The latest from Jimmy Carter in Nashville

THIS PARTY’S JAMMIN’: VINCE GILL, BRAD  PAISLEY , RICKY SKAGGS, AND STEVE WARINER TO LAUNCH OPRY’S 85th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WITH ONE-OF-A-KIND GUITAR JAM MAY 25 Show will kick-off months-long party featuring special shows and events to last through December Nashville, Tenn.  (April 29, 2010)  Grand Ole Opry superstars Vince Gill, Brad Paisley,  Ricky Skaggs , and  Steve Wariner  are picking up their guitars and hitting the Opry stage Tues., May 25 to officially launch a months-long celebration of the Opry’s 85th birthday with an all-star guitar jam. As a part of the night’s Tuesday Night Opry, each Opry member will take the stage individually followed by a guitar jam finale featuring the group’s take on some of the most popular songs in Opry history. The four artists-- each known as a million-selling recording artist as well as an impeccable musician-- have together amassed more than 75 Country Music Association and Grammy® Awards. The night will ligh...

AUBURN – Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Taylor Swift made a special appearance in Auburn today to surprise two students, who have been on a quest to receive a hug from her, and to give a mini-concert for those involved in the venture. Auburn students Michael Wekall and Ryan Leander had the idea in January, and started a website,  http://www.ahugfromtaylorswift.com/ , featuring videos detailing their mission to get a hug from Swift. A Facebook group dedicated to the project has nearly 8,500 members.

BRAD  PAISLEY ’S “WATER” VIDEO Viewing Available on  bradpaisley.com ,  youtube.com/bradpaisley ,  cmt.com , CMT and GAC NASHVILLE ,  Tenn.    (April 26, 2010)   Brad Paisley ’s new video for his current single, “Water,” can be viewed now on  bradpaisley.com , youtube.com/bradpaisley ,  cmt.com , CMT and GAC.  The video is directed by Jim Shea, who also directed  Paisley ’s award winning videos “Waitin’ On A Woman,” “Start A Band,” “Online” and “When I Get Where I’m Going,” and most recently “Welcome to the Future.”  “Water” is from  Paisley ’s current album,  American Saturday Night  and the single is currently No. 14 on the  Billboard Country Singles Chart  and No. 18 on  Mediabase Country Singles Chart. The majority of the “Water” video was shot at Bluewater Scuba in  Franklin ,  TN.    Paisley  and band spent the better part of one day submerged in water – ...

“Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D”  Opens w $1 Million+ -- First 4 Showings Best ALL Major Adult Music Films Entire Runs Except U2 & the Stones      Los Angeles, CA: After a star-studded Las Vegas premiere - that included friends Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, Reba, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, Dierks Bentley and Jewel -- “Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D” arrived in 3D theatres nationwide. Aside from the confusion that the movie is  not  receiving continual showings and is  ONLY  being screened in 3D theatres, it's opening night screenings were strong enough to make it the #7 movie in the nation - and by Thursday, it had out-earned all the 3-D films by legitimate music acts except the Rolling Stones and U2.      “This isn't the same kind of animal as a straight theatrical release,” Chesney said of the film that captured 6 NFL stadium shows on his million+ ticket-selling Sun City Carnival Tour. “And I hate that peo...

  DIERKS BENTLEY TO DEBUT TITLE TRACK FROM NEW ALBUM UP ON THE RIDGE  ON  THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LE NO   ON TUES.,  APRIL 27      Critics Buzzing with Early Praise Of The Bluegrass-Influenced Album (Nashville, Tenn. – April 26, 2010) – Award winning singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley will debut the lead and title track from his forthcoming bluegrass-influenced album UP ON THE RIDGE on the  Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tues., April 27.   The track, written by Bentley and Angelo Petraglia, features Petraglia on acoustic guitar, Sam Bush on slide mandolin and background vocals by Alison Krauss. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had making music,” says Bentley.  “The songs, the production, the collaborations...everything came together so organically and naturally...it’s been a blast.   Now, we’ve got tv offers and a tour...I feel the same excitement and nervousness I felt when we were getting ready to release my fi...

PLATINUM COUNTRY STAR TRACE ADKINS TO RELEASE "THIS AIN'T NO LOVE SONG" ON MONDAY, MAY 17   New Single is First Release from Adkins' New Album with  Show Dog-Universal Music   Na shville , TN  (April 26, 2010) - Country music superstar, Trace Adkins  is gearing up to release his highly-anticipated new single, "This Ain't No Love Song" on Monday, May 17 . Written by Tony Lane, Marcel and David Lee, the song is the lead single from Adkins' forthcoming album on  Toby Keith's newly formed record label   with   Universal  Music Group, Show Dog - Universal Music.     As the title states, it's not your typical love song from Adkins but a tune on the subject with a clever twist. Adkins' voice shines to the point where you wonder if the song was written especially for him. The platinum-selling singer pulls in equal parts of a melodious ballad mixed in with some backwoods country charm.   "We are so pumped to have Trace join our ...

OR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             April 26, 2010     Jake Owen Plans Fan Club Party!     First Annual Fan Event To Take Place During CMA Music Fest in Nashville   Nashville, TN – RCA Nashville recording artist Jake Owen is excited to celebrate with his fans – during his first-ever OFFICIAL fan club party this June! The event will take place on June 11 th  at 12 th  and Porter in Nashville, TN and is FREE to active fan club members. Tickets are limited, however, and will be awarded to the first 300 fan club members who sign up! Sign up begins on Owen’s website ( www.jakeowen.net ) on April 28 th . Winners will be ann...

