Tracy Lawrence: Loving Life
By Rob Patterson


© 2006 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

Tracy Lawrence, as gracious as he is hardworking, just has to confess to his interviewer: "It's gonna be a long day, brother." It's springtime, he's home in between dates opening for George Strait and has just taken his daughters to school and wedged in a quick workout at the gym.

More than 15 years after he arrived in Nashville in an old Toyota Corolla with a guitar and some very big dreams, Lawrence still labors with the devotion of a scrappy and ambitious newcomer.

Lawrence has album sales in the millions and a series of No. 1 singles to his credit. He considers himself a Country Music lifer who is aiming at success over the long haul.

CHRIS SMITHER’S 'LEAVE THE LIGHT ON' DRAWS FROM BLUES AND FOLK, POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS

12th album due on Signature Sounds September 19

BOSTON, Mass. — Chris Smither, whose songs have been covered by Diana Krall, Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt, to name a few, is one of a handful of musicians active today who were on the scene during the folk/blues renaissance of the ‘60s. Born in Miami and raised in New Orleans -- where he first heard the blues -- before heading on to Boston at the onset of that city’s late ‘60s musical greening, Smither has carved a reputation for transforming blues roots into modern-day songwriting craft. His forthcoming twelfth recording, Leave The Light On, is defined by bright, intricate guitar work, driving foot stomps and assured interplay with a cadre of superb musicians.

Country Music Festival -Day Two

Speed, Old Friends, and A Few Surprises Too
By: Chrisine Bohoroush - Senior Staff Writer

I began my second day of the Country Music Festival in Nashville by stopping by the Chevy Sports Zone. Here I found a few surprises for those of us who have found an appreciation for Nascar and the speed at which its drivers zoom around your local track (in Angry Country's case, Talledega.) I have never been able to actually get close to one of these Nascar's, so it was a rare treat to discover Tony Stewart's
#20 Home Depot car (as well as that of the #88 Navy car.) A fan of Tony Stewart, it was fantastic to have the opportunity to see his race car so up front and personal.

Also featured at the Chevy Sports Zone is the Major League Baseball exhibit. There fans of baseball will find official team merchandise, several screens to catch a baseball game, as well as both pitching and batting cages. Having moved south from the Boston area, it was my chance to checkout the latest in Boston Red Sox gear.

My next stop brought me to the Convention Center just in time to find an old friend kicking off the performances in the Acoustic Corner - Daniel Lee Martin. Daniel spoke of having held his first Fan Club Party this year on 12th Street and performed the title track from his album "All That I Am."

LIVE FROM CMA MUSIC FEST: LOCASH COWBOYS
By: Christine Bohorfoush - Senior Staff Writer

The HOT new band LoCash Cowboys wowed the fans this evening on the Chevy All Access Stage. This seven member band reminded this writer of a scene shot
straight out of The Cowboy Way. Remember the club where Woody Harrellson dances a bit of a strip tease? Well times that by seven and you have LoCash Cowboys. To say that this band is high energy would be an understatement, as young and old were brought to clapping, dancing, and singing along... to tunes like Prince's "Purple Rain" and The Oak Ridge Boy's "Bobbi Sue." But where this band really shone was performing their own tunes like "Tee Shirt" a tune about your favorite girl wearing nothing but her man's shirt.

Fans may have already become familiar with LoCash Cowboys when they were invited to perform for Tanya Tucker on her television show Tuckerville. Tanya wanted just one thing and that was for this band to sing "Hot Little Cutie Pie Sexy Thang." Well, they certainly showed the Nashville Fan Fair crowd just why Tanya liked this tune... with the band members dancing and shaking their butts, they whipped the female fans into a frenzy.

CMA Music Fest Kick-Off Parade

The 2006 CMA Music Festival kicked off with it's second annual parade featuring the latest Chevy vehicles and hottest country stars; incuding Jimmy Wayne, Nashville Star winner Chris Young, Cowboy Troy, Big & Rich and more.

Just minutes ago, the musical festivites began outside of the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Watch AngryCountry.com for more exclusive photos and news from CMA Music Fest 2006.

"The 40th Annual CMA Awards" To Be Broadcast Live November 6

The Country Music Association announced today that "The 40th Annual CMA Awards" would air live Monday, Nov. 6 (8:00-11:00 PM/EST) on the ABC Television Network from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tenn. Superduo Brooks & Dunn return to host the gala for the third consecutive year.

"The 40th Anniversary should be an amazing show," Kix Brooks said. "Everybody'll be there - just like New York. You have that many distractions and everybody forgets how many times you screw up!"

"We're pushing our luck" partner Ronnie Dunn deadpanned without missing a beat.

'BLESSED' SONGWRITER HILLARY LINDSEY BLOSSOMS
By Lorie Hollabaugh

© 2006 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

The instant success of Carrie Underwood's smash single "Jesus, Take the Wheel" took its creators by surprise.

When Hillary Lindsey wrote the song with Brett James and Gordie Sampson, they feared that its overtly religious tone might doom it to failure.

"I was really surprised and very grateful that it did so well," Lindsey said. "I wasn't quite sure at first how it was going to be accepted, simply because it said Jesus in it. But it obviously worked."

Dixie Chicks: Not Ready to Make Nice
Steve Kroft Profiles Controversial Country Band

(CBS) The band that received death threats and whose reputation suffered for disparaging President Bush reveals that one of the threats was so specific and serious it required intense police intervention.

The Dixie Chicks tell 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft about the threat and how it hasn't made them change their style this Sunday, May 14, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

There had been threats ever since lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience the band was ashamed that the president of the United States had come from their home state of Texas. But this threat, in the summer of 2003, was different than all the others. "It was definitely scary because it seemed so it wasn’t just somebody wanting to write a hate letter. It was somebody who obviously thought they had a plan," Maines tells Kroft.

Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way

Superstars, renegades, innovators, heroes, villains, and moms - over almost a decade, the Dixie Chicks have grown from a band into a phenomenon. Now more than ever, the eyes of the world are on them, and with their new album Taking The Long Way, they come out swinging, surpassing the pressures and expectations history has placed upon them.

With Taking The Long Way, one of the most anticipated albums in recent years, the Dixie Chicks are putting themselves out there like never before. For the first time, the Dixie Chicks co-wrote every song on the record, exploring themes both deeply private and resoundingly political. Collaborating with legendary producer Rick Rubin (who has worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from Run DMC to Neil Diamond), the biggest-selling female band in history has truly pushed themselves to new heights both as writers and as performers.

BIG & RICH: THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY
By Chris Neal

© 2006 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

Being Big & Rich can be dangerous.

"I sliced my finger open on a disco ball one time," observed John Rich, seated next to partner Big Kenny (Alphin) in the conference room at the Warner Bros. Records Nashville office. "You've gotta be really careful."

"I slit my hand picking up a piece of guitar you'd smashed on the stage," Alphin said to his partner, pointing out the still-visible scar. "I went to grab it and pick it up to hand it to someone in the audience, and the edge just slit three fingers. Razor sharp!"

"I did that a couple times myself," replied Rich, nodding his head.

Very few Country acts would have occasion to incur these kinds of onstage injuries. But then, few have ever offered a stage show that includes disco balls, guitar smashings and the other outrageous antics that mark a Big & Rich show.