“We really wanted this video to be a little more dramatic and stylized than anything we’ve done before,” explains lead vocalist Hillary Scott discussing Lady Antebellum’s new video “Need You Now.”  “It was an exhausting shoot…physically and emotionally…because we worked through the night and just poured every ounce of ourselves into our characters. It’s a passionate song, and we wanted the video to be just as passionate.” the video was directed by David McClister.

According to the label, the single has risen to Top 25  BillBoard status in a scant four weeks. The trio is currently opening dates for Keith Urban in Canada and received two nominations for the upcoming 2009 CMA Awards.

John Fogerty will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the Americana Music Association’s 8th Annual Honors and Awards Thursday, Sept. 17. Including his solo work and his time in the iconic band Creedence Clearwater Revival, Forgerty’s musical career extends over four decades and has distinctly shaped American roots music. The musical hybrid of rockabilly, R&B, and classic country that he forged in the 1960s was well ahead of its time, and gave rise to classic songs like “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Who’ll Stop The Rain,” “Travelin’ Band,” “Looking Out My Back Door” and many more. Fogerty’s latest album, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, was released in August and features him taking on some of his favorite songs like John Prine’s “Paradise” and Buck Owens’ “I Don’t Care.” As the 2009 honoree, Fogerty joins a list that includes John Hiatt, Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Cowboy Jack Clement, John Prine and Billy Joe Shaver.

The Americana Honors & Awards will take place 7pm Thursday, Sept. 17 at the Ryman Auditorium. Jim Lauderdale returns as the show host and Buddy Miller will again lead the all-star house band. Fogerty is the latest artist confirmed to appear, and he joins an impressive guest list that includes Asleep at the Wheel, Jerry Douglas, Rodney Crowell, Nanci Griffith, Raul Malo, The Belleville Outfit, Reckless Kelly, John Prine, Sara Borges  & the Broken Singles, Sam Bush, Justin Townes Earle, The Flatlanders, The Gourds, and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit. The Americana Festival and Conference runs Sept. 16-19 at the Nashville Convention Center.

Kenny Chesney continues to deliver the kind of content through his No Shoes Radio (noshoesradio.com) that can’t be found anywhere else. As part of the Hard Rock Cafe’s Ambassadors of Rock program, Chesney will be playing a decidedly scaled back show tomorrow (9/15) from Hard Rock’s Times Square location. Since the concert will likely be a departure from his arena shows, Chesney will be streaming the unique event live for his fans on No Shoes Radio. The pre-show broadcast begins at 5pm CT and includes his former tourmate Uncle Kracker’s full set, as well as impromptu interviews from NSR personalities Jon Anthony and Mark “Tambo” Tamburino.

“Part of the idea of the station is to bring people deeper into this music,” Chesney explains, “to give them more or a sense beyond the records and the big shows. We play stuff from my iPod, demos, things they’d never hear otherwise… and for but a very few hundred people, this Hard Rock show would certainly be one of those moments: something we’d all talk about how cool it was for years, knowing almost nobody got to hear it. Now, they can.”