The Twang Town Lowdown: Monday, April 25th

 

MORE DETAILS ON STRAIT TO VEGAS SHOWS:



George Strait kicked off his Strait to Vegas concert series over the weekend with two shows at Sin City's new T-Mobile Arena. 

During opening night on Friday (4/22), King George performed for over two hours, entertaining a record-setting crowd of more than 19,000 fans. Strait couldn't be more thrilled about his return to the stage, telling the crowd, "I've missed you guys and I'm looking forward to being here a few more nights this year." 

George still has 4 shows scheduled at the T-Mobile Arena in September and December as well as two concerts in February of 2017.

Aside from playing some of his biggest hits, Strait also took a moment to pay tribute to the late Merle Haggard, who was not only a country legend to Strait but also a friend. 

"We'll never get to hear Merle play live again, but his music will live on forever," George said before launching into a medley consisting of "Mama Tried," "Fightin' Side of Me," and "My Life's Been Grand."

CHASE RICE GOES BACK TO HIS COLLEGE:



Chase Rice recently returned to his alma mater, the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, to perform a show on his "Back to College Tour." 

Rice's return to UNC marked his first concert at the school as a headlining artist and was a homecoming he'll never forget. He says, "Carolina will always have my heart. I will always be a Tar Heel, and that makes this particular show really special to me."

Chase says the lessons he learned at the school weren't just about being a student or a football player, but also about getting injured and losing his dad during his senior year. Rice shares, "Those experiences changed my life forever. Ultimately, they brought me to music and so it's really cool to bring it all back to where it started."
Chase's return to UNC Chapel Hill was featured in a new episode of CMT Hot 20 Countdown that premiered over the weekend.
Rice's next stop on the "Back to College Tour" will be this Friday (4/29) at East Georgia State College in Swainsboro, Georgia. 

BLAKE SHELTON SHARES DUET DETAILS



Blake Shelton is opening up about his new duet with girlfriend Gwen Stefani titled "Go Ahead and Break My Heart," which appears on Shelton's new album, If I'm Honest. Blake tells Entertainment Tonight, "(The song) is very personal for us both because, you know, we obviously have this bond that is remarkable together." And the fact that they even wrote the song together is a rarity, says Shelton. He shares, "I don't co-write that much because I'm very insecure about it I guess and (Gwen's) kind of got her circle of people that she writes with. But for us to reach out to each other as writers, it may never happen again, who knows."

But rare or not, Shelton's very proud of how their collaboration turned out. He says, "I hesitate to brag on it too much but I really think that it's as good of a song as I've ever written in my life."

Gwen nearly broke the internet last week when she tweeted a picture of the back of Blake's new record, revealing their duet.

RAISING MONEY FOR HOMETOWN HOSPITAL – JASON ALDEAN


Jason Aldean returned to his hometown of Macon, Georgia, on Thursday night (4/21) for an intimate concert to benefit a good cause. Aldean took the stage at the at the city's historic downtown Grand Opera House and treated his hometown crowd to intimate stripped-down performance. The sold-out concert raised more than $500,000 for Children's Hospital, Navicent Health, which is a pediatric facility in central Georgia that enhances the lives of children through patient care, research and education.

Aldean was overwhelmed by the amount of money raised by the community on Thursday night, and he couldn't more proud to call Macon his hometown. Jason shares, "Every single penny helps an organization that means a lot to me and I can’t thank everyone enough for helping these kids. Emotions were running high seeing all those faces familiar faces come out to support."

The D.A. Of The Day - Monday, April 25th

  

Half Baked:


  

A Florida man was arrested last week for possessing marijuana with the intent to sell, and judging by his epic mugshot, he's not going to be able to deny the charge.

58-year-old Kevin Gibson was collared just a day before 4-20, which he was probably really looking forward to. His arrest is hardly newsworthy, but his mugshot is one of the greatest ever. Gibson is sporting the seldom seen half-beard, indicating that he was likely high when he last shaved.
Wasp Killer Nearly Burns Down The House:



Never bring a blowtorch to a wasp fight.

