Darius Rucker Converting Country Fans

Darius Rucker has been making the trek thru the country bars and small music arena’s playing some of his songs from Hootie and The Blowfish, hey – he is the guy that everyone knows as the singer from the chart topping band from Myrtle Beach, and in truth some people have come to see the Frontman from the award winning band, but Darius is now focused on getting his name known in all of the Country Music circles, and is willing to do the hard work and pay the dues that any newcomer has to do, he has said so himself, and does not expect any handouts from the country stars, even though he has probably earned it.

Well the hard work is starting to pay off in his favor, and the South Carolina native currently has a song in the Top 20 Country Songs Chart with his hit “It Won’t Be Like This For Long”, and is currently on tour to support the current country hit song, and for the critically acclaimed album Learn To Live. He already has had a No. 1 song with “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”, which he co-wrote, and you can watch one of Country’s newest stars perform on his current road trip when it passes thru your area, you can check out the tour dates at the Official Darius Rucker Website.

For the fans that follow golf, they also know the budding country star for the charity golf tournament he does every year the day after the Historic “Masters Golf Tournament”. The annual golf event is held in North Myrtle Beach, and the
Hootie Charity Pro-Am is a lot of fun for the players and for the fans who watch, and has raised millions of dollars for children’s education through the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation, the funds have been a large donater to the development of the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, helping turn it into into the nation’s top program.

Dolly Parton To Release New Album at Cracker Barrel

Dolly Parton will be offering her latest album “Backwoods Barbie” at your local Cracker Barrel and the country star will also will begin offering her commemorative book.
The album, includes three new songs from Parton’s catalog — Rose of My Heart, Hallelujah Holiday and Berry Pie . It is no secret that that Dolly Parton is a big fan of the Cracker Barrel, and the Tennessee native wants her fans to know how much she enjoys the family restaurant’s and stores.

Dolly has been in the news lately, on April 7th her production of the Broadway play “9-5“, based on the hit movie, is scheduled for opening, and then the new “Hannah Montana” coming out this summer has stated that they would be bringing back the “Aunt Dolly” part for the Miley Cyrus movie, but Dolly herself has said that her part in the movie did not make the final cut, and she was on the Larry King show talking about her past and current life.

Dollywood also has a new show being put together for the May 9th opening named “Sha-Kon-O-Hey”, that will be playing all summer at the popular theme park. To stay up with the busy life of Dolly Parton and see what her next project is you can go to her Dolly Parton Music website.

Caitlin and Will – Country’s Newest Duo

Maryland native Caitlin Lynn(Fisher) and Will Syder, the winners of Country Music Television’s Can You Duet first season, are getting ready for their first single to be officially released by Columbia Records Nashville. Will, who grew up in Ohio and Kentucky, was not paired with Caitlan to start, but after singing with other partners for the duo competition, the two were chosen to stay together for the hit television series.

Their single, “Even Now”, has just been getting the initial promotion for radio airplay, starting this week. Joey and Rory, who made their first presence known on the CMT series, were finalists, and then after being signed by Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records, had success with their first release, “Cheater, Cheater“. Another popular duo from the show “The Coppola Sisters” signed with Big Machine Records, Taylor Swift’s record company, and their debut single will make the rounds to country radio stations in March.

OK, so you think you are ready for your duo singing career, then you may want to go to the auditions for the new season of Can You Duet, and you can make your talent known when the the screening starts March 7 at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville.

To hear the new song, you can go to the Caitlin and Will MySpace Page and listen to “Even Now”. Both the performers look absolutely wonderful, and seems that they have been working hard on their music, and it really shows in the songs on the new album.

Here is a video of Caitlin and Will singing “It’s Only Love” originally done by Bryan Adams and Tina Turner………

Country Stars to Play Charity Golf in Las Vegas

Most people don’t think of golf when they talk about Rascal Flatts, but the top country group will be the host when the 6th Annual Academy of Country Music Celebrity Golf Classic, also known as the Diane Holcomb Emergency Fund Golf Tournament, is played on Saturday April 4th.

This a chance for fans to play with their country music heroes, or to just watch the fun before the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas – Hosted by Reba McEntire on Sunday April 5th. The money from the celebrity golf tournament will go to offer immediate financial aid and support to members of the country music community who find themselves in need.

Some of the players from last year included Kix Brooks, Blake Shelton, Chuck Wicks and Bryan White. The golf course for the charity players will be the one and only TPC Las Vegas, this is where many of the current LPGA Tour PGA Tour players practice and play.

There are other events surrounding the tournament such as an award for ACM Artist of the Decade Special Honoring George Strait – This Academy honor is presented to on an artist only once every decade, and this year the top selling and brightest stars in the country music industry will be paying tribute to the “King of Country” George Strait. Only four other acts have received this accolade, including Marty Robbins in 1969, Loretta Lynn in 1979, Alabama in 1988 and Garth Brooks in 1998. After the award ceremony there is an impromptu get together of all the performers who play some music and maybe have a drink or two, this is always considered to be the fun time for the country music stars.

Taylor Swift Music Big in Europe

Not that it should come as any surprise, but Taylor Swift is just as popular in Europe as she is the United States. What may be kind of a shock, is the fact that the “Fearless” album has not even been released overseas yet. The public response has been overwhelming for the 19 year old in England, and when the CD is officially released March 2nd, you can expect the Taylor Swift hysteria to continue, but this time with a european flavor.

The U.S. will get a chance to see the singer in Plant City at the Florida Strawberry Festival March 1st, if you can get tickets. Then it is off to Australia for Miss Swift, as she has some shows scheduled for March 5-12, hopefully she can stop off in Hawaii on her way back, and take a deserved break before she starts her long tour of North America in the summer of 2009, you can check out the full schedule at the Official Tayor Swift Website.

She recently released the official video version of “White Horse“, and it jumped right into first place for country videos, this should not come as a surprise as the song is in the current Top 20 Country Songs and will probably make it into the top spot with the help of the new video.

You can check out Taylor Swift’s “White Horse” video below……………