John Mayer, Dolly Parton, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Charley Pride, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Alison Krauss and Billy Currington will all join Keith Urban next month at his second annual “We’re All For The Hall” benefit.  Last year’s event raised nearly $500,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

“This year we’ve created a musical theme called ‘Heroes,’” Urban said.  I’ve asked each artist to play one of their favorite songs from one of their country heroes, besides of course, one of their own hits.  There’s no doubt that this audience is going to experience a really special night – some of their favorite artists doing songs that, in some cases, they may have never even been played live before… and quite possibly won’t ever again.”

Tickets for the event are $25 – $35 and will go on sale Friday, September 17 through Ticketmaster.  The event will take place on October 5 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

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Tim McGraw stars alongside Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow in the upcoming film Country Strong, which will hit theaters December 22. The title track of the movie was released to country radio this week. Paltrow takes the lead while country music legends Vince Gill and Patty Griffin sing background vocals.

This is Paltrow’s first shot at recording music country music and after listening to it, we don’t think it will be her last. Take a listen to the song HERE and be sure to come back and let us know what you think.

“Country Strong” will be available on iTunes August 23 and the full soundtrack to the movie will be available on October 26.

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For the fifth year in a row, Vince Gill will hit the road this holiday season with his wife, Amy Grant, for their annual Christmas tour.  The tour kicks off in early December in FL, and will conclude with two shows in Nashville at the mother church of country music, the Ryman Auditorium, just before Christmas.

“Christmas audiences are special,” explains Grant. “They tend to involve the whole family, and their emotions are a wonderful mix of anticipation and reverence. It’s a thrilling experience for both of us.” “These holiday tours have become our favorites,” Gill agrees.

The “Twelve Days Of Christmas” tour will visit the following cities…

Dec. 8 Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall / Sarasota, FL
Dec. 9 King Center For The Performing Arts / Melbourne, FL
Dec.10 Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall / Ft. Myers, FL
Dec.11 Ruth Eckerd Hall / Clearwater, FL
Dec.13 Peace Center For The Performing Arts /Greenville, SC
Dec.14 Durham Performing Arts Center / Durham, NC
Dec.17 Crown Theatre / Fayetteville, NC
Dec.18 War Memorial Auditorium / Greensboro, NC
Dec.19 Cabarrus Arena / Concord, NC
Dec.20 Fox Theatre / Atlanta, GA
Dec.21 Ryman Auditorium / Nashville, TN
Dec.22 Ryman Auditorium / Nashville, TN

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Vince Gill is a producer on LeAnn Rimes‘ upcoming album, Lady And Gentleman. The album features Rimes singing cover songs by all male artists.

Gill says he had fun working on the project.

“It was an intriguing idea of a record to make,” Gill recently told The Tennessean. “It was a real fun … musical collaboration. The songs are really different than the originals, so it was making them in a way that she was comfortable with but still honoring their tradition without replicating them in a note-for-note kind of way.”

Lady And Gentleman hits stores on October 5.

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Capitol Records Nashville threw their newest star, Jennette McCurdy of Nickelodeon’s iCarly, a party to celebrate her 18th birthday. Jennette invited local kids from BellevueMiddle School (one of the hardest hit areas) who were affected and displaced by Nashville’s recent historic flood to come and enjoy a night of fun, food and games.

The party, which was held in downtown Nashville Monday, June 21, included a live DJ, video games, smoothie and ice cream stations, a special birthday cake in the shape of the number 18 and a star-studded birthday video featuring Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, McCurdy’s iCarly cast-mates and many others

In addition to the Bellevue kids, country music artists and their children also joined in on the fun of meeting the singer and actress. Martina McBride’s daughter Emma was in attendance as was Vince Gill and Amy Grant’s daughter Corrina. Phil Vassar’s daughters Presley and Haley also came and Jamie O’Neal brought her daughter Aliyah.

In lieu of gifts, Jennette asked guests to bring a new pair of socks which were donated after the party to the local flood victims through Hands On Nashville to the local CommunityResourceCenter.

Last summer Jennette signed to Capitol Nashville on her 17th Birthday and has been writing for and recording her debut album, The Story Of My Life, in Nashville over the last year. Produced by Paul Worley (Lady Antebellum), Jennette co-wrote nine of the 11 tracks on the album including the current single “Not That Far Away” which she co-penned with Rachel Proctor and Blair Daly.

For more information check out McCurdy’s official website.

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With the 2010 CMT Music Awards and the annual CMA Music Festival both taking place this week, it’s no doubt a busy (and great!) time in the world of country music.  To honor the genre, Billboard has counted down their top 25 country artists over the last 25 years…

25. LeAnn Rimes
24. Travis Tritt
23. Martina McBride
22. Dwight Yoakam
21. Ricky Van Shelton
20. Brad Paisley
19. Keith Urban
18. Dixie Chicks
17. Vince Gill
16. Faith Hill
15. The Judds
14. Shania Twain
13. Hank Willliams Jr.
12. Clint Black
11. Rascal Flatts
10. Brooks & Dunn
9. Alabama
8. Kenny Chesney
7. Toby Keith
6. Randy Travis
5. Tim McGraw
4. Alan Jackson
3. Reba McEntire
2. Garth Brooks
1. George Strait

Click HERE to read the complete article that includes a brief summary of why they chose each artist.

What do you think of the list?  Who’s missing… who should be ranked higher/lower… who’s on the list that shouldn’t be?

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The 20th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge will be held on Monday, June 7th at 7pm. Some of country music’s hottest stars including Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Vince Gill, and Jason Aldean are all stepping up to the plate to help raise money for this great cause.

If you live in Nashville, or if you’ll be in town for the 2010 CMA Music Festival, this is a FABULOUS way to kick off your CMA Fest week.

If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, you could be in luck because we have a pair of tickets to giveaway! To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on this post with your name and e-mail address. We’ll randomly select a winner on Sunday.

Tickets to the game are still available HERE.

And the winner is….Joni!

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Some of country music’s most talented artists will step up to home plate at City of Hope’s 20th annual Celebrity Softball Challenge on June 7 at 7 p.m. at Greer Stadium in Nashville. Rival teams Grand Ole Opry and “After MidNite with Blair Garner” announced their team drafts today.

In its 20-year history, the Celebrity Softball Challenge in Nashville has raised over $2 million for City of Hope, a leading research, education and treatment center for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Playing for the “After MidNite with Blair Garner” team are Keith Anderson, MLB’s Ben Broussard, Chuck Wicks, David Nail, Joe Nichols, Josh Thompson, Luke Bryan, comedienne Melissa Peterman, JP Dumont of the Nashville Predators, CMT’s Katie Cook as emcee, Mike Gossin and Rachel Reinart of Gloriana, Randy Montana, Savannah Jack, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ken Amato and Donnie Nickey of the Titans, Vince Gill and Whitney Duncan.

Grand Ole Opry team players include Brian Lambert as coach, Carrie Underwood, Cheyenne Kimball and Tom Gossin of Gloriana, Craig Morgan, Colt Ford, Felix Cavaliere, Jaron & the Long Road to Love, Jason Aldean, Wade Belak of the Nashville Predators, Julianne Hough, Justin Moore, Mallary Hope, Great American Country’s host of “Headline Country” Storme Warren as emcee, The Band Perry, Titans Courtland Finnegan and Justin Gage, Trailer Choir and Two Foot Fred.

Tickets for $20 are available at www.ticketmaster.com.

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