Blake Shelton dropped a fiery video for his new single, “God’s Country,” on April 12. The new tune is the first sample of music from Blake’s upcoming 12th studio album. Penned by Michael Hardy, Jordan Schmidt and Devin Dawson, “God’s Country” follows Blake’s previous Top 10 single, “Turnin’ Me On,” which was featured on his…
CMA Fest officially begins on June 6, but the Grand Ole Opry will be getting things kick-started on June 4 with a free afternoon party on the Opry Plaza, followed by two ticketed shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. that will feature Carrie Underwood, Travis Tritt, Chris Janson and more. Additional Opry performances scheduled…
Earl Thomas Conley passed away at age 77 on April 10. Earl was known for blending different musical styles with deep, intelligent lyrics into what was called “thinking-man’s country,” often bending the rules of what was considered traditional country. Earl recorded 18 No. 1 hits in the 1980s, including “Fire and Smoke,” “Somewhere Between Right…
Before performing the national anthem at the Nashville Predators playoff game on April 10, Big & Rich got a descriptive introduction. The Preds public address announcer described the duo as “gender-bending, multi-platinum superstars,” which was a gaffe of “genre-bending” (we think). The malapropism is compounded by the fact that John Rich has been outspoken in…
After hearing the news that Earl Thomas Conley passed away on April 10, many country stars—including Blake Shelton, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Young, Toby Keith and more—shared their thoughts and remembrances of the great singer/songwriter via social media. My heart is absolutely destroyed today… I’m sad to report that Earl Thomas Conley passed away very early…
The guys from Old Dominion—Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Geoff Sprung, Brad Tursi and Whit Sellers—are having a heck of a week, to say the least. Not only did Old Dominion win the ACM Award for Group of the Year and perform their current Top 5 single, “Make It Sweet,” during the ACM Awards show on…
Earl Thomas Conley has passed away at age 77. The news, which Blake Shelton announced via Twitter, was confirmed by Earl’s brother, Fred Conley, via the Tennessean, who said Earl died at 12:20 a.m. on April 10 after suffering from a dementia-like condition. Earl was known for blending different musical styles with deep, intelligent lyrics…
Big Machine artist Lauren Jenkins, who released her debut album, No Saint, on March 15, lost a number of irreplaceable items when her backpack was stolen in Nashville on April 10. According to several tweets from Lauren, the backpack contained a number of priceless items, including hard drives with songs from the past 12 years,…
The Country Music Association has revealed additional performers for its nightly shows at Nissan Stadium on June 6–9. Brett Young will take the stadium stage Saturday night (June 8), while Chris Janson will perform Sunday night (June 9). Nissan Stadium openers include Marty Stuart on Thursday (June 6), Jo Dee Messina on Friday (June 7),…
Country star Craig Morgan—who spent 10 years on active duty in the U.S. Army in the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions—recently completed his 11th USO Tour, which spanned seven days and five countries, including Germany, Afghanistan, Qatar, Iraq and Italy. Craig was joined by a host of celebrities and athletes on the recent tour, including…
Getting our kids to read in the summer can sometimes be challenging but there are lots of teacher approved ideas and incentive programs available to keep them on track! They can earn game tokens from our Friends at Chuck E Cheese who has tons of rewards ideas for being a good student and a good…