First look at Wednesday: "I'll Walk" on deck and more (updated with new CMT Music Awards links)

By request, Bucky Covington on stage in Atlanta; portrait by Mike Clifton. Mr. Clifton of Local Sports Online was on hand for Bucky's concert at Wild Bill's in June, and his stunning gallery of shots from the show is an absolute must-see. Thanks again to Mr. Clifton for his incredible images--his contact info is available at the gallery link, and his beautiful work speaks for itself. Enjoy!

It's a slow news day, but even lulls have their advantages--requesting "It's Good to Be Us" for the joy of listening to Bucky Covington on the radio has its benefits. One strong benefit (besides three minutes of musical joy) is that it helps keep Bucky's profile high while "I'll Walk" waits in the wings for its official radio add date.

As we learned from our experiences with his first two Top Ten hits (love saying that!), many stations do a "Pick or Flick"-style test drive on new singles, and there's a very good chance Bucky's upcoming hit might turn up in your local country station's new-tune challenge. Keep your ears open, and be ready to pounce! Nationally syndicated shows also do those test drives, so we'll keep an ear out for those as well... (Thanks to Laura for the reminder.)

Meanwhile, the road beckons and the concert halls out West are about to be rocked! Catch Bucky with headliner Dierks Bentley as the Throttle Wide Open tour hits the Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Missouri tonight. Last minute tickets may still be available; call 660.562.1226 (ext. 1226) for info. Local station KSJQ/Q Country 92.7 might have some photos and goodies after the show, and there's a podcast page worth bookmarking, too. And while you're there, why not enjoy a few photos from his last visit to the area?

After that, they head for Florence, Arizona and the Country Thunder festival on Saturday--the festival's website is loaded with info about the schedule, ticket and camping options and much more. Sounds like a fun way to spend the weekend!) And on Monday, April 21st, you'll enjoy Bucky and Dierks at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum in Pullman, Washington. Tickets are available at TicketsWest.com, and it's probably very wise to hurry...

A future CMT Music Awards-nominated song? We think so. Here's Bucky Covington and his band performing "I'll Walk" in Gainesville on Valentine's Day, courtesy of our very talented friend FL Cathy. Enjoy!

Around the net, there's a bit of sad news--The Covington Times will be wrapping it up after the anniversary of Bucky's debut CD's release date tomorrow. We'll miss the history, photos and fun! If you get a chance, be sure to stop in today or tomorrow and give them some love in comments (your AIM screename will work just fine). Thanks for all the good reading!

Over at It's Good to Be Us, Midask9 has some great ideas for celebrating Bucky's album anniversary, and a cute graphic, too. And at Country's Chatter, the CMT Music Awards wrapup features a great photo of Bucky and some very kind sentiments--looks like they were voting for him, too! (Thanks so much, "Country", and next year, who knows?)

On the tube, the CMT Music Awards after-shocks are still reverberating--CMT Insider this week has a recap of the awards for you (click here for airtimes) and you can see the awards again on the following dates:

Thursday, April 17, 2008 3:30 PM ET/PT
Thursday, April 17, 2008 8:00 PM ET/PT
Saturday, April 19, 2008 9:00 PM ET/PT
Sunday, April 20, 2008 4:30 PM ET/PT
Monday, April 21, 2008 3:30 PM ET/PT
Thursday, April 24, 2008 10:00 PM ET/PT
Monday, May 5, 2008 10:00 PM ET/PT


A few voting reminders to close out the morning: "It's Good to Be Us" continues to rock the video countdown charts! Give Bucky's second big hit some love and affection, voting style, at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown and at CMT's Top 20 Countdown today. Be sure to pay the "Duke of New Music" a visit at www.musicplayoffs.com (link works this time--really!) and give Bucky a sweet boost in this fun internet poll, as well.

(Updated to add links to this great photo of Bucky making his now-legendary "watch that guitar" post on the CMT Music Awards live blog, and to a 28-second clip of Bucky performing "A Different World" at the awards show, via CMT.com. Thanks to CMT for sharing these!)

Stay tuned for more summer concert news and a sales update, coming up soon--in the meantime, enjoy the serenity, and have a great Wednesday!