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Watch Luke Combs Get a Surprise Invite to Join the Grand Ole Opry

Posted on June 12, 2019

After only his 16th appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, Luke Combs was surprised by John Conlee, Chris Janson and Craig Morgan with an invitation to join the esteemed club during his set on June 11.

The trio of Opry members joined Luke onstage to extend the invitation after the 29-year-old sang his recent No. 1 hit, “She Got the Best of Me.”

“What a career this guy is having,” said John. “The Grand Ole Opry wants you to know we just love you.”

“I love the Grand Ole Opry,” replied Luke.

“How would you like to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry,” said Chris and Craig in unison, as Luke was overcome with emotion.

“Holy cow!” said Luke. “Are you serious? Okay, ’cause if you’re not serious, that’s really mean.”

Luke’s invitation to join the Opry follows recent inductees Kelsea Ballerini (April 2019), Mark Wills (January 2019), Dustin Lynch (September 2018) and Chris Janson (March 2018). Luke will be formally inducted into the Opry later this year.

Watch John, Craig and Chris surprise Luke with the invitation to join the Opry below.

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com; video courtesy of Grand Ole Opry

Vols Sign Transfer Guard Victor Bailey Jr.

Posted on June 11, 2019

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Tuesday that Oregon transfer Victor Bailey Jr. has signed an institutional aid agreement with UT and plans to enroll for the second session of summer school.

Bailey will sit out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer guidelines and will be eligible to compete with the Vols as a junior in 2020-21.

A 6-4 guard from Austin, Texas, Bailey graduated from McNeil High School before spending the last two seasons with the Ducks.

Bailey played in 73 games at Oregon, including eight starts, and averaged 7.0 points in 17.9 minutes per game. As a sophomore last season, he scored in double figures 13 times, while posting a season-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds against UCLA on Jan. 10.

He averaged 7.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game last season while shooting 41 percent from the floor and an impressive 91 percent from the charity stripe. Bailey had 13 games with multiple 3-pointers made and ranked ninth in the Pac-12 in 3-point field-goal percentage (.398).

Bailey was one of two freshmen to play in every game for Oregon in 2017-18. He led the Ducks to a victory over Rider in the first round of the 2018 NIT with a career-high 23 points and seven 3-pointers, which marked the most threes ever made by a Duck at Matthew Knight Arena.

Coming out of high school, Bailey was rated as a top-100 player in the country by the 247Sports Composite rankings and was rated as the fifth-best prospect in the state of Texas. He scored a total of 2,429 points during his high school career and helped lead McNeil to two district titles as well as qualifying for the playoffs all four years. He was named district MVP as a sophomore, junior and senior. He also won the 2017 American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk Championship.

Bailey is the son of 400 meter Olympic medalist Tonja Buford-Bailey and former NFL wide receiver Victor L. Bailey. Tonja attended Illinois. Victor L. attended Missouri and was a second-round draft pick (50th overall selection) in 1993.

UT Athletics

Four Vols Tabbed Preseason All-SEC by Phil Steele

Posted on June 11, 2019

Darrell Taylor – Vols OLB / Credit: UT Athletics

Taylor Named Fourth-Team Preseason All-American

Led by rising redshirt senior defensive end Darrell Taylor, four Tennessee Volunteer football student-athletes collected preseason honors from Phil Steele.

Taylor, who broke out with an eight-sack, 11.0 TFL campaign in 2018, was named first-team preseason All-SEC as well as a fourth-team preseason All-American.

In addition to Taylor’s honors, seniors Marquez Callaway (fourth-team wide receiver, fourth-team punt returner) and Nigel Warrior (third-team defensive back) as well as sophomore Bryce Thompson (third-team defensive back) were selected as preseason All-SEC.

Last season, Taylor emerged as a leader on Tennessee’s defense after several standout performances. The Waverly, Va. native had three games with three or more TFLs. His two games with three or more sacks were tied for most in the nation by any player.

Warrior and Thompson also had solid seasons in Tennessee’s secondary.

Thompson finished the 2018 season with the highest grade of any true freshman cornerback in the nation, according to PFF College. The Irmo, S.C. native’s three interceptions ranked tied for third in the SEC and first among league freshmen, while his 10 passes defended ranked tied for ninth and first among newcomers.

Warrior finished the season as second on the team in total tackles (64) and first in unassisted stops (41).

