The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville will host a Roger Miller tribute concert, King of the Road: Celebrating The Music of Roger Miller, on March 22.
The all-star lineup includes Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Toby Keith, Trisha Yearwood, Jamey Johnson, Wynonna, Rodney Crowell, Chris Janson, Lee Ann Womack, Larry Gatlin, Cake and The War and Treaty. Buddy Miller will serve as bandleader.
“I’m thrilled to see all these great artists coming out to celebrate my ol’ pal Roger Miller,” said Willie Nelson. “He was certainly one of a kind, his songs will live forever.”
Tickets go on sale on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. CT. A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that aids female survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction.
Over the course of his 30-plus-year career, Roger Miller earned 11 Grammys and scored No. 1 hits with “Dang Me” and “King of the Road. Miller, who died in 1992 at age 56, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995.
Kelsea Ballerini teamed with Halsey to tape the 70th episode of CMT Crossroads at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on Oct. 11. The new installment will air on March 25 at 10 p.m. ET.
The cross-genre stars collaborated on each other’s hits, shared stories and more.
While Kelsea, 26, has scored five No. 1 hits on the country charts since dropping her debut album in 2015, Halsey, 25, has earned a handful on No. 1 songs on the pop charts since releasing her 2015 debut album, including “Him & I,” “Eastside” and more.
Watch Kelsea and Halsey perform “Graveyard” from CMT Crossroads. The tune is featured on Halsey’s 2020 album, Manic.
The Country Music Association presented Alan Jackson with the Joe Talbot Award during his Opry at the Ryman performance on Jan. 17.
The Joe Talbot Award recognizes “outstanding leadership and contributions to the preservation and advancement of country music’s values and traditions.” Alan is the fourth artist to receive the award, following Merle Haggard (2016, posthumously), George Jones (2015, posthumously) and Marty Stuart (2007).
“That’s pretty good company there with two of my heroes of all time, George and Merle,” said Alan from the Ryman stage. “I wish I could say something special about what I’m doing, but I just did what I liked, and I loved country music.”
The award was created in 2001 and bestowed posthumously to its namesake, Joe Talbot, a lifetime member of the CMA Board of Directors, who passed away in 2000. Additional winners of the award include Janette Carter (2004) and Louise Scruggs (2006).
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes spoke to the media in his postgame press conference Tuesday after the Vols beat the Ole Miss Rebels at home 73-48. Watch that below.
Vols HC Rick Barnes / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
Tennessee freshman forward John Fulkerson spoke to the media in a group session Tuesday after the Vols beat the Ole Miss Rebels at home 73-48. Watch that below.
Vols F John Fulkerson / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
Tennessee true freshman forward Olivier Nkamhoua spoke to the media in a group session Tuesday after the Vols beat the Ole Miss Rebels at home 73-48. Watch that below.
Vols F Olivier Nkamhoua / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A dominant offensive performance, highlighted by John Fulkerson’s double-double, resulted in a Tennessee 73-48 victory over Ole Miss Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. The win marked Rick Barnes‘ 100th victory as Tennessee’s head coach.
The Vols’ victory elevated the team to 12-6 (4-2 SEC). Ole Miss fell to 9-9 (0-5 SEC).
Fulkerson had a hot hand from the start Tuesday, scoring 16 points alone in the first half–giving him the highest-scoring half of his career. The Kingsport native finished with a career-high 18 points, and 10 rebounds gave him his third career double-double.
Freshman Josiah-Jordan James surpassed his season scoring average and concluded the evening with 11 points and a game-high six assists.
Tennessee was dominant during the first half. Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis called two timeouts to try and squelch UT’s momentum, but the Vols–aided by 11 points off turnovers–maintained a double-digit lead for the final 10 minutes of the half.
The first half closed with Ole Miss scoreless for the final three minutes. After shooting just 23 percent, the Rebels trailed, 42-23, at the break.
LE STREAK IS TIED: Yves Pons lived up to his reputation as one of Tennessee’s elite shot-blockers, finishing with three on the night. Pons has now recorded at least one block in each of the Vols’ first 18 games, marking the longest such streak by a Vol since C.J. Black recorded a block in 18 consecutive games over portions of two seasons in 1998. Pons added six points in the win.
THAT FULKY FLOW: John Fulkerson scored a career-high 18 points and logged his third career double-double Tuesday. During the first 10 minutes of the game, Fulkerson outscored the entire Ole Miss team, as he had 10 points with the Vols holding a 19-9 lead.
WELCOME, UROŠ: Recently granted eligibility by the NCAA, redshirt freshman big man Uros Plavsic received a warm welcome by a crowd of 17,031 in Thompson-Boling Arena. Plavsic netted four points in nearly 11 minutes off the bench in his home debut.
WINNING FOR THE CAUSE: With Tuesday’s win, Tennessee is now 17-5 all-time in NABC Coaches vs. Cancer “Suits & Sneakers” games. That includes an 11-2 record at Thompson-Boling Arena. Dating to 2017, the Vols have won seven straight Suits & Sneakers contests.
UP NEXT: The Vols head to the University of Kansas for a Saturday afternoon tilt with Bill Self’s third-ranked Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. The SEC/Big 12 Challenge showdown tips off at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN. College Gameday will broadcast live from KU’s historic venue Saturday morning.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — University of Tennessee guard Jordan Horston has been named the SEC Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 14 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.5 blocks and a steal last week to help Tennessee move into second place in the SEC Standings. The product of Columbus, Ohio, has started every game but the opener and has been instrumental in the No. 23/25 Lady Vols’ 15-3 overall record and 5-1 SEC start.
Horston led the Lady Vols in scoring with an SEC-high 19 points, helping UT end a five-game series losing streak to Alabama on Monday night with a 65-63 victory. She also pulled down eight rebounds and tallied four assists, a career-best four blocks and a steal.
At Florida last Thursday evening, Horston played a smooth floor game in UT’s 28-point triumph, scoring nine points and tallying five assists, four rebounds, three blocks and a steal in 23 minutes.
Horston now has scored in double figures 11 times, including in eight of the last 10 games. The other two contests, she tallied nine points. She is second in the SEC with a 5.0 assists per game average and is the only freshman among the top 15 in that category.
The award is the first of Horston’s career and the initial award given to a UT rookie this season. Rennia Davis is the only Tennessee player this season to garner conference honors with her SEC Player of the Week nod on Nov. 12.
Luke Combs will be the musical guest on an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live.
Luke will take the stage on Feb. 1, as NFL player JJ Watt tackles the hosting duties.
In the past five years, a handful of country stars have performed on SNL, including Blake Shelton (January 2015), Zac Brown Band (March 2015), Chris Stapleton (January 2016, January 2018), Maren Morris (December 2016), Margo Price (April 2016), Sturgill Simpson (January 2017, January 2018), Kacey Musgraves (May 2018) and Thomas Rhett (March 2019).
The guys from Old Dominion—Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Geoff Sprung, Brad Tursi and Whit Sellers—will try to score their ninth No. 1 single with the release of “Some People Do.”
Penned by Thomas Rhett, Jesse Frasure, Shane McAnally and Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey, “Some People Do,” which is featured on OD’s 2019 self-titled album, will impact country radio on March 2.
“It’s a breaking-point song,” says Matthew. “I don’t care who you are, if you’re in this business . . . you wind up hurting people that you love. Whether that be with your travel or maybe you are drinking too much. So, the want to change is there. Inherently we’re all good people and wanna be good people, and it’s about that want to be the best person for the people that you love.”
