Country Girl wants you to be a Tattle Tale! Have you been to a country concert lately? Run into a country artist while out on the town? We want to hear all about your country music news and entertainment. Email me at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com

Husband and wife duo Joey + Rory released their CD “A Farmhouse Christmas” in October of 2011. The album features the two traditional singers crooning a few classics and a majority of new holiday songs. While many love standard Christmas songs, myself included, it was refreshing to hear a new take on the idea of Christmas music. On this album Joey + Rory infuse a touch of humor along with tradition which proves to be an admirable pairing. The twosome hopes to add a new song or two to the list of holiday songs people listen to every Christmas. After listening to this unique and entertaining holiday album I think their wish just may come true.

The album has 12 songs ranging from “Away In A Manger” to “What The Hell (It’s The Holidays).” They even opted to include Merle Haggard’s song “If We Make It Through December.” This was never intended to be a Christmas tune, but Joey + Rory thought it fit perfectly. They even had the honor of having Merle himself come sing on the track. The song “I know What Santa’s Getting For Christmas” is a super catchy tune. It ‘s down right fun and will leave you humming it all day. Interestingly, this song was co-written by Garth Brooks years ago and ended up making its way to Joey + Rory! Another song that is sure to be a holiday anthem for those living where it’s cold is “Let It Snow (Somewhere Else).” This song is cleaver, and probably my favorite on the album.
Joey + Rory are unique and that is what sets their music apart. This album is no different. From the traditional sound in their voices, to the personal touch of penning some of the songs themselves this Christmas album is distinctive. With treasures laced throughout the 12 songs you will surely be enjoying these holiday hits for years to come. So go ahead and the light the fire, gather around the Christmas tree and play “A Farmhouse Christmas.” I know this album just made my Christmas that much brighter.

CMTT Music Contributor
Krissie Humphrey

Want more info on Joey + Rory?  www.joeyandrory.com

Joey+Rory have made the most of the holiday season. They’ve not only turned their critically-acclaimed A Farmhouse Christmas album into a multi-city tour, they’ve also captured this sometimes traditional, sometimes quirky Christmas magic for television, called “Country’s Family Reunion Presents Joey+Rory’s A Farmhouse Christmas.” The hour-long special made its debut in late November, will re-air on RFD-TV December 23rd at 8:00 p.m. and December 24th at 5:00 A.M. and 11:00 P.M. CST.** Santa says “All good country boys and girls should tune in for great Christmas programming!” For more information on this special, or to get your own copy for that special country fan on your Christmas list, please visit http://www.cfrvideos.com.

“We fell in love with Joey and Rory when they were musical guests on ‘Larry’s Country Diner,’ and ‘Country’s Family Reunion’” said Larry Black, producer of both shows. “They are such a sweet couple – so engaging and so warm. When they came up with the idea to do a television special surrounding their new Christmas album, I said, ‘if you can pull it off, we’ll do it.’ The show they came up with smacks of the old and resonates with the new.”

Taped in their 1870s farm house and spacious barn in Pottsville, Tennessee, Joey+Rory mixed songs from their A Farmhouse Christmas cd with light-hearted conversation about Christmas memories, favorite gifts, cooking and more. They performed all of the songs with their band in front of a set that they built in their barn.

“It was decked out like a winter wonderland”, wife of the duo, Joey Martin added. “We’re thrilled at how it turned out, and we’re anxious for everyone to see it. Funny thing is, we don’t even have a television, so we’ll have to go visit someone and catch it one these nights!” laughs Rory Feek.

For more information on Joey+Rory, please visit www.Joey+Rory.com.

Got some country music gossip and don’t wanna be a tattle tale? Email me, Tawny Tucker, Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com

The 17th Annual Inspirational Country Music Association’s Faith, Family & Country Awards will begin airing just in time to be “inspired” for the Christmas season. The award show will air this Saturday, December 17 at 4:30 P.M. (CST) on TCT Network and will re-air on Sunday, December 18 at 7:30 P.M. (CST). In case you miss it, you can catch it again on Saturday, January 14 at 7:00 P.M. (CST) on the NRB Network. Hosted by Inside Edition’s national correspondent anchor Megan Alexander and GAC’s popular entertainment news anchor, Storme Warren, the annual award show honors and showcases the biggest names and emerging talent among artists who perform Inspirational Country music.

A few of this year’s honorees include Ricky Skaggs, Lady Antebellum, Justin Moore, Jeff Bates, The Fox Brothers, Joey + Rory, The Roys and the movie “Soul Surfer.”