On the offensive side of the ball, Callaway had his strongest season yet in orange and white. A starter in all 12 games, Callaway led the Vols with 37 catches and 592 receiving yards (16.0 ypc).

As Tennessee’s punt returner, his 11.9-yard punt return average ranked third in the SEC and No. 13 in the nation at season’s end.

Tribute Shirt in Honor of Granger Smith’s Late Son to Benefit Texas Hospital

Posted on June 11, 2019

Granger Smith and wife Amber are honoring their late son, River Kelly Smith, with a new T-shirt that benefits the Dell Children’s Medical Center.

River, 3, was cared for by the staff at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Central Texas after a tragic accident that ultimately took his life on June 6.

The River Smith Tribute Shirt, which is on sale now for $21.99, features an excavator adorned with “Riv.” River’s favorite activity was watching excavators scoop dirt. The shirt is available in red, River’s favorite color. 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Dell Children’s Medical Center.

The River Smith Tribute Shirt is now on sale.

100% of the proceeds will go to Dell Childrens Medical Center in honor of River Kelly Smith. River was Granger and Amber Smith’s youngest son who tragically passed away on June 6, 2019.

GET ONE HERE: https://t.co/E5EVM3FgME pic.twitter.com/hsAf2CX5vV

— Yee Yee Apparel (@YeeYeeApparel) June 10, 2019

photos courtesy of Granger Smith/Yee Yee Apparel

Kelsea Ballerini Scores 5th No. 1 Single With “Miss Me More”

Posted on June 11, 2019

Kelsea Ballerini is once again in familiar territory.

The Tennessee native scored her fifth career No. 1 single as “Miss Me More” ascended to the top spot on the Mediabase chart, following previous No. 1 singles “Love Me Like You Mean It,” “Dibs,” “Peter Pan” and “Legends.”

“Miss Me More,” which was penned by Kelsea, David Hodges and Forest Glen Whitehead, is the third single from Kelsea’s 2017 sophomore album, Unapologetically.

“Whether it’s a partner, friend, colleague, situation or chapter of life, sometimes we lose a piece of ourselves to someone,” says Kelsea. “This song is all about choosing to spend our energy in a way that lets us be the best version of ourselves for the right people—when they come along. I’m so proud that this song and message got the megaphone of country radio. Thank you so much for this number one.”

With the new chart-topper, Kelsea is the first solo female artist to reach No. 1 on the country charts in more than 15 months. The last to do it? Kelsea in February 2018 with “Legends.”

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Helps More Than 60 Dogs Find Forever Homes at CMA Fest

Posted on June 11, 2019

Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation helped 61 dogs find forever homes during its fourth annual CMA Fest Adoption Drive on June 6–9. Since its inception in 2016, the Adoption Drive has collaborated with the Nashville Humane Society to help more than 210 shelter dogs find homes.

To get the Adoption Drive kicked off on June 6, more than 1,300 animals lovers—including Miranda, mom Bev, Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers and wife Abby—took part in the one-mile Mutt March through downtime Nashville, which helped raise funds and awareness for shelter pet adoption.

Bev Lambert, Miranda Lambert, Dan & Abby Smyers: photo by Jamie Wright

“To the uninitiated, it probably sounded like dogs barking,” said Miranda. “But to me, knowing the pure joy that comes with owning a rescue dog—or eight—it was music to my ears. We were all marching on behalf of MuttNation to raise awareness for shelter pet adoption and in support of animal rescues across the country—and because it’s fun and it’s our passion”

Miranda and Bev started the MuttNation Foundation in 2009, an organization with the mission of ending animal suffering and homelessness on every front. The foundation has successfully raised millions of dollars to aid organizations, government institutions and entities that build animal shelters for better care and increased pet adoption.

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Florida Georgia Line Plans to “Mix It Up, Keep It Fresh, Keep It Fun” for Upcoming Headlining Tour

Posted on June 11, 2019

Florida Georgia Line has headlined a handful of monster-sized tours over the last half-decade, including Here’s to the Good Times Tour (2013–14), Anything Goes Tour (2015), Dig Your Roots Tour (2016) and Smooth Tour (2017).

After more than 220 headlining dates over the course of the aforementioned tours, FGL’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley have continued to pack arenas with a mixed bag of openers—such as Thomas Rhett, Dustin Lynch, Nelly and the Backstreet Boys—special guests, pyrotechnics and more. As FGL kicks off its 36-date Can’t Say I Ain’t Country Tour on June 13 with support from Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, Canaan Smith and Hardy, the duo told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown how they plan to keep their fans coming back for more.

