Entertainment blogging from The Oklahoman's Brandy McDonnell

Video: Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan behind the scenes of the ACM Awards

I will be live blogging the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards starting at 7 tonight right here at BAM’s Blog!

The ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 tonight on CBS, with Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan co-hosting. Check out some of their funny behind-the-scenes banter in this video.

Shelton, his wife Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Thompson Square, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Rascal Flatts are among the superstars with Oklahoma ties who have been nominated for ACM Awards.

In addition, Shelton, Lambert, Underwood and Garth Brooks have been confirmed as performers for the show, and Lambert, Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire, the show’s former longtime host, have been announced as presenters.

To read my ACM Awards preview, click here.

Brooks and fellow Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait will play a special tribute in honor of the late, great Dick Clark during the show. To read more about the special performance, click here.

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2013 ACM Awards nominees

I will be live blogging the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards starting at 7 tonight right here at BAM’s Blog!

The ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 tonight on CBS, with Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan co-hosting.

Shelton, his wife Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Thompson Square, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Rascal Flatts are among the superstars with Oklahoma ties who have been nominated for ACM Awards.

In addition, Shelton, Lambert, Underwood and Garth Brooks have been confirmed as performers for the show, and Lambert, Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire, the show’s former longtime host, have been announced as presenters.

To read my ACM Awards preview, click here.

Brooks and fellow Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait will play a special tribute in honor of the late, great Dick Clark during the show. To read more about the special performance, click here.

Here are the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards nominations, with Oklahomans marked in bold:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

· Jason Aldean

· Luke Bryan

· Miranda Lambert

· Blake Shelton

· Taylor Swift

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Jason Aldean

· Luke Bryan

· Eric Church

· Toby Keith

· Blake Shelton

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Miranda Lambert

· Martina McBride

· Kacey Musgraves

· Taylor Swift

· Carrie Underwood

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

· Big & Rich

· Florida Georgia Line

· Love and Theft

· Sugarland

· Thompson Square

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

· The Band Perry

· Eli Young Band

· Lady Antebellum

· Little Big Town

· Zac Brown Band

NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Lee Brice

· Brantley Gilbert

· Hunter Hayes

NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Jana Kramer

· Kacey Musgraves

· Sunny Sweeney

NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

· Florida Georgia Line

· Love and Theft

· Thompson Square

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR [Winners of New Male, New Female & New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year]

· Florida Georgia Line

· Brantley Gilbert

· Jana Kramer

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]

· Blown Away – Carrie Underwood (19/Arista Nashville)

Produced by: Mark Bright

· Chief – Eric Church (EMI-Nashville)

Produced by: Jay Joyce

· Red – Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records)

Produced by: Jeff Bhasker, Nathan Chapman, Dann Huff, Jacknife Lee, Max Martin, Shellback, Taylor Swift, Butch Walker, Dan Wilson

· Tailgates & Tanlines – Luke Bryan (Capitol Nashville)

Produced by: Mark Bright, Jeff Stevens

· Tornado – Little Big Town (Capitol Nashville)

Produced by: Jay Joyce

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]

· Even If It Breaks Your Heart – Eli Young Band (Republic Nashville)

Produced by: Mike Wrucke

· Over You – Miranda Lambert (RCA)

Produced by: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf

· Pontoon – Little Big Town (Capitol Nashville)

Produced by: Jay Joyce

· Springsteen – Eric Church (EMI-Nashville)

Produced by: Jay Joyce

· Wanted – Hunter Hayes (Atlantic/WMN)

Produced by: Hunter Hayes, Dann Huff

SONG OF THE YEAR [Award to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

· A Woman Like You – Lee Brice

Composers: Phil Barton, Johnny Bulford, Jon Stone

Publishers: 3JB Music (BMI), Adios Pantalones (SESAC), Hears That Skyline Music (SESAC), Sixteen Stars Music (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)

· Even If It Breaks Your Heart – Eli Young Band

Composers: Will Hoge, Eric Paslay

Publishers: Cal IV Songs (ASCAP), Will Hoge Music (BMI)

· Over You – Miranda Lambert

Composers: Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton

Publishers: Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony ATV/Tree Publishing (BMI)

