Announced

One lucky Taste of Country reader has just over two weeks to clear a space on his wall for a picture of himself hanging out with Lady Antebellum. Phillip Lawrence of Kansas City, Mo. was chosen as the winner of last month’s flyaway to see the band. He and a guest will fly to St. Louis for the once in a lifetime event later this month.

The Academy of Country Music took a different approach to naming the nominations for the 2012 ACM Awards, inciting a first-time digital press conference via their Facebook page, as opposed to simply posting a list of hopefuls. With help from folks like Reba McEntire, Lionel Richie, Nancy O’Dell of ‘Entertainment Tonight’ and more, the red carpet was rolled out for this year’s event.

Slowly but surely, dates for Blake Shelton‘s much-anticipated 2012 Well Lit and Amplified Tour are being announced, and fans will be happy to know that the trek will begin as early as January. Though the ‘Honey Bee’ hitmaker will be headlining his run, he won’t be going out alone — Shelton is packing up his favorite ‘The Voice’ runner-up Dia Frampton and country crooner Justin Moore for the ride.