Easton Corbin Partners With Eckrich and Operation Homefront To Honor Military Families

Easton Corbin has partnered with Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor military families in various cities while he’s on tour this year, including stops on Carrie Underwood’s The Storyteller Tour.

Corbin has already welcomed families in Oakland, CA, Auburn Hills, MI Phoenix, AZ backstage before his concert to surprise the families with a gift of $5,000 in free groceries, courtesy of Eckrich. There are more events scheduled through early summer. The families get to stay and enjoy Corbin’s performance during The Storyteller Tour headlined by Carrie Underwood.

“It is an honor to be able to surprise and thank our military families with my partners at Eckrich,” said Corbin. “This is a really special campaign, and I’m really happy Eckrich asked me to a part of it. It’s great to be able to give something back to them and I hope it helps ease the burdens of these families for everything they have already sacrificed.”

These events are part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. The families are supported by Operation Homefront’s Hearts of Valor® program, a network of caregivers for wounded, ill or injured service members. Operation Homefront supports these caregivers through annual retreats, support groups and online communities.

Eckrich, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2 million to the organization since 2012.

“We thank Easton Corbin for helping us honor our military families,” said Chuck Gitkin, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Smithfield Foods.

For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com.

Jake Owen Releases “American Country Love Song” Music Video

The highly anticipated music video for Jake Owen’s new hit single “American Country Love Song” world premiered on PEOPLE.com. The video, directed by Jeff Venable, chronicles Jake’s “Love Bus” Road Trip from Nashville to Key West. Fans who spontaneously showed up for Jake’s impromptu performances along the route, as well as the many people who followed the hilarious Facebook Live streams he posted throughout the journey, are already responding via social media with their praise for the clip.

“I’ve gone through a lot the last couple years,” Owen tells PEOPLE. “And it was nice to just literally drive 55 miles an hour in the right-hand lane, which was as fast as we could go, not be in a hurry, and along the way see what happens… Stop places, play music, eat some good food and talk to people.”

In addition, the video was added into heavy rotation at CMT and “American Country Love Song” is available now at all digital retail partners.

Jake Owen will officially kick off the CMA Music Festival on Thursday, June 9, (10:00 AM/CT) at Riverfront Park. Owen will arrive at the Riverfront Stage via his Malibu wakeboard boat with a VIP sweepstakes winner and their guest. In honor of the Riverfront Stage announcement, CMA is holding a “Jake Owen – CMA Music Festival 2016 VIP Experience Sweepstakes” that offers two tickets to CMA Music Festival including airfare and hotel accommodations, a special meet and greet with Owen, plus a spot side stage to take in Owen’s Riverfront Stage performance.

Rascal Flatts Score Sixteenth No.1 with “I Like The Sound of That”

Superstar vocal group Rascal Flatts continue to add to their many accolades today as they celebrate their 16th career No. One as their infectious single “I Like The Sound Of That” reached the top of both the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase charts. The smooth, catchy track that Rolling Stone dubbed as “sweetly reminiscent of the trio’s early days” was penned by Jesse Frasure, with pop star Meghan Trainor and Shay Mooney of country duo Dan + Shay.

The chart-topping single is taken from their current album, REWIND (Big Machine Records), which debuted at No. One on the Billboard Country Albums chart, making Rascal Flatts one of only four acts from the SoundScan era to have eight consecutive studio albums debut in the top spot.

“We’ve had a lot of fun with this single,” said Gary LeVox. “It’s a blessing and humbling to be achieving milestones such as these and it just motivates us even more to keep going on this crazy journey with our amazing fans. A huge thank you to our friends at country radio and Big Machine family. We can’t wait to catch everybody back out on the road this summer to celebrate.”

Offering fans a change of pace with an eclectic setup, which includes the trio playing alongside longtime drummer Jim Riley and new multi-instrumentalist Casey Brown, who with his keyboard and percussion work adds drama and volume to the set. Rascal Flatts recently announced that their headlining RASCAL FLATTS: RHYTHM AND ROOTS TOUR will kick off in Charlotte, NC on 6/17 and the trio have invited red-hot newcomers Kelsea Ballerini and Chris Lane to join them out on the road.

For more information visit rascalflatts.com.

CMR Exclusive: Getting To Know Jeremy McComb

Rising country artist Jeremy McComb kicked off 2016 with the release of his latest album, FM. Featuring 12 solid tracks, McComb is currently making his way coast to coast, and everywhere in between,  showcasing new music on his GRIT Tour. Lead single “Didn’t We” has already been making a big impact with country fans, and has set the tone for a impressive year ahead for the country artist.

We caught up with  Jeremy McComb to chat about his new music, touring and much more! Check out our exclusive interview and get to know the talented artist.

