Multi-Platinum singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley scored his ninth career No. one hit today as the anthemic “Home” takes the top spot on both the Billboard and Mediabase charts. The title track off Bentley’s No. one album is also currently nominated for Song of the Year at the 47th Annual ACM Awards set to air April 1 on CBS at 8:00P ET.

"It's been so cool to see fans reacting to this song on the road…the idea of 'Home' and what that means to different people has been really inspiring," said Bentley from tour in Australia. "I'm really proud to have written this song with my friends Brett Beavers and Dan Wilson, and it's extra special for me personally to be partof Dan's first No. one hit on the country charts!"

Early on, the track received critical acclaim from outlets like National Public Radio and earned Bentley an invitation to perform at The White House last fall. Its universal message has resonated with fans in Canada where "Home" spent multiple weeks at No. one. The poignant lyrics also prompted a partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project around Bentley's tour dates, and inspired Ellen DeGeneres to team up with Bentley to surprise an active military family with $50,000 on her show.

“It's a rarity in country music -- a song about America that manages to be clear-eyed and unsentimental, while remaining deeply patriotic and moving.” – Philadelphia Inquirer

“The title tune undergirds images of the USA that unify rather than divide with acoustic guitar, bell sounds, sonorous piano chords and Edge-like guitar patterns.” – USA Today

“The title track - his own - is a patriotic heart-warmer that bucks the expected flag-waving to embrace the strength of our country's differences.” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Cinematic in its scope and unifying in its message, the secondsingle from Dierks’ forthcoming album succeeds at the difficult task of being patriotic without being overtly flag-waving. It is an anthem in the truest sense, full of chiming guitars and soaring choruses.” – Country Weekly

Bentley is currently touring Australia on his 2012 Country & ColdCans Tour and will return to the states for its 20-city spring run beginning next month. For more a full list of upcoming tour dates and appearances, visit www.dierks.com.

Catch him at CMC Rocks the Hunter on Saturday, March 18. Tickets available at cmcrocks.com.au

Relativity Music Group is pleased to announce the release of the soundtrack for Relativity Media’s adrenaline-fueled Navy SEAL action-thriller Act of Valor, featuring brand new original songs written and inspired by the film from today’s top recording artists including: Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Trace Adkins, Wynonna Judd, Montgomery Gentry, and more. In theatres February 24, 2012, the Bandito Brothers’ Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a film like no other in Hollywood’s history, along with actors Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle and Nestor Serrano, in an unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking. Pre-Order of the Act of Valor album is available on the iTunes® store now. The soundtrack will be released by Relativity Music Group and distributed in music retail locations by Capitol Records Nashville on February 21st.

The track listing includes original songs written and performed by artists including: Keith Urban (whose song “For You” is featured in the film’s end credits), Sugarland (“Guide You Home”), Lady Antebellum (“I Was Here”), Trace Adkins (“If the Sun Comes Up”), Lori McKenna (“Two Soldiers Coming Home”), Jake Owen (“The Best I Can”), Montgomery Gentry (“What It Takes”), Josh Kelley (“The Best of Me”), Hunter Hayes (“Where We Left Off”), and Wynonna Judd (“Whatever Brings You Back”).

Produced and directed by former Baja 1000 champion Mike “Mouse” McCoy and former stuntman Scott Waugh, and written by Kurt Johnstad (300), Act of Valor features a gripping story that takes audiences on an edge-of-their-seat journey, when a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly results in the discovery of an imminent, terrifying global threat, an elite team of highly-trained Navy SEALs must immediately embark on a heart-stopping secret operation, the outcome of which will determine the fate of us all. Act of Valor combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the-minute battlefield technology, and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure film—showcasing the skills, training and tenacity of the greatest action heroes of them all: real Navy SEALs.

Relativity’s expansive upcoming slate includes the magical adventure comedy Mirror Mirror (in theatres March 30, 2012), starring Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Nathan Lane, and Armie Hammer. The studio just wrapped production on the comedy 21 and Over and is currently in pre-production on Nicholas Sparks’ gripping love story Safe Haven and the international espionage thriller Hunter Killer.

