Welcome to Country Music News Blog!

Are you ready for some football? MSL Sports and Entertainment plans to roll out the Gridiron Bash, a two-day event April 18-19 that will use a campus concert to bring attention to the next day’s games, which serve as warm-ups for the coming season. Dwight Yoakam is among the artists who has committed, though his location hasn’t been yet announced. Several other artists have already been pegged to specific Division 1 schools: Pop singer Fergie is scheduled at Penn State, blues-rockers ZZ Top play Texas A&M, Counting Crows hit the field in Colorado, and the Goo Goo Dolls perform at Kansas State. Among the participating colleges that have yet to announce their Bash attractions are Rutgers, the University of Tennessee, Army and a college from Dwight’s home state, the University of Kentucky.

Gridiron Bash, the Ultimate Fan Competition, will be the largest single-day sports and entertainment event ever to take place on college campuses. “We’re very excited by the caliber of talent this event is attracting,” says Gary Cioffi, Chief Executive Officer of MSL, the creator and producer of Gridiron Bash(TM). “In many cases, this marks the first time that top artists will be ‘playing the field’ at these campuses, as universities consider their football fields a kind of sacred ground, and, prior to Gridiron Bash, have prohibited even the most sought-after acts from performing on them.”

Known Performance Roster:

Artist School
Dwight Yoakam TBA
Fergie Penn State
Maroon 5 TBA
Counting Crows Colorado
Goo Goo Dolls Kansas State
ZZ Top Texas A&M
Kelly Clarkson TBA
TBA Rutgers
TBA University of Tennessee
TBA Army
TBA University of Kentucky
MSL Sports and Entertainment is in final discussions with Good Charlotte, OAR, Counting Crows, Fall Out Boy, Taylor Swift, and Montgomery Gentry. Other artists including, Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, Steve Miller Band, Goo Goo Dolls, 3 Doors Down and Alan Jackson also are being pursued. On the university side, MSL is finalizing partnerships with schools, including Penn State, University of Iowa, Arizona State, West Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Washington, Kentucky, University of Texas at El Paso, BYU, Auburn, Alabama and Boston College.

Tickets will be available through university box offices and can also be purchased through http://www.gridironbash.com. On-sale dates for schools, including Texas A&M, Kansas State, University of Tennessee, University of Colorado, Army and Rutgers will be announced shortly.

For information on the hottest 2008 country concert tours, dates, artist biographies and event details, please visit our partner site Country Music On Tour

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. has an exciting talent line-up for the 2008 Country Radio Seminar ® (CRS-39) luncheons. Performers on Wednesday are Ashley Gearing and Rodney Atkins (Curb/Asylum); while on Thursday Keith Anderson and Montgomery Gentry (Sony BMG) take the stage. Closing the series of luncheons are Capitol’s Lady Antebellum and newcomer Emily West on Friday.

Ashley Gearing (Curb) is no stranger to the demands of the music business. At the young age of 12, she made history by entering Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, eclipsing a 46 year-old record previously held by Brenda Lee. Her version of “Can You Hear Me When I Talk to You” gave Ashley immediate national exposure by displaying a talent well beyond her years. She received ASCAP’s “Uncut Diamond” award as a future Country rising star, has performed numerous times on the famed stage of the Grand Ole Opry, and was voted Best Female Country artist in a New Country Artist poll in 2006.

Rodney Atkins (Curb) may have gone through hell, but things are certainly looking up. The 2007 CMA Horizon award nominee has a platinum album, If You’re Going Through Hell, and three consecutive number one singles, “If You’re Going Through Hell,” “Watching You,” and “These Are My People,” under his belt heading into 2008. His latest single “Cleaning This Gun” is climbing the charts and Atkins is currently on the road with Brad Paisley on the “2008 Bonfires and Amplifiers” tour.

Columbia Nashville’s Keith Anderson earned a CMA Song of the Year nomination in 2007, co-writing the Big & Rich #1 single, “Lost in this Moment,” and now, the talented songwriter delivers new music of his own with a January 28 impact date for “I Still Miss You,” from his upcoming album, C’MON!. Keith’s Gold-certified debut disc, Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll, launched a pair of Top 10 singles (”Every Time I Hear Your Name” and “Pickin’ Wildflowers“), making Anderson an immediate fan favorite and Billboard’s top new solo country artist in his first year on the charts.

With 11 Top 5 singles to their credit, including current smash, “What Do Ya Think About That,” and recent chart-topper, “Lucky Man,” Montgomery Gentry (Sony Nashville) has proven time and again - rocking the house on disc and on stage - that what they do is about a lot more than luck. Some People Change, their latest Columbia Nashville disc, has delivered three back-to-back hit singles, as the award-winning duo continues to rack up the airplay and the accolades, recently earning a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

The trio of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood originally came together in 2006 to create music as songwriters and soon learned that there was chemistry in the room, and decided that whatever they were going to do in the future had to be done together. Thus Lady Antebellum (Capitol) was formed. The trio has been chosen as one of Billboard magazine’s “Faces to Watch” in 2008, Country Weekly’s “Who’s Hot in ‘08,” the Boston Globe’s “New Artists to Watch” and Nashville Lifestyles called them the “Next Big Thing.” Their current single “Love Don’t Live Here” has already climbed in to the Top 30 of the country singles charts and their self-titled debut album is expected to be released April 15.

Emily West’s (Capitol) rich, distinctive vocals and smart, emotive songs make her hard to ignore, much like the iconic female country artists - Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn - that she’s always looked up to. This Waterloo, Iowa native moved to Music City in 2000, honing her writing and performing skills within the Nashville songwriting community until she came to the attention of Capitol Records Nashville. Emily West’s first single comes out in February 2008, with an album anticipated by the end the year.

Country Radio Seminar 39® (CRS-39) takes place March 5th-7th, 2008 at the Nashville Convention Center. If received by February 5th, The CRS-39® registration rate is $650.00. The registration rate will increase to $700.00 on-site.