For all of you Kenny Chesney fans October is the month for you! Chesney is set to release his highly anticipated new album, Lucky Old Sun, this coming month not just once but twice! Why twice? you ask.

Well, the first album, available October 14th, is a special edition deluxe package featuring live performances of songs from “Boston” and “Got A Little Crazy” as well as songs from “Soul Of A Sailor” and “Guitars & Tiki Bars”. If live tracks from his show at Boston’s Gillette Stadium and from his Margaritaville show in Key West are not enough to excite you, then maybe free Kenny Chesney downloads or an all expense paid trip to see the man live in concert will.

For the fans that purchase the deluxe edition, they’ll gain access to download from Chesney’s Pirates & Poets Tour and a special video of “Everyone Wants To Go To Heaven” featuring The Wailers. The deal sealer for this particular album is that fans are also given the chance to participate in the “Kick It Off With Kenny” contest which enters them to win a trip to the opening of his 2009 Tour.

Not interested in all the hoopla, then you’ll have to sit tight and wait until October 21st when the music only version of Lucky Old Sun hits stores near you.

Country music fans awards season is just around the corner! The 42nd Annual CMA nominees have been announced. The gentlemen of Rascal Flatts together with the beautiful Taylor swift had the honor of announcing the final contenders for five out of the twelve CMA awards at the Good Morning America studios in Times Square. The remaining awards were announced live from the Sommet Center by Nashville natives, Lady Antebellum and MuzikMafia member, James Otto, on a special edition of CMT’s CMT’s Insider.

So who are the nominees?

The reigning CMA Entertainer, Kenny Chesney leads with seven nominations including Best Male Vocalist, Best Album for Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, and a re-nomination for Entertainer of the Year. Let’s see if Chesney has what it takes to walk with this title for the third year in a row. If he does, then it will be the fourth time this country crooner has been crowned Entertainer of the Year by CMA.

Not trailing too far behind and representing for the women of country music is Jennifer Nettles who has been nominated for a respectable six nominations including a songwriter nod for Stay.  Nettles shares five of her nominations with Kristian Bush with whom together they form the country duo, Sugarland.

Also sailing along with Sugarland in the five nominations boat is The King of Country himself, George Straight, who receives a nod among many for Single of the Year for I Saw God Today. 

Fellow honky-tonk Alan Jackson and the ever-so-gorgeous Virginian Brad Paisley nicely sum up the CMA heavy hitters with a solid four nominations each.

Be sure to tune in on Wednesday, November 12th to catch the 42nd Annual CMA Awards which will be broadcasted live from the Sommet Center in Nashville by ABC.

Roots music aficionados mark your calendars for November 1^st. The Americana Folk Festival is coming into town. For the last four years the AFF has been recreating that back porch “picking party” feel by bringing a variety of national Americana and Folk artists together at the Montgomery State Park in Burns, Tennessee.

The festival showcases artists from across the nation that hail from a myriad of genres including folk, bluegrass, jazz and rock. Not entirely an Americana and Folk music fan? No worries! The AFF doesn’t strictly limit itself to promoting these two genres rather it embraces music that is a variation of these art forms.

Aside from providing fans with three stages jammed packed with continuous roots music talent, the AFF also offers a wide range of interesting workshops and exhibitions. In between sets you’d be able to learn how to build your own instrument, check out cool folk art or walk through a wooded village sampling ethnic and organic foods.

The Americana Folk Festival is a celebration of difference and creativity. It serves as a venue for musicians and fans to express their appreciation for roots music. How can you go wrong with music, art and food?