The Band Perry will premiere their sophomore album, Pioneer, with a free show in their hometown of Greeneville, TN on March 30. The album doesn’t hit stores until April 2, so the sibling trio’s friends and neighbors will be the first to hear the new music. The group’s lead singer Kimberly Perry feels like this is the perfect place to start the journey of the Pioneer album.

“To know where you’re headed, sometimes you have to know where you’ve been,” Kimberly tells ABC News Radio. “So, for us to begin the journey of having this album out in the world, we felt like our hometown, the place that we are starting from, was so important to have that be the premiere.”

The Band Perry will sign autographs following the show, and the group actually performed a free show in Greeneville to celebrate the release of their debut album a few years back.

Neil Perry says, “It’s really great to kind of give back to Greeneville that’s given us so much. You know, they’ve supported us through everything. So, this is our kind of thank you to them.”

Pioneer features The Band Perry’s latest #1 hit, “Better Dig Two,” as well as their latest single, “DONE.”

The Band Perry’s Greeneville concert is presented by the Greene County Partnership to raise awareness of Outnumber Hunger. The Band Perry is this year’s face of Outnumber Hunger, a campaign to fight hunger from General Mills, Big Machine Label Group and Feeding America.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Lee Brice and his fiancé Sara now live in Nashville, but she originally hails from Ohio. Lee is a native of Sumter, SC, so why are they tying the knot in Branson, MO next month? It turns out that city holds some history for the couple.

“Her aunt lives there,” Lee tells ABC News Radio. “We actually spent some time there together and had some of our beginnings there together.”

He adds, “It was kind of the beginning of us kind of rekindling things and starting back up again.”

Lee and Sara actually got back together a few years ago after going through a breakup. They have a young son named Takoda.

Having the wedding in Branson also means the couple will know everyone at the wedding instead of having to deal with extended family in their hometowns or music industry types in Nashville.

Lee says with a laugh, “We were like, you know what? Let’s just go there, and that way if people can’t come, they can’t come.”

Guests who do make it to the wedding are in for a fun time at the reception thanks to Lee’s chosen wedding entertainment, the Chris Weaver Band. Lee describes the group’s front man saying, “He kinda has a Joe Cocker thing about him, and he’s just killer.”

Sara has a few things in mind for the actual ceremony, and Lee expects that part of the wedding to be really simple.

“She’ll be beautiful,” he says. “That’s all that will matter.”

Lee adds that he expects to cry during the wedding too.

“If I don’t, there’s something wrong, ’cause I cry at every wedding it seems like I go to.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Chris Young is one of country music’s top stars, so it’s hard to imagine him getting really excited to meet any other country artist at this point.  For Chris, the top songwriters in Nashville are the real superstars.  That’s why he was so excited to work with his co-writers on his new single, “I Can Take It from There.”

He says, “I’ve always wanted to write with ’em, and one of ’em being Rhett Akins, who I’ve known Rhett forever. It was exciting just to get in the room with him and hang out, him and Ben Hayslip.”

Once they finished writing the song, Chris added it to his set list almost immediately.  He knew he had something good judging from the fans’ reaction.

Chris says, “That’s one of the things that I’ve kind of kept as a hallmark of when I love something, just listening to it recorded, and then when it also works live, that’s a really, really good sign.”

“I Can Take It from There” is the latest single from Chris’s current album, Neon.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Nearly $1 million in cash and prizes were given out at the 31st Annual George Strait Team Roping Classic over the weekend in San Antonio, TX.

Some 685 teams competed for the top prize, which went to Garrett Tonozzi‘s team. He actually placed first and second in the competition with his roping partners Dugan Kelly and York Gill, respectively. Tonozzi walked away with more than $183,000 in cash, while Kelly was awarded more than $131,000 in cash. They both received Chevrolet Dualie trucks, a horse trailer from Bruton Trailer, a new saddle and more.

The George Strait Team Roping Classic is the largest open roping event in America. It started as a small family roping event in 1982.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Thompson Square‘s sophomore album, Just Feels Good, comes out March 26, but fans who catch the duo on Luke Bryan‘s Dirt Road Diaries tour before then will get to hear a few new tracks from the album including the title cut.

Thompson Square’s Shawna Thompson tells ABC News Radio, “We’ve been doing like three of the new songs, and people have been accepting’ ’em, and it feels really good.”

Shawna’s duo partner and husband Keifer Thompson adds, “Get out there and you do ‘Just Feels Good,”‘ and right off the get, man, everyone’s got their hands in the air, and it’s like, ‘What is happening?'”

That good-time vibe runs throughout Thompson Square’s new album too.

