Country star Toby Keith's mother Carolyn and sister Tonni were among those who had to run for cover on Monday (20May13) when a deadly tornado touched down in his hometown of Moore, Oklahoma.

Former Hootie & The Blowfish star Darius Rucker took to Twitter.com on Sunday night (19May13) to attack a racist who took aim at the singer for covering a classic Bob Dylan song at country music mecca the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

Country star Trace Adkins has plucked a budding singer from obscurity to perform alongside him on a string of U.S TV shows.

South Carolina duo Shovels & Rope lead the 2013 Americana Music Association Awards nominations after picking up four nods at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning (14May13).

Actress Hayden Panettiere has spent the past month sleeping on a futon in the attic of her friends' house in Tennessee because she was unsure if her TV show Nashville would be renewed for a second season.

Rock 'n' roll veteran Little Richard's childhood home is to be relocated to make way for the construction of a new highway in Georgia.

Rocker John Mellencamp, producer T Bone Burnett and horror author Stephen King are set to take their supernatural musical Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County on the road during a tour of the U.S. this autumn (13).

The things they say:

Actress/singer Zooey Deschanel spent months badgering the producers behind a new Broadway musical based on the life of country icon Loretta Lynn in a bid to land the lead role.

Reigning country music queen Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan and Eric Church are celebrating after landing four nominations apiece for the upcoming CMT Music Awards.