Jake Owen to Get Youth Baseball Park Named After Him Thanks to NASCAR Champ Kevin Harvick

Jake Owen to Get Youth Baseball Park Named After Him Thanks to NASCAR Champ Kevin Harvick

Posted on January 11, 2017

2016 was quite a year for Jake Owen. The Florida native released his fifth studio album, American Love, which hit the top spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, he saw his single “American Country Love Song” go to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and he found out that his friend, NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick, would be naming a baseball park after him. Now, that’s how you close out a year.

Kevin surprised his friend—at the Kevin Harvick sixth annual Dinner, Auction and Concert in December—by announcing that The Kevin Harvick Foundation and The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation would open a Youth Development Park in honor of the “Alone With You” singer, creating Jake Owen Field, in his hometown of Vero Beach, Fla.

jake-owen-field

Kevin and Jake have been friends for many years, meeting at a charity even that the NASCAR champion asked Jake to be involved in. Kevin also made a cameo in Jake’s 2015 video for the single “Real Life.” Check out Kevin celebrating in the back of a truck around the 2:14 mark.

According to Veronews.com, two youth-league baseball fields – including one with a synthetic turf surface – will be built at Vero Beach’s Michael Field complex, where construction is scheduled to begin in January and the new fields are expected to be ready for play in March.

So, if you ever had that urge to run all over Jake Owen, you can do so when Jake Owen Field opens to the public in Summer 2017.

jake-owen-field-view-1

 

Jake Owen Photo courtesy Sony Music Nashville ; Jake Owen Field renderings courtesy of The Kevin Harvick Foundation

2017 Bonnaroo Lineup Includes Country Trifecta, Tickets On Sale Now

2017 Bonnaroo Lineup Includes Country Trifecta, Tickets On Sale Now

Posted on January 11, 2017

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival unleashed its 100-plus-artist lineup for 2017 (Jan. 11), and it includes a trio of country-centric performers: Cam, Margo Price and Luke Combs.

The 2017 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will take place June 8–11 at Great Stage Park, the 700-acre farm and event space located just 60 miles south of Nashville in Manchester, Tenn. And, if you were wondering, the dates are once again the exact same as this year’s CMA Music Fest (June 8–11) in Nashville.

In addition to headliners U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Weeknd, the four-day festival will feature performances from:

  1. Chance the Rapper
  2. Major Lazer
  3. Flume
  4. The xx
  5. Lorde
  6. Travis Scott
  7. Cage the Elephant
  8. Marshmello
  9. The Head and The Heart
  10. Big Gigantic
  11. Glass Animals
  12. Future Islands
  13. Tory Lanez
  14. Tove Lo
  15. Yellow Claw
  16. Umphrey’s McGee
  17. Portugal. The Man
  18. Crystal Castles
  19. Milky Chance
  20. Tegan & Sara
  21. Cold War Kids
  22. Kaleo
  23. SuperJam
  24. Russ
  25. Jon Bellion
  26. Royal Blood
  27. The Strumbellas
  28. Car Seat Headrest
  29. Michael Kiwanuka
  30. Gallant
  31. D.R.A.M.
  32. Louis the Child
  33. Borgore
  34. Dua Lipa
  35. Nghtmre
  36. Getter
  37. Snails
  38. James Vincent McMorrow
  39. Joseph
  40. Illenium
  41. Flatbush Zombies
  42. Aminé
  43. Claude VonStroke
  44. Francis & The Lights
  45. Margo Price
  46. BadBadNotGood
  47. The Front Bottoms
  48. G Jones
  49. Preservation Hall Jazz Band
  50. Greensky Bluegrass
  51. Cam
  52. Bad Suns
  53. Coin
  54. Mandolin Orange
  55. Eden
  56. Rainbow Kitten Surprise
  57. Ookay
  58. Herobust
  59. Kevin Morby
  60. Goldfish
  61. Noname
  62. Leon
  63. Bluegrass SuperJam
  64. Albin Lee Meldau
  65. San Holo
  66. Rezz
  67. Angélique Kidjo
  68. Haywyre
  69. Deap Vally
  70. Hippo Campus
  71. Luke Combs
  72. Vanic
  73. Unlike Pluto
  74. Kaiydo
  75. Ten Fé
  76. Nightly
  77. The Orwells
  78. Stick Figure
  79. Mondo Cozmo
  80. Barclay Crenshaw
  81. Goody Grace
  82. July Talk
  83. Khruangbin
  84. Lucy Dacus
  85. Klangstof
  86. Kevin Abstract
  87. Turkuaz
  88. The Lemon Twigs
  89. Wilderado
  90. Twin Limb
  91. Big Jesus
  92. Twiddle
  93. White Reaper
  94. River Whyless
  95. Alexandra Savior
  96. Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real
  97. Innanet James
  98. Ganja White Night
  99. Welles
  100. Aaron Lee Tasjan

Tickets are on sale now at bonnaroo.com.

