Carrie And Mike Expand The Family

Carrie Underwood and her husband, Mike Fisher, have announced an expansion to the family. She’s copper in color, part dachshund, and Carrie named her Penny. Carrie said, “That’s the only expanding we’ll be doing anytime soon.” she added. The new pup joins Carrie’s famed companion, Ace, in the family.

PBR fans will be hearing a lot more of Gary Allan’s music. Gary, who has provided his talents to the organization before, will now have his hit song, “Get Off on the Pain,” used as the theme song for PBR’s 2011 broadcasts. The 2011 PBR season opened last weekend in New York at Madison Square Garden and includes over 220 events happening throughout the year.

News From Around The Country
Chris Cagle will be lending his voice to a great cause in a few weeks when he takes the stage in Nashville to help raise money for the organization, Saddle Up! The group is one of Tennessee’s oldest and largest recreational therapeutic horseback riding programs, serving kids with disabilities. Proceeds from Chris’s show will be used to help kids grow and build up muscles through horse riding and other related activities. ….. A barn on Charlie Daniels’ farm, just outside of Nashville, burned down last Friday night. A spokesperson said that the main barn on the property burned to the ground, but there was no damage to Charlie’s house and no one was injured. Charlie and his wife, Hazel, were on a ski trip to Colorado when the fire occurred. The blaze destroyed farm equipment and a kitchen stove that was a gift from the late Roy Acuff. The stove was previously on display at Acuff's museum. This is the same property where portions of the movie Pure Country 2 were filmed. …… Actor and musician Steve Martin is working on another banjo album with his touring band, The Steep Canyon Rangers. Some of Steve’s friends will make special appearances on the album, including The Dixie Chicks and Paul McCartney. Steve is also an author and his new book, An Object of Beauty, is at #21 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. The new album, Rare Bird Alert will be released on March 15th.

Is It Getting Hot in Here?

Hot bachelors and beautiful people! What more do you need on a slow Thursday?

A couple of months ago, the links were posted so we could vote for Country Weekly’s Hottest Bachelor. The results are in. Exercise caution as you scroll down. If you can’t take the heat … stay out of the kitchen!

10. Chuck Wicks- Rumba anyone?

9. Chris Cagle – Chicks dig him!

8. Bucky Covington - It's good to be sexy!

7. Jimmy Wayne - Ladies love him this much!

6. Kenny Chesney - No shirt. No Problem.

5. Blake Shelton - Southwestern Playboy!

4. Dwight Yoakam - It's a crazy little thing called love!

3. Keith Anderson - XXL solo!












2. Gary Allan - The One for the ladies!

1. Chris Young - All you can think about is gettin' him home!

People Magazine has also released its list of the 100 Most Beautiful People. Taylor Swift, Julianne Hough, and Carrie Underwood show up on the list to represent country music.

News From Around The Country
Rodney Atkins surprised a couple near Milwaukee, Wisconsin yesterday as part of Good Morning America’s At Your House promotion. Rodney performed his current hit “It’s America,” live for the neighborhood and millions of GMA viewers. It seems like he just left for overseas, but Toby Keith has now finished his 7th USO trip. According to the military publication, Systems, Toby spent five days performing for troops in Afghanistan and it was the first time he got to take his band with him. During the day, he went to the front lines, and then he played nightly shows with his band. Regarding his shows for military personnel, Toby says, “It's a break from the monotony in their life. They're under fire and tremendous workloads trying to accomplish their goals, so when we show up, it changes that for a little while. We try to put smiles on their faces." Gretchen Wilson will travel to Capitol Hill to hand deliver nearly ten-thousand letters from volunteers across the nation to both Tennessee congressmen and senators urging them to increase funding for adult education programs. And finally, look for Dolly Parton on The View tomorrow.

Holiday Preparations

One week until it's time to give thanks for the year's blessings. Don't forget Trace Adkins and Darius Rucker are among those scheduled to be a part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.


