Shania Twain and Hilary Lindsey were among the artists inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Shania was inducted in the contemporary songwriter-artist category, and via a video acceptance speech hailed songwriting as her “saving grace.” The Isaacs honored Shania with a performance of “Forever and Always” and “You’re Still The One.”

Meanwhile Hillary was inducted in the contemporary songwriter category. In her speech she thanked her “Love Junkies” co-writers, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose saying, “I love y’all for more reasons than I can count.” She also gave a shout out to her fellow songwriters, noting, “You are the ones who make up the pulse of this town,” adding, “and I am beyond lucky to be part of it.” Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban paid tribute to her together performing the hits she wrote for them, including “Jesus Take The Wheel” and “Blue Ain’t Your Color.”

• Other inductees this year included Gary Nicholson, in the contemporary songwriters category; Steve Wariner, in the veteran songwriter-artist category; David Malloy, in the veteran songwriter category and Chips Moman, inducted under the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame’s new legacy category.
• Artists paying tribute to them include Rhett Akins, who performed Malloy’s Eddie Rabbitt hit “Drivin’ My Life Away,” Vince Gill honored Nicholson with a performance of “One More Last Chance,” with Delbert McClinton, Shawn Camp and Michael Rhodes, and Garth Brooks paid tribute to Wariner with “Holes in the Floor of Heaven.”

Source: Billboard

Loretta Lynn may have passed away earlier this month, but her musical legacy lives on and last night some of the biggest names in country music appeared at the Grand Ole Opry House for “Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life & Music of Loretta Lynn” a public memorial honoring the legend.

The show opened with taped words from Loretta herself, thanking her fans and her friends, for the “life and the love you have given to me,” and then Wynonna Judd, the Gaithers and Larry Strickland sang the Christian hymn “How Great Thou Art.”

After some words from host Jenna Bush Hager, Keith Urban performed “You’re Looking At Country,” but first he played a voicemail message from Loretta inviting him to her birthday party in 2018 with Loretta sharing, “Hey Keith, this is Loretta and I’m having a birthday and I wanna see your butt there.”

• Among the night’s other performances: good friend Tanya Tucker performed “Blue Kentucky Girl,” Darius Rucker performed “Fist City,” Alan Jackson performed “Where Her Heart Has Always Been,” George Strait sang “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’(With Lovin’ On Your Mind),” Little Big Town performed “Let Her Fly,” Loretta’s good friend Jack White, who was a last minute addition to the tribute, performed “Van Lear Rose,” the title track of her 2004 comeback album, which he produced, Emmy Russell and Lukas Nelson performed “Lay Me Down,” Loretta’s duet with Lukas’ dad Willie Nelson, Margo Price performed “The Pill,” Brandi Carlile performed “She’s Got You,” and The Highwomen sang her classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

• There were also several artists to shared their thoughts and memories of Loretta, including Kacey Musgraves, Barbara Mandrell, Kid Rock, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire  Sissy Spacek, and more.

• Tim McGraw and Faith Hill talked about Loretta’s trailblazing when it comes to songwriting about women and for women, with Faith holding back tears. “Loretta was unabashedly honest about hardships and joys of being a wife and mother, a woman loving life — loving, lying ,cheating, having babies, not having babies…she sang about it all,” Faith said. “She was fierce and proud of who she was, where she came from and how she lived her life,” adding, “She didn’t push boundaries for women in country music, she shredded them.”

• Taylor Swift, even made a surprise appearance by video, sharing, “I’m so grateful to Loretta for being an example, not only for songwriters everywhere, but more specifically female songwriters,” adding, “She was so ahead of her time. The way she exercised brutal, truthful, fearless honesty every time she sat down to write a song is something that changed music forever and paved the way for every songwriter who’s trying to be truthful and honest today.”

Alan Jackson, who earlier this month received the Artist Of A Lifetime award by CMT, is getting yet another huge honor.

The singer is set to receive the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 56^th Annual CMA Awards taking place next month, with Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Carrie Underwood and Lainey Wilson paying tribute to him with a performance on the show.

“We are thrilled to honor Alan Jackson this year with the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award,” Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer, shares. “A three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, he is responsible for so many iconic moments in CMA Awards history,” noting, “Just as Alan has been influenced by many Country legends throughout his career, he too has inspired a generation of artists to stay true to the authenticity of Country Music.”

• Meanwhile, Dierks took to social media to share how important Alan has been to him, noting, “The first country singer I ever met in Nashville when I moved here in 1994, was Alan Jackson….and by “met” I mean stalked!,” explaining that he saw him in a mall and got to shake his hand. “Going to be a special night at the #CMAAwards this year… humbled to be honoring Alan Jackson receiving the 2022 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award with a live performance.”

The 56^th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will air November 9^th at 8 pm on ABC, live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

You can now smell like Miranda Lambert. The singer has launched a new fragrance as part of Idyllwind line at Boot Barn.

The new smell, Idyllwind Velvet Rodeo, inspired by her song “Actin’ Up,” is described as having a “rich jasmine, spicy violet iris and vanilla suede.” It comes in a diamond-cut glass bottle complete with a tassel atomizer and a reusable keepsake bottle.

Miranda notes, “This scent was created for all you strong-spirited, take no prisoners, queen of hearts. Saddle up… and go get ‘em girls!”

Source: Music Row

The CMA Awards are two weeks away and the first set of performers for the show have now been revealed.

Confirmed to perform on the telecast are Kelsea Ballerini, with Kelly Clarkson and Carly Pearce, singing Kelsea’s track “You’re Drunk, Go Home,” along with Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Morgan Wallen and Zac Brown Band, featuring Jimmie Allen and Marcus King.

In addition, the show is set to open with a star-studded tribute to country legend Loretta Lynn.

The 56th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will air November 9th at 8 pm on ABC, live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Newcomer Lainey Wilson leads this year’s the pack of nominees with six nominations, followed by Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, and Chris Stapleton, with five each.

Source: CMA