Miranda Lambert will make her acting debut on an upcoming episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” according to a story broken by TVGuide.com. Lambert will play an actress who claims to have been sexually assaulted by the producer of a reality show, played by Michael McKean (“This Is Spinal Tap”) in a role TVGuide.com describes as “the alleged sleazebag.”

 

Harry Connick Jr. has also been cast on the NBC show as a new love interest for Det. Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay. He will appear in four episodes, including the one guest-starring Lambert.

 

Lambert has some experience with reality shows. She first gained national prominence as a contestant on USA “Nashville Star” in 2003. Her husband, Blake Shelton, stars in another reality show, NBCs “The Voice.”

 

The Lambert episode of “Law & Order: SVU” has not yet been scheduled.

 

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott and fiancé Chris Tyrrell were married on Saturday, Jan. 7 in what is being described as an “intimate ceremony” just before sunset in upstate New York attended by family and close friends.

 

Scott wore a custom Vera Wang strapless mermaid dress with abstract all-over lace underlay, layered tulle skirt with horsehair banding and hand-cut corded lace appliqué with hand-applied crystal and pearl beading. She also donned a long mantilla veil with hand-cut Chantilly lace appliqué. The groom wore a gray Ermenegildo Zegna suit.

 

Watch a brief video message from the couple in matching t–shirts here that also includes video of their wedding portraits being shot. The groom introduced the bride by her new name, Hillary Scott Tyrrell.

 

 

The second volume of a Waylon Jennings tribute project is set for release at retail Feb. 7 and, like last year’s volume one, it is packed with contributions from country stars performing the music icon’s best-loved songs. A third volume is still in the works.

 

The eleven-track album, titled “The Music Inside: A Collaboration Dedicated to Waylon Jennings, Volume II,” features a lineup of acts who were heavily influenced by Jennings’ legacy. They include Dierks Bentley, Justin Moore, Hank Williams Jr., Jessi Colter, Montgomery Gentry, Jewel, Jack Ingram, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson, and Pat Green. The final song on each volume is reserved for an unknown artist.

 

Recording for the three volume series started more than three-and-a-half years ago, and has been a labor of love for Jennings’ widow, Colter, son Shooter Jennings, and guitarist Reggie Young. They, along with producer Witt Stewart, have assembled a cast of artists to pay tribute to Jennings and highlight his musical and cultural influence.

 

 “Waylon was so original,” says Colter in a press release. “For his songs to be [sung] by other people and to take me somewhere else is not an easy task.

 

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised of the fact that the people involved chose to make the songs their own. They add something to it and, to me, that’s what makes it interesting. They made it their own because they could never walk in Waylon’s tracks. They’d be stepping in holes.”

 

Here’s the full track listing for volume two:

 

1. Lonesome, On’ry and Mean - Dierks Bentley

2. Waymore’s Blues - Hank Williams Jr.

3. Good Ol’ Boys - Montgomery Gentry

4. I Ain’t Livin’ Long Like This - Justin Moore

5. Bob Wills Is Still The King - Jack Ingram

6. Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line - Colt Ford

7. Rainy Day Woman - Pat Green 

8. Love of the Common People - Josh Thompson

9. Mama - Jessi Colter

10. Dreaming My Dreams With You - Jewel

11. A Long Time Ago - Wyatt McCubbin

 

Hot country trio Pistol Annies has collaborated with legendary Irish folk group The Chieftains for the latter band’s 50th anniversary album, “Voice of Ages,” due out Feb. 21.

Pistol Annies—which consists of members Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe—sing “Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies” on the album, which also includes collaborations between The Chieftains and Bon Iver, The Decemberists, Punch Brothers, Carolina Chocolate Drops and The Civil Wars, among other acts. It was produced by Chieftains leader/founder Paddy Moloney and T Bone Burnett.

 

Just a week before the launch of his new tour, Brad Paisley announced plans to re-brand the outing, a move that likely has whatever company is printing up his t-shirts and other tour merchandise scrambling.

