Lee Ann Womack Aids Africa; Dierks Bentley is Tops in 2010

Womack Aids Africa
Lee Ann Womack has joined forces with Join My Village, a click-to-commit social change initiative that hopes to release $500,000 of General Mills’ charitable dollars to leading international humanitarian organization CARE. CARE will use the money for economic and educational opportunities for girls and women in Malawi.

Join My Village allows individuals to unlock the power of General Mills’ corporate philanthropy; users can visit www.joinmyvillage.com to learn more about the women in Malawi while raising funds. By watching a video of a child’s opportunity to attend secondary school, or listening to a sample of African music from a Malawi village, the users’ “clicks” will release donations from General Mills to CARE. Additionally, General Mills will match all individual donations dollar for dollar up to the $500,000 goal.

Womack will appear in a public service campaign and various events and social media activities to raise awareness for this campaign. She has set a goal of rallying 100,000 of her fans to join the campaign during her upcoming tour with George Strait and Reba McEntire.

“As a mother of two girls, I see the opportunities that education has created for my daughters’ future,” said Womack.  “I believe that every girl in the world has unlimited potential and by supporting Join My Village I know we can provide girls with opportunities to learn, achieve and improve their future.”

2010: Big for Bentley

Dierks Bentley closes out 2010 with three Grammy nominations for his critically acclaimed  fifth album, Up On the Ridge. The album, which was heavily inspired by the bluegrass and roots music that moved Bentley to pursue a career in country music, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album and rave reviews from The Washington Post, NPR, and The Boston Globe, among others. His collaborations with Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson on “Bad Angel” and Del McCoury and the Punch Brothers on “Pride (In the Name of Love)” each earned a Grammy nod as well.

Up On the Ridge was singled out as one of iTunes’ Best Albums of the Year and Amazon’s Top 10 Country Albums of the Year. Bentley is planning a revival of his Dierks Bentley and Friends pre-Grammy bash in Los Angeles on February 12, 2011. This intimate performance, which will take place at the Troubadour, has featured surprise guests including Brad Paisley, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Dwight Yoakam and more. A limited number of fan tickets will be available tomorrow, December 17, at www.dierks.com.