More than 20 country stars united for a PSA to combat imposters on social media. Spearheaded by Blake Shelton—and posted on his YouTube page—the PSA includes appearances by Keith Urban, Lindsay Ell, Hunter Hayes, Kelly Clarkson, Maren Morris, Rascal Flatts, Dustin Lynch, Kip Moore, Jon Pardi, Jake Owen, Travis Denning, Brett Young, Maggie Rose, Trace Adkins, Old Dominion, Cale Dodds, Cole Swindell and Michael Ray.
“Hey y’all, I’m Blake Shelton and I want to talk to you about something that’s important: imposters on social media,” says Blake. “So we want to make sure you know how to spot the signs of the fake accounts. Like the ones called ‘Blakey Shelton’—that’s bullshit.”
The gist of the PSA: make sure to look for the blue verified check mark next to the name of the country star on their social media accounts and never give out any of your private information. These guys and gals don’t want—or need—you to send them any money.
With the WNBA a little more than a third of the way through the regular season, several former Lady Vols are making an impact for their respective teams. Earlier today Diamond DeShields logged her first double-double in the WNBA, leading Chicago in scoring and rebounding with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Atlanta.
Candace Parker is pacing the first-place Los Angeles Sparks in scoring. Parker is coming off a season-high performance on Tuesday, logging 29 points against fellow LVFL Glory Johnson and the Wings at home.
Johnson had nine points and five rebounds in the contest and will be back in action at 10 p.m. ET tonight as the Wings travel to Las Vegas (NBA TV), hitting the court for their third game in four days. Shekinna Stricklen is also in action this evening, hosting the Indiana Fever at 7 p.m. ET (NBA TV, NBCSB).
In WNBA action on Thursday, Mercedes Russell and the Storm will host Parker and the Sparks at 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN 2).
On Friday, DeShields will hit the court at 7:30 p.m. ET in New York (League Pass, MSG+, The U Too), and Parker and Jaime Nared will square off when the Aces host the Sparks at 10:30 p.m. (League Pass, SPECSN).
DeShields has started 13 games for the Sky and is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 13.1 ppg. Chicago is currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 5-9.
Isabelle Harrison
Las Vegas Aces | F/C | 3rd Season
Harrison remains on the Aces’ roster but is taking a personal leave of absence due to medical reasons, per an April 28 report from the franchise.
Glory Johnson
Dallas Wings | F | 6th Season
Johnson returned to action on June 8 after missing five games due to an injury suffered in the Wings’ season-opener. She has appeared in eight games this season, starting two, and is averaging 7.9 ppg and 5.0 rpg. Dallas is currently residing in fifth place in the Western Conference with a record of 6-7.
Nared has appeared in all 14 games for the Aces, averaging 11.0 mpg, 3.1 ppg and 1.4 rpg. She posted a season-high 10 points on June 8 against Atlanta.
Candace Parker
Los Angeles Sparks | F/C | 11th Season
Parker is the leading scorer for the Sparks through 14 games, averaging 16.7 ppg. After missing three games due to injury early in the season, she’s appeared in every game since, averaging 28.5 mpg. Her field goal percentage of 54.0 ranks tenth-best in the WNBA. With a record of 11-3, Los Angeles currently owns the best record in the league.
Originally drafted 22nd overall by New York, Russell saw action in two games for the Liberty before signing with Seattle. Through a total of ten WNBA appearances she is averaging 8.1 mpg, 1.8 rpg and 1.7 ppg. She pulled down a season-high eight rebounds against Las Vegas on May 31. Seattle is currently 10-5, putting the Storm in third place in the Western Conference.
Shekinna Stricklen
Connecticut Sun | G/F | 7th Season
Stricklen has seen action in all 14 games for the Sun, starting 11 and averaging 18.2 mpg and 6.2 ppg. The Sun is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 8-6.
Growing up in Georgia, Jason Aldean was inspired by the sounds of everyone from the Allman Brothers and Alabama to Ronnie Milsap and Otis Redding. For his eighth studio album, Rearview Town, which dropped on April 13, the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year says he put some of those influences to use by revisiting past projects from his favorite artists.
“Honestly, I probably go back and listen to more old albums than I do new albums,” says Jason to NCD. “I have my go-to records, and I’ll go back and listen to Alabama’s Mountain Music or the Allman Brothers’ Brothers and Sisters album . . . or Hank Jr.’s Major Moves and John Anderson’s I Just Came Home to Count the Memories. I love going back and listening to all that stuff because I think a lot of times music kinda comes full circle, too. A lot of stuff that was being used in the ’70s and ’80s, it kinda [went] away in the ’90s, and all of the sudden in the 2000s, it’s new and fresh again, so you start hearing that instrumentation coming back around.”