For more information on the ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards, please visit www.icm-awards.com.

Country Girl wants you to be a Tattle Tale! Have you been to a country concert lately? Run into a country artist while out on the town? We want to hear all about your country music news and entertainment. Email me at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com

The 17th Annual Inspirational Country Music Association’s Faith, Family & Country Awards took center stage tonight at Nashville’s austere Schermerhorn Symphony Center for a presentation of their annual music awards. It proved to be an event that transformed the elegant surroundings into a hometown celebration of pink carpet arrivals, tributes to the lives of Middle Tennessee breast cancer survivors and an evening filled with memorable moments and music with inspirational meaning. This year’s Awards were tied “with pink ribbon” by the Inspirational Country Music Association to a highly publicized humanitarian theme which benefitted the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition.

Hosted by two faces familiar to television audiences — Inside Edition’s national correspondent anchor Megan Alexander and GAC’s popular entertainment news anchor, Storme Warren, it was an inspirational night focused on the winners—and survivors.

Throughout the television taping before a live audience, a retinue of 136 breast cancer survivors was seated in a special honor section on the Schermerhorn stage. A centerpiece to the night was Ultimate World Fight Champion Rich Franklin who made a unique tribute presentation to the survivors in life –a personal message close to his own heart as the unusual and high profile “macho sport” male advocacy voice for breast cancer awareness. A tribute to Ground Zero heroes brought an equally touching patriotic theme with performances by Lee Greenwood of God Bless The USA and Chuck Day with his self-penned I’ll Stand Up And Say So –selected as a theme of Herman Cain’s current presidential campaign.

Awards were given out in more than twenty categories that included both rising artists and a stellar array of major music industry names in a broad cross section of categories that included entertainer, artist, new artist, song, songwriter, group, duo, musician, radio, radio station, film, and television honors.

Highlights included Ricky Skaggs emotional acceptance of the prestigious Entertainer of the Year Award for 2011. Fitting to the honor, this year of 2011 marks an amazing 50 years of performing—and a memorable 52nd anniversary of Skaggs love affair with bluegrass music—a love story that began for him at age five when he first picked-up his first mandolin back in Cordell, Kentucky. Performing a heart-stirring version of Somebody’s Prayin’ it was a night of double awards for him as he also received top honors from Inspirational Country Music Award voters in the top Musician category.

“I always try to entertain folks with good clean fun and stories from my youth,” noted Skaggs in accepting the Entertainer of the Year honor. “I always try to bring the gospel message of hope in Jesus Christ to our shows as well. I think now more than ever, people all over the country need hope. I’m very thankful to have won this award. I certainly look up to all of the people in this category. They are taking the gospel out to the folks who really need to hear it. Thanks again so much. It means a lot to me,” he concluded.

Other major wins of the night included Lady Antebellum’s Hello World, in the Video category.

Noted Dave Haywood of Lady A on their award: “This was a really emotional song and definitely the most dramatic video we’ve ever made. We are honored with the recognition from the Inspirational Country Music Award voters and we just appreciate the support of our fans. We want to give a shout out to Roman White, who directed this video and created such a powerful visual story for our song…big thanks to him as well.”

Big Machine Label Group’s rising new superstar Justin Moore proved a winner with this year’s voters with Mainstream Inspirational Country Song honors being award to If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away. “This song is a gift from God,” he noted in acknowledging the honor.

 “I can’t think of a better way and a better place to win my first ever award so thank you very much and God bless you guys.”

Jeff Bates proved equally strong as a mainstream contender as he walked the Schermerhorn stage to receive Mainstream Country Artist top honors. Film honors went to Soul Surfer — the dramatic true story of young surfer Bethany Hamilton’s deep encounter with God after losing her arm in a shark attack at the age of 13. Directed by Sean McNamara, who also co-wrote the screenplay with collaborative writer Deborah Schwartz, McNamara was at the Schermerhorn to accept the award.

An emotional highlight of the evening was the naming of The Fox Brothers as the recipient of the coveted Legend/Pioneer Award.

The brotherhood trio of Roy, Randy and Lynn Fox are true representatives of the unique blend of Christian and country music. Growing up the brothers honed their harmonies and genius for entertaining an audience in the revival and church service world of their childhood in rural Tennessee. With success in southern gospel, The Fox Brothers expanded their reach to become one of the industry’s most beloved performing groups. They have a unique history leading up to tonight’s honor. The Fox Brothers have previously been twice honored as “Entertainer of the Year” (2000-2001) by Inspirational Country Music Association voters who also deemed them “Vocal Group of the Year” through eight consecutive wins.