CMT’s “Nashville” Scores Big Ratings for the Cable Channel, But Well Below the ABC Average

CMT’s “Nashville” Scores Big Ratings for the Cable Channel, But Well Below the ABC Average

Posted on January 11, 2017

The TV rating for CMT’s premiere of Nashville are in—and while the numbers are good compared to CMT standards, they fall well below what the series averaged at its previous home on ABC.

Check out some of the bullet points below for CMT’s debut of the series on Jan. 5.

  • The premiere drew more than 2 million viewers on CMT (.80 rating with adults 18-49 and .93 rating with adults 25-54).
  • 3.1 million viewers tuned in with the encore airing on Nick at Nite and added DVR totals.
  • The premiere of Nashville is the most watched original telecast in CMT history.
  • The premiere also did well on social, ranking as No. 1 on Nielsen Social Content ratings series and specials.
  • Nashville‘s CMT-only rating is nearly triple the network’s prime-time average.
  • More good news: these numbers don’t reflect viewers on Hulu, which streams the episode one day after CMT.
  • The finale broadcast season of Nashville on ABC averaged 4.2 million live viewers (1.0 rating among adults 18-49) with 6.6 million viewers when DVR is factored in.

New episodes of Nashville air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CMT. This week, Maddie begins an internship at a recording studio and meets a street musician. Avery struggles producing a young YouTube sensation and Juliette meets her guardian angel.

 

 

UT Sports | Barnett: A Letter to Vol Nation

Posted on January 11, 2017

BARNETT: A LETTER TO VOL NATION

Defensive end Derek Barnett pens a thank you to UT, his family and Vol Nation after declaring for the NFL Draft

Jan. 11, 2017



Over the last few weeks, I’ve really thought about my time at the University of Tennessee and the people who have had the biggest impact on me. Playing at a prestigious, SEC program and then having the opportunity to declare for the NFL Draft after three years is a dream come true.


I’d like to thank my teammates. The relationships I’ve built with them will last a lifetime. I’m very grateful to have been able to grow over these last few years with my brothers.


Thank you to the football staff and specifically Coach Stripling, who dedicated a lot of time to the D-line room, helping us get better on the field and also being better men off the field. Thank you to Coach Ollie for helping me improve daily in my film study and for being critical of me. And thank you to Coach Jones for giving me the opportunity to play at a great university and represent my home state.


Thank you to all of the training staff and the equipment managers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure my teammates and I were prepared to go to work every day.


Thank you to the University of Tennessee for the opportunity to be a student-athlete at a great institution. Thank you to all of my professors and the Thornton Center staff for helping me balance all that goes into becoming a successful student-athlete.


I’d also like to thank Vol Nation – the best fans in the country – who have supported me from Day One.


Thank you to my family and close friends for being supportive of me and helping everything fall into place.


And thank you to my mother, Ms. Christine. Thank you for your hard work. I’ve seen how hard you’ve worked since I was a kid. I have always been inspired by that and that’s where I get my motivation from. Thank you for your everlasting love and support.


Foregoing my senior year was a hard decision but it has always been my dream to play in the NFL.


As I enter the next journey of my life, it’s most important to me that you know, all I’ve ever wanted to do was represent the Tennessee Football program and my home state of Tennessee well.


Thank you for the great times and many memories – and God Bless,


– Derek Barnett


Credit: utsports.com




    














		
		
						Loretta Lynn to Be Featured in New Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit
								

		
Loretta Lynn to Be Featured in New Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit
Posted on January 11, 2017
Today (Jan. 11), the Country Music Hall of Fame continued its weeklong unveiling of new 2017 exhibits with the announcement that Hall of Fame member Loretta Lynn will be featured in her own exhibit that opens on Aug. 25, 2017, and runs through June 11, 2018. Today’s news follows the previous announcements on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 that Jason Aldean and Shania Twain will be the subjects of their own HOF exhibits.


“I am so happy the Country Music Hall of Fame has asked me to be one of their main exhibits in 2017 . . . gonna show off my 50-some-odd years in country music,” Loretta said in a statement. “They best have a big space. I have a lot of stuff.”



