Maren Morris, Lindsay Ell and Tenille Townes will perform a free concert at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works on June 3.
Celebrating a night of female empowerment, the Pandora Live event is a call to action for more female representation in the country genre. Maren’s performance will be broadcast live on SiriusXM’s The Highway channel at 10 p.m. ET.
Pandora listeners can RSVP for the free event.
photos: Maren Morris by Curtis Hilbun; Lindsay Ell & Tenille Townes by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Alabama is celebrating a half-century of making music with their current 50th Anniversary Tour.
The tour kicked off in January with an announced run of 27 shows. Now the iconic band is extending their tour with 28 new dates, including stops in Indianapolis, Baltimore, Birmingham and more. The Charlie Daniels Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Beach Boys (date to be announced), John Anderson, Restless Heart, Exile, John Michael Montgomery, Scotty McCreery and Charlie Major will join Alabama on select dates.
Alabama’s Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook formed the band in 1969 when the cousins journeyed to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to play at a bar called The Bowery.
“We are very fortunate to have made many friends over the last 50 years,” says Teddy. “On this tour, we decided to ask some of them to come along and play with us. We have the best of the best. It’s a lot of fun to hang out and watch our special guests every night.”
“Randy, Teddy and I have been overwhelmed by the support the fans have given us and especially me since my Parkinson’s diagnosis,” says Jeff. “The only reason for this is because we want our music to live on, and we love our fans. Thank you so much.”
“Teddy, Jeff and I thank God every day when we walk onstage and share our songs and voices that He blessed us with,” adds Randy.
Tickets for the new dates are on sale now.
Alabama 50th Anniversary Tour (*new dates)
photo courtesy of Absolute Publicity
Luke Combs is the first country artist in history whose first five singles have reached No. 1.
With the release of “Beer Never Broke My Heart” on May 7, Luke will try to go six for six.
Luke co-penned the new tune with Jonathan Singleton and Randy Montana while on the road for his Don’t Tempt Me With a Good Time Tour.
“We wrote ‘Beer Never Broke My Heart’ on the tour bus, actually, on my first headlining tour—the Don’t Tempt Me with a Good Time Tour,” says Luke. “I had my buddies Jonathan Singleton and Randy Montana out on the bus with me, and I had had this title on my phone for a long time and really wanted to save it for some guys that I thought would kind of understand and grasp what I was looking for out of the song. I went to soundcheck and I got back, and they had kind of been hammering away on this thing . . . we buttoned it up, and it’s just been a fan-favorite ever since then, and I’m just really stoked that it’s finally out and everyone’s getting to hear it.”
Luke is currently headlining his Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour.
Listen to “Beer Never Broke My Heart” below.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Garth Brooks is bringing his Stadium Tour to Albertsons Stadium at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, on July 20. This will be the first time Garth plays Boise in more than 20 years, and it’s the first major concert event at Albertsons Stadium.
Garth’s Stadium Tour, which features in-the-round staging, has already visited St. Louis, Glendale, Gainesville and Minneapolis, with upcoming sold-out shows in Pittsburgh (May 18), Denver (June 8) and Eugene (June 29).
Tickets for the show in Boise go on sale on May 17 at 10 a.m. MT for $94.95.
photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com
After a morning visit to The Howard Stern Show on May 6 to chat and perform “Girl,” Maren Morris took her talents to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform “A Song for Everything.”
Maren penned the new tune with Jimmy Robbins and Laura Veltz, the same songwriting trio behind “I Could Use a Love Song.”
“A Song for Everything” is featured on Maren’s recent No. 1 album, Girl, which dropped in March.
Watch Maren perform “A Song for Everything” on The Late Show.
photo by Arroyo/O\’Connor, AFF-USA.com
California native Devin Dawson is giving back to his home state in a big way.
Devin donated $12,463—the proceeds from his six-date California Smoke Tour—to the California Fire Foundation, aiding them in providing emotional and financial assistance to firefighters, their families and the communities they protect. The cause is near and dear to Devin’s heart as his grandfather was a California fireman for 25 years, while his uncle served for 35 years.
“Having the opportunity to get back and give back to my home state in this way was very meaningful to me,” said Devin. “Big props to my Dark Horse Family members who, from all over the country, donated VIP experiences and tickets to folks affected by the wildfires so they could come to my show for free. It was awesome to support a shared cause, have a fun night and forget our troubles for a couple hours.”
In 2018, California wildfires caused more than $3.5 billion in damages and claimed more than 100 lives, including six firefighters.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Sammy Kershaw was honored by his hometown of Kaplan, La., on May 6.
Not only did Mayor Michael Kloesel proclaimed it Sammy Kershaw Day, but he also changed the name of 2nd Street to Sammy Kershaw Drive.
“It’s just a total surprise,” Sammy says. “I never expected it, but to me it’s got to be one of the biggest honors your hometown can do for you. For your hometown to do something like that for you, it doesn’t happen too often.”
The “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” singer is currently on the road with Aaron Tippin and Collin Raye on the trio’s Roots & Boots Tour.
photo courtesy of Absolute Publicity
The nomination for the 2019 CMT Music Awards have been revealed for its star-studded show on June 5.
Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert and Zac Brown Band lead the pack with three nominations apiece across the eight categories. Artists with two nominations include Brandi Carlile, Carrie Underwood, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Julia Michaels, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Sugarland, and Taylor Swift.
Returning for the second consecutive year, Little Big Town will serve as hosts for the evening when the 2019 CMT Music Awards air live from Nashville next month.
Fan voting begins now and continues until 11:59 p.m. ET on June 4.
Check out the nominations below.
Video of the Year: Best video of the year; awarded to the artist and the video director. Final nominees announced the morning of the show, with final voting held on social media during the live telecast.
Male Video of the Year: Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist
Female Video of the Year: Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist
Duo of the Year: Best video by a duo; awarded to the artists
Group Video of the Year: Best video by a group; awarded to the artists
Breakthrough Video of the Year: Best video from an artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist (male, female or group/duo)
Collaborative Video of the Year: Best video from a collaboration; awarded to the artists
CMT Performance of the Year: Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Kentucky native Chris Stapleton donated $5,000 to the Johnson County Special Olympics via his Outlaw State of Kind Fund, according to WYMT Mountain News.
Representatives of the Special Olympics noted that the donation came as a surprise from Chris, who grew up in Johnson County and attended Johnson Central High School. The donation is being earmarked to purchase new uniforms for area athletes competing in the Special Olympics.
“We really don’t know where or how he got the initiative to send us money,” said Johnson County Special Olympics local coordinator Brenda Dyer, according to WYMT. “It’s kind of a surprise right now. We’ve got lots and lots of love and kudos for Chris, a good homeboy who takes care of his people back at home. No matter what the activity or group, he’s always willing to lend a hand.”
Founded in 2016, the Outlaw State of Kind is Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s charitable fund that supports a variety of causes that are close to their hearts.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
George Strait is keeping busy in 2019 . . . and 2020 is shaping up to be the same.
In addition to releasing his No. 1 album, Honky Tonk Time Machine, in March, George has taken the stage for a handful of performances, including the Houston Rodeo and ACM Awards. Additional tour dates this year include stops in Boston, Las Vegas, Fort Worth and more.
The King of Country is getting a jump on 2020 by revealing newly announced stops in Wichita, Kan. (Jan. 24, Intrust Bank Arena) and Kansas City, Mo. (Jan. 25, Sprint Center). Tickets for the new dates go on sale on May 17.
George Strait Tour Dates
photo by Curtis Hilbun, JpegFoto.com
