~~Taylor Swift will take her Red tour to Australia late this year for four stadium concerts. The shows are scheduled for Dec. 4 in Sydney, Dec. 7 in Brisbane, Dec. 11 in Perth and Dec. 14 in Melbourne.

Taylor will also perform an arena show in Auckland, New Zealand, on Nov. 29. She will be the first solo female artist in two decades to undertake a national stadium tour of Australia. Madonna played stadiums there in 1993 during her Girlie Show tour.

~~ Luke Bryan will appear on "The Late Show with David Letterman" on Monday, May 13. Luke will perform his new single "Crash My Party," the first song from his next studio album due out later this summer.

After The Late Show with David Letterman appearance Luke will head out for the summer leg of his headline tour, the "Dirt Road Diaries Tour," which begins on May 17 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

~~Marty Stuart holds his annual "Late Night Jam" at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on June 5th.

Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives will be joined by a slew of special guests, including Connie Smith, The Oak Ridge Boys, Bobby Bare, Brandy Clark, Charlie Worsham and Sleepy Man Banjo Boys. Proceeds benefit MusiCares, the charitable arm of the Recording Academy.

 ~~ In honor of the late George Jones, Sammy Kershaw released his latest single and music video, "The Route That I Took".

Sammy notes, "George was a major part of my life for many years. He was my friend and mentor and I wrote this song with him in mind a while back and hoped that he one day might record it. I couldn't think of a more appropriate time to put it out. God Bless you, Possum and see you again someday my friend."

"The Route That I Took" is available for download now on iTunes and Amazon.com. A portion of the song's proceeds will go to a to-be-announced charity.

VIDEO HERE

~~ Organizers haven't set a date yet but the restoration of the Johnny Cash home in Dyess, Ark. is on track to open in 2014.

The project by Arkansas State University also includes restoration of a nearby theater and the Dyess Colony administration building. The structures should be ready for visitors in fall of next year.

The home is being renovated to look as it did when the Cash family moved to the Dyess Colony in 1935 in the middle of the Great Depression.

The center has obtained a $500,000 grant for the work, and an annual music festival at ASU helps fund the effort in the northeast Arkansas town. This year's festival is set for Aug. 17 and is to feature country singer Vince Gill.

~~ (Hockey wife) Carrie Underwood will take over the theme song for "Sunday Night Football."

Carrie steps in for Faith Hill, who announced last month that she would not be back for a seventh season.  Carrie will sing a new version of "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night".

Producer Fred Gaudelli said that after Faith Hill informed him in February, Carrie Underwood was the only performer he pursued. She was under consideration for the role when NBC first broadcast the Sunday night NFL games in 2006.

Pink sang the opening tune, set to Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You," for that first season before Faith Hill came on.

~~ Tim McGraw will headline the first-ever Delta Country Jam Music Festival, scheduled for Oct. 4-5 in Tunica, MS. Also performing will be Brantley Gilbert, Jerrod Niemann, Josh Thompson, Thompson Square and others to be announced soon. The concert will be held on the Abbay & Leatherman Plantation; tickets go on sale May 17.

~~ Darryl Worley, Jerrod Niemann, Randy Houser, Lee Brice, Wynn Varble, Ray Scott and David Adam Byrnes are set to perform at the T.J. Martell Foundation's annual Country On The Beach in Key West, FL Oct. 5-8.   Fans may book their stay with Travelin' Inc. by calling 1-888-473-8856 or by visiting www.countryonthebeach.com.

~~ Florida Georgia Line nothced their second consecutive #1 smash in the US and Canada.  "Get Your Shine On" topped three charts this week – Billboard Country Chart, Mediabase Canada Country Airplay Chart and BDS Canada Country Airplay Chart .

~~George Jones' planned farewell concert in Nashville will now be a tribute concert complete with all the main talent who promised to participate before Jones passed away on April 26.

George's widow, Nancy, said in a statement: "I have asked Garth (Brooks), Kid Rock, Travis Tritt, The Oak Ridge Boys, Montgomery Gentry, Sam Moore, Charlie Daniels, Jamey Johnson and others and they all said ‘Yes, I am still going to do it.' So with all the artists still planning on coming, we are going to honor George one final time."

Jones' team is in the process of reconfirming attendance with the rest of the artists who previously committed to attend.

The concert is still set for Nov. 22 at Bridgestone Arena.

Tickets for the show were previously sold out but fans are encouraged to periodically check with Ticketmaster on the chance that more might become available. 

~~The Band Perry will be part of a lineup that includes Jennifer Lopez and Frankie Valli for the May 16 season finale of "American Idol".  The country trio will sing with fellow Tennessee native (and eliminated Idol finalist) Janelle Arthur.

~~Kellie Pickler announced today the release of her single, "Someone Somewhere Tonight."  The song will be delivered to country radio on Friday May 10. "Someone Somewhere Tonight" will be available everywhere digital music is sold, beginning May 14.

