Free Miranda tix, Martina's TV show and Kenny Chesney's twin

Martina McBride has announced that she'll be on a new reality show called "Opening Act" on the E! network.  Martina will be part of an Artist Development Team that will search the internet for up & coming talent, and then work with them & give them the opportunity to be the opening act for well known artists like Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Rod Stewart & others.  I'm a little surprised that there is another reality singing/talent show in the works because that audience seems to be spread pretty thin with shows like American Idol, The Voice, Duets, America's Got Talent, X-Factor etc.   I wonder if the networks are worried about reality show fatigue with their viewers.  I watched all of The Voice this year and parts of American Idol.  Both shows ended in May and just as they ended, ABC's "Duets" started and there was absolutely no chance that I was going to start watching it.  I'm sure it's a great show with talented singers & celebrity judges, but for me, I was (and still am) burned out.  Then again, their target audience probably isn't 37 year old men.  With that said, I'll probably end up getting suckered in and watching every episode of Opening Act!  The show will premiere July 9th on the E! network.

Turns out you can get booted from a Kenny Chesney concert if you look too much like Kenny.  So says Nathan Blankenship.  Nathan was asked to leave Kenny's concert in Nashville over the weekend for "purposefully trying to impersonate a celebrity", and here's what he says happened:

I'm not sure what to think about this story.  I could understand if they ask him to leave because he's trying to pass himself off as Kenny or being a distraction.  But if he's up-front with people and tells them he's not Kenny right off the bat, then there should be no problem.  I can tell you that if I knew I was a dead-ringer for Kenny Chesney, I wouldn't be caught dead in that hat at his concert, but do my best to not draw attention to myself when I'm in public.  What do you think, should they have booted this guy?

Got a chance for you to win tickets to see Miranda Lambert, Lee Brice and Thomas Rhett all week!  Whenever you hear any song by any of those artists this week between 5am - 4pm, be the 25th caller to qualify to win tickets and backstage passes to meet Miranda!!  Then in the 4 o'clock hour, I will call one qualifiers name on the air and if that person calls back within 10 minutes, they'll win a pair of tickets to the concert and be qualified to win the backstage passes!  Should be fun!  Congrats to Brandy Overstreet for winning today.

Have a great week and thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

No reality for Kenny

Over the last couple years, I have wondered if some of the bigger names in country music would participate in the reality TV craze. I've always thought that because of Kenny Chesney's hectic tour schedule and good personality, he would be a perfect candidate for a "behind the scenes" type of reality show, but Kenny disagrees. He says he has not interest in being on any reality shows or even being part of the social network craze like facebook and Twitter. Understandable. He seems to avoid extra attention at all cost, and I can't say I blame him. Kenny says "no" to reality TV, but he did say "yes" to ESPN. He's in a new promo for the sports network:

 

In other Kenny news, there are still tickets available for his concert with Tim McGraw at the Superdome on New Orleans, August 3rd.  Sounds like the boys are having fun on on and off the stage with this tour.  Tim said that he & Kenny are both on strict workout schedules, which is obvious when you look at this photo of Tim that he put on Twitter last week:

A little something for the ladies there.  Anyway, Tim said that Kenny's day to splurge and go off his diet is Sunday, so all week, he is tempting Kenny by sending him red velvet cakes and all kinds of desserts to test Kenny's will power.  So far, so good for Kenny.  Hopefully he won't come off tour with any extra chins! 

Gary Allan announced that he is all done recording his new CD, and it's in the process of being mastered.  Gary described it as "up, and really rockin".  I have always been a huge fan of Gary.  In fact, he's on my "stranded-on-a-deserted-island" list.  You know, the "if you were stranded and could only take 5 CD's with you" game.  Gary and Dwight Yoakam (who is also working on a new CD) would account for all five of those CD's.  The first single from his new project will be called "A Tough Goodbye".  No album title or release date is set as of now.

Congrats to Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland and her husband Justin Miller who are expecting their first baby in November!  Exciting news for them. 

Not much going as far as contests this week, but I will have a chance for you to win a UFC prize pack from Cox and WXBM each day this week.  Listen at 4:50pm for a chance to call in and win a UFC tshirt and DVD from Cox and qualify to win a free pay-per-view coupon to see UFC 147 Silva v. Franklin live on Cox ppv this Saturday from WXBM.

Have a great week!  Thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

Blake is in the studio and Eric is going paperless

Hope you made it through the flooding over the weekend with minimal damage.  What a crazy couple of days.  We live in Cantonment and got out of it with only a muddy back yard.  No complaints.

