Little Big Town Talks New Single “Summer Fever,” Touring With Miranda Lambert, the Possibility of a Future Christmas Album & More

Little Big Town Talks New Single “Summer Fever,” Touring With Miranda Lambert, the Possibility of a Future Christmas Album & More

 Jim Casey talks with Little Big Town about:

  • hosting the CMT Music Awards
  • the standout performance from the CMT Awards, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini and Dan + Shay
  • winning Group Video of the Year at the CMT Awards for “When Someone Stops Loving You”
  • the chart success of past singles
  • releasing new single, “Summer Fever,” which Karen Fairchild co-penned
  • working with producers Shane McAnally and Jesse Frasure for the first time
  • Shane’s only fault, according to Phillip
  • shooting the video for “Summer Fever” along Florida’s 30-A Highway
  • working on a new album
  • the possibility of a future Christmas album
  • hitting the road with Miranda Lambert on the Bandwagon Tour in July
  • headlining a show at Red Rocks Amphitheater on Sept. 20

Show Participants:

  • Karen Fairchild of LBT
  • Kimberly Schlapman of LBT
  • Jimi Westbrook of LBT
  • Phillip Sweet of LBT
  • Jim Casey, NCD Editor in Chief

Photo Gallery: CMA Fest’s Nissan Stadium Night 1 With Jason Aldean, Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Darius Rucker & More

Photo Gallery: CMA Fest’s Nissan Stadium Night 1 With Jason Aldean, Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Darius Rucker & More

More than 50,000 fans packed Nissan Stadium for Night 1 of CMA Fest on June 7 to see performances by the Oak Ridge Boys, Charles Esten and friends, Kane Brown with Lauren Alaina, Carly Pearce, Dan + Shay, Darius Rucker, Brothers Osborne and headliner Jason Aldean.

Check out the photos below, courtesy of photographer Jason Simanek.

Check out the photos below, courtesy of Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com.

Text content

main photos by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Holdsclaw, DeMoss Entering WBHOF

Holdsclaw, DeMoss Entering WBHOF

Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame will induct the Class of 2018 this weekend, and four-time Lady Vol All-American Chamique Holdsclaw and former UT assistant coach Mickie DeMoss are among seven women being welcomed.

Members of the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) also are being recognized as “Trailblazers of the Game.” The WBL was the first professional women’s basketball league in the United States, playing three seasons from 1978 to 1981. Many notable Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees participated in the WBL, including Carol Blazejowski, Cindy Brogdon, Nancy Dunkle, Peggie Gillom-Granderson, Lusia Harris Stewart, Tara Heiss, Nancy Lieberman, Muffet McGraw, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Pearl Moore, Inge Nissen, Patricia Roberts, Rosie Walker and Holly Warlick. Brogdon, Roberts and Warlick starred for Tennessee, and Warlick, of course, is beginning her seventh season as the Lady Vols’ head coach.

Other 2018 inductees include Ceal Barry (coach), Rose Marie Battaglia (veteran, contributor), Chris Dailey (contributor – assistant coach), Katie Smith (player) and Tina Thompson (player).

The induction ceremony will take place Saturday night at the Tennessee Theatre. Contact the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame for ticket information.

The 2018 Induction will mark the 20th anniversary of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, which held its grand opening and inaugural induction in 1999.

With the induction of the Class of 2018, the Hall of Fame has honored 164 inductees, with Holdsclaw and DeMoss becoming the 11th and 12th with Tennessee ties entering the hall. In addition to Brogdon (2002), Roberts (2000) and Warlick (2001), UT also has seen head coach Pat Summitt (1999), athletics director Gloria Ray (2010) and student-athletes Cindy Noble Hauserman (2000), Daedra Charles-Furlow (2007), Bridgette Gordon (2007), Jill Rankin Schneider (2008) and Nikki McCray (2012) enshrined.

