August 2, 2016

Hi Folks:

Well, did we have a good time celebrating my 55th Grand Ole Opry Anniversary or what?

Thanks to so many of you who made the trip to Nashville and, in turn, made it such an extra special night for me. I wish every one of you could have been here, but many have written that you were listening on the radio, watching our streams on Facebook, and were otherwise plugged into all the festivities. I know you were here in spirit, and that’s what counts.

I am thrilled to tell you that our silent auction appears to have raised over $6,000.00 for us to donate to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital! There’s no way to begin thanking you for your generosity. The donation will be made directly to the Oncology Unit where my grandson, Gabe, has been undergoing cancer treatments for the past five years. It will be made in his name. God bless you for being part of Team Gabe and not allowing him to fight his cancer alone.

Now that the big weekend is behind us, the real fun is about to start. I spent most of the day yesterday autographing copies of my new book and we’re getting ready to begin putting them in the mail later this week! Although the actual release date is not until the first of September, we promised those of you who ordered in advance that we’d be getting copies to you in early August and now we’re keeping our word. I am thrilled with the quality of the book and the reaction to it from those who have received Advance Reader copies. The folks at the University of Georgia Press outdid themselves on this one. I’m proud of it, and just hope you’ll enjoy the stories and pictures inside.

We’ve got a busy month ahead what with my doing dozens of book promotion interviews, TV and radio shows, and concert dates stretching from Pennsylvania to Utah. Many of you have asked if we’ll have the books at our shows and the answer is yes. If you didn’t pre-order yours, you can get an autographed copy when you come to see us. I will also be on the Opry several times during August, but the Opry Souvenir Shop probably won’t have our book until September.

I am continuing to hear from many of our fans who are being contacted on Facebook by someone pretending to be me. Most of you realize this is a scam, but I hope you’ll continue to pass the word until everybody recognizes it for what it is. Other people have taken to selling counterfeit merchandise in my name and the names of other country artists. If merchandise you see advertised is not from billanderson.com please do not purchase it. We do not license merchandise to outside parties, and I’m sure most of my friends don’t as well.

Stay cool during these hot, hot days…and thanks for keeping me cool by continuing to be the very best “fans” in the world! (Gee, that’s bad. I think I’ll end with that one.)

My best to you all….