Loretta has long been established as the undisputed Queen of Country Music, with more than 50 years of recording and touring to her name. A self-taught guitarist and songwriter, Loretta shook up Nashville in the 1960s by writing her own songs, many of which tackled boundary-pushing topics drawn from her own life experiences as a wife and mother. “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Fist City” and “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” are just three of her 16 country No. 1 singles.


Loretta has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was the first woman to be named the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year in 1972. Loretta received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. Loretta has won four Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010) and sold more than 45 million records worldwide.


    				
		

					

					

									

				


        

    
photo by David McClister/DKC News
    



				

						

						

		

				


		
		
						Reba McEntire’s New TV Project Gets Green Light From ABC for Pilot Episode
								

		
Reba McEntire’s New TV Project Gets Green Light From ABC for Pilot Episode
Posted on January 10, 2017
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Reba McEntire’s new television drama from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry was given the green light by ABC to shoot a pilot of the show.


That means that one episode of the series will be filmed to test whether the series will be picked up. But with Reba in the starring role, they can’t go wrong. The hourlong drama is described as a “Southern Gothic soap opera” set in motion after a suspected act of terrorism happens at a Fourth of July parade in the small town of Oxblood, Ky.


“I play a sheriff in a small town and Marc Cherry is the writer, producer, creator, and I’ve just really enjoyed getting to hang with him and my producers from the Reba show and Malibu Country,” Reba tells Nash Country Daily about the new project.


The Hollywood Reporter states that the drama “revolves around Ruby Adair (Reba), the sheriff of colorful small town Oxblood, Ky., who finds her Red State outlook challenged when a young FBI agent of Middle Eastern descent is sent to help her solve a horrific crime. Together they form an uneasy alliance as Ruby takes the agent behind the lace curtains of this Southern Gothic community to meet an assortment of bizarre characters, each with a secret of their own.”


After the cancellation of her last sitcom Malibu Country, Reba took some time to focus on her music and is now ready to get back into acting.


“I told Mindy [Schulteis] and Michael [Hanel], my producers, I am ready now to get back into television,” Reba says. “They were thinking a 30-min sitcom and I was too—that’s what I’m used to. So [my producers] shopped it around and said, ‘Can you take some time to come out to L.A?’ So I went out to LA and had a couple of meetings—nothing that was very productive and [my producer] said ‘We have one more.’ I said, ‘Ok, who is it with?’ She said, ‘Marc Cherry.’ I said, ‘Of Desperate Housewives?’ She said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Ok,’ so we were going to go over to his house. He sat down and gave us the story of this idea of a TV show—the whole first season. I went ‘Oh my gosh.’ It’s in his head. It’s incredible.”


Fingers crossed that the show gets picked up for a full season and we’ll be seeing Reba on the small screen once again.


    				
		

					

					

									

				


        

    
Photo courtesy BMLG 
    



				

						

						

		

				













		
		
						Hank Williams Jr. Announces First Round of 2017 Tour Dates
								

		
Hank Williams Jr. Announces First Round of 2017 Tour Dates
Posted on January 10, 2017
Hank Williams Jr. is calling on all his rowdy friends to come out and join him on tour. The “A Country Boy Can Survive” singer has announced the first round of his tour dates in 2017 as he treks across the U.S.


The tour will kick off on Feb. 3 in West Wendover, Nev., making stops in New Orleans, Atlanta and French Lick, Ind. Hank is continuing to make the rounds promoting his 2016 album, It’s About Time, featuring new songs and re-recordings of previously released songs, such as “Born to Boogie” and “Are You Ready for the Country.”


Hank Jr. is one of country’s premiere entertainers, selling 70 million albums worldwide with 13 No. 1 albums and 10 No. 1 singles. Additional dates to the tour will be announced soon.


Hank Williams Jr. Tour Dates






Month
Date
Location
Venue






Feb. 

3 

West Wendover, Nev. 

Peppermill Concert Hall



April 

29 

Atlanta, Ga. 

Georgia World Congress Center



May 

27 

Daytona Beach, Fla. 

Daytona International Speedway



  

28 

New Orleans, La. 

Mercedes-Benz Superdome



June 

9 

Durant, Okla. 

Choctaw Grand Theater



  

10 

Choctaw, Miss 

Silver Star Hotel and Casino-Convention Center



July 

1 

Salamanca, N.Y. 

Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel



  

2 

French Lick, Ind. 

