Perennial best seller George Strait is packing up the tour van again next year to hit the road for a string of recently announced tour dates. Ok, ok, this is George Strait, so “tour van” probably actually means lavishly equipped bus and/or private jet. Still, the 12 dates announced for January and February 2012 will be his first outing supporting his most recent album, Here For a Good Time, which was released last month.

Here For a Good Time, which entered the country chart at number one, is Strait’s 39th studio album. The title track for the album was the first single released and, at number two on the country chart this week, marks Strait’s 73rd Top 5 single, out of 89 singles he has released (84 of those have placed in the top 10). In addition, he’s enjoyed 57 number one hits and Here For a Good Time marks his 24th number one album. With those kinds of numbers, it doesn’t have to be said that tickets for these shows will go fast.

The tour will kick off January 27 in Lafayette, La. and will continue through February 25, also hitting towns in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, Nevada, Utah and Kansas. Joining Strait on the tour will be Martina McBride, who released her eleventh album—appropriately title Eleven—earlier this week.

Strait released a statement concerning McBride’s presence on the tour:

“I love Martina. She’s been on our tours before and she’s great. I’m really looking forward to the tour. Martina will definitely make it a special night.”

In addition to those dates, Strait also will be playing a benefit for victims of the wildfires that swept through central Texas this summer. The show will be held October 17 in Austin, and other performers will include Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and the Dixie Chicks.

George Strait, with his new album scheduled to be released early next week to stores, is preparing to take to the road. Strait announced he will start to tour in January 2012. However, he didn’t reveal any specific dates or cities. He did however announce that Martina McBride will be opening for him.

In his press release, Strait said, I love Martina. She has toured with us before. She is great. I really am looking forward to this tour. The night will definitely be special with Martina there.

This fall, McBride is also releasing a new album. On October 11, “Eleven” will be available, featuring “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” and “Teenage Daughters.”

“Here For a Good Time,” the 39th album from Strait, will be available on September 6. The featured title track is “A Showman’s Life,” a duet Strait sings along with Faith Hill. The set contains seven songs co-wrote by Strait. It is Strait’s most personal album from him in a long time according to the early reviews. Strait will be releasing a new greatest hits compilation on September 13.

On June 14, Alabama, the country music legends, will be reuniting to perform a rare concert. The show will be for a good cause. “’Bama Rising: A Benefit Concert for Alabama Tornado Recovery” is set to take place in Birmingham, AL at BJCC Arena. Other artists that are scheduled to perform include Ashton Shepherd, Darius Rucker, Kellie Pickler, Brad Paisley, Jake Owen, David Nail, Montgomery Gentry, Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Taylor Hicks, Sara Evans, Sheryl Crow, Luke Bryan, Bo Bice, Dierks Bentley and Rodney Atkins.

In a statement concerning the show, Randy Owen of Alabama said, I am hoping this will bring help and happiness to my fellow Alabama citizens. I think it’s very important to do this benefit. I want all Alabamians to feel a part of this. I am hoping we can pull together and help get through Alabama’s worst natural disaster ever. I appreciate my country music friends and everyone who is involved or helped.

Funds that are raised at “Bama Rising” will benefit victims of the tornadoes that ripped through Alabama and other parts of the south in April 2011. In addition to proceeds from ticket sales, additional funds are being raised through event corporate sponsorships.

Tickets for the concert will be going on sale on May 20 via Ticketmaster and range in price from $150 to $24. VIP packages will also be available.

After his surprising victory in the recently concluded NBC talent show “America’s Got Talent” last summer, Hancock County’s very own Michael Grimm will be coming home not only to a heroes’ welcome celebration, but to pay it forward as well, by co-headlining a special weekend show at the Hancock County Multi-Purpose Center with country music superstar Martina McBride, which aims to uplift the tourism industry in the area amidst the devastating effects of the oil spill which have severely affected the economy of the states in the gulf region.

The two-night gig will have Grimm performing on the first night on November 19 while McBride performs on November 20 alongside Louisiana native and buzzed artist Marc Broussard.  Both shows will begin at 7 PM with gates opening at 5 PM.  Both nights will also feature an array of opening acts to be announced later.

Tickets for each show go for $14.95 but if you opt to see both shows, you can get tickets for both nights at a special bundled price of $20.  Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster booths located in select video stores or by calling 1-800-745-3000.  Those who would be checking-in in Hancock County hotels affiliated with the event on the night of the concerts will receive a complimentary pair of tickets.

The annual “Stand Up to Cancer”  event, which is aimed at increasing cancer awareness, uplifting the hopes of those afflicted with the disease and raising funds for continuous cancer research, will once again bring the biggest names in pop culture – celebrities, sports and news personalities and famous cancer survivors – for a night of good will, up-to-date knowledge and information, and a celebration of life and hope for both cancer patients and survivors.

