Tim Mcgraw

Country Tim McGraw Southern Voice Curb ESSENTIAL “Mr. Whoever You Are’’ The opening song on Tim McGraw’s new record - an unalloyed ’80s arena-rock ballad that skirts hair metal territory with its chugging bass line and screaming guitar solo - might lead one to question the genre label attached to the top of this review. But “Southern Voice’’ soon enough settles into more recognizable contemporary country strains, from the tradition-leaning, minor-key melancholy of “Ghost Town Train (She’s Gone)

Tim McGraw will be saluting veterans in a big way while on tour this summer. The country music superstar is giving away 25 mortgage-free houses — one for each stop on his upcoming "Brothers of the Sun" tour with Kenny Chesney — to wounded or needy service members. McGraw will kick off the campaign with a Memorial Day concert for military members at New York City's Beacon Theatre during Fleet Week. "My sister's a veteran, my uncle's a veteran, my grandfather was a veteran, one of my best friends is a veteran," McGraw said in an interview.

After months of Curb Records refusing to release it (Google if you don't know the backstory), Tim McGraw's final album for the label is finally seeing the light of day. The singer has declared it his best ever (could he say anything else?) but it's hard to agree with him. McGraw has spent the last 10 years moving beyond the hat-act country of his initial decade, making music that was more interesting and expanded the confines of contemporary country. But "Emotional Traffic" seems, most of the time, content to stay with familiar touchstones: standard-issue arena country (the candy-coated hair-metal...

Tim McGraw has chosen a new record label run by an old friend. The country music superstar has signed a multi-album deal with Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records, officially ending his acrimonious relationship with his only previous label, Curb Records. McGraw made the announcement Monday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It's the start of the second phase of one of country music's most successful careers, and McGraw hopes he can regain some of the momentum he lost while fighting to end his "lifetime" contract with Curb Records.

Country music star Tim McGraw says his daughters love wearing his new headphones around the house. Just don't ask them to go past the front door. "It's tough to get them to go outside of the house," McGraw joked of his three daughters, ages 10, 13 and 14, who balk at being seen wearing the headphones, which prominently feature his signature. "I'm probably the most uncool person they know in their eyes. " His wife, Faith Hill, isn't embarrassed. "She wears them all the time, and was a big part of their design," McGraw says.

Tim McGraw has chosen a new record label run by an old friend. The country music superstar has signed a multi-album deal with Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records, officially ending his acrimonious relationship with his only previous label, Curb Records. McGraw made the announcement Monday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It's the start of the second phase of one of country music's most successful careers, and McGraw hopes he can regain some of the momentum he lost while fighting to end his "lifetime" contract with Curb Records.

Six Massachusetts men have pleaded not guilty to felony aggravated assault charges stemming from a brutal beating at a Tim McGraw concert in Mansfield. Police say 19-year-old Michael Skehill of Westwood was nearly killed Sunday. He's in serious condition but is expected to recover. A judge in Attleboro on Friday ordered one suspect, 20-year-old Perry DiMascio, held without bail after revoking his bail on an unrelated case. Bail of at least $2,500 was set for the others. The beating appears to have started over a girl and was exacerbated...

It may be based on a true story, but “The Blind Side’’ delivers two heart-yanking hours of Hollywood physics. One kid’s bad existence gets better with the application of a great deal of upper-middle-class pressure. The movie recounts the story of how a tough-loving interior decorator named Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock ) invited Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), an enormous, athletic African-American teenager into her Memphis McMansion to live with her two children and adoring husband (Tim McGraw)

"Country Strong’’ is a title that calls to mind a pickup truck. Only in a work of science-fiction would it suffice as a description of Gwyneth Paltrow. In reality, such a woman would be Gretchen Wilson. But without a trace of self-doubt, Paltrow gives us brief, unanticipated visions of Ford Super Duties and Toyota Tundras. She plays Kelly Canter, a major country-music star with six Grammys and a serious drinking problem. If Faith Hill were one of the partiers on just about any reality show, she might be Kelly Canter.

TIM MCGRAW At: Comcast Center, Sunday night MANSFIELD - The strangest thing at the Comcast Center Sunday night wasn't the Tim McGraw doppelganger in the house, singing every word, aping every move, and getting as close as possible to the stage hoping for some sign of recognition from the object of his affections. No, the strangest thing was the circumstances in which the show arrived. McGraw's "Emotional Traffic" tour, which began in April and winds up in a couple of weeks, is named after an album that his label has not released yet (even though it was...

Country music star Tim McGraw says his daughters love wearing his new headphones around the house. Just don't ask them to go past the front door. "It's tough to get them to go outside of the house," McGraw joked of his three daughters, ages 10, 13 and 14, who balk at being seen wearing the headphones, which prominently feature his signature. "I'm probably the most uncool person they know in their eyes. " His wife, Faith Hill, isn't embarrassed. "She wears them all the time, and was a big part of their design," McGraw says.

