Don’t forget to submit your photo to be included in this mosaic that will be presented to Jason Aldean at the end of this year’s tour.

Please send us your photo via email to jasonaldean@contests.sparkart.com and include it as an attachment. Please put ‘Aldean Army Fan Collage’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, please include the following information:

1.) Your First and Last name

3.) Your email address registered with your Aldean Army Account (the one you use to sign into JasonAldean.com)

Submissions must be received by August 14th.

Submit your photo today to be a part of this exclusive opportunity!

Taste Of Country is giving you a chance to win the ultimate prize! The winner will be given two tickets to see Jason Aldean live in concert at the Gibson Ampitheatre in Los Angeles on October 27, 2011, a meet and greet with him the night of the show, round-trip airfare from anywhere in the 48 contiguous United States to the location of the concert, plus three nights of hotel room accommodations.

Simply visit the Taste of Country Facebook page, select the link for the Jason Aldean Contest and submit the required information to enter to win. The contest starts on August 1 and ends on August 31, and a winner will be notified shortly after that.

This is the ultimate party for any Jason Aldean fan, so be sure to read the official rules and enter to win! Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Aldean’s latest album, ‘My Kinda Party,’ which is available in stores and at iTunes here.

October 1, 2011
Charleston Civic Center
Charleston, WV

To get your tickets, please complete the following steps:

1. Login to JasonAldean.com using your Clique ID.
2. Click on BUY PRE-SALE TICKETS to purchase your tickets using your Unique Ticketmaster code (found in the blue section on TOP of the TOUR PAGE)

Make sure to get your tickets before they go on sale to the public on Friday, August 5th at 10 AM EST. The pre-sale will end on Thursday, August 4th at 10 PM EST.

Not an Aldean Army Member? Click here to join now!

Enjoy the show!

Grand Prize Winner Will Receive:
•Trip for two (2) to Nashville.
•Two (2) nights stay at the Hilton Hotel in Nashville.
•Two (2) tickets to an upcoming CMT Invitation Only taping.
•Ground transportation to and from the airport to the Hilton Hotel.
•Ground transportation to and from the CMT Invitation Only taping.
•One (1) American Express gift card.
•Two (2) passes to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

One Runner-Up Will Receive:
•One (1) Taylor guitar signed by Jason Aldean.

Sweeps Info:
Before entering, please remember:
•You must be a legal U.S. resident.
•You must be at least 18 years old.
•For complete information, please see the Sweepstakes Rules.
•CMT urges users to refer to the sweepstakes rules, privacy policy, and terms of use info before entering any of our sweepstakes or contests.

Click Here to enter this contest.

As a kid, Jason Aldean spent his summers in Florida visiting his dad, so he has a natural affinity for the Sunshine State. When his My Kinda Party tour rolled through Tampa last week, he invited CMT Insider host Katie Cook backstage to talk about those moments just before the curtain falls, the career momentum of his friends and the one song he’ll never play live.

Cook: I’ve heard you say that for the first 10 seconds you’re onstage, it’s just electric. It’s like a lightning bolt. Tell us what goes on those first few seconds.

Aldean: That’s kind of fuse for the show — those first 10-15 seconds you’re onstage. The curtain drops and you see the crowd for the first time and they see you for the first time. The response and the energy that’s going on right there — to me, that sets the tone for the rest of the night. If the curtain drops and the people are going crazy, then you know it’s going to be a great night. If the curtain drops and they don’t stand up and they’re sitting down doing a golf clap, you know you’re in for a long night.

I don’t think you’ve had one of those shows for a while.

I try not to.

For years, you were out on tour with Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts — all these huge acts. Now you’re the guy. You’re the head honcho, and you’ve got people like Thompson Square and Chris Young watching you. Is that a big responsibility?

I don’t necessarily know if it’s a big responsibility. I was fortunate enough to be on some great tours and learn from some of the best artists and best entertainers in the business. I took advantage of that. I went out and watched their show and learned things. … I was hoping when I got to this point, I’d be able to pick up some pointers from them.

