Kraft Entertainment, the producers behind the successful festival has announced that the festival will once again be held at the Gillette Stadium located in Boston. Tickets, priced at $82.50, $52.50, and $29.50 have already gone on sale since Jan. 30. Here’s a look at the top three artists lined up for the festival.

Brad Paisley (http://bradpaisley.musiccitynetworks.com/)
With the successful release of his eighth studio album, “American Saturday Night,” he has successfully cemented his spot as one of the top male artists in the genre today, producing a string of hit country music songs. “Then,” the album’s first single just became the 14th No. 1 song of his career. His other hit songs include “Whiskey Lullaby,” “Time Well Wasted,” “When I Get Where I’m Going,” “Waitin’ on a Woman,”‘Online,” and “Start a Band.” Paisley has also received numerous awards including three Grammys (Best Country Instrumental Performance for 2008 and 2009, Best Male Country Vocal Performance for 2009); a host of ACMs (Album of the Year for 2005 and Top Male Vocalist of the Year for 2007, 2008 and 2009, to name a few); and major awards from the CMAs (Album of the Year for 2006 and Male Vocalist of the Year for 2007, 2008, and 2009), among many many others. Paisley is still in the thick of his “Paisley Party Tour,” dishing out new country songs for his fans.

Darius Rucker (http://www.dariusrucker.com/)
Former front man for defunct band “Hootie and the Blowfish,” Rucker has successfully crossed over to country music to critical and commercial acclaim.  His debut album helped made him a bona fide country star through hits such as “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” “It Won’t Be Like This for Long,” and “Alright,” all of which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart. In 2009, Rucker was nominated for three awards—Male Vocalist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist, and New Artist of the Year—at the 2009 Country Music Awards. Winning New Artist of the Year helped solidify his status as the first African-American country music artist to have won in nearly 30 years. Currently, Rucker is busy recording his second album containing new country songs, and is on tour with Rascal Flatts for the last leg of the “American Living Unstoppable Tour.”

Jason Aldean (http://www.jasonaldean.com/)
Aldean, known for his no-nonsense country music songs, has had three albums released through Broken Bow Records: Jason Aldean, Relentless, and Wide Open. Together, all three albums have produced nine hit singles which graced the Billboard country singles charts, most of whom went straight to No.1: “Why,” “She’s Country,” “Big Green Tractor,” and “The Truth.” Aldean is currently headlining the “Wide Open Tour.”

A native of Maynardville, TN, Smith was known for his special brand of country music love songs such as “You Are The One,” “This Orchard Means Goodbye,” “(When You Feel Like You’re in Love) Don’t Just Stand There,” as well as hits such as “Hey Joe!,” “Let’s Live a Little,” “Cut Across Shorty,” “Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way,” and “Loose Talk.” According to a country music blog, upon his retirement in the latter part of the 1970’s, Smith was officially inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2003.

Smith’s long career first began in 1944 when he served in the military during World War II at the WROL radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee. He then performed alongside bands and artists such as Skeets Williamson, Molly O’Day, and Archie Campbell. Around that time, Smith was also writing songs and producing demos, one of which reached Troy Martin, who at that time, was an executive for Peer-Southern. Martin, in turn, brought the demo to Jack Stapp, a WSM Nashville executive, and Don Law, producer for Columbia. On the strength of his demo, Smith was signed to the label, and the rest is history.

In 1950, he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry as the guest of Hank Williams who also performed that same day; he eventually became a regular until 1956. His first hit with Columbia, “Let’s Live a Little,” came the following year and peaked at the No. 2 spot in the charts. Within a year, he had more hits including the classic country music love songs “If Teardrops Were Pennies” and his first No. 1, “Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way.” This same year also marked his marriage to June Carter, whom he would later divorce. His daughter with Carter, Carlene Carter, later became a country singer just like her famous parents. In 1957, Smith married another singer, Goldie Hill, who passed away in 2005.

As mentioned in another country music blog, aside from his hit songs, Smith was also known as one of the first group of young country stars to cross over to television and movies. Smith appeared on the “Main Street Music Hall,” and other shows such as “Stars Of Country Music.” In 1961, he also made a guest appearance on “Four Star Jubilee,” a country television series which aired over at ABC. Smith would eventually go on to host his own show, “Carl Smith’s Country Music Hall” for US and Canadian audiences.

As a successful singer, Smith stayed with Columbia Records until 1975, and then transferred to ABC/Hickory. It is with this label that he eventually decided to announce his retirement in the latter part of the 1970’s.

