Little Big Town‘s The Breaker remains at the top of the country albums charts this week, selling 17K in its second week. Garth Brooks‘ Ultimate Collection Exclusive lands at No. 2, with 16K.

Alison Krauss‘ Windy City moved 13K this week, to land at No. 3. Reba‘s Sing It Now collection lands at No. 4, with 10K, while Brantley Gilbert‘s The Devil Don’t Sleep rounds out the Top 5 with 8K sold.

Moonshine Bandits notch the top country debut this week, with Baptized In Bourbon landing at No. 9, with 5.6K sold.

Sam Hunt

On the digital tracks chart, Sam Hunt also retains his lead, with “Body Like A Back Road” selling 61K (371K RTD).

Jon Pardi‘s “Dirt On My Boots” lands at No. 2, with 21,367 units sold, followed by Little Big Town‘s “Better Man,” at No. 3 with 21,288 units sold. Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood‘s “The Fighter” lands at No. 4, with 20K, while Brett Young‘s “In Case You Didn’t Know” rounds out the Top 5 with 18K.

The top country debut is from Nashville‘s recording of “Sanctuary,” which lands at No. 14, selling 8.9K.

Overall track sales are down 23.8 percent YTD, while country track sales are down 21.5 percent.

Information courtesy of Nielsen Soundscan.

Darius Rucker and John Mellencamp. Photo: CMT.com

John Mellencamp and Darius Rucker teamed up for a new installment of CMT Crossroads, premiering Friday, March 24 at 10 p.m., ET/PT on CMT.

The special will feature numerous country and rock hits, including Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses,” “Cherry Bomb” and new single, “Grandview,” and Rucker’s fan-favorites “Alright,” “Wagon Wheel,” “If I Told You” and “Hold My Hand.”

“CMT Crossroads: John Mellencamp and Darius Rucker” taped in front of a live audience at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Feb. 24.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will release their new album The Nashville Sound on June 16 on Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers).

The Nashville Sound features 10 new songs that address a range of subjects including politics and cultural privilege on “White Man’s World”, longing for nostalgia on “The Last Of My Kind”, love and mortality on “If We Were Vampires,” and the remnants of a break up on “Chaos and Clothes.” Additional tracks like “Cumberland Gap” and “Hope The Highroad” find Isbell and his bandmates returning full swing to their rock roots.

The new project was recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A and produced by Grammy Award-winner Dave Cobb, who produced Something More Than Free and Isbell’s celebrated 2013 breakthrough album Southeastern. The Nashville Sound is the first official Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit album since 2011’s Here We Rest.

The group launches an extensive summer tour June 17 in Asheville that runs through October, with a five-night stand at the Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15.

He also travels to Europe for an international tour Oct. 25-Nov. 14 that hits Dublin, London, Paris, Brussels, and Copenhagen, among others.

*All songs written by Jason Isbell except “Anxiety,” written by Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires

Maren Morris is releasing a deluxe edition of her debut album Hero this Friday (March 17) to all digital retailers. Hero Deluxe features three tracks that did not appear on the standard version of the CD, including “Bummin’ Cigarettes,” “Space” and “Company You Keep,” all co-written by Morris.

Morris announced last week she will take her highly successful HERO Tour 2017 overseas to the UK and Ireland. Tickets for the seven-date international leg, which kicks off in Dublin on Nov. 12, go on sale March 17. The UK tour includes a stop at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on Nov. 15, and support on all dates will be singer/songwriter Ryan Hurd.

The HERO Tour 2017 UK/Ireland Tour Dates:
Nov. 12            Dublin Academy
Nov. 13            Glasgow ABC
Nov. 15            London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Nov. 17            Birmingham O2 Institute 1
Nov. 18            Bristol Anson Rooms
Nov. 20            Manchester O2 Ritz
Nov. 21            Sheffield Leadmill

Pictured (L-R): Sally Williams, Jamie Dailey, Darrin Vincent, Steve Buchanan. Photo: Chris Hollo for Grand Ole Opry

Dailey & Vincent became the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday evening (March 11) at an induction ceremony by Opry members Old Crow Medicine Show and Jeannie Seely. The duo had been invited to become Opry members by Marty Stuart during their 100th appearance on the show in December. Seely, who will celebrate 50 years of Opry membership later this year, presented an Opry Member Award to Jamie Dailey, while Old Crow lead singer Ketch Secor did the same for Darrin Vincent.

“I had the honor of introducing Dailey & Vincent for their first Opry appearance,” Seely said. “I thought to myself that night, ‘I hope one day I get to see them become members of the Opry one day because they epitomize everything the Opry is on stage and off.’”

“We are very excited to welcome Dailey & Vincent into the fold,” said Opry General Manager Sally Williams. “Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent have been proclaimed the best in their field across the board, winning awards and media acclaim for their songs, their musicianship, and their one-of-a-kind live performances. Over the past 10 years and more than 100 Opry visits, they’ve brought crowds to their feet both with country, bluegrass, and gospel standards as well as their brand new material. We look forward to Dailey & Vincent being active, beloved Opry members as the Opry looks toward the century mark and beyond.”

Dreamlined Entertainment Group has signed the duo and will release its new album, Patriots & Poets on March 31 via distribution through BFD/RED.  The project features collaborations with Steve Martin, Bela Fleck and more.

Pictured (L-R): BFD’s Chuck Rhodes, BFD’s Bob Frank, Dreamlined’s Keith Stegall, Jamie Dailey, Darrin Vincent, Dreamlined’s Scott Miller, Dreamlined’s Jason Campbell)