A New Zealand man tried to get rid of a wasp nest from his home by using a blowtorch instead of his brain.

The nest inside a wall of his house, so he cut a hole in the wall and tried to use a torch to smoke the little stingers out. Unfortunately, he set fire to the wall and would have lost his house if firefighters hadn't responded in time. They doused the blaze and told the man to leave the wasp killing to the professionals.

Uranium is MY-ranium

An elderly woman in Washington state called the fire department on Thursday to ask if they would come over and remove some uranium she had laying around.

The woman was cleaning out her late husband's belongings when she came upon a piece of the radioactive element, which she believes had been in the house for 35 years. Her husband worked as a miner in Idaho and likely found the uranium and brought it home.

Over the phone, the fire marshal told the woman it was hazardous and that she should evacuate. She left to go quilting and left the uranium on her front porch in a peanut butter jar.

Hazmat crews closed down two blocks around her house as they worked to safely remove the material. A fire department spokesperson said, "She must have thought 'today's the day I'm going to figure out how to get rid of this stuff and now I'm going to go quilt.' That was the thought process."

A High STEAKS Chase:

Texas cops are getting ready to grill a guy who stole an armload of steaks from a Walmart -- and then led them on a 100-mile-per-hour chase, tossing the cow chunks at patrol cars the whole time.

The cattle-part rustler, whose name was not released, sped along for a long while, crossing two county lines while driving erratically and bouncing his beefy bounty off the hood and windshield of the deputies in pursuit. The chase went on for well over an hour, and only ended when the suspect realized he was about to "meat" his match via spike strips designed to disable his vehicle.

East Mountain police Sgt. Marc Nichols said, "It appeared that there [was] steaks and meats of some sort flying out the windows, and one of them bounced off my patrol car. That's not something you think of people stealing, especially running from the police in the process. Today was a new one."

Workers get bonus in Meth:

Workers at an auto body shop in Minnesota did such a good job that their boss decided to give them all bonuses -- in the form of methamphetamine.

Police say that workers at Clear Choice Auto Body Repair in Mankato were called in to a meeting and told they were all getting bonuses. They were then handed one-half-gram baggies of meth instead of cash. Police executed a search warrant of the shop and found used syringes and other drug paraphernalia. The shop's owner, Jesse Michael Seifert, and his girlfriend, Nancy Jean Loehlein, have been arrested and an investigation is still ongoing.

The HOTLIST - Monday, April 25th

  

Cesar Millan: Dog Whisperer Engaged:



Television dog trainer Cesar Millan has gotten engaged to his longtime girlfriend Jahira Dar after six years together.

The former Dog Whisperer star who now hosts Cesar 911 on the Nat Geo Wild channel, announced, "After six amazing years together, I am so happy I asked her to be my wife. Thankfully, she said 'yes'! My pack is complete!" He added on Instagram, "I always knew that I wanted someone to share my life with who was sweet, adventurous, honest, and loving, but I got more than that! She is beautiful inside and out, extremely supportive of my entire family and me… AND SHE LOVES DOGS!" This will be the 46-year-old's second marriage.

Jared Fogle: Wins Lawsuit Against Former Employee:

Jared Fogle may be sitting in prison for 15 years, but he just won a lawsuit that will pay him more than $180,000.

The disgraced Subway pitchman, and convicted child molester, sued his former employee Russell Taylor for failing to pay back the money he loaned him in 2014 to buy a house. Taylor, who is currently serving 27 years for child porn and child exploitation, stopped paying Fogle when he was convicted last year. Fogle has won his lawsuit and can now sell Taylor's house to get his money back.

Hollywood Buzz:

 

Michelle McNamara, a crime writer and wife of comedian Patton Oswalt, has died. She was 46. Michelle, who founded the site True Crime Diary, reportedly died in her sleep Thursday. A cause of death was not immediately given. Patton's rep said her passing "was a complete shock to her family and friends, who loved her dearly."

 

Pearl Mackie has been announced as Doctor Who's new companion for the next season of the BBC series. She replaces Jenna Coleman, whose character left the show last year.

 

Warner Bros. says it will release the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s It on September 18th, 2017.