I know there are a lot of NASCAR fans who are country music fans too, because there is a lot of accessibility.”

* Actress Charlene Tilton ("Dallas") and country legend Johnny Lee who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame had a daughter together named Cherish Lee and she is following in Dad’s footsteps. The native Californian is currently writing and recording a solo country-rock album and is looking forward to performing her rendition of her dad’s hit song "Lookin’ for Love" from the hit motion picture "Urban Cowboy" at the concert.

Cherish started singing at the age of 5 when she performed with superstar Michael Jackson on his "BAD" tour. She studied musical theater while going on the road with her father, and has performed with several bands throughout Los Angeles. She recently spent 8 months out of town performing with her band "Charlie." Cherish is also an accomplished actress and her credits include: "Wilde Salome" playing opposite Al Pacino, "American History X" playing opposite Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, "The Salon" with Vivica A. Fox, Terrance Howard and Brooke Burns, etc.

 * Two-time Grammy Award-winning artist Riders In the Sky will release their long awaited Inspirational CD on Aug. 9.  "The Land Beyond The Sun" presents a collection of songs of inspiration recorded in the western tradition that their legion of fans expect, along with a poem indicative of “America’s Favorite Cowboys’” left-field humor which has been their trademark for nearly three and a half decades.

“The stillness of the desert, the majesty of towering mountains, the endless skies; all these things have developed a deep and abiding spirituality in the westerner and the cowboy” explains Ranger Doug, Idol of American Youth and the group’s baritone vocalist and guitar player.   “The CD appeals to all generations, and welcomes all who are as inspired by the great outdoors, as are Riders In The Sky.”

* The Zac Brown Band released this quick little video highlighting band member Clay Cook, mulit-instrumentalist.