Country and Bluegrass fans alike keep putting The Bluegrass Album at the top of the charts. For the fifth week in a row, the album has sat atop Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart.

The album is generating substantial talk in the music world, with Rolling Stone recognizing that “…The Bluegrass Album is a labor of love, not a vanity project for the singer.” NPR calls Jackson’s performance of the music “…openly emotional…”, while USA Today notes “…it’s the originals that make the set.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer echoes that sentiment, proclaiming “The Jackson-penned songs…go beyond mere lyric and become absolute poetry, almost to the point of a hillbilly Shakespeare,” while American Songwriter calls it “…an album that reaffirms Alan Jackson as one of our best living traditional songwriters.” And Bluegrass Today remarks, “You can feel his passion…his approach to bluegrass is filled with humility.” The Wall Street Journal calls The Bluegrass Album “…one of this year’s strongest country albums of any sort…” while the Associated Press notes, “He concentrates on making a solid string-band album for the ages – and succeeds.” Billboard says, “He does the genre proud…the highlights are the self-penned originals,” and the Los Angeles Times amplifies that statement, noting “…his own contributions…demonstrate his understanding of themes that are central to bluegrass; the knowledge that life is hard, but the human spirit can rise above.” Two music videos from the album were released. “Blue Ridge Mountain Song” and “Blacktop” can be seen on CMT and GAC and online via VEVO. The “Blue Ridge Mountain Song” video features Alan’s daughter, Ali, in a storyline that was filmed east of Nashville and in the hills of North Carol ina . “B lacktop” sh o w c a s e s a l i v e performance by Jackson and the musicians from the a lbum, captured at Nashvil le’s famed bluegrass venue, The Station Inn. The release of the “Blacktop” video prompted USA Today to note, “Country’s dirt road anthems leave your mouth dusty? Jackson paves ‘em over on The Bluegrass Album.”

REAL WORLD NEWSAlan JacksonT h e O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e A l a n J a c k s o n P l a t i n u m F a n C l u b • FA L L 2 0 1 3

M E R C H

I N T H E C LU B

M U S IC

FAC E B OOK

T W I T T E R

TheBluegrassAlbum is aHIT!

I N T H I S I S S U E

HITTIN’ THE ROAD

SNAPSHOTS

AND THEWINNER

IS...

FANSPOTLIGHT

THE INSIDESCOOP

TWITTERCHATTER

G O N E D I G I T A L

Watch the “Blue Ridge

Mountain Song”video

CLICK HERE

Watch the“Blacktop”

video CLICK HERE

TWITTER CHATTERWhat you’ve been saying about AJ on Twitter.Follow Alan on twitter@officialjackson

Melissa @MissMelissa_MI@OfficialJackson will always be one of my favorite musicians. Alynne Anderson @Alynne67@OfficialJackson just listening to Midnight in Montgomery...still gives me goosebumps! Love #midnight in Montgomery and #hank Williams! Ruby Domanico @pink_ball@OfficialJackson Alan Jackson’s “The Bluegrass Album” is amazing!! thank uuuuu xxx ♥ The Mast Farm Inn @MastFarm@festivalfarm @OfficialJackson The word perfection comes to mind :-) Joshua Surridge @joshsurridgeThat @OfficialJackson is one talented cat. I’m sampling his latest album on @siriusxm - a pure bluegrass effort - and it is fantastic. Karen Clark @kaccpamom@OfficialJackson @LateShow I was there and saw it live from the 2nd row. Awesome! Story of Lindsey ;) @OverTheTopDreamOh @OfficialJackson how lovely your voice truly is!! #BlueRidgeMountainSong is so good!! <3

Happy Fall Y’all! I can’t believe it’s almost November! Wow, this year has flown by! It’s been an

exciting year for Alan with two album releases and a big tour in Australia! I know 2014 will be

just as exciting! One thing I’m already looking forward to is MERLEFEST! It’s a huge bluegrass

festival in Wilkesboro, NC. If you are in the area, it will be a MUST SEE!

I hope you are enjoying the new website, especially the Fan Club Only section. We tried to

vamp it up a little bit. We hope to add a few more bells and whistles to it next year too. One

thing I’m excited about (and nervous), the beginning of 2014, we’ll have a FAN CLUB BLOG! So

we can stay in touch with you more often! So be sure to check back for that soon!

We’re gearing up for a big holiday season! Be sure to check out all the fun holiday gift

packages! Online orders placed before December 19 will be guaranteed to arrive before

Christmas, if delivered inside the US. If you are ordering by mail, please make sure you get

them mailed in by the first of December. We will make every effort to ensure they arrive before

Christmas.

The Fan Club office will be closed for the holidays from December 23rd thru January 6th.

(We have the nicest boss in the world!)

We hope you and your family have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

THE INSIDE SCOOP

Real World News is the official publication of the Alan Jackson Fan Club.

Alan Jackson Fan ClubP.O. Box 121945

Nashville, TN 37212-1945

6615.321.5221 office 615.321.4647 fax

ajfc@alanjackson.com e-mail www.alanjackson.com

Cindy Hart, president Sharon Morgan, administrative assistant

We reserve the right to refuse or deny privileges to anyone at our sole discretion.

©2013 Alan Jackson Materials may not be reproduced without written permission.

AND THEWINNER IS…Every quarter we pick 10 fan club members for an autographed prize from Alan! If your name is listed to below, you’ll need to email us with your name and address to claim your prize.

