GAINESVILLE, Fla.—In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, fans traveling to Saturday’s Florida-Tennessee game are encouraged to plan ahead due to heavy traffic, high waters and gas shortages around the Gainesville area.
Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 16. Heavy congestion is expected on the roads and fans are encouraged to leave early to avoid delays.
Fans should also be aware that there could continue to be a gas shortage in the Gainesville area due to the impact of Hurricane Irma over the past week and to plan ahead accordingly.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) announced on Thursday that I-75 will remain open as flood waters have been receding on the Santa Fe River. (OFFICIAL RELEASE)
Fans should still be aware that the FDOT and FHP have closed bridges on U.S. 27 and U.S. 41 (detour info here). Once these highways are safe, they will reopen to motorists.
The 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards were held last night (Sept. 13) at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The ceremony is the centerpiece of Nashville’s Americana Fest (Sept. 12–17), which features almost 300 artists performing at different venues throughout Nashville.
Chris Lane will embark on his headlining Take Back Home Tour in October, with 18 stops along the way, including Baltimore, Atlantic City, Indianapolis and more. Special guests include Bailey Bryan, Dylan Schneider and Morgan Wallen at select tour stops.
“I couldn’t be more excited for my first headlining tour,” says Chris. “I’ve learned so much as a performer on the road with Florida Georgia Line this summer, so to be able to showcase that and take more music to the fans is a dream come true. With Bailey, Dylan and Morgan along for the ride, it’s going to be an incredible couple of months.”
Chris Lane’s Take Back Home Tour
Oct. 25
Baltimore, MD
Red Head Live +*
Oct. 27
Stroudsburg, PA +*
Oct. 28
Sayreville, NJ
Starland Ballbroom *
Nov. 2
Patchogue, NY
The Emporium *
Nov. 3
Atlantic City, NJ
Resorts Atlantic City *
Nov. 4
Uncasville, CT
Mohegan Sun *
Nov. 9
Columbia, MO +*
Nov. 10
Minneapolis, MN +*
Nov. 16
Baton Rouge, LA +^
Nov. 17
Tallahassee, FL
College Town Parking Lot +^
Nov. 25
Indianapolis, IN +^
Nov. 30
Lexington, KY +^
December 1
Kansas City, MO +^
Dec. 2
Rogers, AR
John Q Hammons Convention Center
Dec. 7
Columbus, OH +^
Dec. 8
Rootstown, OH +^
Dec. 9
Rosemont, IL +^
Dec. 15
Wichita, KS +^
+ with Bailey Bryan
^ with Dylan Schneider
* with Morgan Wallen
Today (Sept. 14) on Instagram, Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott revealed the sexes of her upcoming twins . . . [insert the drum roll].
Hillary will be having two more girls, saying: “We are overjoyed to be having TWO more girls! Eisele is so excited to have her very own living baby dolls. Chris and I are beyond grateful that we get to raise a household of little ladies, and can’t wait to watch and help them grow into kind, independent, and confident women! Now we wait with great expectation (and many prayers) for them to get here safely!”
The twin girls are due in February and will join older sister Eisele, 4, in the household.
After seven years with Jennifer Nettles as the emcee, CMA Country Christmas will turn to Reba McEntire to host its eight annual showcase.
The two-hour holiday music celebration, which will be taped at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House on Nov. 14, will air on ABC on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. CT.
“Christmas is such a special time,” said Reba. “It reminds me of growing up in Oklahoma and singing carols with my family. I’m just tickled to join a group of some of my best country buddies onstage to celebrate the holiday season. This is where my love of music began.”
The lineup of artists performing at the shindig will be announced soon. Tickets for the taping of CMA Country Christmas go on sale Oct. 6.
To get you in the holiday spirit, Reba will release a rebooted version of her 2016 album, My Kind of Christmas, on Oct. 13 on Nash Icon Records. The newly packaged album follows last year’s limited release and includes new collaborations with Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Lauren Daigle, Darius Rucker, and Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood.
