The Band Perry is leading the charge on this year’s Outnumber Hunger campaign, and they’ll help kick it off with the Outnumber Hunger Live! concert next month in Las Vegas.

The sibling trio will also join several other artists appearing on specially marked General Mills food packages as part of the campaign.  Fans can enter codes online from those packages to secure meals for those struggling with hunger.

The Band Perry was involved with Outnumber Hunger last year, and they say in a statement, “our eyes were opened to the problem of hunger in America, which is why we so strongly support this cause and want to take an even bigger role in supporting Outnumber Hunger this year.”

The Outnumber Hunger Live! concert will also feature performances from Brantley Gilbert, Florida Georgia Line, Justin Moore, Greg Bates and Cassadee Pope at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on April 5. The show will be part of the Academy of Country Music ACM Experience event leading up to the ACM Awards on April 7.

For more details on the campaign, go to OutnumberHunger.com.  The Outnumber Hunger campaign is a joint effort between General Mills, Feeding America and the Big Machine Label Group to address the widespread issue of hunger in the United States.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Darius Rucker enlisted some famous friends to appear in his new video for “Wagon Wheel.”  He’s shooting the clip this week in Nashville with a little help from Jase, Korie, Sadie, Si and Willie Robertson from A&E’s Duck Dynasty.  Lady Antebellum sings backup on Darius’s version of “Wagon Wheel,” and the group’s Charles Kelley appears in the video too.

So, how did the Duck Dynasty cast end up in Darius’s video?  It turns out it was his wife Beth‘s idea, and she’s the one who ultimately made it happen.

“I thought we had no chance because they’re so busy, so I never even said it out loud,” Darius says.  “Thank God she called my manager because the DD folks took this video to a whole new level!  Big thanks to them and Charles… It was a good time for sure, and I can’t wait to see how the video turns out!”

“Wagon Wheel” was written by Ketch Secur of Old Crow Medicine Show based on a song sketch by Bob Dylan.  Darius’s version will appear on his new album, True Believers, due out this spring.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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A few music stars are stepping up with auction items to benefit those affected by the Sandy Hook school shootings last December in Newtown, CT.  Tim McGraw has donated two tickets to his June 30 show in New Jersey to the Music for Newtown auction, sponsored by Republic Records. Taylor Swift is also donating an item to the auction to be announced later.

The Music for Newtown Auction runs from March 25 through 27 at MusicforNewtown.org.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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NEW ORLEANS — Country singer-songwriter Claude King, an original member of the Louisiana Hayride who was best known for the 1962 hit “Wolverton Mountain,” has died. He was 90.

King had just celebrated his birthday and 67th wedding anniversary to his wife, Barbara, last month. The couple’s eldest son, Duane King, said his father was found unresponsive in his bed early Thursday morning at his home in Shreveport.

King was one of the original members of the Louisiana Hayride, the Saturday-night show where Elvis Presley also got his start. The show transformed country and western music from 1948 to 1960 with music genres including hillbilly, Western swing, jazz, blues and gospel.

King’s hit “Wolverton Mountain” told a story of mountain man Clifton Clowers, who guarded his daughter from suitors.

“Claude was a legend in the Louisiana music industry, one of the greatest songwriters, and a wonderful friend,” said Maggie Warwick, owner of the Louisiana Hayride trademark and the production company, Louisiana Hayride Co. “Claude and Tillman Franks were on the Hayride from the very beginning.”

Warwick, who also serves as chairwoman of the Louisiana Music Commission, said King was known for his guitar-playing skills and knack for writing songs.

“He had a gift for melody and lyrics that was very definable,” Warwick said. “The range and melody and the feeling that goes with his songs, when you hear it, it’s very unique and identifiable with Claude King. He had a personal style that was all his own.”

___

Online:

“Wolverton Mountain,” YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?vvLoQS0GnhWk

 

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Little Big Town‘s Kimberly Schlapman kicks off the second season of her GAC cooking show, Kimberly’s Simply Southern, this Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern.  She’s lined up an impressive list of stars to join her behind the counter this season including Josh Turner, Jerrod Niemann, Dustin Lynch, Martina McBride, Craig Morgan and Sunny Sweeney as well as her LBT band mate Karen Fairchild.  Playing host to her famous friends is a big perk of hosting the show for Kimberly.

