Going home again is no problem for Martina McBride. Raised in Kansas on very strict boundaries of what country was and what country wasn't, McBride took her own state to the world. And the folks there were watching and listening. The Kansas Music Hall of Fame honored McBride in January as one of its 2007 inductees.

      Her father, Daryl Schiff, was a major influence on her. He was a Kansas wheat and cattle farmer who fronted a country band for whom McBride played keyboards and sang from her pre-teen years through high school.

      Growing up, she found traditional country an art form in itself. "It's passed from generation to generation: song structure, lyrics, the whole attitude of country music and its instrumentation," she says.

      People are drawn to country, she believes, because "it's real music." It's lyric-driven. The singer is important, she adds. "People look for something they can relate to. They are finding songs that relate to their lives."

      Music remains the background of our lives, McBride believes. "We have it on in the background all the time," she said. "To me it is a healing thing. Music has real power to affect people's lives."

      She certainly has done that with a stellar career that so far has yielded six No. 1 hits, 20 Top 10 singles and a host of honors, including a record-tying four CMA Female Vocalist of the Year victories. She has sold more than 16 million albums on the strength of such songs as "Independence Day," "Wild Angels," "A Broken Wing," "Blessed" and "This One's for the Girls," among others.

      She is currently nominated for a 2007 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "I Still Miss Someone," off her Platinum-selling Timeless album, and is finishing a new album slated for a release in April.

      McBride hopes that people respect that she does music in which she believes. "I've turned down a lot of hits because they didn't ring true for me to do," she says. "I just put a lot of myself into my music and it's not somebody else's creation. It's my own. Hopefully, people look at me and see a good person, a strong woman that is going about it in a way that's moral and good."


      It's always great to think about warm weather in the midst of winter, even one that has been the rollercoaster ride that the winter of 2006-2007 has delivered to date.

      Kenny Chesney is the catalyst for happier thoughts in announcing his Flip Flop Summer 2007 Tour, consisting of six stadium shows: June 9 in Pittsburgh, June 23 in Philadelphia, July 7 in Seattle, July 14 in Cleveland, July 28 in Foxboro and Aug. 18 in Detroit.

      His invited guests: Brooks and Dunn, three-time Entertainers of the Year, triple-Platinum Sugarland, Academy of Country Music Top Female Vocalist Sara Evans and triple Grammy nominee Pat Green.

      "It's a pretty intense lineup in what we've found to be a very exciting place to do concerts," says Chesney. "There's nothing like it. You know, getting all those people together for a little party … they start tailgating, cooking out early, and then we rock straight through the night. Anyone who's ever been knows it's a helluva good time."

      Expect a few surprises, he says, some new tricks and a few different songs. "We're gonna be making it the summer of our lives. We're ready to join the fans in having a good time … because we believe, and we always have, the more the merrier with shows like this."


      It's a little bit country, a little bit Jim Brickman, as the piano star announces that Collin Raye will appear with him in the first of a series of shows as the featured guest vocalist. It begins Valentine's Day weekend with performances in Minneapolis and Cleveland.

      "Collin sings two of my biggest songs, 'The Gift' and 'Peace,'" says Brickman. "I truly believe he has the best voice in country music, and hearing his vocals sing my songs will be breathtaking."

      Raye has had five Platinum albums, 25 Top Ten hits, 15 No. 1's and 12 chart-topping videos. He has been nominated five times as country music's Male Vocalist of the Year.

      Rex Rutkoski is a veteran national and international music, entertainment and features writer who also has a bio-writing service for unsigned, new and established musicians in all genres. He can be reached at RRJR@peoplepc.com.