My Kind of Christmas Track List
“Winter Wonderland”
“The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)
“Mary, Did You Know?” (with Vince Gill and Amy Grant)
“Jingle Bell Rock”
“O Holy Night”
“Hard Candy Christmas”
“Back to God” (with Lauren Daigle) (Acoustic Version)
“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
“O Come All Ye Faithful”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” (with Darius Rucker)
“White Christmas”
“Jingle Bells”
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
“Silent Night” (with Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood)
Maren Morris stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night (Sept. 14) to perform “Rich,” a tune from her 2016 major-label debut album, Hero.
The track, which was co-penned by Maren, Jessie Jo Dillon and Laura Veltz, features the singer waxing lyrical about falling for the same guy over and over, only to suffer the inevitable outcome of heartbreak each time.
Watch Maren’s performance below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=375ZXKtiDog
video courtesy The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report about the helicopter crash on Sept. 8 that killed Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry, 50, and helicopter pilot James Evan Robinson.
A handful of takeaways:
According to the chief flight instructor for the operator, the purpose of the flight was to provide an orientation/pleasure flight to the passenger who was scheduled to perform in a concert on the airport later that evening.
Several minutes after takeoff, the pilot reported over the airport UNICOM frequency that he was unable to control engine rpm with throttle inputs.
The pilot elected to stop the engine and perform an autorotation, which was a familiar procedure he had performed numerous times in the past.
During the descent, the rotor rpm decayed to the point where the instructor could see the individual rotor blades. The helicopter descended from view prior to reaching the runway threshold and the sounds of impact were heard.
The cockpit was significantly deformed by impact damage, and the tailboom was separated at the fuselage.
Montgomery Gentry was formed in 1999. The duo found success with songs such as “My Town,” “If You Ever Stopped Loving Me,” “Something to Be Proud Of,” “Gone,” and “Back When I Knew It All.”
Troy is survived by his wife, Angie Gentry, and two daughters, Taylor and Kaylee.
You can read the full NTSB report below.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On September 8, 2017, about 1300 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer 269C-1 helicopter, N204HF, operated by Helicopter Flight Services, was substantially damaged during collision with terrain while performing a forced landing to Runway 01 at Flying W Airport (N14), Medford, New Jersey. The commercial pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to the chief flight instructor for the operator, the purpose of the flight was to provide an orientation/pleasure flight to the passenger who was scheduled to perform in a concert on the airport later that evening.
Several minutes after takeoff, the pilot reported over the airport UNICOM frequency that he was unable to control engine rpm with throttle inputs. He reported he could “roll” the twist-grip, but that there was no corresponding change in engine rpm when he did so.
The company flight instructor and another certificated helicopter flight instructor were monitoring the frequency and engaged the pilot in conversation about potential courses of action to affect the subsequent landing. Options discussed included a shallow approach to a run-on landing, or a power-off, autorotational descent to landing. The pilot elected to stop the engine and perform an autorotation, which was a familiar procedure he had performed numerous times in the past. Prior to entering the autorotation, the pilot was advised to initiate the maneuver over the runway.
The company flight instructor reported that the helicopter entered the autorotation about 950 ft above ground level, and that the helicopter was quiet during its descent “because the engine was off.” During the descent, the rotor rpm decayed to the point where the instructor could see the individual rotor blades. The helicopter descended from view prior to reaching the runway threshold and the sounds of impact were heard. Both instructors reported that a high-pitched “whine” could be heard from the helicopter during the latter portion of the descent.
A video forwarded by local police showed the helicopter south of the runway as it entered what appeared to be a descent profile consistent with an autorotation. Toward the end of the video, the descent profile became more vertical and the rate of descent increased before the helicopter descended out of view. No sound could be heard from the helicopter.
The pilot held commercial and instructor pilot certificates, each with ratings for rotorcraft-helicopter and instrument helicopter. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate was issued April 12, 2017.
Excerpts of the pilot’s logbook revealed he had logged 480.9 total hours of flight experience. It was estimated that he had accrued over 300 total hours of flight experience in the accident helicopter make and model. The last entry logged was for 1.2 hours in the accident helicopter on the day of the accident.
