Tag Archive for: TV listings

Documentary Delves Into Haggard Life

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A new PBS documentary sheds light on the dark side of country music’s true outlaw, Merle Haggard.

From the Nashville Scene by Jack Silverman

The new documentary Merle Haggard: Learning to Live With Myself, airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 21, on WNPT-Channel 8 as part of PBS’ acclaimed American Masters series. It is from filmmaker Gandulf Hennig, whose specialty is cutting away the crust of legend to uncover the truth below.

Hennig’s latest work, a gripping tale of one of country music’s most elusive figures, offers a rare and probing look into Haggard’s world. Learning to Live With Myself paints a detailed picture, from Haggard’s early years in Oildale, Calif., and his troubled youth to his integral role in the Bakersfield Sound, his incredibly prolific and successful career (38 No. 1 hits between 1966 and 1987), and his status as an icon of hardcore country.

Full story here.

Brad Paisley Underwater

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A new GAC special premiering tonight (6/21) at 9 PM/CT explores Brad Paisley’s H2O Tour and how his team rallied together to launch the show as scheduled after the Nashville floods ravaged most of his stage and equipment.

Viewers get rare behind-the-scenes access to production meetings and rehearsals that were on track prior to the major flooding that filled his storage facility with four feet of water. Paisley’s stage set drowned and half of his video production rig was under water. Brad Paisley Underwater shows the extent of the damage and how the massive tour was put together again in only three weeks.

The H20 World Tour features six acts on two stages and every component was in place when the outing launched in Virginia Beach on May 21.

Tube Time: Dolly Parton, Luke Bryan, More

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Luke Bryan and Jay Leno

Luke Bryan made his debut appearance on The Tonight Show last Tuesday, May 11, where he performed his new single, “Rain Is A Good Thing.”
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Dolly Parton rounded up her friends and fellow celebrities for a Hallmark Channel original special marking the 25th anniversary of her Dollywood theme park. Dolly Celebrates 25 Years of Dollywood will air Friday, July 3 (7 p.m. CT) and includes a musical tribute taped at the park in Pigeon Forge, TN featuring Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Kenny Rogers. The special also includes toasts from Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, and others.

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Joe Nichols will perform his three-week No. 1 hit “Gimmie That Girl” tonight (5/18) on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Next week (5/25), he will join the ladies of The View for a chat and performance.
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Catch Wynonna tomorrow (6/19) on CBS’s I Get That A Lot, a show about celebrities tricking everyday citizens in a supposed case of “mistaken identity.” Wynonna is shown working in a tire shop.

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Chely Wright has scored one of the most coveted spots on television, a sit-down with Oprah, where she will discuss coming out. She will appear on tomorrow’s (5/19) episode along with rocker Bret Michaels who will talk about his near-fatal brain hemorrhage.

Brooks And Dunn Special To Air May 23

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Brooks And Dunn, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Kristian Bush. Photo: Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music & dick clark productions

The all-star Brooks & Dunn ACM tribute will air Sunday, May 23, at 8:00 PM ET/PT on CBS. ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn—The Last Rodeo was previously taped in Las Vegas with performances by Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban.

Brooks And Dunn. Photo: Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music & dick clark productions

During the tribute concert special, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn receive the Academy’s Milestone Award in recognition of their 20-year career and are honored for holding a record-setting 27 ACM awards, more than any other artist.

Presenters on the special include Dr. Maya Angelou, Miranda Cosgrove and Matthew McConaughey. Ticket proceeds from the live event went to ACM Lifting Lives, and were quickly earmarked to aid those affected by the recent floods in Middle Tennessee.

Sugarland. Photo: Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music & dick clark productions

Brooks & Dunn and Reba McEntire will promote the special with a duet performance on CBS’s Late Show With David Letterman, Friday, May 21 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT).

In more B&D news, the duo will be in Knoxville Wednesday to dedicate a house to a needy family. The “Brooks & Dunn” house is the first of the “Music Row” houses made possible by the Charlie and Moll Anderson Family Foundation, which is teaming up with artists and Knoxville Habitat for Humanity to build homes.

Urban/Mayer Crossroads; Bentley On Leno Tonight

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John Mayer and Keith Urban on "CMT Crossroads."

Grammy winning guitar gods John Mayer and Keith Urban are the latest pairing for CMT Crossroads. The episode, premiering Friday, June 18, was taped before an invitation-only audience in Nashville. Their set includes Urban hits “If Ever Could I Love,” “’Til Summer Comes Around” and “Sweet Thing,” and Mayer favorites such as “Perfectly Lonely” and “Gravity.” They wrap the show with a cover of George Michael’s pop-rock classic “Faith.”

The collaboration of Mayer and Urban marks the first time artists have returned to the CMT Crossroads stage since the series launched in January 2002. Urban and John Fogerty were featured in a 2005 edition, and Mayer paired with Brad Paisley for an episode that premiered in 2004.

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Dierks Bentley will debut the lead and title track from his forthcoming bluegrass-influenced album Up On The Ridge tonight (4/27) on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The song, written by Bentley and Angelo Petraglia, features Petraglia on acoustic guitar, Sam Bush on mandolin and background vocals by Alison Krauss.

Early reviews of the album due June 8 are stellar. MusicRow’s Robert Oermann called it “the first masterpiece country album of 2010.” Get a short video preview of the project here.

Bentley kicked off his Up On The Ridge tour of 24 shows in 30 days this past weekend with sold out crowds in Portland, OR; Boulder, CO; Colorado Springs, CO; and Austin, TX. The run continues through May 22 with a final show at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.

