Trace Adkins was last months “This Is NRA Country” artist of the month and will be headlining the 2nd annual NRA Country Jam! The event will take place April 13 at the Ferrara Theatre and is presented by Bushnell and Folds of Honor. This will all be happening steps away from the exhibit hall in America’s Center in St. Louis during the NRA annual meetings.

The exhibit hall will be filled to capacity with over 500 exhibitors displaying every shooting and hunting related product and accessory imaginable. Over 70,000 NRA members are expected in St. Louis for three fun filled days that will be kicked off by Adkins and NRA Country Jam II.

“I can’t wait to take the stage at NRA Country Jam 2. It’s going to be a great show,” says Adkins. “Folds of Honor is an important cause and I’m happy to help give back to those who give so much for our freedom.”

Folds of Honor was founded by Iraq veteran, Major Dan Rooney. Folds of Honor provides post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of U.S. military service members killed or disabled during service. Adkins, NRA Country and Bushnell have designated a portion of the proceeds from the NRA Country Jam to go to the Folds of Honor Foundation.

Mushroom Country…now I’m not describing an area behind the house where you can find some Morels to fry up…I’m talking about a term used to describe Brent Cobb’s style of music! Curious as to what that might be? Well, last week I spoke a little with the Ellaville, Georgia boy to figure it out for myself.

First of all, the boy can write! The first time I heard one of his songs I loved the instrumental side, but as soon as I started to listen to the words I was grinning from ear to ear. The lyrics that he comes up with are very honest and have a fantastic flow. I have had “I’ve Been Known,” one of his more recent singles, stuck in my head for about 5 days straight and I strongly suggest you take a listen!

Cobb recorded his first album, No Place Left To Leave, with Shooter Jennings and his band The 357’s. It was released in 2006 and had some great things come from it. “Bar, Guitar and a Honky Tonk Crowd” was a part of this album and later was recorded by Whiskey Myers. The title track, “No Place To Leave,” has that steel sound (which I love!) and reminds me a lot of something Dwight Yoakam would do (again, I love!). “Butterfly” has more of an edge to it, but easily manages to keep a country feel.

Cobb really has a gift and a passion in the writing department, he said he could write songs all day and all night long, it just comes natural. Not only does he write killer songs for himself, but he loves doing it for other people! Luke Bryan’s “Tailgate Blues,” Kellie Pickler’s “Rockaway” and Eli Young Band’s “Go Outside & Dance” are just a few of Cobb’s creations.

There is no doubt that his family was some of the biggest influences when it comes to his music. Being only 5 or 6 years old, he remembers watching his Daddy and Uncle writing a song, “Country Bound,” one Christmas in Cleveland, OH. His dad being from the south and his mom from the north, and the mixture of those two lifestyles has created a fine example of “Rural Music” and put simply, a talented artist.

If you hear that he is going to be in your neck of the woods, do yourself a favor and catch a Brent Cobb show! Trust me, they are a blast!

Be looking for some more information on his spring/summer plans (touring wise) in the near future! And don’t forget, you can find No Place Left To Leave on iTunes now!

Craig Morgan, who served 10 years in the U.S. Army before launching his career as a country music singer, has been declared the NRA Country Artist of the Month for February. Many of the country music’s biggest stars including Trace Adkins, Lee Brice, Montgomery Gentry and Justin Moore have joined the “This Is NRA Country” movement celebrating their love of our U.S. military, appreciation for the great outdoors and the love of family.

“As someone who has served alongside the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, I have a huge sense of pride in what this country stands for and what our freedom means. As many service men and women make their way home and reunite with family, we are here to give them support and encouragement along with our gratitude. I am Craig Morgan and I am NRA Country.”

After his ten years in the army, Morgan also completed another nine years in the reserves. He continues to support our troops through multiple overseas tours of military installations and back at home with more than fifteen Jack Daniel’s Toast To The Troops USO care package packing parties and free concerts for families remaining stateside.

February’s artist of the month promotion gives fans the opportunity to view a personal video message from Morgan along with clips from a recent Ranger Challenge competition from Ft. Benning, Georgia. The exclusive video can be found at www.NRACountry.com!

In addition to the video clip, fans can register to win an autographed acoustic guitar and a signed copy of Morgan’s soon to be released (February 28) This Ole Boy. Click HERE from now through the end of February to enter to win!

Rascal Flatts bassist and vocalist Jay DeMarcus and his wife Allison, a former Miss Tennessee and current CMT personality, are expecting the birth of their second child this summer. The baby will become a younger brother or sister to their daughter Madeline Leigh, born December 17, 2010.

