Nashville News: Thursday, 10/8
Friends say Blake Shelton is now in a good place since announcing his divorce fromMiranda Lambert.
In this week's People, a close friend of Blake's says, "Clearly he was upset during the breakup, but he's not
someone to sit around and lick his wounds. He's about moving forward and not looking in the rearview mirror."
Blake's been leaning on his pals fromThe Voice to get him through. A source says, "Everyone wants to hang out
with him. He's been upbeat and enjoying his time with the coaches. They are a tight-knit group."
The issue of People with Blake on the cover hits newsstands on Friday.
Jake Owen has a lot of reasons to stay fit -- including his commitment to his fans to put on a great, high-energy show. But the most important reason of all is to be healthy for his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Pearl.
He tells People, "I have a lot of responsibility to her. I want to be there for her. I could be out here raging every night,
but it's not worth it."
Thomas Rhett will team up with rockers Fall Out Boy for a performance at next month's Country Music Association
Awards.
Earlier this week the CMA announced that Eric Church and Hank Williams Junior will open the show with a world
premiere of Hank's new single, "Are You Ready for the Country."
The 49th annual CMA Awards are on November 4th, live from Nashville on ABC.
Nashville News: Wednesday, 10/7
George Strait is in the midst of a resurgence after the release of his most recent record Cold Beer Conversation
and the announcement he will be taking the stage again next year at the Las Vegas Arena, prompting fans
to show up in a big way. The six shows slated for 2016, — dubbed the ‘Strait to Vegas’ run — all sold out
immediately when they went on sale on Oct. 2- So George decided to add more dates soon.
Don Henleyhas his first number-one solo album as his latest effort, Cass County, debuts at the top of the Billboard 200 with more than 87,000
copies sold in its first week of release. His first album since Inside Job in 2000, it is also the top selling album
on the Country, Internet and Retail charts.
While it's heavily country-influenced and features some of the genre's biggest names -- including Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert and Dolly Parton-- there is also a mix of blues, Americana and stuff he was doing in the 80s.
Nashville News: Tuesday, 10/6
The first 15 minutes of the 49th annual CMA Awards will feature the premiere of a new collaboration
betweenEric Church and Hank Williams Junior. The song is “Are You Ready for the Country,” which was
written and recorded by Neil Young and later recorded by Waylon Jennings.
The opening segment will also feature the highly anticipated opening monologue by co-hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. Carrie said the summer of country music breakups and babies
will be covered in the opening piece. But she insists they’re handling the material with extreme care.
If you're worried about Blake Shelton after his divorce from Miranda Lambert, don’t be. In a new interview with CMT,
he says he’s happy and healthy as a newly single man.
He's lost 20 pounds, too, but Blake says he hasn't been working out. It's the result of yard work following heavy
summer rain in his home state of Oklahoma.
Nashville News: Monday, 10/5
Little Big Town’s Pain Killer tour will relaunch with extra women in the line up. All of the shows will have
female opening acts. The roster includes Cam, Kelleigh Bannen, Holly Williams and more.
Drake White and the Big Fire will also appear at select dates on the tour, which kicks off
Thursday in Minnesota.
Florida Georgia Line are planning to open a store near Nashville’s Music Row that will house a retail
location for Brian Kelley and his wife Brittany’s Tribe Kelley clothing line and a coffee shop.
In addition to the clothing store and coffee shop, a studio and FGL’s new music publishing company will
also be housed there.
Kenny Chesney is number-one on the Mediabase chart this week with “Save It for a Rainy Day.”
The track was co-written by Old Dominion’s Matt Ramsey and Brad Tursi. It’s the fourth number-one from Kenny's latest album, The Big Revival, following “American Kids,” “Wild Child” and “Til It’s Gone.”