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Dierks Bentley’s Country Cares Concert, benefiting The Granite Mountain Hot Shots, is officially sold out. Set for July 22 in Prescott Valley, Arizona, the event will raise funds for the families of the 19 firefighters who recently lost their lives battling wildfires. The Band Perry, Randy Houser and David Nail have joined the lineup following the sell out. “Country fans are the best, and when their friends need help, they show up,” Dierks said. “This is my hometown, and I feel a huge pull to go back and be there with them and do what I can to help. I’ve had some friends speak up and say they wanted to come help, so we’re going to put together a special night of music, raise some money and hopefully leave these families and this community with some positive memories.” “We feel very blessed this concert sold out so quickly,” KMLE Country 107.9 Program Director Tim Richards said. “Thanks to these artists for putting together such an amazing event in such a short amount of time. We hope families of the firefighters know how much the Arizona community cares about them.” Fans who would like to help but are unable to attend the Country Cares Concert can make a direct donation here. All proceeds from the concert will go to the United Phoenix Firefighters Charities who will distribute directly to the families of the 19 fallen firefighters.

He’s gone bluegrass. That’s the news from traditional country singer Alan Jackson, who once eschewed those who tried to cash in on country music. “The Bluegrass Album” will be released Sept. 24 on Jackson’s ACR label, distributed by EMI Records Nashville. Eight of the tracks are Jackson originals, along with covers of The Dillards’ There Is A Time, John Anderson’s Wild And Blue and a slow, 3/4 time version of Blue Moon Of Kentucky. When he brought Alison Krauss in to produce his 2006 project, “Like Red On A Rose,” some thought Jackson might veer towards bluegrass, but the disc stayed in the country realm. This year, though, Jackson assembled an all-star cast of bluegrass pickers and singers in April, and tracked a new all-acoustic record at The Castle outside of Nashville. Sammy Shelor on banjo, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Tim Crouch on fiddle, Tim Dishman on bass, Rob Ickes on reso-guitar, and Scott Coney on guitar all participated. Ronnie Bowman and Don Rigsby were on hand to provide harmony vocals, with Keith Stegall and Adam Wright (he is Jackson’s nephew and one-half of The Wrights with his wife, Shannon) producing. Shelor said that they tracked all the rhythms and most of the vocals in five sessions over two days. The band sat in a circle with half dividers between them so that everyone could see each other, with Jackson and the backup singers tracking live with the band. “The most we did on any song was three takes; we got most of them the first time. We worked from charts, but Alan knew what he wanted on every song before we started,” said Shelor in a story posted on Jackson’s web site. Coney also plays guitar, fiddle and banjo in Jackson’s country band. Jackson told Coney to put a band together for this record, but that he didn’t want it to ‘sound like all the other bluegrass albums country artists cut in this town.’” “Alan’s voice lends itself perfectly to bluegrass, in my opinion. If you like Ronnie Bowman or Marty Raybon singing bluegrass, you’ll love Alan Jackson doing it,” Shelor said. “I’m extremely blessed and happy to be a part of this project. It’s a great bluegrass record, and its Alan Jackson singing. What more could you ask?” Current plans suggest that Jackson will do some television and selected live shows to promote “The Bluegrass Album” around the release date, with a likelihood of further touring to follow. They hope to hit a number of major bluegrass festivals next year as well, using the same musicians who appear on the album. Songs on the disc are: 1.) Long Hard Road – Alan Jackson 2.) Mary – Jackson 3.) Appalachian Mountain Girl – Jackson 4.) Tie Me Down – Alan Jackson 5.) Way Beyond The Blue – Mark D. Sanders/Randy Albright/Lisa Silver 6.) Ain’t Got Trouble Now – Adam Wright 7.) Blue Ridge Mountain Song – Alan Jackson 8.) Blacktop – Alan Jackson 9.) Blue Side of Heaven – Alan Jackson 10.) There Is A Time – Rodney Dillard/Mitch Jayne 11.) Wild and Blue – John Scott Sherrill 12.) Knew All Along – Adam Wright/Shannon Wright 13.) Let’s Get Back to Me and You – Alan Jackson 14.) Blue Moon of Kentucky – Bill Monroe

