Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockThe 25th anniversary of the release of Garth Brooks‘ album, No Fences, will happen in August 2015. The project produced Garth’s monster hit, “Friends in Low Places.”
Loretta Lynn‘s upcoming studio album with producer John Carter Cash is among The Hollywood Reporter‘s 30 most-anticipated music releases of 2015.
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Image Courtesy Arista Nashville/Jeremy CowartCarrie Underwood just released her first Greatest Hits album featuring the brand-new single, “Something in the Water” and another new song, “Little Toy Guns.” Still, Carrie hasn’t released a full album of new music since Blown Away came out in May 2012. Her fans won’t have to wait too much longer, though.
Says Carrie, “I’m currently working, even still, on new music, as I’ll continue to do in 2015, and go from there. I mean, there should definitely be a proper album full of new music out soon.”
While she has a few festival dates on the books for 2015, Carrie expects to launch a full-fledged tour once the album is released.
“I’ve already signed on for some things for next year as far as shows go,” Carrie explains. “But as far as a proper ‘tour tour,’ that’ll happen after I have lots of new music.”
Of course, Carrie will take a few months off once she welcomes her first child this year. While hosting the CMA Awards last November she revealed she’s expecting a baby boy.
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Image Courtesy Big Machine RecordsTim McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill, prefer celebrating the dawn of a New Year quietly with their three daughters.
Tim says, “I like to be low-key and hang out with my family and be a little bit contemplative and think about the year that lies ahead. I’m not much about the past.”
Though he’s looking towards the future, Tim won’t be making any New Year’s resolutions.
“I try to accomplish my goals throughout the year and they float and change,” says Tim. “But, I don’t make resolutions because I don’t wanna set myself up for failure.”
Tim will indulge in one tradition as 2015 begins. He plans to eat his black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day for good luck throughout the year.
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Image Courtesy Dick Clark Productions/AMANo country star had a bigger year on the road than Luke Bryan, who played for more than 1.7 million fans with his That’s My Kind of Night tour, plus other one-off dates and side tours. Luke tackled stadium dates for the first time this year with sellouts at Soldier Field in Chicago, Gillette Stadium near Boston, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. His Spring Break concerts in Panama City Beach, FL and his Farm Tour dates in small, rural communities helped round out that huge attendance number. The tour brought in nearly $62 million to come in as the #1 country tour of the year, according to Billboard Boxscore.
Luke dominated the airwaves with four #1 hits in 2014 — “Drink a Beer,” “Play It Again,” “Roller Coaster,” and “This Is How We Roll.” He took Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards in November and co-hosted the ACM Awards again with Blake Shelton in April. They’ll return to host the show again on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
Luke also made a cameo on ABC’s Nashville in October alongside the show’s star, Connie Britton. He was named People Country‘s Sexiest Man for 2014 this year, too.
Tragedy struck Luke’s family at the end of the year with the loss of his brother-in-law, Lee, on November 29. Lee was married to Luke’s late sister, Kelly, who died in 2007.
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Image Courtesy CMABlake Shelton and Miranda Lambert continued their reign as the King and Queen of Country this year. Blake’s continued exposure on NBC’s The Voice kept him in America’s living room two nights a week, and led to big endorsement deals with Pepsi and Pizza Hut. On the music front, Blake extended his streak of consecutive #1 hits to 13, with “Doin’ What She Likes,” “My Eyes” and “Neon Light” all topping the chart this year. “Neon Light” is the lead single from Blake’s latest album, Bringing Back the Sunshine, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in September.
Blake took his hits on the road with the highly-successful Ten Times Crazier tour this year. He also won his fifth consecutive CMA Male Vocalist trophy, tying him with Vince Gill and George Strait for most wins in that category. Blake was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in November, too.
