Singer/songwriter and Grammy Award winner, Lori McKenna made her late night television debut Monday night (Feb. 27) when she performed her solo-penned No. 1 hit, “Humble and Kind” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
“Humble and Kind,” made a No. 1 hit by Tim McGraw, became Tim’s 28th No. 1 song on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. “I think as a song in this day and age, certainly in the times that we live in, it needs to be heard,” Tim told Nash Country Daily. “Lori [McKenna] did a beautiful job with it. She’s one of my favorite songwriters for sure.”
“I could’ve just put this song out myself and a certain amount of people would have heard it, which would have been great,” Lori says about the hit. “But the fact that [Tim] can sing it and have so many people hear it is amazing. It’s like I wrote this little letter, and he showed it to the world. That’s a pretty remarkable thing to have happen as a songwriter.”
Lori is nominated for two awards—Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year [“Humble and Kind”]—at this year’s ACM Awards [April 2] and recently took home Best Country Song [“Humble and Kind”] at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for the second consecutive year following her 2016 win for Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” making her the first songwriter to win back-to-back awards in the category since Shania Twain in 1999-2000.
Maren Morris has announced the release of her third single, “I Could Use A Love Song,” from her award-winning debut album, Hero.
The tune, which will hit radio on March 13, is Maren’s own version of a love song about needing a love song to get her through the bad times after unsuccessful relationships have made her jaded.
“I could use a love song / That takes me back, just like that / When it comes on / To a time when I wouldn’t roll my eyes / At a guy and a girl / Who make it work in a world / That for me so far just seems to go so wrong / Yeah I could use, I could use a love song,” she sings in the chorus.”
Penned by Maren, Jimmy Robbins and Laura Jeanne Veltz, “I Could Use a Love Song” is the follow-up to Maren’s Top 15 hit “’80s Mercedes” and Top 5 debut single, “My Church.”
Martina McBride was all business Tuesday night (Feb. 28) when she appeared on the The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, joining John Mellencamp on his single, “Grandview,” from his upcoming album, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies.
The “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” singer—decked out in a black-and-gold miniskirt, sky-high heels, hoop earrings and tousled hair—went toe to toe with the legendary rocker, making her entrance midway through the song.
Check out their performance below.
Soon after the performance was over, Martina hightailed it out of New York, making it home in time to catch herself on the tube. A post on Instagram revealed the Kansas native relaxing in front of her television, just as the show began.
An earlier post on Instagram showed Martina with John backstage with a caption that read: “Well that was fun! Thank you @johnmellencamp and @fallontonight for having me. To be able to sing with someone who has been part of the soundtrack of my life was quite a thrill. #grandview.”
Ol’ Jason Aldean celebrated his 40th birthday yesterday (Feb. 28) with the released of a new video for “Any Ol’ Barstool,” the third single from his seventh studio album, They Don’t Know. The mid-tempo tune, which was written by Josh Thompson and Deric Ruttan, is currently No. 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Directed by Shaun Silva (Eric Church’s “Kill a Word, Luke Bryan’s “Strip It Down”) and filmed at Nashville’s The Dog Tavern, the video follows a relationship in a state of flux that culminates with another misunderstanding. And if you could ask any ol’ barstool in this town, it would tell you that there’s gonna be a whiskey, girls and a fight.
“This is one of those classic country heartache songs where the guy is trying to convince his girl that he is fine, but in reality he’s not,” said Jason in a statement. “So, I wanted the video to relay that classic heartache scenario we’ve all been in, but with a little twist, which Shaun is always good at.”
Over the weekend, Dale Earhhardt Jr. posted a video montage on Facebook that paid tribute to his father, Dale Sr., one of the most accomplished drivers in NASCAR history. The montage was set to Zac Brown Band’s new single, “My Old Man,” which is currently No. 30 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
February 18 was the 16th anniversary of Dale Sr.’s death, which took place during the Daytona 500 in 2001.
The co-hosts of NASH morning show Ty, Kelly & Chuck—Ty Bentli, Chuck Wicks and Kelly Ford—and the show’s producer, Glenn Johnson, were involved in a serious single-car accident Monday night (Feb. 27) while traveling from Columbus, Miss., to New Orleans, where they were scheduled to be grand marshals in the Mardi Gras parade today (Feb. 28).
