Country star news from the Charlotte Observer

Trace Adkins announced plans for his 2006 Honky Tonk Badonkadonk Tour, and they include a Feb. 23 stop at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville with Craig Morgan. ... Bessemer City native Jimmy Wayne will be featured at a March 25 benefit for The Cleveland Rutherford Kidney Association and The Cleveland County Salvation Army. The event will be at Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door and $20 for floor seats. Details: (704) 481-9535 or (704)482-0375. ... Bonnie Raitt performs March 8 at Ovens Auditorium, featuring special guest Randall Bramblett. Tickets are $41.50 to $59, on sale online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (704) 522.6500, or at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. ... Big & Rich will aid in halftime festivities at the Jan. 4 Rose Bowl football game in Pasadena, Calif. ... Blake Shelton portrays himself and performs his song "Nobody but Me" in "The Christmas Blessing," a made-for-TV movie airing next Sunday on CBS. It stars Rob Lowe and Neil Patrick Harris. ... GAC reports that Keith Urban, who performs Feb. 16 in Charlotte, and Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman are officially engaged. ... The Hollywood Reporter announced that the Seventh Annual Family Television Awards have named Reba McEntire the Best Actress in a Comedy for her role in The WB sitcom, "Reba." ... The Web site for Marshville native Randy Travis says his voice is featured along with Amy Grant and Vince Gill in a children's video called "The Prodigal Pig." It's part of a farm video series that uses biblical stories to teach reading. Travis plays the main character, "Porkchop." ...Lee Ann Womack's album, "There's More Where That Came From," has been certified gold for shipments of 500,000 copies. Womack won the CMA Award for album of the year in November. ... Pinmonkey found a new label and expects to release a CD, "Big Shiny Cars," in March on Back Porch Records. However, lead Michael Reynolds and bassist Michael Jeffers are the only remaining members of the original band. The group will go on tour in 2006.
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