Performers Announced for the 2018 CMT Music Awards

Hosted by country chart-toppers Little Big Town, the “2018 CMT Music Awards”  announced the second round of superstar performers that will take over Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 6th at 8 pm ET/ PT. The newest superstars to join the already-impressive performance line-up include Backstreet Boys, Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean and hosts Little Big Town.

CMT also revealed that country music’s loudest night is about to get even louder with two star-studded collaborations; country icon Dierks Bentley featuring “Video of the Year” nominees Brothers Osborne, as well as “CMT Performance of the Year” nominee Darius Rucker featuring Jason Aldean (who is tied for most “CMT Music Awards” nominations), Luke Bryan and Charles Kelley. More performers to be announced in the coming days.

The first round of “2018 CMT Music Awards” performers have been announced including Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt. It was also revealed that pop superstar Kelly Clarkson will premiere her rendition of iconic rock hit, “American Woman,” from the promotional campaign for the upcoming Paramount Network series of the same title debuting the day after the Awards on  Thursday, June 7 at 10pm ET/PT. Inspired by the real-life upbringing of Kyle Richards (“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”), “American Woman” follows Bonnie (Alicia Silverstone), an unconventional mother struggling to raise her two daughters after leaving her husband with the help of her two best friends, Kathleen (Mena Suvari) and Diana (Jennifer Bartels) in 1970s Los Angeles. Fans can vote for their favorite artists now via CMT.com until Monday, June 4th for categories including “Video of the Year,” “Male Video of the Year,” “Female Video of the Year,”, “Duo Video of the Year,” “Group Video of the Year,” “Breakthrough Video of the Year,” “Collaborative Video of the Year” and “CMT Performance of the Year.”

Follow @CMT on Twitter and Instagram, use hashtag #CMTawards and like the CMT Music Awards on Facebook.

Ashley McBryde Announces Her Headlining “The Girl Going Nowhere Tour”

Ashley McBryde is taking her big voice, blue-collar storytelling, and potent stage presence on the road for her first headlining tour throughout the U.S. and Europe. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 25. 

“The Girl Going Nowhere Tour” will be going everywhere this fall hitting multiple cities beginning Sept. 5 in Atlanta, Georgia with international stops in the U.K. and Scotland, before culminating Dec. 15 in Rochester, New York (full details below). 

The tour follows on the heels of McBryde’s wildly successful Warner Music Nashville release, Girl Going Nowhere, which was produced and mixed by Jay Joyce. The record showcases McBryde’s artistic vision and quickly established her as one of the genre’s keenest songwriters bringing unwavering honesty back into a pop-preoccupied genre.
 
On Pollstar’s cover this month, the headline reads, “Ashley McBryde: A Girl Going Everywhere And Doing It By Just Being Herself.” The Arkansas native has been described by notable music critic Ann Powers as having “one of those voices that might belong to your sister or your best friend – if your sister or your best friend could belt like Loretta Lynn and croon like Reba McEntire.” She summed up her talent by saying McBryde was “Country music’s most exciting new country voice.”

No stranger to the stage, McBryde has opened for some of the biggest names in country music, including industry heavyweights Chris Stapleton and Eric Church. In conjunction with the success of “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega,” the singer/songwriter played select dates on the “Sirius XM Presents: The Highway Finds Tour” including stops in Washington, D.C., New York, and Nashville and most recently hit the road opening for Luke Combs on his “Don’t Tempt Me With a Good Time Tour” and Miranda Lambert’s “Livin’ Like Hippies Tour.”
 
Now McBryde is ready to take her rock-fueled fury and candor on the road headlining her own “The Girl Going Nowhere Tour” in the below markets. One of the women that Paste declares is “saving country music from itself” will be making one special stop for a benefit show in November celebrating the powerful work by Girls Inc., a non-profit organization with the central goal of empowering and inspiring girls and young women, something this “girl going nowhere” knows a thing or two about. 

