the Darrin Scott blog...

Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney and Wife, Tiffany Fallon, Expecting Second Child

Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney and his wife, Tiffany Fallon, are expecting their second child in September, according to People. The couple's first child, a son named Jagger Donovan, was born in May 2008. "We're a little more prepared but the same excitement is there," Rooney told the publication. "There's such fulfillment in being a father and it's going to be two-fold now, which is so cool." Rooney and Fallon were married in April 2006.

3-9-10

Tammy Wynette Memorabilia Comes to Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Tammy Wynette's awards, stage costumes and other professional memorabilia will be part of an upcoming display at the Museum in Nashville. The collection was presented by George Richey, Wynette's widower, as well as Wanda Williams, the co-trustee of this part of her estate. In addition to 14 stage costumes and her Grammy, CMA and ACM Awards, the collection also features sheet music for "A Woman's Needs," which she recorded with Elton John. His autograph reads: "The Queen of Country Meets the Queen of England. Love you, Elton John." Wynette died in 1998, the same year she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

3-8-10

Brad Paisley Treated for Bruises After Falling From Stage During Concert

Brad Paisley was treated and released from a Charleston, S.C., hospital after falling from the stage Saturday night while closing a concert at the North Charleston Coliseum. He was not seriously injured and provided updates and photos from the emergency room via Twitter messages on his official Web site. "Just very very bruised," he wrote. "Nothing broken, had a ct scan all is okay!" According to CMT Radio, Paisley was performing his hit, "Alcohol," during his encore when he fell approximately six feet and landed on his side. He stood up to say goodbye to the audience before being transported by ambulance to the Medical University of South Carolina hospital. The concert with Miranda Lambert and Justin Moore was the last show of Paisley's American Saturday night tour. After leaving the hospital, Paisley sent another Twitter message regarding his accident, telling fans, "Allright, whoever posts the YouTube footage of it gets a meet and greet. I have got to see it. I hit hard. And I mean freaking hard."

3-5-10

Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan Swinging for City of Hope

Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan are the first players announced for the City of Hope's 20th anniversary Celebrity Softball Challenge taking place June 7 at Nashville's Greer Stadium. The game, one of the activities leading up to the CMA Music Festival, attracts country artists and pro athletes who gather to raise money for City of Hope, a research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

3-4-10

CMT Crossroads: Jimmy Buffett and Zac Brown Band Premieres March 19

Jimmy Buffett and the Zac Brown Band will team up for the latest episode of CMT Crossroads airing March 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CMT. Taped before an invitation-only audience in Nashville in December, the two acts will perform each other's hit songs during the one-hour show, including Buffett's "Margaritaville" and "Son of a Sailor" and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" and "Toes". 

3-3-10

Vince Gill Sits In During Eric Clapton's Nashville Concert

Vince Gill made a surprise guest appearance during Eric Clapton's acoustic set at the British rock legend's Saturday night show at Nashville's Sommet Center. The two swapped guitar licks on "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," "Running on Faith," "I've Got a Rock and Roll Heart" and acoustic arrangement of "Layla." Gill returned to the stage at the end of the night to play on "Crossroads." Gill will perform at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival on June 26 at Chicago's Toyota Park.

3-2-10

Taylor Swift's Guitar Auction Concludes With $16,250 Bid

Taylor Swift's guitar brought $16,250 at a charity auction for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum that ended Friday. Swift donated the autographed guitar from her performance at the We're All for the Hall concert in Nashville in October. The charity auction was online for only 13 days. The Taylor brand 12-string acoustic guitar, embellished with Swift's lucky number, "13," had been previously displayed in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's gift shop.

3-1-10

Sara Evans Files Temporary Restraining Order Against Former Husband

Sara Evans has secured a temporary restraining order against her ex-husband, Craig Schelske, to prevent him from making derogatory statements to the media about her and the circumstances that led to their divorce in 2007. The request for the order was filed last Wednesday, and a hearing is scheduled for March 15 in Williamson County Chancery Court in Franklin, Tenn. Evans quit the Dancing With the Stars TV competition around the time she filed for divorce in 2006. Evans and Schelske accused each other of having affairs, but both denied the claims. Their divorce was finalized in 2007. In 2008, Evans married Jay Barker, a former University of Alabama quarterback who co-hosts a sports radio show in Birmingham, Ala. During a Thursday (Feb. 25) interview on The Steve Gill Show, a nationally-syndicated radio talk show based in Nashville, Schelske talked about allegations Evans' attorneys have made about him and his personal life.

2-26-10

Luke Bryan and Wife, Caroline, Expecting Second Child in August

Luke Bryan and his wife, Caroline, will welcome their second child in August, according to People magazine. Their first child, a son named Bo, will turn 2 in March. "When you successfully brought one in the world, you are a little more confident in your ability to do it the second time," Bryan said. "We're a little more relaxed -- you know everything that can come at you."

2-25-10

Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts Will Appear as CBS Guest Stars Next Week

Both will appear as guest stars on two popular CBS programs next week. Underwood will play the role of Tiffany, described in press materials as "an enigmatic pharmaceutical sales rep," on How I Met Your Mother on Monday. Later in the week, Rascal Flatts will portray themselves on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on March 4. The group partnered with CBS to produce a music video for their latest single, "Unstoppable."

2-24-10

James Otto and Wife Expecting First Child in August

James Otto and his wife, Amy, are expecting their first child in August, according to People magazine. The couple married in 2005. "Amy and I are so excited and feel so blessed," Otto said. "I am overwhelmed with joy at the idea of becoming a father. This is truly going to be an amazing, life-altering experience." Amy's sister is CMT Insider's Allison DeMarcus, wife of Jay DeMarcus.

