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 Only 10 months after its release, Jason Aldean’s “My Kind Of Party” has been certified double Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over two million units. The disc is 2011’s best selling country album and has already spawned three consecutive No. one hits, each of which have also been certified Platinum for digital downloads with the most recent single “Dirt Road Anthem” claiming double Platinum certification. Aldean keeps company with Adele, Lady Gaga and Mumford & Sons at the top of the all-genre list for the year’s top selling albums.
“It’s always been a big dream of mine to have Platinum albums, but this Double Platinum thing snuck up on me,” says Aldean. “It is beyond anything I could have dreamed or expected. It takes a whole lot of people to make it happen…from songwriters to the label to radio to my band and road crew…I just can’t tell you how thankful I am, and also how much respect I have for all the hard work that went into this project.”
Aldean scored five nominations for the 45th Annual CMA Awards scheduled to air Nov. 9. The Georgia native is tied for the most nominations this year with nods in the Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Musical Event of the Year categories. His recent No. one smash hit “Dirt Road Anthem” also scored a nomination for songwriters Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert.
“I’ve been working my tail off out on the road for years building my career, and up until last week, it sorta felt like if you hadn’t been to one of the shows, maybe you didn’t know what was happening,” commented Aldean. “It feels like I’ve finally been invited to the party, and it feels incredible to have your friends and peers pat you on the back and recognize the work that’s gone into the last year.”
For more information and a full list of tour dates, visit www.jasonaldean.com.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Craig Morgan took a break from his busy schedule readying for the launch of his new album to visit a local school today. While at Dickson Middle School, an hour west of Nashville, Morgan donated 15 Dean acoustic guitars to the music program and talked with Mr. Elston’s 8th grade class about the importance of music. While there, the class got a brief guitar lesson from Morgan and even wrote a quick song together.
“Music has always been such an important part of my life,” says Morgan. “I’m happy to give back so that others can share in that experience.”
Craig Morgan is gearing up to launch a brand new album, THIS OLE BOY, in stores next Tuesday, February 28th. The lead single is currently in the 20s on the country charts.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will tell the story of the stars, sidemen and songwriters who created and popularized a new kind of country music in mid-20th century America in The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country, a more than 5,000-square-foot exhibition opening on Friday, March 23, 2012, and closing on December 31, 2013.
Narrated by Dwight Yoakam, the exhibit will explore the roots, heyday and impact of the Bakersfield Sound, the loud, stripped-down and radio-ready music most closely identified with the careers of Country Music Hall of Fame members Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Co-curated by the institution’s Curatorial Director Mick Buck, Photo Collection Manager Tim Davis and Museum Editor Michael Gray, the Bakersfield Sound exhibit includes more than 100 artifacts and a generous overlay of audiovisual treasure. 
“We are incredibly excited to explore the Bakersfield Sound story,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “It’s an epic tale, born in the Great Depression, set two thousand miles from country music’s epicenter, and populated by a remarkably talented and tight-knit community of musicians who came together to invigorate and reinvent country music as they knew it. These colorful artists infused their work with an aural intensity and independent spirit, in the process creating a sound that reverberates through country music to this day.
“We are grateful to all of the artists, musicians and families who shared their knowledge, memories and artifacts with us,” Young continued. “An exhibit of this scope and magnitude would not have been possible without their cooperation. We would also like to thank Dwight Yoakam for his participation: Dwight is an iconoclast whose rich musical catalog embodies the Bakersfield Sound tradition; he’s also a historian and fan who reveres the bedrock of this genre. I can’t think of anyone better than Dwight to guide our visitors on the Bakersfield journey.”
Grand opening weekend will be highlighted by a Saturday, March 24 panel discussion featuring Dallas Frazier, Don Maddox, Rose Lee Maphis, Buddy Mize, Country Music Hall of Fame member Jean Shepard and Red Simpson. Later that afternoon, all of the panelists will participate in a concert, headlined by Simpson, backed by West Coast bandleader and guitarist Deke Dickerson and other noted musicians from Tennessee and California. Other opening weekend programs include a Bakersfield Sound book talk, a film screening and an instrument demonstration (see complete details below).
The exhibit will also be accompanied by a richly detailed, lavishly illustrated, 96-page companion book, titled The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country. Published by the Museum’s Country Music Foundation Press and exclusively distributed by the Hal Leonard Corporation, the volume will include essays by California-based music journalists/historians Scott B. Bomar, Randy Poe and Robert Price. Also included are dozens of archival photographs and beautiful color images of many of the artifacts included in the exhibit. The book will be available in the Museum Store and at www.countrymusichalloffame.org.
Bakersfield Sound is supported by the Academy of Country Music, Ford Motor Company Fund and SunTrust. Additional support was provided by Buck Owens Production Company. Promotional support is being provided by media partners Great American Country Television Network and Cumulus Media.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Two unique artists make for one great show at the the beautiful Schermerhorn on March 13. Songwriters Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt will take the stage in what is sure to be a night to remember. Hiatt, has had cuts by Bob Dylan,  Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Buffett, Iggy Pop, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Jewel, Joe Cocker and Chaka Khan just to name a few. Texas native and four-time Grammy winner Lyle Lovett has recorded thirteen albums, released 21 singles and what about that hair?
