The Fourth Annual Guitars of the Stars Benefit Auction is giving country fans the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind guitars inspired and autographed by everyone from the Opry’s newest member to the Coal Miner’s Daughter. The event is scheduled for Thurs., June 7, 5 p.m. at The CMA Music Fest Buckle Stage at 4th Ave. and Broadway in downtown Nashville. The event is open to the public, and all proceeds from the auction will benefit the Opry Trust Fund which assists members of the country music community in need.

Among the stars confirmed to contribute guitars they’ve autographed as inspired by their current singles or signature songs, hobbies, and individual styles are Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Hunter Hayes, Merle Haggard, Casey James, Loretta Lynn, The Band Perry, Kellie Pickler, and Keith Urban. In honor of the group’s latest smash, Opry member group Rascal Flatts has contributed a banjo to the event. Guitar art was provided by Nashville visual artists Lucie Rice, Amanda Sears, and Cindy Wunsch.

In addition to providing one of the guitars for auction, country newcomer, 19 Recordings/BNA Records artist, and American Idol Season 9 alumni Casey James is set to co-host the auction and perform for the auction crowd. 650 AM-WSM radio and GAC television personality Bill Cody will join James as host.

The Opry Trust Fund has for more than 40 years assisted members of the country music community in need of help with medical bills, living expenses, utilities, rent, and food.

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Merle Haggard plans to return to Macon, Georgia, to make up a concert he canceled when he had double pneumonia. The Telegraph reports that Haggard is scheduled to perform the make-up show tomorrow at the Macon City Auditorium.

Haggard spent about a week at the Medical Center of Central Georgia and while he was there, doctors discovered three stomach ulcers and eight polyps in his colon. Haggard is 75. He was diagnosed with lung cancer a few years ago, but recovered after part of his lung was removed.

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Keith Urban’s “We’re All For The Hall” benefit concert has paid off.  He raised $465,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. In three years, the event has donated a total of approximately $1.5 million to the Hall of Fame Museum.

Nearly 14,000 fans attended this year’s event. Artists including Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Alabama, Rascal Flatts, Merle Haggard, The Band Perry and others performed. Urban thanked everyone from the bottom of his heart. He said in a statement that the continued support for the event “truly validates the importance of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and its place at the epicenter of country music.”

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!

10. @CarrieUnderwood took a break from watching the Preds in the playoffs to do a shoot for Olay. “Getting ready for a fun day with my @OlayUS friends!

9.  After weeks of climbing the charts, @LeeBrice made it to the top. “Cheers y’all… My first number one single.. Can’t believe it, hope y’all are having one with me tonight..”

8. Just a year ago @Lauren_Alaina was on TVs nation wide.  Now she has become a party crasher: “I crashed a prom tonight after my set. So glad I still got to go to prom haha (:”

7. You know you’ve made it when people recognize you in public. @JimmyWayne had that experience this week. “A lady just made a dramatic “aren’t you” scene in the Southwest line & began singN my songs loud & sayN do y’all know him? It was killer!”

6. Friday @HunterHayes was on the Opry stage when Little Jimmy asked himm to return.  Hunter posted this about his time in the circle: “You know what the coolest part about last night @opry was? Knowing I get to go back tonight!! Seriously stoked!”

5. @Miranda_Lambert is known for her love of animals, but I think the animals find her – I’ve never seen someone find so many strays! “And I Found this on the side of the road this morning. Dah-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Batman! (The theme song ):)”

4. With a tour and TV show @BlakeShelton still has to make difficult decisions like this one:  “Damn it!!! I can’t handle the pressure anymore and I don’t know what to do!!! Will it be Coco or Fruity Pebbles?!!!”

3. Although people can only post 140 characters, @MartinaMcBride learned just how fast twitter moves this week. “I leave twitter for a few hours and what happens? @KeithUrban gets invited to join the Opry and @merlehaggard is on twitter! What a night!”

2. I’m pretty sure @JakeOwen stayed as far away from the mountains as he could on Friday the 13th. “Last time there was a Friday the 13th I broke my collarbone. Can’t wait to see what today has in store for me.”

1. Although Jake Owen doesn’t like Friday the 13th, @TaylorSwift13 finds the day lucky.  Maybe this is her next number 1! “Recording the next album. So happy.”

New Twitter Alert!  The legendary @MerleHaggard has now joined the twitterverse.

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Scotty B. – cmttreviewer@yahoo.com
Twitter @stupidkid2150

Last night, Keith Urban, Vince Gill, and Friends rocked Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the Third Annual ‘We’re All for the Hall’ concert benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Fans of all ages gathered to get a musical taste of various duos and groups during the “Come Together” themed evening. Although, there were a few solo surprise exceptions.

