Saturday news: It's Opry night!

Some sweet historic Opry shots, in honor of tonight's big event--Bucky Covington on the Grand Ole Opry stage, March 9th, 2007; photo by the generous Honeygirl. Thanks so much! (You can enjoy more of her great shots here.) 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.


Tonight's the night! Bucky Covington's long break is over and he returns to the stage in a big way at the historic Ryman in Nashville, where he'll make his third Grand Ole Opry appearance this evening. Who knows what surprises (and delights) await us? For those just tuning in today, a bit of repeat info:

Bucky's performance will part of the Grand Ole Opry Live telecast on GAC-TV at 8 p.m. ET tonight (check your local listings for cable channel number), with several encores in the next few days. Full list of showtimes:

• January 12, 2008 8:00 PM ET
• January 13, 2008 12:00 AM ET
• January 13, 2008 12:00 PM ET
• January 13, 2008 7:00 PM ET
• January 15, 2008 8:00 PM ET

WSM will stream the entire show live. The Saturday night Opry on WSM begins at 6:30 p.m. Central and runs all the way to 11:30 p.m. XM Satellite Radio subscribers have the option of listening live on Nashville - XM 11; the broadcast at 7:30 p.m. ET, and will repeat seveal times this week. (Hop over to the XM Opry page for details on encore airings.)

There'll also be plenty of Bucky's camera-carrying fans at the Ryman tonight. Look for some awesome shots and recaps coming very soon!

(Bucky's second Opry date, April 7, 2007. © 2007 Grand Ole Opry; photo by Billy Kingsley, Hollo Photo- graphics.)

Chart news: A bit of deja vu is in the works today, as "It's Good to Be Us" holds on strong to the #23 spot on both the Mediabase weighted and Top 500 listings again this morning. Keep requesting, y'all! Top 20 is our current goal, and every call and email brings Bucky closer to that sweet spot on the charts. (Of course, once the song goes Top 20, it picks up a lot of momentum--and it's very likely that it'll also pick up a lot of new stations.) We'll keep on keepin' on...

On the tube and around the net: The biggest TV news is right up top this morning, but it's always a pleasure to see Bucky's video anytime--catch it at about 2:37 ET on GAC-TV, watch it at CMT, and give Bucky some voting-style applause at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown, CMT's Top 20 Countdown, and at CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack.


Bucky Covington greets the crowd during his Grand Ole Opry debut in March, 2007; photo courtesy of Sweettea- love. (Thanks again for your kindness!)

And here's a bit of Opry goodness online in honor of tonight's big show: enjoy this Idol Extra video blast from the past at AmericanIdol. com, which begins with footage from Bucky's Opry debut back in March '07, followed by a short clip of Bucky discussing the significance of the legendary stage. Over at MySpace, a very rare treat awaits you; a very kind fan caught a tiny snippet of Bucky's "A Different World" that night, and it'll warm your heart no matter what the weather is outside. (Many thanks to Martha!)

Finally, hop on over to The Covington Times, where there's a great pair of photos--one from Bucky's Idol days and one very recent shot--up top, along with a fun poll at the bottom. Which look do you prefer? Have your say and see which of Bucky's styles gets the nod...

Upcoming shows: Look for an in-depth concert update here very soon--for now, here's a mini roundup of some tickets currently on sale. Seats for Dierks Bentley's 2/23 concert at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, MI and the Dierks Bentley show at The Palace of Auburn Hills near Detroit go on sale to the general public today at 10 a.m. Click here for Kellogg Arena tickets, and here's the Ticketmaster page for Auburn Hills.

More shows on sale now and coming up soon: Bucky and his excellent band will rock the Glass Cactus in Grapevine TX (near Dallas) on January 19th (tickets) ; and the Pullo Performing Arts Center in York PA on January 25 (tickets here). For links to lots more on Bucky's travels, check out the Tour Info section in our sidebar, and bookmark Bucky's official tour page for the latest.

Have a great Saturday--see you tonight!