The announcement was made last week in front of a sold-out crowd at Joe's Bar in Chicago.

The ladies of Pistol Annies have announced their creative partnership with Columbia Nashville, the same label that’s released three platinum-selling solo albums by Annies member Miranda Lambert.

The announcement was made last week in front of a sold-out crowd at Joe’s Bar in Chicago. Members Ashley Monroe, Angaleena Presley and Miranda previewed several tracks from their forthcoming project, including ‘One’s Drinking, One’s Smoking, One’s Taking Pills’ and ‘Boys From the South.’ The trio first debuted their lead single, ‘Hell on Heels,’ during the ACM ‘Girls Night Out’ televised concert event in April.

On her creative side project, Miranda confesses, “I figured if I get tired of singing by myself, I might as well have some hot women up here on stage with me! It’s an outlet for me and my friends to have some fun.”

The Grammy Award winner also assures loyal fans that a solo project is also in the works, with a projected late 2011 release. “I have been writing for the next [solo] project, but it’s still in its infancy, so too early to tell what will happen,” reveals the ‘Heart Like Mine’ singer. “I take it one day at a time, to keep everything in perspective. I try to focus on the writing part and let my team figure out release dates, but I know we are hoping to have something out before Christmas.”

Fans itching for Pistol Annies music can download ‘Hell on Heels’ on iTunes starting tomorrow (June 28) or on their official website. Click here to watch a video of the ladies performing ‘Better Days’ during Miranda’s Cause for the Paws benefit show.

via theboot.com

The singer was given an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for his work in the community.

When Darius Rucker became Dr. Darius Rucker this past May, he says it was one of the greatest moments in his life. The singer was given an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for his work in the community.

“The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is my home, it’s where mother worked for 30 years. It was where I ate, where I got my clothes — everything about the university was home to me,” Darius told The Boot. “So to be asked years later to come back and give a speech at graduation, and be presented with an honorary doctorate, was a big deal to me.”

The dad of three says when his wife told their 9-year-old daughter about his diploma, her immediate response was, “What, he didn’t have to go to school?”

During his commencement speech to the more than 800 graduates of six colleges from MUSC, Darius told them, “I want to thank you for saying to the world, ‘I’m going to take my brains, my talents and my smarts, and I’m going to make the world a better place.’ And I want you to know this is a day I will never forget.”

Darius participated in another cool event at graduation, when he visited with seven fellow double-doctoral candidates, who shared a bottle of champagne onstage and a toast with the singer. The Grammy-winning artist told them it was an honor to be there with them, noting that he graduated from Middleton High School in Charleston. He also was a student at MUSC but left to pursue his career in music.

Darius said he had to wonder what some of the parents of the students to whom he spoke thought of him being asked to be the guest speaker. “Here they’ve spent all this money on their kids’ education, and they find out that I am going to be their guest speaker,” he said with a laugh. “But it was one of those honors that is unbelievable, one you don’t expect to happen. I even asked my lawyer if I could check off ‘Dr.’ in those spaces on applications and he said legally I can!”

Darius has other connections to MUSC and the Charleston community. He and his wife, Beth, serve on the board of the Children’s Hospital, and he has made donations to the university. Additionally his Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation helps needy children get a education.

The South Carolina native says the honorary diploma will be proudly displayed in his home in Charleston, so “everyone will know to call me Dr. Rucker!”

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Paisley drafted some pretty hefty names for the new clip, including a few NASCAR legends, as well as Country Music Hall of Fame members, Alabama.

Brad Paisley is speeding to Charlotte, N.C. for the NASCAR Spring All-Star Race on Saturday (May 21) to world premiere his new video, ‘Old Alabama.’ The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year drafted some pretty hefty names for the new clip, including a few NASCAR legends, as well as Country Music Hall of Fame members, Alabama.

“I’m a big NASCAR fan, and I’ve become good buddies with Jeff Gordon (pictured above with Brad). He did a big thing on the CMAs last year, and Darrell Waltrip, and a guy named Rick Hendrick who runs Jeff and Jimmie [Johnson] and Dale [Earnhardt], Jr. race teams,” Brad tells The Boot. “Alabama’s always had huge NASCAR ties. They’ve even had songs about it.”

Fans have a few different ways they can catch the video: the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, along with a special guest from his video, will be interviewed on the Speed Channel during the 5:00 – 6:00 PM ET hour. A portion of the music video will be shown during the interview segment, as well.

Immediately following the world premiere on Speed, the online premiere takes place on NASCAR.com and can be streamed throughout the weekend. Additionally, fans attending the race will get to see the clip a few minutes prior to the start of the race at 9:00 PM ET (Speed Channel) on what is considered the “world’s largest HD video board.”

The singer-songwriter loves Corvettes and just about any type of Chevy vehicle, and they are prominently featured in the clip, making them just as big of a celebrity as the stars themselves. “This song really is a driving song. So I like to throw all these things in a kettle and see what happens in a video,” says Brad. “So, we have Jeff and the guys from Alabama and all these old cars that Rick Hendrick was generous enough to let me use. He has a collection of hundreds of old Corvettes and Chevys and also an indoor drive-in movie theater where he keeps a lot of his collection. I’ve been friends with him for a while, and as we were getting ready to do the video, we were thinking of doing it a drive-in. All the cars wind up at this drive-in … I found out later that he had never photographed it before. So, this will be the first time that anyone has ever seen his Heritage Museum, I think.”

Brad takes the viewers on a nostalgic trip back to the ’80s with classic Alabama videos, in which he super-imposes himself as a member of the group. “One of the fun things about the video is that we CGI’d me into the old Alabama videos, so I’m in their old clips,” he notes. “I’m me now, which is so weird. I remember changing my look a little more than that. They did change, [but] I’m never going to age!”

As previously announced, artist royalties from the digital single sales of ‘Old Alabama’ are being donated to aid tornado relief efforts in Alabama through the American Red Cross. The NASCAR Foundation has launched NASCAR Unites through which the motorsports community is raising money in exchange for NASCAR Unites wristbands, which has already raised more than $400,000 in support of tornado relief.

‘Old Alabama,’ which is currently sitting at No. 2 on the country charts, is the second single from Brad’s new album, ‘This is Country Music,’ due in stores Monday (May 23).

via theboot.com