"We're really proud of the Hall of Fame and everything it stands for," Ronnie Dunn explains. "It's really cool that we have it here in Nashville and are very proud of the heritage that comes with it." 

The pair, who released their debut album 'Brand New Man' in 1991, have hinted at a possible superstar line-up of guests for this last show, and Ronnie believes it's going to be a huge celebration. "We're going to have all our friends backstage. There'll be more people backstage than there will be out front probably, and that's fine with us. We'll just go out with a big party and have a cab take us home."

Wrapping up a partnership of two decades will not be easy, but they didn't think it would last this long or be this successful in any case. "Our big dream was a gold record," Kix tells The Boot. "That was almost unreachable, but it was just kind of a goof. If we could pull that off, it was worth getting together and see what we could do. We didn't even talk in those lofty terms until that first single took off, and we went, 'Gosh! We might actually have something for six months or a year. This could be a gig while we're trying to get the rest of our lives together.' I mean, 20 years was the last thing on our minds, I can assure you."

Brooks & Dunn, who were put together by former Arista Records President Tim DuBois in 1990, have sold more than 30 million records, won numerous awards and scored 23 chart-topping hits, all of which seemed unlikely at the outset. "The thought of having a 20-year career with this guy was impossible. I mean there was no chance that was going to happen," Kix says. "The chance that we might get a record deal, and might get to go record some songs, and possibly have some success, that's kind of what I was thinking of as best-case scenario. Even to get to tour together, or whatever, seemed like kind of an outside shot. It's possible, but as things went it's like, 'OK ... you guys got to put a band together.' And next thing we knew, we had an opening gig with Steve Wariner. We had a couple shows to go do."

This week the history-making pair garnered their last CMA Vocal Duo of the Year nomination, a category they won for the final time at the ACM Awards in Las Vegas earlier this year.

The music business is still part of the plan for the two, who will pursue separate careers. Kix has a lot of outside interests in addition to his music career, including his weekly radio countdown show and his winery, Arrington Vineyards, while rumors are swirling about Ronnie already working on a solo album. 

"It has been a big part of our lives, but at the same time, we're not dead," says Kix. "And we both got lots of stuff going on, and we'll both be making music down the road."

"We recorded a lot of songs and we're deciding which ones may constitute a new album," Keith tells the Burlington Free Press newspaper in Vermont. "At this stage, I would say it's not a radical departure. I can't even put my finger on what it is now. It's just a new record [laughs]. It's perhaps a bit deeper. It's a sexier record.

"I love boy/girl songs," Keith adds. "They're timeless."

Earlier this year, in an exclusive interview with The Boot, Keith acknowledged that marriage (to actress Nicole Kidman) and fatherhood (their daughter Sunday Rose turned two in July), has certainly had an effect on him, even if those topics, especially fatherhood, haven't directly found their way into his music thus far. 

"Sunday hasn't appeared in a literal way in a song just yet," Keith told us at the time, "but certainly becoming a father deepens everything in my life, and that's apparent in the songs." 

While fans await the release of a new album from the superstar, he's also waiting to find out if he'll be a winner at the CMA Awards in November. Keith is nominated for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year.

"It's unbelievable. I'm really shocked at some of my nominations!" a beaming Miranda said on ABC's 'Good Morning America' Wednesday after announcing the nominees alongside Dierks Bentley, himself a three-time nominee this year.

"2010 is definitely my lucky year," Miranda continued. "I've started putting '10' on everything. I got engaged, now the CMAs ... I didn't even think I was eligible for nine awards!"

Miranda is up against fiancé Blake Shelton in three different categories, while Blake also scores his first-ever nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year. Other first-time nominees include Steel Magnolia in the Vocal Duo category and the Band Perry for Vocal Group. CMA first-timers Luke Bryan, Easton Corbin, Jerrod Niemann and Chris Young are all nominated for New Artist of the Year, competing against four-time nominees this year, the Zac Brown Band.

Taylor Swift, who led the 2009 CMA winners with four trophies including the night's biggest honor, Entertainer of the Year, walked away with only one nomination this year, for Female Vocalist, which she also won last year. She's up against Miranda, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood. Taylor will pass her Entertainer of the Year honors on to either Miranda, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban or the Zac Brown Band.

The 44th Annual Country Music Association Awards will air live from Nashville on November 10. Brad Paisley (who has three nods) and Carrie Underwood (a two-time nominee) will co-host the show for the third year in a row. See the full list of 2010 CMA Award nominations below.