Diane Andrews

Tom Purple

Lucinda Stine

Donna Alexander

Pam Rosebrook

Fiona Fagan

Monica Kelly

Amy Voytosh

Mike Merritt

Bethany Davidson This quarter’s prize is an autographed Let It Be Christmas!

SNAPSHOTS

to seemore photosclick here

Norma & Juanita

Bonnie Griswold

Norma Berriman

Kaye H

Sue Feigum

Rise Gluckfrom Bethlehem, PAshow

Alan Paul Jackson & wife

Linda ValefromLouisville, KYshow

FAN SPOTLIGHT

The old joke joke goes, “Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.” There was no practicing necessary for

Alan Jackson who took over the world famous Carnegie Hall in New York City on Monday, October 28, 2013. Leave it to a southern boy from Georgia to come to New York City and turn Carnegie hall into a honkytonk. Not since Buck Owens in 1966 and the Grand Ole Opry in 2006 has Carnegie Hall had boot stomping, cowboy hat wearing, yee hawing happening and the fit was delightful. Alan has again reinvented himself, this time in form of an impressive collection of bluegrass songs from his latest release, aptly titled, The Bluegrass Album. And leave it to Alan to not just play Carnegie hall, but reinvent an entire performance, making it essentially a listener party for the new album, concentrating solely on songs from The Bluegrass Album. That’s right, no “Chattahoochee”, no “Gone Country”, no “5:00 Somewhere”. This was a showcase of Alan in one of his most profound performances. Alan is known for getting onstage and getting right to it, no talking, no running around, just guitar in hand, step to the mic, and sing his songs. Monday night was pleasantly different. With the introduction of each song, the crowd was treated to Alan speaking about the song, where it came from, and how it came to be on the album. Alan always lets his music do the talking for him, however this made the show so much more intimate, and was a way to connect with the crowd, and have them appreciate moreso each song. This wasn’t a typical Alan Jackson concert. His regular band was replaced with the fine musicians he put together for this project. From the opening chords of “Long Hard Road”, as Alan walked to the stage, to the final notes of “Blue Moon of Kentucky”, Alan took us on a bluegrass journey, an excursion through his eyes, a tour through his cd, and for the next 90+ minutes, we were swayed by the sounds, the stories, the life that Alan told through his music. He spoke of his wife Denise, on “Mary” as Alan spoke how the song came to him, and how Denise asked him, “Who’s Mary?” Alan was quick to think of and jokingly replied how “Mary” was Jesus’s mother’s name so she shouldn’t be upset writing a song called Mary. We were introduced to Alan’s sisters in the audience and Alan’s nephew onstage as he joined the band on “Ain’t Got Trouble Now.” We were privy to lovely stories of Alan’s countless visits to New York, from his concerts at CBGB and Irving Plaza, to award ceremonies with Aretha Franklin and the Four Tops, where he described it as having had two “tops” for each arm for pictures. Alan spoke of his last visit with George Jones at the hospital, and also of 4th of July boat trip to New York with his family, watching the fireworks at the statue of Liberty. Alan

speaks in such a genuine soft spoken humbleness, you can’t help but feel as if he’s an old friend talking to you about his life, adventures, songs, visits. It puts more of a shine on a flawless gem, if that were possible. Alan took the audience through every single song on the album, making each song that much more unique and appreciated and endeared. Alan included two songs in his set not from the album, much to the delight of the crowd. Lee Ann Womack made a surprise appearance midway through the show to join Alan on the Don Williams classic, “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good”, and they harmonized beautifully. Another unexpected surprise, not even on the set list, was one song from Alan’s catalog that has become connected with New York and was a showstopper, “Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning”.A standing ovation followed, and took several minutes to return to the Bluegrass collection. I’ve seen Alan 34 times over 14 years, and this was one of the most unique, intimate, personal shows I’ve ever seen. It has been a journey from where I’ve watched Alan go from country to gospel, to collaborations, tribute albums, a cover album, to Red Like A Rose, two Christmas albums, back to gospel, and onto bluegrass. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if Alan released an album singing the phone book, I would buy it immediately. It’s been a musical pilgrimage I’ve no intention of stopping. The man just doesn’t disappoint. In this world of “pop country”, it is so refreshing to see Alan remain firmly planted in his roots, and take us back to not only a time of traditional country music with his regular sound, but take us back even further to the inception of Bluegrass. Bill Monroe would approve.

Michael Bennett - Carnegie Hall, October 28, 2013

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT ALL THE

GREATHOLIDAY GIFT

PACKAGES AND THE

NEW AJ MERCHIN THE STORE

PLEASE NOTE: If you’d rather order by mail, just proceed as if you are ordering online. Once you are ready to checkout, you can select pay by Check or Money Order. Then you can print out the order confirmation and send it in with your payment.

Mail in orders take 4-6 weeks to process and receive.

november 11.22.2013

Playin’ Possum! The Final NO SHOWNashville, TN

Bridgestone Arena

january ’14 1.21.2014

Niagara, ON, CANADANiagara Fallsview Casino Resort

1.22.2014Niagara, ON, CANADA

Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort

february ’142.10.2014

San Antonio, TXSan Antonio Rodeo

2.27.2014

Dodge City, KSUnited Wireless Arena

march ’14 3.1.2014

Thackerville, OKWinstar World Casino

april ’14

4.24.2014Wilkesboro, NC

MerleFest

TOUR DATES

CHECK BACK OFTENfor updates to Alan’s 2014 Tour Schedule

Ready for a GOOD TIME?Check out these upcoming tour dates for ALAN in a city near you!