>>The Americana Music Association has announced the lineup for its annual SXSW showcase, set for March 17 in Austin, Texas. Returning to historic Antone’s once again, the event will feature performances by Emmylou Harris, the Old 97’s, Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, Abigail Washburn and the Band of Heathens. Visit www.sxsw.com.
Marty Stuart
>>Marty Stuart will celebrate 10 years of his annual LATE NIGHT JAM on June 8 beginning at 10:00 PM at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Stuart started the CMA sponsored event as a way to welcome fans to country music’s biggest week, and over the past 10 years it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for MusiCares and has become the kick off event for CMA Music Fest. Over the past 10 years, artists such as Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Porter Wagoner, Neko Case, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jerry Lee Lewis and many more surprise guests have joined Marty and his Fabulous Superlatives for a marathon of live music. The 2011 line up will be announced in the coming weeks, but tickets will go on sale this Friday, Feb. 11 at 10:00 AM CST through Ticketmaster. Visit www.martystuart.net
>>James Otto will appear on CMT’s Southern Fried Flicks on Sun., Feb. 13 at 7 pm CST.
>>Blake Shelton has launched not-so-traditional Valentine’s Day personal greetings for fans on www.BlakeShelton.com. The Valentine’s Day “Blake Mail” has some of Shelton’s witty, off-color ways to tell the one you love “Happy Valentine’s Day” with: “I ‘Balls’ You,” “I Can’t Wait to See…Who You Are When I’m Not Looking” and “On This Special Day…You Can Kiss My Country Ass.”
>>From now until February 14, fans can visit Brett Eldredge’s site at www.BrettEldredge.com and send a Valentine’s Day greeting to their friends, co-workers and one-time lovers. The card will include Eldredge’s playfully, flirtatious song, “It Ain’t Gotta Be Love” along with a personalized greeting from the sender.
>>Zac Brown Band is offering the world premiere of this new video “Colder Weather” on Valentine’s Day exclusively on www.zacbrownband.com.
>>Colt Ford’s new single “Country Thang,” is now available on iTunes. The song is the first release from Ford’s forthcoming album, and his third studio release, Every Chance I Get (Average Joe’s Entertainment), which will debut May 3, 2011.
Margaret Durante
>>Country newcomer Margaret Durante recently sang guest lead vocals on two songs that Hot Rush Productions recorded for Disney’s new tween series, Shake It Up. Both ”Watch Me” and “Break Out” have been featured in recent episodes of the show that airs on Sundays at 8:30pm ET/PT. “Watch Me” was used as the theme song during the season’s premiere episode, which garnered 6.2 million viewers and has totaled an estimated 500,000 views from fan-posted videos on YouTube. Visit www.margaretdurante.com.
