Saturday news: Grand Ole Opry live tonight with Bucky Covington, CD listening parties and more

Bucky Covington and the legendary Little Jimmy Dickens backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, March 9th.
Bucky returns to the Opry stage tonight--watch the show live on GAC at 8 pm ET. Bucky's music video is now available for online viewing at CMT.com and Yahoo Music. You can pre-order Bucky's debut CD at Amazon, Best Buy and Target, hear the full version of his single "A Different World" at CMT and GAC, or enjoy samples of songs from the CD at Bucky's official MySpace. An autographed copy of Bucky Covington can be pre-ordered at his official site or via his official fan club.

Tonight's the night! Bucky Covington returns to the Grand Ole Opry stage, and this time, it'll be televised live on Great American Country at 8 p.m. ET. There's good news for those of us who aren't blessed with GAC in our cable lineup, too--we can listen to a live stream of the entire show on Nashville's legendary WSM. (WSM's been sponsoring the Opry since 1925, of course, but there are definite advantages to living in the age of the Internet!) WSM also archives the Opry shows, so we'll be able to enjoy the whole program again and again. The live broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. Central--and even though Bucky will be on a bit later in the program, it's a lot of fun to tune in early and get a feel for the whole Opry experience.

And those who'll be out and about tonight have another option--the Opry's syndicated show, Grand Ole Opry Weekend, will offer two hours from the Saturday night Opry, including Bucky's performance. Click here for a list of stations carrying the show--your local station may have a treat in store for you! If not, Knoxville's WIVK will stream Grand Ole Opry Weekend on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

GAC's Grand Ole Opry Live begins at 8 p.m. ET, with many repeats throughout the weekend:

Grand Ole Opry Live (GAC)
Saturday 04/07/2007 8:00 PM EST
Sunday 04/08/2007 12:00 AM EST
Sunday 04/08/2007 12:00 PM EST
Sunday 04/08/2007 7:00 PM EST
Tuesday 04/10/2007 9:00 PM EST
Wednesday 04/11/2007 1:00 AM EST

Some of Bucky's kindest and most dedicated fans will be in the audience at the Opry House tonight; there should be some fantastic recaps and photos on the way as the week rolls on. We'll see you at the Opry!

In other news, here's yet another reason to sign up for your local country station's listener's club. The little graphic at left was part of my WGAR Loyal Listener Newsletter. Could there be a CD listening party in the works beginning April 10th? Sure looks that way--and if your local country station offers previews of coming CDs, hit their site--or your inbox--soon. You could be in for a pleasant surprise this week! Stay tuned for more details on the listening party scene as the countdown to April 17th goes on. (And while we're talkin' WGAR, you'll find a podcast of Bucky's funny interview at the station's site--get ready to smile.)


Bucky's Mediabase numbers are still looking good--he's holding steady this Saturday morning at #25 on the Top 500 and #26 on the weighted chart. If you'd like to help push that number even higher, be sure to request Bucky at your local country station. You can also give "A Different World" a boost on the video charts--cast your vote for Bucky at the CMT Pure Country Pure 12-Pack video countdown voting page and on GAC's Top Twenty Country Countdown. For info on even more ways to help Bucky climb the charts, check out his official street team, Bucky Nation--free to join, with a lively message board and some excellent perks and goodies to sweeten the deal.

And finally, visit Kathy at Team Covington today for a great link to an exclusive About.com audio interview Bucky gave on his April 4th media day. Sounds like there were several new and different questions--and some interesting answers--during this phone call with Bucky. Enjoy, and thanks to Kathy for the fabulous find!

More very soon...