THE US99.5 OASIS at KENNY CHESNEY & TIM MCGRAW

Kenny Chesney

When Kenny Chesney pulled the plug on what would have been his 2010 tour in August of last year, he had accomplished almost unprecedented things. He’s played NFL football stadiums by the dozen, received 4 Country Music Association as well as 4 consecutive Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Awards, had nineteen #1 singles, duets with Dave Matthews (“I’m Alive”), Mac McAnally (“Down The Road”) and Uncle Kracker (“When The Sun Goes Down”) and has sold over 27 million albums including the quadruple platinum CMA Album of the Year When The Sun Goes Down and the two highly introspective singer/songwriter-driven Be As You Are: Songs from an Old Blue Chair and Lucky Old Sun. He co-produced a critically-acclaimed album on Willie Nelson and is the only artist in any genre to sell over a million tickets each of the past eight summers – and that was before the Sony Motion Pictures national theatrical release, “Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3-D,” and the 90-minute documentary “The Boys of Fall,” which showcases the impact of high school football and features some of the game’s most enduring coaches and players at the pro, college and high school levels. Now, Chesney has released what will perhaps become his most enduring album, Hemingway’s Whiskey.

“I just knew I’d had my foot on the gas for a long, long time,” says the high energy performer. “I’d gotten signed to BNA Records in 1995, and I’d never let up. I was able to do things I didn’t even know to dream, but in the work and the rush of it, things started to become a blur… and I knew it.

Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw has sold over 40 million units and dominated the charts with 32 #1 singles, including his latest, “Felt Good On My Lips,” a bonus track from Number One Hits, his 2010 double CD collection. With 7.8 million spins at radio, he was the most-played artist of the past decade in any genre of music. Southern Voice, his most recent studio album, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and the title track hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Songs chart. His “Southern Voice ” tour was the No. 1 country music tour of 2010. McGraw has won three GRAMMY(R) awards, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association awards, 10 American Music awards, three People’s Choice awards and numerous other awards.

Also an accomplished actor, McGraw co-starred with Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester in Screen Gems’ Country Strong (2010). His other films include The Blind Side (2009), which was nominated for an Academy Award, Four Christmases (2008), The Kingdom (2007), Flicka (2006) and Friday Night Lights (2004).

Jake Owen

Jake Owen became a star so quickly that he didn’t have time to memorize any Country Music Rule Book – which made it that much easier to toss it out the window.

Guided by sheer musical instinct, a drive for self-improvement and a willingness to experiment, the singer-songwriter has crafted Barefoot Blue Jean Night as one of the most innovative and refreshing country collections of the year. The CD’s title tune is already exploding as the biggest hit of Owen’s career to date.

“I never wanted to be the guy that did everything the way you’re supposed to do it,” says the candid and outgoing music maker. “And that led me to make this record, which I think really represents who I am more than anything I’ve ever recorded. If nothing else happens after this, I can honestly say that I did the absolute best that I can do. I’ve never felt this good about music, or anything in my career, as I do right now.”

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are like a modern-day version of Tina Turner stroking the microphone in a spangled mini-dress while fronting the Rolling Stones circa Sticky Fingers. The proof is there for all to hear on the band’s third album for Hollywood Records, hitting this spring, and marks an artistic breakthrough for a vital young band caught in the act of fulfilling its immense promise. Little wonder that Grace and her cohorts have chosen to title it, directly and emphatically, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

“This record is the first time it’s really been us — the first time we’ve all found each other and ourselves,” says Potter with obvious excitement. “Everybody was totally comfortable, everything we had was sitting right in front of us, and it just poured out of us. The whole thing was fluid and effortless. In my mind, an album shouldn’t be self-titled unless it feels that way.”