Unlike year’s passed, Keith Urban didn’t do a mini set of his solo show to kick-off the evening. Instead, Keith sang a couple of songs before inviting Vince Gill on stage with him to perform a few of his songs. This set the tone for the evening which included a two-song set from Little Big Town, Thompson Square, The Pistol Annies, The Band Perry, Alabama, The Oak Ridge Boy, Lady Antebellum, Rascall Flatts, and Diamond Rio.

It’s pretty impressive to see so many legends and so many new folks on one stage. I’m sure many fans, myself included, were seeing someone for the very first time. I never thought I would see Alabama perform together since they retired before I had the chance. And, it’s amazing to hear an arena full of people sing songs that are nearly two decades old; especially when some of the folks in attendance weren’t that old.

Two legendary solo artists graced the stage last night, and the fact they were solo didn’t matter at all. The legendary Don Williams rocked the sold-out crowd to the famed “Tulsa Time” and Merel Haggard sang three or four hits while people sat jaw agape at the very fact they were seeing this legend perform before their very eyes.

Probably the most memorable part of the night was when Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, Diamond Rio, and The Oak Ridge Boys invited Keith Urban to join The Grand Ole Opry via duffel Bag. Keith almost appeared shocked while he tried to gain his composure before speaking. The arena went nuts, to say the least. This is a moment Keith’s fans have waited for almost as long as he has. I’ve spent many Opry performances holding my breath only to be left disappointed and light headed. Last night, everyone screamed and cheered.

At the end of the night, the entire crowd returned to the stage to perform a very unorganized version of “I Saw Here Standing There.” To be honest, I’m not sure anyone sang anything other than the first verse and the chorus. But hey, all of those folks on stage at one time having the time of their lives…I’ll take it.

You can see all of our pictures on our Flickr.

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Photo: © Erik Kabik/ Cassi Thomas/ www.erikkabik.com.

Willie Nelson and Martina McBride helped Las Vegas open its new $470 million performing arts center.

The star-studded concert Saturday marked the grand opening of the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Las Vegas. A statement from the center says McBride and Train lead singer Pat Monahan teamed up for a medley featuring “Marry Me” and “A Song For You.” Nelson and Merle Haggard performed “Pancho and Lefty.” The duo was later joined by Grammy-winner Emmylou Harris on “Ramblin’ Fever.”

The Smith Center’s inaugural season will feature cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Broadway hits “Wicked” and “Mary Poppins.”

See more photos from the event by clicking here.

Country Girl wants you to be a Tattle Tale! We want to hear what you have to say about country music and your favorite artists. Email me 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 Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will tell the story of the stars, sidemen and songwriters who created and popularized a new kind of country music in mid-20th century America in The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country, a more than 5,000-square-foot exhibition opening on Friday, March 23, 2012, and closing on December 31, 2013.

Narrated by Dwight Yoakam, the exhibit will explore the roots, heyday and impact of the Bakersfield Sound, the loud, stripped-down and radio-ready music most closely identified with the careers of Country Music Hall of Fame members Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Co-curated by the institution’s Curatorial Director Mick Buck, Photo Collection Manager Tim Davis and Museum Editor Michael Gray, the Bakersfield Sound exhibit includes more than 100 artifacts and a generous overlay of audiovisual treasure.

“We are incredibly excited to explore the Bakersfield Sound story,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “It’s an epic tale, born in the Great Depression, set two thousand miles from country music’s epicenter, and populated by a remarkably talented and tight-knit community of musicians who came together to invigorate and reinvent country music as they knew it. These colorful artists infused their work with an aural intensity and independent spirit, in the process creating a sound that reverberates through country music to this day.

“We are grateful to all of the artists, musicians and families who shared their knowledge, memories and artifacts with us,” Young continued. “An exhibit of this scope and magnitude would not have been possible without their cooperation. We would also like to thank Dwight Yoakam for his participation: Dwight is an iconoclast whose rich musical catalog embodies the Bakersfield Sound tradition; he’s also a historian and fan who reveres the bedrock of this genre. I can’t think of anyone better than Dwight to guide our visitors on the Bakersfield journey.”

Grand opening weekend will be highlighted by a Saturday, March 24 panel discussion featuring Dallas Frazier, Don Maddox, Rose Lee Maphis, Buddy Mize, Country Music Hall of Fame member Jean Shepard and Red Simpson. Later that afternoon, all of the panelists will participate in a concert, headlined by Simpson, backed by West Coast bandleader and guitarist Deke Dickerson and other noted musicians from Tennessee and California. Other opening weekend programs include a Bakersfield Sound book talk, a film screening and an instrument demonstration (see complete details below).

The exhibit will also be accompanied by a richly detailed, lavishly illustrated, 96-page companion book, titled The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country. Published by the Museum’s Country Music Foundation Press and exclusively distributed by the Hal Leonard Corporation, the volume will include essays by California-based music journalists/historians Scott B. Bomar, Randy Poe and Robert Price. Also included are dozens of archival photographs and beautiful color images of many of the artifacts included in the exhibit. The book will be available in the Museum Store and at www.countrymusichalloffame.org.

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