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KEITH URBAN SINGLE THE MOST PERSONAL HE NEVER WROTE
 When we first listened to the songs on Keith Urban's new album, Get Closer, we didn't have a list of writers on the songs. So, when we heard the seemingly autobiographical cut, "Without You," it had to have been penned by Urban. But, as personal as it sounds, he didn't write it.
"Without you is maybe one of the most autobiographical songs I never wrote," Keith told Nashville IQ. "It's extraordinary how this song fits my life. Emily West called me one night and said she had just heard this song at a writer's night or something, where Dave Pahanish and Joe West had written the song and Dave had performed it. She called me up and said 'you won't believe this song, you'd think these guys wrote it for you.' Sure enough I loved it and we took it into the studio straight away."
Not surprising Keith's performance on this song is as heartfelt and personal as if he had penned it.
BRAD PAISLEY TO PERFORM FOR DAYTONA 500
 cf.com
Paisley, will perform three songs prior to the start of the 53rd annual Daytona 500 – the season-opening event to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the biggest stock car race in the world.
All race fans that purchase a Pre-Race/Sprint FANZONE access pass for the Daytona 500 will be able to view Paisley’s Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show as well as the driver introductions from the grass tri-oval area.
“It’s only fitting to have one of the biggest country music superstars perform prior to NASCAR’s most prestigious event,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said.
In addition to his Daytona 500 Pre-Race Concert, a special ticket package designed around Paisley has been created that includes a Daytona 500 ticket, Pre-Race/Sprint FANZONE access and VIP area access to Paisley’s performance. Packages start at $154.
For more information on tickets for the 53rd annual Daytona 500 and Sprint FANZONE /Pre-Race access, race fans can go online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
The Daytona 500 will be broadcast live on FOX, with pre-race coverage beginning at Noon and the race starting at 1 p.m. EST.
TRACE ADKINS, JASON ALDEAN, THE BAND PERRY, SHERYL CROW, LADY ANTEBELLUM, MIRANDA LAMBERT, MARTINA McBRIDE, RASCAL FLATTS, REBA, DARIUS RUCKER, BLAKE SHELTON, AND KEITH URBAN ANNOUNCED FOR 2011 CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL
Nashville's Signature Music Event Celebrates 40th Anniversary And Will Once Again Be Filmed for ABC Television Special
CMA Music Festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary when it takes over the Downtown Nashville campus for four days this summer, Thursday-Sunday, June 9-12, 2011. The event that USA Today calls "the crown jewel of Country Music festivals" started in 1972 as Fan Fair®. Forty years later, the legendary festival has become Nashville's signature music event, which annually attracts thousands of fans from all 50 states and around the globe while raising millions of dollars for music education in Metro Nashville Public Schools. 2011 will also mark the eighth consecutive year that CMA Music Festival will be filmed for a network television special, shining a national spotlight on both the Country Music format and "Music City USA."
STEVE WARINER RELEASES GUITAR LABORATORY
 Yesterday Steve Wariner’s third instrumental album, Guitar Laboratory, was released on SelecTone Records. The 13-song collection is a tapestry of musical styles, ranging from country and jazz to rock, blues, classical and Hawaiian. The follow-up to Wariner’s GRAMMY-winning My Tribute to Chet Atkins, it features guest musicians including Leon Rhodes, Paul Yandell, John Jarvis, David Hungate, John Gardner, Aubrey Haynie, Joey Miskulin, Ron Gannaway, Barry Green, Greg Morrow and Michael Rhodes. Wariner’s sons, Ross and Ryan, are also featured playing piano and guitar, respectively.
Steve explains the inspiration for the album: "Rebounding off the Chet project, I was in a guitar frame of mind. I spent hours and days in my studio trying out different riffs and tunes. And I decided I wanted to do a project that showed versatility and diversity. What I wound up trying to do was not only demonstrate the different styles that I can play, but also the different kinds of music that I love.”
Wariner titled the project after a friend paid an unexpected visit to his studio, following a particularly long recording session during which he had lost all track of time. When the friend asked Steve if he was some sort of mad scientist, working all hours in his lab, Guitar Laboratory came to mind.
“Guitar Laboratory represents without a doubt the most versatile project I have recorded,” he continues. “It’s a trip all over the map as far as genres and styles.
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