Celebrities joining the shoot this year include Lee Brice, Craig Campbell, Cowboy Troy, Ira Dean, Edens Edge, Jake Owen, Thomas Rhett, Outdoor Channel’s Lee and Tiffany Lakosky and Nick Mundt, TNA Impact wrestling stars Jeff Hardy and James Storm, plus more stars to be announced. The event will be emceed by Storme Warren of GAC’s Headline Country and will take place at the Desert Hills Shooting Club.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the Wounded Warriors Project, The Folds Of Honor Foundation, and the Nellis Air Force Base Youth Programs.

“The Academy is thrilled to continue this partnership with Blake and NRA Country,” said Bob Romeo, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Country Music. “Many traditions and values are shared among the country music and outdoor enthusiast communities – today we get to have a little fun together while paying our respects to the men and women of our armed forces at the same time.”

The 47th annual Academy of Country Music awards will take place April 1st live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on CBS. Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton return for the second year in a row as co-hosts.

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“Ira is a true triple threat:  he’s a hit songwriter, a great singer and a true entertainer!  We are thrilled to welcome him to Average Joe’s,” said Tom Baldrica, President of Average Joe’s Entertainment.

Dean is an award winning songwriting, for both the trio and for other country artists such as Joe Nichols, Chris Young, ex-band mate Heidi Newfield, Jake Owen, Gary Allen, and Montgomery Gentry. He also has writing credits on “Proud To Be Here” by Trace Adkins, which will be the title track for his CD with the same title coming out on August 2nd. With the trio, he had hits such as “Pour Me” and Grammy nominated “Just What I Do.” They won “Top New Artist” at the American Music Awards and the Country Music Association’s “Artist of the Year” award. They released three studio albums and had four top twenty singles on Billboard Hot Country. Dean co-wrote seven songs on their second CD, On A Mission, which brought in another five Academy of Country Music nominations – “Album of the Year” and “Vocal Group of the Year.”

Dean left Trick Pony in 2008, and since then has been busy writing for the artists listed above. He is now focusing on his solo career and is looking forward to what Average Joe Entertainment will bring his way.

“I’m very excited to be working with Tom Baldrica and Average Joe’s and to be label mates with my good friends Colt Fort and Montgomery Gentry.”

His self-titled debut CD will be released in late 2011 and will be “a mixture of alcohol and testosterone-driven songs. My buddy Bobby Pinson has tagged it as ‘testostahol.” Radio has recently picked up on the song “Beer or Gasoline,” which will be on his debut CD and was penned by Dean and also previously recorded by Chris Young. It is not the first single though, as “Something About Sunday” will be added to radio in September – so keep your eye out for it!

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