Do you have any specific examples?

With Flatts, I really loved the way their show was. … I was with those guys for a year and a-half, and it was like their concert was an event. It was more than just them standing up there singing. There was a lot going on. It was entertainment. I took a lot of that and kind of stored it away and went, “OK, when I get to that point, I’d like to use some of that stuff.”

I think the biggest thing for me, having acts out with us now, is trying to make the tour a cool vibe. Make everybody feel comfortable. Make everybody feel at home and welcome and have a fun atmosphere for everybody. I think that’s the most important thing you can do as a headliner.

You’ve had a huge year, but I want to go back a little bit. At one point you were co-headlining with Miranda Lambert when her career took off. Then you were out with Lady Antebellum on the CMT tour and their career took off. Now you are seriously taking off. Was there ever a moment where you were like, “Wait a minute. We’ve all been at this about the same amount of time.”

I think the music business is a funny thing. I’ve said for years that you have artists like Taylor Swift and Lady A that seem to come right out of the gate smoking. They just go into the stratosphere. Then you have artists like Miranda and myself. We’ve had a slow but steady climb to our career. Everybody’s different. … That slow, steady build has really allowed me to enjoy it a lot more — take it in and have time to appreciate it, versus happening so fast, you don’t even really know how to keep up with it.

But to answer your question, I’m friends with all those guys. I think we all pull for each other except when we’re nominated for the same award or something like that. (smiles) Other than that, you want to see your friends doing well. You know how hard they’ve worked to get to this point, and so it’s good to see that.

I’m not sure people understand how tough it is to be a new artist. Can you tell us a little bit about that hard work?

Yeah, especially as a new artist, it’s really tough. But for me, I thought you made a record, you got on a bus, went out and played your shows and made a lot of money. That was the way it was supposed to go down. But there’s a lot more to it than that. There are a lot of early mornings, late nights, a lot of traveling, a lot of being away from home, being away from your family. There’s a lot more to it than people realize.

For me, I love it. I love every aspect of what we get to do. At the same time, everybody gets to see the glamorous side of it, but they don’t see the months in the studio while you’re making a record and getting it ready. All they hear is the end result. They just assume it happened in a couple of weeks.

Do you think it was harder then — or harder now staying at the top?

I think it was harder then, to be honest with you. As a new artist, you come out, and there are so many other new artists. It seems like there’s a whole wave of new artists that come along every year. In ’05, I was part of the crop. It was a lot harder trying to set myself apart from the rest of the pack.

I think once you somewhat get established, it’s a lot easier. People are going to listen to your music. When you send your songs to radio, they’re going listen to it a little more openly, I think. I definitely think it was lot harder than now. I’m not saying it’s easy to get to this point and try to maintain it, but it was a lot harder back then.

Do you have a worst gig story?

The worst gig story I have is from a club in Alabama that I think is still up and running, so I won’t name the name of the club. We got hired in there to play, and the owner was pretty annoying. He kept coming up to me during the show and asking me to play “Purple Rain.” …

We’re playing Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers and Bob Seger and Mellencamp and he’s wanting me to play “Purple Rain.” Finally after about the fifth time — I’m probably 19 years old at this point — I just get down in his face onstage. I had a few choice words for him. Basically, I told him I didn’t know the song and to get out of my face. He let us finish the set and fired us. We didn’t get paid, so that one was pretty bad.

At the end of 2010, you said you were anxious about 2011 because 2010 had gone so incredibly well. Here we are, halfway through 2011. Are you feeling a little more at ease, like things are going well so you can relax a little bit?

This year, things have been cruising along really good. Again, I think it’s important when things are going good just to try to enjoy it and not take it for granted. One thing I’ve learned is that this stuff can go away as quickly as it came. I don’t know how long I’ll be around. Maybe 10 years, maybe 20, maybe two. I don’t know. But as long as it’s happening, I want to enjoy it and have fun with it and not try to overthink it too much.

Click Here to view the full CMT Article.