Country on Price Is Right, Celeb Apprentice, Idol

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Country celebrities will be popping up all over national television this week.

The Price is Right will have a country themed episode on Fri., April 16 in celebration of the upcoming ACM Awards on Sun., April 18, both will air on CBS. At the long-running game show, 2010 ACM Award nominees Blake Shelton and Bomshel will be on hand to present prizes.

Trace Adkins, Luke Bryan and Emily West are headed to the Celebrity Apprentice for an episode airing Sun., April 18. Adkins, a runner-up on the 2008 season, will act as boardroom advisor to Donald Trump, overseeing the celebrity teams who are competing in a country music challenge.

Bucky Covington and fellow former American Idol finalists will be volunteering at Nashville’s Second Harvest Food Bank on Wed., April 14 as part of the “Idol Gives Back” episode. He will be joined by Melinda Doolittle, Bo Bice, Phil Stacey, and Mandissa. The program airs Wed., April 21 on FOX.

Jackson’s “Freight Train” Runs Today

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The Big D and Bubba Show kicked off a week-long series of interviews with Alan Jackson yesterday in conjunction with the release of "Freight Train." Pictured left to right: Bubba, Alan Jackson and Big D

The latest album from superstar Alan Jackson comes out today (3/30) and he’s marking the release with street-date performances on NBC’s Today show and CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman. Freight Train has already produced the hit single “It’s Just That Way,” currently No. 15 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout Chart.

During his time in New York, Jackson is also set to tape A&E’s acclaimed interview and performance series, Private Sessions with Lynn Hoffman. It will premiere Sunday, April 11, at 9 AM ET.

Upcoming television visits also include NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 14, and the syndicated Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 16. Jackson’s summer tour opens April 8 and he will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a public ceremony on April 16.

Chesney On “Oprah;” Grascals Media Stops

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Kenny Chesney with Oprah in 2009.

Kenny Chesney is heading to Chicago on Saturday, March 27, to tape an episode of Oprah that is set to air April 9. He will give the superstar host a sneak peak of his Summer in 3-D movie which arrives in theatres on April 21. The 3-D flick captures five of Chesney’s dozen NFL stadium shows from last year’s tour. Chesney also took a field team from Oprah with him to the Florida Keys to document a special afternoon.

The theme from Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3-D, is his new single, “Aint Back Yet.” In other Chesney news, he wrote the forward for the new book from ESPN hosts Mike & Mike, Rules for Sports & Life.

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CMT host Hazel Smith with The Grascals members (L-R) : Jeremy Abshire, Jamie Johnson (front), Terry Smith (back), Kristin Scott Benson and Terry Eldredge.

Two-time International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainers of the Year The Grascals are scheduled for a slew of national appearances to promote their album, The Famous Lefty Flynn’s, due out March 30.

The band’s brand of March Madness kicked off last week with a stop at the GAC studios to perform new single, “The Last Train To Clarksville”—yes, it’s The Monkees’ remake—for the network’s On The Streets program. The show airs today (3/23) at 12 and 8 p.m. CT and again tomorrow.

Fans of Hazel Smith’s entertaining show CMT’s Southern Fried Flicks will find The Grascals heating up her kitchen on Saturday, April 24.

The band will also visit SiriusXM Radio, RFD-TV’s Larry’s Country Diner and National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage.

Next month, The Grascals join Hank Williams Jr., Jamey Johnson and Eric Church on Williams’ Rowdy Friends Tour.

Paisley Sells Out West Coast Run, Heads For “Tonight Show”

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Brad Paisley’s American Saturday Night Tour whipped around the west coast this past weekend with four sold-out shows in Fresno, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Reno. The L.A. Staples Center was packed with over 13,000 fans, including celebrities Sheryl Crowe, William Shatner, The Jonas Brothers, and members of REO Speedwagon.

The American Saturday Night Tour with special guests Miranda Lambert and Justin Moore will take a break this week and then concludes next weekend, March 4-6, with stops in Greenville, SC; Knoxville, TN; and Charleston, SC.

Paisley will return to the west coast on March 1 as the musical guest for Jay Leno’s first show back as host of The Tonight Show. Also on the line-up are Jamie Foxx and Olympic Gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn.

Tube Time W/ Turner, Jewel, Lady A, Nail, Paisley, Pickler

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Photo credit: Nick D./The Martha Stewart Show

Josh Turner made a guest appearance on Martha Stewart’s “Valentine’s Day Show” airing, Feb. 12. In addition, Turner was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition airing Saturday, February 13. Turner’s new CD Haywire was released last week.

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David Nail will perform his Top 10 song “Red Light” on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson Monday (2/15) at 12:35am ET/PT on CBS.

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Kellie Pickler will be spending Fat Tuesday (2/16) with one of her favorite people, New Orleans native Ellen DeGeneres, as part of Ellen’s upcoming Mardi Gras special.
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Jewel visited with George Lopez and performed her new single, “Stay Here Forever,” on Lopez Tonight on February 9. The single is currently at country radio and is featured on the soundtrack for the major motion picture Valentine’s Day.

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While on the West Coast with his American Saturday Night tour, Brad Paisley will visit Jimmy Kimmel Live! for an interview and performance on the Bud Light Golden Wheat Outdoor Stage, Wednesday, February 17.  The late-night show airs on  ABC 12:05am ET/PT.

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Last week in Los Angeles (Feb. 2), Lady Antebellum caught up with tennis superstar Serena Williams backstage at Jimmy Kimmel Live! before they performed their No. one smash “Need You Now” and new single “American Honey.”

L-R: Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Serena Williams and Dave Haywood