The 45th Annual WIVK Christmas Parade is proudly presented by 865 HVAC, Knoxville’s Heating & Cooling Specialists, in cooperation with the City of Knoxville.
PARADE DAY INFO
Friday, December 1, 2017
7:00 p.m.
Parade Route
The parade will step off onto Church Street and travel towards Gay Street, where the parade emcee will be positioned, announcing each unit as they pass. The parade will turn onto East Jackson Street and will disband in the Old City, past Barley’s.
Rain or shine
PARADE PARTICIPANTS
If you applied to be in the WIVK Christmas Parade, you should’ve received an email from the Parade Committee. If you’ve been accepted into the parade, every member of your unit must complete a release form and return it to WIVK no later than Friday, November 17th at 5:30p.
CMT announced its 2017 Artists of the Year: Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban.
The artists will be honored on Oct. 18 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center in a televised special, CMT Artists of the Year. In addition to paying tribute to the honorees with live performances from other artists—including those from outside the country genre—the 90-minute TV special will also “honor the unwavering spirit of those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and champion the many volunteers contributing to the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts.”
Additional awards, performers and special guests will be announced soon.
This year’s celebration will mark the sixth time Jason and Luke have been honored with a CMT Artist of the Year award since its inception in 2010.
Country music fans are in for a mixed bag of melodious goodness on Friday, Sept. 8 as Dustin Lynch (Current Mood), Kip Moore (Slowheart), Thomas Rhett (Life Changes) and Toby Keith (The Bus Songs) release new albums.
With four big-name country artists dropping new albums on Friday, it beckons the question: Which album will debut at No. 1? While we will have to wait a week for the results, you can vote below on which album you’re most excited about.
Here’s a fun fact: The four previous albums by Dustin (2014’s Where It’s At), Kip (2015’s Wild Ones), Thomas Rhett (2015’s Tangled Up) and Toby (2015’s 35 MPH Town) all reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. One of the four, most likely, will reach No. 1 this time.
Jo Dee Messina has been diagnosed with cancer and has cancelled all tour dates after Oct. 7. Jo Dee will begin treatment this fall.
The news was shared via a post by “Team JDM” on Jo Dee’s website. Included in the post was a lyric video for Jo Dee’s new song, “Here,” which she penned and recorded after learning of her diagnosis.
Read the full statement by Team JDM below. The lyric video for “Here” is also featured below.
“Over the years, Jo Dee has built a close relationship with her fans, so those of us at Team JDM wanted to be the first to let you know that she was recently diagnosed with cancer. It has been a trying summer, but her heart has been filled with gratitude for the many opportunities she has had to see God’s hand at work.
“As many of you know, Jo Dee is a believer who feels blessed to be surrounded by the love of God — a love that has brought her the inner peace. On her lowest of low days, she has been able to see God’s hand at work and feel His love as she continues her walk. It is because of our Father’s love that she has been able to find the beauty in the days that could have brought her the most fear, gratitude in moments that most would call unfair, and companionship during times she might feel the loneliest.
“We don’t know anything specific regarding the treatment plan at this point, but Jo Dee is working closely with a team to explore all options. She has taken the semester off from classes at The King’s University, and her last tour date for the year will be October 7 (all other 2017 dates are being postponed), as she will begin cancer treatment this Fall.
“Jo Dee has been working with producer Seth Mosley, and in a recent writing session wrote the song ‘Here’ with Seth and Mia Fieldes. Seth was deeply moved to see her faith following her diagnosis while the two worked in the studio together. ‘It was one of the most powerful moments I’ve had in my entire studio career,’ Seth told Team JDM. ‘To see Jo Dee singing “there’s no pain, there’s no fear, here” through the cancer and the chaos that she is walking through . . . God is going to use her and her story to intercept people in their pain and remind them that He is near.’
“We will continue to keep fans updated on Jo Dee’s journey and appreciate the outpouring of love, prayers, and support she has already received.”
—Team JDM
In addition to her 1996 breakout hit, “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” Jo Dee has earned six Billboard No. 1 singles over her 20-plus-year career, including “Bye, Bye,” “I’m Alright” and “Bring on the Rain.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jo Dee and her family.
After releasing her critically acclaimed debut album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, in March 2016, Margo surprised her fans by dropping a four-song EP, Weakness, in July 2017.
Today (Sept. 6), the reigning Americana New Artist of the Year announced the Oct. 20 release of her sophomore album, All American Made.
All American Made was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, just down the street from the original Sun Studios where she cut her debut album. The 12-song offering features, among others things, a duet with Willie Nelson on “Learning to Lose” as well as background vocals by The McCrary Sister on “Do Right By Me.” The track “A Little Pain, which you can listen to below, features orchestration by Lester Snell, who was responsible for the string arrangements in the 2000 movie, Shaft.
