Two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Toby Keith has received three nominations for the 47th Annual ACM Awards, set for Apr.1 in Las Vegas. All three are for his explosive new song “Red Solo Cup” – Video of the Year and twice for Single Record of the Year as artist and producer. The nominations continue the unparalleled success of “Red Solo Cup,” which almost instantaneously became the biggest viral sensation in country music history. The videos for the song (holiday version and original flavor) have surpassed the 11 million views mark. In other Toby news, the Chicago Tribune recently named him the No. 1 spokesman for full-size trucks. Keith’s tours have been sponsored by Ford F-Series since 2003, and the Tribune notes: “Toby looks like a truck owner, acts like a truck owner and looks comfortable talking with truck owners.”

 

Iconic singer/songwriter Bill Anderson embarks in mid-February with Nashville songwriter Bob DiPiero and singer/songwriter Clint Black to the United Kingdom and Ireland, on the first international performances of the CMA Songwriters Series, an in-the-round concert featuring many of Music City’s top writers. The newly renovated Islington Assembly Hall in London, the historic Whelan’s in Dublin and the Eighth Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival all play host to the eagerly awaited shows in the UK and Ireland.

 

Outlaw Country All-Star Celebration featuring Hank Williams Jr., Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Josh Thompson talking and performing all things Waylon Jennings will air Saturday, Feb. 4 on SiriusXM Channel 60. Recorded in front of a live studio audience at the SiriusXM Music City Theatre in Nashville, the all-star celebration of Waylon Jennings features the outlaw’s songs and stories from these artists as well as audience members Billy Joe Shaver, Cowboy Jack Clement, and Jennings’ longtime drummer and producer, Richie Albright. The hour-long special, hosted by Outlaw Country’s Hillbilly Jim, features songs from WAYLON: The Music Inside, a three-volume collection of songs dedicated to Jennings’ music. WAYLON: The Music Inside, Volume II (Average Joe’s Entertainment) releases to retail outlets Feb. 7. The eleven-track album, second of a three-part series, features some of country music’s biggest stars performing the songs that made Jennings a household name. The Music Inside, Volume II boasts a solid lineup of artists, each of who were heavily influenced by Jennings’ legacy, including Dierks Bentley, Justin Moore, Hank Williams Jr., Jessi Colter, Montgomery Gentry, Jewel, Jack Ingram, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson, Pat Green and Wyatt McCubbin.

 

Music Row reported this week that Sony Music’s catalog division Legacy Recordings has entered into a new record deal with Willie Nelson. Under the agreement, the label plans to release five brand new Willie Nelson albums with the first due out in Spring 2012. Additionally, Nelson will be working with label archivists to personally curate tracks both released and unreleased for compilations and bonus material on reissues of his existing albums.

 

Trisha Yearwood has signed a deal to star in a six-episode daytime cooking show for The Food Network. The show is in production now in Nashville and will debut in April. The still unnamed series will feature Yearwood sharing her family’s food traditions and recipes as well as planning family events ranging from Sunday dinner to a family barbecue.

 

News Briefs: Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert join forces for a duet version of “America The Beautiful” to open Super Bowl XLVI festivities on Feb. 5. ••• Shelton’s single, “God Gave Me You” has received RIAA Platinum certification, the albums Red River Blue and Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton are certified Gold. ••• Carrie Underwood’s new CD will be released on May 1. Produced by Mark Bright, this will be the fourth studio album on 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville for the five-time Grammy winner. The debut single co-written by Underwood, “Good Girl,” will be released to country radio Feb. 23. ••• Country music supergroup Rascal Flatts has announced they will launch a brand new tour beginning this summer, Farmers Insurance presents “The American Band Tour.” The tour will feature an all band set-up with Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge opening. The shows will begin in Hartford, Conn., on June 15. ••• Warner Music Nashville’s Faith Hill has been confirmed to headline a special luncheon performance at CRS 2012 on Feb. 24. ••• Darryl Worley has signed a recording contract with Tenacity/Crazytown and will release his first single, “You Still Got It,” in March.

