Entertainment Weekly reports that Billy Ray Cyrus has signed on to play Judd Ridge, the father of rich southern kid, Austin (Justin Deeley), on the new season of the CW network's 90210. The episode featuring Billy Ray will air in November.

Darius Rucker will perform a free concert for ticket holders at the PGA Tour Chammpionship at the East Lake Golf Club as part of the Championship's Community Day on Wednesday (September 21st). Darius is scheduled to sing his hits along with "Together, Anything is Possible" with a chorus from East Lake's Drew Charter School. He wrote and produced the song in partnership with the PGA Tour, and all proceeds from the song's downloads at iTunes support several tour charities.

Rodney Atkins, Dave Berg, and Marla Cannon-Goodman will join host Bob DiPiero to perform at the CMA Songwriters Series at Joe's Pub in New York City on November 3rd. Tickets to the show will go on sale Thursday (September 22nd).

Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, John Anderson, Gene Watson, Connie Smith, and Joe Stampley will be among the stars performing at the Grand Ole Opry on October 4th in celebration of Randy Travis' 25 years in country music. Randy will take the stage to perform, as will these artists who appear with him on his newest CD, Anniversary Celebration.
Several performances from the night's show will be part of an episode of Opry Live, which is scheduled to premiere on GAC: Great American Country on October 15th at 9 p.m. ET.

Randy's Anniversary Celebration duets CD was released in June.

Lady Antebellum tried to put the success of their multi-platinum 2010 CD, Need You Now, out of their minds when writing for their new album, Own The Night. Dave Haywood says the trio didn't want to lose focus and be distracted by that kind of pressure, so they got back to basics. He tells us: "We try not to overthink anything. I think if there's anything that comes as a benefit to being in groups like this and for us as good friends is for us to remind each other that we make our best music when we're just sitting there with no expectations, no pressure. We just write cause we love music, and everything for us comes back to enjoying this and writing music that we believe in, so we try not to put any pressure on ourselves. I mean, coming off of the Need You Now record we were trying to be very cognizant to just still write songs without any expectations and just write cause we like it -- you know, somebody sings a melody, somebody comes up with a lyric or an idea, and we just do it without thinking, 'Oh, this could be this,' or 'This could be a big song.' We went into this record as well just wanting to write music that we enjoyed, and that was it, really."

Own The Night was just released last week.

Lady A co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs on the CD.

So far, Own The Night has produced a Number One hit with the first single, "Just A Kiss." Their current release, "We Owned The Night," is quickly climbing the charts.

The Own The Night tour will begin on November 11th in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Miranda Lambert's new single, "Baggage Claim," is a bit of a departure for the singer, but she says that's why she likes it so much. Miranda co-wrote the song with a couple of hit songwriters who were already had the tune in the works, as Miranda tells us: "You know, 'Baggage Claim' is such a different song for me. It's got this cool groove. I mean, the common thread is always (being) tired of putting up with crap, and it has that, obviously, but I wrote it with Natalie Hemby and Luke Laird, and Luke Laird, I mean, he's had 550 Number Ones. He has great grooves, and Natalie and Luke had already had that song started, and I wrote with them for this new project, and they were like, 'We got this cool groove. We think you'd be cool,' and they only had like the first verse, so we finished the song, and I love it! I think it's different, you know? I love singing it live!"

Miranda said she took a chance by previewing the song live for fans months ago, before it was ever released as a single. "I'm very protective of new songs, you know, because the minute you sing it out it's gonna be on youtube in five seconds, and so I loved it so much I was like, 'I'm just gonna put it out there and see what people think', and started the buzz about it."

"Baggage Claim" is the debut release from Miranda's upcoming CD, Four The Record.

The new album will be in stores on November 1st.

Montgomery Gentry are taking a cue from Willy Wonka, but whoever gets their "golden ticket" won't be going to a candy factory. Instead, the lucky ticket holder will receive a custom-made Demented Cycles chopper designed with input from Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. The "golden ticket" will be included in the jewel case of one copy of the duo's upcoming new album, Rebels On The Run, which will be in stores on October 18th.

Troy said, "This is going to be one of the coolest bikes anyone's ever seen."

Eddie added, "Yeah, we both love to ride, and we can't wait to see someone ride off on this bad boy."

Fans can pre-order copies of the CD at montgomerygentry.com beginning on Monday (September 26th).

The first single from Rebels On The Run, "Where I Come From," is climbing the country charts.

Rodney Atkins tops the Mediabase country singles chart this week with "Take A Back Road." This is Rodney's career sixth Number One hit, which comes just weeks before he releases his third studio album, also called Take A Back Road. The project will be in stores on October 4th.

The video for "Take A Back Road" began airing across all video networks yesterday (Monday, September 19th). It was directed by Hollywood director Andy Tennant (Fool's Gold, Hitch, Sweet Home Alabama, Fools Rush In). This is Andy's first music video.

The clip was shot in Tennessee with locations in Nashville, Carthage, and White Bluff.

The Judds will perform a benefit concert for the historic Franklin Theatre in the duo's hometown of Franklin, Tennessee on October 18th. Naomi and Wynonna will play the 300-seat venue as part of the new Green Nights concert series that will help sustain the nonprofit Franklin Theatre for future generations. Tickets to "Green Nights Presents The Judds" start at $85 and will go on sale September 23rd at franklintheatre.com.

• Naomi said, "The heart of Franklin is the theater and it's beating again. It never occurred to me that we'd have the thrill of actually performing up on its stage, looking out at smiling familiar neighbors. Pardon me if I shed a tear of nostalgic joy."
• Wynonna added, "I love Franklin and knowing that part of it is being kept original is so important to me and my children. I have lived in Franklin since 1978. One of the things I love most is our small town spirit and the way we all hold sacred our unique community. The familiar sights and the beauty I see when cruising down Main Street does my heart good. I am happy and grateful to live in such a special place. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else on the planet."
• In honor of The Judds' contribution to the Franklin Theatre, the Heritage Foundation will plant a legacy tree in a public space in Williamson County.
• Previous Green Nights artists include Vince Gill and Amy Grant, and Michael W. Smith.