MCA Nashville will release David Nail's debut album titled I'm About To Come Alive Tues., Aug. 18. Produced by Frank Liddell (Miranda Lambert) and Michael Wrucke, Nail is credited with writing nearly half of the 11-track record. Kenny Chesney also is a contributor, co-writing the track "Turning Home."

"I think every artist that moves to Nashville has a list of things they hope to achieve, and having a record in stores has always been near the very top for me," explains Nail. "This has been a two-year process of highs and lows, but now being on the verge of accomplishing that, it feels as sweet as I ever imagined."

Showing his biggest audience increase to date, Nail's single "Red Light" has been one of the most-added songs at radio the last two weeks and jumped to the Top 30 on the charts. Nail recently starred in the video for the track alongside his new bride Catherine. The video was filmed in Nashville and will premiere later this month.

Labels: David Nail

The Associated Press is reporting this morning that Country Music Hall of Famer Ray Price is recovering in his Texas home after having surgery to remove polyps from his colon.

Price's agent, Bobby Roberts, says Price was admitted to a hospital in his home state on June 22 for routine medical tests when a colonoscopy revealed a large number of polyps in the pre-cancerous stage. He says the 83-year-old entertainer is alert and expects to be back on the road in a few weeks.

Price, known for hits like "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches By The Numbers," was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996.

Labels: Ray Price

MCA recording artist Josh Turner and his wife Jennifer welcomed their second son, Colby Lynch Turner, to the family on Friday, June 26. The Turner's are also parents to two-year-old Hampton.

"I'm just a proud daddy right now," said Turner. "Jennifer gave birth to another healthy baby boy. Hampton loves being a big brother and we're just one big happy family."

Turner has spent the last several weeks in the studio recording his fourth album. "My producer, Frank Rogers, jokingly told Jennifer that she needed to wait until we finished my record before she had the baby," recalls Turner. "We finished the album last Thursday at 6:00pm. After I got home, Jennifer went into labor and we were at the hospital by 10:30pm that night. Now that's what I call perfect timing."

MCA expects to release Turner's album this fall.

Labels: Josh Turner

Saturday night arrives early with tomorrow's release of American Saturday Night, the new album from superstar and three-time Grammy winner Brad Paisley. The album has already launched Paisley's recent three-week #1 smash, "Then," and on Monday, stations across the country will receive the album's second single, "Welcome to the Future." Officially impacting country radio on July 13, "Welcome to the Future" was written by Brad and Chris DuBois, and it's a song that Paisley hails as "my favorite thing I've ever written."

"There's three things I wanted to do," Paisley says about "Future." "I wanted to show this world through my eyes, my kids' eyes, and my granddad's eyes, with this look of hope ... It's really rare that you feel musically that something you do is more important than just entertainment. And I feel like this song is maybe more important than just entertainment."

American Saturday Night marks the eighth album from the reigning three-time ACM and two-time CMA Male Vocalist winner. In all, Paisleys albums have launched 14 #1 singles – and the last 10 in a row – with album sales in excess of 10 million units, including his 2x-Platinum 2005 ACM and CMA Album of the Year, Time Well Wasted.

Labels: Brad Paisley

CURB Records announced today that it will send a new single from Tim McGraw to country radio on Tuesday. The song, "It's A Business Doing Pleasure With You," is from a much-anticipated new album from McGraw.

McGraw's record label describes the song as "uptempo and fun." It was co-wrote by Brent James ("Jesus Take The Wheel"), Joe Kelly, and Chad Kroeger, lead singer of Nickelback.

The new McGraw album is expected before Christmas and is rumored to be titled Southern Voice. It's delay has been cause for controversy; in 2008 CURB released McGraw's third greatest hits compliation instead of an album of new material despite protests from McGraw. The feud played out in public with McGraw telling fans he "did not approve" the release of the album and called the project an "embarassment to me as an artist."

Labels: Tim McGraw

Here is a look at the new Sugarland Live On The Inside CD/DVD exclusively at Wal-Mart Stores on August 4th.

Labels: Sugarland

Here is a look at Chris Young's new album cover for The Man I Want To Be in stores soon.

Labels: Chris Young

Carolwood Records trio Love And Theft's "Don't Wake Me," from the band's upcoming debut album World Wide Open, has been selected by iTunes as its free Discovery Download for the week. Starting today fans can download "Don't Wake Me" for free on iTunes. Fans can also experience more Love And Theft music with the band's digital EP Live In Savannah.

