George Strait‘s appropriately launching his final tour Friday night in his home state of Texas. The Cowboy Rides Away tour gets underway in Lubbock, and it’s just one of the cities George hand selected for this last trek.

He says, “We’re trying to go to cities that we’ve been going to for a long, long time so we’re able to make one final appearance there during a tour.”

George is pretty sure he’s making the right decision to say goodbye to life on the road once this tour ends in 2014. He’s doing these final shows to honor the fans who have supported him since his 1981 debut on the country charts.

“I just hope they understand that it’s inevitable that it’s gonna happen at some point,” George says of leaving the road. “I kinda want to be able to pick the time instead of it come along when I’m the only one that shows up out there.”

George’s fans can expect him to dig deep into his catalog while making the set list for this tour. They can also look forward to an opening set from Martina McBride, who will be on all dates of The Cowboy Rides Away tour.

Says George, “She’s just incredible. An incredible singer, and a great person. We have a lot of fun out there with her. We were out with her last year, and we’re gonna go out with her again this year. And so, we’re happy about that.”

Check out GeorgeStrait.com for a full list of tour dates.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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Miranda Lambert first approached Dierks Bentley about hitting the road on the Locked & Reloaded tour in — where else? — a bar.  The two were having a few drinks in Las Vegas when Miranda suggested they revisit their 2006 tour together, which was called Locked & Loaded.  Back then, Miranda was Dierks’ opening act, but this time around they’ll both play full sets before joining each other for collaborations at the end of the night.

Dierks says of their collaborations, “We’re gonna do some country stuff.  Some unexpected stuff.  Some rock stuff, but it’s just gonna be a combination of different things.”  He adds, “We really want to do some things that the fans would expect, but also some things they might not expect to hear.”

Dierks also promises his fans more bells and whistles on stage than he’s ever had before.  He has a brand-new set and more video content than he’s ever had in his shows up to this point.

Speaking about his thought process going into this tour, Dierks says, “Let’s pretend this is the last tour we’re ever gonna do.  What would we do?  Well, we’d have a killer set that we can climb around on and shoot lights through and make it something really exciting and new for us and for our fans.”

Dierks and his band and crew are also looking forward to getting in the groove of a structured tour again.  Last year, Dierks played a lot of different types of shows in the U.S. and abroad, and he’s looking forward to consistency with this new trek.

He says, “It’s just really fun to be on, like, a consistent kind of deal every night and really be able to put forth the kind of show that we sit on the bus talking about until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning.”

For a complete list of Locked & Reloaded tour dates go to Dierks.com or MirandaLambert.com.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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Dolly Parton on the personal nature of songwriting.

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Dolly on how she got her look.

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Dolly’s not afraid to do what needs to be done to stay looking good.

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Gary Allan‘s upcoming album, Set You Free, doesn’t feature a title song called “Set You Free.”  While Gary has used song titles for the name of his albums before, none of the tracks from this new project seemed to work in that capacity.

He says, “You want to do something that captures the flavor of the album and doesn’t sound cheesy and says what you want to say, and I think Set You Free did.”

So, where did Gary come up with that title? That phrase, “Set you free,” shows up in the bridge of his latest hit, “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain),” and Gary thought it was cool to find the album title in the song lyrics.

The album title also sums up where Gary is in his life both personally with his family and professionally with his Nashville-based record label.

“I think it’s very symbolic of where we’re at right now,” Gary says. “Set You Free is the perfect title for us.”

Gary’s new album, Set You Free, is due out Tuesday, January 22.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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Dierks Bentley and his beloved dog Jake have been inseparable since they were reunited Monday morning. Dierks even had Jake with him at a Nashville rehearsal space as he gave members of the media a preview of his new live show, and the dog got just as much, if not more, attention as Dierks himself. After his performance, Dierks filled in a few details on how Jake went missing Sunday night.  