“This was definitely a huge surprise, but we’re so thankful and excited that Maddie is going to have a brother or sister. We’re really gonna have our hands full!” -Jay DeMarcus

“Jay and I are thrilled about completing our family. Madeline is going to love having a sibling and we are bracing ourselves for the many sleepless nights ahead.” -Allison

Jay and Allison were married May 15, 2004 in Nashville, Tenn.

Colt Ford had some of his early success when teaming up with Montgomery Gentry and Jermaine Dupri to help on their (separate) projects. He also joined the PBR in the making of Buck Em’, their official anthem. The thing that got him to pull the trigger and completely put himself in the industry was that he never wanted to look back and say “Why didn’t I try that.”

The work Ford has done with other artists have been some of the biggest crowd pleasers in history. Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Rhett Akins, James Otto, Kevin Fowler, Randy Houser, Joe Nichols, John Michael Montgomery, Josh Gracin, Luke Bryan, Jamey Johnson, Charlie Daniels, Darryl Worley, Trent Tomlinson and Josh Thompson are just a few on the list of many that he has collaborated with!

Craig Morgan joined Ford on the close to his heart tale of daughters growing older, “She Likes To Ride In Trucks.” Brantley Gilbert and Ford had a tremendous amount of underground success in 2008 with the now nationally huge hit they wrote, “Dirt Road Anthem,” (performed by Jason Aldean).

Ford and Aldean are good friends, with a lot in common, including that they are both from Georgia. The two played over 20 shows together in 2009 and this is where the “Big Green Tractor” singer first fell in love with “Dirt Road Anthem.” He would watch Ford on stage and be shocked at the amount of people in the crowd singing along word for word.

There have been many rumors that Aldean stole the song, but Ford was quick to defend his friend!

“He didn’t steal the song. Lots of artists record others peoples songs, they just have to pay for them. Most artists wouldn’t even ask and he called me himself. He’s a humble dude and always says the song was a hit before him.”

Aldean might have thrown people for a loop when they first heard him on this track, but they obviously liked it! The song is the biggest single of his career and was the #1 ringtone for 17 weeks, something no other artist in any genre has done!

With all of these collaborations already under his belt, I was curious who would be next. Ford told me he would love to work with some of the best in the business including Keith Urban, George Strait, Blake Shelton, Hank Williams Jr. and of course his good friend Jason Aldean.

Although he is known for teamwork, he still has songs that are his and his alone. “Chicken and Biscuits” and “Every Chance I Get” are both examples of his solo work.

Last Thursday I saw Ford and his band give a show at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Let me tell you, he has a very talented group of guys behind him! On each song you would have thought John Michael Montgomery, Brantley Gilbert, Tim Mcgraw or any other famous voice was on that stage! He has some very loyal fans and that is what helps him sell out shows. They don’t mind that each artist isn’t there because they just genuinely enjoy the music.

For those of you who are one of those loyal fans (or if you are a new fan), you are in luck! Ford will be releasing a new album very soon, to be on sale around May! He is very excited about it, saying it is the best group of songs he has ever had! He will also have a very exciting tour this summer! The Declaration of Independence Tour will be a reasonably priced and family friendly tour, that will make stops in fields across the south! With guests JB and the Moonshine Band and The Lacs joining him, this is sure to be a good time!

At the end of our talk, the most important thing I learned about Ford is that he is a guy who sticks behind his music and wishes everyone with a dream success!

For those of you who are wishing him some more success, call in to your local radio stations and request one of his songs!

We are only in the second week of 2012 and things are looking great for Chris Young! After having a sold out show at Billy Bob’s Texas during New Years, this NEON singer has got some great things to look forward to!

Tuesday, January 17, Young will make his debut appearance on the hugely popular syndicated daytime program, The Ellen DeGeneres Show! There he will perform “You“, his current top 5 single that keeps on rising to the top of the charts!

After this daytime appearance, Young will join fellow label-mate, Miranda Lambert, on her On Fire tour! Be looking for stops in Jacksonville, FL, Charlotte, NC, Lexington, KY and Greensboro, NC!!!

Chris Young had a sold out performance on New Year’s Eve at Billy Bob’s in Ft. Worth, Texas. With close to 6,000 tickets sold, this was Young’s biggest headlining show to date!

