• Dierks Bentley
• Kenny Chesney
• Lady Antebellum
• Miranda Lambert
• Brad Paisley
• Reba
• Rascal Flatts
• Blake Shelton
• George Strait
• Taylor Swift
• Sugarland
• Carrie Underwood
• Keith Urban
• Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson

Check back often for updates as it gets closer to the show. And make sure to check back after the event for a full story on the 2010 CMA’s in Nashville! -Greg

 Here is what Kenny and Taylor had to say before and after the award for Entertainer of the Year, from CMT:

Taylor Swift shared Kenny Chesney‘s congratulatory comments immediately after she was named entertainer of the year award at Wednesday’s (Nov. 11) CMA Awardsin Nashville. “He just said, ‘I’m so proud of you and I love you so much,’” she recalled. “We were texting earlier, and we were saying that same thing, like, ‘No matter what happens tonight, I love you so much.’ And it was just like I really, really love Kenny a lot. All the other people in the category with me have taken me out on tour as their opening act. Every one of them — Keith, Brad, George, Kenny — all of them. And so those are people that I’ve looked up to and just held up in my head as these heroes, and they’re always going to that for me.” Swift also said she was holding her breath during the announcement and that winning the night’s top award was “the most crazy, unexpected thing.”

Dave Matthews will perform with Kenny Chesney on the 43rd annual CMA Awards, event organizers announced Monday (Oct. 19). It marks Matthews’ first appearance on the show that will include several previously-announced performers, including Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Billy Currington, Vince Gill and Daughtry, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and the Zac Brown Band. Chesney co-wrote “I’m Alive” with Dean Dillon and Mark Tamburino. The song was first recorded by Willie Nelson, but Chesney and Matthews recorded their version for Chesney’s Lucky Old Sun album. It also appears on Chesney’s Greatest Hits II and has already climbed to No. 8 on the Billboard country songs chart.

Playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday Nights, His First Appearance Is Set for Dec. 11

October 15, 2009; Written by CMT.com Staff

 

Garth Brooks will come out of retirement with a solo acoustic show to begin Dec. 11 at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. Brooks and Steve Wynn, chairman of the board and CEO of Wynn Resorts, revealed the series of special engagements during a Thursday afternoon (Oct. 15) press conference at the hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

Brooks will be performing one show on Fridays, two on Saturdays and one on Sunday. Wynn is providing a private jet for Brooks to commute from his Oklahoma home where he lives with his three daughters and his wife, singer Trisha Yearwood. The five-year deal calls for Brooks to perform only during specific weeks each year to be announced on a quarterly basis. Tickets are priced at $125 and will go on sale Oct. 24 for the first five weekends. The specific dates are Dec. 11-13, Jan. 1-3 and 22-24 and Feb. 12-14 and 26-28.

Brooks has only played a handful of concerts since retiring in 2001. His engagement at Wynn Las Vegas evolved from a series of conversations he had with Wynn. He eventually performed an informal concert in the theater for several of Wynn’s friends and special guests, including Bette Midler. Afterwards, Wynn broached the possibility of Brooks performing an extended engagement.

“He said it was something he thought people should hear,” Brooks said. “That was sweet. I told him he couldn’t afford me.” He then added, “I was wrong.”

Brooks reiterated his desire to spend as much time as possible with his daughters, who are now aged 13, 15 and 17.

“I am a fortunate guy that has got to live his life playing music for people, and the people have always taken care of me,” he said. “In 2001, I announced my retirement to go home and raise our kids in Oklahoma. When Steve Wynn approached me about playing, he did something different than anybody else had. He didn’t throw money at me.”

Instead, Brooks said, Wynn understood the desire to devote time to his family.

“Every argument you ever had of why you didn’t do this, he had an answer for,” he said.

Brooks concerts are expected to run 90 minutes and will occasionally include special guest performers.

“It’s a one-man show, so there’s going to be a lot of disappointment after that first weekend,” he joked. “Coming out and just playing — just me and a guitar — takes me back to the first days I got to play. I was lucky enough to do a place called Wild Willie’s Saloon in Stillwater, Okla, before I moved to Nashville and started touring. That’s what this is going to be for me. It’s a chance to slowly get back into it to see what people like, what they don’t like. It’s going to be very intimate.”

Brooks says he’s especially looking forward to performing regularly at the Encore Theater.

“I’m always in buildings that are built for sports,” he said. “I love sports, and I feel lucky to have arenas and stadiums. But I’ve never played in a place built for sound like this. When I hear myself, I go, ‘Who the hell is that?’ It’s a beautiful hall.”

Fri., Sep. 25, 2009 10:59 AM PDT by Gina Serpe

 

This can’t be kosher.

Add Michael Jackson‘s former spiritual guide to the list of people looking to cash in on the pop icon’s death, as TLC star and frequent Oprah couch-sitter Rabbi Shmuley Boteach today released a book based on 30 hours of intimate and revealing taped conversations with the star.

So not so much a tell-all as a share-all.

The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation is based on confabs the rabbi had with his “close friend” back in 2000 and 2001.

As for why Boteach sat on the private tapes for nearly nine years before unveiling their contents, well, according to the rabbi’s website, “It was Michael’s wish to bare his soul and unburden himself to a public that knew he was deeply suspicious of him.”

In other words, think of it as more of a public service than a major betrayal of trust.

Keep Reading

Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony BMG Nashville.

September 21, 2009 — Kenny Chesney said goodbye to fans last Saturday on the last night of his Sun City Carnival Tour as he takes some time off to rejuvenate and record another CD, due late spring, 2010.

“It’s hard to believe we’re putting this thing up on blocks,” Kenny said after the sold-out show at Lucas Oil Stadium. “The response from the fans, out in the crowd and the Internet, it makes [me] feel like people understand, and that they know we’re not gone for good, it’s just a breather.

“And I hope people understand, I’ve never been an all or nothing kind of guy,” he stated. “This doesn’t mean there will be no shows or no music. It means I’m not going to be staging a major tour – I’m not going to take two weeks off and be meeting with people to build a stage, to start thinking about how we can do the lights different and what the video’s gonna be.”

Kenny ended his tour surrounded by fans and fellow artists. Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles joined him on his hit “When The Sun Goes Down,” Miranda Lambert came out on “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” the Zac Brown Band performed Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight” and Steve Miller’s “Space Cowboy,” and Wailer Drummie Zeb did the reggae classic, “Three Little Birds.”

“This isn’t just a show,” said Kenny, who’s the 4-consecutive Academy of Country Music and 4-time and current Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. “This is a major production … and it’s not just, ‘Decide what to play, rehearse for a couple weeks and get out there.’ I need a break from that, so I can get back inside from a fresh place – and I’m really looking forward to that, because I don’t know anyone who keeps their foot on the gas like this for 8 years.”

Kenny’s break won’t be all flip flops and island sunning. Next year he’ll be part of the Hard Rock Café’s international Ambassadors of Rock, and currently, his “This Is Our Moment” is the break-out song for ESPN’s college football games this season.

“There are all kinds of things to explore within the music,” Kenny said. “I can’t wait to take the time to see where some of this will take me, and where I might turn up, Because, you know, I now have the time to maybe get into some interesting places. We’ll just have to figure it out.”