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Category Archives: Fan Story
Tim McGraw and an Australian Fan
Whenever Tim McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill, tour together you know it’s going to be huge. The couple recently held an arena tour in Australia together, and we have a story from one of Tim’s biggest Australian fans on what it was like to meet Tim that day. Tameka Oldham, and her nine-year-old son, Kris, had been eagerly counting down the days until the concert like most fans Down Under. Tameka sent us her story, and some pictures, of country music’s biggest couple of the last decade. Read their story below and check out their pictures from the Melbourne date back on March 20th at the Rod Laver Arena, and see how a country music superstar made a little fan’s day. Do you have a fan story you want to share? E-mail us today and you might see yourself on Keepin’ it Country!
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The night started with us meeting management and heading on down to the M&G for Tim, which to our surprise, he comes walking through the door holding Faith’s hand. They both greeted us with these HUGE warm smiles. My 9-year-old son Kris’ grin was equally as big and started talking Tim’s ear off. Tim started off joking around with Kris telling him how much he has grown since he was in his “Felt Good On My Lips” video and that Kris should stop growing so fast. He then told Kris he wasn’t happy that he was better looking than him. It was then time for the photo, Faith stepped back and said to Tim “oh no its OK I think he just wants one with you.”
Kenny Chesney’s Fans Head Out Last Night
With warm weather finally here, production of Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw‘s “Brothers of The Sun Tour” is now in full swing. Kenny had decided on a special way to thank his fans for the support over the years by having them be part of a picture collage during his performance of “Out Last Night” during the tour. He asked his fans to submit pictures of themselves out having fun to be considered for the video montage in his official fanclub, and thousands of entries were received by Kenny and his team. The video is being edited now, and the final product will be revealed on the tour.
The coast-to-coast stadium tour kicks off June 2nd in Tampa, Florida with Grace Potter & The Nocturnals opening for the superstars. On June 19th, Kenny will release a brand-new studio album on BNA Records. It will be the follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Hemingway’s Whiskey,” which spawned the number one hits “Boys Of Fall” and “You And Tequila.”
Kenny is the most-nominated artist going into the 47th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 1st. See if he can sweep the award show when it airs live on CBS from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Heartwarming Rascal Flatts Story
One of the greatest things about country music is how the artists always find a way to give back to their fans. Rascal Flatts have been one of the best about this, and spend as much time as they can giving back through charity work. It’s no secret that the three boys are great with their fans, and this was the case for a mom and her autistic son.
Traci, the writer of Beneath My Heart blog, met the trio backstage at a recent concert. Although she thought the group was named after Gary LeVox, (thinking his name was Rascal), she made sure she let him know about her autistic son who was a singer and that the group was the only artist that he owned every CD of. She gave him her business card and Gary promised he’d check out her son’s YouTube channel later.
A few days later, Traci had an e-mail from Gary’s assistant asking for her mailing address because Gary had something for her son. She almost deleted it but then realized who it was from. Gary sent Traci and her son, Jonathan, a hand written letter of encouragement for him to follow his dreams of being a singer.
Read the full story on Traci’s site and see the hand-written letter there too. Do you know a cool fan story you think we should highlight? Let us know!
Taylor Swift Has A Very Special ACM Awards’ Date
We have always known that Taylor Swift is one of the sweetest girls in the music business, but then you hear a story like this and it just makes you love her even more.
Kevin McGuire is an 18-year-old high school senior fighting his second battle with Leukemia. He is currently receiving treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Kevin wanted one thing for his senior prom… for Taylor Swift to be his date. In an effort to make that happen, Kevin’s sister, Victoria, created a Facebook page to get the word out to Taylor. Thousands upon thousands of people joined the campaign. As it turns out, it was a success.
Taylor did receive the message and responded to Kevin last week via her official Facebook page. But she one-upped the invitation:
Kevin, I’m so sorry but I won’t be able to make it to your prom. But I was wondering, the ACM Awards are coming up.. Would you be my date?