Jason will gear up for more dates of his High Noon Neon Tour with Luke Combs and Lauren Alaina on July 13. The 30-plus-date tour kicked off in May with stops in Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago and more.
High Noon Neon Tour
July 13
Bethel, NY
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
July 14
Bristow, VA
Jiffy Lube Live
July 15
Saratoga Springs, NY
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 21
Atlanta, GA
SunTrust Park
July 25
Tuscaloosa, AL
Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
July 26
Orange Beach, AL
The Amphitheater at the Wharf
July 27
Brandon, MS
Brandon Amphitheater
July 28
Dallas, TX
Starplex Pavilion
Aug. 10
Darien Center, NY
Darien Lake Amphitheater
Aug. 11
New York, NY
Madison Square Garden
Aug. 17
Charlotte, NC
PNC Music Pavilion
Aug. 18
Raleigh, NC
Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Aug. 19
Virginia Beach, VA
Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
Aug. 23
Cleveland, OH
Blossom Music Center
Aug. 24
Pittsburgh, PA
KeyBank Pavilion
Aug. 25
Philadelphia, PA
BB&T Pavilion
Sept. 7
Nashville, TN
Bridgestone Arena
Sept. 13
Cincinnati, OH
Riverbend Music Center
Sept. 14
Clarkston, MI
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sept. 15
Toronto, ON
Budweiser Stage
Sept. 20
San Diego, CA
Mattress Firm Amphitheatre
Sept. 22
San Bernardino, CA
Glen Helen Amphitheater
Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook got a sneak peek of their new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum on June 26.
Opening on June 29, Little Big Town: The Power of Four features unique items that illuminate the personalities of the four group members. The exhibit also focuses on the narrative that brought the four members together to form contemporary country music’s first two-woman, two-man vocal group.
“Having an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is something we would never have thought to dream of for ourselves,” says Karen. “It is beyond a dream come true. We are honored to be a part of country music, and are so thankful to all our fans, the music community here in Nashville and the museum for this privilege.”
Highlights of the exhibition include:
neon signs used for the cover photo of the album Pain Killer
instruments used in underwater scenes in the music video for “Pain Killer”
BCBG Max Azria linen sundress with crochet detail and Golden Goose boots worn by Karen when she married Jimi in a private ceremony in Nashville in 2006
clothes fitted with LED tube lighting worn by Little Big Town for their appearance at the 2014 CMA Awards
Gretsch Electromatic with silver-sparkle top played by Kimberly in performances of “Your Side of the Bed”
childhood memorabilia, including Karen’s high school cheerleading uniform, Jimi’s trumpet, Kimberly’s recital costume and a drawing by Phillip
a handmade Afghan ceramic pitcher, given to Phillip by an American soldier after Little Big Town performed at a small military base in isolated Tarinkot, Afghanistan
Little Big Town: The Power of Four runs from June 29, 2018, to June 9, 2019.
Keith Urban took his talents to New York City on June 26 for a dynamic performance of his current single, “Coming Home,” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Keith tiptoed through hallowed ground when he decided to record and release, “Coming Home,” a tune that features a riff from one of country music’s most sacred songs, Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.” Even though Keith reached out to Merle’s widow, Theresa Haggard, and son, Ben, to secure their blessings, he was still nervous about releasing the tune.
“I was very much [nervous] . . . I didn’t want to just shove [the riff] into a song,” said Keith. “A lot of times when you hear a sample [from another song], it’s just kind of shoved into the middle of a song as it is, and I wanted something a little bit more artistic with it. J.R. Rotem, who co-wrote ‘Coming Home’ and co-produced it, he took the sample from the original recording of ‘Mama Tried,’ and then manipulated it a bit and wrote these chords around it. When he had done that and I sat in the studio and listened to the music, I just . . . I wrote that chorus out, almost stream of conscious. But, it was really that lick from Merle that made me miss home, think about home, growing up in Australia—all of it just came flooding back and it was that riff that triggered it, so it was a really important part of the song for me.”
“Coming Home,” which was co-penned by Keith, J.R. Rotem, Julia Michaels, Nicolle Galyon and Merle Haggard, is currently No. 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 14 weeks. The tune also features vocals from Julia, who appeared via video during Keith’s Tonight Show performance.
Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill are among the more than 30 members of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Walk of Fame Class of 2019.
Dolly, who earned her star first star on the Walk of Fame in 1984, will be inducted with Linda and Emmylou for their collaborative work. Dolly, Linda and Emmylou teamed up in 1987 to form a super-group and record the award-winning album, Trio. The threesome followed up that collection with 1999’s Trio II. The two albums combined to sell more than five million copies and win three Grammys.
“I am so excited that I have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” said Dolly. “Well, not just me, but with two of my best friends, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, for the Trio. Now, they tell me that I’m the first person this century—the first woman—to have two stars. Of course that’s natural. I like to do things in pairs, if you know what I mean. But I really am exited, so thank you.”
Over the course of her 25-year career, Faith Hill has sold more than 30 million records and won five Grammy Awards. In addition to her success on the country charts, Faith scored crossover appeal with many of her hits, including “This Kiss,” “Breathe,” “The Way You Love Me,” “Cry” and “There You’ll Be.”
Dates have not yet been scheduled for the induction ceremonies.
Walk of Fame Class of 2019
Motion Pictures
Alan Arkin, Kristen Bell, Daniel Craig, Robert De Niro, Guillermo del Toro, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Tyler Perry, Gena Rowlands
Television Alvin and the Chipmunks, Candice Bergen, Guy Fieri, Terrence Howard, Stacy Keach, Sid and Marty Krofft, Lucy Liu, Mandy Moore, Dianne Wiest, Julia Child (posthumous)
Recording Michael Bublé, Cypress Hill, The Lettermen, Faith Hill, Tommy Mottola, P!nk, Teddy Riley, Trio: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, Jackie Wilson (posthumous)
Live Theater/Performance Idina Menzel, Cedric “The Entertainer,” Judith Light, Paul Sorvino
Keith Urban kicked off his Graffiti Graffiti U World Tour with opener Kelsea Ballerini on June 15. The 60-plus-date trek will make stops in Nashville, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto, Vancouver and more, before capping in Dallas on Nov. 3.
After making four tour stops in St. Louis (June 15), Indianapolis (June 16), Clarkston, MI., (June 22) and Pittsburgh (June 23), we’ve got a good idea what to expect from Keith on the tour.
By the Numbers: Graffiti U World Tour
Total Shows: 62
Cities: 58
Buses & Trailers: 22
Crew: 93
Guitars Used: 30+
Songs per Show by Keith: 20+
Hours Keith Performs: 2+
Graffiti U World Tour
June 27
Saratoga Springs, NY
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 29
Toronto, ON
Budweiser Stage
June 30
Toronto, ON
Budweiser Stage
July 5
Gilford, NH
Bank of NH Pavilion
July 8
Canandaigua, NY
CMAC
July 13
Salt Lake City, UT
USANA Amphitheatre
July 14
Denver, CO
Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 15
Albuquerque, NM
Isleta Amphitheater
July 20
Mountain View, CA
Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 21
Lake Tahoe, NV
Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
July 22
Lake Tahoe, NV
Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
July 27
Raleigh, NC
Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
July 28
Charlotte, NC
PNC Music Pavilion
July 29
Alpharetta, GA
Verizon Amphitheatre
Aug. 3
Philadelphia, PA
BB&T Pavilion
Aug. 4
Mansfield, MA
Xfinity Center
Aug. 5
Bangor, ME
Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Aug. 10
Cleveland, OH
Blossom Music Center
Aug. 11
Bristow, VA
Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 12
Virginia Beach, VA
Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley dropped their self-titled debut album in 2008. Since that time, the trio has released six additional albums, headlined multiple tours and won numerous Grammys, CMA Awards, ACM Awards and more.
That’s Lady A’s work life in a nutshell.
As far as the family lives of Hillary, Dave and Charles? That’s another nutshell.
When Dave welcomed daughter Lillie Renee Haywood on December 22, 2017, and Hillary gave birth to twins Betsy Mack and Emory JoAnn Tyrrell on January 29, 2018, it brought the total number of Little Antebellums to six, joining Eisele Tyrrell, 4, Cash Haywood, 3, and Ward Kelley, 2.
As Charles told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, finding the “balance” between work and family is always a challenge, but it’s something the longtime trio members—and friends—have excelled at over the years.
