Luke Bryan’s sold-out concert on a farm in Athens, Georgia will be broadcast live tonight (9/30) at 9/8 pm ET on Sirius XM’s The Highway. The show is part of Bryan’s “Farm Tour,” a series of six shows from which proceeds will be donated to fund a scholarship in each city for a local student. “We just wanted to have a little fun in the fall,” says Bryan. “I think what’s cool about the ‘Farm Tour’ is these things are a big event for these towns. It’s a fun experience all around. I want to do what I can to keep it rocking.”

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(L-R): Jim Beavers, Dierks Bentley and Jon Randall. Photo: Eric England

Dierks Bentley recently celebrated the success of his eighth career No. 1 song, “Am I The Only One.” Industry friends joined Bentley, along with co-writers Jon Randall and Jim Beavers, at Losers in Nashville for the event. In the spirit of the song, Bentley presented personalized bottles of Patron.

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Trace Adkins is donning his actor’s cap as he joins the cast of supernatural thriller The Healer, which also includes Isabelle Fuhrman, Joel Courtney, James Le Gros, Peter Bogdanovich and Natalia Dyer. Currently filming in North Carolina with writer/director Giorgio Serafini, The Healer is the story of teenage twins who go on a camping trip with their father and become lost in the forest while trying to repair old emotional wounds. Adkins plays The Truck Driver, a transporter of souls destined to hell, and his truck is a prison for eternity.

Photo: Brian Ormiston

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Toby Keith celebrated his premium mezcal Wild Shot last week by signing bottles for fans at Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago. Toby was in Chicago for a standing room only stop on his Locked & Loaded Tour Presented by Ford F-Series. Keith’s “Made In America” also recently hit No. 1 on the CountryBreakout Chart.

Darren Elrod

Provident Music Group Pres./CEO Terry Hemmings has announced the promotion of Darren Elrod to Sr. VP of Finance and Operations for Provident.

Elrod was most recently the label’s VP Finance & Operations. In his new role, he will report to Hemmings and continue to oversee all aspects of finance and operations with added duties in business affairs, IT and artist services, and Provident Distribution’s sales and warehouse operation.

“I am pleased to announce the promotion of Darren Elrod to Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations,” says Hemmings. “Darren’s experience and countenance are well suited for this role and he has become a trusted ally to me as we navigate the path ahead for our organization.”

Elrod began his career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen LLP, and was the Controller and VP of Finance at Provident from 1999-2006. He left the label in 2006 to become Controller and Treasurer of the National Federation of Independent Business, before returning to Provident in 2009.

In learning about the plight of the United States Postal Service workers and their plan to rally nationwide with the hope to save their jobs, Blue Steel Records duo Burns & Poe was moved to lend its voice in support.

The postal service is currently contemplating the close of thousands of post offices, which would leave more than 100,000 workers without jobs. Tuesday (9/27) postal workers across the country rallied at various locations to send a message that cutting jobs isn’t the answer to solving the budget crisis. A group of postal workers gathered on Church Street in Nashville were surprised when Keith Burns showed up to support their efforts.

Burns & Poe’s current single, “I Need A Job,” comes at a crucial time for many. Wanting to offer more than words of encouragement, the duo launched the “I Need A Job” Contest. Contestants are given the creative license to create a lyric video for “I Need A Job” using photos, graphics or video footage. Each video can be posted to any public webpage or social site, such as YouTube or Facebook. The creator of the video that tallies the most views will win a job as a temporary intern and member of the Burns & Poe Team.

Employment will be for a one-week period (Monday through Friday). The chosen intern will divide his or her time and responsibilities between the booking agency, the label, the road crew, and the publicity and management company. The intern will receive compensation in the amount of $500 for their time and service. The start-date will be mutually decided upon by the winning contestant and an official member of the Burns & Poe Team. One winner will be selected (based on posts/hits) and announced on the Burns & Poe web page on Friday, October 28, 2011.

For more details, please click here.