Quick Saturday news: CMT voting, GAC encores, and more...

Another request for this shot came in--who could resist? Bucky Covington goes electric on stage at Uncle Ron's in Lincoln, Nebraska, 11/28; photo by our talented friend Janie, who shares more great concert shots in her Photobucket gallery. Thanks again, Janie!

It's Saturday--for many of us, a day of relaxing, housecleaning, running errands--and oh, yeah--of encouraging every friend, neighbor, relative, amiable stranger and passerby to register at CMT and vote for Bucky Covington's "A Different World" as the "USA Weekend Breakthrough Video" for the 2008 CMT Music Awards. (Just thought I'd put that out there...)

Here's a very quick look at Saturday's happenings:

Chart news: Looks like "It's Good to Be Us" is winding down the week at #18 on the Mediabase weighted and Top 500 charts, but a quick peek at the top of the list reveals a bit of opportunity at hand. Be sure to give those hot Saturday night syndicated national country radio shows and your friendly local DJ a call and a request! That Top 10 milestone is still gleaming in the distance--it'll feel good to get closer to it this coming week...

Upcoming shows: Last night's news about the Jackson, TN Dierks Bentley Throttle Wide Open stop on April 3rd (tickets here) and the Birmingham concert on the 4th (ticket links coming soon) underscore a very important point--it pays to listen to your local country station's concert updates! We'll have more info on both shows as it hits the wires--for now, a hearty congratulations to Dierks, Bucky, and Luke's fans in Jackson and Birmingham.

Tickets for most of Dierks Bentley's Throttle Wide Open tour dates are available now at Ticketmaster, and Bucky's solo stop at The Machine Shop in Flint, MI on 2/22 is selling very briskly--get your tickets at www.etix.com soon.

Another favorite, also by request: Bucky Covington shoots you a smile in this fun portrait taken by the very kind Hildi. Thanks again for everything and more, Hildi!

On the tube and around the net: Look for one last repeat of GAC's Riverfront Concert Series special (featuring Bucky, Sarah Buxton and Trent Tomlinson) at 2:30 p.m. ET today. The CMT Online Awards are available...er, online right now--check out Bucky and his coveted Golden Mouse.

There's food for thought at The Covington Times today--you'll enjoy two beautiful concert shots by Kathy and Rachel, too.

Vote for Bucky: The 2008 CMT Music Awards are awaiting your input (okay, my excitement about that one is a little hard to miss), but there's plenty of opportunity to give Bucky a boost today. The Country Weekly "Country's Hottest Bachelor" survey is still in progress, and Bucky's included in a new "consolation round in the Idol Madness playoffs at Idol Thoughts --vote for him right here.
We'll wind it down for now with today's video voting links--give "It's Good to Be Us" some affection at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown, at CMT's Top 20 Countdown and CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack.

Finally, kind thoughts and well-wishes to our friends Lisa and AmaTexMom--you are very much appreciated!

More soon--Winnie