It seems Jake doesn’t like to be alone during thunderstorms, and he hopped the fence in Dierks’ backyard Sunday night as a storm moved into Nashville. Dierks was headed to tour rehearsals with Miranda Lambert that night when his wife called to tell him Jake was missing.

“I got down there hoping I’d get a phone call that they’d found him, and they hadn’t,” Dierks says. “Of course, being around Miranda and all her thousands of animals backstage, I couldn’t take it. So, I left and started driving around at 5.”

Dierks drove around until 1 in the morning looking for his dog while posting about it all on Facebook and Twitter. The temperature had dropped to around 30 degrees that night in Nashville, and Dierks had put the wrong collar on Jake that day, which meant Jake had no identification.

While Dierks and several of his friends were looking for Jake, a nurse practitioner in Nashville spotted Dierk’s pup in a busy intersection about to be struck by a car. Since the woman’s own dog had previously been hit by a car, she was compelled to get out and take Jake home with her.

Dierks says, “It all came down to just the right person at the right time.” He adds, “While I was driving around every neighborhood along with everybody else, he was probably chilling out on her couch getting a lot of attention.”

The next morning, the woman took Jake to the vet, but they couldn’t find his embedded identification chip. That’s where the power of social media came in to save the day.

Dierks says of the staff at the vet’s office, “Luckily through Facebook they had heard that I was missing my dog, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I think that’s Jake.'”

Dierks also commented that his Grammy-nominated hit “Home” has even more meaning for him now that his best friend is safe and sound.

On the tour front, Dierks hits the road on the Locked & Reloaded tour with Miranda Lambert Thursday in Columbia, SC.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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Clay Walker hosts the new season of Trophy Hunters TV Sundays at 2 p.m. ET on the Outdoor Channel. He was already a fan of the hunting show, so it was a no-brainer when they asked him to host.

Clay says, “I hope that the fans enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed hosting and being a part of this season.”

This season of Trophy Hunters TV finds Clay hunting elk in Colorado and deer in Texas, as well as playing his guitar back at the camp.

In other Clay Walker news, he’s announced plans for the first-ever Band Against MS Ride, taking place February 2 at the Houston Oaks Country Club & Family Sports Retreat. The event brings together Clay’s passion for cycling and his commitment to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis. Clay was diagnosed with the disease in 1996.

For more information on the ride, go to BandAgainstMS.org.

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Lee talks about his love of the Grand Ole Opry.

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Lee talks about the changes he’s gone through since the birth of his little boy.

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Gary Allan‘s December 15 show at Joe’s Bar in Chicago raised a good chunk of change for a good cause. Proceeds from the show totaled $11,000 and will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music. That money will go to organizations using the power of music in their philanthropic efforts.

This isn’t Gary’s first time working with ACM Lifting Lives. He has previously volunteered with their summer music camp in Nashville, sharing music with campers who have developmental disabilities.

For more information, go to ACMLiftingLives.org.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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Brantley Gilbert shared a cozy Christmas with his girlfriend Jana Kramerat his home near Maysville, GA.  Brantley tells ABC News Radio that the couple rode four-wheelers and spent time with friends over the holiday. Brantley and Jana also paid tribute to one of Brantley’s late biker friends.

“We had a memorial ride for a brother of mine, a biker brother of mine that passed away,” Brantley says.  “She got on the back with me and rode around on the new Harley and stuff.”

Brantley also hosted a party for the people that work with him on December 22.  He was expecting a small get-together, but the party maxed out at about 75 attendees.

Says Brantley, “The county police were out there directing traffic.  We had people parked across the street and they were all walking around in my house, and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘How in the world am I gonna clean all this crap up tomorrow?’“

While Brantley loves his home in Georgia, he’s spending more time in Nashville these days due to business and his relationship with Jana.  On top of that, Brantley’s gearing up to launch the new leg of his Hell on Wheels tour January 31 in Independence, MO.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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