WYNONNA’S NEXT RELEASE AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT CRACKER BARREL   New CD will benefit Wounded Warrior Project   LEBANON, TENN  (April 26, 2010) – Multi-platinum Curb Records recording artist and five-time GRAMMY ®  Award winner Wynonna Judd has joined Cracker Barrel Old Country Store ®  in its support of Wounded Warrior Project with the release of  Love Heals , a collection of Wynonna’s top singles and three other tracks not available for sale until now.  The new CD can be pre-ordered beginning today and will arrive in all Cracker Barrel locations on May 24 th . In addition to sharing new music with her fans, Wynonna is honored and humbled to support Wounded Warrior Project and its efforts to assist wounded service men and women and their families.  Cracker Barrel will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every  Love Heals  CD to Wounded Warrior Project.  In 2008, Wounded Warrior Project started coordinating retreats fo...

LADY ANTEBELLUM’S SOPHOMORE ALBUM   NEED YOU NOW  CERTIFIED DOUBLE PLATINUM  AS TITLE SINGLE GOES TRIPLE PLATINUM   Tune In April 28 for the Trio’s  Performance on American Idol   Lady A Sells Out First Headlining Show  in NYC at The Nokia Theatre   NASHVILLE, TENN – April 26, 2010 – ACM and CMA Vocal Group of the Year Lady Antebellum’s sophomore album  NEED YOU NOW  was certified DOUBLE PLATINUM last week, while the title track was simultaneously certified TRIPLE PLATINUM.  The album is now spending its 12th week at No. one on the Billboard Country albums chart.   “We’ve dreamed about these types of milestones, but when it starts to become a reality, it takes a while for it to really settle in,” says Dave Haywood.  “We are just trying to take it all in and enjoy the moment and hopefully make our incredible fans really proud.”   Before collecting five ACM awards as both artists and songwriters, the group ...

On Sunday, August 1, 2010 country music legend Garth Brooks joins the Sun Valley Summer Symphony for this year’s annual Benefit Concert.  This is a special engagement for which there will be only one show at 6:30pm. Long-time Sun Valley resident and supporter of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Steve Wynn assisted in arranging for Garth Brooks’ appearance in Sun Valley.  About this event, Brooks says, "I have never done anything like this, but Wynn says, ‘it's the best!’ so I am very excited about the evening!" Certified by the RIAA as the #1 selling solo artist in US history, Garth Brooks has sold in excess of 128 million albums.  He is the only solo artist in RIAA history to have 6 albums top the 10 million mark. His most recent release The Ultimate Hits has been certified 5 x platinum. In 2007 Garth became the first artist to put out a simultaneous edition of his latest collection for a charitable cause. The “pink edition” of The Ultimate Hits was a...

ARTIST NEWSFLASH ■ JEWEL ANNOUNCES COMPANION ACOUSTIC TRACKS TO ‘SWEET AND WILD’…’SWEET AND  MILD ’:  Jewel’s  second release on Valory, SWEET AND WILD  (in stores June 8 th ), will offer fans not one, but two versions of the songs on the album.  The alternate versions of the studio tracks will be acoustic in nature and will represent the songs in their original state.  “The only other difference is how I color my songs. My fundamental songwriting has not changed one bit,” Jewel says of presenting two different snapshots of the same song on her second Country project.  “How I produce the music does change.  Now I can add weeping steel to emphasize a poignant lyrics…or I can use a rolling picked banjo to bring an uplifting forward movement to a chorus, instead of layering another electric guitar to get some lift for a chorus. To drive this point home - I decided to release a double album called ‘Sweet And Mild’.  It's the exact same record an...

RTIST NEWSFLASH ■ WITH THE HELP OF DIERKS BENTLEY, JACK INGRAM BRINGS HIS SELF-DESCRIBED BIGGEST HIT EVER TO 12.5 MILLION PEOPLE: Although it has never yet charted on any national tally,  Jack Ingram  names “Barbie Doll” the biggest hit of his career.  And with the help of Dierks Bentley, Jack brought his live anthem to the 12.5 million people watching last weekend’s  Academy of Country Music Awards  in Las Vegas with a raucous performance.  [Click  here  to watch it.]  “You know, that song has always been a ‘buddy’ song to me,” proclaims Jack.  “I wrote that song with my friend Todd Snider, and originally recorded it ten years ago.  Then, through the years, the song has taken on a life of its own, becoming our biggest live hit.  So when I was putting finishing touches on the ‘Big Dreams & High Hopes’ album, I thought it would make perfect sense to record this with Dierks.  I knew he was a fan of the song and, I ...

This year’s Dale Earnhardt Day Celebration is bigger than ever. This can’t miss event is headlined by a very special “Tribute To Dale” unveiling for the fans by DEI, Richard Childress Racing, and JR Motorsports along with special announcements from the Dale Earnhardt Foundation, Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet and Club E, the Official Fan Club of Dale Earnhardt. This year’s full schedule: (All on the campus of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. unless noted) 5:45am – 8:45am Charlotte’s Fox News Rising Remote Broadcast with Wilson! 9:00am  Dale Earnhardt, Inc. opens to fans Showroom and retail 12:00noon – 2:30pm Mac’s Speed Shop BBQ lunch is available for purchase Special complimentary cake presentation at 1:00pm 12:30pm The Chris Marks Band   - Great Live Country Music 2:30pm – 3:30pm Special Presentations –  WEBCAST LIVE  on www.daleearnhardt.com/events Dale Earnhardt Foundation Announcement:  Hosted by Winston Kelley Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Hall of Fame...