Featuring performances from Stevie Wonder, Queen Latifah, Martina McBride, Natasha Bedingfield, Dave Stewart and Aaron Neville, the SU2C event will be hosted by Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Diane Sawyer and will feature the newest findings, studies and insights on cancer research as relayed by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the latest development on the SU2C dream teams and inspiring stories from famous cancer survivors.

Among the cancer survivors attending the event are Christina Applegate who survived breast cancer, champion cyclist Lance Armstrong who survived testicular cancer, “Dexter” star Michael C. Hall whose Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is currently in remission, uterine cancer survivor and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher, Emmy nominee and “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara who successfully battled thyroid cancer and many more.

The hour-long event will be simultaneously broadcasted over 18 channels, among which are NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, HBO, E!, Showtime, Discovery Health, and VH1 to name a few.  The event will be aired on September 10 at 8 PM EST and PST, and 7 PM CST.

The first telethon on a national basis for raising money for Tennessee flood victims just got more air time and more star power. Keb’Mo, Martina McBride and Keith Urban are recent additions to the performers who will play at the GAC “Music City Keep on Playin’- A Benefit for Flood Relief.” They join performers that were announced earlier, including Will Hoge, Randy Montana, Jaci Velasquez CeCe Winans, Kellie Pickler, Rodney Atkins, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum and Brad Paisley.

James Denton, Nashville native and actor from “Desperate Housewives,” has also been recruited by GAC to be a co-host for the telethon, along with Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Brad Paisley’s wife and actress from “According to Jim.” Other presenters include Bill Cody, Storme Warren, Nan Kelley and Suzanne Alexander of GAC, Gina ad Pat Neely from the Food Network Show “Down Home With the Neelys,” as well as Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown from the show “Passport to great Weekends” and Adam Richman from “Man v. Food.”

Due to increased participation and overwhelming demand coming from the community in Nashville, three extra hours have been added to the telethon. During those hours volunteers and celebrities will be answering phones to collect the donations that are called in. All proceeds will go to Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The organization will be distributing funds to the needy.

GAC’s telethon for flood relief will be aired live from the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville at 8 pm on Sunday May 16 and be re-aired at 11:00 pm as well as 2:00 am. The phone lines will remain open. The telephone will be carried on satellite Sirius/XM radio as well.

Middle Tennessee experienced its worst flood in many decades, and quite possibly the worst ever. Over 15 inches of rain descended on the area during a period of 48 hours. A federal disaster was declared, with damages totally over $1.5 billion. Thousands of people lost their homes. A majority of them did not have flood insurance to assist with rebuilding.

A couple new dates have been added by Trace Adkins and Martina McBride to their co-headlining “Shine All Night” tour, which started lighting stages up all over the country since it launched last November.

Included in the new dates are two shows in Canada. The pair will be in Saint John, New Brunswick on March 16 and in Halifax, Nova Scotia on March 17. They will also visit Norfolk VA on April 24. The outing will be kicking off in Little Rock, AR on January 22, with the trek stretching over four months. Currently they are scheduled to visit 33 cities.

Three of the concerts now scheduled at the end of the outing- Greensboro, NC on April 30; Duluth, GA on May 1; and Columbia SC on May 2- were rescheduled. They had been originally set as dates for December, but were moved because of scheduling conflicts. Blake Shelton will be filling in for Adkins on these dates.

“Shine,” the latest and 10th studio set from McBride, was released last March. The album was co-produced by Dann Huff (Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood) and McBride, and hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums’ chart. The set also spawned “Ride,” the album’s hit single.

“Shine” follows “Waking Up Laughing” from 2007, which debuted on Billboard’s 200 chart in the No. 3 spot and spawned the hit singles “For These Times” “How I Feel,” and “Anyway.”

Adkins continues supporting his 10th album, entitled appropriately as “X.” The set was released last fall and made it to the No. 7 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. “Muddy Water,” the lead single from the album, continues climbing the country charts. It can be found streaming no the MySpace page of Adkins.

In this time of making your hard earned dollar go further, Martina McBride and Trace Adkins are offering a two-for-one special. The two country stars will be teaming up for a winter tour that will stretch through 40 different cities. This is a co-headlining tour so both artists will be playing their normal full sets. The “Shine All Night” tour is sponsored by Sunny D and GMC. For complete tour information, visit Martina McBride Tour.

McBride released her most recent album “Shine” in March which climbed to the number 1 spot on the Billboard Country album charts. The album, produced by Dann Huff (Carrie Underwood, Bon Jovi), spawned the popular single “Ride.”