(From left) Ty Bentli, Kelly Ford, Chuck Wicks. photo by Tyler Andrews
While driving through a downpour, the car they were traveling in hydroplaned and rolled twice before ending up in a ditch. All four passengers were hospitalized but are recovering. Kelly, Ty and Glenn have been released from the hospital with minor injuries, while Chuck is being held overnight for additional observation.
Kelly posted a photo of the wrecked car on Twitter with the caption: “We are all genuinely feeling lucky to be alive today. Thanks for your prayers, messages and texts. They mean more than you could know.”
Nash Country Daily wishes our co-workers a speedy recovery.
We are all genuinely feeling lucky to be alive today. Thanks for your prayers, messages and texts. They mean more than you could know. ❤ pic.twitter.com/Z8JTPAnxLv
“We’re sorry to report to you that our NASH morning show, Ty, Kelly and Chuck, with producer Glenn Johnson, were involved in a car accident last night, while traveling from an affiliate visit at WKOR-FM in Columbus, MS, to New Orleans, where they were to be Grand Marshalls in the Mardi Gras parade today..
While driving through a torrential rainstorm, their car struck a puddle and hydroplaned, causing it to roll twice and end up in a ditch. They were all hospitalized in Hattiesburg, but they’ve been released, with the exception of Chuck, who was held over for some additional observation. They’re sore for the ordeal, but by all reports, they are fortunately going to be OK.
Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers, and we’ll update you with any developments.”
Newcomer Brooke Eden, who’s new single, “Act Like You Don’t,” was released in February, isn’t acting like she doesn’t have mad love for her brand new puppy, Dolly.
“I love her,” Brooke tells Nash Country Daily.
The Florida native recently became a new mom to the 6-month old Maltese Yorkie Poodle, who weighs in at only 9 lbs., and she couldn’t be more enamored with her furry friend.
“I’m a new puppy mom,” shares Brooke. “She’s a hippie dog. She’s from California. She’s a Morkie Poo. So she’s a glorified mutt—a Maltese Yorkie Poodle. She’s almost 6 months and she’s the sweetest thing. I now know what it feels like to love something so much. I would definitely put her above anything for me.”
A post shared by Brooke Eden (@brookeedenmusic) on
With her first-ever headlining Welcome To The Weekend Tour kicking off Thursday (March 2) in Portland Maine, Brooke will have Dolly join her on the road when she can. But if circumstances prevent traveling with mom, Dolly, who hasn’t met a stranger she doesn’t like, has plenty of people to take care of her while mom’s away.
“Sometimes I’ll leave her home. She has a lot of aunts and uncles in town. She’s really really good with not being needy,” adds Brooke. “I do like to take her out on the road when I can. She’s like my mascot. She’s so social, she loves everyone. She loves me, but I’m not kidding, I was on a plane with a stranger next to me and she crawled up on the stranger’s lap and I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry’ and she’s like, ‘Oh, I love dogs. It’s OK.’ She just loves people.”
The 28-year-old beauty has been sharing adorable moments with Dolly on Instagram and posted a video of her and Dolly having a dance party while her current single, “Act Like You Don’t,” plays on the radio.
“Hometown L O V E: @1031wirk played #ActLikeYouDont today! I listened online from a parking lot in Nashville. Dolly and I had a dance party. It was so many feels. Thanks for always supporting your hometown girl. I’ll always be proud of my roots,” says Brooke in the caption.
It’s been 13 years since Lari White released her last studio album, Green Eyed Soul, in 2004. Busy raising and homeschooling three children, writing songs and producing other projects—including Toby Keith’s White Trash With Money—the Florida native felt like the time was right to put out some new music.
Twenty five years after the start of her career and following a successful Kickstarter campaign to help bring the project to fruition, Lari is back with the release of her double-disc EP, Old Friends, New Loves—a compilation of songs, new and old, from throughout her career.
Recorded at her home studio—dubbed The Holler—the two-disc set features Lari’s soulful vocals picking up right where she left off 13 years ago.
The eight songs on Disc A, Old Friends, are re-recorded reinventions of Lari’s past tunes, including “That’s My Baby,” “Now I Know” and “Lead Me Not.” Old friends Suzy Bogguss and Lee Roy Parnell add their talents on “Wishes” and “Lead Me Not,” respectively.
