Kix Brooks recently completed a small acting role in the upcoming movie Thriftstore Cowboy. According to an interview with the Associated Press, Brooks describes the film as “kind of a modern age urban cowboy scenario.” The star has also accepted a leading role in another film, The Last Ride, which will be shot in May in Arizona.
Brooks also hosts the radio show American Country Countdown and owns Arrington Vineyard in Tennessee. He is reportedly working on a new solo album that will be released on a Sony imprint.
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Condolences to artist Emma Jacob on the passing of her mother Linda Chapman during CRS last week. Ms. Chapman apparently died from a sudden heart attack while watching her daughter perform at an event. Donations can be made in her memory to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
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Alan Jackson launched his first tour of Australia over the weekend with a sold-out show at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Last night he was scheduled to headline CMC Rocks the Hunter Festival in Hunter Valley, then travel to Sydney today, and end with a three-night stand in Brisbane later this week. All six shows sold out within minutes when tickets went on sale last fall.
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GRAMMY-winning guitar virtuoso Steve Wariner has launched a series of short instructional video clips at www.stevewariner.com, in which he plays songs from his new Guitar Laboratory CD, demonstrating various licks and showing aspiring guitarists how to capture the same sounds.
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The Dixie Chicks documentary Shut Up & Sing will air on CMT for the first time. The film explores the controversy surrounding the band and the making of their 2006 album Taking the Long Way. The show airs Saturday, March 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.