Welcome to The Boot's News Roundup, a morning rundown of the news country music fans need to know. Read on to learn more about the latest goings-on in the country, Americana, bluegrass and folk genres.

On May 4, Brantley Gilbert will perform his songs alongside a classical orchestra at Nashville's Ascend Amphitheatre. The one-time-only concert event will feature Gilbert backed by the The Ones Like Me Orchestra, a group of musicians that gets its name from Gilbert's current tour and is led by conductor Jim Gray. “Every song I write is a piece of my life, and over time, I’ve learned a lot of other people’s lives, too. That’s special, and this seemed like a very special – and different -- way to present these songs," Gilbert says in a statement. “It’s the last thing people expect, I know. But I think when folks hear how these songs fill out with the classic instruments, they’re going to be surprised at what’s there.” Tickets to the performance will be available to members of Gilbert's BG Nation fan club on Jan. 31 and sold to the public starting on Feb. 2.

Darius Rucker When Was the Last Time
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Darius Rucker has been added to the lineup for Sunday's (Feb. 4) official pre-Super Bowl tailgate party, the tickets for which are fetching upwards of $1,700 on Ticketmaster. Shaggy and Sting, who made an appearance together at the 2018 Grammy Awards, will also perform at the event, which will be hosted at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Also during Super Bowl Weekend, country up-and-comers LoCash will perform at the Pepsi Generations Live Pop-Up, a private show that will follow the presentation of the 2017 NFL Rookie of the Year trophy on Feb. 2.

The First and the Worst Benefit Concert 2017
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Congratulations are in order for Rosanne Cash, who will soon become a grandma! The singer shared the exciting news that Carrie Crowell, Cash's daughter with her ex-husband Rodney Crowell, is expecting a child with her husband, Dan Knobler, on Instagram. On her own account, Crowell announced that the baby is a boy, and acknowledged her struggles in trying to conceive: "Sending lots of love to all those people out there trying hard to have a baby. It took us some years of medicinal trial and error, a surgery last year, some crystals, Chinese herbs, a clay turtle under our bed, prayer, acupuncture, dehydrated mushrooms and Lord only remembers what else," she writes. "I’d feel remorse if I wasn’t transparent about how hard this can be for some."

2017 Americana Music Awards performers
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After selling out multiple venues, Margo Price has added more dates to her current Nowhere Fast Tour. Touring in support of her new album All American Made, Price recently sold out two of three headlining shows at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, and is set to tour through July, with stops in Chicago, Ill.; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; New York City; and Indianapolis, Ind., on her calendar. Tickets for all upcoming dates are on sale now.

House Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing On Music Licensing
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Songwriters recently scored a major victory against dwindling revenues caused by online streaming services. According to the Tennessean, the Copyright Royalty Board has ruled that streaming companies must pay 15.1 percent of their annual revenue, compared to the previous rate of 10.5 percent, to songwriters and publishers. "We are thrilled the CRB raised rates for songwriters by 43.8 percent — the biggest rate increase granted in CRB history," says David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publisher's Association.

Lanco debut album
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Lanco are the first country band to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in more than a decade. The band's debut album, Hallelujah Nights, features No. 1 single "Greatest Love Story." “Over the past five years, we wanted to ride this dream as far as it would go, and it’s hard to find the words to describe our debut record at the top of the chart,” lead singer Brandon Lancaster says in a statement. “We couldn’t be more grateful to see people gravitating towards these new songs that represent who we are, and its been wild to see these crowds sing every line back to us.”

Rhiannon Giddens Nashville
Jason Merritt, Getty Images for NARAS
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Rhiannon Giddens has announced additional tour dates in support of her 2017 album Freedom Highway. She will kick off her 2018 touring schedule in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Feb. 7, and has plans to make stops in Los Angeles, Calif.; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Baltimore, Md.; and Tampa, Fla. The tour will conclude on Aug. 15 in Chautauqua, N.Y.

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