COUNTRY QUICKIES: 1/18/13

~~Luke Bryan sold out the first leg of his headline tour, the "Dirt Road Diaries Tour".

The current 21-city run started last night in Indiana, and was extended with a second leg beginning May 17 in Virginia Beach, Va.

Florida Georgia Line and Thompson Square are special guests on both legs.

~~Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood are the first four artists confirmed for the CMA Music Festival this summer. The four-day event will begin June 6 in downtown Nashville. More artists will be announced soon.

Tickets for the 2013 CMA Music Festival are now available at Ticketmaster.

~~Rascal Flatts reschedule three shows this week due to ilness.

Just who was ill was not disclosed by the band on its web site.

Dates last night in Sioux City, Ia., tonight in Tulsa, Okla. and tomorrow (Saturday) in Wichita, Kansas were resulted for Aug. 18, Aug. 10 and and Aug. 9 respectively.

The Band Perry will be on both rescheduled shows. All original tickets for these two shows will be honored on the new dates. Refunds are available at the point of purchase.

~~ Carrie Underwood is set to perform at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Carrie's "Blown Away" is up for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song. The show airs Feb. 10 on CBS-TV.

~~Kenny Chesney will release a new album on April 30, although no title or single has been announced. 

Chesney's No Shoes Nation tour will launch March 16 in Tampa, Fla. 

~~Scotty McCreery will launch his headlining Weekend Roadtrip tour 2013 on Feb. 14 in Bethlehem, Pa.  Sarah Darling ("Home to Me") will open the shows. World Vision will be the charitable sponsor of the tour. Although only 16 stops have been announced, the tour is expected to play 25 cities.

McCreery will incorporate new material into his summer tour. He is expected to release a new album later this year.

~~"The Voice" winner Cassadee Pope has a new record deal.

The 23-year-old Season 3 winner signed this week with Republic Nashville, joining the label's roster of young country stars that includes Taylor Swift and The Band Perry.

Pope was a member of country music star Blake Shelton's team on "The Voice" and won the reality singing contest show last month.

A spokesman says Pope is writing songs for the new album and is meeting with producers in Nashville.