French Lick Resort Casino



Sept. 

15 

Airway Heights, Wash. 

Northern Quest Resort & Casino – Pepsi Outdoor Amphitheater



  

16 

Puyallup, Wash. 

Washington State Fair








    				
		

					

					

									

				


        

    
Photo courtesy Webster PR
    



				

						

						

		

				


		
		
						Watch High Valley Perform “Make You Mine” on the “Today Show”
								

		
Watch High Valley Perform “Make You Mine” on the “Today Show”
Posted on January 10, 2017
Brothers Brad and Curtis Rempel of High Valley stopped by the Today Show this morning (Jan. 10) to make their national television debut. The Canadian duo performed their single “Make You Mine,” which is currently No. 23 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The song actually helped the brothers land a record deal with Warner Brothers in 2015.


“When we were working on ‘Make You Mine’—that was before we had a record deal or anything—thankfully, the song caught enough action on YouTube and on iTunes that all of a sudden record labels got interested,” said Brad to Nash Country Daily. “What we loved so much about Warner Brothers, when they signed us, is they said, ‘Hey, we don’t want you guys to change anything . . . We want “Make You Mine” to be the first single.’ We were overjoyed. You hear all these horror stories of bands signing record deals and all of the sudden losing all control and we have had the exact opposite. We’ve always tried to give our fans a lot of control, and thankfully, Warner Brothers thought that was the smartest way to do it, and they’ve allowed us to keep doing that.”


Watch High Valley’s Today Show performance of “Make You Mine” below.






    














		
		
						Seeing Kip Moore Vacation Shirtless Is the Best Way to Kick Off the New Year
								

		
Seeing Kip Moore Vacation Shirtless Is the Best Way to Kick Off the New Year
Posted on January 10, 2017
When Kip Moore decided to take time off from his country music career because he needed a break, many of his fans were disappointed. But fear not, thanks to social media we still get to stay connected to the hunky singer.


Kip has been staying active by posting pictures from his “break” on Instagram, as he travels through warm weather climates. The interesting thing about these posts is that the “Running For You” singer keeps showing up shirtless—and that’s a good thing. Kip’s well-sculpted body is something to be admired and enjoyed by the masses.


So, as most of the country goes to work bundled up through the cold-weather months, we can take some time out to live vicariously through Kip while he continues to enjoy his time off and we wait for him to return to the stage.


Fans can look forward to seeing Kip, in person, at the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City on March 3, where he is scheduled to perform. Just one suggestion for the the well-toned singer. Bring the camera in a littler closer. Enjoy!












A photo posted by kipmooremusic (@kipmooremusic) on 








 












 Early mornings rt here are tough to beat


A photo posted by kipmooremusic (@kipmooremusic) on 








 












 Scanning the break at Flemings.. @omnificlife


A photo posted by kipmooremusic (@kipmooremusic) on 








 









 












 Sketchville..


A photo posted by kipmooremusic (@kipmooremusic) on 








 












 Cruised about 3 miles out..feel pretty insignificantly small out here in the best possible way


A photo posted by kipmooremusic (@kipmooremusic) on 








 




    



		
		
						Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” Becomes Just the Third Song to Top All FOUR Billboard Country Charts
								

		
Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” Becomes Just the Third Song to Top All FOUR Billboard Country Charts
Posted on January 10, 2017
Last week we reported that Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” tripled-up by simultaneously occupying the top spot on three Billboard charts: Country Airplay, Hot Country Songs (airplay/sales/streaming) and Country Digital Song Sales.


Well, this week Keith has homered as “Blue Ain’t Your Color” simultaneously occupies the top spot on all four of Billboard’s Nielsen Music-powered charts. “Blue” ascended to No. 1 on the Country Streaming Songs chart to secure the tetradic feat, which has only been accomplished twice before: Jason Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down” in 2014 and Luke Bryan’s “Play It Again” in 2014.


“‘Blue’ is basically a waltz with a doo-wop feel,” said Keith to Nash Country Daily. “Neither really felt right for me, but there was something in this song that I loved. So we programmed this really cool, simple, drum loop that became the rhythmic bones of the song, providing a yin and yang to the minimalist vocal that I wanted to feature.”


“Blue Ain’t Your Color” is Keith’s 21st Billboard Country Airplay No. 1, placing him sixth all-time—since the inception of the chart in 1990—behind Blake Shelton (22), Alan Jackson (24), George Strait (24), Kenny Chesney (27) and Tim McGraw (29).




 




    




























	

























	













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