Kenny Chesney has revealed the title and cover art for his new album, ‘Welcome ToThe Fishbowl,’ out June 19 on BNA Records. The news comes as Chesney gears up for the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday, April 1, for which he has more nominations than any artist this year.

Chesney will be joined onstage for a special performance with Tim McGraw, with whom he is touring for the first time in 10 years this summer during the blockbuster, 20-stadium ‘Brothers of the Sun’ Tour, with Chesney and McGraw.

‘Welcome To The Fishbowl,’ Chesney’s 13th studio album, follows 2010′s platinum-certified ‘Hemingway’s Whiskey,’ which spawned four #1 singles. Chesney’s ACM nominations include Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year for ‘Hemingway’s Whiskey’ (as both artist and producer), and Song of the Year for “You and Tequila” with Grace Potter.

The ‘Brothers of the Sun’ Tour, with Chesney and McGraw, kicks off June 2 in Tampa, FL and has already sold more than 600,000 tickets. The tour will hit stadiums across the country and will also feature Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Jake Owen.

Lee Brice / Curb Records

On Tuesday, March 20, the “Today” show gets a little more country as hit singer/songwriter Lee Brice joins Hoda Kotb to co-host the fourth hour of the top-rated national morning show. Brice will fill in for Kathie Lee Gifford who is taking the week off.

In April 2011, Hoda Kotb selected Lee Brice’s hit single and Billboard’s Most Played Song of 2010, “Love Like Crazy,” for her “iHoda Playlist.” Now, close to a year later, she has invited the singer to join her and perform his new Top 10 smash, “A Woman Like You,” live in studio. Brice commented on the invitation, “I’m really excited to co-host with Hoda. I love that she loves country music and shares it with the world on her ‘iHoda Playlist.’ Buckle up Hoda, we’re gonna have some fun!”

Brice’s “Today” debut kicks off a soon-to-be busy schedule for the award-nominated singer.  On April 1, Brice will compete in the “Song of the Year” category at the ACM Awards for co-writing Eli Young Band’s first #1 single, “Crazy Girl.”  Then, on April 24, his much-anticipated sophomore album, Hard 2 Love, hits the streets with a fury of media appearances. “A Woman Like You” is the lead release from the album and is currently at #10 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and is selling over 40,000 single downloads weekly.

The fourth hour of “Today” airs weekdays on NBC from 10-11 a.m.

Brothers In The Sun

Singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney scores his 23^rd # 1 single this week with “Reality,” which he co-wrote with longtime writing partner and friend Brett James. Their previous collaborations include the chart-topping “Out Last Night,” the Top 10 “Keg In The Closet,” and “Spirit of A Storm,” from Chesney’s introspective ‘Lucky Old Sun’ album.

The idea for “Reality” was born in a dentist’s chair. Chesney says, “I was lying in the chair, I had the mask on, you know, where they give you that funny gas, so they can work on your mouth without you feeling it, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I haven’t been this relaxed in a long time.’ That was my escape from reality and that’s what the song is about. And when people come to our shows, they’re not thinking about what’s going on in their job or school, they’re having fun, escaping reality and I’m glad to be a part of that. I say it every night on stage we all got problems but for the next couple of hours, let’s push them aside and relax. That’s how I feel about it!”

Chesney leads the Academy of Country Music Awards pack with 9 nominations including Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Hemingway’s Whiskey as both artist and producer), and Male Vocalist of the Year. He also earned double nominations for Single Record of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year as both artist and producer for “You And Tequila” with Grace Potter.  Chesney is also nominated for Song of the Year for “You And Tequila” with Grace Potter.

On June 2, The ‘Brothers of the Sun ‘Tour starring, Chesney and Tim McGraw, kicks off in Tampa, FL. The tour marks the first time in 10 years the longtime friends have hit the road together and features Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Jake Owen. The tour will play stadiums across the country and are the only cities and venues Chesney will play in 2012.