Toby Keith‘s Oklahoma Twister Relief concert was a huge success, with emotionally-charged performancesbuoyed by a collective effort to help out victims of the deadly May tornadoes in the Sooner state. Country fans did their part in showing up to the event, breaking attendance records at Oklahoma University’s Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday (July 6). There were allegedly over 60,000 fans in attendance at the benefit show in Norman, Okla., and while proceeds haven’t yet been calculated, the fact that it had record-breaking attendance means it was probably a grand-slam event. With performances from some of country music’s biggest acts, the incredible set of musicians were on the top of their game, including Garth Brooks and Toby Keith’s daughter, Krystal Keith, plus Trisha Yearwood, Ronnie Dunn, rocker Sammy Hagar, John Anderson, Wade Hayes, Mel Tillis, Willie Nelson and Carrie Underwood (via satellite). It seems that everyone wanted to get involved in the twister relief benefit, as former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys football coach Barry Switzer introduced Tillis, and after the tornadoes tore through Keith’s hometown, Brooks immediately called his fellow singer up to volunteer his own musical services. “Everybody is here for the right reasons,” Keith said before the show. “You really have to see the devastation with your own eyes to appreciate how bad it is. It’s probably what a war zone looks like.” The country star was introduced by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, who said, “We may have had setbacks here, but we will have a really strong Oklahoma comeback.” The sold-out crowd got their fill of fan favorite songs, ranging from Keith’s ‘American Soldier’ to some of Brooks & Dunn‘s greatest hits, and even were treated to a 10-minute fireworks display. However, the focus of the show was on helping Oklahoma heal, and Keith shared a heart wrenching story of an 8-year-old boy he’d met at the children’s hospital who was badly injured and lost his mother in the storms. “I was hoping to have him with me today as an assistant, but he wasn’t well enough to come,” the star revealed. “All we can do is help as many as we can, but we can never replace things like lost family treasures.” As Oklahoma continues to recuperate, it’s incredibly encouraging to see 60,000 country music fans step up to help make a difference. Through the efforts of many, healing can begin to take place.

Yes, she’s had a couple of songs on country radio, and yes, she’s opening for Kenny Chesney these days. But now we know Kacey Musgraves has arrived: Her voice is on a national commercial for Oreo cookies. Kacey does a version of the Oreo “Wonderfilled” songin which she wonders what would’ve happened had she offered an Oreo to a cute guy she had a crush on in the past. As she’s singing, stick-figure Oreos act out the lyrics. It’s super-sweet—like, say, Oreos . . . and Kacey.

