Monday news: CMT Insider 2/23, new videos, chartgazing and more...

Bucky Covington enjoys the sunshine on stage at the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville in this striking photo by Susu, who shared the fun that evening with her good friend Happydays. Click the image to see many beautiful shots from that show. Thanks again to Susu and Happydays!

Bucky Covington will be a part of this week's CMT Insider, airing on Saturday, 2/23 at 1 p.m. ET, with several repeats. From the show blurb: "Catch up on the latest news on your favorite stars with host Katie Cook. Find out about Brad Paisley's tour and Kellie Pickler's feature in People magazine's country issue. Plus, learn the latest on Bucky Covington and Merle Haggard." Who knows what interesting news is on the horizon--tune in and see!

If you'd like to catch Bucky on your TV today, the video for "It's Good to Be Us" airs on GAC at 6:11 p.m. ET. And of course, you can catch Bucky's exciting music video online on demand at CMT.com, 24/7...

Speaking of video, FLCathy's incredible clips from the Gainesville Throttle Wide Open show are now available at YouTube, and along with Lisa/Judge's Pompano Beach goodness, your concert-memory break is bound to leave a smile on your face! Just a taste--a little "Bible and the Belt" will kickstart your Monday morning in the rockingest of ways...


Here's the rest of what's happening now:

Chart news: "It's Good to Be Us" is #16 on the Mediabase weighted chart and #15 on the Top 500 charts this morning--and the bullets are looking a bit plumper today. Keep requesting, y'all! A new week means lots of opportunities--new "Top X at X" votes, requests to all our favorite local DJs and syndicated country radio show hosts, and lots of dedications. (Hey, Valentine's Day may be over, but the fun of sending this sweet song out to a special someone lingers...)

Upcoming shows: Nothing new to report as of post time, so here's yet another reminder--seats for most dates on Dierks Bentley's Throttle Wide Open tour are available now at Ticketmaster. Tickets for the Jackson, TN Dierks Bentley concert on April 3rd can be purchased at the City of Jackson site. The Machine Shop show in Flint, MI will be rocked by Bucky and his excellent band on 2/22--tickets for this general admission, 18-and-over club date (those are getting rare, folks!) can be purchased at www.etix.com.


Bucky Covington and Ducky Medlock rock the house in another great shot from Waverly Beach by the very talented Midask9--click here to see more.

Around the net: The Covington Times is graced with a fantastic CMA fest photo of Bucky and a great vintage image of a smiling Rocky Covington, along with some very helpful Yes.com etiquette tips. Midask9's beautiful It's Good to Be Us blog is laden with gorgeous Bucky Covington shots and graphics, chart news and a very fresh Jason Michael Carroll concert photo. Nikki's Simply a Bucky Fan has a brand new look! Check it out, and enjoy her rockin' San Diego concert shot, too. And the Erwin Record's Country's Chatter blog has good news for those of us who loved Bucky's labelmate Trent Tomlinson in concert at CMA Fest and at the Foothills festival--he'll be at the Washington County Fair on September 11th, a couple of days before Bucky's show on September 13th.

These photo links from last night are well worth repeating--enjoy the South Florida Free Times gallery of shots from the Pompano Beach show, and check out Getty Images for more stunning professional photos.

Vote for Bucky: If you're a regular reader, you're not surprised to see a link to the 2008 CMT Music Awards page there at the right. This is major, everybody! Time is of the essence, too--the voting ends one week from today, February 25th.

One vote per email address/registered user--so if you haven't already, register and vote today, then pass the link along to a few hundred friends!

Gone Country Magazine's "favorite country Idol" poll is going on for a few days longer--stop in and have fun. The Idol Thoughts consolation round is done; results are behind that link. Thanks to all who put in a good word for Bucky!

Finally, enjoy giving "It's Good to Be Us" some Top 15-style lovin' at the new drag-and-drop GAC Top 20 Country Countdown, at CMT's Top 20 Countdown and (ahem!) at CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack.

More soon--have a marvelous Monday!

(Whoops! Typed before coffee again this morning--the headline should have given 2/23 at the CMT Insider broadcast date. All fixed--see you in front of the tube on Saturday!)