CountryMusicRocks (CMR): You released your latest album, FM, earlier this year.Give us some background on the album and tell us a little about this collection of new music?

Jeremy McComb: This album was really about finding the truth in each experience with each song. Taking the grit and persistence it takes to do this at a high level for a long time. I really fell in love with every song on this record as we wrote it and it was something that brought the feeling of like, wow okay this is another big step for me and us personally and professionally as a songwriter & performer.

CMR:  Your new single, Didn’t We, has been connecting with fans with over 1.1 million streams already. Tell us a little about that song and what made you select it as your lead single from the album?

Jeremy McComb: Tim Mcgraw had it on hold for about 8 months and it was just one of those songs that directly after we wrote it (Myself, Rick Huckaby and Rhett Anthony) I felt like there was something very special about it.

CMR: Prior to pursuing your career in music, you were a tour manager & worked in radio, so you’ve seen several sides to the industry. Now you’re on the other side of the industry as an artist. How has your prior experience impacted your career today?

Jeremy McComb: I think just being prepared for what this life entails, The early mornings, the late nights, the expectations of how songs are added, played, rotated and how things work on every end, makes you appreciate everyone else and their job around you. So I think just having “Been There” before has helped me immensely as an artist.

CMR: You are currently out on your 2016 GRIT Tour. For folks that have not seen you live in concert yet, how would you best describe your set?

Jeremy McComb: I’m a story-teller, and so I love that feeling of connecting with new people, new stories in towns across America. That connection is what drives me at every show.

CMR: Your tour is sponsored by Caribbean’s Finest Rum, so we’ve got to know, what is your favorite drink with the rum?

Jeremy McComb: I LOVE Pineapple Juice like on a crazy next level kind of Love so, The Caribbeans Finest goes GREAT with it!!

CMR:  As fans are still getting to know you, what is one thing that you would like to convey to country music fans about you and your music?

Jeremy McComb: For me, it’s the connection. I can’t tell you what it means to see people support music and artists like people do now. It means more than I could ever explain to see more and more people showing up, singing along and connecting. It’s so humbling..

CMR: With 2016 now underway, what are some things that you are looking forward to and excited about for this year?

Jeremy McComb: I’ve been dying to get this music out, and with our new sponsor we’ve been able to really take our stage show and set to the next level. It’s exciting to see a vision I’ve dreamed up in my head come together.

Pick up Jeremy McComb’s new album FM on iTunes HERE. Also, be sure to check and see if he is coming to an area near you! Check out his tour schedule HERE.

Stay connected with Jeremy McComb by visiting his Official Website, Like him on Facebook and Follow him on Twitter.

Jason Aldean Announces His Six String Circus Tour

Known for his ability to “routinely fill stadiums” (Las Vegas Sun), this year’s ACM “Entertainer of the Year” Jason Aldean will return to the road as his SIX STRING CIRCUS TOUR launches May 19th in Rogers, AR with continued support from Thomas Rhett and A Thousand Horses.

Jason Aldean Kid Rock Fenway Park - CountryMusicRocks.netAs the first-ever Country artist to take the stage at Boston’s Fenway Park, Aldean will route the tour to the home of the Red Sox on Sept. 9, after previously smashing attendance records set by Paul McCartney and Dave Matthew Band, to co-headline with multi-Platinum award-winner Kid Rock. Tickets for the first dates of 27-city run are on sale now, while tickets to the Fenway Park show will be available next Fri., April 22 at 10:00A ET on JasonAldean.com and LiveNation.com.

“It was really cool to go over and play Australia for the first time last month, but there’s nothing like shows at home,” shares Aldean. “I’m looking forward to Kid Rock meeting up with us in Boston, we’ve played each other’s shows and been friends for awhile, so actually getting to do a full night together somewhere as iconic as Fenway Park is going to be a huge. The guys and I are ready to get back out there for the summer in the amphitheaters. That’s always a party waiting to happen with us!”

SIX STRING CIRCUS TOUR Dates:
5/19 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
5/20 Kansas City, MO – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
5/21 Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion
6/17 Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
6/24 Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
6/26 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
7/14 Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
7/15 Syracuse, NY – Lakeview Amphitheater
7/21 Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center
7/22 St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/12 Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
8/13 San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre
8/14 San Bernardino, CA San Manuel Amphitheater
8/18 Sacramento, CA Toyota Amphitheatre
8/19 Mtn. View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
8/20 Irvine, CA – Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
9/09 Boston, MA – Fenway Park*
9/11 Hartford, CT – The XFINITY Theatre
9/15 Hershey, PA – HersheyPark Stadium
9/16 Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
9/17 Philadelphia, PA – BB&T Pavilion
9/22 Darien Center, NY – Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center
9/23 Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center
9/24 Pittsburgh, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
9/29 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
9/30 Raleigh, NC – Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
10/1 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live