Darius Rucker Turns “Perfect Bluegrass Song,” “Wagon Wheel,” into CMA-Nominated Country Hit

Capitol NashvilleThe 47th Annual CMA Awards are coming up Wednesday night, and Darius Rucker's hit, "Wagon Wheel," is up for CMA Single of the Year as well as Song of the Year for the songwriters, Ketch Secor and Bob Dylan. Ketch's band Old Crow Medicine Show originally released "Wagon Wheel" as a bluegrass song about a decade ago, and Darius has been a big fan of their version for years now.

He says, "They do it so perfectly. I mean, the way they do the song is the way it should be done. It's just a perfect bluegrass song. I didn't think I could make it a country song."

It wasn't until Darius heard another band do "Wagon Wheel" with a country feel that he decided to cut it. He goes on to call it a "perfect country song," adding, "Man, I don't know if I could ever be any countrier than that."

The CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville Wednesday, November 6 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Lady Antebellum Nervous and Excited to Perform “Compass” on Wednesday’s CMA Awards

Photo Credit: Joseph LlanesYou may not expect Lady Antebellum to be nervous about their performance on Wednesday's CMA Awards, but performing in front of their fellow country stars still gives them butterflies.

Lady A's Dave Haywood tells ABC News Radio, "It's always that front row, they always stack, like, Reba, George [Strait], Tim [McGraw], Faith [Hill]. Taylor Swift's always in there. Yeah, it'll be a little nerve-wracking for sure."

On top of that, Lady Antebellum will be performing their brand-new song, "Compass," on the show.

"It's a new song," Dave explains. "So [we're] kind of getting all those parts worked out again. We've been rehearsing and stuff leading up to this."

Though they've already won six CMA Awards, Lady A is extremely grateful for their nods this year for Vocal Group of the Year and Video of the Year for "Downtown."

"It's never a guarantee to get into any of those categories by any means for the CMAs," Dave explains. "You know, there's so many great country artists doing so many really cool things right now. So, we're honored to be there."

"Compass" is the lead single from Lady Antebellum's expanded re-release of their current album, Golden Deluxe, hitting stores November 11. The 47th Annual CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville Wednesday, November 6 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Nashville Notes

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockThe Voice season four finalists The Swon Brothers have signed a record deal with Sony Music Nashville. Look for their debut country single to come out this spring.

Taylor Swift attended the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards in London over the weekend. Meanwhile in New York City, she was a winner at the first-ever YouTube Music Awards on Sunday night. She earned the YouTube Phenomenon prize for inspiring the biggest number of fan responses.

Taylor Swift “Couldn’t Believe” She Got to Be in The Giver

Big Machine RecordsIf it's amazing to you that Taylor Swift's new movie The Giver will find her acting alongside Oscar-winning Hollywood legends like Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges, well, that's OK -- because Taylor can't believe it either.

Speaking to Access Hollywood about her experience making the film, Taylor said, "I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. I still can’t believe I shot in South Africa and shot all my scenes with Jeff Bridges. It was unreal. Seriously, I couldn’t believe I got to be a part of the experience."

As for how she prepared for sharing the screen with such high-caliber actors when she's a relative newbie to acting, Taylor explained, "I just tried to work as hard as I could and just throw myself into that environment as much as I possibly could and it was really long hours and it was a lot of preparation and getting into character and all that." And though Taylor says that she's actually taken acting classes, hands-on experience just can't be beat.

"I learned so much,” she tells Access Hollywood. "It’s crazy how educational just getting into a situation and doing it [is]....you learn more by actually doing it than you could ever learn in preparation.”

The Giver is based on the popular young adult novel by Lois Lowry. It tells the story of Jonas, a boy living in a futuristic society that has eliminated all pain, fear, war, and hatred, but also any sort of personal choice. He's mentored by a man called The Giver, who passes on to him all the stored memories of their society. Bridges plays The Giver; Taylor plays Rosemary, the last teen mentored by The Giver before he meets Jonas. The movie arrives in theaters next August.

In other Taylor news, she joined her pal Ed Sheeran onstage Friday night during his gig at New York City's Madison Square Garden to perform their duet "Everything Has Changed." He later posted a photo of them together on Instagram, writing, "Thank you to ms. Swift for being the surprise guest this evening!"

Dierks Bentley Expects to Raise a Record Amount of Money with Sunday’s Miles & Music Event

Greenroom PRDierks Bentley held his 8th annual Miles & Music for Kids motorcycle ride and concert in Nashville Sunday. Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Brett Eldredge, Easton Corbin and Tyler Farr joined Dierks for the concert at Riverfront Park in Music City following the bike ride from the Harley-Davidson dealership in Columbia, TN.