· Springsteen – Eric Church

Composers: Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell

Publishers: Bug Music (BMI), Ole Purple Cape Music (BMI), Sinnerlina (BMI), Sony ATV/Tree Publishing (BMI)

· Wanted – Hunter Hayes

Composers: Hunter Hayes, Troy Verges

Publishers: Happy Little Man Publishing (BMI), Songs From The Engine Room (BMI), Songs Of Universal Inc. (BMI)

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Award to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

*Off Camera Award

· Creepin’ – Eric Church

Producer: Iris Baker

Director: Peter Zavadil

· Merry Go ‘Round – Kacey Musgraves

Producer: Perry Bean, Kacey Musgraves

Director: Perry Bean

· Tornado – Little Big Town

Producer: Iris Baker

Director: Shane Drake

· Wanted – Hunter Hayes

Producer: Stephanie Reeves, Eric Williams

Director: Traci Goudie, Patrick Hubik

· We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift

Producer: John Nguyen

Director: Declan Whitebloom

· The Wind – Zac Brown Band

Producer: Ben Kalina

Director: Mike Judge

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]

*Off Camera Award

· Don’t Rush – Kelly Clarkson Featuring Vince Gill (19/RCA/Columbia Nashville)

Produced by: Dann Huff

· Easy – Rascal Flatts Featuring Natasha Bedingfield (Big Machine Records)

Produced by: Dann Huff, Brian Kennedy, Rascal Flatts

· Feel Like A Rock Star – Kenny Chesney (Duet With Tim McGraw) (Blue Chair/BNA)

Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney

· Let It Rain – David Nail Featuring Sarah Buxton (MCA Nashville)

Produced by: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell

· The Only Way I Know – Jason Aldean With Luke Bryan & Eric Church (Broken Bow)

Produced by: Michael Knox

-BAM

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Reminder: ACM Awards live blog begins at 7 tonight!

Reminder: I will be live blogging the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards starting at 7 tonight right here at BAM’s Blog!

The ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 tonight on CBS, with Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan co-hosting.

Shelton, his wife Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Thompson Square, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Rascal Flatts are among the superstars with Oklahoma ties who have been nominated for ACM Awards.

In addition, Shelton, Lambert, Underwood and Garth Brooks have been confirmed as performers for the show, and Lambert, Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire, the show’s former longtime host, have been announced as presenters.

To read my ACM Awards preview, click here.

Brooks and fellow Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait will play a special tribute in honor of the late, great Dick Clark during the show. To read more about the special performance, click here.

-BAM

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Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Gary Allan and more added as ACM Awards presenters

The Academy of Country Music has announced that Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter John Mayer will perform with Brad Paisley at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

In addition, Owasso resident Trisha Yearwood and fellow country superstars Gary Allan, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Chris Young and Eli Young Band have been added as presenters.

The ACM Awards, which will be co-hosted by Luke Bryan and Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton, will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 tonight on the CBS Television Network.

Shelton, his wife Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Thompson Square, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Rascal Flatts are among the superstars with Oklahoma ties who have been nominated for ACM Awards.

Yearwood’s husband, Garth Brooks, and fellow Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait will play a special tribute in honor of the late, great Dick Clark during the show. To read more about the special performance, click here.

Plus, Shelton, Lambert, Underwood and Brooks have been confirmed as performers for the show, and Lambert and Reba McEntire, the show’s former longtime host, have been previously announced as presenters.

To read my ACM Awards preview, click here.

And follow my live blog of the  ACM Awards starting at 7 tonight here at BAM’s Blog!

Here’s a rundown of what’s coming up on tonight’s show:

Performers:

Jason Aldean, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Hunter Hayes, Jewel, Miranda Lambert, John Mayer, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Stevie Wonder, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Pistol Annies and The Band Perry. Brad Paisley will headline the 3rd Annual ACM Fan Jam, along with special guests Dierks Bentley, Hunter Hayes, and New Artist of the Year nominees Brantley Gilbert, Jana Kramer and Florida Georgia Line.