2018 LADY VOL INDUCTEES

CHAMIQUE HOLDSCLAW (Player)
• Holdsclaw is the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Tennessee in men’s or women’s basketball
• She is also the all-time leading scorer in SEC women’s basketball
• Holdsclaw guided the Lady Vols to three NCAA National Championships (1996, 1997, 1998)
• She was a four-time Kodak/WBCA All-American and two-time Naismith Player of the Year
• Holdsclaw was named the Honda-Broderick Award winner in 1998 and was named the James E. Sullivan award winner for top amateur athlete in the U.S. in 1998
• She was named WNBA Rookie of the Year in 1999 and was a WNBA All-Star six times
• Holdsclaw was the WNBA Scoring Champion in 2002 and was the WNBA Rebounding Champion in 2002 and 2003
• She helped guide USA Basketball to a gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
• Holdsclaw was a WBCA All-American in high school in 1995

MICKIE DEMOSS (Contributor – Assistant Coach)
• DeMoss’ overall record as an assistant coach is 848-209
• As an assistant coach, she helped guide Tennessee to six NCAA National Championships including 12 NCAA Final Four appearances
• DeMoss also helped guide Tennessee to 11 SEC regular season championships and 10 SEC tournament championships.
• She has helped develop 11 Lady Vols into WBCA All-Americans and three Naismith Players of the Year
• DeMoss also helped develop seven Lady Vols into U.S. Olympians
• She was named the WBCA NCAA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year in 2000
• In 1998, DeMoss was named the Women’s Basketball Journal Top Assistant Coach in the Country
• She was an assistant coach for the Indiana Fever for two years, helping guide them to the 2012 WNBA Championship
• DeMoss has worked as an assistant coach under four Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame coaches (Pat Summitt, Joe Ciampi, Gail Goestenkors and Lin Dunn)

 

UT Athletics

Darius Rucker & Friends Raise More Than $400,000 for St. Jude Through 2018 Concert & Golf Tourney

Darius Rucker & Friends Raise More Than $400,000 for St. Jude Through 2018 Concert & Golf Tourney

Darius Rucker gets by with a little help from his friends.

With his ninth annual Darius & Friends Benefit Concert on June 4 at the Ryman Auditorium and golf tourney on June 5, Darius surpassed $1.6 million raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

This year’s concert, auction and golf tourney raised $404,000 for St. Jude, breaking all previous yearly records.

“As a parent, I can’t imagine the emotional toll hearing your child has cancer takes, not to mention the financial stress,” said Darius. “The support families with a child facing life-threating illness receive from St. Jude is just incredible. I’m proud to support St. Jude and I’m so grateful to all our friends who came out and donated their time to be on the show.”

Patrick Davis, Edwin McCain, A.J. McClean of the Backstreet Boys, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Lauren Alaina, Bobby Bones, Ashley McBryde and Rachel Wammack performed with Darius for the more than 2,400 fans in attendance at the Ryman.

photo by Steve Lowry/EB Media

Cam Joins Sam Smith’s “The Thrill of It All Tour” for More Than 20 Summer Dates

Cam Joins Sam Smith’s “The Thrill of It All Tour” for More Than 20 Summer Dates

Cam had so much fun joining Sam Smith onstage during his four sold-out shows at London’s O2 Arena in April that she is extending the party.

Cam will join Sam’s The Trill of It All Tour for more than 20 dates this summer. Kicking off on June 18 in Toronto, Sam and Cam will make stops in Montreal, Detroit, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Nashville, Houston, Miami, Mexico City and more.

“I could not be more excited to go on the road with Sam,” says Cam. “He is one of the greatest singers of our generation. To be associated with his show—that voice, those songs, that heart—it’s a tremendous compliment, and I can’t wait to share my music with his audience every night.”

Cam, Sam and Tyler Johnson co-penned “Palace,” which is featured on Sam’s recent album, The Thrill of It All. Cam also sang backing vocals on the tune.

The Thrill of It All Tour

June 18 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
June 19 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
June 22 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
June 23 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
June 26 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
June 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
June 29 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
June 30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
July 3 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
July 4 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
July 6 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
July 7 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
July 10 – Duluth, GA – Infinite Energy Cener
July 11 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
July 13 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
July 14 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena
July 17 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
July 18 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
July 20 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
July 21 – Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
July 25 – Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico – Arena Monterrey
July 27 – Mexico City, Mexico – Palacio De Los Deportes

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Get Lost in Kane Brown’s Uptempo New Single, “Lose It” [Listen]

Get Lost in Kane Brown’s Uptempo New Single, “Lose It” [Listen]

After scoring back-to-back No. 1 hits with “What Ifs” and “Heaven” from his self-titled debut album, Kane Brown will ship a new single, “Lose It,” to country radio on June 25.

“Lose It” is possibly the lead single from Kane’s sophomore album, as it is not featured on his 2016 self-titled debut album or the 2017 deluxe version.

“‘Lose It’ is a song that I wrote—it was my first time writing after I already released my album,” says Kane. “I fell in love with this song, it was really exciting, it was really uptempo. It’s one of my favorite songs, so I hope you enjoy it.”

