Friday news: a little now, a lot more later...

By request, Bucky Covington on stage at Coyote Joe's in Charlotte, North Carolina on 11/23; photo by the very kind Buckwild08, who shares more of her great concert images at Photobucket. Her videos from that rockin' evening are available at YouTube. Thanks so much, Buckwild08! 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.

I've been fighting a bug for the past few days, but unfortunately, it seems to be winning--so off to the doctor I go this morning! Look for more news here later today. For now, here's a quick look at what's happening:

Chart news: Mediabase is up early, too--and Friday's numbers are lookin' fine. "It's Good to Be Us" holds steady at #23 on the Mediabase weighted and Top 500 charts, and it's poised to take over #22 on the latter very soon, judging by the size of that bullet. Keep requesting "It's Good to Be Us" at your favorite local or streaming country stations, and tune in to Lia, The Big Time with Whitney Allen, After Midnite and Danny Wright All Night this weekend, too. (That autographed-by-Bucky jacket and motocross bike are still up for grabs at After Midnite, and Lia's sweepstakes is also in progress--it could pay to listen these next few nights!) And of course, watch "It's Good to Be Us" at CMT, and give Bucky some affection at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown, at CMT's Top 20 Countdown, and at CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack.

Upcoming shows: I won't be at all surprised if some hot concert info comes down the wires while I'm in the doctor's office (ain't it always that way!) but while we wait for a few more of those venue and date announcements, here's a reminder about two very close on-sale dates--the All Access bundle presale for Dierks Bentley's 2/23 concert at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, MI is in progress now, and the general public sale begins tomorrow. Same story for the Dierks Bentley show at The Palace of Auburn Hills near Detroit--presale now, general public sale on Saturday morning. Bucky's opening both dates, and the lineup (Bucky, Luke Bryan and Dierks) is a winner all around. Good luck, and here's hoping you get the spot you want...

Rocky Covington and Bucky Covington share the spotlight at Coyote Joe's in Charlotte, North Carolina on 11/23; photo by Buckwild08. Thanks again! (Click the image to view full size at Photobucket.)

Around the web and on the tube: Check out The Covington Times this morning (always a fun stop!) and if you're in the mood for awards-night nostalgia, enjoy these candid "orange carpet" photos taken at last year's ACM awards in Las Vegas. (Scroll down for a busy but happy looking Bucky, signing autographs.) We're working on gathering as much info as possible on this year's big CMT Music Awards--that belt buckle trophy would look pretty cool in Bucky's hands on that podium, yes? Stay tuned...

In the meantime, it's almost Opry night! Tomorrow's the big show--Bucky's return to the Grand Ole Opry stage will be televised live on GAC-TV at 8 p.m. ET, Saturday night; you can also listen in via streaming audio at WSM beginning at 6:30 p.m. Central.

More soon-have a fantastic Friday!