Adkins is supporting his 10th Album entitled “X” which was released last fall. His single “Muddy Water” has been making progress on the country singles charts as the record peaked at 7 on the country charts.

2009-10 Martina McBride / Trace Adkins Tour Dates
November 2009
20 – Moline, IL – I Wireless Center
21 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
22 – Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center

December 2009
3 – Colorado Springs, CO – World Arena
4 – Park City, KS – Hartman Arena
5 – Oklahoma City, OK – Ford Center
10 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum Complex
11 – Columbia, SC – Colonial Center
12 – Duluth, GA – Gwinnett Center
13 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Arena

January 2010
22 – Little Rock, AR – Verizon Arena
23 – Independence, MO – Independence Event Center
24 – Council Bluffs, IA – Mid-America Center
29 – Reading, PA – Sovereign Center
30 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center
31 – Fairfax, VA – Patriot Center

February 2010
11 – Dallas, TX – Nokia Theatre
12 – Beaumont, TX – Ford Park
13 – Bossier City, LA – CenturyTel Center
14 – Pensacola, FL – Pensacola Civic Center
19 – Buffalo, NY – HSBC Arena
21- Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
25- Ft. Wayne, IN – Allen County War Memorial
26- Cleveland, OH – Wolstein Center
27- Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
28- Highland Heights, KY – The Bank of Kentucky Center

March 2010
5 – Champaign, IL – Assembly Hall
6 – Evansville, IN – Roberts Stadium
12 – Richmond, VA – Richmond Coliseum
14 – Manchester, NH – Verizon Wireless Arena
26 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
27 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center
28 – DeKalb, IL – NIU Convocation Center

April 2010
8 – Loveland, CO – Budweiser Events Center
9 – Rapid City, SD – Don Barnett Arena
10 – Bismarck, ND – Bismarck Civic Center

Martina McBride has altered her schedule and also added some new dates onto her “Waking Up Laughing Tour” for this summer and fall. The trek will launch this week.

The outing is scheduled to kick off in Clarkston, MI on July 11 and visit over 30 amphitheaters all over the US through the middle of October. Shows that have been added since last check include Red Wing, MN; Albuquerque NM; Bakersfield, CA; Missoula, MT and Gilford, NH.

Jack Ingram, the songwriter/singer based out of Texas who appeared on the arena tour of McBride’s earlier in the year, continues as special guest. The opening slot will be shared by Jason Michael Carroll and Chris Young.

According to a recent press release, “Waking Up Laughing,” McBride’s tour in 2007, was a Top 10 tour for the year across all genres. The album with the same name was released last year, debuting in the No. 3 spot on Billboard’s 200 chart and spawning “Anyway,” the fastest selling single for McBride to date, along with the radio hits “For these Times” and “How I Feel.”

“Martina McBride: Live in Concert,” the first live set for the Grammy winning singer, was released in April. It includes a CD of eight songs along with a DVD that contains a recording of her concert at I wireless Center in Moline, IL last September. The film has been shown on “Great Performances,” the PBS-TV series, all over the country.

McBride has won Vocalist of the Year from the Country Music Association four times and has sold over 16 million albums and had 22 Top Ten singles over her career of 15 years.

Martina McBride has lined up her first set of concert dates for 2008 as she continues to push the momentum behind “Waking Up Laughing,” her latest album.

To close out the year, McBride has shows booked for Friant, CA and Washington, D.C. Her 2008 tour will launch in Evansville, IN on January 18. Currently the dates for McBride stretch from the Midwest over to the East Coast until early March.

The shows will be opened this time around by Lady Antebellum, the up and coming trio from Nashville, and Jack Ingram, songwriter/singer from Texas.

According to a recent press release, McBride’s 2007 outing, which ended in August, was seen by over 250,000 fans and visited 52 cities. It was the No. 1 tour for a solo woman county outing ranked by Pollstar.

The ninth album from McBride, “Waking Up Laughing,” marks the first time she has served as artist writer and producer. “Anyway,” the debut single from the album, is the fastest-selling single for the career of McBride. It has also been nominated for three CMA Awards. McBride is also in the running for the award Top Female Vocalist. She has won the award four times. McBride is currently tied with Reba McEntire for most Female Vocalist CMA wins.

McBride over the holiday season is also supporting a reissuing of her set “White Christmas,” released earlier in the month. The set is an updated version and includes an additional four recordings: “Jingle Bells,” “Winter Wonderland” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” a duet previously released with Dean Martin.

Over her career of 15 years, McBride has had 22 singles in the Top 10 and sold over 16 million albums.