Blake Shelton has been a busy man lately.  Not only touring, but working on a Christmas CD's and getting set for another season of "The Voice".  Blake recently announced that he's in studio working on his first Christmas CD which should be out later this year.  So far, he hasn't spilled any details on what songs he'll include on the project or a release date.  I'll keep you posted on that.  Also heard that Blake will be back in LA to start work on a new season of NBC's The Voice in the next couple weeks.  Didn't that show just end?  Kim & I watched it this past spring and really enjoyed it, along with American Idol.  Now there's this new show "Duets" with Jennifer Nettles on ABC.  I'm not knocking Duets, but I can't say I'm gonna watch it.  I'm a little "reality-singing-show'd-out" for a while.  I know they do a lot of pre-taping with The Voice, so I'm guessing that's what they're going to start on.  When I hear an air date for the new season, I'll let you know.

Eric Church is coming back to the Gulf Coast and we have free tickets for you to win!  If you missed him in March at the Wharf, be sure to catch him in Biloxi on October 19th.  Interesting side note about Eric....he has officially waged war against ticket scalpers.  He noticed that when tickets for his shows go on sale, professional ticket scalpers will buy hundreds of tickets at a time for regular price, and then turn around and re-sell them for huge profits.  Not cool.  Eric is peeved because his true fans have to pay much higher prices to get tickets to his show.  He says she keeps his ticket prices reasonable (tix for his Biloxi show start at $37.50) so people can afford to go to the shows, but these scalpers will get online and buy up 75% of the floor seats before anyone else has a chance to get them.  To fight this, Eric is going paperless.  Here's how it works.  When you buy your tickets online, you have to use a credit card, and when you get to the show, instead of handing them a ticket to get in, you give them the credit card you used to purchase the tickets online and an ID.  They swipe the credit card, and you're in the door.  I'll post a link with more info.  This will put the scalpers who buy 295 tickets out of business unless that scalper wants to give his credit card to everyone who buys tickets from him.  Sounds like it may be a bit of a hassle for some people, but at the end of the day, Eric's fans will have better access to his shows at reasonable prices.  If the paperless thing works, I'm willing to bet we'll see quite a few other artists do the same.  Tickets for Eric's Biloxi show with Justin Moore and Kip Moore will be on sale this Firday, June 15th.  Here's the link for more "paperless" info:  http://www.ticketmaster.com/paperless

We have plenty more chances this week for you to win a free $50 gas card and qualify for that Country Cruise with Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Neal McCoy and Easton Corbin from Pace Coins!  Just like the last couple weeks, we'll let you know when it's time to play.  Also keep an eye on our facebook page (www.facebook.com/1027wxbm) for a chance to win tix to see that Eric Church concert in Biloxi.  We'll let you know on facebook when to call in and which caller to be to win.  Also, this Saturday we're going to give away a new John Deere D-100 series lawn tractor at Beard Equipment.  Listen for your chance to call in and win a John Deere cap and qualify to win that JD lawn tractor!  You can also stop by Beard Equipment on 9 Mile Rd before the close of business Wednesday and put your name in the registration box, and then we'll get all our qualifiers out there for the giveaway this Saturday the 16th.  Good luck on those contests!  As always, don't hesitate to pick up the phone & call if you have any questions.

Thanks for listening to WXBM & for taking time to check out the blog this week!

CMA MusicFest and TONS of prizes for you

It's gonna be a busy week!  We have a ton of great prizes for you to win & qualify for.  Gas cards, Country Cruise with Blake Shelton, win 'em before you can buy 'em for Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw tix and lots more!  I'll give you the details shortly.  Also have a couple news items.

First off, condolences to Dierks Bentley and his family on the passing of his father, Leon.  Dierks made the announcement of his fathers passing via Twitter over the weekend.  Leon Bentley is WWII veteran who served as a second Lt. in the Army. 

ABC will film it's annual CMA MusicFest TV special this week in Nashville.  It's MusicFest week in Nashville (formerly Fan Fair) and ABC will be filming the concerts at this Thursday - Sunday at LP Field.  Over 450 artists and celebrities will spend a few days in Music City to meet thier fans and put on some big concerts.  Luke Bryan and Kimberly Perry of The Band Perry will co-host "CMA Music Festival:  Country's Night to Rock", September 17th on ABC. 

Chris Cagle has another hit on his hands with the song "I Got my Country On".  Chris says making his latest record "rekindled" his passion for music, and he's ready to roll!  Cagle is currently out on tour to support his new project "Back in the Saddle" which will be released June 26th.

