Briefs: Carrie Underwood offers concert tix with a charity twist

• Carrie Underwood is partnering with Tickets-for-Charity.​com to offer fans premium seats for shows on her current Blown Away Tour, with some of the proceeds earmarked for the Academy of Country Music’s charity arm, ACM Lifting Lives, and Underwood’s own non-profit, the C.A.T.S. Foundation.

The promotion, which has previously been utilized by Brad Paisley, Toby Keith and the Zac Brown Band, gives fans access to great seats in sold-out sections of concerts. Fans pay the same or better price that they could find at ticket re-sellers, but by purchasing seats through Tickets-for-Charity.​com they are supporting the designated charities rather than scalpers.

Tickets are available at ticketsforcharity.co​m/ACMLiftingLives/. They include available seats in the first 10 rows of Underwood’s concert stops.

The C.A.T.S. Foundation (Checotah Animal, Town, and School Foundation) is dedicated to helping a variety of causes making a positive impact in Underwood’s hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma.

“My hometown means everything to me,” says Underwood in a press release. “I’m so thankful for my fans and their support through Tickets-for-Charity.​”

• On the heels of Taylor Swift’s new endorsement deal with Diet Coke, Mountain Dew has tapped Brantley Gilbert as it’s new celebrity representative. The details of Gilbert’s new role were not disclosed.

“I have been a fan of Mountain Dew for as long as I can remember,” says Gilbert in a prepared statement. “I’m honored to be able to partner up with the Dew family for some exciting projects this year.”