George Strait will hold his 18th annual George Strait Team Roping Classic Friday and Saturday (July 7–8). The event's location has moved this year from Kingsville, Texas, to San Antonio, Texas, and the hit singer will no longer hold a closing concert in order to focus more on the main event of roping. ...

The Derailers are set to perform this weekend as part of the summer long Opry Plaza Party Series. The Texas traditionalists, whose project "The Right Place" took top short film honors at the recent Nashville Independent Film Festival, will play free Plaza shows Friday (July 7) and 14. ...

Bloodshot Records is repackaging classics from 1930s and '40s western swing pioneer Hank Penny. Thirty previously unreleased cuts, including his trademark song "Little Red Wagon," will be released on Crazy Rhythm as part of the label's revival series on July 18. ...

Liquid Audio is providing free downloads for select live performances from Telluride Bluegrass Festival. For a limited time, fans can choose selections from Lonesome River Band, Jesse Winchester, Tim O'Brien and Judith Edelman, among others. ...

Johnny Cash will release a gospel album tentatively dubbed My Mother's Hymn Book sometime next year. Cash's gospel hits include "What You Do Here on Earth (For Heaven's Sake)" and "It Was Jesus," which is included in the God segment of his recently released Love, God, Murder box set. This new set finds an intimate Cash with only his guitar and marks his fourth album produced by Rick Rubin. ...

Dwight Yoakam, Clay Walker, Sawyer Brown and Alecia Elliott are set to perform July 29 in Canton, Ohio, at a concert celebrating this year's inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The new inductees include Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Howie Long, Dan Rooney and Dave Wilcox. Walker will perform the national anthem at the induction ceremony held before the concert. ...

Lorrie Morgan calls much modern country music "bubblegum." Quoted in the new issue of The Journal of Country Music, published by the Country Music Foundation, the singer, who parted ways with BNA Records earlier this year, said, "That ain't what life's about. Country music is therapy — it's therapy for the rural world. And it's gotten so far away from it that nobody knows what's real anymore. You know, people aren't what they appear to be in their pictures anymore. That concerns me, that we're reaching out for perfection, when country music has always been about imperfection." ...

Nashville-based violinist Mark O'Connor is featured in the music composed by John Williams for the film "The Patriot," which stars Mel Gibson and is currently in theaters. O'Connor performs a solo in "Gabriel's Theme," which plays over the ending credits. ...

Vanguard will release an 18-song album Aug. 15 to complement the documentary "The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack," which chronicles the life of folk stalwart Ramblin' Jack Elliott. His daughter Aiyana shot the film, which nabbed the special jury prize at this year's Sundance and recently was screened at the Nashville Independent Film Festival with Elliott in attendance. The set includes never-before-released duets between Elliott and Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Odetta. ...

Singer John Rich, former frontman for Lonestar, has been named one of "America's 100 Most Eligible Bachelors" by People magazine. ...

Asleep at the Wheel will be country headliners on Delbert McClinton's next blues cruise. His Sandy Beaches Cruise VII departs Jan. 7 from Port Canaveral, Fla., for seven days of cruising the Caribbean on an ocean liner. Also performing will be John Hiatt, Marcia Ball, the Derailers, Stephen Bruton, Al Anderson, Bonnie Bramlett, Bekka Bramlett and others. Details are available at delbert.com. ...

The Grammy-nominated documentary "The Making of Ride With Bob," which chronicles the recording of veteran western swingers Asleep at the Wheel's current set, will be shown on PBS affiliates from July 28 to Aug. 11. The album includes all-star collaborations such as "Roly Poly" with the Dixie Chicks as well as cuts with Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Shawn Colvin and others. ...

Veteran Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose hits include "Sweet Home Alabama" (RealAudio excerpt), will section off their country and rock audiences for their Aug. 11 and 12 Nashville dates, which are being dubbed the "Workin' Man's Weekend." The group will appear with country traditionalists Travis Tritt and Montgomery Gentry on Aug. 11. Their Aug. 12 performance will include a different set and feature edgier acts Gov't Mule and Nashville Pussy. ...

Nashville resident Peter Frampton will make a rare local appearance Aug. 7 when he plays a benefit concert at the Ryman Auditorium. Eric Stewart also will play on the show, which benefits St. Cecilia Academy. ... Columbia Legacy, which will release deluxe reissued landmark albums next week by artists including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton and the Carter Family, is planning its next set of reissues. So far, Charlie Rich's Behind Closed Doors and Rodney Crowell's Diamonds and Dust are scheduled. ...

Randy Travis, whose hits include "A Man Ain't Made of Stone," is among the 23 artists and actors set to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. Other honorees will include Winona Ryder, Kelsey Grammer, John Lithgow and the late Bob Marley. ...

George Strait, Reba McEntire and Vince Gill are among the country stars participating in "The Wave of the World" fund-raiser to benefit the 2000 Paralympic Games. Artists from several genres are involved in the effort, which includes live Internet coverage of the games, a two-hour TV special and a CD package. The country CD also will include Shania Twain, the Judds, Lee Ann Womack, Mark Wills, Kenny Rogers and Terri Clark. The "Wave of the World" theme song was written by Nashville songwriters Gary Burr, Victoria Shaw and Joe Henry, and various artists will record the lead vocals and chorus in Nashville on July 10. A pop CD is also in the works with cuts by Sheryl Crow, Elton John, Bryan Adams, Queen, Sting, the Bee Gees, Peter Gabriel and Smash Mouth. More than 4,000 athletes from 125 countries will compete in the games held in October in Sydney, Australia. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report