Tuesday news: new NY show, Stagecoach previews, New Music Playoffs poll and more...

By request, Bucky Covington rocks out in the sunshine (top) and shares a spot with Ducky Medlock (scroll down) at an outdoor show in Turlock, CA last summer; click here to enjoy a beautiful set of concert photos by the very kind Minnie. Thanks again, Minnie!

Bucky Covington's summertime schedule is heating up nicely...and for those of us who loved the Raisin' the Bar tour last fall, the latest announcement is a real treat. Bucky and former tourmate Jason Michael Carroll will share the bill at the Franklin County Fair in Malone NY on August 3rd. Ticket information is available at the Fair's site, which is still in the process of being updated--contact info is here. Have fun, and congrats to Bucky's New York State fans!

And on the other side of the country, in California, buzz about the upcoming Stagecoach Festival is growing. Palm Springs Life offers a beautifully-written overview of the upcoming event, which happens May 2-4; Bucky takes the stage on the 3rd. The Palm Springs Desert Sun has a mini-profile of Bucky today, as well.

Bucky's fans out West will have several chances to see him this spring--he'll open for Dierks Bentley when the Throttle Wide Open tour hits Denver on April 25 (tickets at TicketsWest.com), and on April 26, they'll rock the E Center in West Valley City, Utah--tickets are on sale at Smithstix.com, and Lee Brice will be along for both of these shows. On May 2, Bucky and Dierks will play the Red Rock Resort Sandbar in Las Vegas; tickets are on sale at the Station Casinos online box office, or visit the Red Rock box office on 11011 W. Charleston Blvd in Las Vegas (map). And finally, catch Bucky and his brilliant band as headliners at the Grizzly Rose in Denver on May 31st; this will be an all-ages show.

Bucky and the band have a headlining gig tomorrow at the Williamson County Pavilion in Marion, Illinois. Last-minute tickets might be found at at www.wcpavilion.com, or buy them in person at Black Diamond Harley Davidson in Marion, Clayship Guitars in Carbondale and Main Street Records in Mount Vernon. Dierks, Bucky and Luke Bryan bring the Throttle Wide Open show tot the Elliott Hall of Music at Perdue University in West Lafayette, IN on the 10th (tickets here) and on the 11th, enjoy them at the Braden Auditorium at Illinois State University in Normal (tickets at Ticketmaster; student tickets avialbale at the Braden Box Office in the Bone Student Center.)

Tickets for most of Dierks Bentley's Throttle Wide Open dates are available now at Ticketmaster--check Dierks' official website for details on non-Ticketmaster events.

Here's a quick look at the rest of what's happening:

Chart news: "It's Good to Be Us" is once again #11 on the Mediabase weighted and Top 500 charts, and the bullet's gone invisible on both as of this morning. Can we help fix that? Yep. Call your local DJ today (calling beats e-mailing), and be sure to let your favorite nationally syndicated radio show know you love hearing Bucky's bright tune on the radio tonight. Our requests go a long, long way when it comes to getting and keeping Bucky on the dial--so if you've been shy about calling before, now's the time to pick up that phone...

On the tube and around the net: On the spot concert photos by fans are always a pleasure, and The Covington Times features two fresh shots from MaryMc and Buckaholic, along with sweet looks back at the wild run-up to Bucky's first CD's release and at the "Queen night" buzz in '06. Midask9's It's Good to Be Us is graced with one of her stunning Northern Lights photos, a polite but firm alarm about the CMT Music Awards (only three days, y'all!) and some excellent request info.

Vote for Bucky: Remember the Duke's New Music Playoffs? They're back! This fun online poll features "It's Good to Be Us" against a veteran hitmaker's latest, and it's a bit of instant gratification to see the results. Have fun!

I went on and on in a sleepy but passionate way last night about the 2008 CMT Music Awards, so I'll keep it short and sweet here this morning--three days to vote, y'all. That is it! Register at CMT and vote now--then send those links to everyone you know.

And last but defiitely not least, "It's Good to Be Us" deserves our love and affection on those video countdowns--vote at GAC Top 20 Country Countdown and at CMT's Top 20 Countdown today.

More later--have a thrilling Tuesday!