~~Actress Kristen Bell will return to host the CMT Music Awards taking place on Wednesday, June 5th in Nashville. 

But who will be Kristen's co-host?

~~Thompson Square's latest single, "If I Didn't Have You" is  #1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart and the Country Aircheck/ USA Today chart, powered by Mediabase.

The husband/wife duo is currently touring with Luke Bryan on his Dirt Road Diaries Tour through October 2013.

~~Tim McGraw and Curb Records, his former label, are back at it in court.

The label sued Tim and his new label, Big Machine Records, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee for copyright infringement.

A label attorney states:  "Curb Records, the recording industry and other industries that rely on personal service contracts...will suffer broad harm if McGraw and others can ignore the provisions of such agreements, selecting which provisions they may choose to follow and refusing to acknowledge others."

McGraw won a legal battle over Curb last year involving his "Emotional Traffic" disc and then released his new disc, "Two Lanes of Freedom," on Big Machine.

Curb claimed that the disc should belong to Curb because McGraw recorded the songs while under contract with Curb. McGraw also owes Curb another disc, the suit contends.

The previous suit focused on breach of contract issues and whether Curb recorded the songs in an appropriate time frame.

~~Kenny Chesney announced the creation of a fund to benefit those who lost limbs in the Boston Marathon bombing.

The "Spread the Love Fund" will work with Boston Medical Center to pay for victims' prosthetics, their fittings and their ongoing care and physical therapy.

Money from the fund can also be used for post-acute care by the victims at other Boston hospitals.

Chesney made an undisclosed, sizable donation of seed money to start the fund, and he's also donating all proceeds from the single downloads of the song "Spread the Love," which he wrote with the Wailers, to the Spread the Love Fund.

~~LeAnn Rimes is releasing her new album, "Spitfire", on June 4th.

Rimes co-wrote nine of the songs, which take their inspiration directly from many of her highly publicized personal struggles over the least few years.

The album features collaborations with Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas and legendary guitarist Jeff Beck — who appear together on ‘Gasoline and Matches' — and Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski, who lend their voices to ‘What Have I Done?'

‘Spitfire' will be available as a physical CD exclusively at WalMart. It is currently available for pre-order at http://bit.ly/Spitfire1

~~Greg Bates will kickoff Kentucky Derby weekend, performing at Louisville's Fest-de-Ville Derby Eve Jam with Kix Brooks. The set will include the talented singer/songwriter's Top 5 hit "Did It For The Girl," his latest single "Fill In The Blank" and a few new tunes slated for his debut album on Republic Nashville.

~~ Jason Aldean has filed for divorce from wife Jessica, citing irreconcilable differences. The two met in high school and have been married since August 2001.

Jason says in a statement:  "This is a really tough time for my entire family. Jessica and I have been together since we were teenagers. We've been through a lot of ups and downs over the years as we grew up together as a couple. She will always be important to me because she is the mother of my children, and I know that we will both always make our daughters our #1 priority."

The filing comes six months after Aldean was photographed 'kisssing' former "American Idol" contestant Brittany Kerr in a Los Angeles bar. Aldean later apologized to fans on Twitter for acting inappropriately.
Source

~~  George Jones' cause of death has been revealed.

Jones died of hypoxic respiratory failure, a condition that occurs when there is too little oxygen present for the body to carry out its basic functions. Hypoxic respiratory failure can result from low oxygen levels in the blood, an inefficient blood supply to the tissues, or the presence of toxins which prevent cells from using the oxygen that is present.

Jones had been in the hospital repeatedly throughout 2012 and early 2013 with various upper respiratory infections, having to cancel and re-schedule a number of planned concerts. He had been hospitalized since April 18 with a fever and irregular blood pressure.
Source

~~Alan Jackson is rescheduling two concerts in Canada this week to attend George Jones' funeral taking place Thursday (May 2) at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. 

This weekend at his show in Birmingham, Alabama, Alan Jackson paid tribute to his friend George Jones by performing "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

RELATED NEWS:

A 'fake' story claimed that Alan Jackson‘s middle daughter Ali was hospitalized after a car accident. A bogue Alan Jackson Facebook page was set up with a post that seemed to come from him.

The  hoax claimed Ali Jackson was in a car accident and seemed fine until she began coughing up blood during dinner.

Alan's team left this message on his official account:

"Hey, folks – we appreciate your thoughts and concerns for Alan's family. There is someone posing as Alan on Facebook and posting false information about him and his family. We want everyone to know his family is fine. Please keep in mind that this is the only accurate and official Facebook page for Alan Jackson. Thanks again."
Facebook

~~The Lady Antebellum promo tour kicks into high gear over the next two weeks as they push their upcoming fourth studio album "Golden" out May 7.

On release day, Lady A will appear on "Good Morning America" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and later, at an exclusive and intimate release show at The McKittrick Hotel in New York.

The next day, Lady A will begin perform on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on both Wednesday (5/8) and Thursday (5/9) nights' shows. The following week, Lady A will jet to the West Coast for an appearance on "Chelsea Lately" (5/13) and a performance on NBC's "The Voice" (5/14) before jetting off to Toronto for more media appearances and events.