Hope you've had a chance to win your $50 gas card and qualify for the Country Cruise with Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Neal McCoy and Easton Corbin from Pace Coins!!  If not, listen all week for us to tell you to call in.  If you're caller 25 at that time, you'll score that $50 gas card and if you're caller 26 you'll qualify for the Country Cruise from Pace Coins in Pace and East Brewton and Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

A new contest we started this week gives you a chance to win a brand new John Deere D-100 lawn tractor from Beard Equipment!  Listen for your chance to call in and win a John Deere cap and an entry into the "Draw Down", June 16th at Beard Equipment on 9 Mile Rd in Pensacola!  If you can't get through on the phones, you can stop in to Beard Equipment and put your name in the registration box out there. 

Last week I told you about Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw adding the Superdome in New Orleans to their tour schedule for Brother of the Sun.  They'll be there August 3rd and tix will be on sale this Saturday through Ticketmaster, but it's a "win 'em before you can buy 'em" week on WXBM!  At 6am each day this week, we'll let you post on our facebook page and tell us what makes you feel like a rock star, and between 3-4pm and 4-5pm, I'll read the name and comment of someone who posted and that person will have 10 minutes to call in and win 2 free tix to see Kenny & Tim in NOLA August 3rd from Your Country 102.7 WXBM!  As always, if you have any questions, give us a buzz in the studio

Good luck on those contests and thanks for listening to WXBM!  Have a great week!

Kenny in NOLA and more FREE GAS!!

Got a busy week ahead of us at WXBM! We have a bunch more chances for you to win a $50 gas card and qualify for that 7 day Country Cruise from Pace Coins all week. More on that later.

Just a couple things of interest in the news this week. Heard Zac Brown Band is done with their new project called "Uncaged".  When asked to describe his new music, Zac said "It's your basic country-Southern rock-bluegrass-reggae-jam record". Thanks for not being vague Zac!! Just kidding. Sounds like the ZBB will keep things hush-hush until the July 10th release date. Also just heard that The Band Perry is about half done with work on the follow-up to their self-titled debut CD. While The Band Perry continues to work on their new stuff, they'll also be out on the road with Brad Paisley, opening up for him this summer. A quick reminder about a few new CD's that are coming out in the next few weeks:

June 5th - Alan Jackson "Thirty Miles West" "Uncaged".
June 12th - Josh Turner "Punching Bag"
June 19th - Kenny Chesney "Welcome to the Fishbowl"

Also, if you want to see Kenny in concert with Tim McGraw on the Brothers of the Sun tour, your roadtrip just got a little shorter. The boys added the Louisiana Superdome to their tour schedule! They'll play NOLA on August 3rd. Tickets on sale Saturday, June 9th through Ticketmaster.

It's another week of FREE GAS from Pace Coins and Your Country 102.7 WXBM! Listen all week for us to tell you to call in and win! When the time comes, caller 25 will win a free $50 gas card, and caller 26 will be qualified to go on a 7 day Country Cruise in October with Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Neal McCoy and Easton Corbin!! Congrats to all of our winners so far, and good luck to you as we play again this week from Pace Coins in Pace and in East Brewton and WXBM! Its also a "Win 'em before you can buy 'em" week for tickets to see Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Drake White! That show will be August 25th at the Wharf in Orange Beach, and tickets won't be on sale until this Friday, June 1st, but you can win 'em all week long on Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

As always, thanks for listening to WXBM! We appreciate ya. Have a great week.

FREE GASOLINE!

Wanna win some FREE gasoline?  Of course!  Who doesn't??  All week long on Your Country 102.7 WXBM we'll let you know when to call in to win a free $50 gas card from Pace Coins.  When it's time to play, caller 25 will get the gas card and caller 26 will be qualified for a second chance drawing to go on a 7 day Country Cruise in October with Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Neal McCoy and Easton Corbin!  Congrats to everyone who won and qualified today, and we'll have a bunch more chances for you to win all week long from Pace Coins in Pace and in East Brewton, and Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

Couple other quick TV things here.  Looks like ABC picked up two shows that country music listeners may have some interest in.  The one that jumped out at me is called "Nashville".  It's a fictional drama about life behind the scenes of an established country singer, and a rising star.  ABC recently released a trailer for the series, and it looks pretty good: 

I have always been curious about what goes on "behind the scenes" that artists have to deal with, so I may try to catch the first couple episodes of this show.  I'm sure there will be a lot of fictional drama in the series, but I'd be willing to bet that they'll have story lines that are based on actual events.  Could be interesting.  "Nashville" will be a one-hour weekly series beginning this fall on ABC.  I'll get you more info when it's available.  Another show that ABC picked up for this fall is a sitcom called "Malibu Country" starring Reba.  I wrote about this a couple weeks ago after they shot the pilot episode and were waiting to hear if the network would pick it up, and now we know they grabbed it.  Here's the trailer for Malibu Country:

As far as I know there is no date set in stone for either show.  All I heard was that ABC will air Nashville "this fall" and Malibu Country "Friday's, this fall".  I'll keep you posted. 