For more information about Act of Valor, please visit http://www.actofvalor.com

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/festival-airs-its-country-charm/story-fn9d2mxu-1226256663164

Excerpt from
Festival airs its country charm
Iain Shedden

Yet the subject of how to make Australian country music hip and therefore more profitable hasn't disappeared completely. On Australia Day, the inaugural Country Music Radio Australia Seminar was held in Tamworth. The main subject for discussion was how to get Aussie country on to commercial radio, something with which the genre has always struggled. Harvey, who is also on the board of a NSW central coast radio station, was able to bring two perspectives to the debate and had welcome theories about how to achieve this goal. As an artist, buying advertising with radio stations on which you are being interviewed or performing was one alternative, he said wearing his radio hat.

"Some of the artists may be unaware of that possibility, that for a small amount of money they can actually have their album advertised on a station," Harvey said. "That way they can have 20 ads a day running for their album. There's no pressure to do it, but we do let artists know about it. We need to educate our artists that they need to engage radio stations more. They need to become friends of the presenters and the programmers, and if you can spend a couple of dollars on the station too and buy some spots, that's the secret."

The chief point made by Harvey and other commentators at this debate was that there aren't enough new stars emerging from Australian country music to sustain its commercial success, never mind improve it, on Austereo and elsewhere.

The seminar's organiser, Australian promoter Rob Potts, was the most vocal about the dearth of Aussie talent, at least talent that has the potential to break the Australian charts in the way US artist Taylor Swift has done. As he pointed out, it has been five years since an Australian artist or group (the McClymonts) had a gold album in Australia.

"If you go back to the era of Lee Kernaghan, Urban, Adam Harvey, Beccy Cole and Gina Jeffreys emerging, we were having a raft of gold and platinum-selling artists," Potts said. "We had a massive resurgence of this music in Australia. As soon as we stopped having those gold-selling artists, our industry started slowing down. We're feeling that across the board and we may not want to admit it, but Australian country music right now is the unhealthiest it has been for a long time."

As a promoter, Potts has been responsible for bringing Nashville big guns Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Alan Jackson to Australia, and the success here also of our greatest country export, Urban, proves there are potentially large audiences for up-and-coming talent.

In the meantime, Australia's country music fraternity should be fairly proud of what it has, in Tamworth and beyond. Even without the stars, there's a wealth of great roots bubbling underneath.

Urban, speaking on video at the awards to accept his male artist of the year trophy, stressed how important to him it was that he had been able to establish a fan base at home in Australia, aided by a successful tour here last year.

Earlier in the evening, Urban's youthful mullet made several appearances as the audience was treated to a 40-year retrospective on video of Tamworth's colourful past. His rise from Star Maker talent quest winner to international superstar leaves some room for optimism for the industry at large.

The most satisfying thing about Tamworth 2012, however, was that it seemed like an event more relaxed with its place, with less of an image complex and, in the case of the awards, less ambitious about trying to be something it is not. If both can sustain that attitude, Tamworth can remain a worthy celebration of Australian culture, country-style.

Check out this powerful new single and music video from Alan Jackson - 'So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore':

Miss Jasmine Rae's awesome performance on Channel 7's Morning Show? Check it out here - http://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-morning-show/video/-/watch/27713912/

To get your tickets for Dolly's remaining shows, go here.

"My favourite venue is in Kuranda in Queensland, near Cairns, and it is kind of out of the way because you have to go up into a rainforest and it’s an outdoor amphitheater in a rainforest. It is the coolest venue."

Check out this great interview with Jasmine Rae at Jolene: The Country Music Blog - http://jolenethecountrymusicblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/interview-jasmine-rae.html

In other news, Jasmine was nominated today for FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR at next year's Golden Guitar awards in Tamworth.