Ashley McBryde’s 2018 “The Girl Going Nowhere Tour” dates are as follows:
Sept. 5 – Terminal West, Atlanta, GA*
Sept. 6 – 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA*
Sept. 7 – Blind Horse Saloon, Greenville, S.C.*
Sept. 8 – Rome City Brewing Company, Rome, GA*
Sept. 11 – Mammy’s Kitchen, Bardstown, KY
Sept. 12 – Washington County Fair, Abington, VA
Sept. 13 – The Hamilton, Washington, D.C.*
Sept. 14 – Phase 2 Nightclub, Lynchburg, VA*
Sept. 20 – Red Rocks Amphitheater (w/Little Big Town), Morrison, CO
Sept. 22 – Arkansas State University, Mountain Home, AR
Sept. 27 – The Basement East, Nashville, TN*
Sept. 28 – Zydeco, Birmingham, AL*

(International Dates)
Oct. 3 – O2 Institute (w/ Luke Combs), Birmingham, U.K.
Oct. 4 – Shepherd’s Bush Empire (w/ Luke Combs), London, U.K.
Oct. 5 – Shepherd’s Bush Empire (w/ Luke Combs), London, U.K.
Oct. 7 – O2 ABC, Glasgow (w/ Luke Combs), Scotland
Oct. 8 – O2 Ritz Manchester (w/ Luke Combs), Manchester, U.K.
Oct. 10 – Islington Assembly Hall, London, U.K.

Oct. 13 – Mighty Mississippi Music Festival, Greenville, MS
Oct. 25 – Elevation, Grand Rapids, MI*

Nov. 1 – The Lyric Theatre, Oxford, MS*
Nov. 2 – The Barn at The Wicked Wheel (benefiting Girls Inc. of Bay County), Panama City, FL
Nov. 7 – Brick Street Bar, Oxford, OH*
Nov. 8 – The Bluestone, Columbus, OH*
Nov. 9 – Eight Seconds Saloon, Indianapolis, IN*
Nov. 10 – Dusty Armadillo, Rootstown, OH*
Nov. 29 – The Blue Note, Columbia, MO*
Nov. 30 – Revolution Music Room, Little Rock, AR*

Dec. 5 – Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY*
Dec. 7 – The Foundry at the Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA*
Dec. 8 – Chameleon Club, Lancaster, PA*
Dec. 12 – Jergel’s Rhythm and Grill, Warrendale, PA*
Dec. 13 – Iron Works, Buffalo, NY*
Dec. 14 – The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA*
Dec. 15 – Anthology, Rochester, NY*

* denotes a show with special guest Dee White

For information, visit AshleyMcBryde.com

Sam Hunt’s “Downtown’s Dead” Debuts In Top 20 on Billboard Country Airplay, Most Added at Country Radio

Sam Hunt’s “Downtown’s Dead” is the most-added song at country radio this week with an impressive 111 station adds, landing the new tune at No. 18 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and marking Hunt’s highest-ever radio single chart debut. Click HERE to listen.

Written by Hunt with Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally and Charlie Handsome, “Downtown’s Dead” follows Hunt’s record-breaking, 5x Platinum-selling smash and the newly-named 2018 Billboard Music Awards Top Country Song, “Body Like A Back Road.” At 34 weeks, Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” set the record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the six-decade history of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and earned Hunt the 2017 Academy of Country Music Award for “Single Record of the Year.” Hunt will also receive the ACM Gene Weed Milestone Award at the ACM Honors ceremony this summer in recognition of this extraordinary achievement.

Next up, Hunt headlines the Firestone Legends Day concert this Saturday at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway during race weekend for the 102nd Indianapolis 500. Then, Hunt heads out as a special guest on Luke Bryan’s What Makes You Country Tour – XL Stadium Sized kicking off May 31 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ONT. Additional tour stops include New York City, Cincinnati, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Boston, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Denver, St. Louis, Chicago, Vancouver and Detroit.

For more information on music, tour dates and tickets, please visit www.SamHunt.com.

Chase Rice Continues His “Lambs & Lions Tour” Days Following Shoulder Surgery

Chase Rice has faced his fair share of injuries over the years. While playing football at UNC, he took a hit directly to his left ankle, resulting in a win for the team but surgery and a missed season for the athlete. In the midst of rehabbing, he took another hit with the passing of his father. That time off between his injury and his loss led a disheartened Rice to channel his frustrations into music, leading to his discovery and love of songwriting … and eventually the start of his career in music.

Fast forward 10 years and millions of fans later, and Rice found himself nearly benched again.

