The final stop for George Strait‘s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX sold out within hours of going on sale December 6, according to organizers. The June 7 show will wrap up the two-year finale tour with more than 100,000 fans in attendance. Asleep At The Wheel will open, with Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack each performing three songs before Strait plays a full set. “To see this response from the fans to our final show is humbling and exciting at the same time,” says Strait. “This is going to be an incredible night and I feel very blessed this holiday knowing how many of you we’ll get to see next year on our final tour.”

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NEW YORK (AP) – Carrie Underwood was sweet music for NBC. Her turn in the live production of “The Sound of Music” drew 18.6 million viewers. The three-hour telecast of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical was NBC’s best Thursday average, excluding sports programming, since the series finale of “Frasier” aired in May 2004. It was also the most-watched non-sports night since the Golden Globes broadcast seven years ago. Underwood starred in the role of Maria.

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Garth Brooks is back on top of the country albums sales chart with the Black Friday release of his eight-disc box set Blame It All On My Roots. In just three days, the set – available only at Walmart – garnered more than 163,000 in sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set came in third on the all-genre chart.

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Garth Brooks will return to Las Vegas in 2014 and this time he’s bringing his band. The Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas will host Garth Brooks: The Man, His Band And His Music Jan. 3-4. The shows will focus on Brooks’ own catalogue instead of featuring songs by artists that influenced him, as he did with his one-man show. Details here.

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Dolly Parton‘s “Jolene” and Kris Kristofferson‘s self-titled debut album are among the recordings to be inducted into the 2014 Grammy Hall Of Fame. They’ll join Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” The Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women,” U2’s The Joshua Tree and more from the 2014 class, which marks the Hall’s 40th anniversary. A 150-plus-page collector’s edition book to commemorate the event is available here.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – The combination of Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan at the Academy of Country Music Awards was so good, they’re doing it again. They will return to co-host the awards, set for April 6 in Las Vegas. It’s Shelton’s fourth time hosting, and Bryan’s second time.

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Naomi Judd’s work as an activist will get special recognition this weekend. She will receive the Humane Legacy Award from the American Humane Association, a charity that works to protect animals and children. Judd’s charity work includes food drives, women’s issues and liver health. Judd will receive her award in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday.

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Garth Brooks Live From Las Vegas was first in its 9-11pm ET time slot Friday (11/29) and helped power CBS-TV to a first-place finish on the night. The special pulled in 8.75 million viewers (1.8 rating/6 share). NBC-TV‘s Grimm was second in the first hour with 5.66 million (1.3/4), followed byABC-TV‘s Shark Tank (1.2/4). In the second hour, ABC took second with 20/20 and NBC’s Dracula placed third.

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NASHVILLE (AP) – Dictionary.com will go country this week. The site has teamed up with the Grand Ole Opry to showcase words that country music made famous, like “dobro” and “bluegrass.” The trivia section of Dictionary.com will also feature words used in country songs performed by artists who belong to the Opry, like Trace Adkins and Carrie Underwood. It will also feature trivia with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.

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CMA Country Christmas is tonight on ABC at 8 pm Central.
Hosted by Jennifer Nettles, the show will feature Trace Adkins, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker and others.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Garth Brooks says some of his fans might be surprised to hear some of the songs he will perform in his TV special tonight. Brooks says the show is about his musical influences – and he says that was shaped by what he listened to at home. He says he got a heavy dose of soul, R&B and Motown, along with the rock and country served up by his mom at home. He says all those different styles of music were “forced down my neck” – and he says it was so good that he would “eat it and drink it willingly.” Brooks hopes you will tune in, willingly or otherwise, to the special, which airs on CBS.

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