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Go Country 105

Keith Urban joins 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix performance lineup

Keith Urban has been tapped as a performer for the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix’s opening ceremony.

The multigenre star-studded lineup includes JourneyAndra DaySteve AokiBishop BriggsThirty Seconds to MarsJ Balvin and will.i.am.

The F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix opening ceremony takes place Wednesday, November 15.

To purchase tickets and for more information, visit f1lasvegasgp.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Go Country 105

Garth Brooks reveals new album title + cover

Garth Brooks has announced his new studio album, Time Traveler, and revealed its album cover.

Produced by Garth, the project will be included in his upcoming seven-disc box set, The Limited Series. The collection will also feature Man Against MachineGunslingerFun and the three-disc Triple Live.

“There are a lot of different eras on this album, thus the name,” says Garth. “Country music’s core is sincerity, after that, you can dress it up a thousand different ways. I am so lucky to live under the flag of Country Music.”

The Limited Series releases exclusively at Bass Pro Shops on November 7 and is available for preorder now. Orders purchased online will ship in mid-November.

Coming up, Garth’s Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk will officially open on Friday, November 24 with a same-day Dive-Bar kickoff concert.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Go Country 105

Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll + more to perform on 57th CMA Awards

The first round of performers for the 57th annual CMA Awards has been announced.

This year’s lineup features a mix of superstars, veterans and newcomers, such as Luke BryanJelly RollK. MichelleChris StapletonOld DominionCarly PearceLainey WilsonLittle Big Town, Megan Moroney and Tanya Tucker.

Jelly will kick off the show with an opening performance of “Need a Favor,” before joining K. Michelle later for a cover of The Judds‘ “Love Can Build a Bridge.” Old Dominion and Megan will perform their new single, “Can’t Break Up Now,” and Carly will team with Chris for “We Don’t Fight Anymore.” Little Big Town and newly inducted Country Music Hall of Fame member, Tanya, will join forces for a duet rendition of Tanya’s “Delta Dawn.” 

Additionally, Luke will deliver a medley of his #1 hits, Chris will perform “White Horse” and Lainey will sing “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.”

The 57th CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, airs live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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News Daypop

Republicans pick Rep. Mike Johnson as fourth House Speaker candidate

Republicans have chosen their fourth House Speaker candidate, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., in a secret-ballot vote Tuesday evening. Johnson was selected the party’s new nominee after multiple rounds of voting, and after Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota dropped his bid for the position. The House has been without a speaker for three weeks after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California was ousted from the leadership role.

Johnson received 128 votes in the final round during the 8 p.m. EDT meeting, with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29 votes. Five speaker candidates made their pitches to the conference before voting began — Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., was the first candidate knocked out of the running, followed by Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, in the second round of voting. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., dropped out after Williams was eliminated.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s third nominee before being forced to drop his bid just three hours after GOP members chose him, in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as former President Donald Trump.
Twenty-six Republicans reportedly either voted present or for another candidate, indicating that Emmer was far from the 217 votes needed to win. After meeting with holdouts on Tuesday afternoon, Emmer stepped aside.

Johnson, 51, was elected to Congress in 2016 and has avoided making political enemies in the House. Johnson is a lawyer specializing in constitutional issues, he had rallied Republicans around Trump’s legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results. To secure the speakership, Johnson will need to win at least 217 of the 221 Republican votes. It remains unclear if Johnson can get to 217 to break the GOP stalemate. A floor vote could happen as early as Wednesday afternoon

Republicans are now faced with trying again to choose a new speaker who can credibly unite the GOP majority, lead the party and get the U.S. Congress working again.

Editorial credit: Al Mueller / Shutterstock.com

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News Daypop

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testifies against him at fraud trial

Michael Cohen, former attorney to Donald Trump, testified against the former president today in New York’s civil fraud lawsuit. The trial will determine how much Trump owes to the state of New York after he, several of his adult children, and his business associates were found liable for fraud. The court determined Trump overvalued his properties and inflated his net worth over several years, thus deceiving banks, investors, and insurers.

When entering the court, Cohen told reporters: “This is not about Donald Trump vs. Michael Cohen, or Michael Cohen vs. Donald Trump… this is about accountability, plain and simple.”

Trump told reporters outside of the courtroom that he and his attorneys were “not worried at all about his testimony …I haven’t seen him in years. And you know his record. His record is a horrible one. All you have to do is ask the Southern District of New York, he’s got a horrible record.” 

Cohen testified on Tuesday that Trump directed him and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to inflate the value of his assets to “whatever number” the former president asked for. Said Cohen: “He would look at the total assets and say ‘I’m actually not worth 4.5 billion. I am really worth more like $6 billion’. My responsibility, along with Allen Weisselberg predominantly, was to reverse engineer the various different asset classes and increase those assets […] to achieve a number Mr. Trump asked us.”

Cohen’s court appearance at Trumps trial marked the first time Trump and Cohen have been in the same room in over five years. Cohen’s falling out with the former president dates back to 2018, when Cohen was embroiled in allegations that he had helped coordinate hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence ahead of the 2016 election over an alleged affair with Trump. In 2018, Cohen was convicted of having committed campaign finance violations when he made the payments and sentenced to 36 months in prison, before being released from prison early in 2020. Cohen pleaded guilty to having lied to Congress about the details of a proposed business deal between Russia and the Trump Organization in a separate case that same year.