Just short of the holiday, Trace Adkins will release his tenth studio album, appropriately titled X on Tuesday. The same day, Trace Adkins: X (ten) Days will air on GAC, documenting Trace's ten-day USO trip to the middle east to entertain the troops. Trace spent time with troops in some of the most isolated areas of Iraq and Afghanistan, performing 11 shows at forward operating bases. The special includes concert footage, one-on-one conversations with the soldiers at the front and a personal reunion between J.W. Williams, of Trace’s management team, and son Trey Williams, currently serving in the sand. How cool is that? Parents everywhere pray for letters from the front lines, it's not often that a parent gets to personally visit their child in that setting.


Released recently, here's a holiday gift idea for the horse lovers on your list - Horse Country: A Celebration of Country Music and the Love of Horses by Lisa Wysocky. This 224-page hardcover book tells the private stories of country music stars and their horses. Included in the read: George Jones, Charlie Daniels, Lynn Anderson, Tanya Tucker, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Hal Ketchum, Chris Cagle, Eddie Montgomery, Tracy Byrd, and Todd Fritsch.

Josh Gracin Plays Tonight

TONIGHT Lyric Street recording artist and former American Idol Josh Gracin takes the stage at the Southern New Mexico State Fair. The show is at 10pm. The Cadillac Kings open at 9 pm. The concert is included in fair admission.

Josh Gracin is best known for his 4th place finish on the second season of American Idol. Remember this?


Since 2003, Josh has had measurable success in country music. His 2004 debut album, Josh Gracin, sold Gold and produced two Top 5 singles “I Want To Live” and “Stay With Me (Brass Bed)” and the Number One “Nothin’ To Lose.” Three more singles were released in anticipation of the second album, the third of which became the Top 10 title song “We Weren’t Crazy,” an autobiographical tune that chronicles Josh's early years with his wife, Ann Marie. Finally released in the spring of 2008, We Weren’t Crazy debuted at #4 on the Billboard Country Album Sales Chart. The current single “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is the 4th release from the album.

Expect tonight’s show to be full of hits and a variety of Josh’s favorite performance songs. As to the type of show that he performs, Josh says, “Every show I do, I see how strongly crowds respond to uptempo songs, I can’t wait to play these new songs to more people, because I’ve already seen how people react to them. I like to use the whole stage, running back and forth when performing, and this album gives me the material to get the job done.”

Stay tuned this afternoon because The Country Station should have a chance to talk to Josh Gracin while he’s in town, and you never know what may become of that! In the meantime, here’s your video-of-the-day preview to get you warmed up for showtime:


Now let’s take a walk down memory lane...

Country Music Through The Years at The Southern New Mexico State Fair:

2007 – Bucky Covington


2006 – Trent Willmon

2005 – Keith Anderson

2004 – Asleep At The Wheel and Blue County

2003 – Pinmonkey and Emerson Drive

2002 – Chris Cagle

2001 – Trick Pony Have a Feel Good Friday .... and be sure to check back for the Josh Gracin pictures.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

The old saying that people resemble their dogs couldn’t be truer than with this adorable picture of Chris Cagle with his dogs Capone and Homie, found in the latest issue of Country Weekly Magazine. If that doesn’t lighten your Monday, how about some blurbs from the weekend news:

Ice skater Tonya Harding, notorious for her role in an attack on fellow Olympic competitor Nancy Kerrigan in 1994, is apparently taking a whack at country music.
Harding was reportedly seen in Nashville last week recording a country song at Gene Breeden Studios.

Clay Walker and his wife Jessica are expecting a boy next month. Clay has two daughters from a previous marriage.

Dwight Yoakam received a gold certification for The Very Best of Dwight Yoakam. The plaque was presented at a Los Angeles concert stop, where Councilman Dennis Zine declared July 27th Dwight Yoakam Day in the City of Los Angeles.

Carrie Underwood and Tim McGraw are among the group of celebrities who have supplied guitar strings to create RelixBand bracelets for the Wear Your Music project. Proceeds from the sales of the bracelets will benefit the celebrity’s charity of choice.

