Georgia
Kane Brown Transports Texas Crowd to Georgia With Soulful Ray Charles Cover at the 2024 ACM Awards
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This year’s Academy of Country Music Awards took place in Frisco, TX, but for about three minutes, Kane Brown had the whole Ford Center at The Star audience transported to the Peach State with a performance of “Georgia On My Mind.”
Before taking the stage, the 30-year-old singer-songwriter was introduced by the War and Treaty’s Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, who pointed out Ray Charles’ role in popularizing the American Songbook classic, originally written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. Prime Video cameras then panned to a dapper-looking Brown dressed in a black suit, whose silky voice melted into the microphone with support from a section of string instrumentalists.
“Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through,” he crooned. “Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.
Immediately afterwards, Brown — who released his cover of “Georgia On My Mind” on streaming services in April — stepped backstage for a one-on-one interview with Bobby Bones. “I was so scared,” he told the radio personality. “I was nervous, man. It’s a big song, but also, I’m used to running around. I didn’t have any moves, I just stood like this. I wish I had tequila before I went on.”
Brown is nominated for entertainer of the year at the 2024 awards, as are Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson. Hosted for the 17th time by Reba McEntire, the ACMs are produced by Dick Clark Productions.
DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldridge. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
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Georgia
Three VSU alumni named Most Influential in Georgia
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VALDOSTA – Three VSU alumni were named among Georgia Trend’s list of the 100 Most Influential Georgians of 2025.
Release:
Three Valdosta State University alumni — Larry Hanson, Dave Wills, and Richard Woods — were recently named among Georgia Trend’s list of the 100 Most Influential Georgians of 2025.
Hanson is executive director and chief executive officer of the Georgia Municipal Association. He earned a Bachelor of General Studies from VSU in 1995.
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Wills is executive director of Association County Commissioners of Georgia. He earned a Master of Public Administration from VSU in 2007.
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Woods is state school superintendent for the Georgia Department of Education. He earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from VSU in 1996.
Visit https://www.georgiatrend.com/ to learn more about these top Blazers and the rest of this year’s Most Influential honorees.
Georgia
Georgia vs UIC Final Score: Georgia Sweeps Series
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Georgia completed the four game sweep of UIC Sunday with a 17-3 run rule.
UIC swung the bats well early scoring two runs in the top of the first. Georgia responded quickly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. A leadoff single from Ryan Black and a double for Slate Alford set the stage for Robbie Burnett.
Burnett hit an RBI Triple to right that scored Black and Alford. Daniel Jackson followed that up with a towering home run to left that gave the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead. Jackson has been seeing the ball well batting in the cleanup spot.
Henry Hunter hit a towering home run that bounced off of the base of a tree in right field. Hunter has shown impressive power this weekend. Tre Phelps crushed his first home run of the season to right in the sixth. Phelps has struggled to this point in the season, this hit could end up getting him back on track.
The Bulldogs will take on Georgia State in Atlanta Wednesday at 4 pm.
Other Georgia News:
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Georgia
South Georgia motorcyclists pay tribute to teen crash victim in Dougherty County
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ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Motorcyclists from all over south Georgia came together to remember the teenager killed in a traffic accident Feb. 17.
18-year-old Cameron Nichols died after Albany Police said his motorcycle collided with a car when he failed to yield.
Over ten motorcycle clubs from around south Georgia met up at Hall & Hall Funeral Home on Feb. 22 to escort Cameron Nichols to his final resting place at Hillcrest Cemetery in Sylvester.
Those closest to Cameron say he loved motorcycles and was an avid rider.
“It definitely means a lot,” said Marvin Thomas Jr., the vice president of Viper Unit Motorcycle Club. “It shows that we all can come together no matter who you are or what you ride. It’s a very sad occasion, but it just brings awareness to the community.”
This accident was one of two fatal motorcycle crashes that happened in the same week. Both incidents involved young men in the Albany area. Local motorcyclists are urging vehicles to be mindful of bikes sharing the road.
Previous coverage:
- ‘Still in disbelief’: Family and motorcycle community remembers 18-year-old killed in fatal Albany crash
- 18-year-old motorcyclist killed in crash
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Copyright 2025 WALB. All rights reserved.
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