On June 6, Kane and Lauren Alaina took home the CMT Music Awards trophy for Collaborative Video of the Year for “What Ifs.” Kane will hit the road for a number of summer fairs and festivals before joining Chris Young’s Losing Sleep World Tour in September.

Check out “Lose It” below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Walker Hayes Issues a Statement on the Death of Newborn Child

Walker Hayes Issues a Statement on the Death of Newborn Child

We’ve got some sad news to report.

Walker Hayes and wife Laney issued a statement via Instagram on June 6 regarding the death of their newborn child, Oakleigh Klover Hayes.

“It is with great sadness that Laney and I share with you the news that our sweet Oakleigh Klover Hayes was born this morning at the hospital and now is safely in heaven. Thank you for honoring our privacy as we grieve.”

A post shared by Walker Hayes (@walkerhayes) on

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Walker, Laney and their family of six children.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

CMT Music Awards: The Winners

CMT Music Awards: The Winners

We’ve got all of your CMT Music Awards winners as they are announced during the show on June 6 from Bridgestone Arena.

CMT Performance of the Year

  • Backstreet Boys & Florida Georgia Line — “Everybody” (CMT Crossroads) WINNER
  • Andra Day, Common, Little Big Town, Lee Ann Womack, Danielle Bradbery — “Stand Up For Something” (CMT Artists of the Year 2017)
  • Charles Kelley, Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker, Derek Trucks — “Midnight Rider” (CMT Music Awards 2017)
  • Earth Wind & Fire & Lady Antebellum — “September” (CMT Crossroads)
  • Jason Aldean, Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Keith Urban — “I Won’t Back Down” (CMT Artists of the Year 2017)
  • Keith Urban & Carrie Underwood — “The Fighter” (CMT Music Awards 2017)

Collaborative Video of the Year

  • Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line — “Meant To Be”
  • Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris — “The Champion”
  • Cole Swindell feat. Dierks Bentley — “Flatliner”
  • Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton — “Say Something
  • Kane Brown feat. Lauren Alaina — “What Ifs” WINNER
  • Thomas Rhett feat. Maren Morris — “Craving You”

Breakthrough Video of the Year

  • Carly Pearce — “Every Little Thing” WINNER
  • Danielle Bradbery — “Sway”
  • Devin Dawson — “All On Me”
  • Lanco — “Greatest Love Story”
  • Russell Dickerson — “Yours”
  • Walker Hayes — “You Broke Up With Me”

Duo Video of the Year

  • Big & Rich — “California”
  • Brothers Osborne — “It Ain’t My Fault”
  • Dan + Shay — “Tequila” WINNER
  • Florida Georgia Line — “Smooth”
  • High Valley — “She’s With Me”
  • Tim McGraw & Faith Hill — “Speak To A Girl”

Male Video Of The Year

  • Dustin Lynch — “Small Town Boy”
  • Jason Aldean — “You Make It Easy”
  • Blake Shelton — “I’ll Name The Dogs” WINNER
  • Jon Pardi — “Heartache On The Dance Floor”
  • Luke Bryan — “Light It Up”
  • Thomas Rhett — “Marry Me”

Group Video of the Year

  • Lady Antebellum — “You Look Good”
  • Lanco — “Greatest Love Story”
  • Midland — “Make A Little”
  • Old Dominion — “No Such Thing As A Broken Heart”
  • Little Big Town — “When Someone Stops Loving You” WINNER
  • Rascal Flatts — “Yours If You Want It”
  • Zac Brown Band — “My Old Man”

Female Video of the Year

  • Carly Pearce — “Every Little Thing”
  • Carrie Underwood — “The Champion”
  • Lauren Alaina — “Doin’ Fine”
  • Maren Morris — “I Could Use A Love Song”
  • Miranda Lambert — “Tin Man”
  • Kelsea Ballerini — “Legends”

Video of the Year

  • Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton — “Say Something”
  • Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line — “Meant To Be”
  • Blake Shelton — “I’ll Name The Dogs” WINNER
  • Brett Young — “Mercy”
  • Brothers Osborne — “It Ain’t My Fault”
  • Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris — “The Champion”
  • Dan + Shay — “Tequila”
  • Jason Aldean — “You Make It Easy”
  • Kane Brown feat. Lauren Alaina — “What Ifs”
  • Luke Combs — “When It Rains It Pours”
  • Thomas Rhett — “Marry Me”
  • Kelsea Ballerini — “Legends”

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