Presenters:

Country music artist Gary Allan, “2 Broke Girls” star Beth Behrs, Vegas star Michael Chiklis, Grammy Award winner Sheryl Crow, “The Big Bang Theory’s” Kaley Cuoco, music star John Fogerty, “omg! Insider” co-anchor Kevin Frazier, country music artist Faith Hill, San Francisco 49ers NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, country music artists Miranda Lambert, Scotty McCreery and Kacey Musgraves, “Entertainment Tonight” co-anchor Nancy O’Dell, country music artists Jake Owen, Reba, Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Young and Eli Young Band, and A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” stars Willie & Korie Robertson.

-BAM

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ACM Awards preview – Interview: Oklahomans to be well represented at Sunday’s ACM Awards

That’s just the way R.A. Clark, the show’s executive producer, likes it.

“Not to discount any of the other states, but a lot of great country performers come out of Oklahoma: Reba, Toby, Vince, Garth, Blake, I’m sure I’m missing a few. But I mean, there seems to be a hotbed of creativity of folks that … touch the experience of America. That, to me, comes out of those folks that come from Oklahoma. But the folks who come from Texas, I’m sure I’m gonna hear from them, or from anywhere else where the country music performers come from,” Clark said in a teleconference earlier this week.

“RAC, they’re texting right now from Texas,” Academy of Country Music CEO Bob Romeo dead-panned.

“Yeah, RAC, George Strait’s on Line 2,” cracked Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President of CBS specials and live programming.

“I just think it’s an interesting coincidence that there seems to be a lot of folks who come out of Oklahoma who rise to the forefront in country music,” Clark added, laughing.

The 48^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday on CBS. Shelton, his wife Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Thompson Square, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Rascal Flatts are among the superstars with Oklahoma ties who have been nominated for ACM Awards.

In addition, Shelton, Lambert, Underwood and Brooks have been confirmed as performers for the show, and Lambert and Reba McEntire, the show’s former longtime host, have been announced as presenters.

An Ada native, Shelton will co-host for the third year, with Luke Bryan joining for his first live TV co-hosting gig.

“They have a great natural repartee. I’m so glad we have a 5-second delay because you’re never know what’s gonna happen with them,” Clark said, laughing again.

“For the record, RAC, I think it’s a little longer than 5 seconds,” Sussman said, later revealing it will be an 8-second delay. “These two guys genuinely like other, they have a great time together, and on occasion, they might forget they’re on live television,” Sussman said.

The gregarious co-hosts are unlikely to forget that Shelton and his wife of two years are making history: Romeo said as far as he knows, the Tishomingo residents are the first husband and wife in ACM history to compete for the top prize, entertainer of the year. Bryan, Jason Aldean and reigning ACM entertainer of the year Taylor Swift will compete with Shelton and Lambert for the entertainer award.

To add even more intrigue, Shelton and Lambert share a song of the year nomination for co-writing her heartbreaking ballad “Over You.”

“I can just tell you one thing about those two people, who I know very, very well. “They truly support each other and just have such great satisfaction in each other’s success. They’re two of the biggest talents in this format or any format today, and the fact that they’re married is just amazing coincidence,” Sussman said.

“I would be willing to bet that Blake or Luke will have something to say.”

A Texas native, Lambert also will compete as a recording artist for single and song of the year for “Over You” and will defend her title as female vocalist of the year. Along with their shared song of the year nod and his entertainer of the year nomination, Shelton garnered his third consecutive nomination for male vocalist of the year.

Checotah native Carrie Underwood snagged two ACM Awards nominations: for female vocalist of the year and album of the year for her 2012 release “Blown Away.”

Reigning ACM vocal duo of the year Thompson Square, comprised of Miami, OK, native Keifer Thompson and his wife Shawna, will defend the title at the 2013 awards.

Norman resident Toby Keith is nominated for male vocalist of the year, while Norman native Vince Gill shares a nomination in the vocal event of the year category with original “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson for their collaboration “Don’t Rush,” which she will perform on the show.

Rascal Flatts, which includes Picher-bred guitarist Joe Don Rooney, also received a nomination in the vocal event category for “Easy,” the band’s heartrending ballad with British pop singer Natasha Bedingfield.