 

Award-winning Country Music star Gary Morris will debut his first single and the title cut, “If You Were Mine”, off his latest CD Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Grand Ole Opry. From a collection of newly written songs, Gary will roll out his new album by releasing a new song every month, available on iTunes and CD Baby, with the complete CD available at the close of 2012.

 

Governor Bill Haslam recently unveiled his legislative package on Tennessee’s Capitol Hill. While a number of items deal with economic development and reforming government operations, one bill was specially selected for Rep. Mark White (R – Memphis) to guide through the Legislature. The bill will eliminate the sunset for the Transitioning Youth Act—a program that provides assistance to foster children between the ages of 18-21 once they age out of the foster care system. It has been cited as a critical initiative that helps individuals bridge the gap from their teenage years to adulthood, in both educational and professional terms. The program, and this legislation, has long been a priority of country star Jimmy Wayne, who was a foster child and found himself homeless at the age of 16. To raise awareness about teenage foster children, Wayne founded Project Meet Me Halfway and walked from Nashville to Phoenix in 2010. Jimmy has consistently worked with State legislators and members of Tennessee State government to advocate on behalf of foster youth. On Feb. 8, he will testify in front of the Committee on Children and Family Affairs about HB 2337 at the State Capitol.

 

Word is the ticket in Nashville is quickly becoming the Saturday Night Music Club, a singer/songwriter event where hit singer/songwriters perform some of their hit songs with A-list session musicians–plus, it’s a live recording session. A presentation of Gasoline Studios, the show takes place at the West Barn, a state-of-the-art barn studio tucked away on a 15 acre farm in the heart of Franklin, TN. Recent participants include Jimmy Wayne, Blaine Larson, Joey & Rory, Tim Johnson and Joe West. The next SNMC (Feb. 4) will feature: Marty Dodson (“Must Be Doing Something Right”), Melissa Fuller (“Money Money Money”), and Steven Clawson (CMT’s Next Superstar Finalist)…with special guest Michael Logen. More email:saturdaynightmusicclub@yahoo.com

 

Tom T. Hall is giving back to his home state by promoting Country Music Highway Road to Fame. The contest spotlights The Country Music Highway that runs through the mountain region of Kentucky – an area that has also given us Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam, Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, and Ricky Skaggs. The contest is designed to cultivate and discover a new generation of talent from the area, and establish the Country Music Highway Arts Education Fund to support music programs in KY. schools.

 

News Briefs: Jo Dee Messina will host a “Night Of Nostalgia,” a big band swing and casino night, on Mar. 3 at Nashville’s Maxwell House Hotel to raise money for the non-profit Holy Trinity Montessori School. ••• Phil Vassar will return to his native Lynchburg, VA for the Fourth Annual Phil Vassar Benefit Concert for Miller Home for Girls, Apr. 4 and 5. Vassar is donating 100% of the proceeds to Miller Home, a safe haven for young girls ages 4 to 21. More… call 434-845-0241. ••• Adam Gregory will release his new single and six-song album, Different Places, in the U.S. and Canada on Feb. 28. The first single, “High On You”.

 

• Feb 12 – GRAMMY Awards, Los Angeles, CA

• Feb 21 – Country Radio Hall of Fame Awards, Nashville, TN

• Feb 22-24 – CRS 2012, Nashville, TN

• Feb 26 – International Festival of Country Music, Wembley, UK

• Mar 23-24 – Heart of Texas Country Music Assn. Celebration, Brady, TX

• Mar 30-31 – Heart of Texas Country Music Assn. Celebration, Brady, TX

• Apr. 1 – ACM Awards, Las Vegas, NV

• Apr. 26 – 29 – MerleFest 25, Wilkesboro, NC

• June 7-10 – CMA Music Festival – Nashville, TN

• July 13-15 – Craven Country Jamboree – Craven, Sask, Canada

• July 20-29 – Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, WY

• Sept. 12-15 – Americana Music Assn. Fest & Conference, Nashville, TN