The phrase “starving artists” is well known.  Musicians attending the RW Colorado Music Expo & Fan Fair in Colorado Springs have given birth to a new phrase; “thirsty musicians,” as they made off with two pallets (nearly $1,000 worth) of donated redleaf, North America’s only Ultra-Premium bottled water, following the event.

Instead of pressing charges, the company is hoping to put these and all other enterprising musicians up to the task by issuing a challenge to write lyrics including “redleaf Water”.  The company is pledging a year’s supply of water for the best song.

“Country musicians are some of the best lyricists on the planet,” said Dave Hillis, redleaf Chief Operating Officer.  “So we are hoping these enterprising musicians can write and perform a great song that includes our product and share it with us on our facebook page. In exchange, we are happy to donate a year’s supply of water to the winner.”

redleaf was an official sponsor for the event, which drew fans and participants to Colorado Springs. Following the event, redleaf sent a local trucking company to pick up four remaining pallets of the water from the Expo Center.  When the trucks arrived, they were only able to find two.  Event organizers confirmed that several of the musicians had taken the water following the event on Sunday.
“I love country music and I know country musicians can create magic out of nearly any subject, so why not water,” said Hillis.  “It will be a small price to pay if one of these talented individuals can capture redleaf in a great song.”

redleaf starts as great water from an artesian aquifer in Chilliwack, British Columbia, and is made even better through a proprietary purification and bottling process. The water’s high oxygen content and high pH of 8.3 have been known to have several health benefits for the drinker, including increasing alertness, hydration and stamina – all of which are crucial to musicians.
The RW Colorado Country Music Expo & Fan Fair was just one of many local event sponsorships in the Mountain-West region of the United States that redleaf has planned in 2010. For a complete list of events scheduled, please visit www.redleafwater.com or www.facebook.com/redleaf.ultrapremium.

About redleaf water
redleaf is North America’s only ultra-premium bottled water. It starts with great water from a naturally renewable source in the Canadian Rockies, and is made better through a state-of-the-art purification and bottling process, that is the industry’s most advanced and the best way to improve on the Earth’s own natural process for making great tasting, healthy water. It is available in locations throughout the Mountain West region of the United States, including 108 Albertsons LLC stores.
For more information, please visit redleafwater.com.

Other superstars lined up to air on the program are Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, and MORE!

Superstars Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert and Rascal Flatts are headed to the INVITATION ONLY stage when all new episodes begin airing Monday, August 23; Miranda premieres Monday, August 23 at 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., ET/PT.
Lambert continues her banner year by performing her most popular hits and recent number one singles including “White Liar” and the four week #1 single, “The House That Built Me’,” as well as rousing fan favorites including “Gunpowder & Lead”, “Kerosene” and more.  Taped before a small studio audience in Nashville, the INVITATION ONLY series features artists performing their biggest hits and new favorites, as well as answering questions from fans during an informal question and answer session.

Kenny Chesney – Monday, September 27

Toby Keith – Friday, October 8

Rascal Flatts – Monday, November 15

Previous episodes of INVITATION ONLY have featured Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban.

Reba, cast and crew wait out the storm in the basement of a 100-year-old warehouse outside downtown Nashville on the video set of Reba’s latest smash single, “Turn on the Radio,” on Monday, July 26, 2010.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Justin McIntosh

Big Machine Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta says, “Rascal Flatts are the biggest band in Country Music and we’re honored and thrilled to have them join the Big Machine Records family.  While they are celebrating their first ten years together I selfishly can’t wait to start on their next ten years.  They have made a fantastic new album and they are completely energized and ready to take on not only the US but also the rest of the world. Why wait?”

Along with the move, the trio revealed they will be releasing a new record Nothing Like This, on November 16.  Big Machine label head Scott Borchetta and the guys also unveiled the album cover and announced their first single, “Why Wait” (written by Neil Thrasher, Tom Shapiro and Jimmy Yeary, and is going out to Country radio immediately.) The album is produced by Dann Huff and is the follow up to Unstoppable released in 2009.

Check out the cover below!

Do you love this new partnership? What do you think of the single?

Announced this week, our favorite “Modern Day Drifter” will be a father for the second time. Dierks and his lovely wife Cassidy are excited to welcome a younger brother and sister for their daughter Evie this winter.

“We’re so excited that our daughter, Evie  is going to get a baby sister or brother for Christmas,” Dierks announced to People magazine. Bentley says Evie – now 21-months-old – is “pretty obsessed with a baby doll she carries around now,” noting, “We’ll see how she does with the real thing!”

Promoting UP ON THE RIDGE through the summer, Dierks will also be hitting the late-night shows in support of the album,his ballad “Fallin’ For You” on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman next Tuesday, and the romantic tune “Draw Me A Map” on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon next Wednesday.

Are you thrilled for Dierks’ growing family? I know we are!

Paul McCartney, 68-year-old native of Liverpool is the most famous songwriter in the history of popular music. According to Guinness World Records, he wrote or co-wrote 188 charted records of which 91 reached the Top 10 and 33 made it to No. 1.Almost everyone has a favorite McCartney song, written either when he was a member of the Fab Four or during his prolific career as a solo artist and with Wings. Kevin Spacey performed a duet with Sir Paul McCartney at a one-off gig earlier this week. The legendary icon McCartney said “It was a great pleasure to come and rock out for the Old Vicers! When Kevin strong-armed me into doing it, as he does, we were only too pleased to show up and step up to the plate.”