The company training records indicated the pilot had received the training required by the operator for employment as a flight instructor, and his last airman competency check was completed satisfactorily on April 19, 2017 in the accident helicopter.
According to FAA records, the helicopter was manufactured in 2000 and had accrued approximately 7,900 total aircraft hours. Its most recent 100-hour inspection was completed August 17, 2017 at 7,884 total aircraft hours.
At 1254, the weather recorded at South Jersey Regional Airport (VAY), 2 miles west of N14, included clear skies and wind from 260° at 13 knots gusting to 18 knots. The temperature was 21°C, and the dew point was 9°C. The altimeter setting was 30.13 inches of mercury.
The wreckage was examined at the accident site, and all major components were accounted for at the scene. The initial ground scar was about 10 ft prior to the main wreckage, which was about 220 ft prior to the threshold of runway 01 and aligned with the runway.
The cockpit was significantly deformed by impact damage, and the tailboom was separated at the fuselage. The engine and main transmission remained mounted in the airframe, and all main rotor blades were secured in their respective grips, which remained attached to the main rotor head and mast. The pitch-change link for the yellow rotor blade was fractured, with fracture signatures consistent with overstress. Each of the three blades was bent significantly at its respective blade root. The blades showed little to no damage along their respective spans toward the blade tips, which was consistent with low rotor rpm at ground contact.
Flight control continuity was established from the individual flight controls, through breaks, to the main rotor head and tail rotor. Drivetrain continuity was also established to the main and tail rotors.
The engine was rotated by hand at the cooling fan, and continuity was confirmed from the powertrain through the valvetrain, to the accessory section. Compression was confirmed on all cylinders using the thumb method. The magnetos were removed, actuated with a drill, and spark was produced at all terminal leads. Borescope examination of each cylinder revealed signatures consistent with normal wear, with no anomalies noted.
The carburetor was separated from the engine, displayed impact damage, and was found near the initial ground scar. The throttle and mixture arms were actuated by hand and moved smoothly through their respective ranges. The filter screen was removed, and was absent of debris. The carburetor contained fuel which appeared absent of water and debris.
The collective control and jackshaft assembly as well as the associated throttle cable, push-pull tube, and bellcrank assemblies were retained for further examination at the NTSB Materials Laboratory.
photo courtesy of Kristin Barlowe/Shore Fire Media
The 2017 Americana Honors & Awards were held tonight (Sept. 13) at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The ceremony is the centerpiece of Nashville’s Americana Fest (Sept. 12–17), which features almost 300 artists performing at different venues throughout Nashville.
During tonight’s ceremony, Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Van Morrison (Songwriter), Iris Dement (Trailblazer), Robert Cray (Performance), Hi Rhythm Section (Instrumentalist), Graham Nash (Free Speech) and Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg (Executives).
Additional awards were presented in the following categories:
Album of the Year
American Band – Drive-By Truckers (Produced by David Barbe) A Sailor’s Guide to Earth – Sturgill Simpson (Produced by Sturgill Simpson) WINNER Close Ties – Rodney Crowell (Produced by Kim Buie and Jordan Lehning) Freedom Highway – Rhiannon Giddens (Produced David Bither, Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell) The Navigator – Hurray for the Riff Raff (Produced by Paul Butler)
Artist of the Year
Jason Isbell John Prine WINNER
Lori McKenna
Margo Price
Sturgill Simpson
Duo/Group of the Year
Billy Bragg & Joe Henry
Drive-By Truckers Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives WINNER
The Lumineers
Emerging Artist of the Year
Aaron Lee Tasjan Amanda Shires WINNER
Brent Cobb
Sam Outlaw
Song of the Year
“All Around You” – Sturgill Simpson (Written by Sturgill Simpson) “It Ain’t Over Yet” – Rodney Crowell (feat. Rosanne Cash & John Paul White) (Written by Rodney Crowell) WINNER
“To Be Without You” – Ryan Adams (Written by Ryan Adams)
“Wreck You” – Lori McKenna (Written by Lori McKenna and Felix McTeigue)
Instrumentalist of the Year
Spencer Cullum Jr.
