2020 is almost done, and these country stars have some thoughts on the new year.

Eric Church had this to say: “I think, for me, the thing I’m looking forward to most next year is getting around the corner from this virus and getting some kind of normalcy. I’m confident that next year is when we’ll finally put this in the rearview at some point in time."

Jon Pardi wants to get back to the honky tonk bars!
“For next year – 2021 – I’m looking forward to some kind of medication/vaccine to help people, to make people immune to this virus that is ruining EVERYTHING! So, I look forward to that and hopefully we’ll get that going and then we’ll be back to concerts and full capacity sports games and bars and honky tonks and…it looks like 2019. Remember 2019? That was awesome.”

Brothers Osborne talked about the struggle with diets:

TJ: “I love how everyone starts the year off with diets and then we end the year with like excessive amounts of food. And then you get to the end of the year, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to start a diet on the 1st, so I’m going to eat everything that’s in front of me.’ I love it.”

JOHN: “And come February 1st, ‘what diet?’” TJ: “What diet? I’ll start it next month.”
 

Brad Paisley has replaced Taylor Swift on a mural of country music legends in downtown Nashville. Taylor, who was formerly depicted sitting perched on a barstool between Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash has been painted over. Now, it’s Brad sitting on the same stool.

USA Today noted, the decision to replace her came about (at least in part) because of the disapproval of the country fans who hang out in downtown Nashville.

Tim Davis, the artist of the mural who painted it said, “I have heard many complaints here in Nashville about Taylor being on the wall with country legends since she is currently focused mainly on pop.” He went on to say, “By and large, the people of Nashville love her, as do I."

Davis adds that it was the bar owner’s decision, not his. He is currently raising money via a Go Fund Me page to paint a mural dedicated exclusively to Taylor Swift.

Country music legends on the mural include Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, and several others.

The mural is located on the outside wall of a Nashville bar.

Russell Dickerson recently helped to surprise a fan with a special early Christmas gift, new handicap-accessible SUV.

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Frei was paralyzed from the waist down and had to have her legs amputated after being a passenger in a car that was hit head-on by a drunk driver back in July.

Despite the tragedy, Sarah was determined to push through and continue being a cheerleader for her local high school. She documented her road to recovery on her Instagram account via her #sarahstrong campaign.

One of her posts was her in her hospital bed doing the arm portion of a cheer to Russell's hit "Home Sweet." He was tagged in the post and it caught his attention.

Russell learned about Sarah's story and heard that the first question she asked after surgery was “Will I ever be able to drive again?”

The singer teamed up with Chevy to present the 2021 Chevrolet Traverse via a Zoom call where Sarah thought she was going to be interviewed by a magazine about her story.

Russell joined the call, during which he and Sarah both got emotional.

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Brantley Gilbert is celebrating a huge milestone as he continues to defeat his past addiction to alcohol. 

On Friday, (Dec. 18) BG revealed in a heartwarming family photo on Instagram that he has successfully remained sober for nine years!

He captioned his post, "9 years drink-free today, and couldn't have done it without my family, my brothers, my road family and the #bgnation ... If y'all pop a top today, drink one for ya boy.... Much love, and lookin forward to playin the livestream show for y’all on Dec. 30 ... Link in bio to grab your tickets today."

These days, Gilbert is enjoying his life with his family. The married couple are parents to son Barrett, 3, and daughter Braylen, 15 months. 

Be sure to get your tickets to Gilbert's upcoming livestream event on Dec. 30th.

Live music does still exist in Nashville and a limited number of fans got to be there for this star studded night at the Opry. The rest of us can watch the magic in the circle via live-stream.

Saturday night's show (Dec. 19) was FIRE with Kelsea Ballerini, Lady A and Lauren Alaina who performed their hits and some Christmas classics.  Fans couldn't get enough!

"I soooo miss live music!!!!!! thank goodness for @opry @CircleAllAccess for streaming live for us at home!!!! Merry Christmas all and cheers to a healthier 2021!!! ????????????"
"Tuning in from UK ???? Amazing show ????????????— ?~Merry Halliday~?"

For Kelsea it was her first show in front of a live audience since March.  The country signer didn't miss a beat! 

Lauren Alaina belted out a smokey, beautiful version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and DANG that girl can sing!

Lady A as flawless as ever!

You can still watch the livestream event on YouTube!

Like every other artist on the planet, Maren Morris postponed her RSVP tour this year because of the pandemic and moved it to 2021. On Friday (Dec. 18) she made the difficult decision to cancel the North American stint altogether.

"Hi, darlings," she tweeted, "There is so much hope with this vaccine being distributed in 2021, but we are still unsure of when we will be able to do the tour next year."

"With the prospect of, yet again, rescheduling half of the dates already becoming a reality, I have decided to cancel the RSVP tour," she continued, adding that ticket holders will receive a full refund.

"I truly appreciate your patience on this," she concluded. "I am in the midst of working on my third record, so I hope we can all come together an enjoy live shows safely again soon."
Closing it out with: "I love you so much - M"

Will her peers be canceling their tours too? Hard to imagine another year with no concerts especially with so many in the concert industry out of work and struggling. 

At least we have a thrid album to look forward to from Maren Morris in 2021. 

Nelly and Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard brought the heat with a high-energy performance of their latest collab “Lil Bit” to The Voice finale on Tuesday night. (Dec. 15)

Fans were wondering where FGL’s Brian Kelly was. His absence had nothing to do with the rumors of them breaking up over politics. All is well with the duo (or is it).

Kelly was unable to make the trip to California when they taped the performance because he was in the middle of moving.

Other 2020 finale performances included Keith Urban, Dan + Shay, JP Saxe with Julia Michaels, Lauren Daigle, Jason Derulo, Lewis Capaldi and 24kGoldn as well as the superstar coaches!