Trisha Yearwood Teams Up With Big Machine Records And Austin City Limits Lineup Released

Country stars Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Trace Adkins and songwriters Hillary Lindsey, Marv Green, Troy Verges, Rivers Rutherford, George Teren and Jamey Johnson were all honored by their performing rights organizations for their recent chart-topping successes.

Consumers no longer need to buy an album if they want that cool jam they heard on the radio — and in growing numbers, they’re choosing 99-cent downloads over $15 CDs.

Some worry this trend is worsening the quality of albums as a cohesive musical work, and that label executives are more and more interested in quick hits than lasting music or artists.

“We’re little dragon fighters powered by Red Bull,” Borchetta said of his company.

Turner is an artist with serious credibility among traditional country, new country, bluegrass and gospel audiences. He has the ability and charm to become, if he wants to, the Roy Acuff or Vince Gill of his generation - An ambassador of country music, the keeper of the flame and a true gentleman. Someone who would be a great representative of the genre’s most important establishment.

I happen to agree.

Fowler will pull out new tunes from an upcoming album that will feature a duet with George Jones, who covered Fowler’s redneck anthem “Beer, Bait and Ammo.”

“I can’t believe we got him,” Fowler said. “We just called up and asked him to do it. He didn’t have the time, though.

“After we’d already cut all 12 songs for the record, he called and said wanted to be on it. So I said if George is ready, then we want to do it … today, anytime he wants.”

Co-written by Fowler, it’s called “Me and the Boys.”

“It’s a drinking song, oddly enough,” Fowler said. “Imagine me doing a drinking song — or George, for that matter.”

Lately I’ve been finding myself a little bit jealous of all the high quality shows that San Antonio has been having.