Jen Gunderman
Courtney Hartman Charlie Sexton WINNER
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 23rd-ranked Tennessee football team continued its preparations for Saturday’s game at No. 24/25 Florida on Wednesday at Haslam Field. Head Coach Butch Jones met with members of the media for the final time before the Vols meet the Gators at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
Tennessee and Florida will meet for the 47th time in the series and for the 24th time both teams will be ranked.
The storied rivalry has featured some thrilling games in recent memory with Tennessee erasing a 21-0 deficit to win 38-28 in Knoxville in 2016 and Florida squeaking out one-point victories in 2015 (28-27) and 2014 (10-9).
Only 27 players on Team 121 made the last trip to “The Swamp” in 2015, and Jones expects to lean on the leadership of those upperclassmen in the last few days leading up to the Vols’ first road test of 2017.
“I think you have to be able to start fast, particularly when you go on the road,” Jones said. “It’s going to be a great college football environment. Of our 70 individuals boarding the plane going to Gainesville, only 27 have ever even been in the swamp. That’s going to be a great challenge in and of itself. You have to rely on your older players, but it comes down to the discipline to execute for 60 minutes. If it takes more than 60 minutes, it takes more than 60 minutes. I think it takes a mature football team, particularly when you go on the road in this great rivalry.”
Jones added four new coaches to his staff (associate head coach/defensive line Brady Hoke, special teams coordinator/defensive backs Charlton Warren, quarterbacks coach Mike Canales and wide receivers coach Kevin Beard) this offseason and promoted tight ends coach Larry Scott to offensive coordinator and quality control analyst Walt Wells to offensive line coach. The staff has jelled well, and Jones has confidence in his assistants heading to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after bonding in the spring and overcoming a 14-point deficit in the season-opening 42-41 double overtime victory over Georgia Tech in a neutral site game held in the Yellow Jackets hometown of Atlanta.
“When you assemble a staff, you want teachers, you want high-character people,” Jones said. “I look at it with having three boys of my own, and one that is now really a part of the coaching staff, would I want my son to be coached by them? I ask that question all the time, and the answer is I would want all our coaches to coach my son.
“I think it was really defined if you look at the end of the game against Georgia Tech. We had four minutes and 50 seconds, we had to drive the length of the field with a new play caller, a new quarterback, and a lot of new wide receivers, and we were able to score a touchdown. Obviously, then (we won) in double overtime. You find out a lot about your staff right from the get-go.”
The Vols will head to Gainesville on Friday afternoon.
Head Coach Butch Jones Quotes
(On the evaluation of coaching staff through preseason and two games)“Really, it started back in January. It all starts with cohesiveness. This has been a group that’s extremely close. We spend more time together as a staff than we do with our families right now, so you have to enjoy getting up and coming into work everyday. You get to know them personally just because of the inordinate amount of time that you spend. I think the ability to communicate, the ability to work together (is strong). There’s no egos. They’ll do anything for the good of the program. I think it was really defined if you look at the end of the game against Georgia Tech. We had four minutes and 50 seconds, we had to drive the length of the field with a new play caller, a new quarterback, and a lot of new wide receivers, and we were able to score a touchdown. Obviously, then (we won) in double overtime. You find out a lot about your staff right from the get-go. Again, they work exceptionally well together and everything is about the good of the program. I think they’re relentless in recruiting and they’re good people. When you assemble a staff, you want teachers, you want high-character people. I look at it with having three boys of my own, and one that is now really a part of the coaching staff, would I want my son to be coached by them? I ask that question all the time, and the answer is I would want all our coaches to coach my son. That’s why I’m excited that he (Alex Jones) is involved to the degree that he’s involved in with our football program, because he’s learning the intricacies of how to coach the right way.”
(On the importance of starting fast on the road)
“I think you have to be able to start fast, particularly when you go on the road. It’s going to be a great college football environment. Of our 70 individuals boarding the plane going to Gainesville, only 27 have ever even been in the swamp. That’s going to be a great challenge in and of itself. You have to rely on your older players, but it comes down to the discipline to execute for 60 minutes. If it takes more than 60 minutes, it takes more than 60 minutes. I think it takes a mature football team, particularly when you go on the road in this great rivalry.”