The video for "Don't Wake Me" can currently be seen on TV and online and purchased via iTunes. Love And Theft is in pre-production on the music video for "Runaway," the Top 25 and climbing hit single from their upcoming debut album, World Wide Open, out August 25th.

After opening shows for Taylor Swift in 2008, Love And Theft is currently on the road meeting country radio and promoting their debut single, "Runaway." The band's debut CD, World Wide Open, will release August 25th. To learn more about Love And Theft, visit www.myspace.com/loveandtheftmusic or follow the band on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lntweet.

Labels: Love And Theft

Below you'll find some photos from the CMA of the 2009 Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony. Click on the smaller version to view a larger version.

Labels: Barbara Mandrell, Charlie McCoy, Country Music Hall of Fame, Garth Brooks, George Jones, Reba McEntire, Roy Clark

As the two time consecutive reigning Country Music Association Vocal Duo of the Year launches their first live CD/DVD combo "Live on the Inside," to hit stores August 4, the night before Sugarland will send viewers a cinematic postcard from their tour in their first network TV special. The one hour special will capture the shimmer and shine of their live high energy performances and the intimacy and love of their songs which informs their music and their millions of fans only know too well. "Sugarland: Live on the Inside" airs Mon., Aug. 3 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Filmed at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky by director Shaun Silva, the duo's artistic and innovative live show comes to life with 20 cameras in a spectacular, unforgettable night featuring some of their biggest hits ("Settlin,'" "Stay," "All I Want To Do" and "Something More"), as well as never before televised performance footage.

"Television music specials and performances become iconic. Who hasn't seen replays of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan or Elvis's TV special wearing his jump suit and giving away his scarf?" said Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of the duo. "Even performances that I can remember as a child, like 'Live Aid' for example, really made such an impact. We are so excited to have our show on ABC and hope that it will be a moment that people will enjoy and remember."

"We have overheard fans for years say, 'I brought my friend to see the show, this is their first Sugarland experience' with so much pride and excitement on their faces. It's as if they can't wait to share what they have discovered," said Kristian Bush. "This special is their new ticket that they can give to a friend. That is the most exciting part of this, imagining how far it will reach."

Labels: Sugarland

Country superstar Alan Jackson has been named a recipient of a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the year 2010 by the Hollywood Walk of Fame Committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce .

Jackson was chosen from hundreds of nominations by The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for his extraordinary career accomplishments and for his charitable work. The date for the Star ceremony will be set soon, and Jackson fans everywhere will be welcome to come.

Jackon's latest album, Good Time, has spawned three #l songs ("Small Town Southern Man," "Good Time," and "Country Boy") with a fourth, "Sissy's Song" making its way up the charts. "Sissy's Song" became Jackson’s 50th Top 10 record earlier this month.

Labels: Alan Jackson

Rascal Flatts has a new collaborating partner: Denny's Restaurant. The trio joined Denny's to form the "Unstoppable Breakfast" platter as part of the chain's "Allnighters" celebrity breakfast series.

The "Unstoppable Breakfast" will be featured on the RockStars menu. It includes a biscuit topped with country-fried steak, eggs, three strips of bacon, and hash browns.

Other acts to partner with Denny's include Plain White T's and Good Charlotte.

Labels: Rascal Flatts

Powerhouse duo SUGARLAND will debut their fourth record titled Live On The Inside, Tues. Aug. 4. The CD/DVD set consisting of live tracks and performance footage from their Love On The Inside Tour will be sold exclusively at Walmart and www.walmart.com

Filmed in high-definition in Lexington, Kentucky by director Shaun Silva with 20 cameras, the duo's artistic and innovative live show comes to life on the DVD with 16 songs and over an hour of live performance footage. Fans will find all five of their #1 hits ("Want To", "Settlin'", "Stay", "All I Want To Do" and "It Happens"), as well as many other chart toppers.

The 10-track CD includes some of the most popular songs in music as performed "live" by Sugarland. Hits made famous by Beyonce, B-52's, Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell, Kings of Leon and R.E.M. The CD also includes live recordings of three of Sugarland's biggest hits, including their Grammy-winning song, "Stay". The set will retail for $12.00.