Shelton and Lambert won’t be the only Oklahoma-Texas connection during the ACM Awards: Brooks and Texas troubadour George Strait will team up for the first time to play a special tribute to Clark’s late father, Dick Clark.

“When you talk about Garth, when you talk about Luke, you talk about Blake, you talk about Taylor, the fans find them to be real. They can relate to them,” Romeo said. “I think when people can relate to you — that artist — and their music, I think that’s what makes an artist go to that superstar level.”

ON TV

The 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday on CBS. Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan will co-host the show.

Shelton, his wife Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Thompson Square, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Rascal Flatts are among the superstars with Oklahoma ties who have been nominated for ACM Awards.

Follow my live blog of the show here at BAM’s Blog.

-BAM

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Video: Vince Gill pays tribute to George Strait as part of “Sixty for Sixty”

Country music’s biggest stars and fans are helping to make history by joining the “Sixty For Sixty” movement (#60for60), which celebrates George Strait as he approaches the 60th No. 1 single of his career with “Give It All We Got Tonight,” before his 61st birthday on May 18.

“Sixty For Sixty” first started on Valentine’s Day when fans rallied together on Strait’s Twitter and Facebook pages encouraging local country radio to meet the challenge and spin the record. It appears their efforts have paid off as “Give It All We Got Tonight” is the fastest certified gold single of Strait’s career and currently sits in the top 15 on the country radio charts. It is the first single from his forthcoming album, due for release in late spring.

As a tribute to Strait’s incredible career that includes more No. 1 singles than any artist in history, in any genre, fellow country music artists including Oklahoma native Vince Gill, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Josh Turner, Darius Rucker, among others, have joined the “Sixty For Sixty” movement, posting tributes to Strait on YouTube.

By visiting www.sixtyforsixty.com, fans can learn how they can help the movement using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The website will continuously update as more artists, celebrities, and fans join this movement for “King George.”

With more than 68 million albums sold, Strait has influenced and inspired country music, fellow artists and fans for more than 32 years. His current two-year final U.S. tour, “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour,” recently debuted in the No. 1 slot of Pollstar’s “Concert Pulse,” topping Justin Bieber, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Dave Matthews Band, and The Who. So far, the Texas troubadour has sold out 16 venues on the 2013 leg of “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour” within minutes, including record-breaking attendance figures in Knoxville, Tenn., Lexington, Ky., and in upcoming San Antonio and Houston markets.

To read my review of Strait’s Oklahoma City stop on the farewell tour, click here. And check out Gill’s “Sixty For Sixty” video:

-BAM

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Video: Time Jumpers to play May 18 Durant show

The 11-piece Western swing outfit The Time Jumpers, which features Norman-born and Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/musician Vince Gill as well as Texas-born and Liberty-bred fiddler/singer Kenny Sears, is playing a spring show at Choctaw Casino in Durant.

The Grammy-nominated band will play at 8 p.m. May 18 at the Durant casino.

For tickets and information, go to www.choctawcasinos.com/Durant/Entertainment/UpcomingEvents.aspx.

Check out the band’s video to “On The Outskirts Of Town,” which garnered The Time Jumpers a Grammy nomination in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category:

-BAM

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Vince Gill receives Lifetime Music Achievement Award from Nashville’s T.J. Martell Foundation

The T.J. Martell Foundation in Nashville honored Oklahoma native Vince Gill with the Frances Williams Preston Lifetime Music Achievement Award last weekend.

The T.J. Martell Foundation is billed as the music industry’s largest foundation that funds innovative medical research focused on finding cures for leukemia, cancer and AIDS. The foundation sources and supports early-stage research projects aimed at developing more effective clinical treatments for patients which otherwise might not be funded.

The award, one of the foundation’s highest, is named in honor of BMI pioneer, Frances Williams Preston, whose leadership and contributions to the Nashville music community and beyond are legendary. In addition to her many accomplishments at BMI, Preston was president of the T.J. Martell Foundation Board of Directors and founder of the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Preston was the first recipient of this prestigious award in 2009, and it was later awarded to Michael Bolton (2011) and Kris Kristofferson (2012) in her name, according to BMI.com.

