Image Courtesy Chris Hollo/Grand Ole OpryBrad Paisley's wacky sense of humor will be on display as he hosts a night of standup comedy in Nashville Thursday, April 16. The show features several comedians as part of the weekly Wild West Comedy Festival in Music City running April 14 through 19. Brad will emcee that event on the 16th in addition to interacting with the comedians, including Jon Reep, Greg Hahn, Theo Von, Sarah Tiana, and Keith Alberstadt.

Kevin Hart, Joel McHale, Nick Kroll and Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost are among the other comedians performing at the Wild West Comedy Festival. Go to WildWestComedyFestival.com for details.

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Image Courtesy ABCCast members from ABC's Nashville are hitting the road for a tour this spring. The trek launches April 29 with Clare Bowen, Chris Carmack, Charles Esten, Aubrey Peeples and Lennon & Maisy on the bill for all dates. Sam Palladio will join the trek for the shows in New York and Los Angeles, and Jonathan Jackson will be there for the date in Chicago.

For a preview of the tour, tune in to Nashville: On the Record 2, airing this Wednesday night at 10 ET on ABC. The concert special was filmed earlier this year in Music City and features a guest appearance from Reba.

Here are the Nashville spring tour dates:

4/29 -- New York, NY, Beacon Theatre
5/2 -- Boston, MA, Wang Theater
5/3 -- Washington, D.C., DAR Constitution Hall
5/5 -- Chicago, IL, Rosemont Auditorium
5/6 -- Minneapolis, MN, Northrup Auditorium
5/8 -- San Francisco, CA, Warfield Theater
5/9 -- Los Angeles, CA, Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
5/10 -- Phoenix, AZ, Comerica Theater

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Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockLuke Bryan will host his second Crash My Playa Caribbean concert vacation in Riviera Maya, Mexico coming up January 22 through 26, 2016. Go to CrashMyPlaya.com for details.

Country newcomer Canaan Smith's self-titled EP is now available featuring the top 30 hit, "Love You Like That."

Thomas Rhett's new single, "Crash and Burn," is coming out April 7.

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Image Courtesy Jon Peets/EMI NashvilleEric Church was the guest of honor at a party on Nashville's Lower Broadway Monday afternoon. The event celebrated his latest #1 hit, "Talladega," as well as the platinum certification of his current album, The Outsiders. After nearly 30 minutes of speeches from music industry insiders praising Eric, he turned the spotlight back on his team that allows him to make his music and get it out to the fans.

Eric told the crowd, "I've been doing this awhile, and I've learned it's not what you do -- it's who you do it with."

While the celebration centered on his latest #1 hit at country radio, Eric stressed he's just as proud of the songs that didn't even make the top 10 from The Outsiders -- "Cold One" and "The Outsiders."

He added, "It's about that passion. It's about going out there and delivering that. So, I'm the luckiest guy alive."

Eric was also presented with a gold album plaque for his 2006 debut project, Sinners Like Me. The album didn't produce any top 10 hits at country radio, but it has gone on to sell more than 500,000 copies.  Many songs from that album continue to be staples in Eric's live show to this day.

"In Chicago, we played nine songs off this album, and the people sang every song," Eric said. "That, to me, is what music's about. It's about finding that connection and not being afraid to put it out there."

Eric's The Outsiders World Tour continues Thursday night in Tallahassee, Florida.

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Image Courtesy Sony Music NashvilleChase Rice was excited to perform his new single, "Gonna Wanna Tonight," on ABC's Good Morning America on Monday, but he admits his mom was "freaking out" over the TV gig.

Chris told ABC Radio after his GMA performance, "I should have brought her in. Next time I'm gonna bring her in and make sure she gets the full experience."

The big TV performance kicks off a huge week for Chase as he gets ready to begin his opening slot on Kenny Chesney's The Big Revival tour. Their first show is Thursday night in Music City, and Chase still hasn't fully realized he's about to hit the road with one of his heroes.

Chase describes getting the spot on Kenny's tour as "surreal." He adds, "I've seen so many of his shows from the stands, so to be able to go out and do it with him is gonna be awesome."

Chase hasn't actually met Kenny yet, but he hopes to become friends with the superstar over the summer.

Says Chase, "Once we get on the road, it'll be a lot of business. It'll be a lot of fun. A lot of get-to-know-each-other time, and I'm looking forward to that."

Go to ChaseRice.com for a full list of tour dates.

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Capitol NashvilleLuke Bryan met a baseball legend on Monday while hanging out at the Chicago White Sox spring training home in Arizona with his pal, player Adam LaRoche.

Bryan met former All-Star Bo Jackson, a special instructor for the Sox, and got his autograph, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Bryan joined the team for field and batting practice, but don't expect him to leave country music for a baseball career. Manager Robin Ventura said it would be "perfect" if Bryan wanted to sing the national anthem before one of his team's games. He added, “The guys had a great time with him out here. It’s always fun, especially when a guy is good friends with somebody....He’s going to be a little sore, I think.”  

Bryan and LaRoche are longtime friends and are collaborators on the hunting show Buck Commander.

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Image Courtesy Jim Wright/Warner Music NashvilleCole Swindell has scored his third consecutive #1 hit from his self-titled debut album with "Ain't Worth the Whiskey." The song has also earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for 500,000 downloads and streams.

"Ain't Worth the Whiskey" includes a shout-out to Cole's friend Kyle Davis, who has been on several tours of duty in the Middle East with the U.S. Special Forces. Says Cole, "I want to dedicate this #1 to him and once again, thank country radio for all their support.”

Look for Cole to celebrate his #1 hit with a performance on NBC's Today Wednesday.

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Image Courtesy Dove ShoreThompson Square is back with a brand-new single, "Trans Am." The fiery love song captures the high-energy side of the married duo. It's also a good indication of what fans can expect from Thompson Square's upcoming, third album.

The duo's Keifer Thompson says, "This new music is a very tempo-driven project that probably represents us more than both of its predecessors."

As for the single, Keifer adds, "'Trans Am’ is a state of mind. It’s about liberation and not being painted into a corner. These new recordings show a more aggressive side of Thompson Square and reflects what fans experience at our live shows."

Thompson Square has released "Trans Am" to all digital retailers. The single goes to radio on April 13.

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Image Courtesy Jon Peets/Capitol NashvilleEric Church set a new attendance record at Allstate Arena outside Chicago over the weekend. More than 18,600 fans were in the crowd.

That record is a long way from Eric's first show in the Chicago area. He says, "Our journey in the city started in 2005 for about 20 people on Weed Street at a place called Joe's Bar. Those 20 were loud and proud, and they turned this thing into damn near 20,000."

In other Eric news, he's been named as a 2015 inductee into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place Thursday, October 15 in Kannapolis, NC.  Eric hails from Granite Falls, NC.

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Image Courtesy Ben Enos/Bieber PRBrad Paisley may be emerging as the new country king of the Houston Rodeo Livestock Show and Rodeo. His Saturday performance at the annual event drew 75,167, which is the highest attendance number for any country act this year. In fact, it's the second-highest attendance number for any act of any genre this year, and the ninth-highest attendance number in the history of the Houston Rodeo.

Luke Bryan closed out the Houston Rodeo with a performance Sunday night.

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