Friday news: Power Picks, Edenton tonight and more

Sporting some fan-gifted party beads, Bucky Covington flirts with the crowd during an the WGAR Country Jam in Cleveland; photo courtesy of the very kind Trish, who is a terrific photographer and a fantastic fan to hang out with--we had a blast. Thanks for everything, Trish! Bucky Covington's debut CD is in stores now, and his music video is available for online viewing at CMT.com and Yahoo Music. You can buy Bucky's album at Amazon, Best Buy , iTunes, WalMart Music 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. A copy of Bucky Covington can be ordered at his official site or via his official fan club.

Bucky's video for "A Different World" will face a head-to-head challenge on today's CMT Power Picks, which begins at 12 noon ET; click here to go directly to the Power Picks main page. Bucky's video will be in the third matchup (fourth video) of the show, so at noon, hit the "Vote Now" button, keep that voting window open and get ready to mouse-click away...(Thanks again to Laurianne for keeping all of us posted.)

The tour bus is rolling again, y'all. Bucky, Rocky, Don Shaun and Hans will hit Edenton, NC tonight for the first of three Southern shows that are sure to wind up September with a bang! Here's the scoop on this evening's concert, courtesy of the Albemarle Daily Advance:

American Legion Post 40 presents Bucky Covington in concert, Friday at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Fairgrounds, U.S. Hwy. 17 Bus. South, Edenton. Also appearing is Avalanche. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. No coolers, bring lawn chairs. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the gate. (252) 482-2297.

And tomorrow, the bus rolls into Hazard, Kentucky for a stop at the Black Gold Festival:

Saturday, 09/22/2007 9:00 p.m.
Black Gold Festival
700 Main Street
Hazard KY

Website: http://www.blackgoldfestival.com/
Ticket info: "All concerts are free of charge and will be held on Main St. at the Ampitheather next to City Hall."
Directions: Mapquest

In this morning's Aiken Standard, there's a well-in-advance article on the November 13th Kicks 99 "Million Pennies for Kids" Guitar Pull fundraiser, which happens in Aiken, SC on November 13th. This sounds like an unusual event for a great cause--and you sure can't beat the all-star lineup:

Topping the bill this year are Dierks Bentley, Jo Dee Messina, Blake Shelton and Van Zant, the country-rock duo of brothers Donnie Van Zant (founder of .38 Special) and Johnny Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd). Rounding out the show will be former "American Idol" contestant Bucky Covington and newcomer Eric Church.

Tickets are $25 and go on sale Saturday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. Proceeds from the concert benefit United Way of the CSRA.

For more ticket info, visit http://www.uscatix.com/; and for more concert news, head on over to our September Concert Roundup post and the tour page on Bucky's official site for more tour dates. Bucky's going to be a busy rising country star this fall--be there for the fun!

And if you're not in North Carolina tonight to enjoy the wild and wonderful live show, there's always the radio. Bucky's new tune, "It's Good to Be Us", is currently #42 on the Mediabase weighted chart and #41 on the Top 500, with bullets on both. A little pole-vaulting by some big stars zooming up the charts is normal--the symbols of Bucky's growing airplay are those bullets, which are looking quite healthy today. Yep, we can make them look even healthier; request "It's Good to Be Us" at your favorite local or streaming country station, remember the "Top X at X" in your hometown, and show him some affection at Fayetteville's WKML today with a request for Bucky's newest at country@wkml.com. (Online listeners are welcome; putting your request for "It's Good to Be Us" right in the subject line works best.)


Rocky and Bucky Covington at the Indiana State Fair earlier this summer; click here to enjoy more great concert photos by the very generous Buckybaby01. (Thanks again, Buckybaby!)

For more internet fun, a reminder about some ongoing good times online courtesy of both Covington brothers. Rocky Covington's ready to answer more of your questions in an upcoming new Q-and-A page on his official site, RockyCovington.com. Tell him what you'd like to know in the brand new guestbook, and you might get an answer straight from Rocky himself! And part two of the banner contest at Bucky's official MySpace blog is in full swing--vote for your favorite and help promote "It's Good to Be Us" in style. (Kudos to the Covingtons and company for taking the time to make things fun for the fans, whether we're up close and personal at a show or a million miles away in cyberspace...)

Finally, here's a repeat link that might have gotten lost in the shuffle during yesterday's tech tangles. If you haven't been to see pro photographer Julie Thacker's beautiful slide show from the Poage Landing Days concert, head over there now--you could be a part of it! There are many meet and greet photos included, and she's got information on how you can get yours here at her blog. Thanks again to Ms. Thatcher for the gorgeous shots...she captured the night beautifully.

More very soon--have a great Friday!