On Harrington Square Sept. 26, Nashville recording artist Bucky Covington returned to his hometown and poured his heart on stage for friends, family and neighbors.

Now, his record label is immortalizing the event with a live release.

The digital-only EP will be released today, according to a press release.

It is to feature live versions of the Top 10 hits “A Different World,” “It’s Good To Be Us” and “I’ll Walk,” plus his newest single “Gotta Be Somebody,” as well as a special preview of “Mexicoma” from his unreleased sophomore album.

It will also have a version of the music video Covington recorded in downtown Rockingham included in the EP.

“First of all, going back home to Rockingham was awesome,” Covington said in a recent phone interview. “It had been three years since I got back to play there, and it was just an awesome thing. I had an awesome time at the show, and going around with the t.v. cameras showing them my hometown.”

Covington’s encore performance of “Gotta Be Somebody” at the Rockingham concert was used to film the video for the single. It recently debuted on Country Music Television (CMT).

“Now that the video’s out ... I’ve got to say that it looks great, and y’all are going to have a problem,” Covington said. “Everybody’s gonna want to come to Rockingham and shoot their videos.”

He said his personal highlight from the video was seeing his mother in the crowd.

“I’m really proud of the video, it looked great,” Covington added. “I hope everybody gets to see it, and look for yourselves in the crowd when you watch it.”

Nashville life can seem like the fastlane, especially when an album release date is fast approaching, Covington explained, and he hasn’t been able to spend much downtime over the last month and a half.

“When the album’s about to come out, the pace kind of picks up, and you have to make a lot of appearances and talk to the media,” he said. “But I finally bought me a place in Nashville.”

House hunting in Nashville is a little bit different than it was back home, Covington joked.

“In Rockingham, you can come into town and spend a week at the hotel, and you can pretty much figure out where you want to live,” he said. “But Nashville’s different - it’s huge out here. So, I’ve kind of been all over the place, but I think I finally found my spot in the country.”

The new house sits on an approximately 80-acre farm, which Covington said is more accomodating for his passion for dirtbikes and four-wheelers. His brother Rocky is also making the move to the same area.

“The thing about the lake property is, they ain’t making anymore of it, so you’re neighbors are kind of all over top of you,” he said. “Now, we’ve finally got a place back in the country, and it should feel more like home.”

He’s also seen another project come to fruition, with the success of Hannah Montana: The Movie, in which he has a cameo appearance.

“I’d like to do more T.V. and movies, but first I need to get in some acting classes,” Covington said.

Fortunately for him, he joked, there wasn’t much dramatic performance involved in his part in the film.

“All I had to do there was be me,” he giggled. “I can handle that. Now, when I get that juicy role as Ned, the local farmer whose wife got killed, then I’ll need the acting classes.”

Besides discussing how things are going in Tennessee and Hollywood, Covington talked about hanging out at the river, and riding four-wheelers all over Richmond County.

He said he misses Blewett Falls, the way it was, “when you could pretty much do anything you wanted.”

“I just really want to thank everybody back home in Rockingham for all the support they’ve always given me,” Covington said before hanging up. “I hope everybody gets to see themselves in the video and enjoys the album, and I can’t wait to get back to see all my friends and family again once I get through the album release.”

Covington’s sophomore album, “I’m Alright,” is currently scheduled to be on shelves in Spring 2010.

The single “Gotta Be Somebody” is currently available for purchase, and the video for the song debuted at Number One on CMT’s fan-voted “Pure 12 Pack” of videos.

He and the band are also currently making a swing through North Carolina. Covington has radio spots scheduled in Asheville and Greenville this week.

This digital release will be available for purchase on the Web site www.apple.com/itunes, or you can learn more about Covington and find links to purchasing sites on either his personal Web site, www.buckycovington.com, or his Myspace page, www.myspace.com/buckycovington.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.