Luke Bryan Wins Nine American Country Awards; Ronnie Fauss Releases Free Christmas MP3; New Album Releases

• Luke Bryan took home nine trophies at last night’s American Country Awards. The full list of winners can be found here.

• Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale were featured on The Los Angeles Times music blog “Pop & Hiss.” Here’s an excerpt in which Miller discusses harmony singing: “I’m not a big fan of most three-part harmony,” he said. “That third part bugs me. It kills the mystery. It’s usually too sweet, and most of the freedom in the singing is gone in order to please ‘the harmony god.’ Guy-girl duets can get too sappy and melodramatic. Two guys have some meat, when you sing you can dig in and mean it. And two guys singing are not polite.” 

• Lyle Lovett played an NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

• Jean Ritchie celebrated her 90^th birthday over the weekend.

• Corb Lund appeared on WNYC’s Soundcheck. Listen here.

• Red Dirt singer-songwriter Tom Skinner was featured in American Songwriter.

• Chris Willman reviews Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Vegas show: The new Tim McGraw and Faith Hill show in Las Vegas gets underway with a fairly riotous joke before the headliners even make their entrance. As the lights dim inside the Venetian Theatre, the sound system blasts “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” Waylon Jennings’ gently lacerating 1975 hit decrying the glitz-ification of country. The implicit gag is that both Hank Sr. and Waylon would keel over again if they could see just what sort of extravaganzas are being done in country’s name in Sin City 2012. If nothing else, you’ve got to award Tim and Faith points for a sense of ironic self-commentary. But there is plenty more to give them credit for and, whether or not Hank Williams would have done it this exact way, he might have as good a time as anybody watching a 90-minute show that’s tightly choreographed yet offers at least the illusion of voyeurism when it comes to country music’s first couple.

• Jennifer Justus reviewed Shania Twain’s Vegas act.

• UNC’s Digital Southern Folklife Collection has added some new material, including this June Carter photo and autograph. The whole archive is pretty fun to prowl through if you’ve got some time on your hands.

• Check out Ronnie Fauss’s “Everybody Deserves a Merry Christmas,” which is available for free download.

• Jason Aldean’s Night Train has gone platinum. Taylor Swift’s Red has now been certified triple platinum, and three  Toby Keith singles, including “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” went gold.

• Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is in its ninth straight week atop the Billboard Country Songs chart. Writes Sarah Skates for MusicRow.com, This sets a record for the most weeks at No. 1 on that chart by a female solo artist, surpassing Connie Smith’s eight-week run with “Once A Day” in 1964. “Never Ever” has sold more than 2.6 million downloads in the U.S.

• Grammy-nominated, kid-oriented bluegrass band The Okee Dokee Brothers were featured on The Huffington Post.

• Jon Weisberger launched a monthly column at The Bluegrass Situation.

• On February 12, Omnivore Recordings will release the following compilations: Wanda Jackson, The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles; George Jones, The Complete United Artist Solo Singles; Merle Haggard, The Complete ‘60s Capitol Singles.

• Brian T. Atkinson writes about Austin’s famous Broken Spoke for CMT Edge.

• This week’s album releases:

Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale – Buddy and Jim

Mike Cooley – The Fool on Every Corner

Kathy Mattea – From My Heart (MP3)

Hank Williams – I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time: December 1946-April 1947, Vol. 1 (MP3) / I Won’t Be Home No More: June 1952-September 1952, Volume VIII (MP3)

Peter, Paul & Mary – Live in Japan, 1967

Open Orchard Revival – What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?

Various Artists – The Music of Nashville, Season 1, Volume 1