Toby Keith is revving up for his Hammer Down Tour presented by longtime partner Ford F-Series that will launch June 8 in Ozark, AR, with confirmed dates through September. Joining him on this party is special guest Kip Moore. Touring in support of his current album Hope On The Rocks, Keith will bring his acclaimed live show and its breakneck set list of hits, not the least of which is the album’s title track single, “Hope On The Rocks,” written by the man himself.

 

With the sold out final concert already hosting top names in all musical genres, including Garth Brooks, Kid Rock, Kenny Rogers and Randy Travis, George Jones announced Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt and others from his hit song “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair” will join him onstage. Pam Tillis, Kathy Mattea, Tracy Lawrence, Patty Loveless, Joe Diffie, Mark Chesnutt and T. Graham Brown are the latest additions to the lineup. Previously announced: Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Jamey Johnson, Montgomery Gentry, Shelby Lynne, Sam Moore, Lorrie Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Randy Travis, Tanya Tucker, Josh Turner and Gene Watson as participating in the evening of music. In addition, Brenda Lee, John Conlee, Lee Greenwood, Eddy Raven, The Roys, Janie Fricke, Gary Morris, T.G. Sheppard, Dailey & Vincent,Jessi Colter, Bobby Bare, Jim Ed Brown, Little Jimmy Dickens, Stonewall Jackson and more will all take the stage during the finale performance. Even more announcements are expected!.

 

Keith Urban and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Vince Gill will return to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena April 16 for We’re All for the Hall, a concert to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. This year’s theme is Rebels and Renegades, the Outlaws are In.” The all-star performance line-up includes Urban, Gill, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Rosanne Cash, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Kid Rock, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Tim McGraw, Montgomery Gentry, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver and Hank Williams Jr. Tickets available at all Ticketmaster locations, the Bridgestone Arena box office or phone at (800) 745-3000

 

Andy Griggs often says, “there is no defining a style of song. As long as there’s soul, it has a place in music.” Griggs took these words to heart when he set out to record and produce his latest album, Naked, which is all acoustic. Country Weekly says “most listeners latch onto a song because of a melody, a voice or a lyric. So Andy Griggs did something really clever. He stripped away the high-tech production on his new album, Naked, and presents the things you love—a melody, a voice and an amazing stack of songs.” Armed with just his guitar and accompanied by his earthy soul-filled vocals, Griggs penned original tunes for his new offering, as well as covered songs from artists that influenced him like Waylon’s “Old Timer” and Willie’s “Angel Flying Too Close To the Ground.” CW bestowed it with 4 stars, the highest rating Griggs has had on any album. iTunes, the largest distributor of digital music puts it’s stamp of approval on the albums they believe to be significant additions to the musical landscape. Griggs’ 13-song album is one such project that iTunes has deemed New and Noteworthy” on their country page.

 

News Briefs: Alan Jackson will release his second gospel album, Precious Memories Vol. II March 26. The album, produced by Jackson’s long-time producer and friend, Keith Stegall; will be released by ACR (Alan’s Country Records) and EMI Records Nashville. ••• Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson contribute vocals on Paul Anka’s new Duets album set for release April 9 through Legacy. ••• Gretchen Wilson’s first new album in three years, Right On Time, is available for pre-order at iTunes and Amazon. ••• Dawn Sears, stellar vocalist and member of Rounder Record’s 4-time Grammy-nominated band The Time Jumpers, has been diagnosed with Stage 3B lung cancer. Sears is also a long-time member of Vince Gill’s touring band. She is currently undergoing treatment in Nashville and plans to continue at the band’s regular Monday night show at 3rd & Lindsley until her treatment dictates otherwise.

 

Brad Paisley has announced the first leg of his 2013 tour, Beat This Summer Tour presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. The tour kicks off in St. Louis, Mo. on May 9 and will hit over 29 cities in the United States and Canada during the summer months. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is the title sponsor of the tour. Special guests will be Chris Young and Lee Brice. Paisley is partnering with Live Beyond by donating $1 from each ticket sale. Live Beyond is a Nashville nonprofit with a mission to provide medical care, clean water, nutritional support and development activities to impoverished communities in Haiti.

 

The unforgettable songs that helped transform Nashville into Music City are set to be showcased on stage at the historic Ryman Auditorium during the fifth year of Opry Country Classics Thursdays March 28–May 23. Grammy-winner Larry Gatlin returns as show host for the first show of the season, welcoming Nashville favorites The Time Jumpers as Spotlight Artists. Gatlin is set to return as host for all subsequent shows except for the April 11 performance, which will be hosted by 650 AM WSM’s Bill Cody. Among the Spotlight Artists set to headline Opry Country Classics shows later this season are Marty Stuart (Apr 4); Pam Tillis (Apr. 11); Mel Tillis (Apr. 25); Terri Clark (May 2); Lorrie Morgan (May 9); and the Oak Ridge Boys (May 23).