"This year is definitely one of our best lineups," Dierks said before hopping on his bike. "Really grateful to Jake, and especially to Luke. He just played two sold-out shows in Nashville, and I know he's been busy having the kind of year that he's having. To be here today speaks a lot about him."

Dierks' Miles & Music events have raised more than $2 million for Children's Miracle Networks around the country since he started hosting them in 2006. This year's Nashville event promises to raise a record amount of money for the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Dierks said, "Walking that check into Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and presenting it to 'em in a couple weeks is a great feeling. I feel like I represent everyone that's donated their time to make this happen. So, I'm excited to see what the final tally is, for sure."

Eric Close, who plays Teddy Conrad on ABC's Nashville, and American Pickers host Mike Wolfe also joined Dierks for the bike ride Sunday.

Martina McBride Launching Joy of Christmas Tour This Month; New Album to Come in 2014

Morris ManagementMartina McBride will deliver a brand-new album in 2014, but first she's launching another round of holiday shows starting November 29 in Huntington, WV. Martina's Joy of Christmas tour features a 12-piece band, including string section, and a special guest will join her in each city to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas as she performs "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch."

Martina says, "This tour is something I look forward to all year. It's definitely a show for the whole family and we love performing it. It helps get me in the Christmas spirit each year and I know it does that for the audience too."

Martina's Joy of Christmas show also includes performances by ballerinas from local studios and schools as well as an informal Q&A session between Martina and the audience.

Here are Martina's Joy of Christmas Tour 2013 dates:

11/29 -- Huntington, WV, Big Sandy Superstore Arena
11/30 -- Louisville, KY, The Louisville Palace
12/4 -- Nashville, TN, Ryman Auditorium
12/6 -- Minneapolis, MN, State Theatre
12/7 -- La Crosse, WI, La Crosse Center
12/8 -- Sioux City, IA, Orpheum Theatre
12/11 -- Knoxville, TN, Tennessee Theatre
12/12 -- Muncie, IN, Emens Auditorium
12/13 -- St. Louis, MO, Fox Theatre
12/19 -- Green Bay, WI, Resch Center
12/20 -- Bloomington, IL, US Cellular Coliseum
12/21 -- Rosemont, IL, Rosemont Theatre

CMT’s Allison DeMarcus Cooking Up Food and Fun on New Series, “Reel Eats”

Photo Credit: John RussellCMT's Allison DeMarcus is inviting country stars and celebrity chefs into her kitchen for the new series Reel Eats. The show airs every other week starting November 12 with Allison preparing easy-to-make meals while sharing country and Hollywood news and trivia.

On the premiere episode, Allison chose to prepare a family recipe, Miss Caron's Pizza Casserole, handed down from her mother-in-law. Her husband, Rascal Flatts bass player Jay DeMarcus, often requests the dish, so Allison always keeps the ingredients on hand at their Nashville home.

Every episode of Reel Eats will feature a movie. The premiere episode airs November 12 at 8 p.m. ET with a showing of Ghostbusters.

There’s a Good Reason Why Florida Georgia Line’s Concerts Feel Like a Religious Experience

ABC News RadioFlorida Georgia Line's music may not save your soul, but the duo's Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley admit they learned how to engage with a crowd growing up leading worship at their respective churches.

Brian tells CMT.com, "There's a huge correlation in leading worship and leading 10,000 people in an arena. I would say that's exactly where we got our feet wet in how to lead people, how to interact with people and how to get them connecting with us."

Brian and Tyler even dabbled in writing Christian music while attending college in Nashville, but they don't like to box themselves in to any one genre or style of music.

"We've written any kind of song you can think of -- some stuff that doesn't even have its own genre," Tyler says. "It just depends on the day."

Florida Georgia Line's songwriting chops helped earn them four nominations at this Wednesday's CMA Awards, airing that night at 8 ET on ABC.

Zac Brown and Wife, Shelly, Expecting Fifth Child Early Next Year

Courtesy of Zac Brown Band via TwitterZac Brown Band frontman Zac Brown and his wife, Shelly, are expecting their fifth child in early 2014. They broke the news Friday via Twitter. Zac and Shelly have four daughters ranging in age from two to six.

Zac Brown Band will perform with rocker Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters on the 47th Annual CMA Awards Wednesday, November 6 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Taylor Swift to Perform with Ed Sheeran Tonight at Madison Square Garden

Christie Goodwin/TAS/Getty Images for TASTaylor Swift will be making a special appearance at Ed Sheeran's Friday night concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

According to E! News, Ed reached out to Taylor about the show when he found out she would be in the city promoting her Keds shoe line. Taylor also told E! that Ed is one of her best friends.

Of course, Ed opened all shows on Taylor's Red Tour this year in North America. He also played a small show in New York City Thursday night. When an audience member screamed out Taylor's name during his song, "Forever," Ed told the crowd that song was not about her.