Love, Taylor
Needless to say, Kevin accepted the invite.
Victoria was the one who started it all to make this dream come true for her brother. She had this to share on the campaign’s page:
Taylor got back to us!!!! She is unable to attend Kevin’s prom, although did one better- Invited Kevin to be her date to the Academy of Country Music Awards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so so so so so much! The McGuire family could never show how grateful we are to all of you! We have won in more than one way.. we got Taylor to take Kevin on a date, and we have made so many good friends along the way!
This is when the power of social media is truly priceless. We are so happy that Kevin gets to have a night of fun away from his daily battle. We wish the best to Kevin and his family, health and continued strength, and we hope that Kevin has the most amazing time with Taylor at the ACM Awards!
The ACM Awards are set for April 1st in Las Vegas.
Team Martina Raises Over $22,300 For American Cancer Society
“Team Martina,” a team made up of 38 Martina McBride fan club members and fans, raised over $22,000 for the American Cancer Society in the singer’s name. They were part of the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” event held at LP Field on Saturday, October 15th. They were inspired by Martina’s current single “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.”
Team members were made up from fans all over the country that gathered together in Nashville in Martina’s name. They trained for two months leading up to the event. Three of the members, one female, even shaved their heads to support for those battling cancer. The group originally raised $11,111.11 in Martina’s name, which was then matched by Martina and John McBride themselves with another $11,111.11!
See Team Martina’s official website HERE for more information on how it came together.
Miranda Lambert Fans Still Need Your Help!
Miranda Lambert fans have been hard at work trying to get the Texan singer the best birthday present they can. A group of “Ran Fans” have been trying to raise money for one of the charities she supports by a one-of-a-kind silent auction. The auction features wedding decor designed and created by the Junk Gypsies for Miranda and Blake Shelton’s wedding. Pretty cool. All proceeds go towards R.A.C.E. (Ran’s Animal Care Express) which is a program designed to transport animals from foster homes to forever homes – with even Blake and Miranda helping move pets sometimes! Miranda and her mother, Bev, both support the cause.
Miranda’s mom, Bev, even posted her thoughts on the official messsage board encouraging fans to get involved and donate:
Hey ya’ll! I am SOOOOO excited about this auction! These are great items and for a great cause. The R.A.C.E. team is an amazing part of our endeavor to rescue and find homes for the abused, neglected, abandoned and homeless pets.
Thank you all so much for adding your hard earned dollars to the cause!!!
We are doing amazing things together!!!!!
In my daughter’s words….
Love a shelter pet!
Bev
The fans want to raise as much money as possible before Miranda’s November 11th birthday. See the original auction HERE, which is still active! The original auction also includes a $1 challenge, where fans can donate what they can, at a minimum of $1, to get their names into a raffle for a 20-page 8.5×11 linen hardcover photo book with your own pictures, or a combination of theirs, of Miranda!
See the official topic HERE for the phase two of the auction with all-new items!
Keith Urban Wants You In His TV Ad
Keith Urban is giving his fans a unique opportunity to be in a national TV ad for his new fragrance,“Phoenix”. If you can film a 30-second commercial for his line, then you’re in to win! Keith will personally select the winner, who will also get tickets to any Keith show in 2012 as well as a gift bag including the cologne, aftershave, body wash and a wrist watch. Nine runners-up will also get the gift pack and tickets to a 2012 show of Keith’s.
Here’s one of the examples for the contest. Think you can beat this? Good luck!
Miranda Lambert Fans Need Your Help!
Do you want to have a piece of the country music royal wedding from earlier in the year? Miranda Lambert fans are giving her a birthday gift by raising money for the singer’s charities through an online silent auction on her message board. The featured prize in the auction is a hand-made “Mrs Shelton” sign created by the Junk Gypsies that was used at Miranda and Blake Shelton’s wedding reception! Pretty cool!
