Month: July 2021

Just hours after wrapping its two-day CMA Summer Jam, the Country Music Association has announced a television air date for the event. A three-hour primetime special reliving all the highlights will air September 2 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert were just a few of the artists who took the stage during the two-day musical party, which took place at Nashville's Ascend Amphitheater on July 27 and 28. 

Other performing acts who'll be featured in the special include Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, Mickey Guyton, Carly Pearce, Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne, Dwight Yoakam, Gabby Barrett, Dierks Bentley, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson. 

But that's not all. In addition to his Ascend Amphitheater appearance, Dierks will take the stage in a bonus performance with Hardy and Breland. Presumably, they're playing their just-released new song, “Beers on Me”; the performance will come to viewers from Dierks' Broadway bar, Whiskey Row

The TV special will also feature a performance from Eric Church, recorded on downtown Nashville's John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, with a view of the Cumberland River. Meanwhile, Darius Rucker also hits the outdoor stage of Nashville's newly-constructed Fifth & Broadway complex. 

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Live concert series “Front and Center” will return to public television for its 10th season this August, giving viewers a front-row seat to intimate shows from the likes of Lady A, Brantley Gilbert, Maddie & Tae and many more.

The season kicks off with a new twist on the show's usual format, presenting an archival concert from the late Glen Campbell, which was recorded in 2008 at storied West Hollywood venue the Troubadour. This month, that show also came out as a live album titled Glen Campbell: Live from the Troubadour.

Next up, the series will spotlight exclusive performances from a wide variety of country hitmakers and acclaimed singer-songwriters, featuring Dustin Lynch, John Hiatt with special guests Jerry Douglas and Tommy Emmanuel, Old Dominion, and operatic vocalist Sangeeta Kaur with Jon Anderson and Jake Shimabukuro.

The performances took place at Analog at Hutton Hotel, an intimate Nashville venue, and were filmed either pre-pandemic or with COVID-19 safety protocols in place.

The series kicks off August 1 and runs through September 19. The episodes will be distributed nationally by American Public Television; you can also watch them on “Front and Center”'s YouTube channel. 

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This week, Dierks Bentley finally unveils the new song that lends its name to his 2021 Beers on Me Tour. 

That's “Beers on Me,” an easygoing good-time anthem that finds Dierks collaborating with two of country music's most exciting up-and-comers: Hardy and Breland. The three singers take turns on the verses of the song, which they also co-wrote during a writing session that Dierks admits was a little unorthodox. 

“It's usually more of a collaborative process, and you're talking things out and stuff, but this was totally different,” the singer tells People, who premiered the song on Thursday.

What began with Hardy's idea for a song called “Beers on Me” slowly morphed into a “timely” anthem of reuniting with friends and family after pandemic-induced shutdowns. Then, Breland applied his vision to the track to create the third verse, which he also sings.

“Breland is just on a totally different planet. He was totally in the zone and truly living out the Dharma,” Dierks jokes. “And about 20 minutes later, he says he has some ideas, and they were absolutely genius. There were a few things he said that I didn't even know what he was talking about, but I knew they were good.”

“Beers on Me” is the follow-up single to “Gone,” Dierks' 20th number-one country hit.

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Here's hoping this country hitmaker is “Blessed” on her birthday: The Kansas native, who sings “Independence Day” and “A Broken Wing,” turns 55 years old today. Can you name her? ANSWER: Martina McBride.

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Dierks Bentley's Beers on Me tour kicks off in just a few short weeks, and the singer says he's especially excited about the company he'll have on the road: opening acts Parker McCollum and Riley Green.

Talking about his role as tour boss, Dierks points out, “I try to make sure that the tour's really fun. For some of these guys, it's their first big tour. I know for Parker, it'll be the first time he's gone to some of these states before!” 

Mentoring up-and-comers isn't a job Dierks takes lightly, and that's partly because of his experience on the road with Kenny Chesney back when he was a newcomer himself.

“I want to make sure they look back on this tour the same way I look back on the Chesney stuff, how well Kenny treated me and how much fun it was,” he says. “An emphasis on music and fun.” 

But keeping the emphasis on music and fun shouldn't be too hard: Not only does Dierks admire Parker and Riley as artists, but they're his buddies, too.

“It's just two great guys,” he says. “I really love both their music and their spirit. They're people I text with regularly, so it's a real natural thing.”

Dierks explains why it’s important to have camaraderie with the people you're sharing the stage with, noting, “I think [it] translates when you get out there on the road. Fans can see that.”

To get a glimpse of the obvious camaraderie between the three singers, look no further than their high-impact cover of Jerry Reed's “Eastbound & Down.” The Beers on Me tour kicks off August 13 in Salt Lake City. 

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