Gill, a friend of Preston’s, said, “I couldn’t ask for anyone better to take my interest to heart and look after me. At the end of the day, I knew she was going to represent me and my fellow songwriters by doing a first-class job. She seemed to love the people and the songs more than the work she was doing.”

The T.J. Martell Foundation honored Gill, an award-winning BMI singer-songwriter and Country Music Hall of Famer at its Fifth Annual Nashville Honors Gala on Sunday at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville. For more information about the foundation, go to http://tjmartell.org.

-BAM

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New releases for March 5, 2013: Ashley Monroe’s releases solo album “Like a Rose,” “Duck Dynasty Season 2″ and “Wreck-It Ralph” debut on DVD

Ashley Monroe, one of Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert’s bandmates in the all-girl trio Pistol Annies, will release her first Warner Nashville solo album, “Like A Rose,” on March 5.

As previously reported, Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill produced the album along with Justin Niebank. The album features a terrific old-school duet with Lambert’s husband, Blake Shelton, playfully titled “You Ain’t Dolly (And You Ain’t Porter).”

Monroe’s highly-anticipated studio album features songs she co-wrote with Gill, legendary songwriter Guy Clark and many of Nashville’s A-list songwriters.

As far as DVDs and Blu-rays are concerned, the excellent Oscar-nominated animated film “Wreck-It Ralph” debuted today, along with the Season 2 collection of A&E’s popular reality series “Duck Dynasty.” To read my review of “Duck Dynasty: Seasons 2,” click here.

CDs

Jimi Hendrix, “People, Hell & Angels.”

Boz Scaggs, “Memphis.”

Luke Bryan, “Spring Break: Here to Party.”

Ashley Monroe, “Like a Rose.”

They Might Be Giants, “Nanobots.”

Son Volt, “Honky Tonk.”

Madeleine Peyroux, “The Blue Room.”

How to Destroy Angels, “Welcome Oblivion.”

Josh Ritter, “Beast in Its Tracks.”

Kate Nash, “Girl Talk.”

Soilwork, “The Living Infinite.”

Robyn Hitchcock, “Live from London.”

DVDs/Blu-rays

The Bay

California Solo

Collaborator

A Dark Truth

Grave Encounters 2

Gun Hill Road

Heleno

The Intouchables

Lay the Favorite

The Marine 3: Homefront

Playing for Keeps

Red Dawn

Unconditional

Wreck-It Ralph

Books

Sum It Up: A Thousand and Ninety-Eight Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective by Pat Head Summitt and Sally Jenkins

Damascus Countdown by Joel C. Rosenberg

Requiem (Delirium)by Lauren Oliver

Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson, Book 7) by Patricia Briggs

Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi

-BAM

 

http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/2013/02/22/dvd-review-duck-dynasty-season-2-volume-1/

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Wednesday Video Spotlight: Vince Gill, Kip Moore, Pam Tillis and The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach to appear tonight on TV show “Nashville”

As previously reported, Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill, fellow country singers Kip Moore and Pam Tillis and rocker Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys will guest star on tonight’s episode of the TV series “Nashville.”

“Nashville” airs at 9 tonight on ABC.

In the episode, titled “Dear Brother,” Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) plans a surprise birthday party for Deacon (Charles Esten), with the real-life music stars in attendance. During the celebration, Rayna (Connie Britton) sings, backed up by Tillis and singer-songwriter Kate York as themselves, plus Watty White (JD Souther) and Adria (Erin McCarley), but Juliette’s performance is scuttled by her mother.

Here is the full episode description and a preview, from ABC:

“Dear Brother” – Juliette plans a surprise birthday party for Deacon, which is attended by real-life country stars Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, Kate York and Kip Moore. During the celebration, Rayna sings, backed up by Pam Tillis and Kate York as themselves, Watty White (JD Souther) and Adria (Erin McCarley). However, Juliette’s own performance is derailed by her mother. As Rayna and Teddy’s divorce moves forward, the tabloids move in, speculating about Rayna’s cheating and thrusting her children into the spotlight; Teddy decides to bring Peggy into his mayoral fold and holds a press conference to make it look like it’s all business; and Gunnar’s brother charms Scarlett with his singing, on “Nashville,” Wednesday, Feb. 27 on ABC.

-BAM

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