Wednesday news: Best of NEW!, backstage video, Raisin' the Bar resumes and more...

Two great shots from two great shows! Bucky Covington breaks out a new dance move at Coyote Joe's in Charlotte, North Carolina on 11/23 in a fun photo by Buckyroo. And below, Bucky celebrates a musical slam-dunk at BillyBob's Texas in Fort Worth; photo by Honky Tonk Woman, who had a great spot and a wonderful time. Many thanks to both kind photographers for sharing! Bucky Covington's debut CD is in stores now, and his music videos for "It's Good to Be Us" and "A Different World" are 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 singles 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.


Here's some breaking good news from the fine folks at NEW! Discover Music--Bucky Covington has just been honored as a NEW! Best of 2007 Top Five Artist! Huge congratulations to Bucky, and to everyone who took the time to listen to Bucky's NEW! feature this fall. Check him out on the Best of NEW Country streaming player right here, or click the banner below--enjoy!

After that, stop in at Bucky's official MySpace for one of the funniest backstage videos you've ever seen--wonder what was happening before that great show at the Wildhorse Saloon? Here's a glimpse...and a bonus video, too.

Thanks to Sherry for this link to Bucky's old hometown paper, the Richmond County Daily Journal, where news about his rockin' version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (available now for your listening pleasure at Bucky's MySpace, and as a digital single at WalMart Music, Yahoo Music and iTunes--ahem) is posted this morning. The paper also noted the remainder of Bucky's Raisin' the Bar tour with Jason Michael Carroll and Cole Deggs & the Lonesome which resumes today in Clifton Park, New York. Tonight's WGNA-sponsored show benefits the station's Pennies from Heaven drive for area children. We'll repeat the info from WGNA's site:

Join us at Northern Lights for a night of great music and holiday cheer! Tickets are just $16 in advance and $19 at the door and $1 from each ticket goes to WGNA’s Pennies from Heaven charity! Doors open at 7:00pm so get there early!

Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or the Northern Lights Box Office. For more information, call 371-0012.

Here are those last few dates-- everyone who's had the pleasure of enjoying these three hot acts live in one night will tell you that it's an evening of musical fun you'll treasure forever. Bucky, Jason and Cole put on a seriously exciting show--we'd love to hear of a Raisin' the Bar 2 someday, but for now, you've got got just four more chances to witness a bit of musical history in the making. Be there for the hottest show of the winter season!

December 5 Northern Lights Clifton Park, NY [tickets]
December 6 Pepsi-Cola Roadhouse Burgettstown, PA [TM]
December 7 Crocodile Rock Café Allentown, PA [TM]
December 8 Rams Head Live! Baltimore, MD [tickets]

And Bucky's touring schedule for 2008 is heating up, too--with his recently announced opening spots for high-profile tours by Trace Adkins and Dierks Bentley, several big festival slots this summer, and the honor of a third invitation to perform at the Grand Ole Opry on 1/12, the new year is already looking very happy, indeed. The following is a rundown of what's on the menu in '08 to date. (All dates subject to change, naturally...)

January 11 and 12th, 2008: Sound and Speed*, Nashville [tickets]
January 12: Grand Ole Opry, Nashville [tickets]
January 31: Opening for Trace Adkins, Lowell, Mass. [on sale 12/14]*
February 1: Opening for Trace Adkins, Johnstown PA [on sale 12/7]
May 3-4: Stagecoach Festival , Indio, California [tickets]
May 28-31: Winfield Country Roundup, Winfield, Kansas [tickets]
June 5-8: CMA Fest, Nashville, Tennessee [tickets]
June 26th: Country USA, Oshkosh, Wisconsin [ticket info]
June 27th: Countryfest 2008 , Cadott, Wisconsin [tickets]
June 28th: Country Stampede, Manhattan, Kansas [tickets]

*Trace Adkins Fan Club and ITunes presale is 12/5 to 12/6

Speaking of Bucky and Trace, listeners in the Johnstown area have a fantastic chance to see them both from the front row at the War Memorial Arena, courtesy of WFGI/Froggy 95. From the Froggy site: "Register here to win a pair of FRONT ROW tickets to see Trace Adkins, Bucky Covington and Justin Moore at the Cambria War Memorial on Friday, February 1, 2008. Then make sure you’re listening on Monday, December 10 at 7:15 a.m. If Niki & Tadpole announce your name, you’ll have 9 minutes to call in to claim your front row seats!" Now, that sounds like a deal. Sign up, tune in and listen closely--hope you're the one who'll be cheering Bucky and Trace from the best seat in the house!

There's much to enjoy on the radio for the rest of us--Bucky's "It's Good to Be Us" is gracing the #29 spot on both the weighted and Top 500 Mediabase charts today, but just look at the size of those bullets! Could a chart jump happen this afternoon or tomorrow morning? Sure looks likely--we'll keep requesting "It's Good to Be Us" at our favorite local or streaming country stations and keep that sweet momentum going. Bucky's rowdy and rockin' take on "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is hit-bound, too; the surprise holiday single moved up a couple of notches overnight and is now #97 on the Mediabase weighted chart.

Bucky's getting a lot of tube time, as well. Your next chance to enjoy his funny, charming turn as host of Music City Madness 2 happens today at 1:30 p.m. ET on CMT. His latest music video's getting some additional rotation on GAC these days--you can catch it at 4:34 p.m. today, and three times tomorrow. (Nice going, Bucky!)

"It's Good to Be Us" is making a solid mark on the video countdowns, and we can help it rise even higher-- watch the video at CMT, and vote for "It's Good to Be Us" at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown, at the GAC Top 50 Videos of the Year poll and at CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack. (Our friend Dixie sent us a reminder about the latter--this is the last day for this week's 12-Pack poll, so feel free to lavish Bucky with some unlimited affection over there now...)

More soon--have a wonderful Wednesday!