GAC Holiday Family Special Features Country Music Singer/Songwriter Phil Vassar
Award-winning country music artist Phil Vassar and his family share their most treasured holiday traditions and music with GAC viewers in "Phil Vassa: Make a Little Christmas."

Join award-winning singer/songwriter Phil Vassar and his family for a down-home Christmas special on Great American Country network. 'Phil Vassar: Make a Little Christmas' premieres on GAC December 2 at 9 p.m. ET.

GAC viewers will experience the hustle and bustle of the holiday season at the Vassar household in the one-hour special in which Phil Vassar, his wife Julie and daughters Haley and Presley gather around the family piano and perform favorite Yuletide classics including 'White Christmas,' 'What Child is This?' and 'Away in a Manger.' The Vassars also share some of their favorite holiday videos by other artists such as Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride and Faith Hill.

Phil and Julie learn a few lessons in the kitchen as well as they prepare a delicious holiday dish.

"Phil Vassar and his family paint a delightful picture of family life around the holidays. This GAC special is a warm, intimate look at a loving family celebrating their favorite Christmas traditions and sharing their home with GAC viewers," said Sarah Trahern, GAC senior vice president of programming.

"Christmas is a special time for me and my family. I get to slow down and relax and reflect. I am excited to be able to share a glimpse into my family and home with everyone on GAC," Vassar said.

Phil Vassar's star continues to rise. As a piano player, he is a rarity in country music and has proven himself as a performer and songwriter — having been recently named 2006 NSAI Songwriter/Artist of the Year. Phil returns to the studio this winter to record a new album of original material that will be released in 2007.

His latest album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1, released in May 2006 and debuted on the Country album sales chart at #2 and #10 on the Top 200. The #1 single from the album, 'Last Day Of My Life,' was the fastest rising single in his career. The album also features five other #1 hits including Phil's own singles 'In a Real Love' and 'Just Another Day in Paradise,' as well as newly recorded songs that were made #1 hits by other artists including Jo Dee Messina's 'Bye Bye' and 'I'm Alright' and Tim McGraw's 'My Next Thirty Years.' Throughout his career, Phil Vassar has also penned hit songs performed by other artists such as Alan Jackson and Collin Raye as well as his own hit singles 'Carlene,' 'Six-Pack Summer,' 'Rose Bouquet,' 'That's When I Love You,' 'American Child' and 'I'll Take That As A Yes (The Hot Tub Song).' His follow-up single from the album, 'The Woman In My Life,' is an original composition co-written with his wife, Julie, and recorded for this album. It was inspired by the women in his life: his two sisters, his mom, his wife and two daughters.

The New York Times calls Phil Vassar "one of country music's most appealing voices," and the Orange County Register recently noted that "his performance was a hurricane of sound and the guy is a pro when it comes to connecting with the audience."

Air times and dates for 'Phil Vassar: Make a Little Christmas' on GAC:

Saturday, December 2, 9 p.m. ET
Sunday, December 3, 1 a.m., 6 p.m. ET
Sunday, December 10, 8 p.m., Midnight ET

Popularity: 1%

“If You’re Going Through Hell” Named 2006 Billboard Music Awards Finalist For Country Single of the Year Country music’s singer/songwriter Rodney Atkins climbs into the Top 10 again with his latest single, “Watching You.” This week the hit song continues its sprint towards the top as it moves up four spaces to #9 on Radio and Records’ Country Chart. Atkins wrote this latest single about his son Elijah, who co-stars in the music video clip which is airing on both country music video channels CMT and GAC.

This most recent increase in spins helps make Atkins the most played artist on country radio in 2006. Just three weeks ago, he had two singles on the country charts with “Watching You” bulleting up and the first single, “If You’re Going Through Hell” from his latest Curb Records release of the same name, at #10. With a 40-plus-week run on the airwaves which included four weeks at #1, “Hell” was named SESAC’s Song of the Year and just announced as a 2006 Billboard Music Awards finalist for Country Single of the Year. The album, which hit #1 on Billboard’s country album chart and #3 on the all-genre Top 200 chart week of release, was recently RIAA Gold Certified.