Known for his unique brand of country music love songs, Mr. Country will surely be missed by his fans and by the entire Nashville community.

Founded in 2003, Sugarland was originally a duo consisting of Bush and Kristen Hall. It later became a trio when Nettles came on board as the lead singer. Amidst controversies, Hall left the band in 2005, restoring Sugarland into its original format. Although all three members became part of Sugarland just a few years ago, they all respectively enjoyed successful solo careers. Bush, a native of Knoxville, TN, was the other half of the rock duo Billy Pilgrim dishing out together with Andrew Hyra. Hall had already been a folk singer-songwriter and a roadie for the Indigo Girls. Nettles, on the other hand, used to be the front woman dishing out country music songs for Atlanta-bands called Soul Miner’s Daughter and the Jennifer Nettles Band.

Collectively, all three artists have been responsible for the great success of Sugarland’s debut album, “Twice the Speed of Life,” which was released in 2004. Four tracks from the album all had Top 20 spots at the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts including “Baby Girl” (No. 2), “Something More” (No. 2), “Just Might (Make Me Believe)” (No. 7), and “Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good)” (No. 17) all contributing to outstanding record sales of two million copies. This album also earned them a Grammy nomination for the Best New Artist Award. The success of their debut album was followed by their equally successful sophomore album entitled, “Enjoy the Ride,” twoTop 10 hit songs- “Want To” and “Settlin’.”

In Sugarland’s short lifetime, the duo has already released three albums, all of which have been certified hits. Their third album, “Love on the Inside,” featuring new country songs such as “All I Want to Do,” and “Already Gone,” as well as a cover of the old hit “Life in a Northern Town,” among others. This was followed by their Love on the Inside Tour, which was later released into a DVD containing the duo’s performances while on the road.  At present, the duo can boast of a harvest of awards from the major award winning bodies such as the Grammys, the CMAs, the CMT Music Awards, and the ACM awards. The highlights include Vocal Duo of the Year (CMT, 2007 and 2009), (CMA, 2008); Song of the Year (ACM, 2008); and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals (    Grammy, 2007): to name a few.

At present, the duo is set to headline “The Incredible Machine” tour and will be releasing their fourth studio album containing new country songs this year. Get more Sugarland news and updates at: http://www.sugarlandmusic.com/.

For many, the Grammy Awards Ceremony mean glitter, glamour, and a star-studded night of performers, presenters, and attendees gathered for the music industry’s biggest night. However, those who are the industry’s real legends, the ones who have achieved so much in their lifetimes, have already been feted with special citations in a quite ceremony which was also held in the same week as the awards show.

This year, reigning country music queen Loretta Lynn, has been given a special citation during the Special Merit Awards Ceremony, which recognizes lifetime achievements in music. Although Lynn could not attend, her twin daughters Patsy and Peggy Lynn were on hand to receive the award for their mother, widely recognized as one of the best singer/songwriters of all time. “Peggy and I always said she didn’t open doors, she kicked them off the hinges,” said Patsy Lynn. This is her 50th year in country music, and it couldn’t have gotten started any better.”

Lynn, famous for her unique country music love songs and others that have a social and political message, has enjoyed a career spanning half a century of hit songs and albums, awards, and acclaim from both critics and fans alike. According to an established country music blog, her movie was even made into a movie, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones. Born in a poor mining village in Butcher Hollow, KY, Lynn has had a less-privileged upbringing but that did not stop her from achieving greatness later in life.

When she was 13 years old, Lynn dropped out of the sixth grade to marry Oliver Doolittle Lynn, who was instrumental in introducing her to singing and songwriting. After hearing her sing lullabies to their children at night, Doolittle bought her a $17 guitar and encouraged her to sing, since he felt that Lynn was a better singer than the ones heard over the radio at that time. The rest, as we say it, is history. Today, Lynn is one of the most awarded artists and remains to be a gifted singer and songwriter to this day.

Like most artists her age, Lynn has had her share of ups and downs, and some of her experiences could be gleaned from songs that she wrote throughout her career. Her brand of country music love songs—and even those that are not—are admired for their authenticity, especially since Lynn is fond of singing in a traditional style. In 2004, as if to prove her staying power, she released her most critically acclaimed album to date, “Van Lear Rose,” which was the product of an unlikely collaboration with White Stripes front man Jack White. This album was nominated for five categories (Best Country Song for “Portland, Oregon” and “Miss Being Mrs.,” Best Female Country Vocal Performance “Miss Being Mrs.,” Best Country Album and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Portland, Oregon”). Of these, she won two awards for Best Country Album and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

According to another country music blog, last year, Lynn went on tour simply because she thought it was “better than sitting on the couch and watching TV.” Clearly, Lynn has not lost her sense of humor and childlike enthusiasm; we can thus expect even better albums and some special country music love songs from this great artist in the coming days.

