With music and Nashville so closely intertwined, it's no surprise that the country music community has been hit hard by the city's recent horrific flooding.

According to CNN, areas of the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame sit under water, while various musicians who call the city home -- Dierks Bentley, JoDee Messina, Big & Rich, and Keith Urban, among others -- found themselves as many of their neighbors did: wading through their homes and bailing water out of their basements and living rooms.

As the flood waters recede, everyone is determined to restore Music City to its former glory, and various music benefits are being scheduled as a starting point to help. A telethon will be held tonight starting at 7pm EST with Vince Gill on Nashville's NBC affiliate to raise money for the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Second Harvest Food Bank.

Kim Ruehl, About.com's Folk Music Guide, has more details on the damage to the home of country music, plus ways you can help.

Related Links:

• Recovery Efforts Help Nashville Flood Victims

Carrie Underwood walked away one of the night's biggest winners at the ACM Awards on April 20, winning Entertainer of the Year for the second year in a row and becoming the first woman to ever do so in the process. Other big artist awards of the night went to Brad Paisley (Top Male Vocalist), Miranda Lambert (Top Female Vocalist), Lady Antebellum (Top Vocal Group) and Brooks & Dunn (Top Vocal Duo).

And while Album of the Year went to Miranda Lambert for Revolution, which is currently sitting at #6 on the Billboard Country Album charts, Lady Antebellum won Single Record and Song of the Year for their song "Need You Now."

ACM's website has the full list of winners and photos of the event.

Country award presentations will continue on June 9 when the 2010 CMT Music Awards will be handed out at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. So far, Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban have been announced as live performers.

The CMT Awards are known for being completely driven by fan power, and the voting has begun at the CMT website. Head on over and cast your vote in all nine categories, making sure your voice is heard for your favorite music videos and performances of the year.

Get up to the minute information by following CMT on Twitter.

Carrie Underwood courtesy of Getty Images
CMT Music Awards Logo courtesy of CMT

Fifty-seven years after his ultimately death at age 29, country icon Hank Williams was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize when winners were announced on Monday.

Known for song staples like "Cold, Cold Heart,"  "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Your Cheatin' Heart," he joins a small and elite group of musicians that have earned special citations in music before him -- including Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and Bob Dylan -- even though his recorded musical career lasted less than ten years.

Honoring his lasting influence on not just country music, but the music world at large, the Pulitzer voters commended "his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life."

Photo courtesy of Pricegrabber

The performance lineup for the 45^th annual Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony continues to grow, inflating a star-studded list that already contains plenty of big names -- Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, to name a few -- even further.

Those artists just recently announced include Laura Bell Bundy, Billy Currington, John Fogerty, Jack Ingram featuring Dierks Bentley, Toby Keith with Dave Koz, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker.

The awards ceremony will air live from Las Vegas on CBS on Sunday, April 18, starting at 8pm EST (delayed for the West Coast), to honor the biggest stars and rising talents in country music today.

The full list of nominees can be found at ACM's official website. Fans can also vote their favorites for Entertainer of the Year and Top New Artist, in addition to the song Brooks & Dunn should perform at the show, by visiting www.VoteACM.com.