Rodney kicks off December with a trip to Charlotte on December 7th to tape a performance on the second-annual Southern Sports Awards which will air nationally on December 9. On December 8, he’ll head up to New York to appear live on The Fox News Channel’s morning program. Visits to CNN and Sirius Radio’s New Country Channel are also on the schedule. Fans can also catch Rodney on his ongoing tour including stops in New Mexico this week. (Visit www.rodneyatkins.com for tour updates.)

Popularity: 1%

The votes are in, and Amazon.com's music staff has made its selection of the very best CDs of 2006. Vince Gill's "These Days" was chosen as the "Best of" Country Music for 2006 by Amazon Editors.

Amazon's Top 10 Best Of Country 2006:

1) Vince Gill – These Days
2) Back Cadillac – Rosanne Cash
3) Blessing & Curse – Drive by Truckers
4) The Boxing Mirror – Alehandro Escovedo
5) Stand Still Look Pretty – The Wreckers
6) This Old Road – Kris Krisofferson
7) The Devil You Know – Todd Snider
Precious Memories – Alan Jackson
9) Men & Mascara – Julia Roberts
10) Pay The Devil – Van Morrison 

Popularity: 1%

Travis Tritt injected his rowdy outlaw spirit and soulful Georgia growl into the burgeoning New Country movement with his 1990 Warner Bros. debut, Country Club. With a succession of strong, hit single-filled albums, Tritt became one of country music’s most popular – and notoriously hatless – hit-makers. Currently in the studio with producer Randy Jackson, Tritt is busy working on the next chapter of his storied career. Rhino Records takes a moment to look back on an 11-year string of hits that featured 13 Top 10 country singles and five #1 hits.

THE VERY BEST OF TRAVIS TRITT will be available January 30 at all physical retail outlets and at www.rhino.com for a suggested retail price of $18.98, and at all digital music providers for a suggested retail price of $9.99. A special iTunes version featuring an enhanced interactive booklet will be available for $11.99.

Featuring 20 songs, the collection gathers hits the Marietta-raised singer/songwriter released between 1989 and 2000, including studio cuts, compilation tracks and single mixes. THE VERY BEST OF also spotlights Tritt’s memorable duets with fellow country star Marty Stuart – “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’” and “This One’s Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time).”

The album boasts all five of Tritt’s chart-topping singles – “Help Me Hold On,” from Country Club; “Anymore,” from 1991’s It’s All About To Change; “Can I Trust You With My Heart” from 1992’s T-R-O-U-B-L-E; “Foolish Pride” from 1994’s Ten Feet Tall And Bulletproof; and “Best Of Intentions” from 2000’s Down The Road I Go.

Filled almost exclusively with Top 10 country hits THE VERY BEST OF TRAVIS TRITT contains four tracks from the singer’s debut, including his breakout hit, album title track, “Country Club.” It’s All About To Change, Tritt’s follow-up a year later, achieved multi-platinum status on the strength of strong songs, including a pair that peaked at #2 – “Nothing Short Of Dying” and “Here’s A Quarter Call Someone Who Cares,” one of country’s all-time greatest kiss-off songs. Rounding out the collection are selections from the second half of the ’90s, including “More Than You’ll Ever Know,” from The Restless Kind, a taut country album produced by Don Was, and “It’s Great Day To Be Alive” from Tritt’s debut on Columbia Records, Down The Road I Go.

THE VERY BEST OF TRAVIS TRITT spotlights a trio of cover songs with Tritt’s version of “Take It Easy” from Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, as well as his takes on Elvis Presley’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” and Steve Earle’s “Sometimes She Forgets.”

Watch for Travis’s new album coming soon on Category 5 Records. For further information, please visit www.travistritt.com.

