J.D.'s Dirt- 6/23

COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS

NASHVILLE RISES AND ROCKS – SANDRA BULLOCK MAKES SURPRISE APPEARANCE! Tim McGraw and Faith Hill held their Nashville Rising benefit concert last night to help victims of the recent flooding and Sandra Bullock was the big surprise guest of the night! Sandra introduced Faith before she sang and tried to play a few chords on a guitar before letting the professionals take over. The final amount of money raised from the event isn’t known yet but is projected to be two to three million dollars. All of the money will go to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and Tim homes people walked away from the concert with a little less stress on their shoulders.  “I think more than anything, when people walk away, just that they had a good time—that they forgot about troubles for awhile. I don’t want them to really go away thinking about the disaster as much as thinking about that it was fun.” Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Montgomery Gentry, Amy Grant, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes, Julie Roberts, Blake Shelton, Michael W. Smith, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and ZZ Top all performed during the nearly four-and-a-half hour long concert. Several check presentations were made during the night which LeAnn Rimes hopes gave victims of the flood a sense of optimism. “Hopefully we can just kind of—this’ll be the beginning to giving these people hope. And hopefully just lending a hand.”

RECAP OF PERFORMERS AND VIDEO MESSAGES

Carrie Underwood – “Undo It,” “Jesus Take The Wheel”

Blake Shelton – “Some Beach,” “Hillbilly Bone,” featuring Trace Adkins

Lynyrd Skynyrd – “What’s Your Name,” “Sweet Home Alabama”

Video Message – Reese Witherspoon from the set of Water For Elephants

Michael W. Smith – “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Place in This World”

Amy Grant – “Better Than A Hallelujah,” and “Helping Hand”

Montgomery Gentry – “Something To Be Proud Of,” “My Town”

Video Message – Dolly Parton and Matthew McConaughey (he was holding a bongo drum)

Taylor Swift – “Love Story,” “You Belong”

Luke Bryan – “Country Man,” “Do I”

LeAnn Rimes – “Swingin’,” “What I Cannot Change”

Martina McBride – “Anyway,” “Love’s The Only House/ Blessed”

Nancy O’Dell – Introduced the head of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Le Grange/Tush”

Julie Robert – “Somebody Change”

Miranda Lambert – “House That Built Me,” “White Liar”

Jason Aldean – “Big Green Tractor,” “She’s Country”

Billy Ray Cyrus – “Could’ve Been Me”

Miley Cyrus – “The Climb”

Toby Keith – “I Love This Bar,” “As Good As I Once Was”

Faith Hill – “Stronger,” “Piece of My Heart”

Tim McGraw – “Southern Voice,” “Live Like You Were Dying”

Kenny Chesney Schedules New Album for SeptEMBER 28^th. Kenny Chesney has scheduled a new album, Hemingway's Whiskey, for a September 28^th release. It's his first album of new material since Lucky Old Sun in October 2008. "I knew I wanted the record to be something more, something that took what I do in my special projects and weaved it into what I do for the mainstream," Kenny says. "It takes a lot of energy and mental space to be on the road … and I kind of felt like -- especially coming off of this second Greatest Hits-- this next record should be something that set the stage for the next phase of my music.”  Kenny released Greatest Hits II in 2009, then re-released it earlier this year with two bonus tracks.

Brooks & Dunn Reschedule Numerous Tour Dates Due to Vocal Rest. Brooks & Dunn have canceled and rescheduled several dates on their Last Rodeo tour due to Ronnie Dunn’s prescribed three-week vocal rest. The duo’s next tour date will take place on July 16^th in Indianapolis, and the tour will now conclude on September 2^nd in Nashville. Their appearances at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Country Concert event in Fort Loramie, Ohio, will not be rescheduled. An updated tour schedule has been posted on the duo’s website.

Brooks & Dunn Make VIP Tickets Available for Last Rodeo Tour Finale. Brooks & Dunn have partnered with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to make VIP tickets available to their sold-out concert in Nashville on August 10^th. The show will be the final stop of their Last Rodeo tour. The Hillbilly Deluxe package is 750-dollars and includes a dinner at the museum's Hall of Fame Rotunda on August 9^th (not attended by the duo), a floor concert seat, a meet-and-greet opportunity with the duo, a parking spot for the dinner and the concert, a merchandise package and an autographed item. The Play Something Country package is 300 dollars and includes a floor concert seat, a merchandise package and an autographed item. In addition, those who become a "Friend of the Museum" at the 250-dollar level will be rewarded with a ticket to the concert in addition to the other benefits of membership to the museum. Joining at the 500-dollar level will include two tickets. The VIP packages are available on the museum's website and are available for a limited time while supplies last.

DIERKS BENTLY TAPES IN THE DARK. Dierks Bentley was scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday night, but things went wrong. About an hour before the taping, the power went out closing down the control room, broadcast transmission center and tape operations. The guests and audience had to sit around waiting while the power problem was worked on. During this wait time, Kimmel grabbed his laptop and recorded the entire show with his computer’s webcam. Dierks soon tweeted some hints about the show: “Who knew you could shoot a late night show with a mac?” Look for Dierks tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC.

MARTINA MCBRIDE LETS FANS BEHIND THE MIC! For Martina McBride’s fan club party, she invited fans to see where all of her music is made – her husband’s Blackbird Studios. Fans were able to pick from a list of Martina’s hits and record them in the studio. Afterwards Martina held a party on the lawn which she organized herself. She says if she wasn’t an artist she probably would have ended up a caterer or party planner. She often throws parties at her home and enjoys themes. “I did a Mexican-themed party, just a dinner party for some friends and we had a Mariachi band, and margaritas and I cooked all the food and that’s a fun theme because it’s very colorful.”