If you’ve never been to the Schermerhorn this would be a great show for your first visit and we can help you out with some free tickets. Go to the Nashville.com Facebook page “like” us and post “Nashville.com and the Schermerhorn, I Lovett!” That’s all you have to do. Winners will be selected at random. If you want to be sure you have tickets you can order them here.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 After being half of the most successful duo in country music history, Kix Brooks has a pretty hard act to follow going solo. But Brooks is ready to release his first Arista Nashville solo single, “New To This Town” (featuring Joe Walsh) to radio on March 19.
“It’s a freedom of sorts,” shares Kix about Brooks & Dunn coming to an end. “It’s not a bitter freedom by any means, just sort of a ‘well that was fun, now what?’ Sort of like being at a theme park and looking around after riding the same roller coaster you finally say, ‘Ok I think I’ll try that one over there!’”
Kix’s ‘new ride’ begins with his first solo single on Arista Nashville, “New To This Town” (featuring Joe Walsh), co-written by Brooks, and longtime friends Marv Green (Brooks & Dunn’s “Proud of The House We Built”) and Terry McBride (Brooks & Dunn hits “If You See Him/If You See Her and “Play Something Country.”)
“It paints the powerful emotion we’ve all known, of lost love and the uncomfortable situation of running in to that person again.” Kix says that “after a couple phone calls, and the sending of a music file across the internet, the man himself put his stamp on ‘New To This Town’ like only Joe Walsh could!”
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Martina McBride and Blake Shelton might seem like unlikely friends at first glance, but they’re actually very good friends thanks to her ability to look beyond the surface. “He’s so ornery. And he has so much charisma. And so much talent,” says Martina, but, “underneath all that craziness is a really good person and, you know, I’m really drawn to that.” Martina actually shares a great friendship with Blake and his wife, Miranda Lambert. “They’re just both sweet as could be. I mean, I love Miranda (Lambert) too. So, it’s really cool to have that friendship.” Martina is currently enjoying the success of her latest top ten song, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” and spending some time with another good friend, George Strait, opening for him on his winter tour.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Justin Moore wrote the title track for a new CD that was just released called This Is NRA Country, Volume 1. The CD is meant to promote the This Is NRA Country initiative, which features country stars like Justin helping to promote the NRA and what it stands for. Justin admits, “Growing up in Arkansas, even I didn’t know what all [the NRA] did beyond wave the flag for the Second Amendment. And through this campaign, NRA Country … I learned a lot. They do so many things.” Justin especially enjoys being involved in the charity aspect of the NRA, helping organizations like The Wounded Warrior Project. Ultimately Justin says, “I’m just trying to spread the gospel about what all they do that’s so great but my views on it is that I believe in the Constitution. It’s pretty simple, I mean, I believe that the values that this country’s based on aren’t broken and so I’m happy to be helping spread that message.” Justin is preparing to show off his softer side with the release of his next single, “‟Til My Last Day,” which is the first love song he‟s ever put out.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
Madonna Nash makes her first appearance at the top of the Renegade Radio/Nashville.com Hot 40 Countdown with “Dirty Little Secret” (Mad Charm). The view is nice for Trace Adkins from the number two spot with “Million Dollar View” (Showdog/Universal) and David Bradley cashes in at number three with “If you Can’t Make Money”) Gecko Music Productions).
Check Nashville.com every Friday for the latest Renegade Radio / Nashville.com Hot 40 Countdown and don’t forget to listen to Renegade Radio Nashville and Captain Jack while you’re checking it out or just keep it on all the time like we do!
 
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Marty Stuart will release his second album for Sugar Hill Records entitled Nashville, Volume 1: Tear The Woodpile Down on April 24th. The ten song collection, almost entirely written by Marty, features his touring band of musical missionaries The Fabulous Superlatives. Nashville staples Buck Trent, Kenny Lovelace, and Robbie Turner are joined by country music royalty Hank Williams III and Lorrie Carter Bennett (The Carter Family) on harmony vocals to fill out the cast.
Marty Stuart arrived in Nashville on Labor Day weekend, 1972. “I came to Nashville from the land of Jimmie Rodgers, looking for a place, a place to belong inside the world of country music. It was a country boy Hollywood, the air castle of the South, a dream factory.” 40 years, a decade worth of hits and a full round of hillbilly stardom later, Stuart has hillbilly rocked himself back to the bosom of traditional country music.
“When I reconnected with traditional country music I found myself, my calling,” says Stuart. “The kind that is timeless, beautiful, beyond trend, the empowering force, the reflection of a people and a culture. The kind of country music that the working man and scholars alike call home. The job seemed to be to champion it, love it, protect it, care for its people, attempt to write a new chapter for it and to make sure that everybody understands that it’s alive and well in the 21st century.” Stuart has done that with his acclaimed collection of country music memorabilia and treasures which currently tours across the country, and with his Marty Stuart Show on RFD TV which provides a platform for some of Nashville’s classic artists to perform on a nationally syndicated program.
“When I first came to Nashville . . . the most outlaw thing you could possibly do around here was to take country music and blow it up into rock & roll. Mission accomplished! Today, the most outlaw thing you can possibly do in Nashville, Tennessee is play country music.” With Tear The Woodpile Down, the latest chapter in the Marty Stuart story, he’s doing just that.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
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