Big Country Notes for Mar 19

BRAD PAISLEY CLOSES CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL

Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert and Billy Currington are the latest performers added to the lineup for this year’s CMA Music Festival. This gig will be Paisley’s only Nashville concert appearance this year. He has been chosen to close the four-day festival with a show on June 10th. He’ll perform his current single “Ticks” and other new music from his upcoming disc due out this summer as well as his other hits. Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich, Vince Gill, Josh Gracin, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson and the Wreckers are among the performers previously announced. The 2007 CMA Music Festival will be held in downtown Nashville Thursday-Sunday, June 7th-10th.

RICHIE McDONALD LEAVING LONESTAR

Richie McDonald of Lonestar told WYNK Radio in Baton Rouge, LA that he was leaving the band. After a ten-year run with the group, he plans to launch a solo career. He told WYNK, “I love the guys of Lonestar. It’s nothing personal. I just feel I have reached a point in my career where I need to take the next stop. McDonald will continue to tour with Lonestar through November. The band recently parted ways with their BNA record label.

DIERKS BENTLEY ON THE ROAD TO PROMOTE NEW DVD

Dierks Bentley embarked on a whirlwind tour to promote his new DVD, “Live and Loud at the Fillmore,” last Friday. First stop was in Houston while he performed at the famed Houston Livestock and Rodeo. Through Wednesday Bentley will log more than 45-hundred miles while visiting seven other cities from coast-to-coast including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia and Providence. The singer will do surprise autograph signings and meet and greet sessions in five of those cities. The live 90-minute DVD was filmed last June at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver before a sold-out audience of five-thousand screaming fans. Dierks chose the famed club to shoot “Live and Loud” because the stage is in close proximity to the fans. He says, quote, “The Fillmore is the ultimate rock venue.” “Live and Loud at the Fillmore” is available in stores tomorrow.

GRETCHEN WILSON IS RAISING MONEY BY DOING WHAT SHE DOES BEST

Gretchen Wilson has returned from the West Coast run of her “Back to the Bars” tour. She performed for intimate groups as well as large, unruly crowds from San Diego, CA to Seattle, WA. In between she has helped raise some big bucks. In San Diego the singer performed for 50 radio station listeners who had pledged to be St. Jude Partners in Hope. Listeners shelled out a whopping 320 dollars per ticket to be part of the audience. Seattle was another stop on the trek for another St. Jude event. In Portland, OR Wilson helped raise over 23-thousand dollars for the Dornbecker Children’s Hospital in that city. Gretchen is getting ready to put out a CD of new music. Her third disc “One of the Boys” will be in stores May 15th and features her current single “Come To Bed.”

BILLY RAY CYRUS PUTS ON HIS DANCING SHOES

Billy Ray Cyrus will be among the contestants on season four of the ABC hit series “Dancing with the Stars” tonight. You’d think that the singer/actor can dance since his hit song “Achy Breaky Heart” inspired millions to learn the line dance to the song. But he tells “TV Guide,” quote, “I’ve never done the dance or much other public dancing, for that matter.” He adds, quote, “I didn’t go to my senior prom. I didn’t go to hardly any dances in high school because I didn’t want to get out on the dance floor.” So why did he sign on? He’s doing it for his daughter Noah. She told her first-grade teacher that daddy was scared to compete. Cyrus says, quote, “The teacher told my little girl to go home and tell me ‘Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” Billy Ray’s competition includes Heather Mills, ‘N Sync’s Joey Fatone, Olympian medalist Apolo Anton Ohno, Muhammad Ali’s daughter Laila, actor John Ratzenberger, TV host Leeza Gibbons and more.
The fourth season of “Dancing With the Stars” kicks off tonight at 8pm ET/PT on ABC.

JASON ALDEAN AND MIRANDA LAMBERT DUET TOGETHER ON ALDEAN’S NEW DISC

One of the highlights of Jason Aldean’s upcoming sophomore disc is his duet with Miranda Lambert. The pair are old friends. They have co-headlined together and both are touring with Dierks Bentley on select dates. When Aldean heard the demo of “Grown Woman,” he thought the song could be a duet. The singer says, quote, “It just sounded like a song that her [Miranda’s] voice would just sound great on so I kinda talked to her about it.” Time went by and Jason didn’t hear from her. He later received the good news from his booking agent that she had agreed to do it. Jason says of Miranda, quote, “I’m just a big fan of hers. She’s a great singer.” “Grown Woman” along with Aldean’s current hit single “Johnny Cash” will be on the singer’s upcoming disc “Relentless.” The new CD will be in stores May 29th. In the meantime, their next date together on Dierks’ “Loud and Live” tour is Saturday night in Fairfax, VA.

HANK WILLIAMS SONGBOOK CASE THROWN OUT

A judge has dismissed theft charges against a collector who claims he bought a notebook that once belonged to country music legend Hank Williams. The notebook contained 17 songs that Williams wrote, but never recorded. The collector says he bought the notebook from a janitor who found it in a box of trash at Sony/ATV Music Publishing. The songbook is now valued at up to 250-thousand-dollars. The box included other items from such people as Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty and Buck Owens. The case now shifts to a Sumner County, TN court where the notebook is being kept until a judge rules in a separate lawsuit over who owns the find. (Metro Source)


QUICK BITES

LeAnn Rimes and Craig Morgan will be among those performing at the Luis Palau Nashville CityFest May 19th-20th. The free event is being held from 2-10 p.m. both days.

According to the “Tennessean,” Justin Timberlake was in a Nashville studio Friday recording with Reba McEntire. The results should end up on Reba’s duet album.

Jack Ingram has been voted the Country Artist of the Year by “Esquire” magazine.

Dierks Bentley and his wife Cassidy are featured in the current issue of “People.” This is the first time both Dierks and Cassidy have been featured as a couple.

Luke Bryan has two big events coming up. First, he makes his Grand Ole Opry debut April 6th and the next night he opens for Brooks & Dunn in Valdosta, GA. This is the second time Bryan has opened for the duo.

Jamie O’Neal will shoot the video for her new single “God Don’t Make Mistakes” the first week of April.

John Michael Montgomery is scheduled to headline Nashville’s Stand Up For America celebration on June 30th. The event takes place at the Nashville City Park Amphitheater.


“300” REMAINS BOX OFFICE KING

The epic gladiator movie "300" continues to slay box office competition. For the second straight week, the warrior film was the top money maker, raking-in more than 31-million-dollars. The comedy "Wild Hogs," which stars John Travolta and Martin Lawrence, brought in nearly 19-million to finish in second place. Sandra Bullock's "Premonition" came in third place with about 18-million-dollars. Rounding out the top five were "Dead Silence" and "I Think I Love My Wife," which stars Chris Rock. (Metro Source)