Month: July 2021

Garth Brooks + Trisha Yearwood were among the many stars who honored former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in honor of their recent 75th wedding anniversary.

As People reports, Garth and Trisha were on the guest list for an anniversary party the couple had planned last weekend.  But before the festivities began, the two country superstars met privately with the Carters to offer them a jaw-dropping gift with a sweet personal meaning.

According to Jill Stuckey, a close friend of the Carters who spoke to People about the anniversary celebration, Garth and Trisha presented the couple with a red convertible car built in 1946 — the year they wed

Delivering a car to someone's house in advance without ruining the surprise of the gift is no small feat, but Garth and Trisha managed to pull it off with help from the Secret Service, who stored it in an area of the couple's Plains, Georgia compound where they wouldn't see it until the moment arrived.

“Bright eyes, big smiles,” Stuckey says of the Carters' “very excited” reaction to their gift. “But there was so much special [about the day] because [of] the people that were here from all aspects of their lives.”

Celebrities, politicians, church friends and more flocked to the Carters' party to celebrate the couple: Billy and Hillary Clinton were in attendance, as was Nancy Pelosi and more.

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Jimmie Allen and his wife, Alexis, announced this spring that they're expecting their second baby girl. And while the couple are eagerly awaiting the new addition, the singer's 7-year-old son, Aadyn, initially had his doubts about adding a second little sister to the mix.

“He's excited to be a big brother. But he told me if we don't get another brother, he's going to be upset,” Jimmie explained to People. “He said, Dad, there's too many girls.' He said, There's Mommy. There's Alexis. There's [sister] Naomi and now this new girl.'”

But Jimmie grew up with lots of women in his family, so he could explain to his son that there are advantages to being one of the only boys in the house.

“I said, You don't got to share your boy stuff. You're the only one to be able to wear your size sneakers,'” he recounts. “I'm used to it. So I gave him a little insight on how to handle it.”

With several years of dad wisdom under his belt, Jimmie released his first children's book, My Voice Is a Trumpet, earlier this week. He tells people that he considers himself a “pretty chill” father, explaining that “sometimes it's okay to let them make a mistake.”

The singer adds, “There are plenty of times when I step in as a father and say, All right, let's try this, let's try that,' [when I] see them struggling. But for the most part, I teach my life lessons to them and watch them become their own people.”

My Voice Is a Trumpet is available for purchase now. 

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Toby Keith has been slowly rolling out new songs — “Old School” and “Happy Birthday America” — over the last few weeks, and now he's got more news to share: The country mainstay is planning to release a new album this fall called Peso in My Pocket.

The first batch of all-new music he's released in more than five years, Peso in My Pocket is largely a product of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of which Toby spent holed up in his house in Mexico.

“It was like being on the moon. A lot of my friends down there were afraid they wouldn't be let back into the U.S., so they all went home,” Toby remembers. By himself, with no touring engagements on the books, he decided to get to work on some solo songwriting.

As a result, four of the 10 songs on Peso in My Pocket were written by Toby alone. Among them are “She's Drinkin' Again,” “Thunderbird” and “Happy Birthday America,” as well as the title track.

Meanwhile, the previously released “Old School” was co-written by Maren Morris, as well as her singer-songwriter husband, Ryan Hurd, and Brett Tyler. The track list also features a cover of John Prine's “Take a Look at My Heart.”

Peso in My Pocket is due out on October 15. It's available to pre-save now. 

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“One Big Country Song” duo LoCash just wrapped an overseas, seven-stop engagement performing for U.S. military service members.

The trek, called the Vice Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 2021 USO Tour, marked LoCash's second overseas engagement with Air Force General John E. Hyten. Other stars and celebrities joined them, including singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle, actor Wilmer Valderamma and many others.

“It's been more than a year since we were able to thank our troops in person,” the duo comments. “We can't express how thankful we are for General Hyten inviting us along and providing the opportunity for us to express our gratitude in-person at a USO show to those protecting our freedoms once again.”

LoCash is continuing to keep busy this week as they drop the music video for “Startin' Something,” their breezy new duet with Australian country rock outfit The Wolfe Brothers. It's one of a number of recent collaborations for LoCash: They also contributed vocals to “Get Country,” a song on Jimmie Allen's recently released Bettie James Gold Edition duets project.

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Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's wedding day may have been a picture-perfect romantic day, but they're not extending the festivities. According to People, the couple is forgoing a honeymoon and getting back to their busy lives.

“They're both very, very busy this year with work,” explains an unnamed source, “and this was the only time they could fit in the wedding.”

Blake and Gwen tied the knot on July 3 in an intimate ceremony on Blake's Oklahoma ranch, where the country superstar and his pop icon bride built a chapel just for the occasion.

But both members of the couple have plenty of work to keep them busy for the remainder of the year. According to People, they've returned to Los Angeles, where Blake will resume filming Season 21 of The Voice, on which he serves as a coach. He’s also gearing up for the resumption of his Friends and Heroes Tour later in 2021.

Meanwhile, Gwen is at work on her fifth studio album and prepping for a Las Vegas residency that resumes in the fall.

Blake and Gwen first met on the set of The Voice and got married after five years of dating. Over the course of their relationship, they've released multiple duets, including hit country singles “Nobody but You” and “Happy Anywhere.”

 

 

 

 

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Garth Brooks is headed to Baltimore this fall. The country superstar has announced his first performance in the city for six years, as well as the first time he's ever played MT+T Bank Stadium.

The show is set for October 2, and tickets go on sale Friday, July 23 at 10 a.m. ET. Those hoping to attend should plan to snag their seats fast, because the Stadium Tour dates Garth has announced so far this year have sold out at a whiplash-inducing rate.

Back in May, fans snapped up 50,000 seats to Garth’s July Salt Lake City show just under 30 minutes after the event went on sale. Not long after, Garth sold 70,000 tickets in the first 47 minutes after sales opened for his Lincoln, Nebraska show. According to the website for football team the Baltimore Ravens, MT+T Bank Stadium has a capacity of 71,000.

Garth has spent much of this summer getting Stadium Tour dates back on the books after the past year's pandemic-induced touring hiatus. He's officially back in action as of last weekend, kicking off the tour with a sold-out show in Las Vegas.

As always for Garth's stadium shows, tickets to his Baltimore set will cost $94.95 all-inclusive. The show will feature in-the-round seating. 

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