More than a dozen major performance dotted the evening—including those by The Roys, Lathan Moore, Joey + Rory, Buddy Jewell, Guy Penrod, The Isaacs, Laura Dodd, and Lucas Hoge.

Major Inspirational Country Music Award Category winners announced were:
Entertainer of the Year: Ricky Skaggs
Mainstream Country Artist: Jeff Bates
Video Award: Hello World – Lady Antebellum
Inspirational Bluegrass Artist: The Roys
Legend/Pioneer Award: The Fox Brothers
Mainstream Inspirational Song: If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away –Justin Moore.
Inspirational Country Song: I’ll Stand Up And Say So—Chuck Day
Male Vocalist: Chuck Day
Female Vocalist: Kali Rose.
Vocal Duo: Joey + Rory
Vocal Group or Band: Sunday Drive
Songwriter: Russ Murphy
New Artist: Chuck Hancock
Musician: Ricky Skaggs
Comedian: Johnny Lee Cook
Youth In Music: Renee Spencer
Music Evangelist: Johnny Lee Cook
Radio Personality: J. R. Pitsenbarger
Radio Station: WCWV—Summersville, WV
Television Network: Daystar TV
Faith & Family Movie: Soul Surfer

Country Girl wants you to be a Tattle Tale! Have you been to a country concert lately? Run into a country artist while out on the town? We want to hear all about your country music news and entertainment. Email me at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com

Photo Courtesy of WireImage

Joey+Rory saw their A Farmhouse Christmas album hit stores this week, and now they have announced dates for their inaugural A Farmhouse Christmas Tour for 2011. Twelve dates are on the books, with the kickoff scheduled for November 25 in Joey’s hometown area of Anderson, Indiana. More dates are likely to be added.

Not just another Christmas show, A Farmhouse Christmas Tour is an invitation to join Joey+Rory in their living room for a special evening of love, country music and Christmas at the farm. The stage will be set up like the living room in their own 1870s farm house in Tennessee, and the evening of music, stories and memories will warm your heart more than a cup of hot cider on a cold day.

“Our hope is to bring a little bit of what it’s like at our farmhouse during Christmas time to each place that we visit,” said Joey. “Whether we’re in Boston, New Jersey or New York City…for that particular evening, in that place, everyone is in our living room with us, gathered around the tree.” Rory adds, “This is our favorite record we’ve ever made, and just being able to share these songs with people, night after night, is so exciting to us.”

The tour is sponsored by Roper Apparel and Footwear and booked by Creative Artists Agency (CAA.)

Joey+Rory A Farmhouse Christmas Tour dates:
11/25 Anderson, IN
11/27 West Des Moines, IA
11/29 Highland, KS
12/1 Longview, TX
12/2 Las Vegas, NV
12/3 Las Vegas, NV
12/8 Columbia, TN
12/14 Nashville, TN
12/18 Newton, NJ
12/19 New York City, NY
12/20 Annapolis, MD
12/22 Boston, MA

For addition details on dates, venues, times and ticket information, visit www.joeyandrory.com.

Got some country music gossip and don’t wanna be a tattle tale? Email me, Tawny Tucker, Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com

Joey+Rory, will perform a special concert at the historic Franklin Theatre on Saturday, Sept.17, 2011 at 8 p.m. The one-night-only show, Rockin’ for Riders, is presented by Carhartt and benefits Saddle Up!, Middle Tennessee’s oldest and largest recreational therapeutic horseback riding program and the only one exclusively serving children and youth who have disabilities.

“I’ve been at the Saddle Up facility many times over the last 10 years and have seen first-hand the difference that their organization and therapeutic riding in general, is making. Rory and I are proud to help them celebrate 20 years of incredible work and service in the community. It’s going to be a wonderful evening of music and fun,” said Joey Feek, an avid equestrian rider who was once a volunteer at Saddle Up! “We’re really excited to perform in the Franklin Theatre for a program that has a profound impact on the lives of its participants.”

“We are so grateful to have the talent and support of Joey+Rory,” said Cheryl Scutt, Executive Director of Saddle Up!. “September 17th will be a night to remember!”

Tickets are $75 for classic theatre seating, $100 for cabaret seating (or $400 for a table for four) on the floor by the stage and $125 for the exclusive balcony seats, private bar and restroom. Tickets are available through the Franklin Theatre at www.franklintheatre.com or 615-538-2075.

Country Girl wants you to be a Tattle Tale! Have you been to a country concert lately? Run into a country artist while out on the town? We want to hear all about your country music news and entertainment. Email me at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com