(On what a quarterback needs to do to win in his first road start)
“Poise. Poise, discipline, a calmness, leadership capabilities. You’re the leader of the offense when you go out there on the field. You’re the leader on the football field. I just think an overall calmness, poise, consistency with everything that you do, and the confidence level. We always say really if you look at the evolution of great quarterbacks, the great quarterbacks have the ability to lead their team from behind on the road to a victory. Whether it’s a one-minute drive or whether it’s in the fourth quarter, and that’s really the evolution. If you look at all the great players that have played this game whether it’s at the collegiate level or the professional level that’s what separates them is being able to go on the road and win and perform in a hostile environment against a very, very competitive football team.”
(On the trust of players and coaches to treat Florida week like any other week)
“I think it is the trust I have in this team, the trust I have in the players, the trust I have in our overall program. Obviously, this is a big game, it’s the next game, it’s a SEC opponent, obviously it’s a rivalry game. But our players also have great respect for Florida, and they understand the challenge that presents itself Saturday at 3:30in Gainesville. But they’re also very, very excited, so I think it’s a respect. I think it’s a respect in the game and I think it’s a respect for what they represent, which is a brand bigger than any one individual and that’s the University of Tennessee brand.”
(On the challenges of playing at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium)
“Well it is a great challenge when you go on the road and play there. Those are what we call uncontrollable factors. You have to prepare your mind in terms of the humidity. You have to do your job throughout the course of the week in terms of preparation. Its more than just practice, it’s the metal preparation. It’s your body preparation. Your body is your asset. It’s about how you are hydrating throughout the course of the week. It’s about your nutrition levels. It’s about getting the eight to ten hours of sleep you need to be a pinnacle athlete, to be able to perform at a very high level. Those are all things that we talk about. That’s where the maturity of football players and the maturity of football teams really takeover. It’s a challenge from the communicative standpoint as well, with the crowd noise. That’s also what makes it exciting to go on the road. In terms of game planning, we game plan like all of their players are playing. They are going to do what they do and we are going to do what we do. It really comes down to the discipline to execute for a long period of time. It’s about having the ability to focus on each and every snap. It’s about the ability to play with great effort and having great team comradery. It’s not just about offense and defense, but it’s about special teams as well. They have some great weapons on special teams that really let them control their special teams, as do we. So its going to be a battle of wills on special teams as well.”
(On injury updates and his confidence in his kickers despite not attempting a field goal yet)
“Well first of all, Austin Smith, Baylen Buchanan and Eli Wolf will all be out. Everyone else, we expect to play. Evan Berry right now is probably questionable. We will see if he is able to do some things today. Everyone else should be available barring anything else happens towards the tail end of the week. Yes, we have tried to put our kickers in a lot of situations, stressful situations and a lot of end of the game situations. A lot of those kicks Aaron Medley had against Georgia Tech, even though they were extra points, they were significant. There was a lot of stress with those kicks. It’s not just about our kickers it’s also about our protection. WE will continue to compete. We chart everything in practice. It’s ongoing. I could absolutely see us playing two kickers at some point. I think both have done a great job. I think that with where we are at right now, their skill sets complement each other.”
FDOT is currently monitoring the water levels at the Santa Fe River and the integrity of the bridges over the river at US 441 and I-75. They anticipate closing both bridges between 3 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET today (Wednesday) due to the rising waters. As a result, traffic will be diverted off the interstate north and south.
The preliminary detour is expected to be the following:
Northbound traffic will be encouraged to exit at SW Williston Rd (SR 121) and be routed to US 301 North. There will be a hard closure at the City of Alachua exit (US441) where all northbound traffic will be routed south to NW 53rd Ave. NW 53rd Ave will turn into one way eastbound traffic to NE Waldo Rd and directed north to US 301. Traffic at N. Main and NE 15ht St and NW 53rd Ave will only be allowed to turn east.
Southbound traffic will be diverted off I-75 in Columbia County and directed to US 19.
