Billy Dukes

The 2012 CMA Awards performers are beginning to be announced. The November 1 show in Nashville promises to feature the hottest superstars and country newcomers, as well as a few surprise collaborations. With artists like Eric Church, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town leading the nominees, the ABC broadcast should be one a country music fan won't want to miss. 

Read More

It was a close vote yesterday, but a call for votes on Darius Rucker's Facebook page sent 'True Believers' to a fifth and final round of Showdown voting. His new ballad beat Kenny Chesney's 'El Cerrito Place,' taking over 70 percent of the online and phone votes via Taste of Country Nights radio.

Read More

Jason Aldean offered a heartfelt apology to fans within hours of pictures showing him kissing a woman (former 'American Idol' singer Brittany Kerr) who was not his wife surfaced on Sunday. The scandal is sure to be the center of his life for the next few weeks or months, even with a new album in stores on Oct. 16. Much of the debate on Facebook and Taste of Country has centered on this question: Does he owe fans an apology or an explanation? 

Read More

It's a superstar Showdown to begin the week. After making short work of Craig Morgan on Friday, Darius Rucker is hoping his fans will take his new ballad 'True Believers' to win No. 4 of the five needed to advance to the Showdown Hall of Fame. With Kenny Chesney in the opposite corner, voting online and on the phone at  Taste of Country Nights radio promises to reach all-time highs. 

Read More

The very nature of the EP lends itself more to an artist's most faithful supporters than middling fans looking for an entry point into a new style or sound. Jake Owen's 'Endless Summer' EP allows his warm weather party with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw to last a little longer, but like summer love, the four songs will be little more than memories by the first yellow leaves of fall. 

Read More

Darius Rucker stumbled during his first chance on the Showdown, but his new song 'True Believers' is now a two-night champion. Yesterday and last night on Taste of Country Nights radio, the love ballad beat 'Can't Shake You' by Gloriana. Today, he'll face off against a more seasoned country artists. 

Read More

Perhaps now we know why country stars like Eric Church always wear sunglasses. Justin Moore tells Taste of Country Nights radio host Jeremy Robinson that a recent radio station visit left him with an eye patch and temporary blindness in one eye.

Read More

Yesterday's Showdown was shaping up to be one of the closest ever, but Darius Rucker's fans came on like a hurricane and pushed his new song 'True Believers' to round two in overwhelming fashion. That means Taylor Swift's new song 'Begin Again' goes back to the bin, and the new hit from Gloriana steps up to take on Rucker's ballad today and tonight on Taste of Country Nights radio. 

Read More

It's a battle of country music superstars today and tonight on Taste of Country Nights radio. Brantley Gilbert's fans took care of business on Tuesday, pushing his new song 'Kick It in the Sticks' past challenger Kristy Lee Cook's 'Airborne Ranger Infantry' (barely) and into the Showdown Hall of Fame. That means two new songs will compete for reader votes today. 

Read More

At a show this summer, Zac Brown Band's John Driskell Hopkins watched as one young and possibly inebriated shirtless male fan raced to the front row and quickly retreated. The music played on, the crowd continued to move around like a giant sea anemone, and the fan did it again. Then again, again, and again...

Read More

In his new 'Crying on a Suitcase' music video Casey James makes his acting debut, and he admits he was nervous about it. One would never guess as much after watching the finished treatment for the clip, however, as James plays the part like he smiles or plays his guitar -- naturally.

Read More

As Kix Brooks relaxes on a tour bus rolling towards Phoenix, Ariona. for another show without longtime touring partner Ronnie Dunn, he admits that his fans have no idea what to expect from him. There's an anxious moment between the dimming of the lights and the first thump of the kick drum that's not unlike the few tenuous seconds before a first date. You knock, hear foot steps approaching and hold your breath... 

Read More