Lady Antebellum-consisting of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood- is slowly but surely carving its own place in the history of country music and in the hearts of their fans because of their country songs featuring superb vocal harmonies. Judging from the number of articles mentioning the band’s name and recent awards in the country music blog universe, it appears that the band has won the approval and respect of critics and fans alike. In winning the Award for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for their single “I Run To You” at the 52nd Grammy Awards held last January 31, the band has successfully wrested the honor from more established artists such as Brooks & Dunn and Rascal Flatts.

The self-titled debut album from which the track has been lifted is a huge success. It holds the distinction of being the first album by a new duo or group to debut at the top spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts. Thus far, it has produced hit singles including “Love Don’t Live Here,” which reached the No .3 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, “Lookin’ for a Good Time” (No. 11), “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (No. 3), and the award-winning single, “I Run to You,” which is also the band’s first number one single.

Just a few days before winning their first Grammy Award, country music blog posts were filled with speculations regarding Lady Antebellum’s second album entitled, “Need You Now.” Admittedly, the band members were not as confident, while recording simply because they thought they could suffer from the sophomore jinx. In an interview with Billboard.com, Kelley shared, “I think we definitely put a lot of pressure on ourselves with the success of the first record that we wanted to make one that surpassed it.” He added, “We definitely don’t want to get into…the sophomore slump. We want to be doing this for a long time and also live up to the expectations of some of the awards we’ve been lucky to get, the CMAs and stuff.”

It seems that their worries are unfounded because already, the album’s title track has spent five weeks as the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Country Songs chart. It has also peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 Singles chart and has been certified platinum. Currently, the album’ second single, “American Honey,” is also climbing the top 20 on the Country Songs chart. When asked about the continuous success they have been receiving in the form of awards and hit singles, Kelley says, “It feels like a lot of people in the music industry and Nashville in particular are backing us and basically giving their stamp of approval, and we want to make them proud. We feel a lot of support. It’s just nice to know there’s a lot of people rallying around us.”

When asked about plans for the future, Kelly added that they are “gonna try to up our production a little bit. We feel like there’s obviously a lot more people aware of who we are, so they’re probably going to expect a little more out of us now. We do, too, so it’ll be a nice next step up for us.”

The whole community of fans, musicians, artists, and country music blog writers will surely be waiting for more hit songs from this band for many years to come.

Music wasn’t initially in the picture for Holy. He came from a large family whose occupation had been with their drilling business. In fact, if not for the music, Holy may have established a career here as well. Fortunately, Holy had developed an interest for music, which was his way of dealing with the death of his father, and later, his father. Clearly seeing country music love songs as his redemption, says Holy, “Music was the only thing that gave me relief.”

Upon his graduation from high school, Holy found himself among the 500 aspiring talents auditioning for “The Johnnie High Country Revue” in nearby Arlington, Texas. Little did he know that his involvement with the famed talent show will give him the break he had been waiting for; he finished first in the competition and went on to become Entertainer of the Year as voted by the show’s fans. After honing his musical skills throughout the Texas country music scene for several years, he eventually caught the attention of LeAnn Rimes and his father, Wilbur, who signed him to famed Nashville label Curb Records. Wilbur would later produce his debut album “Blue Moon.” At the same time, LeAnn also helped introduce him to a wider audience when she asked him to open for Rimes at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1998.

His debut single called “Don’t Make Me Beg,” was released in October 1999, and his debut album went on to produce two more Top 20 singles, culminating in his biggest single of the time, “Good Morning Beautiful.” This song introduced him to a wider audience when it was featured in the Jennifer Lopez movie. In 2006, Holy scored another hit with wildly popular “Brand New Girlfriend,” from an album of the same name released under Curb Records.

What sets Holy apart form his peers is that he is never afraid to experiment. In fact, he refuses for his music to be pigeonholed to just one stereotype citing various influences such as Charlie Rich, Mickey Gilley, John Conlee, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, and even a variety of Doo-Wop vocal groups as his vocal influences. In fact, in his Las Vegas show one would also hear him cover hits from artists such as the Commodores, Roy Orbison, and Dean Martin.

Of his songs, Holy says, “There’s no common thread in any of them. Basically, what’s going on in my life at the time is what I focus on musically.” Currently, he is busy working on his third album, which is set to be released early next year where it will be announced in our country music blog. The single “Might Have Been,” is already generating positive buzz. “People in radio have said this is probably going to be my biggest hit yet,” says Holy.

