The "doc" is out -- sadly. Doc Watson's death Tuesday came as a surprise to roots music fans, despite his not-so-tender age of 89, since he'd been wowing devotees with his legendary flat-picking guitar prowess just a month ago at Merlefest, a North Carolina music festival held annually in his honor.Doc Watson

For this video roundup, we found fan-shot videos from that final festival appearance late last month, but also bring you rare clips that date all the way back to the 1950s and '60s, when the blind singer/guitarist came to fame as part of the great folk scare. Here are just a few examples of the daily and nightly prowess that made him a musician's musician... several of which find him joined by other acoustic greats...

WATSON WITH EARL SCRUGGS AND RICKY SKAGGS

A bittersweet reminder that we lost banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs just prior to losing Watson, his guitar-playing equivalent. The two elder gents were joined by (relative) youngster Ricky Skaggs for "The Three Pickers," a concert that was

Divorce is rarely a pleasant experience, but it appears that in the case of Randy Travis and ex-wife/former manager Elizabeth, it's truly becoming a nightmare. The former spouses (who divorced in 2010) are now at legal war, having both fired lawsuits against each other in the past few weeks.

Randy's suit is the latest--according to a report broken by TMZ, just a few days ago the country legend filed a complaint that Elizabeth deliberately attempted to sabotage his career by spreading personal details about him around town. (No exact specifics about the nature of these "details" are available, but I'm guessing they're not positive.) The Travises, pre-divorce

The report also claims that Elizabeth inflated expense reports, and that Randy is seeking to stop her from receiving further compensation from his future projects.

Elizabeth filed her own complaint back in April, alleging breach of the pair's post-divorce management contract. According to her, Randy "intentionally interfered with" the ability to do her job

This holiday weekend, we take the time to acknowledge how hard our men and women in uniform work for our country. Meanwhile, country star Trace Adkins is taking time to work hard for them! All week long, he's been busy entertaining at various Memorial Day-related events designed to honor our troops.

On Wednesday, Adkins was in New York City as part of Fleet Week, where he went on board the U.S.S. Wasp and met the ship's crew. He then gave a free concert for sailors at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.Adkins performs for Navy sailors in NYC

The following day, he performed the National Anthem to kick off the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's 21st annual "Salute to Freedom" dinner, following that up with yet another performance for those present.

What with all the milestones and success Kenny Chesney has achieved over the past two decades, it seems hard to believe there's one thing he hasn't tackled yet in his career.

But there is. He's doing it now, and he's just a bit overwhelmed by it.

So, what could it be? "In all the years that I've been doing this, I've never launched a tour and launched an album at basically the same time," Chesney admits--adding with a laugh, "Doing one of those things is enough!"

He's speaking the truth, and then some. His 2012 Brothers of the Sun tour, which kicks off June 2, is no ordinary tour, being his first with fellow megastar Tim McGraw in a decade. And, his new record Welcome To The Fishbowl, which hits stores just a couple weeks after the tour starts, is poised to be his biggest release yet.

The idea of handling both near-simultaneously is daunting, to say the least.  "It's been an interesting month for me," Chesney deadpans. "I love it. It's a challenge." Kenny Chesney

Male fans of the Pistol Annies, don't be too disappointed--but another member of the trio is now officially off the market. Angaleena Presley, a.k.a ."Holler Annie," got hitched this week, leaving Ashley Monroe as the only single girl in the group. (The other Annie, Miranda Lambert, just celebrated her first anniversary with husband Blake Shelton last week.)

"Holler got hitched, y'all! Congrats @guitarleena we love you!" read a tweet from the Pistol Annies' Twitter account on Thursday, accompanied by a photo of the new bride and groom. Presley and her new husband

Who's the lucky guy? Well, it's someone who's already part of the family--musically, that is. He's Miranda Lambert's tour manager, Jordan Powell.

Lambert clearly approves of the match: "Awwww two of my favorite people! Proud!" she tweeted on Thursday.

Nashville powerhouse Taylor Swift may sometimes catch flak from country fans as being more of a pop singer than anything, but one country girl who's got her back is Miranda Lambert. The currently reigning CMA and ACM female vocalist of the year defends Swift as having done nothing but help country music's image.

"Taylor Swift is a pop singer," Lambert noted in a recent interview with W Magazine. "But she really helped country music. When she hit, I was thinking, 'Thank God Taylor's out there to show people we're not cheesy.' Photo by Santiago & Mauricio, courtesy W Magazine

"Some people still think that country music is twangy and cheesy, and they pigeonhole us," she added. "But I thought, 'If they're looking for Taylor's videos or songs, they might see or hear other people they like. If her fans are watching for her, they might like me too.'"

Few bands have weathered as many ups and downs in a short period of time as Gloriana. The trio--which started out as a critically acclaimed quartet--scored an amazing No. 2 debut on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart with their very first album, opened for Taylor Swift on her Fearless tour, and won an ACM Award for top new vocal group. And then, they lost one of their members (Cheyenne Kimball exited the band in 2010 due to personal differences). All before their sophomore record, which fans have been patiently waiting a long time for--three years to be exact.

However--great news!--brothers Tom and Mike Gossin and Rachel Reinert are finally set to release their new album. It's titled A Thousand Miles Left Behind and the street date is July 31. The new album cover

Tim McGraw has finally settled on a new record label to call home. The superstar singer, who won freedom from longtime former label Curb Records back in November, announced Monday he'll be joining Big Machine Records.Tim McGraw

That means McGraw will be in some pretty stellar company: Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Jewel, the Band Perry, Martina McBride, and Reba McEntire are all part of Big Machine's powerhouse label group, which also includes the Valory Music Co. and Republic Nashville.