 

The tour that was originally announced as the The Camobunga! 2012 World Tour in October has now been re-christened as the Virtual Reality World Tour 2012. It kicks off Jan. 12 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Tour openers The Band Perry and Scotty McCreery remain on board.

 

The singer favors video screens and eye-popping visual tricks in his shows. During the month of December, Paisley and his band had several days of tour rehearsals and stage set-up, and it was during those rehearsals that the singer decided the tour needed a new name.

 

“When you see plans and sketches on paper it’s one thing, but to actually see it in real life is something else,” he says in a prepared statement. “That’s what happened to me when we were in tour rehearsals. When I saw the visuals and how exciting and sometimes mind-blowing they were, I just felt the tour name needed to reflect what the fans were going to see. For two hours each night of the tour they can be taken away from reality—literally.”

 

There’s been a rash of engagements lately among country singers, including Wynonna Judd, Danny Gokey and Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood. Joining that happy group is singer/songwriter Lee Brice, best known for his own top five hit “Love Like Crazy,” as well as for writing the Eli Young Band’s recent No. 1, “Crazy Girl.”

 

Brice, 32, celebrated the New Year by popping the question to his longtime girlfriend, Sara Reeveley, 29, the mother of the couple’s three-year-old son, Takoda. The couple was on vacation in Key West, Fla., when Brice proposed on January 2. A wedding date has not yet been set.

 

The met 13 years ago on a South Carolina beach when Reeveley was just 18.

 

Says Brice in a press release, “I finally get to marry that beautiful girl I met on Myrtle Beach years ago. I can’t wait to get Sara and Takoda to Nashville so we can all be together.”

 

Taylor Swift could be starring in a new film adaptation of “Les Miserables,” according to BroadwayWorld.com.

 

Offers are reportedly now out to Swift for the role of Eponine and to the opera-trained “Mamma Mia!” film star Amanda Seyfried for the role of Cosette.

“Universal has reportedly offered both the roles after months of speculation about both parts, with both stars expected to sign,” the site reports.

The cast will also include Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as his nemesis, Javert. Other recently announced cast members are Sacha Baron Cohen as Thernardier, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Anne Hathaway as Fantine and Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier.

 

Swift reportedly beat out several other stars for the role of Eponine, including Broadway veteran and “Glee” star Lea Michele, Tony winner Scarlett Johansson, and film veteran Evan Rachel Wood

 

The film begins rehearsals at the end of this month and will begin filming in March with director Tom Hooper at the helm. All cast members will be singing live on film and the release date is currently set for December 7, 2012.

 

 

Dierks Bentley’s new album, “Home,” hits retailers next month (Feb. 7), and is already garnering rave reviews from music critics like CMT.com’s Chet Flippo. It will be Bentley’s sixth studio album, and his first mainstream country project since 2009, following his 2010 foray into bluegrass music with “Up On The Ridge.”

 

The new set features a vocal collaboration between Bentley and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild (on album track “When You Come Around”), as well as a musical collaboration with bluegrass music stars Sam Bush and Tim O’Brian (on “Heart of a Lonely Girl”). Daughter Evie also reportedly makes a special guest appearance on the album’s closing track, according to Flippo’s review.

 

“I definitely stepped away and explored some things that were more on the fringe of country music for a little while,” Bentley says in a press release. “So, this record feels fresh. It doesn’t feel like a continuation of any other project or series of recordings. I love being able to try different things musically, and I’m so thankful my fans have followed me to those places. But, I feel like my real ‘Home’ is in the center of country music.”

 

The album includes his recent hit, “Am I The Only One,” as well as current single “Home.” Bentley co-wrote six of the project's 12 tracks.

 

Here’s the complete track list:

1. Am I The Only One

2. Gonna Die Young

3. Tip It On Back

4. Home

5. Diamonds Make Babies

6. In My Head

7. Breathe You In

8. The Woods

9. When You Gonna Come Around (featuring Karen Fairchild)

10. 5-1-5-0

11. Heart Of A Lonely Girl

12. Thinking Of You