Sugarland Sets Tour Dates Through Fall

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Sugarland has scheduled more than 30 dates for its upcoming run, opening April 10 in hometown Atlanta. The 2009 leg of the duo’s successful Love On The Inside Tour is supporting its platinum-selling third album of the same name. Joining them on the road will be Mercury Nashville labelmate Billy Currington, RCA recording artist Jake Owen, and AAA singer-songwriters Matt Nathanson and Eric Hutchinson. With shows running through October, mainly at arenas and amphitheaters, the outing includes several Canadians stops.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush are going on their first overseas tour during the month of March. Traveling to seven different countries (Italy, Great Britian, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands), they will perform in 11 different European cities. Labelmate Holly Williams, whose first country single is at radio now, will open select dates.

Flatts Sell Out Famed Venue For Third Time

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With last week’s success of the Rascal Flatts concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the band became the first country act to sell out the famous venue three consecutive times. They have played there on the last three tours: 2006’s Me & My Gang Tour, 2007’s Still Feels Good Tour and this year’s Bob That Head Tour. The current outing will run through March 14 with Epic/Columbia Nashville’s Jessica Simpson opening. The Lyric Street band, which has sold 18 million albums, is also busy planning the April 7 release of its latest project Unstoppable.

Live Nation, Ticketmaster Announce Deal

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Live Nation plans to buy Ticketmaster Entertainment for $2.5 billion in an all-stock merger of equals, the companies announced today (2/10) following much speculation. Pending regulatory approval, the combined entity will be called Live Nation Entertainment. It will be headed by Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino as CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff as executive chairman, and Ticketmaster chairman Barry Diller as non-executive chairman.

Under terms of the agreement, Ticketmaster shareholders will receive 1.384 shares of Live Nation common stock for each share of Ticketmaster they own. Live Nation and Ticketmaster shareholders would each own about 50 percent of the new company.

By combining ticketing, marketing, data centers and back-office functions, it is expected the combined entity would save $40 million a year. Executives also hope to improve access and transparency, ticket pricing options, invest in better ticketing technology, and increase event attendance.

“This combination will drive measurable benefits to consumers and accelerate the execution of our strategy to build a better artist-to-fan direct distribution platform,” Rapino said in a statement. “As every industry observer knows, too many tickets go unsold and too many fans are frustrated with their ticket-buying experiences. The current inefficiencies in the system result in higher costs and confusion over access to seats. Together, we will work to simplify the ticketing process and ultimately increase attendance at live events. This is also a logical step in the evolution of our business model, creating a more diversified company with a stronger financial profile that will drive improved shareholder value over the long term.”

The companies will continue to operate independently until the transaction is completed and will work together to determine the location of the combined company’s headquarters.

Country Stars Dance, Design, and Drop Ticket Prices

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Chuck Wicks and Jewel are joining the cast of celebrity competitors on the popular ABC series, Dancing with the Stars. For the show’s eighth season Wicks will dance with fellow country artist, and two-time Dancing champion Julianne Hough, who also happens to be his girlfriend. Jewel and her husband, rodeo star Ty Murray, will be paired with professional dancers and compete against each other. The season premiere is Mon., March 9 at 7 PM/CT.

Keith Urban and the promoters behind his Escape Together World Tour have responded to the downward economy by offering $20 tickets with no additional fees. A select number of these cheap seats will be made available for all dates on the tour which opens in May. Urban’s sixth studio album, Defying Gravity, will be released March 31.

Toby Keith will debut his new clothing line, TK Steelman, with a Feb. 18 launch party at his I Love This Bar & Grill in Harrah’s Las Vegas. Developed with Royal Merchandising Group, which produces merchandise for his restaurants, the initial line is designed for the male 25-54 demographic with Keith-approved T-shirts, polos, jeans, cowboy hats, bandanas, belts, and more. The launch date coincides with the MAGIC Marketplace fashion trade convention going on Feb. 17-19 in Las Vegas.

Tickets Walk, Tours Talk, Covers Contest

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If there is weak economy, apparently Taylor Swift fans don’t know or care. This morning (2/6) the young superstar’s supporters bought up every ticket to her Staples Center appearance in a record-breaking two minutes. The May 22nd LA show is part of Swift’s Fearless 2009 tour which officially kicks off April 23 in Evansville, IN. The 19-year old singer/songwriter will also get a chance to try out the Staples Center venue this Sunday (2/8) when she performs live on the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Swift is planning to sing— for the first time on TV—her song “Fifteen” in a special duet version with Miley Cyrus. The Fearless tour is set to visit 50 cities in 38 states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada. Joining Swift will be Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. The tour is produced and promoted by The Messina Group (TMG) a partner of AEG Live. http://www.taylorswift.com

