Friday, July 18: The Guess Who with WAR, Firefall & Atlanta Rhythm Section

As the house lights fade down and the stage spots flair up, the sounds of rock and roll with classic sensibilities and progressive nuances permeate the crowd. At first a familiar chord strikes everyone's attention, then comes a catchy chorus followed by a memorable solo or remarkable moment of improvisation. Such an ear-pleasing arsenal carries into a non-stop evening of precise performance taking fans on a roller coaster ride of electric instrumentation, timeless balladry, unpredictable jamming and the ultimate sing-a-long experience. It's a position held by a troupe of true musical luminaries who through over four decades in show business have been loaded with more hits than members can count, record sales well into the multi-millions and more drama than a VH1 "Behind the Music" episode and an E! "True Hollywood Story" documentary combined.

The name is none other than The Guess Who, a group that's connected with the masses throughout a exultant hit parade including "These Eyes," "Clap For the Wolfman," "Hand Me Down World," "No Time," "Star Baby" and "Share the Land." Add in fellow classics and double sided singles like the rock anthem "American Woman" and "No Sugar Tonight," plus "Laughing" and "Undun," and the Canadian bred stateside conquerors are amongst music's most indelible treasures who are eternally etched within the very fabric of pop culture history.

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An American original; WAR was the first and most successful musical crossover phenomenon that forever fused rock, jazz, Latin, and R&B, while transcending racial and cultural barriers with a multi- ethnic line-up; a musical melting pot and an enduring influence that has sold over 50 million records to date.

WAR's consistent catalogue sales and thriving tour business is a tribute to the timelessness of its music and message. Perhaps, nothing epitomizes this truth greater than the fact that WAR has twice been honored by its hometown of Los Angeles, over twenty years apart, for its music making positive contributions to the betterment of the community.

WAR is best known for the hit songs "Low Rider," "Spill the Wine," "Why Can't We Be Friends," "The Cisco Kid," and "Gypsy Man."

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Firefall formed just across the border in Boulder, Colorado in 1975. Firefall's biggest hit single is the love song, "You Are the Woman." Other hits include "Just Remember I Love You," "Strange Way," "Staying With It," "Cinderella," and "Sweet and Sour."

The genealogy and musical roots of Firefall run deep into the fertile soil of American rock and folk rock music. It began with Woodie Guthrie and later Bob Dylan, evolving into the Byrds and the Buffalo Springfield. The genre established by these luminaries continued with Crosby, Stills and Nash, Manassas, the Band, Neil Young, the Eagles, Poco, Loggins and Messina, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons and Emmy Lou Harris, Dan Folgelberg, America and Firefall. Many of these participants mingled in the studio and on tour. Individually and collectively they created a sound that changed the world’s musical landscape. Firefall is one of the few surviving bands of this genre, remaining true to it’s founding vision and roots despite personnel changes over it’s thirty year history. The band transcends and embraces many industry labels - rock, soft rock, country rock, easy listening, unplugged, Americana and contemporary country.

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The Atlanta Rhythm Section... ARS... In the annals of rock and roll, where do they fit? They put out 15 albums of excellent original material, and consistently put on entertaining live shows-both of which helped establish a broad if not huge fan base. They had some big hits and have been a major player in the Southern Rock scene. But is that the whole story? In some circles, maybe. But for those who've really gotten to know their music over the years, there's a lot more to the story.

ARS was paired with contemporaries Lynyrd Skynyrd as the successors to the Allman Brothers - carrying the mantle of "Southern Rock" in the late 70s. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it may have made sense at the time. But performing songs that were more musically diverse and having hits that had a softer, pop sound, the "Southern Rock" label was a mixed blessing and many of their unique musical accomplishments became lost in a genre that has lived on to this day-but never really fit ARS.

Atlanta Rhythm Section is best known for its hit singles "Imaginary Lover", "Doralville", "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight", "Champagne Jam", and "So Into You"

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Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20: Rascal Flatts with Taylor Swift

Five studio albums into their incredible career, the members of Rascal Flatts find themselves firmly atop the music world. Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have scaled unbelievable heights in the eight years since their debut, and yet with the release of Still Feels Good, they find their fortunes still rising. For proof, they need to look no further than the CD's first #1 single, "Take Me There," their fastest-rising ever.

They remain in awe of the success they have earned through the years.

"We dreamed some big dreams," says Joe Don. "We were looking for the rocket ride. But I don't think we ever dreamed the things that have happened to us. Everybody in the industry sees the same charts and sales figures every week, and for us to see our names at the top of those lists gives you a whole different perspective. It's gratifying and it's humbling."