Tickets went on sale today for The Colt Ford and Friends Benefit Concert, which will be put on by Colt Ford along with many of his friends in the country music industry, including fellow Georgia native, Jason Aldean. Ford found out about the shootings of Senior Police Officer Elmer “Buddy” Christian and Senior Police Officer Tony Howard back in March when he returned home from touring. Ford, who is known for his heart of gold, decided to help the officers’ families by throwing the concert and silent auction in their names.

The concert will take place at The Georgia Theater, located at 215 North Lumpkin St. in Athens, GA. The show will begin at 7:30 PM. General admission tickets are $50.00 and VIP tickets (consisting of premier seating, early admission and a pre-show cocktail reception) are $150.00. Tickets will be available for purchase online here.

Read more here.

We are creating a mosaic collage that will include all your photos as an end of the year gift for Jason. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this surprise for him; send us your best picture to include today!

Please send us your photo via email to jasonaldean@contests.sparkart.com and include it as an attachment. Please put ‘Aldean Army Fan Collage’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, please include the following information:

1.) You First and Last name

2.) Your email address registered with your Aldean Army Account (the one you use to sign into JasonAldean.com)

Submissions must be received by August 14th

WHAT ARE THE GUIDELINES?

Make sure your photo file is no larger than 1 MB. Unfortunately, files larger than 1 MB will not be received by our email system. Timing and method for delivery of prizes will be determined at the sole discretion of management.

Please do not submit any photos containing nudity, violence or any other graphic imagery. Any inappropriate photo submissions will automatically place your entire account under review for ban.

QUESTIONS?

All questions regarding this contest should be submitted to jasonaldean@contests.sparkart.com.

The third consecutive PLATINUM release off Country’s best-selling album of 2011, My Kinda Party, the track also tops the Country Digital Singles Chart again this week with over 1.3 million singles sold to date.

“We definitely knew when we recorded this song, we’d turn some heads. Thankfully, when they turned, they also started nodding along,” laughs Aldean. “It’s been a great song to play live and also to be able to do some experimenting with for tv performances and things like that. I love being able to put out a big ballad like our duet with Kelly and come back with something a little different the next time. I don’t want anyone to ever think they’ve got me figured out exactly!”

Simultaneously, Aldean’s duet with pop powerhouse Kelly Clarkson “Don’t You Wanna Stay” continues to climb the AC, Hot AC and Top 40 charts. Both songs follow the success of the lead single “My Kinda Party,” making this the third consecutive No. one hit from Aldean’s fourth studio effort.

Check out Jason’s feature in this month’s ESPN Magazine celebrity series “Fans Like Us” special:

JASON ALDEAN

Profession: Singer
Obsession: University of Georgia football
On being raised a Bulldogs fan: “As a kid in Macon, I had all the Georgia gear, including the plastic helmet. For me — for the whole state — football was about watching Herschel Walker play. He was a specimen.”
On singing for the enemy: “One of my guitar straps has a bright red ‘G’ on it. If I’m in an SEC town like Gainesville or Baton Rouge, there’s no mercy.”
On game-day gigs: “If we can blow off sound check, make it to the game and be back in time for our concert, that’s absolutely happening. Thing is, if you tailgate, you’re not in the same shape you were when you left. It makes for an interesting show.”

Check out more about the special and catch a behind the scenes look at Jason’s interview & photo shoot with ESPN’s Kenny Mayne here!

All tickets for the July 14th show will be honored at the Sept. 25th show. Ticketholders can visit the Warf’s Website for updates and event information, or call the Box Office at 251-224-1020 with questions or concerns.

Taped before a small studio audience in Nashville, Invitation Only: Jason Aldean features hits like “Hicktown,” “Amarillo Sky,” “Why,” “Crazy Town,” “My Kinda Party” and “Dirt Road Anthem.” Aldean also answers fan questions during the one-hour special. His current album, My Kinda Party, is the year’s top-selling country album so far.

Click here to read this full CMT article.

Click here to watch the video!