 

~~A restaurant co-owned by Montgomery Gentry singer Eddie Montgomery has closed, without warning.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Eddie Montgomery's Steakhouse in Harrodsburg, Ken. was open for business as usual on Saturday night (May 4). On Sunday, Tracy Nunan — Montgomery's ex-wife and co-owner of the steakhouse — posted the following message on the restaurant's Facebook page:

    "I'm grateful for all the hard work you've done and will cherish all the memories made. I pray that everyone finds a new path and your journey is successful. I thank you all for your dedication and apologize for the lack of notice and ask for your understanding, as this was not within my control."

The log restaurant opened in 2009 and threw a huge grand opening celebration in 2010 that featured Montgomery's brother, John Michael Montgomery. In late 2010, Tracy Montgomery filed for divorce from Eddie Montgomery, reportedly serving him with papers as he dined at the steakhouse with their daughter. New management was brought in late last year.
Source

~~BY NOW YOU KNOW....
 
The nominations are in for the 2013 CMT Music Awards and Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan lead the pack with four nominations -- with all three of them included in the show's most prestigious category: Video of the Year.

Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and Florida Georgia Line have three nominations each, with Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Hunter Hayes, Jana Kramer, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw all landing two nominations each.

The show, which will be hosted by actress Kristen Bell and Jason Aldean, will take place at 7 p.m. June 5 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena and will air live on CMT. 

Fan voting is open now through 11 p.m. June 2 at www.cmt.com.

http://www.cmt.com/cmt-music-awards/

~~Rascal Flatts and Journey's concert in Hershey, Pa. will not be a one-off event. Due to demand, an additional show has now been set for Aug. 4 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Tickets go on sale beginning this Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m. eastern. Cassadee Pope is the special guest.

The Pennsylvania show is set for Aug. 1.

~~The lineup for the Charleston, SC Zac Brown Band Southern Ground Music & Food Festival will include Willie Nelson & The Family Band, Kacey Musgraves, Band Of Horses and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, with more TBA. The festival takes place Oct. 19-20 at Blackbaud Stadium.

~~Look for Gloriana tonight on the CW hit series ‘Hart of Dixie'.

The group will perform their newest single, ‘Can't Shake You,' on the season finale of the comedic drama starring Rachel Bilson. The show is in its second season.

~~ Shania Twain has announced 22 new show dates this fall to round out the first year of her two-year Las Vegas Strip residency.

Shania told The Associated Press Monday that the show at Caesars Palace is "a dream performance scenario" that allows her to balance her roles as a mother and as a country superstar.

She sold out her first 24 performances of "Shania: Still the One" at the casino's Colosseum. Shania begins another set of 12 shows on May 14.

Tickets for shows between mid-October and mid-December go on sale Friday.

~~ "American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox and her husband, musician Brian Walker, are calling it quits.

The couple says, "After two and a half years, we have decided to end our marriage. The friendship and love which brought us together remains strong, and we will continue to support each other in our careers and personal lives. We are hopeful that people will be respectful of our privacy as we face this emotional and challenging time for our family."

The couple tied the knot in front of 60 friends and family members in Chicago in 2010.

While the couple had no children, Bowersox, 27, has a 4-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Source

~~ Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood have been hit with a copyright infringement suit filed by a Dallas songwriter who says parts of her 2007 song "Remind Me" were lifted.

The songwriter is suing Brad Paisley, Carrie, their record labels and publishing companies, and two Nashville songwriters, claiming the parties ripped off a song she wrote after they heard her perform it around Nashville and at a songwriters workshop.

Amy Bowen, who performs as Lizza Connor, says the song "Remind Me," released by Paisley and Underwood in 2011, was copied from a song of the same name that Bowen wrote in 2007 and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in December 2008.

The suit is seeking at least $10 million in damages and requests that Bowen be declared the song's owner.
Source

~~Jason Aldean, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett will join Aerosmith, New Kids on the Block and others for a May 30 concert to raise money for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. "Boston Strong: An Evening of Support and Celebration," will be held at the TD Garden Arena, and will also feature the band Boston, Dane Cook, Extreme, Godsmack, the J. Geils Band, Carole King and comedian Steven Wright.

Proceeds will benefit One Fund Boston, a charity established shortly after the April 15 attack. Almost $28 million has already been raised for the fund. Tickets go on sale today.

~~ Keith Urban joined Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones at their tour-opening show Friday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Keith played guitar on the Stones' tune "Respectable."

Pop star Gwen Stefani also stopped by for a guest performance. Check out a clip of Keith's performance below.

~~The Grand Ole Opry will honor Carrie Underwood on her 5th anniversary as an Opry member on Fri., June 7. Carrie will celebrate five years with a special segment closing the evening's Opry performance.

Carrie was inducted as an Opry member by fellow member Garth Brooks before a sold-out audience in May 2008.

~~Lauren Alaina will return to ‘American idol' this week when she performs her new single "Barefoot and Buckwild" on Thursday night. Just a couple of years ago, Lauren lost the title to Scotty McCreery.

~~  A show about The Band Perry, "Origins: The Band Perry," premieres this Saturday, May 11 at 10 p.m. on Great American Country.

Viewers will be treated to the stories behind some of the trio's biggest hits as well as performances of "Done" and "Mother Like Mine".