Country fans have watched Tim McGraw and Faith Hill‘s romance since it first began in the mid-’90s, so it may be hard to believe their oldest daughter, 15-year-old Gracie, is a high school sophomore and is is already looking at colleges. 

Tim admits his daughters have had just as big an impact on his personal growth as he’s had on theirs.  He tells ABC News Radio, “When they’re younger, You don’t think about ’em getting older so much, and you don’t think you could ever imagine it. But, you know, it’s a growing process that you go through as well as a parent. You grow right along with ’em.”

Now that his kids are getting ready to leave the nest in the next few years, Tim feels his daughters are ready to face the world.  “The best you can hope for is you make ’em strong,” he says. “You make ’em confident. You make ’em self-assured, and that’s what you hope. Especially young women. You want ’em to have all those attributes, and I think our girls are really well-adjusted girls.”

Tim and Faith wrap up their short-term residency at the Venetian in Las Vegas on April 27. Tim launches his Two Lanes of Freedom tour May 2 in Birmingham, AL.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Kenny Chesney‘s new album, Life on a Rock, lands in stores April 30, and he’s lined up a special performance on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that night to celebrate the release. Life on a Rock features a song called “Spread the Love,” which Kenny co-wrote with reggae legends The Wailers. Kenny’s Fallon appearance gives him a chance to perform the song with the show’s in-house band, The Roots, featuring drummer ?uestlove.

Kenny says, “What ?uestlove and his guys do is beyond what most people would even begin to think of. They push all music beyond…and you can feel them getting under a song and really lifting it up.”

Kenny thinks the hopeful message of “Spread the Love” will give some encouragement to his fans.  He says, “I wanna take it to the world… But I wanna do it with people who musically can bring that higher sense of being to the song. Which is everything The Roots do, no matter who they’re working with.”

In addition to “Spread the Love,” Life on a Rock also features Kenny’s latest hit, “Pirate Flag.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift are among the ladies being honored in Elle magazine’s Women in Music Portfolio. Alicia Keys and Adele are among the other women included in the spread, hitting newsstands April 23 in the magazine’s May issue.

Each featured artist shares some insight into their creative process as part of the portfolio. Taylor opens up about the inspiration behind her songwriting, saying, “All these emotions, everything that’s said and all your experience, that’s what inspires the first flicker of a song. It’s hard being a human being.”

Miranda stresses the importance of being yourself. She says, “My message is to be your own person, always- whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a superstar…We all bring something different.”

For a first look at photos from the Women in Music Portfolio, go to Elle.com.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Faith Hill has performed the opening theme of NBC’s Sunday Night Football for the past six years, but she won’t be around for a seventh season.

Faith posted a message on Facebook Monday morning, declaring “Amazing 2 have been part of SNF – an honor. I’ve just let everyone there know it’s time 2 let someone else rock the open.”

Faith adds that it was a “difficult decision,” and she is “kinda emotional” about it.

She says, “Love all u guys at SNF – I’ll b watching!!!”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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The Band Perry has signed on to perform on the Dancing with the Stars results show Tuesday night on ABC.  The sibling trio will sing a selection from their new album, Pioneer, which currently sits at #1 on Billboard‘s Country Albums chart.  The results show begins at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Kellie Pickler continues competing on Dancing with the Stars Monday night at 8 Eastern on ABC.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Chris Young’s fans obviously love his sexier songs, like his first #1 hit “Gettin’ You Home” and his current hit “I Can Take It from There.”

“It’s that sexy vibe song. I gotta do one of those like every five or six singles,” Chris tells ABC News Radio. “I just love that. I love being able to have that in the show, and it works really well.”

Chris’s concert crowds took to “I Can Take It from There” even before it became a single, and the song has kept sales of his latest album, Neon, moving along nicely.

Says Chris, “Looking like we might even get a gold record out of this album, so it feels real good right now. Everything feels great.”

Chris plays his next concert this Thursday in Portland, ME.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Jason Aldean dreamed of going to see a Georgia Bulldogs football game at the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium as a kid, but his family didn’t have the money for tickets. He finally got to a game when he was about 20 years old, but on Saturday night, Jason surpassed any of his wildest childhood dreams when he actually played a concert on that football field in Athens, GA.

