Image Courtesy Eagle Rock/KayosAlabama’s star-studded concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium is coming to life with the new DVD/CD/LP release, Alabama & Friends At the Ryman. The live project is due out September 30 featuring Alabama singing their biggest hits with special guests Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, Trisha Yearwood, Eli Young Band, and Jamey Johnson.

The DVD version of the release includes several bonus features that include interviews with Alabama and their famous friends. Go to MyPlayDirect.com/Alabama-Friends to pre-order your copy now.

Here’s the Alabama & Friends At the Ryman track listing:

“If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)”
“Tennessee River” (featuring Jason Aldean)
“Dixieland Delight”
“Song of the South”
“One in the World”
“Forever’s as Far as I’ll Go” (featuring Trisha Yearwood)
“Dancin’, Shaggin’ on the Boulevard”
“Born Country”
“All American”
“Love in the First Degree” (featuring Luke Bryan)
“The Closer You Get” (featuring Eli Young Band)
“High Cotton”
“Take Me Down”
“I’m in a Hurry (and Don’t Know Why)” (featuring Florida Georgia Line)
“That’s How I Was Raised”
“My Home’s in Alabama” (featuring Jamey Johnson)
“Mountain Music”

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Sony/LegacyRonnie Milsap will be formally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville next month, and a new Milsap box set is coming out November 4 to celebrate the milestone.

The RCA Albums Collection features remastered versions of all of Ronnie’s albums, from 1973′s Where My Heart Is to his 1991 album, Back to the Grindstone. His 2006 release, My Life, is also included in the 21-CD set, which features several albums that have never before been released on CD.  Of note, four of the albums in this set were honored with CMA Album of the Year trophies. The RCA Albums Collection also includes all of Ronnie’s 48 consecutive top-10 country singles.

Ronnie says, “The idea that all the music I made for RCA will be available in one place thrills me. It is my life’s work. These songs, and the record I made are a big piece of who I am — and the people who loved them.”

The RCA Albums Collection includes the following albums:

Where My Heart Is (1973)
Pure Love (1974)
A Legend in My Time (1975)
Night Things (1975)
20/20 Vision (1976)
Ronnie Milsap Live (1976)
It Was Almost Like a Song (1977)
Only One Love in My Life (1978)
Images (1979)
Milsap Magic (1980)
Out Where the Bright Lights Are Glowing (1981)
There’s No Gettin’ Over Me (1981)
Inside (1982)
Keyed Up (1983)
One More Try for Love (1984)
Lost in the Fifties Tonight (1985)
Christmas with Ronnie Milsap (1986)
Heart & Soul (1987)
Stranger Things Have Happened (1989)
Back to the Grindstone (1991)
My Life (2006)

Follow @ABCNewsRadio

Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Image Courtesy Donn Jones/CMALady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley are bringing some of their songwriter friends along for two new installments of the public television series Front and Center next month. The first show will be available to public television stations starting Tuesday, October 14 with Dierks leading some of country’s top songwriters in an in-the-round performance of their biggest hits. That show also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the highly successful CMA Songwriters Series.

Starting Tuesday, October 28, public stations can air the Front and Center episode featuring Lady Antebellum performing songs from their new album, 747. Some of the group’s favorite co-writers join them for collaborations on the special, too.

Check local listings for Front and Center‘s air date and time in your area.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Comstock/ThinkstockWhich country star extended his CMA nominations record Wednesday with an 83rd nod? ANSWER: George Strait.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

John Russell/CMAGarth Brooks is kicking off his big tour tour with wife Trisha Yearwood Thursday night in Chicago, but before then, he’s got yet another big announcement to make.

“We’re going to change everything,” Garth teased on Thursday’s Good Morning America. “This is gonna be awesome. There’s a new window opening with digital music coming and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Garth wouldn’t give any specifics, saying all would be revealed at a press conference today at 1:00 p.m. Central time.

As for tonight’s concert, Garth said on GMA fans should expect him to perform a lot of his old material.  “Yeah, I mean we bring new things but the truth is, I’m a fan. I sit in that audience, I pay that ticket, I go see the people I love. And I don’t go there to hear the new stuff. I go there to hear the old stuff,” he explained. “So we brought all our old stuff with us and we’re going to sprinkle a little bit of the new stuff. But it’s gonna be fun.”

