Lee Brice to Make National Late Night Debut with
May 1st Performance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”

Nashville, TN – April 10, 2012 – Everything Lee Brice touches career-wise is proving the truth in the old industry adage and country music hit – “when you’re hot, you’re hot.”

With his current single “A Woman Like You” hitting the top of the Billboard chart, Curb Records is releasing today a second iTunes exclusive download from Brice’s forthcoming album project, Hard 2 Love.  The highly-touted new album will street April 24 with a strong lead-in at retail already established.

iTunes will offer a second exclusive download, “Parking Lot Party,” from the new album package as a “sneak preview” offered by Curb Records followed by a third download to follow on April 17.

Adding to Brice’s industry creds as a creative force to be reckoned with is the recent win of ACM “Song of the Year” honors by the Eli Young Band with the Brice-penned blockbuster, “Crazy Girl.”  After a string of huge successes as a hit songwriter putting his words in the mouths of a litany of country music’s most virile chart toppers from Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney to Jason Aldean and Tim McGraw, Brice is now focusing his stellar hit creating ability on propelling his own emergence as a superstar.

Brice’s 2012 breakthrough to new levels of connectivity with radio and retail is a success story of note.  “A Woman Like You” proved Curb’s delivery system in navigating the single to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, with a blazing track record of over 700,000 digital downloads already sold.

Hard 2 Love will provide the much anticipated studio follow-up to Brice’s critically-acclaimed debut album Love Like Crazy, which spawned Billboard’s Most Played Country Song of 2010 by virtue of its title track.

Seldom away from the spotlight over the past few months, Brice filled a rare and recent high visibility country music co-host slot on the “Today” show.  He’s set to guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on May 1 with a major round of high-powered media visits being strategically planned to ignite awareness on the Hard 2 Love launch.

Mike and Liz Strong

I started “Raised Country!” in 2009 during the first extended period of unemployment I had ever experienced. This blog helped me keep my sanity when I could not find any work in my field of 35 years.

In spite of my white hair, by God’s grace, opportunities began to materialize and I have been gainfully employed for the last two years, and now, I need to devote my time to other things.

Raised Country has been visited by tens of thousands of people from all over the world. This has exceeded all of my expectations.  Still, it’s daily visitation levels are fairly low (about 50 to 100 visitors a day).  Given the tepid interest in the site and my having less time to give to it, I have decided to retire the site.

I may leave it on the air indefinitely, but my contributions to it (which have been mostly press release filler), will slow to a trickle or stop altogether.

My original vision for this blog site was to accumulate great, heart felt or fun “roots” stories from anyone with a memorable story to tell. We even had a Raised Country! Radio Spot that aired for awhile in 2010.

Good stories and tall tales are hard to get now. Indeed, one of the wonderful things about the Internet is that it frees everyone to put up their own blog. You don’t need to piggy back on anyone else’s.  If, however, you still want to submit your tall tale, I will always enjoy getting more stories to share.  Just click on the “Tell Your Tall Tale” link above.

This has been cathartic and fun, and I thank all who have visited this site. I hope you found some enjoyment or benefit from it.

God bless you.

Regards,
Mike & Liz Strong

This post was submitted by admin.

PUEBLO, Colo. (September 15, 2011) – The Professional Bull Riders are teaming up with one of the hottest Australian country music groups around, The McClymonts, for a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to Australia to see the trio live Down Under! The McClymonts will also be giving multiple exclusive performances during the 2011 PBR World Finals in Las Vegas, Oct. 26-30.

The contest is simple: go to www.pbr.com/mcclymonts, watch the music video for their current single, “Wrapped Up Good,” and tell us the color of the winning race car in the video. The Grand Prize winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entrants who correctly identify the car’s color, and will receive a nine day/eight night trip to Australia in January 2012.

The sisters are from New South Wales, which is also the home of PBR riders Brendon Clark and Ben Jones, as well as brothers Jared and Pete Farley.

For the past four years, The McClymonts were named Best Group by The Australian Country Music Awards, and the trio’s most recent album, Wrapped Up Good, was #5 on the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) End of the Year Charts. Their Wrapped Up Good Tour sold out all over Australia in 2010, and the group also shared some dates with U.S. country music stars Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum, and even rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

Fans can check out some of The McClymonts’ latest hits at http://www.themcclymonts.net. Fans can also see the trio live during the 2011 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals at the PBR Fan Zone and various after parties throughout the week. For the McClymonts full PBR World Finals schedule, please visit www.pbr.com

The 2011 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas will officially begin on Tuesday, Oct. 25, with the first-ever PBR Legends Reunion at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. This special day gives bull riding fans an opportunity to meet their favorite riders. Every rider who has competed since the PBR began has been invited to Las Vegas to participate in the largest PBR Meet & Greet ever. Just a few of the confirmed attendees include all 40 current BFTS athletes, and former stars such as Ty Murray, Cody Lambert, Cody Custer, Jerome Davis, Justin McBride, Jerome Robinson, Adriano Moraes and over 100 other current and former bull riders.

Only a limited number of PBR Legends Reunion packages are available. Each contains tickets to the Founders Forum, Alumni Meet & Greet, Heroes & Legends Ceremony, and the Built Ford Tough World Finals Kickoff Party, as well as a commemorative Legends Reunion ball cap and autograph book. PBR Fan Club members can purchase a Legends Reunion ticket for $75 by telephone at (800) 732-1727 or at www.TeamPBR.com. The general public can purchase a package that includes the Legends Reunion ticket and World Finals tickets for Round 1 on Wednesday and Round 2 on Thursday for only $150, a savings of $170, by telephone at (866) PBR-SHOW or at www.UNLVTickets.com.

The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas will host the 2011 PBR World Finals, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 26, and continuing through Sunday, Oct. 30. Bull riding begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Tickets are on sale now at the Thomas & Mack Center box office, at www.UNLVTickets.com and by telephone at 866-PBR-SHOW. For special PBR World Finals rates at the Mandalay Bay, please visit www.mandalaybay.com/PBR2011 or telephone (877) 632-9001. For more information on the Mandalay Bay, please visit www.mandalaybay.com or telephone (877) 632-7800.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 20 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million – the most of any western-sports athlete in history. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards, alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Nearly 2 million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.