2-23-10

Tickets Going on Sale for Garth Brooks' Next Round of Vegas Shows

Tickets for Garth Brooks' next round of concerts at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas go on sale Saturday. Brooks came out of retirement in December to begin a series of solo shows on select weekends in Las Vegas with one performance on Fridays and Sundays and two on Saturdays. Going on sale Saturday at 8 a.m. PT are tickets to his appearances scheduled for March 26-28, April 9-11, June 25-27, July 16-18 and Aug. 6-8. Tickets will be available online at the Wynn Las Vegas Web site

2-22-10

Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton Will Reveal ACM Nominees on March 2

Reba and Blake will be in New York City on March 2 to reveal the nominees for the Academy of Country Music during a segment of CBS's The Early Show. McEntire and Shelton will be interviewed by co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez during the segment, and Shelton will also perform during the telecast. The 45th annual ACM Awards will take place in Las Vegas on April 18. McEntire will host the live telecast on CBS.

2-19-10

Diamond Rio Receive Three Dove Awards Nominations

Diamond Rio earned three Dove Award nominations on Thursday in the categories of song of the year ("God Is There"), country song of the year ("The Reason") and country album of the year (The Reason). 

2-18-10

Faith Hill Serving as Judge on Season Finale of Project Runway

Faith Hill will be a guest judge on the season finale of Project Runway, the Lifetime network reality series. Hill traveled to New York to attend the fashion show with series host Heidi Klum and judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. Hill and the other judges saw 10 fashion collections designed by this year's Project Runway hopefuls before deciding season seven's winner. 

2-17-10

Lady Antebellum Will Perform on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday

Lady Antebellum will make their debut appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday. They'll be participating in a weekly series called "Oprah Fridays Live," where Winfrey talks about current events.

2-16-10

Lady A's Need You Now Reigns for Second Week

How about 209,000? That's how many copies Lady Antebellum's Need You Now sold the past week. And it was enough to keep the CD solidly at No. 1 on both Billboard's country and all-genres album charts for the second week in a row. If you're keeping count, that brings the grand total to more than 690,000 cds sold.

2-15-10
 

Kix Brooks Will Be Inducted Into Nashville Public Schools Hall of Fame

Kix Brooks will be inducted into the Nashville Public Schools Hall of Fame and receive the organization's distinguished service award on March 2. Brooks is on the board of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, as well as the local spokesman for Monroe Harding Children's Home. Tammy Genovese, the former CEO of the Country Music Association, will also be inducted and presented with a distinguished service award. Brooks and Genovese have been active in keeping music education a part of Nashville's public school curriculum.

2-12-10

Miranda Lambert Plans First Headlining Tour

Miranda Lambert launches her Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars tour on March 18 at the Raleigh County Armory in Beckley, W.Va. On her first tour as a headliner, Lambert will have a variety of opening acts. The 22-city tour will visit Texas, Washington, Oregon, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Louisiana, Minnesota and Iowa. Additionally, Lambert will take part in the Lilith Fair tour and will perform at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival taking place June 10-13 in Manchester, Tenn.

2-11-10

Toby Keith, Trace Adkins Launch American Ride Tour on June 19

Toby Keith will launch his American Ride tour with Trace Adkins on June 19 in Holmdel, N.J. Sponsored by Ford F-Series, the 39-city tour concludes on Sept. 25 in Boston. Keith's record label, Show Dog Nashville, merged with Universal South Records in 2009 to form Show Dog-Universal Music. Keith remains a principal of the label. In January, Adkins became the label's first artist signing. Plans for Adkins' new single and album will be announced soon.

2-10-10

Rascal Flatts Collect 14 Love Songs for the 14th on New Digital Album

Rascal Flatts have collected 14 love songs from throughout their career for a new digital album, 14 Love Songs for the 14th, released digitally yesterday. The track listing includes "One Good Love," "Like I Am," "Where You Are," "Secret Smile" and "Unstoppable."

2-9-10

Wynonna Announces the Judds' Final Tour

Wynonna has announced that she and mother Naomi Judd will reunite in 2010 for the Judds' final tour. Wynonna shared the news on The Early Show on CBS on Saturday. They have also been recording new music with an expected release date later this year.

2-8-10

Lady Antebellum's Need You Now Is America's Bestselling Album

Kenny Chesney Will Be ESPN's Guest on Super Bowl XLIV Weekend

Kenny Chesney will be a guest on two ESPN programs this weekend, coinciding with Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. He appeared on Mike & Mike this morning on ESPN-2 and ESPN Radio. In addition, he'll participate in ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown on Sunday afternoon, prior to the game.

2-4-10

Jack Edwards leaves MISS101

This morning was Jack's last show on MISS101 (I hope you caught it, it was great). Jack was offered another radio job in a city he really likes and opportunities like that just don't come along every day. We at MISS101 will miss Jack, he has been a great morning host and a good friend. "Keep fightin' the good fight, Jack!"

2-3-10

Brad Paisley Sells Out Gillette Stadium Near Boston in One Day

Brad Paisley sold out Gillette Stadium near Boston when more than 50,000 tickets went on sale Saturday. His appearance at the seventh annual New England Country Music Festival will take place there on Aug. 21. Paisley's American Saturday Night tour will continue this weekend with concerts in Alabama and Mississippi.

2-2-10

Dierks Bentley, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson Join BamaJam Lineup

Dierks Bentley, Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson have been added to the lineup for the BamaJam Music and Arts Festival taking place June 3-5 in Enterprise, Ala.  As previously announced, Kenny Chesney will headline the third annual event.

2-1-10

Merle Haggard Signs With Vanguard Records