The 19th Annual SunTrust Hot Dog Day will take place Thursday, June 8, 2017 at the SunTrust Music Row location.

The free event will be held from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and feature entertainment provided by Warner/Chappell music publishing.

SunTrust Music Row is located at 1026 17th Ave. S.

The lineup for the 2017 event includes:

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Corey Kent White
Jimi Bell
Sam Hatmaker

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Brad Clawson
Taylor Phillips
Lonnie Fowler

The Ryman Auditorium may be one of Tennessee’s most iconic entertainment venues, but on Tuesday evening (May 16), it was all about Georgia as songwriting trio the Peach Pickers’ Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip hosted the Fourth Annual Jameson Irish Whiskey Presents Georgia On My Mind concert, benefitting the Georgia Music Foundation.

Dallas Davidson took the stage, with Hayslip and Akins following moments later. “This is how our writing appointments go, except usually Ben shows up first, and then Rhett,” Davidson quipped. The trio performed several chart-toppers they penned, including “All About Tonight” and “Honeybee” (Blake Shelton) and “Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day”(Luke Bryan). For songwriters who spend perhaps the majority of their time in writing rooms, the trio was clearly at home onstage, surrounded by a crowd of fellow Georgians ready to party in support of their homestate.

They had plenty of fellow artists ready to help with that endeavor. Newcomers Cole Taylor, Jon Langston and Trea Landon, as well as Georgia luminaries including T. Graham Brown, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, Georgia band Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, Wet Willie’s Jimmy Hall, Dexter Redding and Otis Redding III (sons of soul icon Otis Redding) all performed.

Lauren Alaina offered a pristine rendition of her recent first chart-topping hit “Road Less Traveled.” Kip Moore captured the audience with his acoustic, sensual rendition of “That Was Us.” Michael Ray offered “Think A Little Less,” and Billy Currington sang the classic “Georgia On My Mind.”

A few non-Georgians also came out to support for the event. California native Jon Pardi offered his recent hit “Dirt On My Boots,” a track co-written by Rhett Akins. “It’s cool to hear your songs on the radio, but it’s even cooler to see an artist start getting those first tastes of success,” said Akins. Chris Janson, a guy Ben Hayslip called “one of the nicest and most talented guys I know,” performed a foot-kicking, knee-knocking performance of “Buy Me A Boat.”

The night’s biggest surprise came when Rhett Akins took the stage to introduce surprise guest, his son Thomas Rhett. As Thomas Rhett walked onstage, the crowd’s screamed reached a feverish pitch, befitting his current ACM Male Vocalist of the Year status.

The performance is one of Thomas Rhett’s first since welcoming home his daughter Willa Gray Akins, who the singer and his wife Lauren Akins recently adopted from Uganda.

“I’ve been a dad for five days now, and it’s intense,” he told the crowd. “I’m just a bit tired.” Still, he captured the crowd as they sang along to “Die A Happy Man,” which was honored as Single of the Year at last year’s CMA Awards.

Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins, and Ben Hayslip closed the show with several songs, including Akins’ own signature hit, “That Ain’t My Truck.”

Making a special appearance were students from the Georgia Pick and Bow Traditional Music School in Dahlonega, which received a grant from the Georgia Music Foundation in 2016 from concert proceeds.

Georgia governor Nathan Deal was honored with the Flamekeeper Award for his work in promoting Georgia’s music. Additionally, the event’s title sponsor Jameson Irish Whiskey, presented a $50,000 check to the Georgia Music Foundation. The foundation has distributed more than $150,000 in funding to music education, preservation and outreach programs.

George Strait will be honored today (May 18) by the Texas State Legislature as they officially appoint him 2017’s State Musician of the Year at a ceremony in Austin, Texas. The general public nominates candidates for the honor, and recipients are selected from those nominees by the Texas Commission on the Arts through several committee processes.

“It’s a great honor for me to be selected as Texas State Musician of 2017 and join this very prestigious list of other honorees,” proclaimed Strait. “I’m a very proud Texan and love to sing the praises of our great state every chance I get. Thank you very, very much.”

Selections for the State Musician honor are made every two years. Other artists holding the renowned title include Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.

Strait adds the accolade to his growing list of honors and achievements which include his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, selling more than 70 million albums, having 33 albums go Platinum or multi-Platinum, earning more than 60 major entertainment industry awards and having 60 singles go No. 1 on the charts.