Take a city girl and put her in the mix of country, and you will have Lauren Briant. She has one of the biggest voices in country music today. She signed with Average Joe’s Entertainment (Montgomery Gentry, Colt Ford, Josh Gracin) in 2009 and went to work writing and recording with Nashville notables Noah Gordon (Tim McGraw, Craig Morgan, John Michael Montgomery), Philip Douglas (Lonestar, Tracy Lawrence, Billy Ray Cyrus), Dan Murph (Randy Travis, Bucky Covington), as well as country artist Colt Ford (Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert). She co-wrote 8 of 14 songs off her debut album Lauren Briant that is available now on iTunes.

In 2010, Lauren took part in a collaborative album entitled Muddigger. It has sold over 25,000 copies to date and also features Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert, The Lacs, Matt Stillwell, among others. With over 3 million plays on myspace.com, Lauren is on her way to super stardom!  Her current single “Who I Am With You” is at radio now.

10 QUICK QUIRKY QUESTIONS with Lauren Briant

Q:  Where is the one place you could spend hours and be happy?
A:  Ask anyone who knows me and they would all say Disneyland.

Q:  Beer or Liquor?
A:  Niether. I don’t drink.

Q:  Last person you talked to on the phone?
A:  One of my best friends who’s name is also Lauren. We’re on a last name basis to avoid confusion.

Q:  Favorite TV Show?
A:  I am loving Once Upon a Time right now. It’s right up my alley.

Q:  What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
A:  McDonald’s ice cream cones.

Q:  If you hadn’t made it as a singer/songwriter, what would you likely be doing for a living?
A:  I’m not sure if it’s very realistic but I’d love to be a chef on a Food Network cooking show.

Q:  If your life was a song, what would the title be?
A:  Don’t Worry. Be Happy.

Q:  If you could have any super power what would it be?
A:  Flying. I mean who wouldn’t want to fly?

Q:  Do you have a pre-concert ritual?
A:  I always say a prayer before I go on stage. That and a hair toss.

Q:  What was the last thing that made you laugh?
A:  I  just watched Modern Family. Hilarious.

DON’T FORGET to head over to to www.laurenbriant.com and enter to win a free iPad. Winner will be announced at the end of January.  To find out more about Lauren you can also visit www.facebook.com/LaurenLBriant

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

Today Country Stampede proved once again that it is the top entertainment venue in the Midwest by announcing yet another star studded lineup filled with recent CMA winners and nominees, hit recording artists, and country music superstars.

Today, festival officials announced that Billboard’s Top Country Music Artist of the Decade, and multiplatinum selling megastar Toby Keith will be performing live on Saturday, June 23rd. Grammy Award winning fan favorites Zac Brown Band will be filling in the Friday, June 22nd headlining spot, while Sunday’s headlining slot will be filled by CMA New Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Single of the Year winners, and sibling powerhouse The Band Perry. Platinum recording artist Luke Bryan will headline on Thursday, June 21st.

Toby Keith’s Saturday appearance will be preceded by a rocking performance from Brantley Gilbert, whose current hit single “Country Must Be Country Wide” is tearing up the charts. Hit country music artist John Michael Montgomery will be performing on Sunday. Chart topper Steve Holy, who has recently released his third studio album Love Don’t Run, will be performing Friday night preceded by local favorites T-Marv & Hammer Down. Classic country music duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo, who have several top ten hits to their credit, will be appearing on Sunday. The Cleverlys will be treating festival fans to their tongue-n-cheek bluegrass renditions of current pop hits on Thursday. There are many more exciting acts to be announced. Stay tuned to CountryStampede.com in the coming months for the complete lineup announcement.

Mark your calendar! The 2012 Country Stampede takes place June 21, 22, 23, and 24. For updates and ticket information visit countrystampede.com or call 800-795-8091. A four-day general admission ticket is now only $95. Prices go up November 30th. Use Country Stampede’s EZ-Pay option to split up the cost of your tickets and camping over five months to take advantage of their Special Offer pricing now!

