In case you missed it...
The lineup for "Alabama Jam XVIII," the annual event hosted by Alabama, was announced yesterday, and it has a decided old school feel. Most of this years "Jam" performers were at their peak from the 80s-00s. Along with the hosts, Old Dominion, Shenandoah, Lee Greenwood, Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, Mark Wills, Exile, John Berry, Taylor Hicks, The Malpass Brothers, The Castellows and more have signed on for the one-day event, taking place in Fort Payne, Alabama on June 1st. More acts are expected to be announced as the event draws closer. "When we started the first June Jam in 1982 as a charity concert event, it was attended by over 30-thousand fans," explains Alabama's Teddy Gentry. "At the time, it was the largest country music festival in the United States. Now we are getting ready for our 18th concert. We want to welcome everyone to Fort Payne, Alabama, our hometown. Come have a great time and help others in need!" The concert is a charity event, with proceeds going to the June Jam Foundation, and will benefit those in need and disaster relief in and around Alabama. Tickets for June Jam are on sale now via Ticketmaster.
Dan + Shay surprised fans this week with the announcement that for the 10th anniversary of their debut album, "Where It All Began," they were putting out a limited edition autographed vinyl version of the collection. The limited edition 140-gram vinyl can be purchased through their new online merch store that also includes a double sided poster with a standard physical vinyl version arriving at retail stores everywhere on April 26th.
Mark Wills played the Grand Ole Opry over the weekend, and took a moment to pay tribute to the late Joe Diffie. "Four years ago today, we lost Mr. Joe Diffie...and this is Joe Diffie's guitar. This guitar has not been played since Joe passed away. Last night we released a new thing called a 'Hixtape,' and on the 'Hixtape' it is basically every Joe Diffie song that was ever released to radio with a couple new ones with different artists of today. And I got to sing one of my favorite Joe Diffie songs that I'm gonna sing for you tonight.....and I got to do that with Mr. Diffie himself and a new guy named Nate Smith, and Nate couldn't be here tonight so if it's ok with you guys, I'm gonna bring out Joe's oldest son, Mr. Parker Diffie, and he's gonna sing it with me." See the video of Mark Wills and Parker Diffie singing Joe Diffie's "So Help Me Girl" here.