After months of impressive artist announcements and record ticket sales, Rob Potts Entertainment Edge, Chugg Entertainment and XYZ Networks are thrilled to announce the final four additions to the lineup for CMC Rocks the Hunter 2012.

They are US country music superstar, Wynonna Judd, traditional country music hitmaker, Tracy Lawrence (US), and successful ex-pats, now living in Nashville, Sherrie Austin (US) and O’Shea (US). You can see them all at the three-day festival, held at the beautiful *Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley (NSW), over the weekend of Fri 16-Sun 18 March, 2012. .

Five-time Grammy winner, Wynonna Judd (US), commands her audience with her rich and powerful voice and was described by Rolling Stone as “the greatest female country singer since Patsy Cline”, After selling 20 million albums as one half of legendary duo, The Judds,  Wynonna launched her solo career in 1992, with her quintuple platinum self-titled debut. This was followed by a string of hit solo albums, chart-topping singles, another 10 million album sales, and numerous awards, including ACM’s Female Vocalist of the Year. Wynonna’s unique bluesy twist on country music is why she’s such a beloved singer and artist worldwide.

Tracy Lawrence (US) has eighteen #1 singles to serve as a potent reminder that Lawrence is one of the premiere country artists of his generation. One of the leading lights of the 1990s neo-traditional country movement, the singer, songwriter and producer is known for his unmistakable voice and retaining his own pure country sound through changing trends and fashion.

One of our brightest exports, Sherrie Austin (US), headed to the US in the late 90s as a sitcom star (The Facts of Life) and released two stellar albums, before taking a break to concentrate on her songwriting full-time. It paid off, with artists like Tim McGraw and George Strait recording her songs. Now, Sherrie has recorded a new album of her own, Circus Girl, and for the first time in twelve years, is eager to come home to perform at CMC Rocks the Hunter 2012.

O’Shea (US), the popular husband-and-wife duo, rocked the Hunter this year to an enthusiastic reception and now, the ex-pats are coming back for more in 2012. Mark and Jay O’Shea were both born and raised in Oz, but set off to Nashville in 2007, to pursue their dream of a country music career. A successful run on the US TV series, Can You Duet, kick-started their career together and led to their dynamic debut album, Mr. and Mrs.

All artists included in the final festival lineup of CMC Rocks the Hunter 2012 are:
TIM McGRAW and FAITH HILL (US),
Dierks Bentley (US), Wynonna Judd (US), Lee Kernaghan, Tracy Lawrence (US),
Eli Young Band (US), Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses, Craig Campbell (US), Jim Lauderdale (US), Colt Ford (US), Jedd Hughes (US), Sherrie Austin (US), Beccy Cole, Steve Forde, James Blundell, Shane Nicholson, Pete Denahy, O’Shea (US), Catherine Britt, Felicity Urquhart, Sunny Cowgirls, McAlister Kemp, Morgan Evans, Kirsty Akers, Buddy Goode, Jetty Road, Travis Collins, Davidson Brothers, Harmony James, Peter McWhirter, Kaylee Bell (NZ), Luke Austen, Jayne Denham, Harry Hookey, Travis List, Doug Bruce and The Tailgaters and Ross Ward’s Express.

The festival will once again be hosted by GAC television personality, Storme Warren (US), from Headline Country. Storme will be joined by co-hosts, Darren Carr and Mike Carr. 

For tickets, camping, travel and accommodation details go to www.cmcrocks.com.au

CMC ROCKS THE HUNTER 2012
FRI 16 - SAT 17 - SUN 18 MARCH

TICKET PRICES
3 Day Ticket - Adult (15 and above) $249
3 Day Ticket - Child (Ages 4 to 14) $125
Friday /Saturday only Ticket - Adult (15 and above) $159
Friday/Saturday only Ticket - Child (Ages 4 to 14) $80
Sunday only Ticket - Adult (15 and above) $159
Sunday only Ticket - Child (Ages 4 to 14) $80
Free admission to children under 4 years & accompanied by an adult.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW
 www.cmcrocks.com.au