“You know, for us, it’s just elevating the production a little bit, changing it up, switching it up, bringing a different feel to the show, and then switching up our set list as well, adding some new music in there,” says Tyler. “Just trying to create an experience that’s different from the last time. We’ve got a lot of amazing fans that show up—some people show up to 10, 20 shows a year—so it makes it fun for us, too. We don’t want to be playing the same exact thing for years on end, so we just like to mix it up, keep it fresh and keep it fun for us and fun for the fans.”

Can’t Say I Ain’t Country Tour

*Hardy
+Canaan Smith

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Randy Houser & Wife Tatiana Welcome Baby Boy, Huckleberry Randolph

Posted on June 11, 2019

Randy Houser and wife Tatiana announced via Instagram that they are the proud parents of a newborn son, Huckleberry “Huck” Randolph Houser.

Huck was born on June 9, weighing 7 lbs., 6 oz.

“He’s handsome, healthy, and happy and we couldn’t be more excited to get him home and start the next chapter of our lives together with him,” said Randy, in part, via Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

My beautiful and brave wife, Tatiana and I are very proud to announce the birth of our little man, Huckleberry Randolph Houser. Huck was born on June 9th, 2019 and weighed in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. He’s handsome, healthy, and happy and we couldn’t be more excited to get him home and start the next chapter of our lives together with him.

A post shared by Randy Houser (@randyhouser) on Jun 10, 2019 at 12:23pm PDT

Randy and Tatiana were married in 2016. Randy has a son, West, 7, from a previous marriage.

Congrats to the happy couple.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

12 of Our Favorite Photos From CMA Fest’s Nissan Stadium Shows, Including Carrie, Maren, Keith, Miranda & More

Posted on June 10, 2019

Another CMA Fest is in the books . . . thanks goodness we had cameras everywhere.

Check out 12 of our favorite photos from CMA Fest’s Nissan Stadium Shows, including Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood, Chris Janson, Dan + Shay, Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris.

photos: Carrie Underwood by Tammie Arroyo; Maren Morris, Keith Urban & Luke Bryan by Curtis Hilbun

After Immediate Sellout, Garth Brooks Adds Second Stadium Show in Canada

Posted on June 10, 2019

After a 59-minute sellout for his Aug. 10 concert at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Garth Brooks has added an additional show in Regina on Aug. 9.

Tickets for the new show in Regina will go on sale on June 14 at 10 a.m. CT for $94.95. This will be Garth’s first time headlining a concert in Regina, and the first country concert event at Mosaic Stadium.

Garth’s Stadium Tour has already visited St. Louis, Glendale, Gainesville, Minneapolis (x2), Pittsburgh and Denver, with upcoming sold-out shows in Eugene (June 29), Boise (July 19 and 20) and Regina (Aug. 10).

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Watch Luke Combs Get a Surprise Invite to Join the Grand Ole Opry

Vols Sign Transfer Guard Victor Bailey Jr.

Four Vols Tabbed Preseason All-SEC by Phil Steele

Tribute Shirt in Honor of Granger Smith’s Late Son to Benefit Texas Hospital

Kelsea Ballerini Scores 5th No. 1 Single With “Miss Me More”

Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Helps More Than 60 Dogs Find Forever Homes at CMA Fest

Florida Georgia Line Plans to “Mix It Up, Keep It Fresh, Keep It Fun” for Upcoming Headlining Tour

Randy Houser & Wife Tatiana Welcome Baby Boy, Huckleberry Randolph

12 of Our Favorite Photos From CMA Fest’s Nissan Stadium Shows, Including Carrie, Maren, Keith, Miranda & More

After Immediate Sellout, Garth Brooks Adds Second Stadium Show in Canada

Country News

Post Malone, Conan Gray, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll, And Tate McRae Added To 2025 MTV VMAs Performance Lineup

Lana Del Rey Renames Her Upcoming Country Album, ‘Stove,’ Pushes Release Date To 2026

Noah Cyrus Shares “Lessons” She Has Learned From Her Big Sister And “Great Role Model,” Miley

Old Dominion Shares Their Thoughts On New Album, ‘Barbara,’ And “Mystifying” Process Of Songwriting

Miranda Lambert And Chris Stapleton’s New Collaboration, “A Song To Sing,” Has “Dolly And Kenny Vibes”

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