Shania Twain revealed on Instagram today (Sept. 6) that her new song, “Soldier,” will be featured in an upcoming war drama, Thank You For Your Service.”
According to IMDB, Thank You For Your Service “follows a group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq who struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they’ve left the battlefield. Starring an ensemble cast led by Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, Joe Cole, Amy Schumer, Beulah Koale, Scott Haze, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Brad Beyer, Omar J. Dorsey and Jayson Warner Smith, the drama is based on the bestselling book by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author David Finkel. Jason Hall, who wrote the screenplay of American Sniper, makes his directorial debut with Thank You for Your Service and also serves as its screenwriter.”
Thank You For Your Service is slated to be released on Oct. 27.
Penned by Shania, “Soldier” will be available on Shania’s new 16-track deluxe album, Now, which drops on Sept. 29.
Below, watch the trailer for Thank You For Your Service featuring Shania’s “Soldier.”
The second event included Blake as one of the many musicians, actors and other public figures—including George Strait and Oprah Winfrey—that would be participating in the Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief telethon, a multi-network telethon to benefit those affected by Hurricane Harvey on Sept. 12.
Definitely a big news day for anybody, but shortly after 4 p.m. CT, Blake took to Twitter to let fans know that he had some new music news yet to share.
I know I've had lots of announcements today but I'm about to tell y'all what I'm most excited about!!! #newmusic
By the time Blake delivered the final announcement two and a half hours later, there were hundreds of comments and retweets and thousands of likes on the initial tweet.
The new single, “I’ll Name the Dogs,” will be available on Friday (Sept. 8). Check out Blake’s tweet with the artwork and announcement below.
The Vols moved up three spots in the Coaches Poll to No. 21; Saturday’s Vol Walk will begin at 1:30 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – After consistently flipping the field for the No. 21/25-ranked Tennessee football team in the Vols’ thrilling 42-41 double overtime victory over Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week for the opening weekend of college football by the Augusta Sports Council.
Daniel averaged 47.0 yards per punt on six punts and pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their own 20-yard line five times. He tied his career-best mark with a 70-yard punt in the second quarter that forced Georgia Tech to start a drive at its own 14-yard line after a four yard return.
Daniel is a preseason All-SEC Third Team selection by the media and coaches and is on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List. A former walk-on from Dickson, Tenn., Daniel was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2016.
His career punting average of 45.2 ranks first in Tennessee history and he has put an astounding 42.6 percent of his punts inside the 20 in his career (58 of 136).
Tickets Available for Home Opener at AllVols.com
Tennessee welcomes Indiana State this Saturday for the home opener at Neyland Stadium, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. Tickets for that contest are still available. Fans can purchase tickets on AllVols.com or by calling or visiting the Thompson-Boling Arena box office (1-800-332-VOLS).
Vol Walk Will Begin at 1:30 p.m.on Saturday
Tennessee’s long-standing traditional Vol Walk will begin 2 hours and 30 minutes before kickoff for the season opener and will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Vols Move Up Three Spots in Coaches Poll, Stay Put in AP Poll
Tennessee moved up three spots to No. 21 in the Amway Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. The Vols were ranked No. 24 in the preseason Coaches Poll and are one of six SEC teams ranked this week, joining No. 1 Alabama, No. 12 LSU, No. 13 Auburn, No. 15 Georgia and No. 24 Florida. UT stayed put at No. 25 in the Associated Press poll, which was also released on Tuesday. Other SEC teams in the AP Top 25 are: No. 1 Alabama, No. 12 LSU, No. 13 Auburn, No. 15 Georgia and No. 22 Florida.
ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC will team up for a multi-network telethon to benefit those affected by Hurricane Harvey on Sept. 12.
The telethon—Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief—will feature appearances from Blake Shelton, George Clooney, Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Matt Lauer, Matthew McConaughey, Dennis Quaid, Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and more.
The hour-long telethon will be staged live from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, Times Square in New York and the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET., as well as streamed internationally via Facebook and Twitter.
George Strait will conclude the telethon by performing live from his Hurricane Harvey benefit concert at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio. Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen will join George onstage for the concert benefiting the Rebuild Texas Fund.
Proceeds from Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief will support United Way of Greater Houston, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Direct Relief, Feeding Texas and The Mayor’s Fund for Hurricane Harvey Relief (administered by the Greater Houston Community Fund) through the Hand in Hand Hurricane Relief Fund managed by Comic Relief Inc.
With four big-name country artists dropping new albums on Friday, it beckons the question: Which album will debut at No. 1? While we will have to wait a week for the results, you can vote below on which album you’re most excited about.
![Margo Price Announces New Album, “All American Made” [+ Listen to New Track, “A Little Pain”]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2017/09/06095436/Margo-Price.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
All American Made Track List![Shania Twain’s New Song, “Soldier,” Featured in Upcoming Movie, “Thank You for Your Service” [Watch Trailer]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2017/09/06091049/Shania-Twain.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
