The Boot News Roundup: Jason Aldean Might Be Opening a Restaurant in Nashville + More
Welcome to The Boot's News Roundup, a morning rundown of the news country music fans need to know. Read on to learn more about the latest goings-on in the country, Americana, bluegrass and folk genres.
Rumor has it, Jason Aldean is preparing to open a new bar in Nashville, on Lower Broadway. According to the Nashville Business Journal, TC Restaurant Group has filed proposals for an establishment called Jason Aldean's Rooftop + Rooftop Bar, and that the Historic Zoning Commission recently approved proposed signage; however, Aldean's camp has not officially commented on the venture, and a TC Restaurant Group spokesperson declined to comment to the Nashville Business Journal. If the bar is legit, Aldean's spot will join similar ventures from Blake Shelton, Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley and John Rich on Lower Broadway. -- AS
Kellie Pickler and co-host Ben Aaron have scored three Daytime Emmy Awards nominations for their talk show Pickler & Ben. Pickler and Aaron are both nominated in the Outstanding Informative Talk Show Hosts category, and the show also scored Outstanding Hairstyling and Outstanding Directing in a Talk Show / Entertainment News / Morning Program nods. Pickler and Aaron will find out if they're winners at the 45th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, scheduled for April 29 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif. -- AM
Recordings from Merle Travis and Kenny Rogers are among this year's inductees into the National Recording Registry. The Registry, which houses musical works that are marked as "aural treasures worthy of preservation," recently added "The Gambler" by Rogers and Travis' 1946 album Folk Songs of the Hills to its collection. In addition to Rogers and Travis, recordings from Fleetwood Mac, Harry Belafonte, Run DMC and more are among this year's inductees. -- AM
Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles will deliver the 2018 commencement address at Agnes Scott College in Georgia. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nettles is an alumna of the Georgia college for women; she graduated from there in 1997. Nettles will offer her commencement remarks to the college on May 12, just a few days after kicking off Sugarland's Still the Same Tour in Durant, Okla., on May 4. -- AM
Blake Shelton's Ole Red restaurant, bar and entertainment venue is expanding to a third location: Gatlinburg, Tenn. Scheduled to open in Spring 2019, per a press release, Ole Red Gatlinburg will be a 16,000-square-foot, multi-level venue, featuring a two-story bar and restaurant, a retail area, a performance space and dance floor, and an outside terrace. The concept's first location, in Tishomingo, Okla., opened in September, and its second, on Nashville's Lower Broadway, will open in May. -- AS
Congratulations are in order for singer-songwriter Alex Williams, who just got engaged! Williams announced his impending nuptials on Instagram on Tuesday (March 20), and thanked his future wife, Anne Walz, for "not saying no." "I’d say last night turned out pretty damn good," he writes. "Excited to marry my best friend." There's no word yet on when the happy couple plans to tie the knot. -- AM
Luke Combs, Anderson East and Tyler Childers have each scored coveted spots in the Lollapalooza 2018 lineup. Artists on the massive bill, which also features Bruno Mars, Jack White, Vampire Weekend and LL Cool J, will take the stage at Chicago's Grant Park on Aug. 2-5. General admission, VIP and Platinum ticket packages are on sale now at Lollapalooza's website. -- AM