The seven tunes on Disc B, New Loves, are Lari’s favorite songs that she has penned since her last album. Charlie Worsham, who Lari considers her newest old friend, was tapped to play mandolin on the cut “In God’s Hands.”
Nash Country Daily sat down with the singer/songwriter to talk about the long awaited album, Old Friends, New Loves, and exploring different styles of music.
NCD: This is your first new music in approximately 13 years. Why did you decide now is the time?
Lari White: “You know life. Life happens. I’ve got three kids that I have home-schooled, and I was talking to someone yesterday about how much creative energy it takes to raise kids. I just really, until recently, didn’t feel like I had the time and space to take away from my family. I mean, I’ve been writing songs. I’ve been kind of accumulating songs, and I’ve been working on other people’s records. Fortunately, we have a beautiful studio—The Holler—out at our place, so I’ve produced other artists records and I’ve written songs for other artists, but you know, making your own record, that’s a different animal— it’s like another child. You have to give it lots of attention and you have to go out on the road and let people know about it, and play and promote. My youngest child is 13 and she’s only got one more year of home-schooling before she goes into high school. I don’t know, it felt like that door was opening again in a natural way.”
Tell me about the concept you came up with for Old Friends, New Loves.
Lari: “The way I perform now is just me and a keyboard, or maybe me and a guitar player playing. It’s very intimate. It’s very personal on acoustic. The songs have evolved. I was glad to have the opportunity to kind of present them in their new form, their latest incarnation. That’s what Old Friends was about. It was about those old friends, those old songs that have been my friends for my whole career and bringing in old friends from the music business—fellow artists and songwriters —to come in and be a part of that recording. That’s why Suzy Bogguss came in to sing in on ‘Wishes,’ and Lee Roy Parnell and Delbert McClinton came in to be a part of ‘Lead Me Not.’ The Old Friends part of the project was very much about celebrating the people and the songs that have given me a career in music. But, of course for the last 10 years, I’ve been writing songs that haven’t been recorded or released anywhere. Those are the New Loves. These are some of the new songs that I’ve written and some new styles of music that I’ve explored just on my own in the last 10 years. A little bit of jazz. A little bit of more acoustic rock. There’s a song called ‘Moonshine’ that’s more of like a Fleetwood Mac in Nashville kind of song. It’s kind of an eclectic mix of just the new songs that I’ve written and the various styles of music that I’ve been exploring and kind of playing in the last 10 years.”
You’ve written a lot of songs over the past decade. How did you narrow it down to just seven new ones?
Lari: “That’s a good question. It’s funny, I have played the occasional show here and there over the last 10 years, just going out with my keyboard or playing some songwriters festivals, or I’ve actually done a few house concerts here and there. Which, are really intimate and personal. When you play songs out live, you really get an immediate visceral impression of how the song connects—whether people resonate and relate to that song and which songs people come up and talk to you about after the show. It’s really interesting, they have a life of their own, and I would say most of the songs for the New Loves are songs that people have really loved and responded to when I play out live.”
Do you have a favorite song on the New Loves disc?
Lari: “That’s like picking a favorite child. Kind of hard. I really like ‘Champagne.’ It’s such a departure from anything else that I’ve recorded. I really became a fan of American Songbook—Cole Porter, [George] Gershwin— that style of songwriting and records while I was in New York doing the Johnny Cash musical—Ring of Fire. I kind of tapped into a whole other universe of music and songs in New York. ‘Champagne’ came out of that experience, very much so. I also really love ‘Moonshine.” I’m sending out prayers that some hot young country artist will cut ‘Moonshine.’ I think that could be a great country record, right now.”
“Down So Low” is the only song on the New Loves disc that you didn’t write.
Lari: “That’s right, and that is just because I’m a huge [songwriter] Tracy Nelson fan. I’m a huge fan of that song. I learned that song from Linda Ronstadt, then it was many years later before I came to know Tracy Nelson as the writer and the original artist, and man, talk about a soulful woman. She’s based here in Nashville, and I’ve gotten the privilege of seeing her sing a couple of times. I just think she’s phenomenal. I’ve always loved that song and always felt it was really challenging. It would be a real challenge to tackle and it felt like the time to do it.”
