School is letting out for a few months; dads are firing up the bar-be-cues; pools, lakes and beaches will be packed with families celebrating warm days together. It’s the unofficial kick-off to summer…and it’s Memorial Day Weekend.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. However, by the turn of the 20th century, Memorial Day celebrated Americans who have sacrificed their lives in all wars. The holiday also typically marks the start of the summer vacation season.

Some of your favorite country artists talk about their favorite summertime activities – besides traveling around and performing for fans – as well as what it means to be free because of the brave men and women willing to fight and sacrifice for our freedom.

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley, whose own father was a World War II veteran, talks about the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemen and women.

Dierks (Memorial Day) OC: …upon them. :37
“On the most basic level, I think, for me on the road, I just think about being gone two, three days at a time, maybe a couple of weeks at a time, you know. That seems like a long time when you have kids and family, but these soldiers, they’re gone for months and years at a time – they’re doing 12 to 15 to 18 months -- and they have family back home. That, in itself, is such a huge sacrifice, and that’s just the beginning of it. That’s just scratching the surface of what these guys [and gals] are doing every day – preparing for battle, actually being in battle, being wounded in battle, sometimes dying in battle. So, this country obviously, we would not exist without those courageous men and women, and our future depends upon them.”

AUDIO: Eric Church talks about the freedoms he’s able to enjoy because of those fighting for our right to be free.

Eric Church (Memorial Day) OC: …those freedoms.
“It’s about, especially the soldiers I come in contact with on the road, and not only that, to be able to make the music that I’m able to make, to say what I want to say, and that freedom to be able to do those things and to be in a country where we’re able to do that and to be in a country where we’re able to play that stuff on the radio. I don’t think you’re going to have any American argue that America isn’t the best place to live, and I’m certainly one of them. I’m very proud to be from here and very proud that we have the soldiers. I know there are a lot of other countries out there in the world that don’t want to live the way we do, and that’s fine, they can keep living the way they are, but I’m very proud of it. I think that’s a time to celebrate being proud to be an American and celebrate those freedoms…and celebrate the people that are over fighting for those freedoms.”

AUDIO: Josh Turner talks about his boat, which will most likely be on the water when he’s not on the road this summer.

Josh Turner (Summer) OC: …just ride. :12
“I have a nice boat that I got a couple of years ago. I have it set up for saltwater and fresh water. I’m not much of a water skier, my legs are too skinny for that, but I just try to tube and have fun and just ride.”

AUDIO: Keith Urban wrote and recorded last year’s hit, “For You,” for the film, Act of Valor, which was inspired by real life events and stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs. After hanging out with the SEALS, he was very impressed with their commitment of service.

Keith Urban (SEALS mantra) OC: …conviction. :30
“They have a mantra, and they say 'the only easy day was yesterday' and they had this spirit of brotherhood and that's a particular thing that's the way in which, I think, it exists is very specific to the Seals. I mean, military in general have this very strong brotherhood code; it's a particular kind of thing in the Seals. As was the testament, to Lt. Roark who is the lead guy in the film; when he was interviewed and talked about funerals he had been to, and he says ‘There isn’t really any one of us who isn't just a little bit jealous of the guy who's died,’ and ok, I heard that, that's a particular way of being that I cannot relate to. That is an unbelievable depth of commitment and conviction.”

AUDIO: Kelleigh Bannen says she’s very thankful for our men and women in uniform.

Kelleigh Bannen (Memorial Day) OC: …our families. :10
“I am so thankful for our men and women in uniform, and it is their sacrifice and them putting their lives on the line that allow us to be able to celebrate with our families."

AUDIO: Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild says they’re overwhelmed by the huge sacrifices that both the military and their families make in order to be free.

LBT (Memorial Day) OC: …whenever we can. :44
KAREN: “It’s such a huge sacrifice what these men and women do for us, not only the ones that are serving, but the families that are left here at home. Kimberly and I met a young girl…she’s 21 years old, and she has a third baby, and her husband has served multiple times overseas. She’s raising these children at home and doing a great job and the best that she can, and he’s serving our country. He’s making a monstrous sacrifice, but so is she, and so are those children. And we just can’t take it for granted. I mean, it’s just a huge commitment that they make, and what an honor. We love to be able to sing for them and entertain them and to say thank you whenever we can.”

AUDIO: While Luke Bryan’s on the road with his Dirt Road Diaries Tour this summer, he’s going to check out some places where he can catch up on his favorite summer pastime – fly-fishing.