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"Got the radio on, my old blue jeans, and I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve," CMA Horizon Award Winner Taylor Swift sings on "A Place in This World," a self-penned coming-of-age anthem from her Platinum-selling self-titled debut album on Big Machine Records. It's an apt description of the enthusiastic, down-to-earth young woman whose original compositions about teenage life brim with poignant honesty and an infectious spirit -- and have quickly made her country music's most successful new star. In fact, Taylor recently became the first female solo artist in country music history to write or co-write every song on a million-selling debut album. And, earlier this month Taylor was honored as Songwriter / Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

In a genre notorious for being slow to change, Taylor is considered to be the first bonafide country star of the MySpace generation. With over 26,000,000 song streams on her MySpace page and digital singles now certified GOLD, Taylor is clearly appealing to -- and is the voice of -- a new generation of country fans.

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Monday, July 21 & Tuesday, July 22: Professional Bull Riders

The PBR's U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Challenger Tour is comparable to baseball's minor league. It offers up-and-coming bull riders the opportunity to compete in PBR sanctioned events while earning money to qualify them for the elite Built Ford Tough Series.

Once the season begins, the World's top 45 bull riders have five Built Ford Tough Series events at which they will compete to secure their positions. After the fifth event, the bottom five riders ranked based on points, are dropped from the Built Ford Tough Series. The top five U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Challenger Tour riders, based on Challenger, Enterprise and Discovery Tour money earned, are then allowed to move into those five positions.

After this first cut, the elimination process then takes place after each fifth Built Ford Tough Series event. A rider that has been dropped from the BFTS must compete in the Challenger Tour, hopefully earning enough money to regain a BFTS roster position.

Worth an estimated $1.5 million in prize money, approximately 30 plus U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Challenger Tour events are anticipated for the 2008 season.

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Wednesday, July 23: Blake Shelton with Kellie Pickler

Blake Shelton may have chosen the amusing title "Pure BS" for his fourth album, but it's the "pure" part of the name that most aptly describes the music.

Traditional-minded but produced with a contemporary edge, "Pure BS" perfectly showcases Shelton as a powerful and expressive vocalist while also showing off his impressive songwriting skills on three of the tracks.

To get that "pure" sound, Shelton pushed himself harder than ever before as a singer and as a writer and stepped out of his comfort zone in the studio to work with some first rate producers who pushed him even more. The end result, Shelton believes, is his best album to date, and one that has already spawned the hit singles "Don't Make Me" and "The More I Drink."

"I want to make those albums that [last] forever that people never throw away. When they break it they go buy another one because I sing songs that they really relate to and my music means something to them. That's what I'm chasing."

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Just two weeks before the release of her debut album, Small Town Girl, Kellie Pickler was still unpacking boxes in the decidedly uptown condominium she had leased in Nashville, her new hometown. "I came across photos from when I went to audition for American Idol, when I was standing in line with all those thousands of people in Greensboro. I just started crying. I couldn't believe how things had changed in a year, and how unreal it seemed to be where I am."

The journey that took Kellie Pickler where she came from to where she is today is one of beating the odds, digging down deep, holding onto dreams, and testimony to the enduring power one person's love can have. Even before she made it to the finals of the fifth season of one of the most influential televised talent shows ever, signed acontract with 19 Recordings/BNA Records, criss-crossed the country with the American Idols Live! Tour 2006, Pickler has triumphed over what could have easily been her destiny. "There's a difference in running from your problems and overcoming them."

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Thursday, July 24: Jason Aldean with Miranda Lambert

Lives and careers have tipping points, days when investments pay off and when a bunch of scattered puzzle pieces suddenly fit together. Jason Aldean doesn't have to think long when asked to call up his top game changing moment of 2006.

Why has Aldean been able to connect with so many people so fast? His fans would probably say relatable songs, a powerful, dynamic voice, and total dedication to giving himself up for an audience. He's done it for years at a stretch across the Southeast, in bars and taverns and some places you'd best not even go. He's thrown down for 15 people in halls that could have held hundreds. And he's spent the last year proving he can connect from the biggest stages, the ones that they haul around in multiple semi-trailers.

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"My songs talk about real things," says Miranda Lambert. "Things that I've been through or I've witnessed through my friends and family - even my parents' private investigation business. If I feel it, I can sing it and make anyone believe it."

Big talk from a small-town Texas girl, but Lambert's got the goods to back it up. The old-school passion and power of her platinum-selling 2005 debut KEROSENE took it to the top of both the country charts and the critics' polls. Now the two-time CMA Horizon Award nominee returns with
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, on which she raises the stakes both musically and emotionally.