“[The biggest challenge] is balance between family and then certain opportunities that come up that sometimes you have to say no to because you’ve gotta take time to have family time and kind of reset the compass, you know?,” says Charles. “If there’s a challenge, it’s balance, you know, and then the travel, obviously, is like—you don’t get paid to be up onstage, you get paid to travel. That’s like all it is. I would do that for free. I love being up onstage. You know, we’ve been really lucky. I mean, we really have found that balance, and it’s just kind of come naturally over the years. With each year that goes by, I think we understand each other and when to push and pull each other.”
Lady Antebellum will find more balance on July 19 as they join forces with Darius Rucker for a co-headlining tour dubbed the Summer Plays On Tour. The 30-date tour will make stops in Seattle, San Diego, Chicago and more. Russell Dickerson will serve as the opening act.
Summer Plays On Tour
7/19/18 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage
7/20/18 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
7/21/18 Darien Center, NY* Darien Lake Amphitheater
7/26/18 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
7/27/18 Gilford, NH Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
7/28/18 Hartford, CT XFINITY Theatre
8/2/18 Columbia, MD** Merriweather Post Pavilion
8/3/18 Holmdel, NJ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
8/4/18 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
8/16/18 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
8/17/18 Sacramento, CA Toyota Amphitheatre
8/19/18 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre
8/23/18 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
8/24/18 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheater
8/25/18 San Diego, CA Mattress Firm Amphitheatre
9/6/18 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
9/7/18 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
9/8/18 Pittsburgh, PA KeyBank Pavilion
9/13/18 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
9/14/18 Indianapolis, IN Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
9/15/18 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
9/20/18 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
9/21/18 Philadelphia, PA BB&T Pavilion
9/22/18 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
9/27/18 Alpharetta, GA* Verizon Amphitheatre
9/28/18 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
9/29/18 West Palm Beach, FL Coral Sky Amphitheatre.
10/4/18 Raleigh, NC Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
10/5/18 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
10/6/18 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
2016 was a busy year for country Christmas albums as more than 10 stars released holiday projects, including Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Loretta Lynn, Chris Young, Jennifer Nettles, Rascal Flatts and more.
Brett Eldredge added his name to the aforementioned list in October 2016 when he released his debut Christmas album, Glow, a collection of 11 classic holiday tunes, including “Silent Night,” “White Christmas,” “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and more.
Earlier this month, Brett teased Glow 2.0 in a video he posted to his Instagram account.
It turns out, Brett is getting a jump on the competition this year by recently revealing that he has indeed recorded his second Christmas album.
“I don’t even know if it’s called Glow 2.0,” says Brett. “I’m expanding on Glow. The whole idea of recording a Christmas record was something that was always a dream of mine, but recording it in a way where it was the classics, the big-band way. Doing it in New York, recording these songs, sipping on whiskey and living that big-band lifestyle in New York was a dream. And then we did it [with Glow], and I was hoping my fans would accept and see how honest and truthful that is from me . . . I’m not playing some character or anything. This is me. The amount of people that jumped onboard and just loved this for what it was was just incredible. The success of this record, there was no way I was just going to stop it. I want to expand on it, so I went back with the same guys that we made the original Glow record with, and we started recording in New York again. I stayed in New York and lived there for several days again and just got in that environment and the music turned out magic again. Just hearing those horns and the strings and being there, just feeling that—it’s a recording process and a feeling of making music that I’ve never really had. It’s just incredible. So Glow 2.0, whatever you want to call it—I haven’t named it yet. That’s just what I wrote on the spur of the moment, but it kinda had a ring to it, so you never know, but it’s gonna be coming. Get ready for Christmas.”
It’s no secret that Dan Smyers of Dan + Shay is passionate about animal rescue. Dan and wife Abby have teamed with Nashville’s Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue for numerous fundraisers and volunteer efforts over the years. In fact, the couple has three rescue dogs—Chief, Joy and Ghost—that have their own Instagram account.
As Dan jokingly told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, when Dan + Shay join Rascal Flatts’ Back to Us Tour for more than 25 dates this summer, he may actually get some sleep in his tour bunk without the pooches in his bed.
“[Abby and I] just got our third dog, and all of the dogs sleep in the bed, too, so I look forward to getting out on the road and sleeping in the bunk—I’ve got a little more room [laughing],” says Dan. “We’ve got three rescue [dogs]. We’re not even totally sure what [breeds] they are . . . Animal rescue is super close to our hearts and it takes up a lot of our time. It can be emotional, it can be tough sometimes, but to help an animal find his forever home is a cool thing to do. Having a platform with music and having super passionate fans who help out, too, it’s cool when there’s a fundraiser and fans gear up and get behind it. It’s cool to be able to do something good with what we’ve been given and blessed with.”