During the announcement early Tuesday morning at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, Chris' name was called in the promising star category, and he was a bit overwhelmed, especially with the historic significance of the location of where the nominations were announced. "Being able to stand on this stage and get the nomination is kind of just extra cool," Chris tells The Boot. "It was cool to [just] stand here and be a part of it, then hear my name called, it's pretty awesome."

The singer released his self-titled debut album in 2006, after being declared the winner of the USA Network's 'Nashville Star,' and even though his first single, 'Drinkin' Me Lonely,' came out four years ago, Chris still wears the new artist moniker and is quite satisfied with it. "I still feel like the new guy," explains the Tennessee native, "even though this is my second record really. We didn't have a whole lot of radio success and didn't start blowing up and being on tours until we had 'Getting You Home.' With 'Gettin' You Home' and 'The Man I Want to Be,' I feel like this is just kind of a new version of me when we made this second record. So, it's cool to be in this category."

So, what does he think about his competition? "It's going to be tough! Somebody said this as of last month, I think for Jerrod -- and me and Jerrod have been buddies for a long time -- I was so excited when he had his first No.1, and then I looked at the names ... and I was like, 'We've all had No. 1 records,'" Chris says. "So, it's a tough category. I think Zac's had like five, so we're just going to have to all team up and take Zac out before this thing goes down. [laughs]"

Following up his two recent chart-toppers, Chris is back in the Top 30 with his single, 'Voices.'

Kellie Pickler is having to be a lot like the Energizer bunny these days, and the former 'American Idol' contestant says she wouldn't have it any other way.

"This year has been so amazing. I've been so blessed," she says (quote via CMTT). "I wrapped up the Fearless tour with Taylor Swift and Gloriana. I miss those guys. I'm on the road right now with Rascal Flatts. We've got a new album that we're working on, but we've got shows booked throughout the rest of the year and we're planning a fourth USO tour. It's always exciting to be able to do anything with the USO. They've been so good to me. [I'm also] newly engaged, so I'm planning a wedding. I've got a lot on my plate right now, but I'm having fun."

Kellie, who is spending her limited time off the road finding songs for her upcoming CD, says the album will undoubtedly include tunes by her fiancé, songwriter Kyle Jacobs. "We have so much chemistry anyways, but even so when we write, we have a lot of chemistry there," Kellie tells The Boot. "He is very talented. I have so much faith and belief in him. I think he's going to be around for a long time in the songwriting industry. It's great when you are able to write with someone you are also in a relationship with and have intimacy with. We have so much in common. It's nice to take our love into the studio. He's such a wonderful person."

Kellie will spend most of the next few months on the road with Rascal Flatts and Chris Young.

2010 CMA Nominations: The first set of nominees for the 44th Annual CMA Awards were announced moments ago by Justin Moore and Chris Young at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. The balance of the nominations will be announced tomorrow on ABC-TV's Good Morning America. The winners will be revealed during the CMA Awards telecast airing on ABC-TV Wednesday, Nov. 10 8-11pm ET.

• "Hillbilly Bone," Blake Shelton f/Trace Adkins

• "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum

• "The House That Built Me," Miranda Lambert

• "Water," Brad Paisley

• "White Liar," Miranda Lambert

• "A Little More Country Than That," Easton Corbin

• "Hillbilly Bone," Blake Shelton f/Trace Adkins

• "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum

• "The House That Built Me," Miranda Lambert

• "White Liar," Miranda Lambert

• "A Little More Country Than That,"Easton Corbin

• "Need You Now,"Lady Antebellum

• "The House That Built Me," Miranda Lambert

• "Toes," Zac Brown Band

• "White Liar," Miranda Lambert

• Luke Bryan

• Easton Corbin

• Jerrod Niemann

• Chris Young

• Zac Brown Band

• Lady Antebellum

• Little Big Town

• Rascal Flatts

• The Band Perry

• Zac Brown Band

• Brooks & Dunn

• Joey+Rory

• Montgomery Gentry

• Steel Magnolia

• Sugarland

Gretchen Wilson made it clear when she opened her August 27 Baltimore-area show with 'Here for the Party,' that it was more than the title of her opening song.

Stopping to chat with the crowd throughout the show, Gretchen asked several times -- in several ways -- if the approximately 3,000 assembled were ready to get rowdy. The audiences' shrieks -- notably when she asked about their alcoholic preferences before she performed 'There's a Place in the Whiskey' -- assured her that they were.