On the Old Friends disc, you re-recorded your old hits in a very different way. Why did you want to arrange them that way?
Lari: “I was actually in the process of recording more faithful to the original versions of my old hits because they weren’t available anywhere. When I first started this project—this was a couple of years ago—my country albums from the ’90s that included, “Lead Me Not,” “That’s My Baby” and “Now I Know,” were not available. The record labels did not have them available on iTunes or Amazon or anywhere—they were out of print. I had a lot of fans reaching out saying, ‘Hey, I gave my copy of your album to my cousin 10 years ago and I really miss it. I cannot find it.’ I actually started recording my hits again, so that I could give my fans new versions of those songs that they loved. It was kind of in the middle of recording Old Friends when the record label released all of my old records again. Now you can get my whole catalog on iTunes and Amazon, which is wonderful because those original recordings were the way people fell in love to them. That kind of freed me up to breathe new life into these songs, which of course they all mean something a little different to me 25 years later.
Old Friends, New Loves Track Listing:
Disc A / Old Friends
1. “Wishes” feat. Suzy Bogguss
2. “That’s My Baby”
3. “Lead Me Not” – Delbert McClinton on background vocals Lee Roy Parnell on slide guitar
4. “Now I Know”
5. “That’s How You Know”
6. “If You Only Knew”
7. “Eden Before The Fall”
8. “Bare”
Disc B / New Loves
1. “Who’s To Blame”
2. “Kisses and Wine”
3. “Maybe It’s Love”
4. “Moonshine”
5. “In God’s Hands” – Charlie Worsham on Mandolin
6. “Down So Low”
7. “Champagne”
“I actually retooled and reconceived Old Friends in the middle of the process because I know as a fan of music, as a fan of records and the songs—the records that helped define my life and my experiences when I was growing up, the particular arrangement and instrumentation, the amount of reverb on the vocals, all of that is part of that original experience of why I fell in love with the song. It wasn’t just the song, it was the record that I fell in love with. As a producer, I really understand the power of that experience. The recording of a song, when that recording becomes a part of your life, it lives some place really special in your mind and in your heart. It’s almost impossible to recreate that faithfully—without losing something. When the original recordings became available again, I was so happy because I worked with some wonderful producers, like Rodney Crowell, and Garth Fundis, and I was happy not to feel the obligation to recreate those recordings. It let me just reinterpret them and kind of reveal what they’ve come to mean in my life now. People still can get the original recordings, but now they have this kind of 25 years later alternate experience that they can tap into as well.”
Your husband, Chuck Cannon, is all over this album. What was his role in it and what did he bring to the project?
Lari: “My goodness. Well, definitely a therapist and coach, you know? It’s great to have someone that you trust musically—to give you really personal feedback.’That’s My Baby,’ I actually started out with a slightly different recording of ‘That’s My Baby,’ because I was trying to recreate the original. When I didn’t have to do that anymore, it opened up all the doors and windows to explore the new incarnation of it, but I had a little bit of a hard time letting go of the originals. Chuck was wonderful in just talking to me and exploring ideas with me to get me to go, ‘Oh, this is what it is now. This is what it can be now.’ Of course, to be able to record that with him, because I wrote it about him, and I wrote it with him, just made it that much more meaningful.”
It’s been 25 years since you signed your first record deal with RCA. How do you think you’ve changed musically, over that time?
Lari: I would say—well I hope that I’ve learned. I love music and I love listening to music. I love exploring different styles of music, so I definitely have a richer pallet to draw from. I have more knowledge about music and more variety in what I listen to and what I love. I think, too, the more you live the more you’re able to give as a singer, and more of yourself. You’re able to give and offer for people to relate to, and identify with.”
What’s next for Lari White?
Lari: “I would really love to make another album. The whole Kickstarter experience was so positive. I would really like to make just a singer/songwriter record that’s very soulful, like old school kind of bare bones rhythm section. Maybe a couple tracks with horns. Just some good soulful songs. I really hope that fans come to my website and jump on my email list, so that I can reach out to them directly, and they can order the collector’s edition copy. Something that I’ve really learned in 10 years, with what’s happened in the shift of how music is heard, is how important it is to be connected to my fans, directly. I mean, social media is great and I have kind of a love/hate relationship with it. It’s not really something that the fans or I control. It’s like you put stuff up and it might get seen or it might not get seen. It just doesn’t belong to you. So, I’m really hoping that my fans will connect with me through my website. I send out free songs from time to time, and I just send out a little blog or email if I’m coming to someones neck of the woods, as I get back out on the road in the fall.”
