Sterling Whitaker

The members of Sugarland got the chance to make a young girl’s life brighter at a recent tour stop in Minnesota. Singer Jennifer Nettles and singer-songwriter Kristian Bush were performing at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel on Aug. 8 when they were joined onstage by a very special guest — a 4-year-old cancer patient named Avery.

Hot country star Eric Church just got a little hotter. The ‘Drink in My Hand’ hitmaker leads the 2012 CMA Award nominations with a whopping five. Church is up for Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year. His No. 1 hit ‘Springsteen’ also earned him nods in the categories of Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year.

Breakout country star Scotty McCreery is preparing to release his first Christmas album. The aptly-titled ‘Christmas With Scotty McCreery’ is set to drop on Oct. 16, and the young singer says he is excited about the project, which mixes holiday classics with two new tracks.

Country music legend Loretta Lynn is set to celebrate her 50th anniversary on the Grand Ole Opry on Sept. 25, and it’s shaping up to be a big all-star party. The ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ singer will be joined by her sister, Crystal Gayle, as well as friends like Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, Trace Adkins, and Pistol Annies, who will be making their debut on the hallowed stage.

You can add “educator” to Keith Urban’s resume. The country singer-songwriter and guitarist has agreed to take part in a program in which he will teach a group of Nashville-area high school students.

Ronnie Dunn is apparently a little bit fed up with both of America’s major political parties, and he’s not afraid to say so. In a Facebook post last week, the ‘Cost of Livin” singer said he wouldn’t be appearing at the Republican National Convention and has yet to decide about the Democratic National Convention, proposing an alternate means of helping America’s unemployed.

Toby Keith will release a new album titled ‘Hope on the Rocks’ on Nov. 13 via his own Show Dog/Universal imprint. Its first single, ‘I Like Girls That Drink Beer,‘ is already one of the most-added songs at country radio, setting up his eager fans for the record’s release.

Wynonna Judd has released a new statement thanking country music fans for their support following her husband’s bad motorcycle accident.

It appears maybe the coaches on NBC’s hit reality competition ‘The Voice‘ are spending too much time together. In a funny new video on the show’s YouTube channel, the four stars are asked to give their best impressions of each other, and the results are not only hilarious, but in some cases, surprisingly accurate.

Mitt Romney is an avid country music fan, it seems. In a new interview, the Republican presidential hopeful revealed some of the acts he’d like to have perform at the White House — and the country genre dominates his imaginary concert.