In Pictures: Blake Shelton, Lee Brice, Luke Combs, Michael Ray, Temecula Road, Faren Rachels

Blake Shelton Celebrates New Album at Pandora’s Sounds Like You: Country Event

Pandora’s second Sounds Like You: Country concert of the year was held last Friday night (Nov. 3) at Oz Arts Nashville and featured an intimate performance by Blake Shelton, exclusively for Pandora listeners.

Shelton is among Pandora’s Top 30 artists of all time and the show honored his fans with free tickets on the night of the release of his new album Texoma Shore. Shelton’s performance was a mix of current crowd favorites, songs off the new album, and early career hits including “Some Beach,” “Ol’ Red,” and “Austin” among others. Singer-songwriter Maggie Rose opened the event.

 

Lee Brice Celebrates RIAA Milestone

Lee Brice was surprised with a career sales milestone last week while on stage at the sold-out Playstation Theater in New York City.

Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney (CBS Radio’s “Tiki + Tierney”) joined the RIAA’s Cara Duckworth on stage with a custom-made plaque that showcased Brice’s career Gold and Platinum highlights, including eight singles that are Gold or higher plus two new Gold album awards for Love Like Crazy and I Don’t Dance.

Every one of Brice’s albums is now officially certified Gold or higher—with the exception of his new self-titled album released Nov. 3—and he has reached the milestone of more than 10 million Gold and Platinum career awards.

 

Luke Combs Joins CMA Foundation to Announce $1M Contribution to Houston Independent School District

CMA New Artist Of The Year nominee Luke Combs joined the CMA Foundation in Houston, Texas last Friday (Nov. 3) to announce the organization’s $1 million contribution to Houston Independent School District (HISD). In partnership with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and Music Rising, CMA Foundation and Combs revealed a $700,000 grant for HSID music education resources, $50,000 in instrument donations and $200,000 towards continued Hurricane Harvey relief.

“From elementary school all the way through college, I was involved in music programs and chorus through my schools and that has impacted so much of my life and career,” shares Combs. “I’m grateful the CMA Foundation asked me to be a part of today’s event in Houston. Giving these students the opportunity to discover and learn about music is a really incredible thing to be a part of.”

Watch Combs and the CMA Foundation surprise students with the donation here.

 

Michael Ray Donates Over 100K Meals to Shelter Animals on Get To You Tour

A life-long animal supporter, Michael Ray launched Wrigley Cares: Helping Animals In Need earlier this month as a philanthropic component to his 15-city Get To You Tour. Named after his rescue dog, Wrigley, the chart-topping singer/songwriter teamed up with Zappos For Good and local animal shelters to set up donation stations at each of his tour stops. In just four weeks on the road, Ray and his fans have collected 100,320 meals to donate to animals in need.

“We set out to see how we can help animals in need and we are blown away by the huge response,” shared Ray. “When we’re on the road, we stop in each town and become a part of the community for a night while on stage. It’s inspiring to see the ‘Get To You’ Tour can leave a lasting impression and feed so many shelter animals. Wrigley’s stoked too.”

 

Temecula Road At Live In The Vineyard

Buena Vista Records’ Temecula Road made their first appearance at the Live In The Vineyard music festival in Napa Valley last weekend (Nov. 3-5). The trio performed at Peju Winery alongside Dave Barnes, Eric Paslay and Hunter Hayes.

 

Faren Rachels Visits CMA

Singer-songwriter Faren Rachels recently stopped by the CMA to officially become a new member. The country newcomer is prepping to release her self-titled debut EP on Nov. 10 and will join Luke Combs for the second half of his Don’t Tempt Me With A Good Time Tour.