Adkins headed to the big screen

9/5/2008

Country superstar Trace Adkins will be featured in the upcoming comedy, An American Carol, which will be in theaters beginning Oct. 3.

Adkins portrays the "Angel of Death," one of three spirits visiting an infamous Hollywood filmmaker who has made a career out of criticizing America. Each ghost takes him on a journey in an attempt to show the error of his ways and the true meaning of America.

"I m the guy who performs the same function that the Grim Reaper did in Charles Dickens tale. He s showing this guy what the future could possibly look like and is trying to scare him straight," Adkins said of his role.

Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Leslie Neilsen, Dennis Hopper, James Woods, Robert Davi, Geoffrey Arend, Serdar Kalsin, and Jon Voight also appear in the film.

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Don t forget to tune in to CMA Music Festival: Country s Night to Rock, which will air on ABC Monday night from 9 to 11.

The special was filmed June 5-8 in Nashville, during the Country Music Association s annual festival, which this year set an attendance record.

Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, and Julianne Hough will host the program, which includes performances by Keith Urban, Adkins, Rodney Atkins, Billy Ray Cyrus, Faith Hill, Hough, Alan Jackson, Jewel, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Pickler, Swift, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson, and Dwight Yoakam.

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Congratulations to Matraca Berg, Tom Shapiro, and John Hiatt, who will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Oct. 26.

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Fans of CMT s reality series, Can You Duet, will remember the husband/wife team of Joey Martin and Rory Feek. The couple will have their debut album, "The Life of a Song," released on Oct. 28 by Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records.

The couple wrote seven of the 12 tracks, including their debut single, "Cheater Cheater," which they performed on the show.

Prior to the series, the couple had not performed as a duet. At one point, Joey was signed to Sony Records, but her album was not released. Rory has written three No. 1 hits, including Blake Shelton s "Some Beach," Clay Walker s "The Chain of Love," and Collin Raye s "Someone You Used to Know."

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Jessica Simpson makes her Grand Ole Opry debut tomorrow. She ll be singing her current single, "Come On Over" and "Remember That," a cut from her upcoming album, "Do You Know," which is scheduled to arrive in stores on Tuesday. Simpson s Opry appearance can be seen on GAC at 9 p.m. ET.

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Tim McGraw fans will be happy to know that Curb Records is releasing "Greatest Hits 3," which includes 12 of McGraw s biggest hits, including "Last Dollar (Fly Away)," "Angry All the Time," and "Real Good Man." The album will be in stores on Oct. 7.

On Oct. 28, Rascal Flatts will release "Greatest Hits Vol. 1," which is the first greatest hits album for the group.

Sixteen tracks will be on the album, including "Bless the Broken Road," "I m Moving On," "Life Is a Highway," "These Days," and "Fast Cars and Freedom."