The “new stuff” includes Garth’s new single, “People Loving People.”  He said after all of these years in the music business he still gets excited when he releases new music, and when he hears it on the radio.

“I heard this on the radio yesterday evening for the first time and it just…if somebody sits here and says, ‘Ehh, it’s OK if you hear yourself on the radio,’ they’re lying to you,” said Garth.  “It’s the greatest thing on the planet.”

After his shows in Chicago and Atlanta, Garth kicks off a run of shows in Jacksonville, FL starting October 10. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 12 at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio

Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio 

Capitol NashvilleKeith Urban was dropping his kids off at school Wednesday morning when his phone started blowing up as a result of his four CMA nominations, including one for Entertainer of the Year.

“I was driving, so I couldn’t respond to any of the texts,” Keith says. “I must’ve gotten 15 texts in the space of about 15 seconds, and dropped our second girl at school and then got home and then sat in the garage calling everybody to thank them. It was amazing.”

Keith is also up for Male Vocalist of the Year, a trophy he last took home in 2006. He was in rehab at the time, so he couldn’t be there to receive his award in person. Life has gotten dramatically better for Keith in the last eight years, but he couldn’t help but think back to that night in 2006 when he found out about his nominations.

Keith says, “I was right back there in that moment with deep, mixed feelings, mixed feelings of how devastating and emotional and chaotic everything was then and how living life a different way the last eight years to land at a different place is extraordinary.”

Keith’s latest release, Fuse, is up for Album of the Year, and he shares a Musical Event of the Year nod with Miranda Lambert for “We Were Us.”

See if Keith takes home a trophy when the CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville Wednesday, November 5 on ABC.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockJake Owen and The Swon Brothers have been added as performers for the 8th Annual ACM Honors to be held Tuesday, September 9 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Brad Paisley‘s new album, Moonshine in the Trunk, debuts at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart with 52,000 copies sold. That’s enough for a #1 debut on Billboard‘s Country Albums tally.

Eric Church will perform his latest single, “Cold One,” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, October 15.

Luke Bryan performs on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, September 10.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Image Courtesy Pearl RecordsGarth Brooks launches his World Tour Thursday night at the Allstate Arena near Chicago, and you better believe there will be tears on Garth’s face as he takes the stage. In fact, Garth already broke down crying rehearsing for his return to the concert trail.

“The first time I stepped on that stage, I lost it,” Garth says. “So I know in the real show, I’m going to lose it. And also, what I’m gonna do is, I’m gonna be so fired up that two songs in, my voice is gonna be gone, ’cause  I’ll just be way too excited.”

Garth’s wife Trisha Yearwood is opening all shows on his World Tour.  She’s not surprised ticket demand led to them playing 10 shows in Chicago and another seven shows in Atlanta so far: “I’m not shocked that this many people turn out, especially to see him. Because I have seen this, and I have toured with him twice before. I have been on that stage in front of that audience. It’s overwhelming. “

Garth is expected to perform the new single, “People Loving People,” at the upcoming shows. He chose that track as the first single from his upcoming studio album because he loved the feel of it.

Garth explains, “I love how modern it feels, but yet it feels like Garth. And my favorite thing about ‘People Loving People’ has to be the message.”

After their shows in Chicago and Atlanta, look for Garth to kick off a run of shows in Jacksonville, FL starting October 10. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 12 at 10 a.m. ET at Ticketmaster.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Image Courtesy Warner Music NashvilleThe soundtrack for the new Nicholas Sparks movie, The Best of Me, features songs from Hunter Hayes, Lady Antebellum, David Nail, Eli Young Band and Kip Moore.

Lady A sings the song “I Did with You,” which is featured in the film’s trailer. The Best of Me hits theaters October 17 starring James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan. We’ll keep you posted when the soundtrack’s release date is announced.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Image Courtesy Jason Davis/CMTFlorida Georgia Line played a surprise show for a small crowd at Nashville’s Exit/In Tuesday night for CMT’s Instant Jam series. If you didn’t score one of the 350 wristbands handed out to get into the show, you can see it all when the concert airs on CMT Saturday, October 18.

The concert special features songs from FGL’s upcoming album, Anything Goes, including their latest hit, “Dirt.” Smash hits “Get Your Shine On,” “This Is How We Roll,” and “Cruise” round out the set list.

Anything Goes hits stores October 14.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio