Alan Jackson will headline the newly announced Jukebox Music Festival, a country music festival to be held in the northern California city of Anderson. But Jackson won’t be the only country superstar on hand at the Shasta District Fairgrounds July 20-22 next year. Joining him will be Kellie Pickler, Joe Nichols, Ricky Scaggs, Pam Tillis, Mark Chestnutt, Daryl Singletary and Asleep at the Wheel, reports the Record Searchlight newspaper. The paper also reported that festival organizers expect more big names to be announced in the near future.

On the still rudimentary and in-progress website, the event is called a “world class festival,” and has a page for sponsors and vendors to fill out applications for the three-day event. The Record Searchlight spoke with the Allan Falino, the event’s promoter for Entertainment Group Inc., who said around 100 vendors will be present at the festival this year. He went on to say that he hoped the festival will become an annual event that will help the community, particularly since state legislators cut funding stopped funding the annual district fair.

“I’ve always wanted to have a signature country music festival for the area that we could do year after year, because it pulls in a lot of people,” he told the newspaper. “It just really is a boost to the economy. People can plan their vacations around it.”

The festival currently is only the second summer concert scheduled for Alan Jackson. The other is a July 14 show at the Craven Country Jamboree, to be held in Craven, SK, Canada.

In other Alan Jackson news, the singer was recently inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame. As an inductee, Jackson received a large steel star on a sidewalk in Nashville on November 6. Other inductees that day were Les Paul, Kix Brooks, Manuel, Dr. Bobby Jones, Dottie Rambo and Dan Miller.

The early 2011 tour plans for Alan Jackson include dates for Australia and Canada, with just one date for the U.S. confirmed so far.

Currently Jackson is on a touring break.  He is scheduled to return to the road starting in February, when he will be visiting three Ontario cities in three days.  On February 11 he will play in Thackerville, OK, his only date in the U.S. that is currently on his itinerary.

The Australian tour by the Georgia native is scheduled for the early part of March.  It will include three dates at Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre.  Jackson will wrap up March with three performances in Western Canada.

Jackson’s new best-of set, “34 Number Ones,” was released in November.  It is a double disc album that includes country music chart toppers in addition to “As She’s Walking Away,” his new single featuring the Zac Brown Band, and two rare tracks.

“Freight Train,” Jackson’s latest studio album, was released in March.  The set peaked at the No. 7 spot on Billboard’s 200 chart.

Jackson’s debut album was released 20 years ago.  Earlier this month he received the Greatest Hits Award from the American Country Awards at their inaugural event.  This award was voted on by the fans and recognizes the honoree’s body of work.

The Alan Jackson show that had been scheduled originally for November 20 and postponed because Jackson had laryngitis and an upper respiratory infection, has been canceled.

The U.S. Bank Arena and the tour artists, unfortunately, were not able to find mutual availability for rescheduling the date.  Ticket holders for the concert on November 20 can received refunds from their  original place of purchase.  For ticket orders place via Ticketmaster’s phone system or at the website, refunds will be made automatically in upcoming days.  Other ticket holders will need to return to their original point of purchase in order to receive full refunds.

The first fans made their arrival before dawn.  However most people waited for approximately two hours to get tickets.

Fairhope’s Haley Gregorious said, out of  all those free concerts, this is my first time actually getting tickets.

Gulf Shores resident Janet Brown said, we love the Gulf Shores.  We also love Alan Jackson.  I am happy.

Alan Jackson’s October 30th concert is the final “Concerts for the Coast” show.  The goal of these performances was to bring revenue in and provide assistance for the local economy that has been ravage by the recent oil spill.

The concert by Jackson was intended to be just a bit different.  Locals were given tickets, so that they could blow some steam off following a bad year.

Orange Beach’s Brenda Iddins said, we really needed this.  We all love our coast here.  All summer we’ve been talking to people with businesses who are losing their businesses due to the fact that nobody is coming

All 6,000 tickets were given away in about one and a half hours.  Jurrell Jackson was the luckiest person.  He got that last ticket.

Jackson said, I was very lucky getting the last ticket.  It will be a great event at the Wharf.

It appears Jackson will go to the concert by himself, since there was just one ticket left.  However there will be 6,000 other people there with him.

Alan Jackson’s concert will take place on October 30, 2010.

Alan Jackson‘s first Australian tour has sold out.  Reportedly the outing is the fastest-selling tour of country music in Australian history.  It sold out just hours after it was put on sale.

Miranda Lambert will be featured as the special guest of Jackson’s.  The tour will kick off on March 4 in Melbourne, with shows to follow on March 7 in Sydney, on March 10-11 in Brisbane with a third Brisbane show added onto the schedule.  Tickets will be going on sale for the newly announced show on March 12 on October 14.

When Jackson was reached while on his boat regarding adding an additional date onto his tour of Australi  he laughed saying, I am from the South.  You can’t get any further South than that.  Let’s do it.

In Jackson’s double decade career he’s never been to Australia.  However both Australia and Alan have tried.  For 15 years they’ve tried to get me there.  I guess I am finally going there.  I know we have sold some records down there.  This will be fun.  It  wasn’t that I didn’t want to go before.  It just hasn’t been scheduled.  It’s quite a long time for being away from home.  This year it just seemed to work.  Last spring we almost went.  Things just didn’t work out.  Finally we are going.  I think there will be some good shows.

Is Alan taking his three daughters and wife?  Alan said, Denise might go.  However during that time the girls will be in school.  Anyway, they don’t really want to go.  The girls have already done so much.  I said to someone, I have stopped trying to make the girls do stuff.  When they are grown they will need to have things to do.  When they are older they will be able to do that stuff.

Alan definitely will play many of his hit songs, which are all included on Jackson’s forthcoming album, “34 Number Ones.”  The set features 34 of Jackson’s No. 1 hit songs in addition to three other tracks, including “As She’s Walking Away,” a collaboration with the Zac Brown Band.  The double disc set will be released to stores on November 23.

Seasoned country musician Alan Jackson will be hitting the road this fall in support of his upcoming release, his greatest hits compilation “34 Number Ones”.

Jackson will be cruising through fifteen cities starting in Springfield, MO on September 23 to kick things off.  He will also be in Nashville in October, his only stop for that month, and will visit eight more cities in November before wrapping up the tour in Cincinnati on November 20.

Aside from “34 Number Ones”, Jackson also released “Freight Train” last spring which marked his 16th studio release.  The record jumped at the no.7 position in the Billboard 200 upon its release and was the second best album in Billboard’s Top Country Albums List during its first week in the market.

“Number Ones”, on the other hand, is yet to hit the shelves but is slated for a November 23 release.  The album chronicles the 20 year journey the country act spent in the business featuring 34 of his chart topping hits, two unreleased singles and a new original material, “As She’s Walking Away” which is a collaboration Jackson did with fellow country acts the Zac Brown Band.

Jackson is currently in the running for a CMA Award this year for his collaboration with Lee Ann Womack, “Till the End”.  The singer can also add to his countless acclaims and honors the special citation he received from the ASCAP Founders earlier this month.

Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett and Tony Rice, guitar virtuoso, are making special guest appearances on “You Get What You Give,” the new album from Zac Brown Band due to be released on September 21.

John Driskell Hopkins, the band’s bassist, says they are part  of the record’s most interesting musical choices.  The new set follows “The Foundation,” the band’s double platinum album from 2008.  Jackson appears on “As She’s Walking Away,” the first single from the album.  Buffett performs on “Knee Deep.”  His appearance stems from a 2009 chance meeting.

Hopkins says, last year we met him during a camping trip.  We sat for awhile with him around the fire.  We developed a friendship very quickly.  He is down to earth, a very cool cat.  He doesn’t have a big ego and is a really nice guy.  We did lots of the album’s vocals in Key West.  He happened to be there.  We had him sit in with us.  It sounded great, like a Buffet song.  Whatever Jimmy sings does have that Buffet sound you know.

The connection with Jackson came from having the same producer, Keith Stegal.  The band has also opened for Jackson.  Hopkins said, while we were writing it we were thinking it would be really great having Jackson be part of the song.  It like an extended family gathering, which we really welcome.  He has sold more than 50 million records.    We knew getting him involved would give us a different and great fan base.

“You Get What You Give” contains 15 tracks.  Hopkins said, Zac says we are in the business of over serving.  The album includes “Colder Weather” which was fist demoed by the group at the Detroit area studio of Kid Rock‘s on the 2009 Memorial Day weekend.  It’s also included on “Pass the Jar,” their recent live album.  “I Play the Road” was written by Hopkins.  The ten minute version of “Who Knows” was also included on the “Live From Bonnaroo” 2009 EP.  Hopkins said, we have done that one a long time live.  Finally we recorded it.  It’s the first song written by the group in our catalog, Hopkins added.

The Atlanta based band, who won the Grammy Award this year as Best New Artist, will be touring through September 26, including the Sailing Southern Ground Cruise of five days during Labor Day weekend.  However the wives of Brown and Jimmy De Martini, the band’s fiddler, are expecting babies.  Therefore the band is building a studio as well in Atlanta and planning to take an extended break from touring, but will still be promoting “You Get What You Give” aggressively when it is released.

Hopkins says, we are planning to make some appearances on television and may do some concerts.  We  are hoping the original release will make a big splash.  I don’t know how much touring we will be doing to support the album directly, however we do  have some good stuff planned coming up.

On September 14 country singer Alan Jackson will be honored by the ASCAP with their Founders Award during the ASCAP 48th annual Country Music Awards ceremony.

The ASCAP issued a statement, describing the award as one of their most important honors that are awarded to composers and songwriters who have made contributions to music that are pioneering and that influence and inspire fellow music creators.

Some of the past Founders Award winners include Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Smokey Robinson, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney.

Tim DuBois, ASCAP Nashville managing executive and vice president said in a statement that Alan upholds country music’s songwriting legacy from the industry’s greatest icons.  For 20 years he’s celebrated chart topping hits, which is a testament of his ability for being able to directly speak to his audience.  I have had the honor of knowing Alan for over twenty years.  His amazing career achievements make me proud.

In addition to presenting the Founders Award, the ASCAP will also give out awards for songwriter of the year, publisher of the year, song of the year and artist/songwriter of the year.  The ceremony is invitation only and will be featuring performance from songwriters with multiple hits, who will be performing their most popular hit country singles.

The months leading up to this year’s Country Jam USA had Alan Jackson’s name on every poster or announcement as its headlining act. But the country legend humbly steps down to give the spot to fellow country superstar Miranda Lambert due to scheduling conflicts.

In a statement released by Julie Schaefer, managing director for this year’s Country Jam, she said that Alan Jackson will be performing in next year’s event instead and that ticket holders will be presented with several options in line with this recent development.

Those who have general admission tickets can either keep their tickets or exchange it for a pass at next year’s festival or can request a refund. The same goes for VIP and reserved ticket holders, but they can also exchange their ticket for a different show date at the festival.

To reiterate, Miranda Lambert will now be leading the pack of country music giants like Keith Urban, Gloriana, Trace Adkins, Billy Currington and Clay Walker (for the Saturday show) in the Country Jam Festival to be held on June 24 to 27 in Grand Junction, CO. To view the complete details, log on to the event’s official website.

Alan Jackson‘s songs are often about workers picking up a hammer and hard hat and southern men from small towns. The country star next month will be singing for the families who lost loved ones during the mining disaster at Upper Big Branch.

On April 5, 29 miners were killed and two others were injured when an explosion occurred at the Upper Branch Massey Energy coal mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. It was the worst mining disaster in the US since an explosion in 1970 occurred in Hyden, KY, killing 38 people.

The 2010 tour schedule for Jackson includes a visit to West Virginia. On May 22 he will perform at Charleston’s Civic Center, located approximately 30 miles north from the coal mine at Upper Big Branch. Jackson, to honor the victims from the mining disaster as well as their families, will donate profits from his show to Montcoal’s Mining Disaster Fund. West Virginia Council of Churches is administering the fund.

Joe Manchin, West Virginia’s Governor said, this donation is wonderful from Alan. On behalf of West Virginia, this is a great honor for the miners and their families along with the rescue workers. Alan is a world-renowned entertainer who doesn’t ever forget his small town beginnings or how important family is.

To help encourage fans to support the cause, part of the venue’s ticket prices have been lowered to only $20. Several suppliers and vendors have cut their prices as well for the performance.

Jackson is currently on tour in support of “Freight Train,” his sixteenth studio set, which was released this March. The album includes “Hard Hat and a Hammer.”

Jackson’s next performance is in Campaign, Ill at Assembly Hall. His calendar is booked through to September 29, where he will be performing in Minot, ND at the All Seasons Arena at the Norsk Hostfest.

Additional ticket information is available on Jackson’s official website.

Donations can be made through the website of the West Virginia Council of Churches.