Tuesday, May 1, is the 122d day of 2012. There are 244 days left in the year. Today's birthdays: Former astronaut Scott Carpenter is 87. Country singer Sonny James is 83. Singer Judy Collins is 73. Actor Stephen Macht is 70. Singer Rita Coolidge is 67. Pop singer Nick Fortuna (the Buckinghams) is 66. Actor-director Douglas Barr is 63. Actor Dann Florek is 61. Singer-songwriter Ray Parker Jr. is 58. Hall of Fame jockey Steve Cauthen is 52. Actress Maia Morgenstern is 50. Country singer Wayne Hancock is 47. Actor Charlie Schlatter is 46. Country singer Tim McGraw is 45. Rock musician...

ACM Presents Lionel Richie and Friends — In Concert Friday, 9 p.m., Channel 4 This is a primetime extension of Richie's latest album, "Tuskegee," which finds the legendary AC hitmaker teaming up to countrify his greatest hits with a little help from his friends from Nashville including Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and Rascal Flatts. Getting back to his Southern roots has paid off for the fomer Commodore, who saw "Tuskegee" hit number two on the Billboard album chart right behind his old pal from the '80s, Madonna.

FLICKA ★★★ (Comcast Movie Collections: Kids Movies) This progressive update of the kid-lit classic now has a spine — and a truly sincere belief in the rigors and wonders of western life. Alison Lohman plays a 16-year-old who falls in love with a wild mustang. Her daddy (Tim McGraw) sells it, but she'll do anything to get the horse back. With its pinch-me optimism and old-school-movie flourishes, it's loveably corny. Maria Bello plays the sensible and sexy mom. (PG; runs through April 30)

Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert and Toby Keith are among the stars who will perform at the Academy of Country Music Awards next month. Eric Church and Luke Bryan round out the first wave of performers announced by the academy on Thursday. Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton co-host the 47th annual awards show, which will air live April 1 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on CBS. Chesney leads all nominees with nine and Aldean is next with six. Both are up for the night's top honors — entertainer, album and male vocalist of the year.

ON WGBH Greater Boston 7 p.m. WGBH (Channel 2) Jim Aloisi, former Massachusetts Transportation Secretary and author of "The Vidal Lecture: Sex and Politics in Massachusetts and the Persecution of Chief Justice Robert Bonin. " ON CHRONICLE St. Thomas 7:30 p.m. WCVB-TV (Channel 5) Exploring the US Virgin Island. RADIO HIGHLIGHTS Woodsongs 5 a.m. WUMB-FM (91.9) the Little Willies. The Diane Rehm Show 10 a.m. WGBH-FM (89.7) Hal Weitzman, Financial Times correspondent and author of "Latin Lessons: How South America Stopped Listening to the...

Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert and Toby Keith are among the stars who will perform at the Academy of Country Music Awards next month. Eric Church and Luke Bryan round out the first wave of performers announced by the academy on Thursday. Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton co-host the 47th annual awards show, which will air live April 1 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on CBS. Chesney leads all nominees with nine and Aldean is next with six. Both are up for the night's top honors — entertainer, album and male vocalist of the year.

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott is engaged. The 25-year-old singer’s boyfriend, Chris Tyrell, popped the question over the Fourth of July weekend at a family getaway in East Tennessee. Scott and the 24-year-old drummer met while touring with Tim McGraw in early 2010. People first reported the engagement Tuesday. Scott is the second member of Lady A to end her single ways. Charles Kelley is married, leaving Dave Haywood as the lone available member of the Grammy-winning trio.

After months of Curb Records refusing to release it (Google if you don't know the backstory), Tim McGraw's final album for the label is finally seeing the light of day. The singer has declared it his best ever (could he say anything else?) but it's hard to agree with him. McGraw has spent the last 10 years moving beyond the hat-act country of his initial decade, making music that was more interesting and expanded the confines of contemporary country. But "Emotional Traffic" seems, most of the time, content to stay with familiar touchstones: standard-issue arena country (the candy-coated hair-metal...

LORI MCKENNA With Mark Erelli, Jake Armerding, Zack Hickman, and Dean Fields At: Club Passim, tonight through Sunday. At press time, half the shows were sold out but tickets were still available for tonight at 10 and Sunday at 5 and 8 p.m. Tickets: $30. 617-492-7679, www.clubpassim.org Lori McKenna jokes that she'd like to make a T-shirt that reads something like "Alison Krauss Recorded One of My Songs!" The Stoughton singer-songwriter and mother of five wrote "My Love Follows You Where You Go" with Nashville songwriter pals (and parents themselves)