Country Music Hall of Fame member Jim Foglesong, a record label executive who helped launch the careers of Garth Brooks, George Strait and Reba McEntire, died Tuesday (July 9) at age 90. A classically trained musician, Foglesong also became a key player in the careers of such country music superstars as Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell, the Oak Ridge Boys and Don Williams. In his later years, he lectured at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music and headed the music business program at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. James Staton Foglesong was born July 26, 1922, in Lundale, W.Va., a tiny coal-mining community. His father was an accountant for a coal company. “My mother and dad loved music,” Foglesong told CMT.com in 2004, the year of his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. “Dad sang bass and played a little violin — not fiddle. … We sang and listened to music all the time, and it wasn’t country music. Country music at that time was not that prevalent. … We always had the Metropolitan Opera on the radio on Saturday afternoons. When we drove over to Logan County or Fayette County to visit our relatives, we sang from the time we started the car until we got there. Always in harmony.” During his teen years, Foglesong sang on a live 15-minute radio show in West Virginia called South Charleston Night. Soon after the U.S. entered World War II, Foglesong joined the Army but continued with his music. “We always had a quartet or a trio,” he said. He left the Army in 1946. Then, backed by the G.I. Bill of Rights, he was accepted at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he majored in voice. Upon graduating from Eastman in 1950, Foglesong moved to New York City with the aim of becoming a professional performer or music teacher. While searching for a steadier job, he served as a tenor soloist at First Baptist Church and sang in a double quartet at the Avenue R Temple, both in Brooklyn. After about a year in the city, a friend from Eastman helped him get a job at Columbia Records. “This was in ’51, and the [long-play] record was only three years old at the time,” he said. “So [Columbia] had these vast vaults of 78 rpm records that needed to be put on tape [to transfer to the new format]. In classical music, there was a lot of splicing to be done. A movement in a symphony can be 12 or 15 minutes in length, and on the old 78s, the most you could get on one side would be three and a-half or four minutes. … They needed a good musician to make sure the splicing was done appropriately.” That became his duty. Although he found the job challenging and enjoyed working with some of the classical musical giants of the day, Foglesong still wanted to be a performer. So when he was offered a singing spot in the touring company of Fred Waring’s Festival of Song, he accepted it. By this time, however, Columbia was so pleased with his work that the company offered him a leave of absence to tour, and he returned to the label after six months on the road. Following his return to Columbia, the company started a new label, Epic, where he went to work as “a musical flunky.” One assignment was to listen to foreign records of all types and help decide which ones Epic would release in America. On the side, he did background singing for Columbia recording acts. “Little by little, I started inching myself into production,” Foglesong recalled. The first album he produced for Epic was a simulated minstrel show called Gentlemen, Be Seated. “Back then, the LP was so new that it wasn’t star-driven,” he explained. “A lot of the albums were sold as concepts.” With both his singing and producing careers gaining momentum, Foglesong opted to abandon performing and work primarily in the record business. He still sang occasionally, once even providing vocal backup in the recording studio for the new rock ‘n’ roll group, Dion & the Belmonts. He stayed with Columbia/Epic for 13 years before taking a post at RCA Records, where he remained for another seven years. It was during his tenure at Columbia that he began coming to Nashville, first to listen to songs for the pop acts he was producing — among them the great Roy Hamilton — and later to record some of these same acts, including the Ames Brothers and Al Hirt. In the early ’70s, he relocated to Nashville to run the country division of Dot Records, whose roster then included Roy Clark, Hank Thompson, Tommy Overstreet and Joe Stampley. During his second year on the job, Foglesong happened to hear a master recording of Donna Fargo’s insanely peppy “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” and picked it up for Dot. The album that grew from that single sold more than a million copies. In 1973, Foglesong produced Clark’s first and only No. 1 single, “Come Live With Me.” Dot was taken over by ABC Records in the mid-1970s and transformed into ABC/Dot. One of Foglesong’s first signings to the newly combined label was Don Williams. Foglesong was subsequently named president of the label. In this capacity, he acquired for ABC/Dot another promising master, this one from the tiny Crazy Cajun label. It was Freddy Fender’s doleful “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” which zoomed up the charts in 1975 to hold the No. 1 spot for two weeks. Later on, ABC/Dot also signed Mandrell and the Oak Ridge Boys. MCA Records purchased and absorbed ABC/Dot in 1979, and Foglesong took over the label’s country division. During the next five years, he also presided over the recording fortunes of Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn andJohn Conlee — and signed Strait and Reba McEntire to the label. Foglesong left MCA in 1984 and took over the

