Brooks & Dunn Compile Hits; Holly Williams Schedules Opry Debut

from The 9513 by Brody Vercher

• Brooks & Dunn are scheduled to release a 30-track hits compilation titled #1s … and then some on Sept. 8. The duo’s current single, “Indian Summer,” and “Honky Tonk Stomp” will be the only new material. Visit GAC for the complete track listing.
• Whitney Duncan goes skinny dippin’ in her new video for “Skinny Dippin’.”
• Craig Shelburne listed ten recent independent albums you might have missed, from Ben Kweller’s Changing Horses and Buddy and Julie Miller’s Written in Chalk to Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver’s Lonely Street and the Red Stick Ramblers‘ My Suitcase Is Always Packed. He also dusted off and recommended several older albums from his collection.
• Although a fair percentage of Hank III’s audience left after the country portion of his show on Tuesday, Juli Thanki says there was still a surprisingly large demographic that appreciated both the country segment and his followup metal set.
• Help keep Toby Keith from slipping to a “B” list country star.
• Old Crow Medicine Show will release Live at the Orange Peel and Tennessee Theatre, their first live concert DVD on August 18. (via press release)
  

  …was recorded over two nights last December and features performances of 20 songs—15 of which are from the band’s three studio albums—including “Tell It To Me,” “Down Home Girl,” “Alabama High-Test,” and “Wagon Wheel.” The DVD also includes five tracks from their live repertoire not found on their three studio albums: “Wheeling Breakdown,” “Raise A Ruckus,” “Reuben’s Train,” “Sally Anne” and “Shack #9.”

• Jamey Johnson and James Otto both scored two awards at the 21st MusicRow Awards,
• Random Tweet of the Day: A little something for the ladies from Jimmy Wayne. (@countryweekly)
• My Kind of Country kicked off its John Anderson coverage with a review of his self-titled debut album, which Occasional Hope cites as one of the best debuts by a country singer ever.
• Holly Williams will make her Grand Ole Opry debut on July 3. No pressure, right?
• Random Tweet of the Day (Part II): South Dakota today….. Wow the traffic up here is awful… And it keeps crapping all over the road!!… (@blakeshelton)
• J. Freedom du Lac: muses:
  

  If pop music critics held any real sway over the listening public, then Celine Dion wouldn’t have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide; Amadou & Mariam, Ashton Shepherd and Animal Collective would be international stars; and fans would be filling stadiums for Sufjan Stevens and Jamey Johnson instead of Bon Jovi and Kenny Chesney.

• The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will release their first studio album in five years on Sept. 22. Titled Speed of Life, the album will be released on the band’s own record label and distributed by Sugar Hill. (via Twang Nation)
• Songwriter extraordinaire Walt Wilkins released a new album on Tuesday titled Vigil. (via Galleywinter)