Click Read More for the Main Stage Schedule for 2012 Country Stampede:

2012 Country Stampede Main Stage Schedule

Thursday
5:00 The Big 94.5 Country
6:30 The Cleverlys
8:00 TBA
9:30 Luke Bryan

Friday
2:30 T-Marv & Hammer
Down
4:00 TBA
5:30 Steve Holy
7:30 TBA
9:30 Zac Brown Band

Saturday
2:30 94.5 Road to
Stampede Winner
4:00 TBA
5:30 TBA
7:30 Brantley Gilbert
9:30 Toby Keith

Sunday
2:30 TBA
4:00 Sweethearts of the
Rodeo
6:00 John Michael
Montgomery
8:00 The Band Perry

Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, and his brother, John Michael Montgomery, are looking at making music together and are writing book.
John Michael Montgomery tells Billboard.com they aren’t sure at this point what they’ll record. He says maybe they’ll do

“two or three songs first and then maybe even do a whole album next year or something.” “We want to have fun with it more than anything. Before we were on different major labels, different booking agencies. Now all the red tape has disappeared, and the politics, too. I think it could turn out to be a pretty good album.”

The Montgomery brothers also are starting to work on a book about their lives. John Michael Montgomery says it’ll be about “being raised in Kentucky with a musical family”.

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

John Michael Montgomery hit #1 in 1994 with “I Swear”.

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

Danville, KY native John Michael Montgomery became one of the newest members of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, inducted by brother Eddie Montgomery, of the country duo Montgomery Gentry, at a ceremony in Lexington, KY.

“I am tremendously gratified to be given this honor. Having my brother Eddie do the induction made it even more special,” says Montgomery.

Montgomery burst onto the scene in 1992 with the release of the platinum-selling Life’s a Dance, an album that would yield singles including the title track and his first #1 hit, “I Love the Way You Love Me,” which also achieved crossover success.

Montgomery would follow with unforgettable favorites including “I Swear,” “Be My Baby Tonight,” “I Can Love You Like That,” “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident),” “The Little Girl,” “Letters From Home” and more.

With a musical career that spans twelve albums and a greatest hits package, John Michael Montgomery’s overwhelming contribution to the country music format includes 15 number one singles, over 15 million albums sold and numerous industry and fan-voted awards, including three Grammy nominations, three CMA Awards, five ACM Awards and an American Music Award.

John Michael Montgomery continues to tour extensively. Visit www.johnmichael.com for dates and more info.

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

John Michael Montgomery is embarking on a new business venture. He is using his expertise and experience to help aspiring artists move a little closer to their goal of creating their own music product. MontgomeryMixPro.com is John Michael’s new venture. John Michael is offering a service to aspiring artists and writers providing them with a professionally mixed mastered quality recording. Montgomerymixpro.com also provides artists and songwriters with exposure to professional music companies which is an added bonus for using the service.

“I’ve put together a team of top engineers, some who have worked on my own albums, to mix recordings for Montgomerymixpro.com,” says Montgomery. “I will also work on the mix sessions from time to time as well, and who knows, if I hear a song I really like, someone could be hearing from me personally!”

For more information on this new service please log on to www.montgomerymixpro.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

Colt Ford is planning month-long celebration of his sophomore studio release, Chicken and Biscuits. The album, which features special guests Randy Houser, Joe Nichols, James Otto, Kevin Fowler, Darryl Worley, Josh Gracin, DMC (of Run/DMC), Ira Dean, Ty Stone, and many more, will hit stores on Tuesday, April 20, but CMT and Rhapsody are streaming the album in its entirety HERE a full week before its release.

Ford will kick-off the celebration with his first album release party at Tucker Plantation in his home state of Georgia on Friday, April 16 with featured guests John Michael Montgomery and Josh Gracin. On Saturday, April 17, Ford is taking over XM-11 “Nashville” airways from 7pm – Midnight (ET). Tuesday, April 20 Ford will host a star-studded Nashville CD release celebration from 6-8 pm at 12th & Porter. Beginning Tuesday, April 27th fans can watch Ford on GAC’s On The Streets at 1 pm, 9 pm, and again at 1 am ET and on GAC’s Championship Bull Riding at 10 pm ET, followed by a LIVE online streaming concert event presented by True View Live on Friday, April 30 at 7:30 pm ET.

For more information visit ColtFord.com.

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