An introductory program and press conference will take place on Thursday, March 2 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Details on timing are forthcoming.
Feb. 28, 2017
John Currie / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —University of Tennessee-Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport on Tuesday named John Currie as the school’s new vice chancellor and director of athletics. Currie currently serves as the Director of Athletics at Kansas State. He will begin his duties at UT on April 1, 2017.
Currie returns to Knoxville, where he earned his master’s degree and served in various capacities from 1997-2009, including time in external operations, development, marketing and ticket operations. He left UT in 2009 to accept his position at Kansas State.
“We are extremely pleased to announce John as our new vice chancellor and director of athletics,” Davenport said. “This is truly an exciting day for the University of Tennessee and our athletics department. As I said when we began this process, we were looking for the best candidate, and we feel strongly that we have him in John Currie. John exemplifies all the qualities we were seeking in an athletics director. He is a man of high integrity, strong values, a progressive thinker, he fully understands the importance of being compliant in everything we do, and he is a leader who will put the well-being of our student-athletes above everything.
“We would like to thank our internal search committee for all its hard work and dedication to the process. In February, the university hired Turnkey Search, a division of Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, to conduct a nationwide search for a new director of athletics. Turnkey is recognized as the leading executive search firm spanning college and professional sports and worked tenaciously to deliver an amazing result for the university.”
“It is a very exciting time for my family and me as we return to a place that remains very special to us,” Currie said. “We spent 10 years in Knoxville prior to taking the job at K-State, and I appreciate Chancellor Davenport and the University of Tennessee for providing us this special opportunity. As a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I know how much UT athletics means to the people in the state, and I look forward to serving all of the Big Orange Nation, its wonderful coaches, staff and student-athletes, for many years to come. We are excited to return to Rocky Top.”
Currie, who was hired in 2009 by Kansas State, has guided the athletics department through an eight-year period of unprecedented success with athletic, academic and fundraising excellence. K-State is the only university in Kansas and one of just two dozen in the country to operate in the black without any state tax or university tuition dollars or subsidies. Under Currie, K-State Athletics eliminated approximately $3 million in annual state and direct university funding of intercollegiate athletics.
When Currie took the reins at K-State, he and his staff were faced with a major financial deficit, but they turned KSU into one of the NCAA’s most financially solvent programs. Under his leadership K-State has completed $210 million comprehensive facility improvements, all privately funded with zero state tax or university tuition dollars, including the Vanier Family Football Complex, West Stadium Center, Basketball Training Facility, Intercollegiate Rowing Facility, Mike Goss Tennis Stadium and soccer competition/football practice fields.
Currie’s tenure at K-State has been highlighted by academic excellence with all Wildcat programs boasting multi-year APR marks of at least .944, with football, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s cross country and women’s cross country sporting Big 12-leading scores. Approximately, one-half of all 450-plus Wildcat student-athletes achieved a 3.0 GPA or higher this past academic year.
The 45-year-old Currie’s eight-year tenure with K-State has included seven straight bowl games for the football program, Big 12 Championships in football (2012), men’s basketball (2013) and baseball (2013), 47 individual Big 12 and eight NCAA titles in track and field, five men’s basketball NCAA Tournament appearances, three in women’s basketball, four in volleyball and three in baseball. In the past seven years, 137 student-athletes have earned All-American distinction, while Wildcats have won nine NCAA individual titles and 50 Big 12 titles.
The 2012-13 campaign was also one of the most successful in school history as the Wildcats became just the fourth BCS school since 1998 to win league titles in football, men’s basketball and baseball in the same year.
K-State’s fundraising efforts have been completely overhauled under Currie’s leadership, with more than $200 million in cash contributions raised for athletics, more money over that period than it had in the previous 48 years combined. K-State donors stepped up with 27 private gifts in excess of $1 million since fall 2009, while grassroots Ahearn Fund membership reached all 50 states. The department operated with a budget surplus in each of the last seven years, allowing for annual investments and budget growth from $44 million to $73 million. K-State’s $46 million in cash contributions raised in the 2014 fiscal year almost quadrupled the annual total prior to his arrival and was the third-highest nationally that year behind only Texas A&M and Michigan.
