September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

CMTThe 2020 CMT Awards will return this fall, taking place on Wednesday, October 21 at 8PM ET. The show will air across CMT, MTV, MTV2, Paramount Network, Pop & TV Land.

The event, which is country music’s only fan-voted awards show, will adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing regulations but will continue on as planned this fall in celebration of country’s biggest superstars.

For example, the show will feature a number of outdoor performances, broadcast from various locations in Music City. Details about who will perform, who will be nominated for awards and who will host the show have yet to be announced.

This year’s CMT Awards show comes in the middle of an awards show season that’s a bit busier than usual. The ACM Awards, which typically take place in April in Las Vegas, were pushed to September 16 and moved to Nashville due to continuing concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. After the ACM Awards and the CMT Awards take place, the CMA Awards will happen in November. 

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LATBS has an hour-long, televised talent competition called the Go-Big Show in the works, which will follow talents like alligator trainers, monster truck drivers and stunt archers as they vie for the $100,000 prize.

Jennifer Nettles will serve as one of the celebrity judges choosing which competitors advance to the next level. She’ll appear alongside fellow judges rapper Snoop Dogg, actor and activist Rosario Dawson and professional wrestler Cody Rhodes. Comedian Bert Kreischer will host the show.

While extreme talent judging may seem like a bit of a leap for the Sugarland band mate and solo country act, Jennifer just might feel close to home in her new role: Go-Big Show has begun production for its 10 episodes at the Macon Coliseum in her home state of Georgia.

There, the contestants and staff are operating under strict COVID-19 protocols, and are isolating together in accordance with local social distancing regulations. For example, the show will forgo a live audience in favor of an interactive drive-in audience.

Go-Big Show is being broadcast simultaneously across TBS, TNT and truTV.

In addition to her country career, Jennifer has been enjoying being in front of the camera as an actor in recent years. She portrayed the character of Aimee-Lee Gemstone on the HBO show The Righteous Gemstones, and also is among the cast of Harriet, a biopic about the life of Harriet Tubman.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Jamie WrightMiranda Lambert has always been passionate about helping shelter pets. Now, her nonprofit Muttnation has teamed with the Waggle Foundation to help those in the music community take care of their pets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The singer says the idea of supporting pets during this time came from a friend’s personal experience.

“It really hit home when my backup singer and close friend Gwen’s shelter dog, Earl, became extremely ill in early March, just as the pandemic was taking hold and our tour had to stop,” Miranda explains. “After taking him to several vets, she was told Earl had a rare liver disorder. Then there were multiple hospital stays, relapses, more hospital stays…”

Watching Gwen’s experience made Miranda realize how stressful it is for other pet owners to go through illnesses with their animals during a time when they’re not working as much or at all, she continues.

“Earl is doing great now, but he’ll require ongoing treatment for the rest of his life. It was such an unexpected major expense at an already tough time,” Miranda continues. “…Because music and mutts are my two passions, I knew I had to do something and thought that starting this fund would help both the music community that’s been so supportive of me and their pets.”

Music industry members can apply for support now, and animal lovers in need of assistance who don’t work in music can apply via Waggle. Fans can also donate to the Muttnation Fund.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LALuke Combs takes things all the way back to 1998 for his adorable “Lovin’ on You” music video, which imagines what things would’ve been like if the singer and his wife, Nicole, were ‘90s kids together at a roller rink birthday party.

In the clip, the kid version of Luke is running late to the kid version of Nicole’s birthday party. He runs into the roller skating rink, wrapped gift under his arm, just in time for the first bars of the song to kick off.

From there, it’s a colorful throwback homage, full of classic arcade games, sheet cake and more mini-versions of the singer’s friends and band mates. There’s even one kid wearing a Waffle House ball cap: A nod, perhaps, to last year, when an entire Waffle House chimed in for a late-night sing-along of Luke’s “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”

At the end of the video, the real-life Luke and Nicole replace their mini selves, with Nicole working behind the register of the skating rink and Luke sliding a token to her across the counter.

It’s a sweet tribute to the country couple’s real-life love story: Luke and Nicole got married in a small, beach-side ceremony on August 1.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

BMLG RecordsFlorida Georgia Line celebrates the kinds of nights that make life worth living in “Long Live,” their newest single.

“Long live all the small towners, sunup to sundowners / That old-school Haggard and Hank / Long live longneck bottles and wide-open throttles / And old dirt roads with no name,” the chorus goes. “Long live them country girls, long legs in cut-up jeans / Long live this way of life / Long live nights like these…”

It’s familiar turf for FGL’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, both of whom had a hand in writing the track. The pair are known for recording out odes to the small-town good life, and this single takes them back to their early days..

“This one is for the nights you never want to end,” the duo says in a statement. “…We had a lot of fun reminiscing when writing, and hope it takes our fans back, too! Kick back with your loved ones, turn it up and relive some of your glory days while making new memories.”

“Long Live” follows FGL’s latest single and 17th number-one radio hit, “I Love My Country.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.