CMT Blog: CMT on Tour

Could this contest possibly have any more prizes? This week kicks off the CMT on Tour With Jamey Johnson sweepstakes, and I just did some research on it. Even though I'm not eligible to enter, I can still pine for the grand prize, right? The winner gets a trip for two to see Johnson in 2010 in the city closest to him/her. (That includes airfare because the city closest to you may not actually be all that close.) Plus, you get two nights at a hotel, the two concert tickets AND an autographed guitar. I think the only way this sweepstakes could get any better is if they were giving away Johnson's actual guitar, which is autographed by Willie Nelson, George Strait and about 10 other artists he admires. The contest ends Dec. 6, so enter soon.

My mom was a big supporter of thank-you notes until the day she died. Actually, supporter is probably not the right word. Tyrant might be better. I was not allowed to even open the Barbie box or make one measly cake in my Easy Bake Oven until I'd written the thank-you note to the gift giver. And it looks like Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser were raised the same way. Because while they are out on tour together, they are asking fans to write thank-you postcards to troops through the USO. "Those guys in the field need some emotional connection to home, and I think this project will bring a little bit of home to them," said Johnson. You can do it the old-fashioned way, with a pen and a stamp, and or go the virtual way by visiting the USO's Web site to tell the soldiers you appreciate their gift of service and that America hasn't forgotten them. The USO will print those online notes and give them to the troops serving overseas.

Randy Houser is about to head out on CMT on Tour, and if you're wondering what the show will be like, this video for "Boots On" might give you a hint. I first saw Houser and his full band in concert last winter and would definitely go again. I remember it being really loud and thinking that Houser had his role as bandleader down solid, which in my opinion is a fading art form. He's teaming up with longtime friend Jamey Johnson for the tour, so look for this first-time CMA Award nominee's show to get even more intense -- in a louder, sweatier kind of way, I'll bet.

When Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser head out for this year's CMT on Tour, they'll be following in the footsteps of artists like Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Sugarland and Trace Adkins. But these two like to do things their own way and plan to make this tour uniquely their own. In this article about Houser's song, "Boots On," hitting Billboard's Top 5, he lets it slip that they plan to share the stage most of the night. "I might do two songs and then take a break," he says. "And he'll do two or three songs and then I'll come back. We're going to have two bands onstage basically the whole time. ... It's just going to be a night of music. ... It's what we used to do back in the day." Sounds like each night could end up with the longtime friends trading verses on their big hits and probably sneaking in some classics, too. The 2009 CMT on Tour will hit 30 cities starting Oct. 8 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Check out the details.

CMT on Tour with Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum wrapped up last weekend (Nov. 22), but it's not quite over yet. A contest was run where fans submitted their best photos of Aldean taken during the shows. Now it's down to five finalists and time to vote on which one will be the winner. My favorite is the dark, hellfire and brimstone-looking one taken by Judy Vinson -- very ominous. I wonder what song he was playing. ... Votes are counted on Monday (Dec. 1), so get yours in while you still can.

What's up, guys! Dave here from Lady A. We just got off a GREAT weekend with Jason Aldean, with shows in Huntsville, Savannah, Clemson, and Columbus. I love playing in the South. It's so nice being from Georgia because a lot of my family could come see us at these shows. They had a blast! We had a KILLER crawfish boil on Saturday in Clemson, S.C. Ordered crawfish up from Louisiana and they were rockin! You guys are so much fun on the road. Love all the signs and energy everywhere. See y'all out there, come party with us! - Dave Haywood

This week's crop of new videos for the CMT evaluation team again displayed a wide diversity in musical and visual styles, not to mention locales. Toby Keith went to church, Julianne Hough was in the hospital, among other places, Taylor Swift and Def Leppard team up for a lively CMT Crossroads pairing, the Zac Brown Band show off their live chops, and Eric Durrance goes to the races.

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What's going on, CMT fans? It's Charles from Lady A here. Just wanted to keep y'all updated on what's going on out here on the road with Jason Aldean. We've had two great opening shows out in North Carolina and West Virginia. The energy of the crowds has been amazing so far. We want to say thanks to everyone who has come out already and supported the tour and everyone who plans to attend the upcoming shows.

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Jason Aldean is putting the finishing touches on his third album, which should be out early next year. And he believes that the success of his first two albums has granted him access to Nashville's top-notch songs.

"The more popular you get as an artist, the more publishing companies and songwriters are willing to give you better songs. I think it's been a lot easier to find those songs, so we'll see," he says. "It's kind of hard. We came out with ‘Hicktown,' and then everybody was expecting another ‘Hicktown' from us, and it was like, well, ‘Johnny Cash' was our big tempo record from that. But we went back to the drawing board a little bit on this third album and I'd say a lot of the songs are more like the first album. But I still think we're moving forward as far as progression. I definitely think that everything's getting better and the songs are better."

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Last night I went to the tour kickoff party for this year's CMT on Tour and caught a little teaser of what to expect. The idea was for Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum to each play a preview set, and some very lucky members of their fan clubs got to see it.

View photos from the CMT on Tour kickoff party.

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