CARRIE UNDERWOOD WEDDING RUMORS CONTINUE TO CIRCLE. Rumors are going around of a possible date and location change for Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher’s wedding. According to several “reports”, the wedding will take place on July 10^th in Augusta, Georgia. Carrie played in Augusta last month so maybe she did some location searching during her tour and found the golf course to be the most beautiful and neutral place for the couple. Other rumors say that the wedding will take place on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee.

Farm Aid Photo Exhibit Opens Friday at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. A photo exhibit commemorating the 25th anniversary of Farm Aid will open at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville on Friday. The exhibit will be on display in the museum's West Gallery through the end of 2010. Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young organized the first Farm Aid concert to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to help keep farm families on their land. The first show took place Sept. 22, 1985, in Champaign, Ill. The exhibit features photos of numerous country artists, including Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Martina McBride and Keith Urban.

THIS AND THAT

• After Brad Paisley's show in Darien Lake, New York on Friday night, the local police made 46 arrests. Two guys for fighting with security, one guy for third-degree assault, one for trespassing (he went back into the venue after being kicked out) and then a whole bunch for disorderly conduct.
• Lady Antebellum tickets for their first headlining tour have been selling out like crazy. Their November stop in Augusta, Georgia sold out in seven minutes.
• Laura Bell Bundy has announced she’s working on a project that will bring country music to Broadway. She says more details will be available soon.
• According to a Sugarland tweet, The Lilith Fair concert in Nashville August 7^th has been cancelled.
• Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were among the celebrities who appeared on the Disaster In The GULF: How You Can Help telethon on CNN’s “LARRY KING Live” Monday night. The two-hour event raised more than $1.81 million for disaster relief on the gulf coast as the oil spill continues.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

A YEAR LATER: MICHAEL JACKSON NEWS

• FANS RESTRICTED WHEN HONORING MICHAEL! Fans of Michael Jackson who plan on honoring the King of Pop on Friday at the Forest Lawn Cemetery where he was buried will be limited in how they can mourn. According to TMZ, fans wanting to be there on the first anniversary of Jackson’s death will be allowed into the cemetery, but will not be allowed into the mausoleum where Jackson is buried and will not be allowed to release doves or balloons, or sing and dance to Michael Jackson’s songs.
• JACKSON MUSICAL TRIBUTE! This Friday, CBS News’ The Early Show will honor Michael Jackson with performances from Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, LL Cool J, Smokey Robinson and British singer James Morrison. Tune in to CBS at 8 AM Friday morning to catch the hour long special, The King of Pop: One Year Later, which commemorates the one year anniversary of Michael’s death. Learn more at USMagazine.com.
• JACKSON KIDS ARE NORMAL! We recently reported that Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine is worried about Michael’s three children, saying they are very lonely and distraught. But, according to a lawyer for the family, Jackson’s children are very much normal kids who are “full of fun and pranks” and are devoted to each other and to their grandmother. Learn more at News.Yahoo.com.
• MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORIAL! Poet and author Maya Angelou is taking part in a pointillism portrait of the late Michael Jackson. As part of a tribute to the late singer, Angelou, who read a poem at Jackson’s funeral, is taking part in the portrait, which will be made-up of little dots with each dot representing a fan. To contribute your dot to the free portrait and to learn more, head over to MichaelJacksonTributePortrait.com now.
• MICHAEL JACKSON AUCTION! Tomorrow and Friday, the Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas will be holding an auction where fans can bid to own some of Michael Jackson’s things. The auction, which coincides with Friday’s one year anniversary of Jackson’s death, will feature items once owned by private collectors like Corey Feldman. Learn more at EOnline.com.
• MTV SPOTLIGHTS THE KING OF POP! The legendary Michael Jackson will be featured on MTV from June 25^th through June 27^th. Fans can tune in this weekend to see how MJ influenced other artists, as well as an entire two hour block of non-stop hit videos from the late great King of Pop. Also, be sure to tune in as the network recaps the day that the King Of Pop died. Visit the Michael Jackson artist page at MTV.com to learn more.

• BACHELOR BREAK-UP! The Bachelor’s Jake Pavelka and the woman he chose on the show, Vienna Girardi, have called off their engagement. The media friendly couple’s rep issued a statement asking for privacy at this time. According to E! Online, this brings the total of failed Bachelor pairings up to 13. 
• CELEBS HELP THE GULF COAST! On Monday night, celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Justin Bieber, Robert Redford, Ryan Seacrest and others were at CNN to help raise money for the Gulf Coast. The stars held a two hour telethon hosted by Larry King called Disaster in the Gulf: How You Can Help, where they asked for America’s support to raise money for the Gulf Coast. Check out EOnline.com for more.  
  • HOW YOU CAN HELP:
    • Go to CNN.com/Impact
      Text "COAST" to 50555 to donate $10
      Follow #CNNHelpGulf on Twitter
      Go to Facebook.com/LarryKingLive

• TRUE BLOOD WILL BE BACK! The hit HBO series True Blood will be back for another season. The channel has renewed their vampire series for a 12-episode fourth season. According to a press release, production on the new season will begin early next year with fans getting to see the new season next summer. Tune in to HBO this Sunday to see a new episode of True Blood at 9 PM.
• KHLOE GIVES LAMAR A CAR! In celebration of her husband’s win over the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals, Khloe Kardashian has purchased a brand new Rolls Royce for her spouse, L-A Laker Lamar Odom. The pair will probably be enjoying the vehicle together as Khloe told us, they are very much still in their newlywed phase. Tune in to E! at 10 PM Eastern to catch a new episode of Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami this Sunday.