The 56th Annual ACM Awards are less than two weeks away and we’re finally finding out who’ll be performing, and let’s just say it’s going to be a big night.

In total 25 artists are confirmed to perform more than 30 songs, including Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Mickey Guyton, Ryan Hurd, Alan Jackson, Elle King, Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, The War and Treaty, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, CeCe Winans, and Chris Young.

The 56th Annual ACM Awards, hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, airs live from Nashville April 18th on CBS (8 pm). The performances will take place in three iconic Music City venues – the Grand Ole Opry House, the historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Café.

Source: ACM Awards

Alan Jackson is ready to drop a new album. The singer announced that “Where Have You Gone,” his first album of new music in six years, will be released May 14th. The album, Alan’s 25th, will feature 21 songs, 15 of which he wrote himself.

“It’s a little harder country than even I’ve done in the past,” Jackson admits. “And it’s funny, I was driving and listening to the final mixes Keith sent me, and I started to tear up. I was surprised to get so overly emotional, but I just love this kind of music.”

And Alan has previewed the album by sharing the title track. Here’s the tracklist:

“Where Have You Gone”
“Wishful Drinkin’”
“I Can Be That Something”
“Where the Cottonwood Grows”
“Way Down In My Whiskey”
“Things That Matter”
“Livin’ On Empty”
“You’ll Always Be My Baby (Written for Daughters’ Weddings)”
“Where Her Heart Has Always Been (Written for Mama’s funeral with an old recording of her reading from The Bible)”
“The Boot”
“Back”
“Write It In Red”
“So Late So Soon”
“This Heart Of Mine”
“A Man Who Never Cries”
“Chain”
“I Was Tequila”
“I Do (Written for Daughters’ Weddings)”
“Beer:10”
“The Older I Get”
Extra Track: “That’s The Way Love Goes” (A Tribute to Merle Haggard)

Eric Church wants to get back to playing in front of fans and because of that he’s doing what he can to convince fans to get their COVID vaccine.

“I view [the vaccines] as a God sent miracle,” he tells “Billboard” in a new cover story. “It became very clear to me that the only way to really get back to normal is through vaccinations. You’ve got to get needles in arms.”

Eric thinks it’s so important that he actually came up with the idea of showing him completing his vaccination on the cover of the magazine. While Eric says he doesn’t “have a problem” with people who don’t want to get vaccinated, he says, “But I view this a little differently than most other things. We’ve never encountered this.”

Eric insists he just “wants to play shows,” and his stance on vaccines isn’t political, noting, “Politics’ job is to divide us – that’s how you win elections.” He adds, “Those things that unite us are music and sports…whether you’re a Democrat or Republican or whatever, you throw your arm around the person next to you. We become one,” insisting, “We need that. I need that.”

Source: Billboard

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani got engaged back in October, and now Blake has given folks a clue as to when they plan to make things official. During an appearance on “Today with Hoda and Jenna,” Blake spilled the beans that he and Gwen are hoping to tie the knot, “this summer.”

“With COVID-19, it looks like it may be OK, but I don’t know. So, that’s tentatively the plan. We’ll see,” he explained, adding, “I’m afraid if she and I wait until next November, then I’m right back into ‘The Voice’ cycle again. And I really want to be able to have plenty of time before and after.”

While both Miley Cyrus and Adam Levine said they were interested in performing at the wedding, Blake isn’t really sure that’s going to happen.

“You know, it’s starting to sound like a Coachella lineup here all of a sudden. I’ve got all these superstars saying they’re going to do it,” he said. “I hope so, I don’t know. I’m telling you, I’m not just saying this because it’s the line, it’s — we really don’t know.”

He adds hat he’d love to have “this amazing concert wedding,” but the pandemic may put a crimp in plans like that. He explains, “we’re just waiting every day, just like everybody else, to see what our summer is going to look like and then go from there.”

And the wedding wasn’t the only topic Blake talked about. He also discussed his upcoming album “Body Language,” Ariana Grande joining “The Voice” ad his new hard seltzer with Smithworks. Check it out to the right.

Source: Today