As we all know, Nashville is not only a hotbed of exceptional music—country music and countless other genres—but is also a hugely supportive community which appreciates service and tips its hat when someone does good. And so it is that Garth Brooks, label president Jim Foglesong, and producer Allen Reynolds will receive the Dale Franklin Award from Leadership Music on Aug. 23 at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville.

Leadership Music, according to their website, is a non-profit organization which "promotes teamwork, camaraderie and dialogue among industry leaders; expanding the talent pool of leadership in the community; and exposing class participants to varying points of view and philosophies." The group was founded by Dale Franklin in 1989 and the award was named in her honor in 2004.

The ceremony honoring Brooks, Foglesong, and Reynolds will include performances by some of country music's finest, including Martina McBride, Kathy Mattea, Hal Ketchum, and several others. For more information, check out the Leadership Music Web site.

photo courtesy Capitol Nashville

It's been three years since Rosanne Cash's critically acclaimed Black Cadillac album dropped. That disc saw Cash singing about the death of her father Johnny Cash (as well as that of her mother Viviane and stepmother June Carter Cash) and she'll follow it with The List, which sees her paying further tribute to her country legend dad.

She reportedly explains the new disc saying that, when she was 18 years old, her father gave her a list of the 100 essential country classics she needed to know in order to appreciate country music. The List will present a dozen tunes from that list, including covers of songs by Jimmie Rodgers, Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and of course the Carter Family. It also sees Cash collaborating with the likes of Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright, to name a few.

Sounds like a darn good album worth waiting for to me. The List will release online and in stores October 6, 2009, on Manhattan Records.

According to a note posted on her Web site, Carrie Underwood is in the studio reportedly putting finishing touches on her third album, the title of which has not yet been announced, will be available online and in stores on November 3, 2009. According to a blurb on CMT.com, the disc will also see a single released to radio later this summer.

Underwood has, of course, released two albums since winning American Idol in 2005. With more 10 million albums sold to date, she is one of the most successful artists to hail from the show. What do you expect from this new disc?

photo courtesy Sony BMG

Tim McGraw's Southern Voice album may be dropping a year later than he had originally planned, but that's better than not dropping at all. You may recall McGraw had planned on releasing an album of new material in autumn of '08, but his label opted instead to release his third Greatest Hits collection. No doubt Voice will be worth the wait from the much-adored singer. According to Country Weekly, he'll follow the album's release with a an extensive tour.

The album doesn't have a solid release date yet, but a release date is available for McGraw's film with Sandra Bullock. The Blind Side will hit theaters Nov. 20. Meanwhile, fans can get a leg up on the disc's release as its first single - "It's a Business Doing Pleasure With You" - has already released (watch video).

photo courtesy Curb Records