Big Country Notes for MAY 29

KEITH URBAN SAYS HE’S READY FOR U.S. PHASE OF TOUR

Keith Urban has played to packed houses, frantic crowds and critical praise in the early dates of his “Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour.” The singer has traveled from Germany to the United Kingdom and Australia to bring his music to his fans. He kicks off the North American leg of his tour on June 8th in Phoenix, Arizona. Urban says, quote, “I’m ready. So far the tour has been incredible – fantastic crowds – a great vibe. I can’t wait to get back to America.” The 30-city North American leg of the “Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour” promises Urban’s trademark electrifying concerts combined with world-class production for a show that will feature the hits from his recent multi-platinum release, “Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing,” as well as many of many number one songs which have defined his career – “Better Life,” “Days Go By,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” and “Somebody Like You.”
While Urban performs a 56-foot-wide by 28-foot-high video wall projects pre-recorded imagery and live footage from six cameras in high-definition.
Urban entourage includes eleven trucks carrying miles of cable and thousands of pounds of machinery will be running on Bio-Diesel. Urban says, quote, “I’m especially proud to be able to do what we can for the environment.”

JASON ALDEAN ALBUM “RELENTLESS” IN STORES TODAY

Sometimes the pressure is on for an artist recording his sophomore album, but Jason Aldean says that wasn’t necessarily the case with his album, “Relentless,,” which releases today. He says, quote, “I think because people liked the first album and we have found a niche the pressure is not so bad.” He adds, quote, “Obviously every album you want to make better and kind of try to outdo the first one and I think that’s probably where the pressure comes into play.” “Relentless” has 12 songs, many of them written by proven hit-writing songwriters like Brett James, Jim Collins and Tom Shapiro. Aldean says it was definitely easier to get high caliber songs after he had a proven track record with his first self-titled album. He says, quote, “I just want people that have been waiting for two years for this second album to come out to feel like it’s been worth the wait.”


BRAD PAISLEY IS TICKLED WITH NEW ALBUM

Life is good for Brad Paisley. His “Bonfires and Amplifiers” tour is doing well and his upcoming album ‘5th Gear” is ready for release. Paisley says he’s tickled with the album. While he says the music for this release is more mature, there are still some fun songs on it like his first single “Ticks.” Brad says, quote, “I was totally ready to get every bad review in the book. I didn’t care. All I cared was that the people out there got what I was going for with that song.” Paisley says the album does show some maturity and reflection while other songs are a little risky. He says, quote, “The songs we have I’m real happy with.”

FAITH HILL SURPRISES CROWD TO DUET WITH LORI MCKENNA

Faith Hill turned up at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville Thursday night to hear songwriter Lori McKenna sing. Before the night was over, Hill had taken to the stage to duet with Lori on “Falter.” Hill is a big fan of McKenna’s, having recorded three of her songs on her album “Fireflies.” Hill’s husband Tim McGraw accompanied her to the club. He produced Lori’s upcoming album “Unglamorous,” which is due in stores August 14th. The couple has invited McKenna to be a part of their upcoming “Soul2Soul Tour 2007” which kicks off in June 5th.

JACK INGRAM SAYS RESPONSE TO SINGLE WAS UNSETTLING

Jack Ingram’s current single is a cover song. He took the Hinder hit “Lips of an Angel” and not only recorded it for his album “This is It” but released it as a single. When it first was released word came back that fans were split on whether they liked it or not. Jack told the “Columbian,” quote, "Half of the people said they loved it. The other half said they hated it. I started to freak out a little bit. I said, 'Oh my God, we had all this momentum and now we're going to screw it up’.” Now that the songs been out there awhile Jack has come to believe that it has helped raise his profile among fans. He says, quote, "In some respect [singles] 'Wherever You Are' and 'Love You,' they were cool, but 'Lips' kind of helped push people to go 'Who's that?' 'What's his name?' " Ingram adds, quote, "Because of the polarizing situation, it allowed people to take an interest in me, who I am and why I did that song."

BILLY RAY CYRUS WILL RELEASE NEW ALBUM A MONTH EARLY

Billy Ray Cyrus took time off from working on his upcoming album “Father’s Day” to participate on "Dancing with the Stars." Now Cyrus says making that move has given his career such a boost that the record label will release the disc on July 23rd instead of August 28th. Billy Ray and his dancing partner Karina Smirnoff were voted off the show May 8th. One of the songs on the new project, “Ready, Set, Don’t Go,” is a song Cyrus wrote for his daughter Miley when she left Nashville to go to Hollywood to star in the hit sitcom “Hannah Montana.”