Keifer says, “We just wanted to have a fun song, a fun album that after you get done with it, you go, ‘How do you feel?’ ‘Well, I feel good. I feel good about that album.’ Hopefully that’s what it does.”

The lead single from Just Feels Good, “If I Didn’t Have You” is now climbing the charts.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Kacey Musgraves hasn’t even released her debut album yet, and she’s already landed a coveted spot on Kenny Chesney‘s No Shoes Nation tour, launching Saturday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL.  Kacey has a top 10 hit now with “Merry Go Round,” but Kenny picked her for his tour months ago. So, how did Kacey land the gig?

She tells ABC News Radio, “Well, he heard my music. I guess his manager had played him some songs, and he maybe heard ‘Merry Go Round’ and liked it enough to ask me to come along.”

Up until now, Kacey has played smaller venues like the theaters on Little Big Town‘s Tornado tour this year.  Playing for a stadium full of country fans will be quite an adjustment.

Says Kacey,  “I’ve never played stadiums before.  It’s gonna be just like a huge learning curve and just something I’ll probably never forget.  It’s crazy.”

Kacey’s music is more stripped down and introspective than many of Kenny’s big hits, and she hopes her music will translate for his crowd.  While Kacey has immense respect for Kenny as a musician and entertainer, she says, “I’m just hoping his fans and his crowd will recognize that I’m coming from maybe a different perspective, but that hopefully they can appreciate and maybe connect with me on some sort of level.”

Kacey’s highly-anticipated debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, is due out next Tuesday, March 19.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Brad Paisley is flying without a net on his new album, Wheelhouse, due out April 9.  With every other album, Brad has always set up parameters and been very clear on what he would or wouldn’t do.  That all went out the window this time around as Brad experimented with new sounds and even brought in LL Cool J to rap on the song “Accidental Racist.”

“There were no walls respected,” Brad says.  “If I thought the addition of a rap artist would take my point to the next level in a composition, that’s what we did.”

He adds, “If I felt like taking steel guitar and making it sound like a hip-hop loop would absolutely sort of bring something to life and make it unique and feel like you want someone to feel, then that’s what we did.”

Brad first hit the scene with his 1999 debut project, Who Needs Pictures, as an artist steeped in traditional country music. So, how does that square will all of the experimentation he’s doing now?

Brad admits, “If the Brad Paisley that cut Who Needs Pictures could hear the Brad Paisley that cut Wheelhouse, he would be pretty shocked, and he would wonder what journey he had been on to get him to the point to make this album.”

No matter what the young Brad might think of Wheelhouse, the fans seem to love it so far.  The first single, “Southern Comfort Zone,” recently hit #1 at country radio, and the follow-up, “Beat This Summer,” is starting a swift climb up the chart.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Kacey Musgraves‘ highly-anticipated debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, will be available on CD and digital download March 19, but she’s also releasing a special version of the album to celebrate Record Store Day on April 20.

Kacey tells CMT.com, “Yeah, we’re going to do a vinyl, which I love because I’m a big collector. We’ll do something fun around that day.”

Though her debut single, “Merry Go Round,” is already a top-10 hit, Kacey’s fans have discovered a lot of the other songs on Same Trailer Different Park watching her live performances on YouTube.

“That’s really cool to me,” Kacey says. “It gives me an early indicator as far as what I feel like people are going to like. People have been learning the words, and there are a few songs that are becoming increasingly known. That gets me stoked.”

Kacey has been on the road with Little Big Town‘s Tornado tour this year. She starts her gig as the opening act on Kenny Chesney‘s No Shoes Nation tour March 16 in Tampa, FL.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Brad Paisley is giving fans an intimate look at the making of his new album, Wheelhouse, with his first interactive book, Building a Wheelhouse. That project will be available exclusively at iTunes and gives fans in-depth interviews, video and photo galleries capturing Brad writing and recording the new album.

Both Wheelhouse and Building a Wheelhouse will be released April 9. The new album features Brad’s latest #1 hit “Southern Comfort Zone,” as well as his new single, “Beat This Summer.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Scotty McCreery has launched the ScotTV web series to keep fans up to date as he continues his Weekend Roadtrip Tour 2013.  Fans can now catch the first two installments at ScottyMcCreery.com.

“We always have a lot of fun out on the road and these first episodes of ScotTV are just the beginning,” Scotty explains.  “2013 is going to be a new chapter in my career, and I’m excited to share it with all my fans.”

The web series will also catch Scotty in the studio as he records his upcoming sophomore album.  His tour continues Friday night in Plant City, FL.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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