He's sung “All my friends are pirates, it's just who I am…,” and now three-in-a-row and reigning Academy of Country Music and triple and current Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney calls all his friends for the annual good time reason to be: his summer concert tour. With tourmate LeAnn Rimes and a special opening situation to be announced shortly, Chesney plays 34 cities across America on his Corona Extra sponsored Poets & Pirates Tour.

“It's hard to know which cities to play and which ones to take a break from,” Chesney says of his annual fun, sun'n'friendship celebrating concerts. “You want to go everywhere, but then you know you can only do so many cities – and this year's show is going to be very intense. It's not necessarily the tricks or the production, though that's part of it, but just even figuring out the set list, there's an awful lot to bringing all this together – and this year is going to be amazing.”

With 14 stadium dates — featuring five different line-ups — already announced in Columbia, SC; Baltimore, MD; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Pittsburgh, PA; Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Nashville, TN; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA; Foxboro, MA and Indianapolis, IN, the rest of the tour will be fleshed out with a combination of outdoor amphitheatres and large arenas. It all kicks off April 18-19 with a double play in Uncasville, Connecticut.

“People don't realize going from arena to amphitheatre to stadium to amphitheatre keeps you on your game,” laughs the easy-going singer/songwriter who enjoyed 14 weeks in 2007 at #1 on the country singles chart as an artist and an additional 3 weeks as a writer. “Because, you know, I didn't… I don't think I really got how different going from one to the other is, until we were in the middle of it last summer. Then you find yourself going, 'Oh, you can't do that here…,' or 'Oh, yeah, tonight that's possible…'”

The ability to be so completely in a moment, so alive and so connected to the fans who've come to see him is part of what's distinguished the only artist who's sold over a million concert tickets every year for the past six summers – and whose Flip Flop Summer 2007 Tour was the 2nd biggest tour last year behind legendary rock band the Police's two-decades-in-the-making Reunion Tour. That unfailing will to embody the lives that his fans, his friends, indeed Chesney himself live has made the Luttrell, Tennessean's show a rite of summer.

“It always blows me away when people tell me they don't plan their summer trips until they know when your show is coming through,” he admits shyly. “I mean, I know there were those acts I felt like that about growing up… you know, it wasn't summer if you didn't see'em; you had to be there with your friends or else you missed the show that was gonna make that summer real. The idea that it's me and my guys, well, it still blows me away every time someone in a meet and greet line tells me that.”

As “Shiftwork,” the Calypso-tinged celebration of hard-working people getting their play on, hits the Top 10 this week, Chesney sees his Tim Hensley Long Monday bluegrass project and Willie Nelson's Moment of Forever poised to hit the streets next week – and the road starting to rise up to meet him. For a man who thrives on live, good friends and great songs, it's a good time to be Kenny Chesney.

Kenny Chesney
Poets & Pirates Tour 2008

April 18-19 — Uncasville, CT — Mohegan Sun Arena
April 26 — Columbia, SC — Williams Brice Stadium

Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan

May 1 — Austin, TX — Frank Erwin Center
May 2 — Oklahoma City, OK — Ford Center
May 3 — Dallas, TX — Pizza Hut Stadium

Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes

May 8 — Charleston, WV — Civic Center
May 10 — Baltimore, MD — M&T Bank Stadum

Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Hagar, Big & Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan

May 21-22 — Grand Rapids, MI — Van Andel Arena
May 24 — Cleveland, OH — Browns Stadium

Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan

May 28 — Los Angeles, CA — Staples Center
May 29 — San Diego, CA — Coors Amphitheatre
May 31 — Phoenix, AZ — Univ. of Phoenix Stadium

Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan

June 3 — Portland, OR — Clark County Amphitheatre
June 6 — Las Vegas, NV — MGM Grand
June 8 — San Francisco, CA — AT&T Park

Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan

June 19 — Moline, IL — I-Wireless Arena
June 14 — Pittsburgh, PA — Heinz Field

Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan

June 21 — Chicago, IL — Soldier Field

Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan

July 5 — Nashville, TN — LP Field

Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan

July 13 — Atlanta, GA — Turner Field

Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan

July 17 — Virginia Beach, VA — Verizon Wireless Amph.
July 19 — Philadelphia, PA — Lincoln Financial Field

Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan

July 24 — Holmdel, NJ — PNC Bank Arts
July 26 — Foxboro, MA — Gillette Stadium

Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan SOLD OUT

July 31 — Cincinnati, OH — Riverbend Amphitheatre
August 2 — Detroit, MI — Ford Field

Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan

August 14 — New Orleans — New Orleans Arena
August 21 — Charlotte, NC — Verizon Wireless Amph.
August 22 — Raleigh, NC — Alltel Pavilion
August 28 — West Palm Beach, FL — Sound Advice Amphitheatre
August 29 — Tampa, FL — Ford Amphitheatre
August 30 — Jacksonville, FL — Veterans Memorial
September 11 — St. Louis, MO — UMB Bank Amphitheatre
September 13 — Indianapolis, IN — Lucas Oil Field

Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan

Individual On-Sale Dates Announced Locally.