Get well wishes to a couple of country music’s legends. Hank Cochran is recovering well after undergoing surgery to remove cancerous tumors in his pancreas and lymph node. Hank’s representatives report that his doctors are confident all of the cancer was successfully removed and they have hopes of releasing him from the hospital very soon. He will celebrate his 73rd birthday on Saturday. Little Jimmy Dickens should be returning to the Opry soon. His recent absence has been attributed to health concerns as he receives care at the Mayo Clinic. Spokespeople report that the 88-year old looks forward to returning to the Opry stage.

MOOOO-ving some records….

Taylor Swift is not too far removed from studying history, and now she’s making it. Her two albums, Beautiful Eyes, and Taylor Swift, sit at number 1 and number 2 respectively on the Billboard Country albums chart. Taylor is the only artist this decade to accomplish such a feat. Her latest, one-store exclusive CD/DVD release moved 44,652 copies. The self-titled debut moved another 34,622 copies making that CD number two in sales. Makes you wonder how the upcoming compilation CD Princess Disneymania Volume 1 will do when it comes out on September 30th. Taylor and Carrie Underwood are a part of this one. They are the only country artists on the set with Carrie recording “So This Is Love” from the movie Cinderella and Taylor cutting “Home” from Beauty & The Beast.

Country music around the web this Feel Good Friday finds Randy Owen’s daughter moooo-ving livestock. Randy and wife Kelly were there as proud parents last week when daughter Randa’s Hereford cow entry, Purple Clover L25T, was chosen as the Champion in the “Horned Owned Heifer” category at the 2008 Junior National Hereford Expo in Kansas City. Randa has been showing cattle since she was a child, and she is now a high school senior.

Chris Cagle has been found not guilty of all domestic violence charges. The ruling came after Chris’s girlfriend, Jennifer Tant, invoked the 5th amendment and refused to testify. The charges stemmed from an altercation Cagle and Tant had in May while reportedly intoxicated. Cagle alleged in police reports he was hit on the head by an umbrella, and subsequently pushed Tant to protect himself. Officers found bruises on Tant's arms, as well as a cut lip, and charges were filed against both of them. Cagle has since come forward apologizing for the incident but insisting he was not drunk. After the court hearing and trial were held in Davidson County, TN, this statement was issued by Cagle's Attorney, Bill Ramsey: "It's a shame these charges were ever brought. PERIOD! Chris was not, and never was, guilty of domestic violence, abuse or assault and the Judge properly found him 'Not Guilty.' Chris is relieved the accuracy of the matter has been revealed and the ordeal is over." While the books are now closed on this case, Cagle still faces a different trial in the fall. He's due in a Tucscon, Ariz. courtroom on September 23 to face assault charges stemming from a fight outside a nightclub last December.

Hope and Tennessee have been set free. Two 14-week old American Bald Eagles named by Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus were set free into the wild. The eagles, named Tennessee (after the Cyrus family's home state) and Hope (after Miley's given middle name before she legally changed it), were set free from Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN and into the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Billy and Miley weren’t there in person to watch their release, but American Eagle Foundation reports that there were plenty of fans present to witness the eagles take flight. The bald eagle, once on the brink of extinction, was removed from the endangered species list last year. More than 90 eagles have been released from Dollywood since the 1990s.

And finally, a Friday can’t end without more on Vince Gill. He’s temporarily traded his putter for a pen, addressing his love for the game of golf in the current issue of Sports Illustrated. Vince notes that his 7-year old daughter Corrina has recently taken up the sport, adding that any time he takes her to the course he's mindful of advice he received from pro-golfer Johnny Miller, who told him to always make golf fun for the kids. Now, this isn’t golf, but it is fun. Vince Gill and Amy Grant are getting their own street – Grant Gill Lane in Wichita Fall, TX. A Habitat for Humanity home has been named after the couple, as has the entire road. Vince and Amy have been continually active with the charity throughout the years, donating time and money to building homes for underprivileged families. They donated all proceeds from a Wichita Falls concert to Habitat for Humanity a few years back, which helped build their now namesake home.