Tickets for Keith Urban’s Escape Together World Tour, go on sale beginning 2/13 and expectations are high that this will also be one of the Summer’s biggest concert events. The dates start in Uncasville, CT on May 7 and run through the end of August. Urban’s current single “Sweet Thing” is his 18th Top 5 single and his 6th studio album Defying Gravity, is set for a March 31 release. In addition, Urban will perform at the Daytona 500, Feb. 15 on Fox TV. http://www.keithurban.net

Rascal Flatts fans were given the chance to submit original designs for the cover of the band’s Unstoppable album due out April 7, 2009. The winning design will be revealed on Feb. 12 during a Flatts concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The cover contest was conceived and executed in a partnership with People’s Choice whose stated mission is “to empower music movie and television enthusiasts with a voice in the entertainment industry.” Four final designs have been chosen and fans can vote their favorite http://www.pcavote.com

Sundresses By Swift Shipping Now

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Taylor Swift’s line of sundresses began shipping exclusively to Wal-Mart yesterday (2/1). The dresses are being made through a partnership with clothing manufacturer L.E.I., who also made Swift’s namesake jeans.  All retailing for $14, there will be three sundress styles available at launch and two additional styles are planned for a March 1 delivery.

“It was very important for me to create cute, affordable dresses,” says Swift, who is on the current cover of Teen Vogue. “If I couldn’t see myself wearing them, I wasn’t interested in making them.” She plans to wear the dresses throughout her spring and summer tour.

As previously reported, this will be her first headlining outing, and includes dates in Canada and Australian. She is in such demand Down Under that another show has been added in Melbourne. Chugg Entertainment and Rob Potts Entertainment Edge tacked on a March 9 date specifically for the under 18 set, to precede the next night’s 18-and-up show. Her first Australian Tour also includes sold-out stops in Brisbane and Sydney, and a festival performance in Thredbo, NSW.

Urban Barbecue Escape

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Keith Urban’s 2009 tour, labeled Keith Urban Escape Together Tour has added KC Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce and Kingsford Charcoal as a headline sponsor. The shows will begin in May and play mostly larger size venues. Drew McGowan, Sr. Grp. Manager PR/Sponsorships for Clorox Company, which owns both brands, told Billboard, “There’s a perfect link between people who barbecue out in the backyard and people listening to country music. We definitely wanted to continue our commitment to country music because it fits so well with our brands. We looked at who was touring this summer and who made a lot of sense with our brands individually, and Keith just seemed like a perfect fit.” Last year the sponsor signed on to support Tim McGraw.

KC Masterpiece and Kingsford, as part of the agreement, will host the Keith Urban Backstage Experience, VIP pre-show and more. Making sure that everyone’s taste buds meet savory results will be “official pitmaster” and barbecue champion Chris Lilly. Urban manager Gary Borman noted that the client/sponsor fit made for a “natural association. We’re thrilled.”

Gloriana Joins LeAnn Rimes Dates

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Newcomers Gloriana have been invited to open for LeAnn Rimes on six upcoming tour dates in Washington, California, and Nevada. The band made up of Tom Gossin (vocals, guitars), Mike Gossin (vocals, guitars), Rachel Reinert (vocals), and Cheyenne Kimball (vocals, mandolin) is already creating a buzz with debut single “Wild At Heart,” from its upcoming Emblem Music Group release.

Gloriana has been on a whirlwind radio tour across the country for weeks, getting several adds prior to the single’s official Feb. 9 release date. The song written by Matt Serletic, Josh Kear, and Stephanie Bentley, earned the band Robert K. Oermann’s Discovery Award in MusicRow. An accompanying music video was shot in Nashville recently with director Elliot Lester (Jessica Simpson, Jason Mraz, 30 Seconds to Mars) and executive producers Kathleen Sigmund and Tamera Brooks (Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn) through Stray Dog/17 Hands Productions.

Gloriana and the Eli Young Band are both set to perform at MusicRow’s CRS Meet & Greet on March 3, 2:30-5 PM, at Cadillac Ranch.

Paisley Plans 2009 Tour

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Reigning ACM and CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Brad Paisley today (1/26) revealed his 2009 touring plans. The outing, dubbed American Saturday Night, will run through 41 cities starting June 5 in Charlotte, NC. Special guests Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne will join him for the tour that has cross-country dates scheduled through Oct. 17.

His current Paisley Party Tour has sold over 750,000 tickets for its 59 dates and continues through February. Paisley’s recent hit “Start A Band,” a duet with Keith Urban, was his record-setting ninth consecutive No. 1. He is also the cover feature on the March issue of Guitar Player magazine.

Urban Planning To Defy Gravity

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Keith Urban’s new album Defying Gravity will be released March 31 on Capitol Records Nashville. The project’s lead single “Sweet Thing” has already reached No. 3 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart and is still climbing.

“Defying Gravity comes from the lyrics of a song on the album and it just struck me at the time as a phrase that really defined the joyous, optimistic and uplifting spirit that seemed to show itself while making the album,” Urban explains.

In May he’ll launch the Escape Together World Tour, which will visit 58 cities across North America. Urban will team with a different touring partner in each city, with guests including Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, and The Zac Brown Band.