Tuesday Newsday

It’s a crafter’s dream. Pieces sell out as fast as you can make them. If you’re Miranda Lambert doing the crafting, that’s the problem you face. Miranda started a line of handcrafted jewelry, designing and crafting everything herself. According the endydesigns.com, she’s already sold out. You can look at the website for fun, but it will be awhile before Miranda has time to make more. She’s currently working on her next album and will then be headed on tour with Kenny Chesney.

Randy Travis will release a new anthology, I Told You So: The Ultimate Hits of Randy Travis, on March 17th. The 32-track, two-CD set will feature two new songs, including a new single, “Turn It Around.” However, it does not include any material from his time at DreamWorks Records in the late 1990s. Randy will perform on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on March 13th.

The Big half of Big & Rich, Big Kenny Alphin, is preparing for his next movie roll in the big-screen film Free Like Me. (This isn't Kenny's first big-screen appearance. In 2008, his documentary, Bearing Light: A Journey to Sudan, debuted at the Nashville Film Festival.) The new movie is about a man who is devastated by a loss in his life. He moves to the Caribbean to drink away his cares. He meets a woman. The End. Production is supposed to begin in mid-April in Nashville and the Dominican Republic. It will be a while until it’s released. In the meantime, check out Kenny’s wife, Christiev, unveiling the the first pieces of her Love Everybody jewelry line on QVC March 5th.

News From Around The Country
Taylor Swift is on CSI Thursday night. Fellow teen sensation Katie Armiger will be making her national television debut on the CBS Early Show March 21st. Martina McBride’s record label is releasing a CD set with three of Martina’s previous albums; The Time Has Come, The Way That I Am, and Wild Angels. The albums contain four Top 10 hits and Martina’s first number one song “Wild Angels.” And Jason Aldean will be taping a live concert DVD on Friday in Knoxville, Tennessee. The event is already sold out and the DVD is set to be released later this year. Jason says that a live concert DVD is something that he’s always wanted to do.

Thursday Randoms

Toby Keith has set the dates for his 6th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic to benefit Ally’s House. Toby and his friends will play a few rounds to support Oklahoma children with cancer on June 12th and 13th. To date, the golf tourney has raised more than $2.3 million dollars for the organization that Toby helped establish to assist pediatric cancer patients and their families. Since the organization began its mission in 2004, Ally's House has helped the families of nearly 300 children during their cancer treatments. This assistance comes in the form of medical bills, prescriptions, housing, transportation, toys, food, clothing and other critical expenses.

Reba McEntire will perform a benefit concert for a wrestling coach in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on March 21st. All proceeds from the show will benefit the Teachers, Coaches and Students Foundation, which was created by former students of Coach Richard Carlini to pay for his medical expenses due to a debilitating condition known as AVM (arteriovenous malformation). Carlini coached at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois, near Chicago. Tickets go on sale Monday.

News From Around The Country

New tour partnerships have been announced. Toby Keith will soon be joined on the road by Trace Adkins. At 6’ 4” and 6’ 6” respectively, that’s one big country tour! Rascal Flatts will be bringing Darius Rucker on board to fill Jessica Simpson’s spot when she leaves the tour in June. Katie Armiger has been asked to host coverage of The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this weekend for cmt.com. Katie will be giving you a behind-the-scenes look as teams vie for the coveted title of the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest Grand Champion. Miley Cyrus is writing her memoirs, Miles To Go. At over one million downloads, The Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” is digitally platinum. And finally, Naomi Judd will return as judge and mentor on the second season of CMT’s Can You Duet