 

LifeNotes: On Sunday Feb. 17, Mindy McCready, whose troubled personal life over- shadowed her music, was found dead on the front porch of her Arkansas home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. McCready, 37, leaves behind two sons, 6-year-old Zander and 10-month-old Zayne. ••• Toby Keith‘s bass player, Carl “Chuck” Goff Jr. died during a two-car collision in rural Oklahoma, some 35 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Goff, 54, served as bassist and band leader. He co-wrote two songs recorded by Keith, “Upstairs Downtown” and “You Ain’t Much Fun,” both from Keith’s 1994 album Boomtown. ••• Singer-songwriter Claude King, an original member of the Louisiana Hayride, best known for the 1962 hit “Wolverton Mountain,” died at his home in Shreveport, LA March 7. King had just celebrated his 90th birthday and 67th wedding anniversary to his wife, Barbara, last month. In addition to his wife, King is survived by three sons and six grandchildren.

 

Gregg Lohman, drummer for Kellie Pickler, is recovering from injuries sustained in one of two auto accidents on Interstate 65 in central Kentucky that left five hospitalized and six dead March 2nd. Lohman suffered a collapsed lung, two broken ribs and a broken nose. He was airlifted from the scene to University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky. Lohman, 36, Picker’s drummer since 2006, is also music instructor at Tennessee State University.

 

Award-winning singer/songwriter Phil Vassar is returning to his native Lynchburg, VA, to host his fifth annual benefit for The Miller Home For Girls on April 10 and 11. This year he will be bringing a very special guest and friend with him..Charlie Daniels will join him for the April 11 show at Phase 2 Dining and Entertainment club. Tickets are $35.00 or $95.00 for VIP. Phil will also headline an exclusive acoustic event at Tresca on 8th on April 10 with tickets set at $125.00 each or $600.00 for six. Proceeds from both concerts will be donated to The Miller Home, a safe haven for young girls ages four to 21. The Home survives solely on private funding, and ticket purchases will help offset operating expenses and various programs offered to the residents. All tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Miller Home of Lynchburg, 2134 Westerly Drive or call 434-845-0241 during regular business hours.

 

Lee Brice, Randy Houser and Jerrod Niemann are set to triple headline final night of the benefit for T.J. Martell Foundation October 5-8.. For the fifth year in a row, country music will come together on the scenic beaches of Key West, Fla. to benefit the music industry’s largest foundation that funds leukemia, cancer and AIDS research: the T.J. Martell Foundation. Long-time friends and songwriting buddies, the three headline Country On The Beach, as super duo Montgomery Gentry hosts and GAC’s Headline Country’s Storme Warren emcees. Country music fans are invited to attend and get an up-close-and-personal experience with their favorite country stars as they let loose in one of Florida’s most popular vacation spots.

 

The Dr. Steve Show, Tribune Broadcasting’s nationally syndicated health, wellness and lifestyle program, received an Emmy nomination from The New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the “Down Home With Dolly” episode. The 56th Annual New York Emmy Awards Gala, to be held April 14, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, recognizes outstanding achievement in the television industry during the eligibility period of Sept. 1, 2011 through Aug. 31, 2012. 1,000 television and media professionals will attend the awards program, which encourages the pursuit of excellence and promotes the highest standards of quality in the arts, crafts, and sciences of television by conferring the industry’s classic and most coveted peer-recognition symbol of distinction, the Emmy.

 

News Briefs: Rural Rhythm Records will release Marty Raybon & Full Circle’s Bluegrass album, The Back Forty, March 26. ••• Lady Antebellum will release its fourth Capitol Nashville studio album, Golden, on May 7. ••• Darius Rucker will kick off his headline tour in support of his upcoming True Believers album May 9 in Estero, FL, and travel to 20 cities across the U.S. before winding up Clarkston, MI. June 30. ••• Country newcomer Lisa Matassa makes her national television debut on the Hallmark Channel’s “Marie” show Mar. 13. Lisa and her band perform her current hit single, “Somebody’s Baby,” and Lisa chats with Marie about the “adventures” involved in mixing a music career with motherhood. ••• MapleStar Music & Media is has announced the signing of Cuban-American TV personality/actress Sheyla Paz Hicks.

 

A-OK/GMV Nashville artist Amber Hayes has entered into an exclusive booking agreement with Nashville-based Conway Entertainment Group. “I first met Amber when she was performing with the Conway Twitty Musical in 2008. I’ve always been impressed by her talent and am excited about working with her and the opportunities ahead,” said CEG President, Tony Conway. An Oklahoma native, Hayes broke onto the Country music scene after her starring role as Kathy Twitty in the Conway Twitty musical, It’s Only Make Believe. Her debut EP C’mon in 2010, landed two Top 40 singles (“C’mon,” “Wait”) on the MusicRow Country Breakout chart. In 2012, the multi-talented performer starred in the major motion picture, Cowgirls N’ Angels. Three of her songs made it into the film, including her duet with Lonestar’s Richie McDonald, “Always There For Me.” Amber’s music was also featured in four episodes of the hit CW television series, Hart of Dixie. In October 2012, she released her sophomore album, Any Day Is A Good Day. Billboard’s ‘The 615’ named Amber “One To Watch in 2013.” Most recently, she opened for Reba McEntire, in Durant, OK.

 

 

• Apr. 26 – Tin Pan South, Nashville, TN

• Apr. 25-28 – MerleFest, Wilkesboro, NC

• May 25-26 – Bayou Country Superfest, Baton Rouge, LA

• Jun. 6-9 – CMA Music Festival, Nashville, TN

• Jun. 13-16 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, TN

• Sept. 26 – International Bluegrass Music Awards, Raleigh, NC