Currie and his staff worked closely with then-President Kirk Schulz and the KSU Foundation to secure the largest individual donation in university history, a $60 million gift benefitting various academic and athletic initiatives, while the department reached its $50 million private gifts goal for the new Vanier Family Football Complex in just 13 months.
With the tag line of “Welcome to K-State” symbolizing the goal of providing The Best Fan Experience in the Big 12, K-State’s marketing and fundraising efforts were completely overhauled during Currie’s tenure. K-State supporters have pushed attendance to new heights, while $200 million in total gifts have been raised for K-State Athletics since Currie’s arrival.
New ticket initiatives have led to 42 sellout crowds since 2009 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, including a current streak of 33 straight. The Wildcats have also set new season total and average attendance records in baseball, sold a record number of season tickets for volleyball and baseball and rank among the top 35 nationally in attendance in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball and baseball.
The recipient of the 2013 Bobby Dodd AD Award and a 2013 Under Armour AD of the Year, Currie served as chair of the Big 12 ADs in 2013-14 and is a member of the NCAA Division I Administrative Cabinet. He was one of only two intercollegiate ADs named to Sports Business Journal’s 2011 prestigious Forty Under 40 list of national sports leaders.
Currie joined the Tennessee staff in 1997 as Executive Director of the Volunteer Athletic Scholarship Fund (VASF). Following a two-year stint as Assistant Athletics Director at Wake Forest, Currie returned to Knoxville in 2000 as Assistant Athletics Director for Development and was promoted to Associate Athletics Director for Development in 2002.
As chief deputy to the athletics director at UT, Currie was responsible for the direct management of units that annually produced $84 million in revenue and gifts, including the department’s fundraising, marketing, ticketing, media relations, public relations, internet and broadcasting offices. Currie also provided oversight for the men’s basketball program and other department initiatives.
Currie’s accomplishments at Tennessee included helping the university secure a $50 million commitment in 2006 for academic and athletic needs, a gift which represented the largest from an individual in Tennessee history. Under his leadership, giving to Tennessee athletics more than doubled from $19.5 million in 2003 to $41.6 million in 2008.
An integral member of the facility planning team for UT’s $200 million master plan renovations for Neyland Stadium, Currie led the negotiation and implementation of new student season-ticket sales for football in 2008, resulting in $900,000 of new department revenue in its first year. He also implemented new regular-season football sales strategies that helped Tennessee set a school single-game attendance record of 109,061 in 2004.
Currie also oversaw a $36 million arena renovation and the Pratt Pavilion basketball practice facility construction project that was completed in the fall of 2007. He developed and implemented the revenue models to fund both projects without outside funding from the state or local government, tax dollars or university-derived support.
Tennessee’s athletic facilities as a whole benefitted from Currie’s efforts as the development office secured individual-naming recognition gifts that included $4 million for a new aquatic center, $2 million for a new softball stadium, $1.5 million for a new soccer stadium and $2 million for baseball renovations. During his last year at UT, ground was broken for the Day Golf Facility.
He began his professional career at Wake Forest in 1993 as a Deacon Club intern before being named Assistant Deacon Club Director in 1994, a position he held until 1997.
Currie earned his master’s in sports management from Tennessee in 2003 and is a 1993 Wake Forest graduate. He and his wife, Mary Lawrence, have three children: Jack, Virginia and Mary-Dell.
Jason Aldean is celebrating his 40th birthday today (Feb. 28) with trip to Steamboat Springs, Colo., where snow is on the ground and the temp is currently 20 degrees.
The surprise excursion was planned by Jason’s wife, Brittany, who posted some pics on Instagram of her hubby playing hockey with his pals. Jason also posted a celebratory pic with his buddy, Kurt Allison, who is his touring guitarist.
![Jason Aldean Celebrates 40th Birthday With a Surprise Trip to Colorado and a Hockey Game [Photos]](https://www.wivk.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/602/2017/02/Jason-Aldean-1-652x228.jpg)