Paul McCartney closed the 2010 Isle Of Wight Festival tonight on June 13, headlining the Main Stage. Taking to the stage after a pre-recorded video introduction from comedian James Corden, he kicked things off with a medley of Wings’ ‘Venus and Mars’ and ‘Rock Show’ before diving straight into ‘Jet’. Say Say Say”, Michael Jackson’s 1983 duet with Paul McCartney, has emerged as the legendary late King of Pop’s most popular song in the U.S. following an in-depth study of the pop superstar’s chart statistics. Say Say Say” appears in Paul McCartney’s fifth solo album “Pipes of Peace”. Produced by George Martin, the single peaked at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100.The rocking McCartney has added latest tour dates during the month, including second appearances in Toronto and Pittsburgh. Buy cheap Paul McCartney tickets as his tour begins July 10 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The Grascals’ version of the Monkees’ classic ’60s pop smash, “The Last Train To Clarksville” is set to premiere worldwide on AOL Music / The Boot (http://www.theboot.com) today. The video for their current country and bluegrass radio single was directed by Marcel Chagnon (Clay Walker’s “She Won’t Be Lonely Long”), and was filmed at several Nashville locations in late June.
“We are always looking for ways to bring our music to the people,” says Grascals’ vocalist Jamie Johnson. “This is an historic day for bluegrass music. With the premiere of our video, this is the first-time ever AOL has premiered a bluegrass artist’s music video and we are so honored to be the first.”

A bright 1966 Dodge van co-stars with the band and is featured throughout the video. Quick close-ups of each Grascal, mixed with fast-frame action, keep the tempo pumping. Director Marcel’s choice of 12 and 48 frames-per-second shooting give the final edit an intentional, stop-motion feel reminiscent of 1960s and ’70s home movies, mixed with modern elements.

The single, the first release from their newest CD, THE FAMOUS LEFTY FLYNN’S, shipped to country radio in June, but is already a proven hit on the bluegrass charts. “Last Train To Clarksville” currently holds the #2 spot on the Bluegrass Music Profiles July Chart and is #20, on the July Bluegrass Unlimited Chart. THE FAMOUS LEFTY FLYNN’S is currently #3 on the BILLBOARD Top Bluegrass Albums Chart,  #2 on the Bluegrass Unlimited Chart and #1 on the Bluegrass Music Profiles Top 10 National Bluegrass CD Chart.

More info is available at: http://www.grascals.com/

Josh Thompson hit the country music scene with a bang last year with his breakout hit, “Beer on the Table.” The song went on to become a Top 20 hit for the Wisconsin native, and his current single, “Way Out Here” (also the title track of his debut album), is following hot on its heels. Both songs, along with the other eight tracks off WAY OUT HERE, were written or co-written by the singer who began dabbling in songwriting nearly 10 years ago.

“As a songwriter, I’m really at the mercy of a great idea. I could sit and write songs all day about a telephone or a piece of dry wall, but at the end of the day, you really need a great idea, a great hook and a great story,” Josh says of the struggles of songwriting. “I think those things don’t come along every day. Of course you’re always ready for them to come along, but trying to find a different way of saying something that people have said for hundreds of years can be tough.”

While WAY OUT HERE is his first album on a major label (Columbia Nashville), Josh has been involved with singing in studios for five years in demo situations. “Recording demos and recording an album is pretty much the same process, but there’s a little more stress attached to it,” Josh admits. “It’s also better in a lot of ways because with demos you’re really snapping to get through them, whereas if you’re cutting a record, you have the ability to take your time and make sure you love it.”

Since the album’s release in February, Josh has been hitting the road non-stop, beginning with the Jagermeister Tour with Eric Church. Josh is currently in the midst of Brad Paisley’s H2O World Tour where he performs along with Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia, Justin Moore, Darius Rucker, and, of course, Brad.

“The talent lineup is great,” Josh notes. “I love everybody out there. It’s exciting. It’s going to be a great summer. The difference from the Jager tour and this tour is ridiculous. This one is just so high scale. There are so many working parts, yet everything manages to come together perfectly.”

One of the perks of performing for the large crowds coming out to see the H2O Tour is testing new songs for fan feedback. “I’m starting to get some songs worked into my set that I’m looking to record for the next album,” Josh says. “That’s something I didn’t have for the first record. I played a lot of shows, and I kind of got a response, but not on the level I am now because simply the crowds are bigger and I’m playing more. Whatever the crowd is really responsive to is probably what I am going to pick. I’m not going to play it first without loving it so if they love it, then that will be great!”

While he continues to win over fans night after night with his honest songs which he sings from the heart, Josh stays humbled by the fact that he has a long road ahead in order to follow in the footsteps of his musical heroes like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. “I’m not the kind of person that ever gets comfortable. I’m very grateful for everything that has happened, but I don’t look at something and say, ‘Oh cool, I have nothing left to do now,’” Josh explains. “Some people think that when you play the Opry that you’ve made it or when you get your first No. 1 or when you get on a tour bus … There are a whole host of things to judge that by. I think there are a lot of different steps to making it. I think in some respects I have made it, but I have a long way to go personally and business wise. There’s no need in getting cocky even if you’re good at whatever it is that you do.”

JOSH THOMPSON

Takes a Pop Quiz!

What are your tips to staying in shape?
The main thing I do is really try to watch what I eat … by not eating a box of Twinkies, but maybe having some salmon or a salad, you can ward off a lot of unpleasantness that way. I don’t really like Twinkies that much anyways, so we’re good! [laughs]

What do you collect?
Old records. It’s all country records at this point.

What is your guilty pleasure?
I guess that would be junk food or alcohol … or both depending on the night!

What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Lazy people.

What stresses you out?
TV cameras … I’m trying to get used to them though.

What is your phobia?
Venomous snakes!