That's it for this week!  Hope you get a chance to call in & win the gas cards from Pace Coins!  Thanks for listening and have a great week. 

Community events calendar & volunteer opportunities

Since there's not much going on in the world of country music this week, I figured it would be a good time to look at the community calendar and highlight a few organizations who need volunteers.

May 17th
Evenings in Olde Seville Square: 2012 marks the 25th and final year for this great concert series. Join WXBM every Thursday evening through August 2nd for a free, family concert. Here is your complete lineup:

May 17th Pensacola Civic Band
May 24th Kit Lough
May 31st Perdido Brass / The Guffman Trio
June 7th Heritage
June 14th Reunion Band
June 21st 151st Army Band
June 28th Mr. Big and the Rhythm Sisters
July 5th Don Snowden’s Big Band with Holly Shelton...
July 12th The Sawmill Band
July 19th The Lisa Kelly/JB Scott Quintet
July 26th The Swingin’ Dick Tracys
Aug 2nd Clark and Company

If you have any questions, give us a call at WXBM or look them up on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/1027wxbm#!/pages/Evenings-in-Olde-Seville-Square/101680083581

May 19th
Humane Society Doggy Bathe-in: This is a great way to keep (or get) your mutts clean and flea-free! It's a low cost way for you to bathe and groom your dogs and get them a flea dip. Fleas are expected to be worse than normal this year due to the mild winter. The bathe-in will be going on from 9-2 on the third Saturday of the month until October. For more info call: 850-432-4250

Grace Lutheran Church Rummage Sale: Shop the annual rummage sale Saturday from 7am - 11am to support youth missions and events. GLC is at 6601 North 9th Ave (just south of Creighton across from the fire station). More info: 850-476-5667

May 26th
Harold Volunteer Fire Department: Join Harold VFD for their fish fry fundraiser. More info: 850-983-8564

July 27-29th
Boo Weekley's Camp Compass Golf Scramble: Boo's 10th annual charity golf tournament is moving to Hidden Creek Golf Club in Navarre this year! Saturday's golf tournament is full, but you can still come out for the live & silent auction Friday night. They will have a TON of different stuff again this year....you'll find something. Then head out Saturday after the golf tournament to see Larry the Cable Guy and Gary Allan! Boo knows how to have a good time, so be sure to head that way in July. More info: http://booweekley.com/

Also, if you have time and would like to volunteer, here's a list of folks that could really use a hand:

Northwest Florida Blood Services: Donating blood is a tough sell because so many people are uncomfortable around needles. You always hear us telling you that blood donors are needed because there is no substitute for blood. It cannot be created and it cannot be stored for long periods of time. Shelf life is a couple weeks for blood, and only a couple days for blood platelets. Yes, it takes time and yes, it can be somewhat uncomfortable, but it really is worth it. If you would like to get more info or schedule a donation, call: 850-473-3853 or go to www.nfbcblood.org

Habitat For Humanity: Can you hammer a nail in a board? If so, you are qualified to help! The great thing about working with HFH is that you don't need prior experience to help out.  They have site directors who will help you learn how get the job done.  Is it hard work? Yes. Is it rewarding to help build someone else's house? Absolutely. If you would like to volunteer, call: 850-434-5456

Ronald McDonald House: RMH is looking for individual or groups of volunteers to do everything from cook meals for families to doing light house chores like taking out the trash, vacuuming, sweeping etc. RMH houses families whose children are facing extended hospital stays. If you would like to volunteer, call: 850-477-2273

Children's Home Society: CHS is looking for volunteers to mentor young people between the ages of 14-21. If you would like to help out, call: 850-494-5975

Trauma Intervention Programs: TIP is a group of specially trained volunteers to counsel people immediately after a traumatic event. They have an extensive training program, an anyone can volunteer. More info: http://www.tip-ser.org/

Lots of stuff going on and plenty of volunteer opportunities await! I left the best contact info I could find, and of course if you ever have any questions you can call us at Your Country 102.7 WXBM. Thanks for listening! Have a great week!