Tim McGraw is launching a nationwide program called HomeFront in partnership with Chase and Operation Homefront to award mortgage-free homes to wounded warriors and servicemembers in need at each concert of his summer tour.

Additionally, both ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music, and The Premier Group on behalf of the North Carolina Furniture Manufacturers, have made substantial contributions to support the program throughout the summer.

McGraw has a long history and deep interest in supporting veterans and military families and wanted to find another way to honor our vets and give back to them for their commitment and service to our country. To kick-start the HomeFront program, McGraw will perform a special Memorial Day concert of remembrance and gratitude for servicemembers at New York City’s Beacon Theatre during Fleet Week in partnership with Chase and the United Service Organizations (USO). The show will be streamed live via YouTube and to military bases around the world on The Pentagon Channel. (http://www.livefromthehomefront.com; http://www.youtube.com/countrynow; http://www.pentagonchannel.mil).

“My sister’s a veteran of the first Gulf War. My uncle was a Vietnam veteran and my grandfather was a World War II veteran. I’ve always felt a deep sense of respect and obligation to our troops,” says McGraw. “Being able to reward them for their dedicated work with a new home will be even more rewarding for us. It feels so good to give back to them, and to have the opportunity to entertain them on Memorial Day is something I’m honored to do.”

“We are grateful to our servicemembers, veterans and their families for their service and sacrifices,” said Frank Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Mortgage Banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “We are honored to partner with Tim McGraw and Operation Homefront to award mortgage-free homes. It’s a small way to say thank you to people who have done so much to protect our nation and our freedom.”

On June 2nd in Tampa, McGraw will begin what is anticipated to be the biggest stadium tour in country music history. The Brothers of the Sun Tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw will hit the nation’s biggest stadiums through August.

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Making changes up until the last note was played, Kenny Chesney closed out his final Nashville rehearsal for the ‘Brother’s of the Sun’ Tour, with Chesney and Tim McGraw. Kicking off in Tampa, Florida on June 2, Chesney shares the stage with longtime friend Tim McGraw.

“We hadn’t even finished last year’s tour when we started working on this year, and what we visualized nine months ago is a reality today,” Chesney enthused.

In front of a small crowd of friends and members of the music industry, Chesney used every moment of the working rehearsal to put final touches on his show, tweaking everything from the timing of video clips and color saturation to sound mix and instrumentation. Chesney also chatted informally with the crowd, sharing stories behind the songs and past tours.

With dazzling, state of the art video, lighting and sound, the ‘Brothers of the Sun’ Tour, with Chesney and McGraw, is set to be an astonishing audio/visual display. But the focus of the show is the music. Whether it’s showcasing new music from his forthcoming ‘Welcome To The Fishbowl’ (6.19), or going deep into his catalog of hits, the show glides with a bend towards uptempo songs balanced by the occasional ballad, plus a few surprises.

“It’s the fans that make this all happen and we’re ready to let this show loose on you,” said Chesney. “We’re rehearsed and our bags are packed, so get your tailgating ready and we’ll see you in the parking lots and in the stadiums all summer long.”

Keep up with tour dates and details about Kenny on his website at http://kennychesney.com

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Just moments ago during a press conference at The Country Music Hall of Fame, Tim McGraw announced he has signed with mega-label Big Machine Records. Tim’s long-standing feud with former label, Curb has brought him to a new home.

Many people know that I came to Nashville 23 years ago on a Greyhound bus with nothing but a guitar,”  says Tim. “And 23 years to the day, on May 9th, I went back to the bus station & officially signed this deal. It was a significant way for me to mark this new beginning. … Excited doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling about working on a new album for this next chapter in my career.”

Headed by Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Label Group is home for Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, and Martina McBride.

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Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw are hard at work and started their first joint rehearsal Thursday (May 10) for their upcoming tour, “Brothers of the Sun.”  According to MSN.com the rehearsal lasted more than three hours.

“Yesterday’s rehearsal with Tim and I and our bands was as electric and exciting as we anticipated,” said Chesney in a press release accompanying the photo. “It’s been a long time since we’ve played on stage together and the chemistry and excitement is just so natural. It’s going to be a dream come true to have our years of friendship come together on stage for what will be one unpredictable, loud, hell of a summer, and I can’t wait.”

“Brothers of the Sun”  will play more than 20 stadiums across the country, and more than 700,000 tickets have already been sold. Opening acts include Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Jake Owen.