More than 60,000 fans packed the stands as Jason headlined a concert bill featuring fellow Georgia native and Bulldogs fan Luke Bryan, Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett. Jason also welcomed Ludacris onstage during his set to perform their remix of “Dirt Road Anthem,” and Luke and Jason delivered a rowdy version of their #1 hit “The Only Way I Know.” In addition to his huge arsenal of hits, including “Big Green Tractor” and “My Kinda Party,” Jason also employed multiple, moving LED screens and massive amounts of pyrotechnics to deliver a visually stunning show.

The show was captured by HD cameras and a camera man in a helicopter flying over the venue, so there is a good chance fans will get to see that concert footage released in some form in the coming months. Before the concert, Jason had a film crew following his every move, from the time he first saw the massive stage setup at the stadium, to his surprise visit to hang with some fans tailgating before the show.

During an interview just outside the stadium, Jason said, “This place for anybody from this state and a fan of this team, that is like a church over there. I mean, that is sacred ground, and the fact that we can walk in there and our stage is set up in the endzone. I’m sitting there thinking to myself, like, when did this happen? Like, when did it get to this point?”

Jason had plenty of family from Georgia in the crowd too. He says, “I have people I didn’t even know I was related to that apparently I am. They’re here.”

Sharing this concert with his pal Luke Bryan was very sweet for Jason, especially since they both won big at the ACM Awards recently. Luke opened for Jason up until last year, and Jason is in awe of how hot his friend’s career has become lately.

“He’s on fire right now,” Jason says of Luke. “Everywhere you turn you see teeth. I mean, it’s crazy.”

Jason adds, “You know, he’s got one of the hottest tours out there right now.  So, I’m a little jealous of him, but I’m happy for him too.”

Before the show, Luke was too nervous to even go in and look at the stage setup in the stadium. He finally got over his fears and turned in a set featuring “Drunk on You,” “Country Girl (Shake It for Me),” “Country Man” and the new single, “Crash My Party.”

As for Jason, he has two more stadium shows coming up, including Boston’s Fenway Park on July 12 and 13 and Chicago’s Wrigley Field on July 20.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Brantley Gilbert has signed on to perform at the Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary Celebration coming up Labor Day weekend in Milwaukee.  His show will be part of a three-day festival taking place August 29 through September 1, and more acts will be added to the bill soon.

For tickets, fans can go to H-D.com/110tickets.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Kenny Rogers will be formally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in a ceremony later this year, and he plans to have all four of his sons to that event.  Kenny and his wife Wanda have eight-year-old twin boys, and he grew emotional at a press conference in Nashville Wednesday thinking about having them with him for that big night.

Kenny says, “I’m glad it happened in my lifetime, so I could share it with my boys.  Because I think it’s an important thing for them to know that I worked hard.”

Kenny’s two older sons were actually shocked to find out about his Country Music Hall of Fame induction.  They thought their dad had been inducted about 20 years ago.

“I didn’t have the heart to tell ’em ’cause they were very impressed with me,” Kenny explains with a laugh.  “Now, maybe they can truly be impressed.”

Each inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame is honored at the annual Medallion Ceremony, and artists of the inductee’s choosing perform songs from that inductee’s catalog.  So, who is on Kenny’s wish list for that slot?  None other than his “Islands in the Stream” duet partner, Dolly Parton.

He says, “In my heart, if I had my way, I’d ask Dolly.  I think she would do it.  But I don’t know, the days are still uncertain.  But you know, I love her, and she knows.  And she loves me.  I think if she can, she would do it.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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The Band Perry‘s sophomore album, Pioneer, bows at #1 on Billboard‘s Country Albums chart and #1 on the overall Billboard 200 albums chart.  Featuring the #1 hit, “Better Dig Two,” and the new single, “DONE.,” Pioneer sold 129,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen Soundscan.  The big sales numbers are due in part to The Band Perry’s performance of “DONE.” Sunday night on the ACM Awards.

Of note, Pioneer, is the first Band Perry album to hit #1 on the Country Albums chart.  Their first, self-titled album, has sold 1.5 million copies.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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