Five shows, two days, one superstar

The L.A. Times reports on the Garth Brooks Marathon: "From 6 p.m. Friday to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, the country star interrupted his retirement to play five concerts at Staples Center in front of nearly 100,000 people, and for a national TV audience in the first hour."

Country stars shine for a great cause

Montgomery Gentry, the multi-platinum super duo, joined several other musical acts Thursday night in raising $100,000 for the T.J. Martell Foundation during the 14th Annual Country in the Rockies in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Among the other major fundraisers: Brad Arnold and Chris Henderson of 3 Doors Down raised $3,000 for a two-song acoustic performance; Darryl Worley and Lari White sang for generous donors; and Bill McCorvey of the Pirates of the Mississippi brought in more cash by performing the duo's hit, “Feed Jake."

Other stars generously donated auction items to benefit the foundation. Eddie Montgomery donated three of his trademark black hats, Hank Williams Jr. provided a Gibson guitar embossed with the Monday Night Football logo -- and Charlie Daniels donated a fiddle that fetched a $2,000 bid.

The T.J. Martell Foundation supports innovative research for leukemia, cancer and AIDS. In Nashville, the Foundation supports cancer research at the Frances Williams Preston Labs at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

Garth Brooks: Live in L.A.!

Country superstar Garth Brooks, the hardest-working retiree in showbiz, will perform five concerts over two days this week at the Staples Center in L.A., to raise money for the Southern California 2008 Fire Intervention Relief Effort (F.I.R.E.). But if you weren't able to buy a ticket, don't worry: CBS will air one of those concerts live at 9 p.m. EST Friday. Brooks talks about the concerts, and the other activities that are keeping him busy during his alleged retirement, in this L.A. Times profile.

Moon soon on DVD

Comanche Moon -- the miniseries billed as the prequel to Lonesome Dove and the sequel to Dead Man's Walk -- will air Jan. 13, 15 and 16 on CBS. But if you miss a segment, or your TiVo breaks down at an inconvenient time, don't worry: The miniseries -- described by Entertainment Weekly as "a bustling tale of the 1858–65 wars between the Comanches and the Texans, with bumpy pit stops along the way for bedroom shenanigans and booze" -- will be released on an "Extended Edition" DVD Feb. 26.

R.I.P.: Ken Nelson (1911-2008)

Ken Nelson, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee who produced key recordings for such luminaries as Hank Thompson, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Wanda Jackson, and is credited with helping define the distinctive Bakersfield Sound, died Sunday at age 96.

Coming soon to a video store near you

Several Academy Award hopefuls will be released on DVD during the next few weeks, to take advantage of all the pre-Oscarcast hoopla. But 3:10 to Yuma -- which hits video stores next week -- is the only one set for a January debut.