RODNEY ATKINS HOSTS ABC’S TALENT SEARCH TONIGHT

Rodney Atkins will host a free live country music performance at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville tonight. Sponsored by ABC, attendees will get to vote on the best singer from six pre-selected contestants who had to connect with Martina Mc Bride. The Wildhorse segment will be part of ABC’s upcoming original program "Six Degrees of Martina McBride" that will air this summer. The program follow six singers from the middle of nowhere with nothing but their dreams. The contestants have to track down Martina McBride in six steps or less, proving the theory that everyone in the world is connected by a human chain of six people. Once they do that, the six people must prove they can sing. The winner will get a record deal.

DIY NETWORK DOING GRAND OLE OPRY MAKEOVER

The Grand Ole Opry is getting a makeover. Music fans shouldn’t be alarmed, however – the DIY Network is coming to Nashville tomorrow to renovate four of the dressing rooms at the Grand Ole Opry house. Their intent is to transform the rooms from drab to dynamic. Terri Clark, who will participate in the makeover, offered her decorating tips. She says, quote, “I love really warm, sort of darker browns and plum colors. And I always paint the ceilings in my house.” A DIY spokesperson says the goal is to showcase the Opry’s story by designing inspirational and welcoming areas for the country artists who perform on the show. Individual rooms will be renovated around four central themes: Women of the Opry, Songwriters & Lyrics, Honky-Tonk/Rhinestone, and Roy Acuff. Trace Adkins, another participant, was outspoken in what they should do with Acuff’s dressing room. He says, quote, “You ought to just take it off the hinges, cause Mr. Acuff’s policy was the door was never closed. That would be cool, just take it off!” The result will be well-deserved upgrades in amenities including vanities, countertops, sinks, flooring/carpeting, lighting and furniture. The episodes featuring the makeover will air in October. In addition to Adkins and Clark, the two special half-hour episodes will feature, Bill Anderson, Dierks Bentley, Little Jimmy Dickens, Lorrie Morgan, Pam Tillis and others.

QUICK BITES

A parade through downtown Nashville featuring Jason Michael Carroll, Tanya Tucker and Darryl Worley will be the kick-off event of the CMA Music Festival on June 6th. After the parade the artists will participate in a concert in the downtown area. The event will be led by NASCAR drivers Scott Wimmer and Shane Huffman.

The recording studio that Ronnie Milsap once owned was dedicated to the singer last Thursday. A bronze plaque will be on display in the newly opened Warm Front Studio. Milsap bought the studio from Roy Orbison in 1978 and recorded many of his hit songs there.

Tonight’s annual Cops & Jocks softball game at Mundy Memorial Park in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee will feature Vince Gill, Chris Young, Keith Anderson and Dean Sams of Lone Star. Other celebrities playing for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving benefit include Daryl Singletary, Linda Davis, Erika Jo and Lee Brice.

Montgomery Gentry, Charley Pride and Neal McCoy have been added to the second session of the CMA Celebrity Close Up Series at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on June 7th. The program offers fans an inside look at the lives of their favorite country artists. Speaking of Charley and Neal, the two recently performed at baseball great Nolan Ryan’s 60th birthday party at his ranch outside Austin, TX.

Mike Curb, owner of Curb Records in Nashville, is offering a free recording session or a cash reward for the return of the LeAnn Rimes edition guitar that was stolen off the front lawn of the record company. The guitar was stolen on April 20th and is a part of the Nashville Guitartown Project.

Chevy will sponsor a music stage at the Sommet Center (formerly the Nashville Arena) during the CMA Music Festival, held June 7-10 in downtown Nashville. The stage will feature Beverley Mitchell, Sunny Sweeney, Johnny Rodriguez and Cherryholmes.

Mary Chapin Carpenter has canceled all of her tour dates in June and July. According to her website, he singer was recently treated for a blood clot in her lung. She is recovering at her home in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Emmylou Harris will headline a fundraiser series for Happy Tales animal rescue in Franklin, TN beginning with the first show on Wednesday. Wednesday Night Wags will run through July 4. Other performers scheduled for subsequent nights include Rodney Crowell, Cathy Baille, Kim Carnes and John Hiatt.

“The Tennessean” reports that Larry Gatlin debuted a new song, “Americans, That’s Who” on the Grand Ole Opry last weekend. Gatlin wrote the song on a barf bag an airplane heading to Las Vegas after reading an article about all the horrible things America has done around the world. Gatlin says, quote, "Johnny Cash once said that if something torques you off, then you'll write a song about it. That article torqued me off. So I took a barf bag off the back of the seat and wrote the song." The singer says he wrote the song to remind people of the positive things America has been responsible for.