Big Country Notes for JULY 23

ABC’S “COUNTRY’S NIGHT TO ROCK” AIRS TONIGHT

Fans wanting to relive their experiences at the CMA Music Fest can do so tonight. ABC will air a two-hour special, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" featuring Brooks & Dunn, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. In addition to live performances from the main stage, the show will take fans behind the scenes as fans get to meet their favorite stars including Sugarland, Dierks Bentley and George Jones tour the Country Music Hall of Fame and Martina McBride presents a new truck to a Kansas family who lost everything after tornadoes went through their town. Others on the show include Alan Jackson, the Wreckers Jason Aldean, Big & Rich, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Taylor Swift, Josh Turner and Reba McEntire in a duet with "American Idol" Kelly Clarkson. This is the third year for ABC to do a special from the festival, which will air at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Pickler will give fans an early preview of the show when she visits ABC's "Good Morning America" this morning. She will perform her single "I Wonder" from the singer’s debut Gold album, “Small Town Girl.”

FAITH HILL AND TIM McGRAW SAY THEIR KIDS LOVE TO BE ON TOUR WITH THEM

This is the second year for Faith Hill and Tim McGraw to have their three children on tour with them. The couple say that Gracie, Maggie and Audrey love being out on the “Soul2Soul 2007” tour. Tim told “Redbook,” quote, “They just love it and that’s why we decided to continue the tour one more year.” He admits there were a few moans when he and Faith told the girls so he says this will probably be the last year they are all on the road together. The singer says, quote, “They are starting to make their own friends and get their own lives.” He says that’s why they decided, quote, “We’d go out one more year together because we might never be able to do it again.”
Tim says the girls are old enough to help out on the road. Last year Gracie was climbing up on the rig and helping put up lights. The key to making it work, according to Faith, is organization. Hill says, quote, “As long as you plan everything out ahead of time and it runs smoothly, then it is fun to have everybody out there.” She adds, quote, “This year we were even brave enough to take one of our dogs with us.”

REBA McENTIRE SAYS SHE HAS PUT BEING HOMESICK BEHIND HER

When Reba McEntire first came to Nashville to record she would miss her family. Reba says she can recall many instances of homesickness in those early years. She says, quote, “I can recall many moments of homesickness when I first came to Nashville to record.” Reba’s more recent hours in the studio recording her upcoming “Reba Duets” album was very different for the singer. McEntire’s husband, Narvel Blackstock, is with her and their son Shelby, also tours with her as part of her crew. McEntire says outside of her immediate family she also has a great extended family. The singer says, quote, “The people who work with me are a great team and we have a lot of fun together so they are my second family.” She adds, quote, “Before we go into a grueling schedule we talk about where we’re gonna eat that night. We know at the end of the hard day we’re gonna go out to eat and laugh.”

SARA EVANS HOSTS BABY SHOWER FOR SHERYL CROW

Sara Evans was spotted buying baby things recently but don’t get the wrong idea. Evans hosted a baby shower for new mom Sheryl Crow that was attended by a number of celebrities including Emmylou Harris and “Nashville Star” judge Anastasia Brown. Sheryl recently adopted a son, Wyatt Steven. “The Tennessean” reports that many of the gifts were music themed, causing Crow to comment, quote, “He’s doomed.” Among the presents were a miniature baby blue guitar from Gibson and a onesie that said "I Crawl the Line” Harris told Crow, quote, "I always sort of flew by the seat of my pants. I know I made a lot of mistakes, but I ended up with two great kids."

LeANN RIMES, BRAD PAISLEY SIGN UP FOR CELEBRITY TABLESCAPES EVENT

Country artists are signing on to help create beautiful tables for the annual “T.J. Martell Foundation Celebrity Tablescapes” event on September 24th – 25th. LeAnn Rimes, Brad Paisley and Jamie O’Neal will all participate with top name designers. Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts and his wife Tiffany will also be a part of the special evening. Major designers including Tiffany & Co. and Baylor Bone Interiors will join with the celebrities to design their presentation. Proceeds from the event will benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation for cancer and leukemia research.

