Luke Bryan Reigns At Spring Break Panama City

 JEWEL ANNOUNCES JUNE 8^TH RELEASE DATE FOR NEW ALBUM ‘SWEET AND WILD’; JUNE TOUR ALSO UNVEILED: Multi-platinum recording artist and songwriter Jewel will embark on a cross-country tour this summer, presented by COUNTRY® Financial.  The Star Light Café Tour will find the three-time GRAMMY® nominee performing acoustically in support of her sophomore Country album, Sweet And Wild, set to hit retailers June 8th.  “I am so excited to hit the road as part of the COUNTRY Financial Road Trips and Guitar Picks concert series,” said Jewel.  “It gives me a great opportunity to spend some time with the fans.  I’ve spent the better part of my year writing and recording this new album.  There is nothing more rewarding for me than getting the chance to perform some of my new songs along with the hits I’ve had over the course of my career. These shows really become a sneak peek into my songwriting and my life.”  Jewel’s first country album, Perfectly Clear, was released in June 2008 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard country charts.  Having been married to Ty Murray since her last country album and always being inspired by her life experiences, the new album, titled Sweet and Wild, maintains her country roots as Jewel sings about the love and happiness in her life.  “There is no one better than Jewel at bringing the feel of an intimate living room setting to the theatre,” said Scott Borchetta, President of Jewel’s record label, The Valory Music Co. “With nothing more than her acoustic guitar, witty storytelling and unmatched vocal ability, she brings you into the moment and keeps you there until the lights go up.”  For the 20-city Star Light Café Tour, COUNTRY Financial is teaming up with Jewel to provide her fans with unique concert and online offerings as part of its Road Trips and Guitar Picks concert series. Fans are invited to visit www.tripsandpicks.com to register for prizes, play games and get free downloads.  Opening for Jewel on her tour, beginning on the June 11th date in Atlanta, will be singer-songwriter Radney Foster.  "Jewel is as engaging and natural vocalist as I have ever heard and her songwriting is always piercingly to the point," Radney Foster says. "It is my privilege to share a stage with her."  Tickets for the Star Light Café Tour (with complete list of tour dates below) will go on sale starting April 23rd, available at www.jeweljk.com.

■ JUSTIN MOORE LANDS 1^ST MAJOR AWARD NOMINATION FOR CMT MUSIC AWARDS BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO: Justin Moore has earned his first major awards show nod for his #1 hit single, “Small Town USA.”  Justin’s poignant anthem celebrating small town life, co-written by the star because he missed his mother’s cooking, earned a 2010 CMT Music Award nomination this week for the “USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year Award.”  The video (directed by Chris Hicky) is especially sentimental to the star.  “Small Town USA” was shot in Justin’s own hometown of Poyen, Arkansas --- Population 272 – and features generations of his family.  Justin’s wife Kate also appears in the video as his love interest.  “It’s very cool to be nominated for a CMT Music Award for ‘Small Town USA.’  This video is definitely special to me,” says Justin.  “To have made that video in my own hometown and to have a lot of my family in it - including my late grandpa - is very cool.  I’m very appreciative to my fans and to CMT to be mentioned in the company that I am -- whether we win or not.”  Named Billboard magazine’s “New Country Artist of 2009,” Justin was the only new Country artist to earn a #1 hit in 2009.  Additionally, with the success of “Small Town USA,” Justin became the first artist in the format to have a song from a debut record go #1 since Taylor Swift in 2007.  Justin’s music – his self-titled album debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 all genre chart --  has garnered critical praise from The Washington Post, Billboard, the Associated Press, USA Today, Country Weekly and was even named one of the 10 Best Albums of 2009 on The New York Times “Year in the Arts” list by music critic Jon Caramanica. Upon the release of his debut album, Justin embarked upon a “Small Town USA” whistle-stop style tour, bringing his music to the small towns and heartland of America.  Justin performed alongside Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert on the “American Saturday Night Tour.”  Justin will head back out with Paisley for his “H20 World Tour” for the rest of 2010 beginning May 21st.    

■ REBA’S SITCOM CONTINUES TO REACH NEW FANS DAILY: Reba’s self-titled sitcom continues to reach millions of viewers everyday in syndication.  Being a strong female lead in a situation comedy series makes Reba one of the few women through the years to bring a successful show to the masses in that format.  There’s Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, Candice Bergen, Roseanne Barr and then Reba.  We asked the superstar if it surprise her about the impact Reba still has years after leaving the air.  “Yes it does!” exclaims Reba.  “Not a week goes by without someone telling me how much they like the show.  It is amazing to me and I never get tired of hearing their comments.  The great thing about it is that so many people have discovered Country music by seeing me in that role.  I had the time of my life making the show and I am so tickled that people still enjoy it!  I made some wonderful friends during the taping of the show.  That’s the icing on the cake!”

■ JIMMY WAYNE’S RECENT SINGLE SAYS IT ALL ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FANS: Jimmy Wayne’s most recent single, “Just Knowing You Love Me” from his album Sara Smile trumpets the power of being loved that keeps one going, and as Jimmy continues on his strenuous Meet Me Halfway walk [click here for details], the singer-songwriter is thankful that he knows what that feels like.  “I believe Country music is the voice of the common man,” says Jimmy.  “When I wrote ‘Just Knowing You Love Me’ I wrote not only what I wanted to say, but also what I think someone else would want to hear.  For example, when my bag got stolen [recently on the road] with all my clothes in it, there was an immediate response from the fan base out there to support me.  And then Marmot sent me new outer-wear to get me through.  And those things meant so much.  You know, that’s what the song is about,” continues Jimmy.  “It all goes back to what I’ve been through in my childhood and why I am doing what I am doing right now.  When I was a kid, going through what I did, there’s not many people you trust and you don’t believe there are people who love you.  But when you are proved wrong, and you find out that there are people in the world who love you and care about you, there’s no feeling like that.”

■ RANDOM NOTES: Reba performed on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars this week, and turned in revved-up performances of the biggest hit of her career “Consider Me Gone” [click here], and the fan favorite “I Want A Cowboy” [click here].  In the results show that featured Reba on Tuesday night, ABC’s Dancing With The Stars beat FOX’s American Idol for the first time!...Jimmy Wayne is spotlighted in a CMT Insider interview here from the halfway point (Amarillo) on his walk to Phoenix benefiting the Meet Me Halfwaycampaign…Jewel is hosting a series of live chats on her website [http://www.jeweljk.com] every week through her June 8^th album launch.  The chats, powered by USTREAM, will take place on Wednesdays at 6PM…Reba’s co-headlining tour with George Strait and special guest Lee Ann Womack has been so successful that the superstars decided to add a fall leg to the trek.  While a full list of dates have yet to be announced, we do know that the April 28^th Nashville concert has been rescheduled for September 11^th…Reba received two CMT Music Awards nominations this week for her massive hit “Consider Me Gone”.  Reba is up for Female Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year (from CMT Invitation Only)…It’s no secret that Reba’s fan base runs the gamut from 1 to 100, and the superstar has been fulfilling some longtime fans’ ‘Bucket List’ wishes recently backstage at concerts.  From Hazel in Kansas City to Winfred in Charlottesville [see full story from AOL here], Reba is making dreams come true from coast to coast!