CMTT wants you to be a Tattle Tale! We want to hear what you have to say about country music and your favorite artists. Email Jessica at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com. Don’t miss a country music beat! Sign up to receive free email updates or subscribe to CMTT via RSS today!

Lionel Richie’s Platinum album “Tuskegee” is on sale for only $5 on Amazon.com! If you don’t already have this album GO GET IT NOW! It is AMAZING!

The country duets album, which held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 for two consecutive weeks, sits at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart for the fourth week since its March 26 release.

The album features duets of 13 of his timeless hits with Jason Aldean, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Nettles, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Rogers, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton and Shania Twain.

The $5 price is only good for a limited time so HURRY!

CMTT wants you to be a Tattle Tale! We want to hear what you have to say about country music and your favorite artists. Email Jessica at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com. Don’t miss a country music beat! Sign up to receive free email updates or subscribe to CMTT via RSS today!

The Tug McGraw Foundation will hold its inaugural “Celebrity Sporting Clay Shootout”, presented by DeltaSports.TV, on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at the Nashville Gun Club in Nashville, Tennessee. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Tug McGraw Foundation and its efforts to improve the lives of military service members who have been affected by Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

The Tug McGraw Foundation Celebrity Sporting Clay Shootout will feature an exciting lineup of celebrities, all vying for a chance to be crowned Celebrity Sporting Clay Shootout champions. Joining the foundation at the event is GRAMMY® Award-winning musician Tim McGraw and an all-star lineup of country celebrities, including Luke Bryan, Craig Campbell, Troy Gentry, Josh Gracin, JT Hodges, Eddie Montgomery, Jon Pardi, Brad Warren, and Brett Warren, with others to be announced in the coming weeks. Heading up the professional contingent for the event is Bill McGuire, the 2011 National Sporting Clay Champion.

Often described as “golf with shotguns,” the event will be a sporting clay shooting competition between 15 teams consisting of four shooters, a pro, and a celebrity. Unlike trap and skeet, which are games of repeatable target presentations, sporting clays simulates the unpredictability of live-quarry shooting, offering a great variety of trajectories, angles, speeds, elevations, distances, and target sizes.

The teams will make their way through the award-winning 15-station sporting clay course at the Nashville Gun Club. In addition to the shooting competition, there will be a BBQ lunch and silent auction with items including wine, dining, travel and sports & music memorabilia.

To register an individual or team, or for more information about becoming a sponsor of the event, please visit http://www.tugmcgraw.org.

CMTT wants you to be a Tattle Tale! We want to hear what you have to say about country music and your favorite artists. Email Jessica at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com. Don’t miss a country music beat! Sign up to receive free email updates or subscribe to CMTT via RSS today!

HARMAN International Industries announced today that two styles of JBL® headphones designed in partnership with country music icon Tim McGraw will be available in May from the nation’s leading retailers. The JBL Artist Series headphones by McGraw are available in on-ear and in-ear styles and deliver an impressive acoustic performance at price points music lovers will find attractive.

McGraw is also the next “Hear the truth” artist for JBL, the first in a distinguished line-up of musicians to have a branded line of JBL audio gear that represents the campaign’s commitment to delivering quality products that reproduce music the way artists want it to be heard.

“Music fans today should not compromise when it comes to sound,” said Dinesh C. Paliwal, chairman, president and CEO of HARMAN. “Our partnership with Tim McGraw shows that musicians want to deliver audio products that represent and emphasize the acoustic quality they work hard to achieve. We think Tim McGraw’s fans – and any music lover – will appreciate these custom-designed headphones for a performance that faithfully delivers music the way the artist intended.”

McGraw, who has 32 No. 1 hits to his credit, said he wants his fans “to hear and experience music the way I do. I’ve teamed up with JBL to create Artist Series headphones that have been tuned to do just that. Truth is in the details, and I’m proud to bring the truth with my own series of JBL headphones.”

The McGraw “Hear the truth” campaign will include national TV, print, online and tour components to support the launch of his JBL Artist Series headphones. Additionally, JBL is an official sponsor of McGraw’s upcoming tour supporting his latest No. 1 album, Emotional Traffic.

The JBL Tim McGraw Artist Series headphones will be available at select Walmart stores, Walmart.com, Guitar Center and JBL.com.

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