Other prizes in the auction include a sealed, brand new “Red River Blue” album, magazines on the Sheltons’ wedding and engagement, glass pearls that were used at the reception, and the sign mentioned above. Bidding started at $35 and increases in minimum $5 increments. Right now, the leading bid is $100! Take a look at the prizes below:
If that bidding is too big for your budget, fans may also take part in the $1 Challenge. For a donation of only $1 you’ll be entered to win a 20-page, linen hard cover photo book featuring pics taken at Miranda concerts. For more information see the official thread HERE.
The auction is raising money for Ran’s Animal Care Express (R.A.C.E.). It’s a volunteer effort operated by her fans where volunteers transport pets from temporary homes to forever homes across the United States. The cause is so personal to Miranda that even herself and Blake have offered their services in transporting the pets! This is a volunteer effort and the group is raising money to help reimburse the volunteer’s expenses.
The deadline for bidding is November 10th, Miranda’s birthday, and a few days after her latest album “Four The Record” is released.
Eric Church Fan Hits Big Milestone
Country rebel Eric Church knows that he wouldn’t be anywhere without his loyal fanbase. That’s exactly why the rocker chose to let his fans do the acting in his new music video “Drink In My Hand.” The video, filmed in Iowa on August 26th and 27th, marked the 98th and 99th shows for one particular fan. Aaron R. Shriver had to make sure he made the filming for the music video, and he’ll make his 100th Eric Church show last weekend in Tinley Park, Il.
“I got to see Eric Church open the first night in Cincinnati, Ohio on the Bob Segar tour,” said Shriver. “That night I took my father to his very first Eric Church show. He saw the fire and passion in Eric’s stage presence, and now he is just as big of a fan as I am. I also saw Eric play in a Wal-Mart parking lot with just eight people in the crowd six months after he just played a huge sold-out arena. I will never forget those days, nor will I forget the day I heard CHIEF went No. 1–it was like an accomplishment for the entire [Church] Choir that has stood behind the one musician that we all believe in so much.”
Eric made sure he recgonized Aaron at the Sunday night concert by giving him a Gibson Hummingbird on-stage in front of the rest of the fans.
“I am constantly blown away by the passion of our fans. It was really cool to be able to honor Aaron’s 100th show on stage and share that experience with everyone in the crowd,” shares Church. “Though he is the first, I look forward to more of our fans reaching that milestone. It is truly humbling.”
Eric celebrated his own milestone last weekend as he has now performed over 1,000 shows sicne he started touring in 2006. Congratulations to Eric and Aaron!
Do you have a cool story about you and your favorite country artist? Make sure you let us know and we’ll help you brag to the world with our featured fan articles.
James Otto Wants To Honor Your Heroes
While the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks may be over, James Otto wants to make sure that the sacrifices of the day won’t be forgotten. He’s inviting fans to honor their heroes with him for the entire month of September. He’s asking his fans to post personal stories about people they consider to be their heroes. He’s already had over 200 entries on his website, ranging from first responders to nurses who have positively changed lives.
James released a personal statement on his website about the effort:
“For several months since my USO Tour in April, I’ve been thinking about what we can do as a community to show our gratitude to our military and civil personnel who sacrifice their lives for us every day… therefore my vision is for this [website] to be a place for your heroes to be publicly honored and shown proper gratitude for their self-sacrifice. Thanks in advance to everyone who takes part – can’t wait to read your stories.”
To help honor the heroes and their stories, James has promised to select a winner from each city he plays in to give them tickets to his show for sharing their story with him. This will happen throughout the month of September, and winners will be selected randomly. He’ll personally dedicate his new song “Solders & Jesus” to the individual and their hero on-stage.
“I know it’s not much,” he said. “But I feel it’s the least I can do to show my sincere thanks to those who make the ultimate sacrifice, in memory of the Sept. 11th victims.”
To submit your story about your hero, head over to James Otto’s official website: jamesotto.net.