CD TRACK LISTING:
"Love Shack"
"Better Man"
"Circle"
"Sex On Fire"
"The One I Love"
"Nightswimming"/"Joey"
"Irreplaceable"
"Love"
"Stay"
"All I Want To Do"

DVD TRACK LISTING:
"Love"
"Settlin'"
"Baby Girl"
"Want To"
"Nightswimming"
"Joey"
"Already Gone"
"Steve Earle"
"Genevieve"
"All I Want To Do"
"Everyday America"
"Stay"
"Down In Mississippi"
"The One I Love"
"Something More"
"It Happens"

Labels: Sugarland

CMA Music Festival hit an all-time high attendance record in 2009 despite a downturn in the economy and a general decline in festival attendance across the nation with a 7.2 percent increase over 2008 during the four-day Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 11-14, in Downtown Nashville.

"Even with gasoline prices more than $2 a gallon and weak economic conditions around the country, we saw increases in our attendance from local and regional residents," said CMA Chief Executive Officer Tammy Genovese. "We believe that is due in large part to a strong regional advertising push, the addition of free concerts, the popularity of our artists, and the entertainment value of the nightly shows at LP Field."

The average daily attendance in 2009 was 56,000. By comparison, in 2008 the average daily attendance was 52,000. The uptick was felt in single concert tickets and attendance in the Festival's free zones and concert venues including Riverfront Park, which was free to the community for the first time.

Fans definitely enjoyed themselves and made it known at the box office. Tickets for CMA Music Festival 2010, which will be held June 10-13, went on sale Saturday and consumer ticket sales, which include pre-sale tickets, are up 4.6 percent over 2008. 2010 CMA Music Festival tickets go on sale nationwide today.

"You know you are giving the fans what they want when they put down their hard-earned money - especially in light of economic uncertainty - for an event that is 12 months away," remarked Genovese.

When the final counts were tallied Sunday night, there was a slight 3.6 percent drop in four-day ticket sales. The biggest increases were in single night tickets, which increased 19.5 percent, and record attendance in the free areas.

"Each year we strive to give the fans something fun and unexpected," Genovese said. "We delivered again this year."

Money raised by the CMA Fest will be donated to the "Keep The Music Playing" Foundation, created by the CMA. To date, over $2.2 million has been donated.

Labels: CMA Music Festival

Rodney Atkins has a lot to be thankful for. His career has skyrocketed in the last three years; he received his first platinum album and the singles "If You're Going Through Hell" and "Watching You" were the top played singles of 2006 and 2007 respectively. This past week, Atkins took time to say 'thank you' to his fans during the 2009 CMA Music Festival.

"My prayers were never to be famous," Atkins said. "I wanted to do something to touch people's lives. The chance to sing songs that move people and change their lives, make them sing, cry, come together, that's what it's about."

Atkins moved to Nashville in 1997 but struggled commercially. He managed to break the top 5 on country radio charts in 2003 with "Honesty (Write Me A List)" only to see his success vanish. He returned in 2006 with "Hell" and has been riding high ever since.

"With the success of Going Through Hell, that was crazy out of nowhere," he said. "I've been here for knocking on doors for years. To have that kind of success, there's some pressure behind it ... But I just follow my gut feeling."

The singer performed for 50,000 fans Friday night at the CMA Festival. He played his newest single "15 Minutes" along with past hits. "Making the change from small clubs to the big arena, it's tough. You know a crowd like this [tonight] has so much adrenaline. It's something else."

Atkins hits the road this summer to tour in support of his newest release It's America. Tour dates can be found on his official website.

ATKINS EXTRA: Country On-Demand was LIVE at Rodney's fan club party. For pictures, check out our CMA Music Festival page.

Labels: CMA Music Festival, Rodney Atkins

With her new song, "Dead Flowers" taking root in Country radio's Top 40, Miranda Lambert will unleash her third album, Revolution, on Sept. 29. Lambert's previous efforts, Kerosene and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.

Of the new album Miranda said, "I think this record is truly the most artistic project I have ever done. I really put my entire being into the making of it. From the writing to the recording to finding the perfect mixture of things I wanted to say. The inspiration was easy to come by, because it's a compilation of everything I have ever listened to and fell in love with. It's not an album where you listen from song to song, it's a state of mind, a way of life. I hope people have as much fun getting to know me through listening as I did getting to know myself in recording it. And maybe it will do just as its title says ... start a revolution."

Revolution is the follow-up to Lambert's sophomore album Girlfriend which won the 2008 ACM Album of the Year Award. She alone wrote three songs on the album and co-wrote a majority of the balance with a cross-section of writers including Blake Shelton, Ashley Monroe, Allen Shamblin and Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley who lends background vocals on "Love Song."

Labels: Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert