August 13, 2010

August 13, 2010 08:39:00

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Craig Morgan, Shania Twain, Loretta Lynn tribute album and more

Craig Morgan Charity Ride Raises $35,000

The Craig Morgan Charity Ride raised over $35,000 last weekend in Craig’s hometown, Dickson, Tennessee. Proceeds go to the Craig Morgan Charity Fund. Saturday’s ride was a dirt-biking event that began in Van Leer, Tennessee, where everyone rode with professional Motocross riders Kevin Windlam, Cowboy Kenny Bartrum, Fred Andrews and Barry Hawk. Sunday’s events featured an acoustic concert with Craig and his special guests, Montgomery Gentry and Aaron Tippin.

Shania Twain The Back-Up Plan For ‘American Idol?’

Shania Twain is set to judge “American Idol” if talks fall through with Jennifer Lopez, according to sources close to the singer and “Idol” producers. “They’ve been after her ever since she was a mentor on the show last season,” a source close to Twain told People magazine. “And they haven’t given up.” The Jennifer Lopez deal is reportedly still alive, but just barely hanging on. The show has yet to make an official comment. The next season of “American Idol” will premiere in January.

Loretta Lynn Tribute Album

A tribute album to Loretta Lynn has been scheduled for November 9th release. Titled “Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn,” the list of participating artists has not been revealed but it will represent a variety of genres. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Lynn’s first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.” Lynn and her music will be honored with an all-star concert at the Ryman Auditorium in October as part of the Grammy Salute to Country Music series. Lynn’s 1976 memoir, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” will be reissued in paperback in September. Earlier this year, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was chosen for preservation within the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Leadership Music Ceremony Lineup Grows

Randy Travis, Lorrie Morgan and Jamey Johnson have been added to the list of performers at the Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award gala in Nashville. The August 29th event at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville will recognize Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and record producer and label executive Fred Foster. Host Vince Gill and bandleader Shawn Camp will lead the presentations and performances that will also feature Lee Ann Womack, Lyle Lovett, Billy Swan, Rodney Crowell and surprise guests.

2011 CMA Music Fest Tickets On Sale Soon

The ABC primetime special from this year’s CMA Music Festival hasn’t even aired yet but that’s not stopping the CMA from putting tickets for next year’s festival on sale soon. Sales start August 23rd at 9 a.m. [ET.] You can get them through www.cmafest.com or by calling 800-CMA-FEST. The festival takes place June 9-12, 2011, in downtown Nashville. ABC’s special airs September 1st.

Justin Bieber Has Country Fever

Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber has raised more than $30,000 to help those affected by the floods in Nashville. Bieber performed at the city’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday and donated portions of ticket sales to victims of the storms which ravaged the city in May. Bieber presented a check to The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for Flood Relief. At that press conference, he name checked several country stars as his favorites, including Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Martina McBride. Then Justin kicked it up a notch at the show itself, offering his version of Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee.”

McBride Helps Bring Books To Classrooms

Martina McBride just can't get enough of her SunnyD. After the brand having sponsored her latest tour, Martina now is teaming up with the beverage company again to put books in schools through the SunnyD Book Spree. McBride reveals in a letter on the SunnyD website, "As a mom, I'm proud to join the SunnyD Book Spree, to bring free books to your child's classroom." She adds, "So open a bottle of sunshine, and help us make classrooms sunnier for kids." All you have to do is collect the labels off of SunnyD bottles; whenever a class sends in 20 of them, SunnyD will donate 20 free books. They are awarding hundreds of books to the ten schools that send in the most labels. Go to SunnyD.com for all the details. Back in 2009, the beverage company gave away 84,000 free books.

Jason's Fame & His Daughters

Jason Aldean says that when it comes to his two daughters being in the spotlight along with their father, he is nervous about it. While Tim McGraw recently brought his daughters on stage with him to enjoy some of the spotlight, it's not something Aldean is comfortable with. Jason tells AOL's The Boot, "Tim has been doing this thing for a long time and his kids have grown up in it. My [oldest] daughter was 3 when everything took off and it's really just the last year that it has gotten crazy. This is all relatively new to her. It's weird for both of them because 90 percent of the time I'm just dad. When a bunch of fans come up and surround me, they don't understand that yet."

Jason shared that's just what happened at a recent CMA Fest event. He offered, "As soon as we pulled up in the parking lot, people started coming from everywhere, crowding around our car and trying to get autographs. We had to sit in the car until my guys could get over there and take the girls, and they're getting rushed off and they're looking at a couple hundred people around me and I can't go anywhere or do anything. It's exciting for them but it's also a little scary."

Shelton's A Fan Of Fairs & Rodeos

One of Blake Shelton's favorite places to play is a small-town fair or festival setting.Shelton shares with CMT, "When you play a fair, you are coming right to their town. And because fans may have been a little more strapped, and times have been tougher lately, that is their vacation that year - going to the fair every day." As for performing at a show in a small, rodeo arena, Blake admits, "People are jammed in there because the seating sucks and it's limited so they have to stand around and really push up to the stage." He adds, "That's our favorite - to have fans right up there where you can high-five them. In fact, I have a riser, we call it a thrust, that goes out in front of my stage. I try to get my crew to get it as low to the ground as they can, so I can step off the stage and get down in there and get with people. That's where the party's happening, you know, and we want to be a part of it as much as we can."

Shelton also is enthusiastic about his new single, "All About Tonight," getting such an immediately warm response from listeners. He reveals, "'All About Tonight' has been more of an instant reaction. I think probably whether or not people have heard it or not, people instantly get it. They know what it's about and by the time the second chorus rolls around, this is a song about partying right now. For that reason, it's probably for me the ultimate live concert song because that's what a concert is."

Trace & Toby Appreciate It All

Trace Adkins speaks for himself as well as his good buddy, Toby Keith, when it comes to career gratitude. Adkins shares, "We have a lot of fun. We're just a couple of oil field hands that hit a good lick and we were both appreciative of it and grateful for what we have the opportunity to do. It's not lost on either one of us." Trace adds, "We enjoy it still and are aware of the fact that we've had a good run in this business and have gone way beyond the average life span of a country musician, so everything's gravy at this point." Look for Adkins' upcoming album, Cowboy's Back In Town, to hit stores on August 17.

Sensitive Country Girl

Kellie Pickler tells Fredericksburg's Free Lance Press that when it comes to what people say about her in print, on the Internet or in just chatter, she's pretty sensitive. She admits, "I can hear 100 nice things and then read one bad thing, and that's the one thing that sticks with me. I will lose sleep and agonize over why that person thinks I'm fat or hates me so bad and doesn't even know me. I'm working on trying not to take things so personally and not letting them hurt my feelings."

Kellie also shared her plans to incorporate a little more traditional country on her upcoming third album. She noted, "I'd love to make an album with all classic, traditional country music. But, I've got to find a happy medium, so we don't lose all the fans we made on the first two albums. I'd love to get those traditional fillings along with what we did before." Kellie grew up on the traditional sound thanks to her grandparents who raised her. She says, "Hank Williams, Patsy [Cline] - it was all music I grew up with, and music I still listen to now. When I get in the car, I put on 'Willie's Place' on XM. It's all I listen to!"

Thompson Teams Up With Lynyrd Skynyrd

Josh Thompson will perform with Lynyrd Skynyrd at the "Rock The Beach" concert in Destin, Florida this Sunday night. It's the second installment of the free concert series that's helping to promote tourism in the aftermath of the oil spill crisis. Josh shares, "Playing 'Rock The Beach' is exciting to me for two reasons." He explains, "First, I have watched the news and seen the devastation that has been going on in the Gulf for months. To have the chance to be a part of something that will in some way, hopefully a big way, help with the recovery is amazing. And second, I get to share a stage with Lynyrd Skynyrd – what can you say about that except 'AWESOME!'" The show will kick off at 6 PM local time on the beach behind the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island. Donations made at the concert will benefit the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge.

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