MINDY McCREADY ARRESTED ON TWO MISDEMEANOR CHARGES

Mindy McCready was arrested Saturday in Lee County, Florida. According to the “News-Press,” the Ft. Myers native was booked early Saturday morning on two misdemeanor charges – battery and resisting a law enforcement officer. McCready posted a one-thousand-dollar bail that evening and was released. She has been scheduled for an August 14 court appearance. This is not Mindy’s first run in with the law. In May 2005 she charged that her then-boyfriend, Billy McKnight, had tried to kill her. In September of that year she was hospitalized for an overdose of alcohol and prescription drugs.

MARK COLLIE ARRESTED ON DUI CHARGES IN NASHVILLE

Mark Collie was arrested Thursday night and charged with a DUI by Nashville police. According to “Trans World News,” the singer was found by a policeman slumped over in his car. The 51-year-old singer was in his car on the Vanderbilt University campus and police said he smelled like beer and had bloodshot eyes. Collie told police he had one beer but he failed a sobriety test. The singer was released on a 15-hundred dollar bail.

QUICK BITES

Miranda Lambert and Jack Ingram tape “CMT Cross Country” tomorrow night in Nashville.

Riders in the Sky will release “Public Cowboy #1: A Centennial Salute to the Music of Gene Autry” tomorrow. Originally released in 1996, this remastered version marks the celebration of Autry’s 100th birthday. It features four bonus tracks of Autry’s best loved songs. Ranger Doug says, quote, “Gene Autry blazed the trail for Roy and Tex and Rex and eventually us. It’s an honor to tip our huge hats to him every night in our show.”

Crystal Gayle is celebrating the 30-year anniversary of her multi-chart hit “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” To help celebrate Capitol Records is releasing “Crystal Gayle: Greatest Hits” on August 28th. The 25-track collection will include 16 number one hits. Fans will also be able to buy three new Crystal Gayle ringtones that day.

The Dottie West Music Fest will be held October 6th - 7th at the Warren County Fairgrounds in her hometown of McMinnville, TN. Among those performing are her daughter, Shelly West.

During the weekend The Southern Museum & Galleries will present an exhibition of Dottie West including a watercolor portrait and a commemorative book featuring never-before-published photographs of West.

Oak Ridge Boy William Lee Golden has an art exhibit at Nashville International Airport titled “The First of Many to Come.” The six-piece collection will be on display for six months as part of the airport’s “Arts at the Airport” program. An August 28th event that will be open to travelers is set to open the display. A set of commemorative note cards featuring his artwork and autographed by William Lee will be given to the first 500 guests.



"CHUCK AND LARRY" GRAB BOX OFFICE FROM "HARRY POTTER"

There was a warm reception for " I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" at the weekend box office. The fake gay marriage comedy starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel was the top draw with an estimated 34-point-eight-million dollars in box office receipts. That was enough to overtake last week's box office champ, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," on the same weekend that the final book in the "Potter" series arrived in bookstores. "Order of Phoenix" grossed in 32-point-two-million dollars to take the number two spot this weekend. Opening in third place was "Hairspray," the new movie-musical starring a cross-dressing John Travolta and newcomer Nikki Blonsky, which took in 27-point-eight-million in box office receipts. The alien robot movie "Transformers" was fourth with 20-point-five-million. And the computer-animated comedy "Ratatouille" was fifth with eleven-million. (Metro Source)
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. (final figures will be released today):

1. "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," $34.8 million.
2. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," $32.2 million.
3. "Hairspray," $27.8 million.
4. "Transformers," $20.5 million.
5. "Ratatouille," $11 million.
6. "Live Free or Die Hard," $7.3 million.
7. "License to Wed," $3.8 million.
8. "1408," $2.6 million.
9. "Evan Almighty," $2.5 million.
10. "Knocked Up," $2.3 million.