“I like having people in the kitchen with me, and I like talking to them about what they’re doing,” Kimberly tells ABC News Radio.  “I like talking about how they grew up and how they grew up with food, and did they grow up cooking and did they grow up watching their grandmother cook?  I love the stories that we find out.”

Kimberly has to actually memorize each recipe and cook it all while she’s paying attention to the camera and making her guests feel welcome.  It’s a lot to juggle, and Kimberly is thankful her producers are in the next room to keep her in line during filming.

She says, “I think I’m getting a little bit better at it, but still, sometimes they yell at me from the other side of the wall, ‘You forgot the cloves!’  You know, stuff like that.”

In addition to cooking in the kitchen, Kimberly also gets out into the wild with a trip into a Florida citrus grove this season. She also harvests oysters in Washington State, handcrafts chocolate in Brooklyn and milks cows in Georgia on upcoming episodes.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan will not only co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards next month, they’ll also perform on the show.

Miranda Lambert, Kelly Clarkson, George Strait, Hunter Hayes and The Band Perry are joining the performance lineup too.

The ACM Awards broadcast live from Las Vegas April 7 on CBS.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Alan Jackson is headed back to familiar territory with his new project, Precious Memories Volume II, coming out March 26. It’s the follow-up to his double-platinum 2006 release, Precious Memories, and Alan didn’t have a hard time picking the traditional hymns to record for the project.  He just had to go back to his original list of 30 or 40 possible songs he made for the first hymns album.  

Alan explains, “We had so many that we didn’t get to, I thought we’d go in and do a few more just the same way — heartfelt and simple.”

Here’s the Precious Memories Volume II track listing:

“Amazing Grace”
“He Lives”
“Just As I Am”
“Love Lifted Me”
“O How I Love Jesus”
“Only Trust Him”
“There Is Power in the Blood”
“Precious Memories”
“Sweet Hour of Prayer”
“When the Roll Is Called up Yonder”
“Wherever He Leads I’ll Go”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Jason Aldean played his first concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd.  Though he’s heard about the iconic venue his entire life, Jason had never even set foot inside the Garden until he arrived there to headline his own show.

“I’d never played it as an opening act or anything,” Jason explains.  “So, my first time playing there was my own show, which was great.”

Jason was feeling really good about his accomplishment until he saw a banner hanging up inside the Garden.

“It says, ‘Elton John 62.’  And I’m like, ‘What does that mean?'” Jason says.  “Well, apparently he’s sold out 62 shows there, so it made my little one show not seem so cool anymore.”

Though he’s got a lot of work to do before he catches up with Elton, Jason hopes to return for another sold-out show at the Garden very soon.  Performing for all those fans made Jason realize just how many fans live in and around New York City.

He says, “[It] kind of opened my eyes to the fact that maybe that’s something we need to take a harder look at, and try to go back there a little more.”

Jason has another big show coming up Monday, March 11 at the Houston Rodeo in Texas.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Show Dog/UniversalTrace Adkins is in the mood for love with his 11th studio album, Love Will…, which is due out this spring.  The project features 11 songs centered around that complicated and fascinating emotion, but Trace didn’t set out to make a love-songs album when he first entered the studio.

“In the process of putting together this project this time, I’d recorded probably 17 or 18 songs all total, and then I realized about 11 of those are love songs,” Trace explains to ABC News Radio.  “So, instead of putting ’em all out together on some big, huge package, I just whittled it down to the 11 love songs.”

These love songs aren’t all epic, “love you ’til the end of time” ballads though.  Trace says, “This is an album of love songs but in my book, ‘Hot Mama’ and ‘Badonkadonk’ are love songs!”  The album also boasts an impressive lineup of producers as well as a few as-yet-unannounced and unexpected collaborations. 

Fans can now pre-order Love Will… at TraceAdkins.com.  Trace has also launched a sweepstakes tied in with his role as a contestant on NBC’s All-Star Celebrity Apprentice this season.  Fans who complete tasks related to the Celebrity Apprentice and Trace’s role as a Red Cross spokesman will be entered to win prizes, including a trip to the live finale of All-Star Celebrity Apprentice or an all-expense-paid cruise on Country Cruising 2014.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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