"I have an amazing group of musicians," Gretchen told The Boot before the Maryland show. "I have learned over the last six years that the most important thing is the show itself, not all of the drama, not whether you can paint yourself up like Lady Gaga. You need to kick their butts with the music and the energy and that's what we do with this group. You wouldn't call it an easy show with Gretchen Wilson; It's more like a Lynyrd Skynyrd show that leans toward southern rock energy. We play songs they are familiar with, new songs and really rock 'n' roll."

It's taken a while for Gretchen to get to do things her own way. After tussles with her former label, Gretchen launched her own Redneck Records, based in Lebanon, Tenn., just outside Nashville, in October 2009. The first single she released on the new label was 'Work Hard, Play Harder,' which she co-wrote with John Rich and Vicky McGehee for her album 'I Got Your Country Right Here.'

"Last year I became the proud new owner of my own record company," Gretchen told the crowd before she launched into the album's title track. "I finally get to make the kind of music I want to make and the kind you expect to hear. It feels like we made the first-ever female southern rock record."

That's something that Gretchen said could only happen if she established her own label.

"These are songs I have been wanting to record for years, but I couldn't get everybody to sign off," says Gretchen of the major-label process. "I couldn't get anybody to record the perfect album. There's a lot of talk in Nashville about having a hit song but that's not all you need. You need the right hit song for your artist. You can say this is a smash it for Martina McBride or for Reba McEntire but I might have no business recording it. I understand a great song, but I also understand when they aren't for me."

As Gretchen, dressed in a black sleeveless shirt, jeans, and a sparkling belt buckle, swirled around the stage singing, laughing and engaging the audience, it was clear she knows what her fans want.

"We will get to it," said Gretchen laughing as the audience continually called out for her to sing her major hits including 'Redneck Woman.' "I can't sing all of my hits right away or you won't stay to hear the new songs."

It's a fair bet that the audience -- that cheered long and loud -- was more than glad they stayed as Gretchen treated them to songs from her latest album including 'Work Hard, Play Harder,' and 'Walk on Water.'

"When I look out at the crowd, I see three generations of women from little baby redneck to grandmas," Gretchen says. "The kind of music, kind of rock songs we play, everybody knows it and likes it and they rock out. Everybody that comes to my show fits in the same category. My fans are people like me.

Taylor Swift finds that her mood these days is directly in proportion to the amount of songwriting she's able to do at any given time. The country sensation says she's happiest when she's just penned a song, and finds if she goes too long without expressing herself, trouble begins to brew. 

"There is a stressful and joyful element to making an album," Taylor tells EW.com. "I'm either incredibly stressed or overjoyed, and the way that usually goes is that if I've just written a song, I'm the happiest you will ever see me. But if I haven't written a song in a week and a half, I am more stressed than you will ever, ever see me at any other point. If I haven't written a song in more than about nine days, that's when I start to zone out in the middle of conversations because I'm thinking about what I could be writing about next. It's such a fun challenge to constantly be writing and constantly be trying to top what you just wrote. It's one of my favorite games to play -- trying to beat what I've written last."

Taylor confronts her fear of falling in love in her new single, 'Mine,' which was leaked weeks before its planned release. The 20-year-old admits she hasn't had too many good examples of love to help alleviate her fears. 

"My tendency is to run from love. Every really direct example of love that I've had in front of me has ended in goodbye and has ended in breakups and things like that. So I've developed this pattern of sort of running away when it comes time to fall in love. This song is sort of about finding the exception to that."

Taylor says she's particularly excited about some of the new things they used in the studio this time around, including an entire string session, and some other interesting things production-wise. 

"We're getting together all our production and lighting details for the fall tour," Lady A singer Charles Kelley wrote recently on his Twitter page. "We're going to have some really cool bells and whistles that we've never had in any of the past shows. We can't wait to perform this show for you all."

It's a pretty hefty undertaking for Charles and bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, as they just released their debut CD two years ago -- the critically-acclaimed, self-titled platinum record that gave them their first number one single, 'I Run to You.' Since that time, the trio had an amazing run at No. 1 with the title track to their sophomore album, 'Need You Now.' 

Indications of just how well the tour might do came early this summer when the award-winning trio sold out the James Brown Theatre in Augusta, Ga. in seven minutes and the Muskingum County Fair in Zanesville, Ohio in just 15 minutes. The trend followed them throughout the summer, as they sold out the Midland County Fair in Michigan and the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. They also sold out their Shephard's Bush Empire show in London, England on August 11.

With all their summer success, it's no wonder the band can't wait to head out on their own headlining adventure! "It's actually going to be a real professional show finally ... ha!" Charles tweeted. " It's gonna be one of the greatest experiences of the three of our lives and I hope everyone walks away feeling like they've gotten to know Lady A a little bit better."