He adds, “Life is good, I think. I’m real excited. I can’t wait!” Indeed, it has been an interesting journey so far and country music fans will surely be waiting for his next album.

This album closely follows previous releases by Nelson, known for his wide range of musical influences, which he is never afraid to explore and produce great albums from. Just recently, Nelson released a solo album called “American Classic,” in which he explores the jazzified sound of standards with artists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones. Prior to this, Nelson has also done collaborations with country singers such as Ryan Adams, Kenny Chesney, Wynton Marsalis, and even Toots Hibbert.

This time, Nelson has done it again, releasing a collaborative project with the best Western swing band in the US, none other than Asleep on The Wheel. Already, this album has been hailed by critics and fans as one of the best to have come out in 2009. It consists of twelve tracks handpicked by legendary producer Jerry Wexler consisting of songs that represent the history of Western swing—right from its Dixieland and blues roots. The tracks included are “Hesitation Blues,” “Sweet Jennie Lee,” “Fan It,”  “I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None o’ This Jelly Roll,”  “Oh! You Pretty Woman,” “Bring it on Down to My House,” “Right or Wrong,” “Corrine Corrina,” “I’m Sittin’ on Top of the World,” “Shame on You,” “Won’t You Ride in My Little Red Wagon,” and  “South,” which features Paul Shaffer and Vince Gill.

As for Asleep at the Wheel, “Willie and the Wheel” is a long overdue project whose early beginnings could be traced back almost two decades back when legendary producer Jerry Wexler first met the members of the band. It is quite ironic that Wexler had been initially reluctant to sign the band. Says Asleep at the Wheel band leader Ray Benson with a chuckle, “He said the guitar player needed to practice — me — and he was right!”

Nevertheless Benson and Wexler eventually became friends and when Benson learned of how Wexler had once hand-picked tunes that he thought would suit Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel, he approached Nelson about the project, and the rest is history. Fortunately, even though Wexler died in 2008. Willie and the Wheel were already able to complete the album, culminating in its release this year as a tribute to the great producer at the same time.

This collaboration though is not a flash in the pan because Benson’s band has already played with Nelson over the years on country love songs and more. Says Benson of Nelson’s quirky musical style, “It’s idiosyncratic and unusual and totally original and unique. That’s the appeal: You do things the Willie way, or you fall flat on your face.” He adds, however, that “He’s a joy to play with. My drummer said he treats time like an avant-garde jazz musician. I love it. It’s amusing, it’s stimulating, it’s great fun!”

Evans, a Missouri native, is one of the few traditionally-styled singers to have emerged from the Nashville Scene sometime in the 90s. Throughout her career, she has had four No. 1 Country hits and Gold and Platinum-certified albums including her “Three Chords and a Truth”  (1997); her subsequent release, “No Place That Far” (1998); “Born to Fly” (2000), which was certified Double-Platinum; “Restless” (2003) and “Real Fine Place” (2005).

It was in 1997 when Evans released her debut CD “Three Chords and the Truth,” which was highly praised by critics for its effort to bring back the traditional country sound, prompting many include it in their top albums of year list. By the following year, Evans released a more pop-country oriented album with hits such as “No Place That Far,” which was a duet with Vince Gill. When “Born to Fly” was released and became her first album to have been certified a Platinum hit by the RIAA, a total of four hit singles were released including the title track “Born to Fly,” which peaked at the No. 1 spot on the Country charts, “I Could Not Ask for More,” “Saints and Angels,” and “I Keep Looking.” The success of this album is capped off by the numerous nominations Evans received at the Country Music Association awards with a total of seven nominations, from which she proceeded to win the Video of the Year award for “Born to Fly,” her first CMA nod and her first major award from the country music scene.

The popularity of this album catapulted Evans to success, which was then followed by more albums and nominations that cemented her status as a true blue Nashville superstar. Following the success of this album, Evans released her fourth studio album called “Restless.”  Says Evans of the album, “Restless’ is sort of like taking the song ‘Born to Fly,’ and making the whole album based around that song.” She adds, “Once I wrote and recorded ‘Born to Fly,’ I truly discovered who I was as a singer, and as an artist, so I wrote a lot of songs on this new record with Marcus Hummon, who I wrote ‘Born to Fly’ with, and I’m just very proud of it, very excited about it.” Of the album’s sound, Evans says, “It’s very rootsy, some of the songs are artsy, some are just really wacky. I can’t wait for everybody to hear it.”