THE VERY BEST OF TRAVIS TRITT
Track Listing

1. “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive”
2. “Take It Easy”
3. “Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)”
4. “Anymore”
5. “Country Club”
6. “Help Me Hold On”
7. “Where Corn Don’t Grow”
8. “Best Of Intentions”
9. “I’m Gonna Be Somebody”
10. “Can I Trust You With My Heart”
11. “Foolish Pride”
12. “Lord Have Mercy On The Working Man”
13. “Nothing Short of Dying”
14. “More Than You’ll Ever Know”
15. “Sometimes She Forgets” – Single Version
16. “This One’s Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time)” – Marty Stuart featuring Travis Tritt
17. “Tell Me I Was Dreaming” – Single Version
18. “Drift Off To Dream” – Edit
19. “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’” – Duet with Marty Stuart
20. “T-R-O-U-B-L-E”

Popularity: 1%

The Country Music Association is hosting two of Country Music’s best and brightest artists – Julie Roberts and Jace Everett – overseas in late January and early February as part of “New From Nashville 2007,” with several high-profile showcases in London, Dublin, and Glasgow.

“Each year, CMA brings artists interested in developing the international market to Europe on a promotional tour as part of our ‘New From Nashville (NUNV)’ program,” said Rick Murray, CMA Vice President of Strategic Marketing. “In the ever evolving world of technology, artists marketing and music delivery systems, it is imperative that Country Music continue to build a presence in the global marketplace.”

On Jan. 30 “New from Nashville” returns to Whelans in Dublin for the second year; then onto London, where Roberts and Everett will showcase at Carling Academy in Islington on Feb. 1, and on Feb. 3 they will perform at Classic Grand, Glasgow, as a part of the Celtic Connections Festival – Scotland’s premiere winter music festival.

Paul Fenn, of Asgard Promotions, will produce the shows for CMA. All concerts will be open to the public on a limited basis.

Julie Roberts
Roberts acclaimed sophomore album Men and Mascara has brought accolades and critical acclaim from far and wide including raves from The New York Times, USA Today, People, and Vanity Fair to name a few. In Touch summed it up this way: “With the Country-blues sound of Bonnie Raitt and the voice and looks of Faith Hill, it won’t be long before Julie Roberts is a household name.” With her music released in the UK and Ireland on Wrasse Records, it looks like her domestic success will soon be following her overseas.

Jace Everett
Growing up in Grapevine, Texas, the sounds of Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, and other Texas legends were in heavy rotation in Everett’s house. The bass player/sideman’s career literally took him from his hometown church to Nashville and around the world. In addition to garnering material for a wealth of songs, his travels forced him to learn different languages. Since early 2006 when he was in the UK and Ireland for the second “New from Nashville” tour with Dierks Bentley he has celebrated a No. 1 hit as a songwriter, with Josh Turner’s “Your Man.”

CMA International Director, Bobbi Boyce said, “‘New from Nashville’ was developed as a vehicle to introduce newer artists to audiences, industry, and media in UK and Ireland. We couldn’t be happier to welcome Julie to the ‘New from Nashville’ fold, and to welcome back Jace for the second year. We have already had positive support from the industry and media for the shows and are looking forward to another successful tour.”

Popularity: 1%

Spinville Records recording artist DeLana Stevens’ first video Say Hello to Heaven is currently showing on CMT.com. Stevens filmed the video in the fall of 2006 and it immediately started gaining attention with its heartfelt message of dealing with the pain of loosing a family member to a drunk driver.

CMT.com is one of the most heavily trafficked websites for country music fans, with in-depth artist interviews, columns and coverage of breaking news and major events. In addition to an extensive archive of online music videos, new videos by country's top artists regularly premiere on the Web site. Say Hello to Heaven has now joined that extensive list and can be viewed at CMT.com. 

Say Hello to Heaven is the second single off of Stevens debut album Welcome To My World due out January 23rd, 2007. Digital downloads for Say Hello to Heaven will soon be available on WalMart.com and i-Tunes. You can pre-order a copy of Welcome To My World at delanastevens.com today. 

Popularity: 1%