Miranda Lambert's favorite line in "Easy From Now On" is "Don't worry about me/I got a wild card up my sleeve." With Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, she's laying all of her cards on the table, and she's got one hell of a winning hand.

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Friday, July 25: Sugarland with Tracy Lawrence

The story of Sugarland is one of those fairy-tale country music successes that just warms your heart. For one thing, it has the most idyllic of starts: an early morning round of coffee at an Atlanta Starbucks where Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush sat down and penned a list of their dreams on a napkin.

1. Balance being in a band and having a family
2. Get a Grammy nomination
3. Sell a million records

Check. Check. And double check. In the two years since the Top Five single "Baby Girl" put Sugarland on the map, they've accomplished more than anyone ever expected, least of all Jennifer and Kristian themselves. With almost three million copies sold of their Mercury Nashville debut, Twice The Speed Of Life, an American Music Award for "Favorite Breakthrough Artist," an Academy of Country Music Award for "New Duo/Group of the Year," a Grammy nomination for "Best New Artist," six CMA nods, arena tours from coast-to-coast and appearances on national TV shows like The Tonight Show and Good Morning America, the little band that could did, in a big way. "Once we hit the million mark, that was a head-scratcher for me," says Kristian. "Anything past that, I never imagined."

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Tracy Lawrence is one of the premier voices of his generation, a sensitive and intelligent singer who continues to stretch both as an artist and as a person. Lawrence's dedication to honesty and respect for tradition have enabled him to build one of the most respected careers in recent country history.

Tracy has posted more No. 1 Billboard country singles than greats like Glen Campbell, Keith Whitley, Ernest Tubb, Wynonna or Barbara Mandrell, toname just a few; more Top 5's than Shania Twain, Faith Hill or The Judds; and more Top 10's than Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Rich, John Michael Montgomery or Dwight Yoakam.

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Saturday, July 26: Bill Engvall and Randy Owen

Comedian Bill Engvall is starring in and executive producing the new half hour sitcom for TBS entitled The Bill Engvall Show. The show centers on Bill as the father at the core of a family comedy. He also hosts one of the top rated shows on CMT, Country Fried Home Videos.

Engvall is currently filming the movie Bait Shop which co-stars Billy Ray Cyrus. The story centers around a small town bait shop owner who finds his beloved business threatened with foreclosure. In an attempt to raise the money to save it, he enters a high profile fishing tournament. The film will be released on DVD in the summer of 2008. Additionally, Bill starred in the movie "Delta Farce" with Larry the Cable Guy and D.J. Qualls, which was released in 2007 and is currently available on DVD.

Prior to his big screen debut, Engvall was one of the stars of the sketch comedy show, Blue Collar TV, on the WB network. The ensemble cast included Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. He also shot a special for the WB network called Mobile Home Disasters, which was a blue collar version of Extreme Home Makeover. The episode took a deserving family and completely transformed their mobile home. Engvall also starred in "Blue Collar Comedy Tour, The Movie," which premiered on Comedy Central and at that time was the most watched movie in the channel's history. The sequel Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again also premiered on Comedy Central and was the third most watched telecast ever for the network.

Along with his Blue Collar movies, Bill also has two solo specials which aired on Comedy Central. 15° Off Cool and Here's Your Sign, Live, were hits on Comedy Central.

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As the lead singer of the legendary group Alabama, Randy Owen would appear to have seen and done it all - 73 million albums sold, countless miles on the road touring, a warehouse full of awards and a coveted spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Yet this singer/songwriter/entertainer/rancher is embarking on a new path - a solo career with a new album One On One set for an early summer release, and a tour kicking off around the same time with a 10-piece band and an attitude that rivals a brand new artist.

"I'm as excited about this as I've ever been," said Owen. "Before I decided to do the solo thing, we put a band together and did some dates late last year to see if the fans were still out there. When I came back I was totally convinced we needed to do this."

Randy teamed up with John Rich to produce One On One for the newly-formed DMP Records label. The multi-faceted Rich, who has produced Gretchen Wilson, his own duo Big & Rich, James Otto, Jewel, and John Anderson's critically-acclaimed Easy Money album, jumped at the chance to work with the legend. "John's so smart about what he wants to hear," said Randy of the experience. "And the musicians he works with in the studio understand what he wants. We really took our time with it and didn't rush it, and I'm really pleased with what we came out with."

His long connection with his fans is the exact reason he titled the album One On One. "I feel like this album is a real personal thing - me to you," he says passionately. "The song 'One On One' is one of the most personal songs on the album."

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