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Chris Stapleton, George Strait + more salute Jerry Lee Lewis in an upcoming Skyville Live CMT broadcast

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ABCChris Stapleton, Toby Keith, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait and Kris Kristofferson will all take the stage in an upcoming Skyville Live broadcast paying tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis. The one-hour event airs next Tuesday, April 13 on CMT.

It’s part of a series of Skyville Live specials, with CMT premiering the broadcast version of the ten-concert series that took place at Nashville venue Skyville Live. All performances were filmed in front of a studio audience prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After next week’s tribute to Lewis, Skyville Live will return in May for an event spotlighting pop icon Cyndi Lauper. Performing during that event will be Kelsea Ballerini and Ingrid Michaelson.

Previous specials have paid tribute to Emmylou Harris, Graham Nash and other artists.

To watch the next Skyville Live special, tune in to CMT next Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. ET.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Luke Bryan gave Katy Perry’s baby a BB gun: “It just seemed to be the right gift”

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ABC/Eric McCandlessKaty Perry and her fiancé Orlando Bloom welcomed their daughter, Daisy Dove, last August, and she got quite a welcome-to-the-world present from her superstar mom’s American Idol co-star, Luke Bryan.

During an appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Luke explained that he picked his unlikely baby gift — a Daisy-brand BB gun — in honor of the newborn’s name.

“It just seemed to be the right gift,” Luke told show host Jimmy Kimmel with a grin.

Back in February, Katy spoke about the BB gun, and other baby gifts she’d received, during a Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance of her own. At the time, the singer tactfully commented that Luke’s gift had been very thoughtful, and on-brand for who he is.

“Us judges, we stay true to who we are,” she joked.

But Luke knows that the superstar couple are unlikely to ever let baby Daisy handle the BB gun herself, even when she gets older. “That’ll never see the light of day,” he said during his recent appearance.


By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Florida Georgia Line will perform “Long Live” on 'GMA' to celebrate their newest number-one hit

No Comments Country Music News

ABCAfter securing their 18th career chart-topper earlier this week, Florida Georgia Line has announced an upcoming stop on ABC’s Good Morning America.

The superstar duo will perform their latest country radio hit, “Long Live,” as well as sit down for a live interview on the show next Wednesday. FGL has no shortage of things to talk about, both independently and as a duo. For starters, they’re nominated for Duo of the Year at the upcoming ACM Awards.

The band mates have also been venturing into separate musical pursuits this year, with Brian Kelley set to release his solo Wave Pack EP next week. Meanwhile, Tyler Hubbard’s “Undivided” duet with Tim McGraw continues to heat up country radio.

When “Long Live” hit the top spot, Tyler and BK said that the song channeled their early days as a band.

“‘Long Live’ was just a really, really special song that we wrote, I don’t know, now probably a couple of years ago,” Tyler explains. “I remember being on the road, and we felt like the whole time that we were channeling that 2012 Florida Georgia Line and just some of that real feel-good, nostalgic party music.”


By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation kicks off “Love Harder” campaign for dogs less frequently adopted

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Westin HeflinIn 2021, Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation will focus on supporting the shelter dogs who don’talways get easily adopted, including senior dogs, black dogs, pit mixes and dogs with disabilities.

“The truth is, these dogs are the easiest to love, maybe because they need us the most,” the singer reflects. “But with so many misperceptions, people sometimes shy away from adopting them. I want people to see the strong bonds and special love that can be shared with these harder to get adopted dogs.”

The campaign, called “Love Harder,” aims to bust myths about these special pets. MuttNation is currently accepting story submissions from fans about their “harder to adopt” shelter pets, offering each pet owner who shares their story the chance to win an Epiphone guitar signed by Miranda.

The singer, who has two senior dogs of her own, is also kicking off the “Love Harder” campaign by sitting down with Emmylou Harris and her senior pup, Jeter.

“They bring so much into your life,” Emmylou says of the experience of owning an older dog. “Maybe it’s because I’m an old dog myself, that I appreciate old age and that maybe we need a little bit more comfort and care.”

Emmylou has her own rescue organization, called Bonaparte’s Retreat, which is dedicated to providing for dogs who have been neglected or forgotten due to age, size or disability.


By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Carrie Underwood’s Easter Sunday 'My Savior' livestream show raised over $112,000 for charity

No Comments Country Music News

Cameron Premo/Courtesy of Carrie UnderwoodCarrie Underwood celebrated Easter Sunday by bringing her newly-released gospel project, My Savior, to the stage of Nashville’s Ryman auditorium.

The free live event, called My Savior: Live from the Ryman, was available to livestream on Carrie’s Facebook page, drawing almost 2.5 million viewers from all across the world.

During the event itself, as well as in the subsequent 48 hours when the concert was still available to view, the virtual audience was invited to donate to Save the Children, a fund benefiting the lives of children through education, health care, disaster relief, policy changes and more.

Overall, Carrie’s show raised $112,000 for the cause. The singer is a longtime supporter of Save the Children; in 2010, she donated a portion of each ticket purchased to her tour to the organization.

Joining the country superstar for her show was gospel legend CeCe Winans as well as Needtobreathe frontman Bear Rinehart, both of whom also lent their voices to My Savior. CeCe joined Carrie “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” while Bear appeared on “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.”

My Savior, Carrie’s first full gospel project, arrived on March 26. The 13-track collection is full of songs that she grew up singing in church.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.