In 2005 Evans then released “Real Fine Place,” through the lead single “A Real Fine Place to Start” which again peaked at No. 1 on the Country charts in 2005 with her country music songs.

When asked about who she is as an artist, she says, “People always say you can tell the real deal, and I feel like there’s nothing fake about what I do. It’s just always been my life.”

In 1993, Keith’s eponymous debut album was released and exploded with the chart-topping song “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Three other songs from the album, “Wish I Didn’t Know Now,” “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action,” and “He Ain’t Worth Missing” also ranked high in the charts, reaching the Top Five.

Boomtown, Keith’s second album was released in early 1995. Its first single “Who’s That Man” reached the top of the charts once again, making it his second number one song. The gold-selling album is filled with other Top Ten hits such as “Upstairs Downtown” and “You Ain’t Much Fun.” A year later, the country star released a Christmas record, and  in 1996 released the critically acclaimed Blue Moon, whose first two singles, “A Woman’s Touch” and “Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You,” reached the Top Ten, while a third, “Me Too,” became Keith’s third chart-topper.

In 1997, Dream Walkin’ was released, which produced the Top Five songs “We Were in Love” and “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying,” a beautiful duet with Sting. However, Keith longed for an even bigger breakthrough, and he was growing dissatisfied with Mercury’s promotional efforts. In 1999, he left the label and followed Stroud over to the Nashville division of DreamWorks.

“How Do You Like Me Now?!,” Keith’s debut under his new label came out in late 1999 and brought him greater fame and recognition. The album produced two #1 songs, the title track and “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This.” Apart from garnering a wider audience, Keith also earned critical recognition from prestigious award-giving bodies. In 2001, he was cited as the Male Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music, while “How Do You Like Me Now?!” won Album of the Year. In late 2001, his newest album, Pull My Chain, reached the top of the country charts and also became his first Top Ten pop album, helped no doubt by three number one singles, including “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight,” “I Wanna Talk About Me,” and “My List.”

In the summer of 2002, Keith recorded “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” a song which sparked huge controversy and became a regular feature in almost every single country music blog and magazine out there. Nonetheless, the song topped the country charts. Following this, he came out with Unleashed in late 2002. During the following years, this prolific country crooner released Shock’n Y’All (2003), Honkytonk University (May 2005), and Chronicles (2005), a compilation of his biggest albums. After founding his company, Show Dog Nashville, in 2006, Keith came out Big Dog Daddy, as well as another holiday release, “A Classic Christmas.” In 2008, “That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy” was subsequently released.

This event which coincided with thanksgiving, was the culminating event of CNN’s quest to find people around the world whose efforts to alleviate specific problems in their society merited recognition and support. Of the record-number of nominees they received this year, Filipino Efren Peñaflorida won the prestigious award with his effort to provide alternative education to impoverished children in his country through pushcart classrooms. Peñaflorida, who was selected after seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com, garnered over 2.75 million votes to win the $100,000 award in behalf of his Dynamic Teen Company. Aside from this, he also received a $10,000 pledge from Wallis Annenberg, chairman of the board, and president and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation who was also part of the Blue Ribbon Panel that selected the top 10 Heroes for this year.

Says CNN President Jim Walton, “This record number of nominations is further evidence of the momentum CNN Heroes has built in just a few short years.” He added, “Viewers have been engaged by these stories of inspiration and accomplishment beyond our expectations. It is truly an honor to be able to introduce the CNN Heroes to our global audience every year.”

The star-studded affair was attended by presenters such as Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Neil Patrick Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Randy Jackson, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Aside from Underwood, who performed an original orchestral arrangement of “Change” from her hit album, “Play On,” the other musical performances for the night were provided by Maxwell who sang “Help Somebody” from “BLACKsummers’night” and Grammy nominee Leona Lewis who performed “Happy,” from her second studio effort entitled “Echo.” Their performances collectively represented the spirit of the CNN Heroes campaign, which aims to give distinction and support to ordinary folks whose extraordinary efforts helped make a difference in their respective communities from countries as far as Iran, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and the US, among others.

Of the three performances however, it was Underwood’s finale number which perfectly summed up the night’s proceedings. The song’s lyrics talk about those “fools” who believe that they can make a difference and change the world with just a simple act. Its inspirational message of being able to bring change to someone’s life with just a small gesture and bringing hope to people who have none certainly evoked the kind of heroism exemplified by those who were being honored that night. Its bridge, “The world’s so big it could break your heart/And you just wanna help/Not sure where to start/So you close your eyes/Send up a prayer into the dark” perfectly captured the sentiments of the heroes being honored.