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Go Country 105

Jon Pardi makes Opry history, with a little help from Garth Brooks

More than a decade after making his Opry debut, Jon Pardi became the first native Californian ever inducted into the esteemed country music institution on Tuesday night. 

Fighting allergies to perform, Jon vowed to “keep on rockin’,” delivering hits like “Your Heart or Mine,” “Last Night Lonely” and “Heartache Medication” before Garth Brooks made a surprise appearance to do the official honors. 

Garth recalled how Jon had impressed him, capturing the attention of a stadium crowd of 85,000 in Knoxville, Tennessee, before handing him the replica of the Opry’s iconic mic bestowed on new members. “This is me and you joined in holy matrimony, by the common love of country music,” Garth told Jon. 

“I’m gonna squeak by on this one,” Jon told the crowd, before doing “Head Over Boots” as his first song as a bona fide Opry member.

Backstage earlier, Jon was already thinking about continuing the tradition of welcoming new artists into the fold.

“The most important part of that is being the guy with the dressing room door open,” he told reporters. “That’s how you help new artists that come through and play the Opry for the first time. And you kind of get that experience like I did when I was long-haired Jon, like, “Oh man, that’s Dierks Bentley jamming with his bluegrass band!” 

Jon’s new album, Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi, comes out this Friday, October 27.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Country Daypop

Lainey Wilson announces 2024 ‘Country’s Cool Again’ North American tour

Lainey Wilson announced she will be performing 35+ dates across North America on her headlining “Country’s Cool Again Tour” in 2024.

Said Wilson: “Nothing gets me buzzin’ like putting on a show and singing along with the crowd  I want to give a big thank you to all of the fans who have continuously showed up and showed out this year. We can’t wait to see you nationwide on the “Country’s Cool Again Tour!”

Citi is the official card of the Country’s Cool Again Tour. Citi card members will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesdays at 10AM time through Thursdays at 10PM local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com.

General tickets go on sale beginning Friday, October 27 at 10am local time. For more information, head to LaineyWilson.com.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

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Country Daypop

Luke Bryan shares final lineup for 2024 ‘Crash My Playa’

Luke Bryan shared the final lineup for the ninth annual ‘Crash My Playa 2024’ destination concert event, sharing he will joined on his Sunday night “Luke & Friends” concert by Dierks Bentley and Eddie Montgomery (of Montgomery Gentry fame).

The lineup for Bryan’s Crash My Playa 2024, taking place in Mexico Jan. 17-20 will also include Ernest, Jon Langston, Mitchell Tenpenny, Ashley Cooke, Avery Anna, Lily Rose, Zach Top and DJ Rock. These performers join previously announced headliners Jon Pardi and Jelly Roll, Dustin Lynch, and Bailey Zimmerman.

Crash My Playa 2024 will once again taking place at the Moon Palace Cancún, featuring four nights of country music on a private stretch of white sand beach. The resort provides guests with a range of luxury accommodations just steps from the concert venue, as well as all-inclusive food and drink, 24-hour room service as well as plenty of activities on both land and sea.

For information, head to crashmyplaya.com.

Luke Bryan announces final 2024 Crash My Playa lineup

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Pop Daypop

Yungblud teams up with Bring Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes for new song

Yungblud has teamed up with Oli Sykes of the rock band Bring Me The Horizon on the new single “Happier,” their second collaboration together following Bring Me The Horizon’s single “OBEY” in 2020. Yungblud will also be joining BMTH on their Asia tour later this month, ahead of Yungblud’s own headlining tour.

Speaking about the track ‘Happier,’ Yungblud said: “I have almost been conditioned by myself my whole life to be in pain. When I’m in pain I work better. I function better because I have something to combat. It’s dark but it’s all I’ve ever known. The feeling of happiness is scary because you feel like it’s all about to go wrong. I have always felt that if I’m happy I’ll get complacent so it’s lost me a lot of opportunity for friendships and relationships in the past. I got really emotional when writing this. I was craving another Yungblud song that would burn in my stomach, make me feel like it’s all gonna be ok and encourage me to fight back against old habits and try my best to re-align myself to be better. It’s ok to find happiness, it’s ok to feel it. I hope you find a little bit of it in this song. You deserve it. Everyone does.”

Take a look at the video for ‘Happier’ – here.
Buy or stream “Happier” – here.

Editorial credit: Ben Houdijk / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

U2 extends Las Vegas residency into 2024 with 11 new dates

U2 have extended their Las Vegas residency, announcing an additional 11 dates at Sphere in Las Vegas, NV in January and February of 2024. The newly added performances will extend the band’s ongoing residency to a total of 36 shows.

U2 opened the state-of=the art entertainment arena in late September and has been performing regular concerts there ever since. The U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency was designed specifically to show off the extensive capabilities of the 18,000-capacity venue.

Tickets go on sale starting on Wednesday, October 25th at 11 am local time via Ticketmaster.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com