Luke Bryan (favorite summer activities) OC: …the family. :10
“My favorite summer activity is definitely the opportunity to go fly-fishing out West when I’m out there touring, or really, just fly-fishing anytime…and obviously, getting a week off down at the beach with the family.”

Nashville, TN – May 15, 2013 – The seven-time GRAMMY winning trio Lady Antebellum scores their third consecutive debut this week atop Billboard’s all-genre Top 200 Chart with their fourth studio album GOLDEN, which sold more than 167,000 copies in its first week. 

“It’s been so fun to get feedback from our fans,” said Hillary Scott. “There are so many ways for us to hear from them and I love finding out how people are relating to different songs. We’re really proud of this album and thankful for all the fans and to Country Radio for supporting both ‘Downtown’ and now 'Goodbye Town’ this week!” 

People awarded the new album 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it “their best yet.” 

"...GOLDEN] proves the trio can credibly expand their canvas as songwriters and artists without sacrificing the lush harmonies and seductive melodies that helped get them to their current golden state.”  - The Boston Globe

“Lady Antebellum shine on their new album, GOLDEN, offering up a bittersweet batch of bright, rich tracks that often hide a deeper layer…”  – Rolling Stone

“Lady A continues to experiment and grow while sounding like no one else in contemporary country music.”  – Associated Press

“...GOLDEN, the band’s fourth and finest album.”  – Washington Post

“Imparting honest lyrics with spot-on harmonies swathed in infectious melodies, GOLDEN is ultimately a shining example of what Lady Antebellum does best. With it seamless mingling of poignant ballads and upbeat tunes, it’s a stone cold winner from country music’s top trio.”    – American Songwriter

This Sunday, Lady A will appear on a special edition of ABC's 20/20 and perform their new single “Goodbye Town” on ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night on CBS.

Since their 2006 inception, Lady A has risen quickly to become Country Music’s most influential current group. The group has won the “Vocal Group of the Year” honor from both the CMA and from the ACM’s three times in a row, earned seven GRAMMY awards and sold 11 million albums worldwide. Nine of the band’s singles are certified Gold, with four surpassing the Platinum mark. For a full list of upcoming performances and for more info on new music, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood talks about finding the best songs they could for this album.

Lady A (album) OC: ...we can find.  :43
"We go through a lot of songs. We also, I think, got pitched the best songs we've ever gotten pitched. For us, the best song wins, you know, whether or not we wrote it, whether or not it came from someone else, whether or not we wrote it with our entire band, with eight people. To u,s what matters is the song and we line 'em all up together and you know, I think the cream rises to the top. There were a couple songs that we've had for a long time and a couple that came in, I mean we wrote 'Golden' the last- late at night, and the next morning recorded it in the studio. So,  there's a couple that come in last minute that, we just kind of have that excitement for late in the game. But there's some -- 'It Ain't Pretty' -- some of these songs, we've had for a year or two and  some of these that we actually looked at for the last record. So, it's good to have a big pile for us and to have to really sift through and find the best 10,11,12 that we can find."

Kip Moore appeared on the nationally syndicated Bobby Bones Show on Wednesday morning (May 15th) to serenade Marisa, a listener and big fan. He sang his current hit single, "Hey, Pretty Girl," and after he was finished, Marisa's boyfriend proposed. By the way, she said, "Yes." Check out the sweet video below.

Nashville – (May 14, 2013) – Luke Bryan, the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, will release his fourth studio album on August 13th, as announced last night on The Late Show with David Letterman. Luke performed the project’s first single, “Crash My Party,” on the show.

The August 13th release is the follow up to Luke’s most successful album to date tailgates & tanlines, which has now been certified Double Platinum. tailgates & tanlines contains three back-to-back Platinum singles, was the 8^th best-selling album of 2012 and has sold 7.2 million tracks. The summer album also releases on the heels of Luke’s his most successful spring break series album, Spring Break…Here To Party, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart this past March.

Luke takes his “Dirt Road Diaries Tour” back on the road this weekend on May 17 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The tour is slated to run through the end of October. For additional information on the tour and tickets please go to www.lukebryan.com or www.livenation.com.

Luke’s recent Academy of Country Music Award wins for Entertainer of the Year and Vocal Event (“Only Way I Know”) with Eric Church and Jason Aldean, along with his first-time ACM hosting duty with Blake Shelton, are just a few of the career highlights Luke has enjoyed lately. Additional accolades include multi-Platinum albums sales, back-to-back #1 singles and his first #1 album debut. His spring break shows in Panama City Beach, Florida this past March brought in 120,000 fans during the two-day concert event and his performance at the Houston Rodeo was the second largest attendance in the rodeo’s history with 75,000 fans.