More Dates To Come.

LeAnn Rimes on ALL Dates.

Popularity: 1%

You can watch Carrie Underwood's new video for her latest release "All American Girl" on MySpace TV.

Click here to watch the video.

Be ready for a record number of wardrobe changes.

Popularity: unranked

Rascal Flatts ventured across the Atlantic Ocean this week, beginning their first-ever tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The band left Monday and arrived yesterday morning (1/29), concluding their first day with a show at a legendary London venue, The 100 Club. The oldest music hall in the city, The 100 Club has hosted shows by the likes of the Rolling Stones, B.B. King, the Yardbirds, Bo Diddley, The Who and Oasis.

Rascal Flatts will be back in North America next week, but they won't be playing the U.S. right away. The schedule for the Still Feels Good Tour resumes Feb. 7 in Toronto. American concert dates begin Feb. 15 in Moline, Ill.

In the meantime, their current single, "Winner At A Losing Game," is in the Top 5 on the country singles charts.

If you can’t get enough of Rascal Flatts, check out this pair of custom Levi's jeans worn (at the 2004 CMT Flame Worthy Awards) and autographed by Joe Don Rooney. The designer duds are now up for bid at eBay. Proceeds from the auction go to the Children's Miracle Network program at Nashville's Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The auction ends Feb. 7.

Popularity: unranked

Through four weeks of the NBC series The Celebrity Apprentice, Trace Adkins has held his own, providing the perfect voice for a public service campaign, pulling in a $5,000 donation from his book publisher and keeping out of the fray when tempers flare.

This Thursday, the show expands to two hours, and reports are that the telecast will be loaded with spying and backstabbing. Two members of Trace's team, Piers Morgan and Vinny Pastore, reportedly get into a big fight, and another member defects to the women's team — at least that's what he tells the women.

Trace thought that since the show had a charity component to it the participants would be somewhat friendly, but he was surprised to discover they were just as difficult as the players in the regular version of Donald Trump's show. Who is the meanest person among the contestants? According to Trace, that would be Omarosa.

"She's a pit bull on a chain," he tells The New York Daily News. "If you decide to approach her with a sharp stick and start poking her, she'll just take the lower part of your leg off. There's nobody meaner than Omarosa. When her fangs and claws come out, it's usually in response to something. I respect her in some weird kind of way."

The Celebrity Apprentice airs Thursday nights at 9pm ET/PT on NBC. To view exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes and to play Apprentice games, visit www.nbc.com/The_Celebrity_Apprentice. Additionally, Trace comments weekly with thoughts on each episode at www.traceadkins.com. To learn more about Adkins' charity , FAAN (The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) visit: www.foodallergy.org.

Popularity: unranked

Country superstar Sara Evans will be performing for VIPs at the NFL Super Bowl XLII Tailgate Party outside of the University of Phoenix Stadium on game day February 3.

After performing a full concert for those in attendance, Evans will join Willie Nelson on-stage during his set to sing the Willie classic “Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” The duet will be televised on the FOX pre-game festivities. To make the day even more special, Evans will be attending her first Super Bowl game with her son Avery and friends.

“I'm absolutely thrilled to be performing at the Super Bowl,” shares Evans. “It's the first time for me so I'm taking my son, his friend and my nephew with me and we're going to have the best time. And of course, getting to sing with Willie Nelson is definitely one of the high points to my entire career!”

Evans’ second single, “Some Things Never Change,” from her recent Greatest Hits album was just released to country radio. The inspirational and positive song explores the various ways that love is displayed and was co-written by Evans, her brother Matt Evans, Hillary Lindsay and John Shanks. The first single from the project was the Top 10 hit "As If," which Evans also co-wrote. Greatest Hits is filled with Evans’ biggest hits from her 10 year career including "No Place That Far," "Born to Fly," "Suds in the Bucket," "A Real Fine Place to Start," and "I Could Not Ask for More," among others.

Popularity: 1%

Capitol Records Nashville trio, Lady Antebellum will be the musical guest on CMT’s 2nd annual “CMT Online Awards” show.

The show, which premieres on CMT.com Tuesday, February 5 and on CMT Tuesday, February 12 at 11p ET, takes a spin on the traditional awards show by calculating the number of online streams each nominee has received over the last year.

Categories include “Number One Streamed Video From A New Artist”, “Number One Streamed Behind Bars Video”, “Number One Digitally Active Male Artist” and many others.

Lady Antebellum, which is made up of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, released their self-penned debut single “Love Don’t Live Here” in October and have just completed their self-titled debut album which is set to released in April.

The trio just began their first country tour – opening for Martina McBride’s Waking Up Laughing nationwide arena tour.

For more information on Lady Antebellum visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

Popularity: unranked