Rice tore his pectoral muscle while filming the music video for Eyes On You,” a song from his latest, Lambs & Lions, that hit the U.S. Viral 50 Chart immediately after its release. Despite undergoing surgery just three days prior, as he shared on social media, Rice brought the energy that’s built him a faithful fan following around the world to a passionate crowd at the sold out House of Blues last night, giving his fans the night of their lives in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Stepping on stage with his right arm in a sling and the mic in the other, the Carolinian snarled, “There was no question in my mind about whether or not we’d be here tonight. After hearing this crowd sing ‘Eyes On You’ back to us as loud as you have, I’m even more excited for everyone to see this music video soon,” Rice marveled. “You and this right here — this energy — this is why we do what we do and why nothing was going to stop me from getting on this stage tonight.”

The show Friday marked 10 years to the day that his father passed away, making his performance all the more significant. Rice’s brother Casey joined him for the night, bringing Chase a small Martin guitar, the only size permitted for Rice to play while rehabilitating and the only one of its kind within 100 miles of Friday’s show. Just above its neck Rice inscribed “5-18-18” to commemorate the anniversary and special night.

Rice is committed to rehabbing on the road and is adamant no shows will be cancelled as he continues to play for fans across this country this summer on the Lambs & Lion Tour and at various festival dates.

For more information, visit www.chaserice.com and follow on Twitter and Facebook @ChaseRiceMusic or Instagram @ChaseRice.

Bobby Bones Brings Red Hoodie Comedy Tour To Nashville for 6-Show Residency

iHeartMedia’s Bobby Bones is bringing his in-demand BOBBY BONES RED HOODIE COMEDY TOUR home to Nashville this fall for a limited six-show residency at the historic Franklin Theatre. Featuring Columbia Nashville’s up-and-coming Country singer/songwriter Tenille Townes, Bones will perform two shows nightly, delivering his witty jokes across three dates in September and November. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 18 at www.bobbybonescomedy.com.

“I’m excited to get to bring the tour home for a few dates,” Bones said. “I can tell jokes and then go sleep in my own bed.”

Due to high demand, additional dates for the RED HOODIE COMEDY TOUR went on sale last Friday, with multiple stops selling out instantly. The tour follows his “wildly successful” (AXS) FUNNY & ALONE TOUR, which sold out more than 20 shows across the country. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bobbybonescomedy.com.

BOBBY BONES RED HOODIE COMEDY TOUR, Nashville Residency w/ Tenille Townes
9/1/18                               Nashville, TN                        The Franklin Theatre – 7:00p
9/1/18                               Nashville, TN                        The Franklin Theatre – 9:30p
11/23/18                           Nashville, TN                        The Franklin Theatre – 7:00p
11/23/18                           Nashville, TN                        The Franklin Theatre  – 9:30p
11/24/18                           Nashville, TN                        The Franklin Theatre –  7:00p
11/24/18                           Nashville, TN                        The Franklin Theatre  – 9:30p

BOBBY BONES RED HOODIE COMEDY TOUR     
5/18/18                            Austin, TX                              Paramount Theatre ***** SOLD OUT 
6/15/18                            Charleston, SC                      Charleston Music Hall *****
6/22/18                            Tampa, FL                             Morsani Hall *****
6/23/18                            Fort Pierce, FL                      Sunrise Theatre
7/13/18                            Northampton, MA                  Calvin Theater *
7/14/18                            Boston, MA                            Wilbur Theatre * SOLD OUT 
7/21/18                            Biloxi, MS                              Golden Nugget **
8/17/18                            Bakersfield, CA                      Majestic Fox  ***
8/18/18                            Sacramento, CA                    Crest Theater  *** SOLD OUT 
8/24/18                            Washington DC                     Warner Theater  ***
8/25/18                            Durham, NC                          Carolina Theater  *** SOLD OUT 
9/7/18                              Little Rock, AR                      Robinson Performance Hall *** (Additional Seats Added Due to Demand)                                                                                                                        
11/16/18                          Muskegon, MI                       Frauenthal Center  ****
11/17/18                          Riverside, IA                          Riverside Casino  **** SOLD OUT 
12/1/18                            Virginia Beach, VA                Sandler Center  **

* Jillian Jacqueline
** Maggie Rose
*** Lauren Duski
**** Tenille Townes
***** Brandon Ray