Blake’s wife Miranda was the biggest female act in country this year, thanks to her brand-new album, Platinum. The project debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart when it came out in June and went on to win CMA Album of the Year in November. Miranda also won her fifth consecutive CMA Female Vocalist trophy, which means she surpassed Reba and Martina McBride as the person with the most wins ever in that category.Miranda also took CMA Single of the Year for the lead single from Platinum, “Automatic.”
Platinum also earned Miranda nominations in all four country categories at the Grammy Awards coming up in February 2015. The project ended up on multiple Best of 2014 critics’ lists and produced the hit duet with Carrie Underwood, “Something Bad,” too.
Miranda celebrated a few other big events in 2014, including the opening of her own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in May. She also opened her own bed and breakfast, The Ladysmith, in her hometown of Tishomingo, OK, and served as a mentor for Team Shakira on NBC’s The Voice in the spring.
Miranda’s Platinum tour wrapped up in September as she played her first show in Hawaii, which means she has now performed in all 50 states. Look for Miranda to launch her Certified Platinum tour in the New Year.
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Image Courtesy CMAThe Band Perry‘s Kimberly, Reid and Neil spend just about every day together on the road, but they insist on spending New Year’s Eve as a family, too. Last year the siblings headed up to Asheville, North Carolina for a late supper to ring in the New Year.
Lead singer Kimberly Perry says, “They have this great restaurant called Limones, and it was an amazing way to ring in the year.”
The Perry boys usually put on a little fireworks show for the family on New Year’s eve, but they don’t always play it safe. They like to twist the fuses on their fireworks together so they get double the explosion.
Reid explains, “You light ‘em both off at the same time. Like, fingers crossed.”
Neil adds, “Like two fireworks shoot up in the air at the same time.”
Kimberly is quick to tell their fans not to try this fireworks trick at home, though. Neil chimes in, “We are semi-professionals.”
This year, The Band Perry is part of Pitbull’s New Year’s Revolution special airing Wednesday night on Fox.
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Image Courtesy Becky FlukeMiranda Lambert has just joined Pinterest with the username Miranda 1506. As you might guess, the singer’s boards revolve mostly around music and rescue animals. Inspired by her recently opened Redemption Ranch no-kill animal shelter in Oklahoma, Miranda has created the Make a Furry Friend Feel at Home Pinterest board with do-it-yourself projects and ideas for dogs.
Miranda and husband Blake Shelton are parents to six rescue dogs. She says, “Every animal has a special place in my heart. Especially my dogs — some of them go everywhere with me. They are like my kids, with their own unique personalities.”
Miranda’s Pinterest boards also feature a ton of content about her music. Her brand-new single, “Little Red Wagon,” is now climbing the country chart.
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Comstock/ThinkstockThe Band Perry‘s Kimberly Perry won CMA Song of the Year for writing which one of the band’s hits? ANSWER: “If I Die Young.”
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Image Courtesy Valory Music Co.Brantley Gilbert is performing on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest Wednesday night. It’s his first performance ever on a multi-genre show, and he’s looking forward to seeing how it all works out.
Brantley tells ABC News Radio, “I’m really excited to see the performances and the interaction between people in other genres as opposed to country, you know, ’cause we’re a really close family. I’m just excited about the whole night. I think it’s gonna be a great experience.”
This isn’t Brantley’s first time performing on New Year’s Eve, though. He’s played a big hometown show in Georgia to ring in New Year’s past. Thanks to his fiancée, Amber, this New Year’s Eve could be Brantley’s best yet.
“I’m gonna go ahead and set the bar high just for a million different reasons,” Brantley says of his New Year’s Eve expectations. “You know, I want a shootin’ star. If I got a choice, and I can make sure this year is the best, I’m gonna make this one the best.”
Look for Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Elton John, One Direction and many more stars to perform on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest starting at 8 p.m. ET.
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Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockGarth Brooks will appear during all four hours of NBC’s Today on Thursday, January 8.
Cole Swindell is headlining a New Year’s Eve show at Wild Bill’s near Atlanta, Georgia Wednesday night with special guest Kelleigh Bannen.
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