A devoted Dolly Parton fan who owns an enormous collection of memorabilia has gotten the singer’s permission to open a museum exhibit devoted to her career in Nashville. Patric Parkey had already been collecting Parton items for 15 years when he bought one of the singer’s dresses at an auction in 1998. It was his first major acquisition, and from there, he tells MSN, “It kind of snowballed.” That’s putting it mildly. The 54-year-old retired office worker and his partner, Harrell Gabehart, now own a vast collection that they estimate numbers from 30,000 to 40,000 items, including Parton’s king-sized bed, wigs and stage wear, and even one of her old Christmas trees. They have spent a total of $250,000 on the collection, which they estimate is worth $500,000 now. Parkey says he spends 10 hours a day caring for the collection, which is overflowing the house in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where he and Gabehart moved three years ago so they could be closer to Dollywood. “Dolly’s from top to bottom, wall to wall, and in every bathroom,” he says. “I’ve got some wig heads, and I don’t have a place to put ‘em. A lot of ‘em are in the bathroom. I’ll have a friend come over, and they’ll say, ‘I can’t use the bathroom with her starin’ at me.’” The pair had the first public display from the collection at this year’s CMA Music Festival at the invitation of Stephen Shutts, whose company, Rockology, curated a small fraction of the collection for the exhibit. Parkey admits he was “petrified” when he got the offer, since none of his items had ever left the house before. But the exhibit turned out so well that he got the idea for a Dolly Parton museum in Music City, and he plucked up the courage to approach the singer — whom he has met many times before — for her permission. “She doesn’t know how much money we’ve spent, but she’s a businesswoman, so she said, ‘Go ahead. It’s time for you to start makin’ money,’” he says. “I was feelin’ bad for tryin’ to make money off it, but she gave us her blessing.” If Parkey and Gabehart are successful in finding a location and funding for the museum, they hope to re-create Parton’s old Dollywood apartment, which was dismantled to make room for offices. They currently own almost everything from the apartment, with the sole exception of the bathtub. Parton herself found her old mattress for them after she visited their home in 2011 and realized they were missing that key item. More than 400 Dolly Parton fans signed a book at the recent CMA Music Festival exhibit saying they would support a Dolly Parton museum.

The County Music Association (CMA) Board of Directors announced today that Steve Moore has submitted his resignation as Chief Executive Officer yesterday. Moore said, “After nearly four years in this position, and given the phenomenal success that the CMA team has achieved, this seemed like an appropriate time to step aside and pursue other corporate and philanthropic opportunities.” Troy Tomlinson, the Country Music Association Board of Directors Chairman said, “Steve Moore’s dedication and hard work as a CMA Board member, CMA Board leader, and as CEO have taken our organization to new levels of success. He’s been a tremendous asset to CMA due to his high regard in the industry as a resourceful and tenacious advocate for country music.” After serving as Interim CEO, then becoming CEO 2 1/2 years ago, Moore was instrumental in securing the new long-term extension of the television partnership for the annual CMA Awards, the CMA Music Festival special, and the “CMA Country Christmas” special all on the ABC Television Network. Under Moore, the 2013 CMA Music Festival hit a record attendance with an increase of 13 percent, more artist participation than ever before, and 11 music stages. He created and led the newly-formed The CMA Foundation. He also created the new CMA position of Community Outreach Manager to create a liaison with the music community, education community, and The CMA Foundation Board of Directors. The CMA also created CMA EDU, a dynamic college community outreach that brings country to colleges. It was launched at three Middle Tennessee college campuses and several ambassador campuses nationwide. Moore was also was involved bring country to the world stage through the U.K. Songwriters Series, the first ever International Marketing Summit in Paris and the inaugural Country 2 Country (C2C) Country Music Festival at the O2 center in London this year. A longtime member of the CMA Board of Directors (since 1989), Moore was elected president in 2008 and chairman in 2009 before being asked to fill in as interim director of CMA after former CEO Tammy Genovese resigned in December 2009. Moore has been prominent in the Nashville music community for 21 years, going back to his appointment as the first Executive Director of the concert venue Starwood Amphitheater and extending through his work as Senior Vice President of one of the world’s largest concert promotion, special event, and touring companies AEG Live!. He has won three SRO Awards as Promoter of the Year. In 1985, Moore moved to Nashville from his home state of Texas to open Starwood Amphitheater on the outskirts of town. In 1992, he launched Moore Entertainment and continued to work with country acts and blues festivals. After nine years, Moore sold his business to TBA Entertainment. He left in 2004 to reinvent his independent operation as Moore Entertainment Group, LLC, where he created the “CMT On Tour” franchise.

