.

Kris Kristofferson will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 26. Kris will perform with Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Blake Shelton on the show, which will be aired on CBS. Kris will be touring South Africa, Australia and New Zealand this spring.

.

News Briefs: Alabama, the band that has reeled off forty years of hit records, has signed a new management deal with Tony Conway’s Ontourage Management. ••• Jason Aldean has announced that he is partnering with Major League Baseball to launch a 50-date stadium tour this spring. Florida Georgia Line and Tyler Farr will open the tour.  •••  Travis Tritt will narrate As Dreamers Do, an upcoming movie about the early life of Walt Disney. The film is reportedly set for release in this Spring. Tritt will film a live acoustic DVD on Jan. 13-14 at the Franklin Theater in Franklin, Tenn., featuring special guests Marty Stuart, Kid Rock, James Otto, and more.  ••• Dierks Bentley’s seventh album, Riser, is due on Feb. 25. ••• Wishing a speedy recovery to Jo Western, wife of Johnny Western, following open heart surgery on Jan. 8 in Mesa, AZ, to repair a prolapsed valve.  ••• The Bellamy Brothers in concert: Mumbai India on Feb 4, Goa India Feb 5 and Columbo Sri Lanka Feb 8. •••  David Nail will be opening for Darius Rucker on the first leg of his 2014 True Believers Tour. Nail will release his third album I’m A Fire Mar. 4.

.

The world renowned Johnny Cash Museum (JCM) prepares a first for Music City with the Johnny Cash Birthday Bash to mark his 82nd birthday. In a three day event Feb 28-Mar 1-2 , fans will be treated to appearances by Cash family members and former band members in a series of activities anchored at the AAA Gem rated venue. “We are thrilled to bring back the Johnny Cash Birthday Celebration and even more so to bring it to Nashville for the first time,” says founder Bill Miller. “We have a long tradition of bringing Johnny’s fans together with his family, friends and peers in an intimate celebration of his life.” Special guests will include:  John Carter Cash, Joanne Cash (Yates), Tommy Cash, W.S. Holland, Joe Cash, Johnny Western, and David Roe. In less than a year since it’s opening, celebrities like Former VP and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore, Grammy and country music legend Lynn Anderson, The Mavericks, The Oak Ridge Boys, American Pickers’ Mike Wolfe, Ashton Shepherd and many others have visited the  museum so you truly never know who could be guest staring in the birthday celebration. Tickets for the celebration are $55 and can be purchased online at  johnnycashbirthday.com/

.

Joe Nichols’ #1 hit Sunny and 75 has been certified gold by the RIAA for single sales in excess of 500,000 digital downloads.  The song is the lead single from Nichols’ debut Red Bow CD release Crickets.  The song is the 4 x Grammy nominee’s fifth #1 single. The second single from Crickets will hit radio on Jan. 27.  Joe and his wife, Heather are expecting their second child.

.

Missy Robertson, wife of Jase Robertson (A&E’s Duck Dynasty) is launching her “stylish yet comfortable and age-appropriate” clothing line in collaboration with Stephanie Carter’s Southern Fashion House. When asked who the target Missy Robertson customer is, Missy says, “At first I thought it would be a woman like myself – a busy, working mom who is always on the go.  However, my 19 year old cousin loves every piece that I’ve worn so far and asks to borrow them. My 84-year old grandmother has also picked out a few pieces for herself.   It seems to appeal to all ages, and that thrills me.”  The Missy Robertson line mixes vibrant colors and patterns with slightly longer hemlines, varying sleeve options and shapes resulting in fashion that is figure flattering, age appropriate and contemporary. The Spring Collection debuts this month in Atlanta, Dallas and Las Vegas. Retail prices range from $54-$120 with the average price staying within the $78-$88 range. The collection will be available in department stores where this price point will make the most sense and the target consumer shops. The line will also be available in select boutiques across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

.

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, the most awarded band in bluegrass, could be adding more awards to their prestigious list of honors as they have been nominated for 6 SPBGMA awards. These nominations come as Vincent readies the release of her next album Only Me, which is set for release on Jan. 28. Only Me is a specialty album for Vincent, containing two-discs with six songs each, where half of the music is country and the other half features Vincent’s signature bluegrass sound!  The album features song collaborations with Willie Nelson and Daryle Singletary. “The bluegrass pickers on this song are some of the best that I have ever heard. When I think of bluegrass, this is the sound that I hear. Your voice is beautiful,” says Willie Nelson.

.

Life Notes: Phil Everly of the Grammy-winning duo The Everly Brothers died Jan. 3,  in Burbank, Calif. of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Phil and brother Don scored mega hits with All I Have To Do Is Dream, Wake Up Little Susie, Bye Bye Love and more.  They were inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame. Phil was born to folk and country music singers Ike and Margaret Everly on Jan. 19, 1939, in Chicago, two years after his older brother. In addition to his wife, Phil is survived by his brother and mother, sons Jason and Chris, and two granddaughters. ••• Ronald C. “Ronnie” Gant, the music publishing visionary who pitched the song Elvira to The Oak Ridge Boys, died Jan. 4 at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. He was 69. The Nashville native and younger brother of singer and producer Don Gant worked for the Acuff-Rose music publishing company for 22 years, then moved on with the company for another three years after it became a part of the Opryland Music Group. Gant is survived by his wife, Gale, daughter, Heather, and sons, Bret and Brian. Visitation will be Saturday (Jan. 11) at Cole & Garrett Funeral Home in Goodlettsville, Tenn. ~ CMT

.

Billy Block, host/producer of the long-running The Billy Block Show, has been diagnosed with stage 4 metasatic melanoma.  Block will start a clinical trial on Jan. 29 at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville. His doctor is consulting with others at M.D. Anderson  in Houston. A Billy Block Family Fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank. Individuals who would like to donate can make a deposit as a gift to the family at any Wells Fargo branch office. Checks can also be made out to Wells Fargo and mailed to the attention of Bradley Gallimore or Danielle Lares-Bouharoun at Wells Fargo Private Bank, 3100 West End Ave., Suite 550, Nashville 37203. Please note “Billy Block Fund” on check. PayPal users may to send gifts/donations to the Billy Block Family Fund. Please use billyblockfamilyfund@gmail.com to send any gifts (tax free) to the Wells Fargo Billy Block Family Fund.

.

iHeartRadio has announced the first iHeartRadio Country Festival on March 29 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen, Hunter Hayes and Dan + Shay will be part of the lineup. Bobby Bones is slated to host. Country fans will be able to win trips to Austin through Clear Channel’s 120 Country stations and iHeart Radio beginning January 13. “The response to our country performers at the last three iHeartRadio Music Festivals was so incredible we decided to create an entire show just for them,” said Clear Channel entertainment Enterprises John Sykes. “It will be a country fan’s dream and a testament to the power of country music and recognition of the stature of these artists.” ~ AllAboutCountry.com

.

Stella Parton will launch her first women’s conference this spring in Nashville, TN. The inaugural Red Tent Women’s Conference is scheduled for April 18-20 at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown. As a longtime advocate for women’s rights and female empowerment, Stella comments on this longtime dream: “This is something I’ve been developing for quite some time and I am so excited to meet and encourage women of all ages and types. We are all in this together and we should help and inspire our ‘sisters.’” Tickets will go on sale Saturday, Feb 1.  More… redtentconference.com.

.

.

.

• June 5-8 –     CMA Music Fest, Nashville, TN

• June 26-29 –  Country Stampede, Manhattan, KS

• July 17-20 –   Jamboree In The Hills, Belmont, OH

• Sept. 17-21 – Americana Music Festival & Conference, Nashville, TN