“Chris Young’s high energy performance in front of a sold out crowd was among the best New Year’s Eve shows in Billy Bob’s Texas History. It was perfect to close 2011 with the talent and optimism of a star that has such an unlimited future ahead of him. We are already looking forward to his return to Billy Bob’s.” -Venue President, Concho Minick

Young’s massive success in the region has sparked other big dates as he is set for headlining shows at the San Antonio rodeo with more dates to be announced in the coming weeks! Young is also the special guest on Miranda Lambert’s “On Fire” tour, beginning January 12th in Rockford, IL.

“You” is Young’s current single from his album NEON. The hit is in the Top 10 and rising!

January’s NRA Country Artist of the Month is Trace Adkins! The month-long promotion gives fans the opportunity to check out a never before seen, behind the scenes look at a recent photo shoot on his personal farm near Nashville. The exclusive video can be seen here!

In addition to the video, fans can register to win a NRA Country prize pack, including a hat and t-shirt of choice! Click HERE from now through the end of January to register to win!

“I grew up in the Sportsman’s Paradise – Louisiana, so I guess it isn’t a surprise that the great outdoors has always been a big part of my life. All my favorite memories involve the outdoors – whether it was playing outside as a kid, playing football in college, goofing around with my kids, or going hunting. I support NRA Country because they share my love of the outdoors and my wish to safeguard America’s hunting heritage. I am Trace Adkins and I am NRA Country.”

Fans can also catch Trace at the 2nd Annual NRA Country Jam on April 13th, during the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis. Tickets will be on sale soon, just visit NRACountry.com for more information.

For those of you wanting to see Trace in concert and do your part to help charities at the same time you are in luck! Great tickets and VIP Charity Packages are available exclusively at NRACountry.com to benefit NRA Country Cares, working to help charities supporting our military, American farmers, firearm safety and other important causes. Click HERE for more information!

This year has been a crazy ride and I have loved every minute of it! I am so thankful for the opportunities that have come my way and even more proud of myself for taking some chances!

This week we have been focusing on the top moments of country music for the year and for me, getting this job (and in a small way becoming part of this crazy world) ranks at the top! I am honored to have met the people I have met, including all the artists who were gracious enough to give me their time to talk with them, the behind the scenes industry people who made each time possible and my employers who gave me the tools to do so! I am also so indescribably grateful for the family and friends who gave me such an abundant amount of support!

When I look back at the interviews, the beginning of our video segment and even the littlest of things I was a part of in the first 8 months here at Country Music News Blog, I get excited for the things that I KNOW our team can accomplish in 2012! I hope everyone is ready because we plan on making it even more enjoyable for you to get you country music news fix!

Thank you so much for reading my articles, especially the exclusive content (I would love to see some of you at some shows next year!)!

Everyone have a very safe and festive weekend and we will most definitely be talking to y’all next year!!!!!!!!!

Last night was the presentation of the CMT Artists Of The Year Awards, hosted by Rob Lowe. The honorees were Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley. The recipients were chosen based off of sales, radio airplay, concert grosses and activity on cmt.com.

Each artist was given a section of the 90 minute show that was dedicated to them with a performance, congratulatory words by others and a short acceptance speech.

Kenny Chesney had the special treat to have Gavin Degraw perform his hit “Somewhere With You“, where he did a fantastic job! A part of the show that ranks very high on my list was when Matthew McConaughey had a video message for Chesney that was too cute!

Lady Antebellum received kind words from many including their good friend Miranda Lambert and performed their brand new single “Dancin’ Away With My Heart.” It sounded great and by the reactions of Taylor Swift and the rest of the audience (including me at home), it looks like this will be another chart topper for them!

Jason Aldean performed his current single “Tattoos On This Town” and spoke of how this year was kind of a risk, but he was glad he did things on his terms. He wasn’t concerned about what people were telling him to do, he followed his gut and boy did it pay off! Nobody puts Jason in a corner!

Viewers were treated to a special treat with an energetic performance by The Avett Brothers. A band that is quite possibly one of the most cross-genre groups around (we aren’t quite sure what they are…folk, rock, indie, Americana, who knows)!

Taylor Swift also had someone else perform one of her songs, but this performance had a bit of a twist. The All American Rejects gave us their take on “Mean” while throwing in a little bit of their own hit “Gives You Hell!” It was great! She accepted her award from her good friend and fellow female country artist, Faith Hill.

Brad Paisley wrapped the night up for us, first by saying that Country Music was the best industry to be in because everyone was so nice and then by collaborating with Joe Walsh on “Camouflage!”

It was a great night for everyone, wish I could have been there! Congratulations again to all five of the talented acts!