Over the past few months, I found myself drifting from a lot of the music being pushed out of Nashville. Most of it is, indeed, quality stuff, but not much of it speaks to me. It's not supposed to, as I am slightly above the age demographic targeted by everyone involved.

But, there have been occasional flashes of real life from the hormonally charged anthems that we now call "Country Music." The new offering from Maggie Rose is one of those. "Better" is a song for those of us who haven't been on Spring break in the last five years, haven't gotten a tattoo on our forearm recently, haven't starred in a sex tape in the past decade and have underwear older than "22."

Nothing wrong with any of that, but, it's just not me. I'm glad Maggie is singing a song for those of us who have held on to a love longer than it takes to drink a cold beer while looking for a thong riding high on a potential new piece of...Well, just watch the video.

No fake rednecks, New York backup dancers, or pretend country folks were injured in the making of this project, as far as I know.

Patrick Stewart often talks about his childhood and the torment his father put him and his mother through. However, how he answered this fan's question is one of the most eloquent, passionate responses about domestic violence. Please watch and share.

Peter Frampton's Guitar Circus with Vince Gill and Steve Cropper at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tn.
May 28, 2013

That moment came when his longtime friend Kristi Hanson died of a brain aneurysm at age 35. Kenny tells People Country, "You realize it could all end in a second. And if it all went away just like that, did I do everything I wanted to do, did I say everything I wanted to say?" 

Kristi was part of a group of friends Kenny met when he began hanging out in the U.S. Virgin Islands back in the early '90s. "Happy on the Hey Now" -- a song on his Life on the Rock album -- is dedicated to her. 

The new issue of People Country, featuring Kenny on the cover, hits newsstands on Friday.

Funny video surfaced of Kenny Rogers shooting over Michael Jordan in some sort of charity basketball tournament. Cleary, MJ was joking around some, but Kenny looked pretty good!

BLAKE SHELTON announced the details of his benefit concert for the victims of last week's tornados.  It's called "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert"and it's airing Wednesday night on NBC.

The lineup includes Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts . . . and ONE REPUBLIC singer-guitarist RYAN TEDDER.

Blake says, quote, "Everyone has their way to help, and mine as an entertainer is to perform to help raise money and awareness for this tragedy.  This is why I want to do this special and especially hold it in Oklahoma City, which is near ground zero."

By the way . . . Carrie Underwood is kicking in an ADDITIONAL $1 million to the cause.   The proceeds will be coming from her current tour . . . and they'll benefit the Red Cross recovery fund.

She says, quote, "I have watched the devastation in my home state of Oklahoma over the past several days with great sadness.  With the help of my fans, we can offer the Red Cross a little extra help in comforting those affected by the tornados."

Sammy Kershaw, Joe Diffie and Aaron Tippin release their collaborative new album All In The Same Boat today (Tuesday). The album mixes new music with fresh spins on past hits, including Aaron’s “Kiss This” and Sammy’s “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.”