Country Music

Baltimore Book Festival Every year for the past 15, Baltimore has reaffirmed its nickname as "The city that reads" when thousands of the happily literate flock to Mount Vernon for the free Baltimore Book Festival. The idea is simple: talk books, buy books, meet book authors and otherwise celebrate the abundant pleasures of the printed page. This year's festival will include appearances by more than 100 authors, including actress Holly Robinson Peete, "America's Next Top Model" judge Nigel Barker, "The View" co-host Sherri Shepherd, former grappler and Minnesota Governor Jesse Venture and NPR's Michele Norris.

If we are to take our cues from GQ magazine, men are no longer rushing for gold — no diamonds, no elaborate chains or any other flashy jewelry. May cover model Jake Gyllenhaal's sole hint of bling is an understated $15 silver tie bar. Looking inside the issue's 162 pages, we find exactly four editorial subjects wearing jewelry beyond wedding rings or watches: a thin chain link bracelet on Lou Dobbs, a David Yurman dog tag and wooden beads on San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, studs on L.A. Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp and a class ring on Drums guitarist Jacob Graham.

When Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles scans pop radio these days, she likes the newfound variety she hears. Recently, more traditional acts such as Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum have popped up amidst the sea of dance starlets such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Britney Spears. Such a mix was hard to come by a few years ago, she said, when bubble gum pop had a stranglehold on the charts. It gives Nettles hope for the future of pop — and country — music. "When I see little Taylor Swift, I say, 'Go go go,'" she said.

L aurie DeYoung doesn't hesitate when asked for a defining moment from her 24-plus years as the morning voice of WPOC-FM. The moment was not heard on air, has nothing to do with the country music the station plays and happened well out of the public eye. But it goes a long way toward explaining why she has remained a dominant force on Baltimore's airwaves for more than two decades, and why she was honored in Nashville on Tuesday with her induction to...

Lady Antebellum 'Need You Now' Capitol Nashville In today's real American South, Jello shots are just as prevalent as Jack Daniels, and a game gal like Hillary Scott is as likely to lust after a guy "in black pearl buttons, lookin' just like Springsteen" as she is a Johnny Cash type. After all, the New Jersey rocker copped his style partly from the Man in Black. Lady Antebellum -- the rising country-pop trio in which Scott shares vocal duties with the perpetually pearl-buttoned Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, who handles background vocals and guitar -- is a product of the post-Faith and Tim New South of two-career marriages and relatively guilt-free premarital hook-ups.

Compared with a country music mecca like Nashville, Baltimore's country scene might seem almost nonexistent. But for local honky-tonk singer/songwriter Arty Hill, that's not necessarily a bad thing. "In Nashville, you're working in the shadow of modern country music - which is pop music - and it's a big shadow to be working in," Hill said. "Here, there are no boundaries. We can do whatever we want. I get to do honky-tonk at Rams Head Live. That's pretty awesome when you think about it. There's nobody in Baltimore shoving Toby Keith down people's throats."

The past seems ever-present in Brad Paisley's music. One of country music's biggest stars, Paisley has filled his songs with sentimental snapshots from times gone by. His first single, "Who Needs Pictures," opens with Paisley singing about an old Kodak camera in his closet. That was more than 10 years (and 14 No. 1 singles) ago. Paisley's new album, "American Saturday Night," finds the 36-year-old West Virginia native sharing his childhood love of water sports and playing Pac-Man down at the arcade.

The movies entertain us, enlighten us, challenge us - except when they're set in Tennessee. A look at some films depicting the two regions involved in Saturday's big game. TENNESSEE Coal Miner's Daughter Weepy tale about life of country star Loretta Lynn, starring Sissy Spacek. Hard times, cheating men, etc. Nashville Bizarre Robert Altman pic about country music biz intersecting with a political convention. The "Don't Rent" of the year. The Thing Called Love Newcomers to - what else?