‘Brothers of the Sun ‘ Country Tour Dates:

Sat. June 2 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium

Sun. June 3 – Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome
Sat. June 9 – Dallas, TX – Cowboys Stadium
Sun. June 10 – Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium
Sat. June 16 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field
Sat. June 23 – Nashville, TN – LP Field
Sun. June 24 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium
Sat. June 30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field
Sun. July 1 – Cincinnati, OH – Paul Brown Stadium
Sat. July 7 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
Sun. July 8 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Field
Sat. July 14 – Anaheim, CA – Angels Stadium
Sat. July 21 – Denver, CO – Sports Authority Field at Mile High
TBA – Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium
TBA – Cleveland, OH – Cleveland Browns Stadium
Sat. August 11 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
Sun. August 12 – Washington, DC – FedExField
Sat. August 18 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
Sat. August 25 – Foxboro, MA – Gillette Stadium

You’ll have to wait until May 1st to get much more from Carrie Underwood.  She’s set to release another full studio album (her fourth) on Arista/Sony Nashville and it’s promising to be a blockbuster.    The part time CMA Host’s new single Good Girl is already getting heavy airplay across most country stations despite many cries of “too pop!”  Carrie has the cred to pull it off but will want to include some twang in the tracks on the album to keep country happy.

Here’s a look at the planned ‘Blown Away’ Track Listing:

1. ‘Good Girl’
2. ‘Blown Away’
3. ‘Two Black Cadillacs’
4. ‘See You Again’
5. ‘Do You Think About Me’
6. ‘Forever Changed’
7. ‘Nobody Ever Told You’
8. ‘One Way Ticket’
9. ‘Thank God for Hometowns’
10. ‘Good in Goodbye’
11. ‘Leave Love Alone’
12. ‘Cupid’s Got a Shotgun’
13. ‘Wine After Whiskey’
14. ‘Who Are You’

No one in country has a track record of back to back number one singles like Underwood a 2010 ACM Entertainer of the Year winner and the stellar cover  photo on the album featuring legs up to here is sure to please fans and others.  Mike Fisher is a lucky man.  May 1st with more leaking on her official website soon.

Arista Records

Mercury's Scotty McCreery

ACA New Artist Award winner Scotty McCreery is keepin’ it real as a normal Garner high school senior, despite his Idol stardom and the screaming Scotty fans during his run on Brad Paisley’s 2012 tour.

Now with weather warming up and touring schedules changing, the North Carolina native is anticipating playing baseball for his school in Garner.  He’s looking at college too. Scotty has already been accepted to East Carolina, with applications still out to North Carolina State, Belmont and Middle Tennessee State University.

Baseball is the first task at hand as his role on the Paisley tour comes to an end March 3rd in Lexington.

The attention to his hometown and highschool has – from afar – seemed somewhat normal.  That could change as the American Idol PR machine starts it’s engines for the new year.  Watch for him to appear soon on a live American Idol show(to sing his hit The Trouble with Girls or an anticipated new single from Clear As Day?)

In an email to fans and on their website Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush announced the “In the Hands of the Fans” Tour for 2012 and beyond.

It has been a tough past year for the band that is still rebounding from a tragic stage collapse that shocked the concert and festival world.

The new tour will be innovative. They tell fans “The tour will rely solely on YOUR requests to determine the set list played in each city.”

“This year’s tour is based around the concept of putting the show into the hands of the fans,” said Jennifer. “THEY will make the requests that will help form the set list and guide the show. Through texts, handwritten signs, the Internet (Twitter, Facebook, etc) phone calls made during the show and selections directly from the stage, the fans will become the conductors as well as the audience. If it’s on one of our records or if we’ve played it on a stage it is fair game.”

Fans can start requesting songs soon at the bands website.

Lauren Alaina and Canaan Smith will open select shows.

TOUR DATES FOR “IN THE HANDS OF THE FANS” :

4/5 Toledo, OH
4/6 Youngstown, OH
4/10 Niagara, ON
4/11 Niagara, ON
4/13 Pikeville, KY
4/14 Louisville, KY
4/19 Thackerville, OK
4/20 Thackerville, OK
4/21 Mississippi State, MS
4/26 Virginia Beach, VA
4/27 Charlotte, NC
4/28 Raleigh, NC
5/25 Rancho Mirage, CA
5/31 San Diego, CA
6/1 Mountain View, CA
6/21 Oshkosh, WI
6/22 Cadott, WI
6/23 Chicago, IL
7/21 Harrington, DE
7/22 Bristow, VA
7/27 Tampa, FL
7/28 Valdosta, GA
7/29 West Palm Beach, FL
8/3 Cincinnati, OH
8/10 Sturgis, SD
8/17 Brownsville, OR
8/18 Stateline, NV
The band adds that there will be more… announced soon!