There is no stopping Florida Georgia Line. They are flying along at high speed — and gaining momentum. The popular duo’s debut single ‘Cruise’ has just made more country chart history entering into its 17th week (four months!) on top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The group, comprised of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, are holding steady at 17 weeks — the longest any song has held that same position in 50 years. And, they may be poised to tie a record set in 1962 by country music singer Leroy Van Dyke and his hit ‘Walk on By,’ which spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the charts, according to Roughstock. If FGL keep up steam, they may even approach the all-time record for most-weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country charts, which is 21 weeks, shared by three late country legends, Hank Snow, Eddy Arnold and Webb Pierce. When they were students at Belmont University, Hubbard and Kelley probably didn’t even imagine their names would be alongside of some of the biggest country names in such a short amount of time. ‘Cruise’ has been certified quadruple Platinum and has received so many accolades since it debuted. It set a chart record for most chart-topping weeks for a song by a duo, snagged the Breakthrough Music Video of the Year at the 2013 CMT Music Awards and has been the song at a variety of high profile events — from ‘The Voice’ season finale to the closing song at the CMTs. The FGL guys began their music career with attention that many artists only dream of. There’s lots of buzz about this duo — and for good reason. Congratulations to this hard-working, record-breaking team!

Little Jimmy Dickens, who has been absent from his beloved Opry stage for most of 2013, is set to undergo 3 weeks of short-term radiation treatments for a pre-cancerous condition on his vocal chords beginning next week. The Opry member’s doctors expect him to make a full recovery. “I can’t begin to express my sincere gratitude for the thoughts and prayers that are being sent my way,” Dickens said. “My family and I appreciate the support, and I can’t wait to return home to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in one of my favorite rhinestone suits someday soon.” The country legend most recently surprised Opry audiences with an appearance on April 12. His most recent scheduled Opry appearance came on Dec. 22, 2012. Dickens, 92, became a Grand Ole Opry member in 1948 and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. Among his enduring classics are Take An Old Cold Tater (And Wait), Country Boy, Out Behind The Barn and May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose. The Opry is inviting Dickens’ friends and fans to send cards and letters wishing the country music legend well. Correspondence should be sent to: Jimmy Dickens c/o Grand Ole Opry House 2804 Opryland Drive Nashville, TN 37214

Mumford and Sons reported on its web site today that ill band member Ted Dwane is recovering from brain surgery. The band also announced new dates in August and September and rescheduled shows cancelled due to Dwane’s illness. “Firstly, we are pleased to report that our beloved Ted is making a steady recovery from his operation and wearing his newly acquired shaven-headed hairstyle with enviable levels of suave. A huge, huge thank you to all for your messages of support; the man himself is rather overwhelmed,” the band said. Dwane suffered a blood clot near his brain, requiring surgery. “Wildcard – we are thrilled to inform you that the, all-be-it-abrupt, ending of the recent run of shows marks the closing of but one chapter in the book of ‘Mumford & Sons North American Tour Travels 2013’. ‘The Full English’ North American tour, featuring Bear’s Den and The Vaccines too, will commence on 26th August in Toronto,” the web site said. Tour dates are: Aug. 26- Molson Canadian Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON Aug. 28 – Forest Hills Stadium – Queens, NY (Gentlemen Of The Road presents) Aug. 29 – First Niagara Pavilion – Burgettstown, PA Sept. 2 – Klipsch Music Center – Noblesville, IN Sept. 3- Marcus Amphitheater – Milwaukee, WI Sept. 4 – Xcel Energy Center – Saint Paul, MN Sept. 9 – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre – Pelham, AL Sept. 10 – Centennial Olympic Park – Atlanta, GA Sept. 11 – Charter Amphitheatre – Simpsonville, SC Rescheduled dates are: Sept. 16 – New Orleans LA @ Mardi Gras World* Sept. 17 – Woodlands TX @ Cynthia Woods Pavilion* Sept. 18 – Dallas TX @ GEXA Energy Pavilion* Sept. 20 – Bonner Springs KS @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre* *supporting acts to be announced To purchase tickets, register for the ‘Invitation Onsale’. Register right now here. “It’s a simple process and the most effective way we’ve found to ensure the real fans get in and the ticket touts stay out,” the band’s web site said. Registration closes on July 3 and invites will be sent out from July 8.