~~ Willie Nelson and the Hard Rock Cafe announced a merchandise deal they said will support biodiesel and animal welfare groups.

Products to be sold by Hard Rock include a Willie Nelson Artist Spotlight bandanna, men's T-shirt and two collector pins.

15 percent of the items' retail prices will benefit the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance and the Animal Welfare Institute.

The alliance promotes the use of diesel fuel made from vegetable oil or animal fat and the institute seeks better treatment of animals, especially by reducing pain and fear inflicted on them by humans.

The products will be available on the theme-restaurant chain's website and at Hard Rock Cafe locations in New York; New Orleans; the island of Maui in Hawaii; San Antonio; Nashville; and Houston starting June 6.

**Willie Nelson turns 80 today.

~~ Alison Krauss will headline a new music festival: The first Cross County Lines Music Festival, June 1st, at Liberty Hall at The Factory in Franklin, Tenn. 

The inaugural concert — headlined by Middle Tennessee stars Krauss and Jerry Douglas — will serve as a fundraiser for the association as well as a preview for 2014, when the festival plans to expand to an all-day event for an audience of 5,000 to 7,000, with multiple venues within The Factory and an outdoor main stage.

(The announcement comes as the nonprofit trade association, which also presents the annual Americana Music Festival and Conference in Nashville in September, prepares to move its headquarters from Nashville to Franklin next month. Executive Director Jed Hilly says the new festival — aimed at the concert-going public — complements Nashville's annual industry-heavy event, and one that has a fitting home outside of Music City.)

~~Lady Antebellum performed a special acoustic show at Disneyland this weekend which is streaming online (starting at 8am ET today).

You can view it by clicking below.

http://disneylandevent.com/

~~ Kacey Musgraves has been added to the lineup for this year's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. She'll join Paul McCartney, Mumford & Sons, Wu-Tang Clan and many more in Manchester, TN June 13-16.

~~NASCAR has axed Billy Currington's scheduled performance at next month's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. Billy was recently indicted on charges of making terroristic threats and abuse of an elderly person. He will be replaced by Josh Turner at the  pre-race concert.

~~ Martina McBride will perform the The Star-Spangled Banner on the cupola (presentation stand) in the Kentucky Derby Winner's Circle shortly after 5 p.m. EST on Saturday, May 4.

Other country stars who have had the honor of performing the national anthem before the Derby include Rascal Flatts and LeAnn Rimes.

~~The Band Perry and Kacey Musgraves have been added to the list of performers at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, taking place May 19 in Las Vegas. The ceremony will be telecast live on ABC.

~~Dierks Bentley will soon be a father of three.  Bentley and wife Cassidy have two girls Evie, 4, and Jordan, 2.  They haven't revealed the baby # 3's gender yet.

~~Kenny Chesney will donote a portion of the proceeds from his upcoming album "Life On A Rock" to Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park. The album will be released next Tuesday (4/30).
http://www.friendsvinp.org/

~~Brad Paisley and the making of his album "Wheelhouse" will be the focus of a six-part video series called "On The Record: Brad Paisley".

Airing on the Country Now YouTube channel, each episode reveals behind-the-scenes footage and insight from Paisley about the making of the album. Videos will be posted every Thursday.   

~~It's time for the 7th annual Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, CA, this weekend. Bands include Toby Keith, Hank Williams Jr., Trace Adkins, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Rodney Atkins, Dwight Yoakam, Phil Vassar, Jana Kramer, Zac Brown Band, Darius Rucker, Thompson Square, Lonestar and Tanya Tucker

~~Blake Shelton will have the number one country album when the Billboard charts are released today with "Based on a True Story."

The disc will be fourth on the overall top 200 chart with 42,000 units sold, down 31 percent. Fall Out Boy's "Save Rock and Roll" debuts in first with 154,000 units sold.

The Band Perry will be second on the country chart and stayed sixth overall with "Pioneer," which sold 37,000 units, down 35 percent. Brad Paisley was third on the country chart and seventh overall, down five, with "Wheelhouse." The disc sold 34,000 units, down 66 percent.

~~People Magazine's annual Most Beautiful Women issue hits newsstands this week with Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. Inside, People features a gallery for their Simply Stunning: Stars & Their Aww-dored Pets list, with a cute snap of Miranda Lambert and her dog, Delilah.

LINK

~~UPDATE:  Travis Tritt will release his first single in six years, "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough," on this Father's Day, Sunday, June 16. It's a remake of the Patty Smyth and Don Henley duet: Travis sings the song with his 15-year-old daughter Tyler Reese.

A video has been shot and will soon be released to cable and online outlets.

~~ Lynyrd Skynyrd has recorded a new theme song to History's reality series "Pawn Stars".

New episodes resume May 30.

The show will start off with a 30-second theme, titled "Winning Isn't Everything".

Lyrics include: "I was born under a bad sign/wrong place, right time. I'm here for a good time/got the devil inside."

LISTEN