Charles, Hillary and Dave only have a short break from their summer tour before beginning the Need You Now Tour. They perform at the Atlantic Grand Ball Room on Paradise Island in the Bahamas on September 18, the come back to the states for their first tour date in Orlando on September 21.

The majority of the tour keeps the trio on the Eastern seaboard and Midwest, but they do a few West Coast dates the end of October. 'Red Light' singer David Nail will be their opening act.

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Rascal Flatts were in Las Vegas this week to film the video for their new single, 'Why Wait,' and the trio apparently had a lot of fun at one of the little white chapels ... at least according to bass player Jay DeMarcus who tweeted funny photos from the shoot.

The new clip will feature appearances by actor David Arquette and comedian Ron White, as well as the guys in some pretty colorful and somewhat cheesy tuxedos. Jay says, "This video is gonna kill, I promise you." There are also shots of a very disheveled Gary LeVox in a bathrobe and red top, as well as one shot of the lead singer sporting a snorkel and mask, which hints of the film 'The Hangover.'

'Why Wait' is the first single from Rascal Flatts' forthcoming album, 'Nothing Like This,' set for release November 16.

Zac Brown is about to be even more outnumbered at home. The Best New Artist Grammy winner and his wife, Shelly, are expecting their fourth daughter in four years. 

People magazine reports that the baby is due early next year. She will join sisters Justice, 3, Lucy, 2, and Georgia Sloan, 11 months.

There must be something in the water on the Zac Brown Band tour bus, because fiddle player Jimmy De Martini and his wife are also expecting a baby! There's no word yet on whether they've found out their baby's gender.

The Zac Brown Band's new album, 'You Get What You Give,' is set to hit stores September 21. Guest musicians on the project include famed bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice, Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson, who's featured on the first single, 'As She's Walking Away.'

The Zac Brown Band are currently on tour previewing songs from the new project. After playing several shows with the Dave Matthews Band, they'll trade the road for the water, leaving on their Sailing Southern Ground Cruise next Thursday, September 2. The "floating festival" goes from Tampa, Fla. to Grand Cayman and includes nightly concerts and lots of Zac's own famous home cooking. 

Toby has a hit on his hands with "Trailerhood," which is currently in the Top 10 on GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown. It's got a load of references to pink flamingos, poker games, beer and football on TV, but it's a song that Toby pretty much stumbled upon. To be more specific, he tripped over his own tongue, and he was smart enough to figure out his flub could be fab.

Toby was riding motorcycles with a friend in Oklahoma when they came across a trailer park where Toby used to live, and he made an offhand comment about turning around at the trailerhood.

"It just kind of sprung out," he told Billboard. "I made a faux pas and said 'trailerhood' instead of neighborhood or trailer park, and it made me laugh. So I just took my phone out and sent myself a message and then wrote it over Christmas break."

"Trailerhood" is a gift that keeps on giving. In addition to ranking No. 6 on the Top 20, it's in the Top 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and it's the lead single from his next album. Bullets In The Gun is set for release Oct. 9. A deluxe version of the album features live remakes of songs made famous by Johnny Paycheck, Gordon Lightfoot, Roger Miller and Waylon Jennings.

"We had a blast earlier this year on the road and we're fired up about headlining larger stages," Gary says. "I've always wanted to take my time to build things slow, and the timing just feels right to make that leap now. We've got Live Nation on board and a string of sold out shows behind us ... we're in a pretty good spot."

In addition to performing his solo tour, Gary also went out with Brooks & Dunn as part of their Last Rodeo tour. And the multi-platinum-selling singer couldn't have been happier to have the gig. "I've learned so much from them, from not only show stuff, but how to treat people that you're touring with," he tells The Boot. "I know a lot of acts, when you tour with them, there's a ton of rules -- you can't walk down on this ramp and you can't step on this speaker and you can't look at this light and whatever their story is. With Brooks & Dunn, it was just always, 'You get out there and rock and have a good time.'"

Gary, who also performed with the retiring duo's Neon Circus tour several years ago, was so appreciative of their invitation to be part of their farewell tour, he bought a huge banner that ran the length of one of Brooks & Dunn's buses, and hung it after his final Last Rodeo show. "Thanks for having us on 82 shows over the past 10 years," the banner read. "You guys are the gold standard of how it should be done. If we ever grow up, we want to be just like you guys."

Gary's latest single, also titled 'Get Off on the Pain,' recently made its way into the Top 20 on the country charts.