Longbranch/Pennywhistle to receive welcome standalone CD and Vinyl release September 28th via Geffen/UMe

August 06, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, Country Rock, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

Longbranch/Pennywhistle the only album by Glenn Frey and JD Souther will see a welcome release on CD and 180-gram vinyl on September 28th. The album was released earlier this year as part of the Glenn Frey - Above The Clouds box set and sounded great (RGM Review here). So if you missed the box, or never managed to find an original copy of this rare album on vinyl, this is a must. Longbranch/Pennywhistle finds two artists at the start of their careers and really is pretty much essential for all Eagles fans. More about the release and details of upcoming JD Souther North American tour dates follows:

JP Harris to release 'Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing' October 5th

August 02, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News

After a four year hiatus, JP Harris returns with his third album 'Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing' on October 5th via Free Dirt Records. Produced by Old Crow Medicine Show member Morgan Jahnig 'Sometimes Dogs' has that honesty and sincerity that you only seem to get with old-school country. The first single from the album 'When I Quite Drinking' gets me thinking that 'Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing' will be essential listening come October. More about JP Harris, the album and a stream of the single follows:

CMA Songwriters Series returns to UK for October tour

July 31, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Festivals, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

The CMA Songwriters Series will return to the UK in October 2018 for a run of shows with the London date part of Country Music Week. The tour, which will also include dates in Gateshead, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow will be hosted by Chris DeStefano with two other artists also making their UK debuts in Kassi Ashton and Tenille Townes alongside a name very familiar to UK audiences Ashley Campbell. The two hour seated show will find the artists performing and telling the stories behind their songs. Tickets are on sale from Friday, August 3rd. Ticket details, the full tour dates and more about the artists and the CMA follows:

No Coward Soul announce July 14th album launch show for 'The Almanac'

June 19, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, Tour Dates

London based Americana act No Coward Soul will celebrate the physical release, on CD and limited edition vinyl, of their debut album 'The Almanac' on Saturday, July 14th at London's Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen. The album was produced by Jamie Evans (Wildwood Kin) and features a soulful take on classic country with very impressive harmonies, so a great show is on the cards. More about No Coward Soul including a taster from the album 'Death N' Texas' follows:

Counting Crows and Alison Krauss confirmed for BluesFest 2018

June 18, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alternative Rock, Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Classic Rock, Country, News, Tour Dates

BluesFest 2018 at London's O2 was already looking like a pretty special few days and now looks even better. Counting Crows are to headline the Sunday night of the festival and they will be joined by Alison Krauss who will also play a full set with The White Buffalo in support. I think you'd have to agree that this is a very impressive line-up for the closing night of BluesFest 2018. Previous coverage of BluesFest can be found here. More about the artists and the festival follows including ticket details:

Sights and Sounds of Tennessee continues at London's Waterloo until June 17th

June 06, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Country, News, Roots, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

After a successful launch on June 4th with Yola Carter and Gill Landry performing shows the Sights and Sounds of Tennessee exhibit will continue at London's Waterloo station until June 17th. Over the next ten days or so some great artists will be performing 2-4pm on weekdays with a Jack Daniel's Happy Hour from 4-6pm to follow. Bennett Wilson Poole and Worry Dolls are among the top acts playing sets. More about the exhibit, including the chance to win a holiday to Tennessee, who's performing and the idea behind the exhibit follows:

Tony Wright & Ryan Hamilton 'Grand Ole Otley' LP and UK Tour

May 11, 2018 by David Vousden in Alternative Rock, Americana, Country, News, Tour Dates

A very welcome surprise in the RGM inbox this morning is the debut single by Tony Wright & Ryan Hamilton with their take on 'Oh Lonesome Me' the Don Gibson classic. Many RGM readers might know Ryan Hamilton from his band The Traitors while Tony Wright is best known as the frontman for Alternative UK rock act Terrorvision. An unlikely transatlantic alliance but very effective if the single is anything to go by. A full album of country classics entitled 'Grand Ole Otley' is due June 8th and the duo will be playing UK shows to coincide. To check out the single, learn more about the duo and those all-important tour dates follow:

When electronica meets country: Kate Ellis 'I Believe' (David Gould Remix)

May 09, 2018 by David Vousden in Ambient, Country, Soundcloud, Electronica, Tour Dates

Time for something a little different at RGM. Many readers will be familiar with Kate Ellis and the track 'I Believe' from her 2017 album 'Carve Me Out'. Out today is a new take on the track as producer David Gould has put together an 'ambient country' remix which mixes electronica with Kate's country vocal. Please read on to listen to the track and leave more about the thinking behind it:

Ashley McBryde needs a bigger venue for October headline show

April 16, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates, Video

The Ashley McBryde train has well and truly left the station and there's no stopping the singer-songwriter. Fresh from huge acclaim for her performances at C2C this year, and the recent 'Girl Going Nowhere' record, it has been announced that Ashley's October headline show has been upgraded and moved to Islington Assembly Hall on October 10th. Original tickets are still valid with the additional tickets on sale from 9.00 AM on Friday 20th April. This show follows a run of UK dates with Luke Combs including back-to-back nights at Shepherds Bush Empire. Everything you need to know about Ashley McBryde follows:

Megan O'Neill to release new album June 8th

April 06, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

Megan O'Neill has confirmed June 8th as the release date for her new 'Ghost Of You' album. To coincide with this announcement 'Without' is now available as a single and continues the high standard of Megan's previous two singles 'Ghost Of You' and 'Why I Need You'. Megan has plenty of touring planned for 2018 including an album launch show at 229 in London on April 26th. More about the album, the single and tour news follows:

Missed some great music in March? Check out the RGM Spotify playlist

April 04, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, AOR, Classic Rock, Compilation, Country, Folk, Melodic Rock, Playlist, singer-songwriter

Well, it's that time again. March is behind us and we're now in April but March was another strong month musically. We had a stunning release from the legendary Joan Baez and Bennett Wilson Poole demonstrated that the UK was up to the task of presenting Americana with an English twist and plenty of 12 string Rickenbacker guitar. The UK was also represented in the field of melodic rock/AOR by FM who continue to release quality records 30+ years into their career. The UK country scene is again featured in our playlist courtesy of Holloway Road who go from strength to strength while Greece is featured for the first time via Gadless and his excellent 'Falling' single. There's plenty of musical variety this month so please don't be shy and give our playlist a go to discover some great new music.

Jesse Terry is letting things come naturally on new album

March 27, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Folk, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

When Jesse Terry entered the studio to record his new album 'Naturally' he decided to take a more organic and stripped back approach to the recording and enlisted a few friends and artists he admired to help out. The resulting album features contributions from a host of superb female singers including Sarah Darling, Dar Williams, Erin Rae and Cary Ann Hearst of Shovels & Rope. This approach seems a perfect fit for Terry's songs and the blend of voices is really quite lovely. Longtime fans will find much to enjoy as they'll recognise some of the songs here but not the performances. Terry also managed to slip in a wonderful take on 'Mr. Blue Sky' with Liz Longley which paints the ELO classic in a whole new light. 'Naturally' is released March 30th on Jackson Beach Records. Please read on to hear that Jeff Lynne classic, learn more about the recording and check out upcoming UK and USA tour dates:

A duo of new singles from UK country duo Holloway Road

March 23, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, New Single, News, Pop, Soundcloud

UK country-pop duo Holloway Road today (March 23rd) released two new singles 'No Place' and 'In The Dark'. The tracks were road-tested at the recent C2C event and give fans a real insight into where the guys are going musically in 2018 with an EP in the works and touring plans for this year to be announced very soon. The singles are available to stream/download from your preferred digital platform or check them out here at RGM:

Southern Avenue and Bonnie Bishop among latest Maverick Festival additions

March 10, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, News, Tour Dates

The Maverick Festival has announced the latest additions to the 2018 bill for the eleventh staging of the acclaimed Americana festival. Those names include Memphis band Southern Avenue and Texas-raised singer Bonnie Bishop. Australia will also be represented at the festival by Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes, making a welcome return in 2018, with rising Aussie star Imogen Clark along for the ride. Closer to home The Mountain Firework Company and longtime friends of Maverick Hank Wangford and BJ Cole will also perform. Please read on for more about the latest Maverick additions:

Missed Some Great Music In February? Check out the latest RGM Spotify Playlist

March 03, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Bluegrass, Compilation, Country, Folk, Playlist, Showcase, singer-songwriter

February has just flown by at RGM with a host of cool new releases to review, gigs to see and news of upcoming albums and tours. If you missed anything then please check out our Spotify playlist for a quick refresher of some of the great artists we featured last month. March is already looking very busy with lots more stuff coming up. Many thanks to all the artists, PR companies and labels who've been in touch this month and all our readers for your continued support. Please like, follow and share as it makes all the difference.

Philippa Hanna is 'Getting On With Life' on new single/video.

March 02, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, Gospel, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates, Video

Philippa Hanna is 'Getting On With Life' via the new single from her recent album 'Come Back Fighting'. The album has achieved real crossover success reaching No.1 on both the UK iTunes Country Chart and the OCC Christian and Gospel Album Chart.'Getting On With Life' is an excellent track with a very relatable theme, backed by an impressive video definitely worthy of your time. Philippa will be on the road in April playing shows in Birmingham, Manchester, London and Sheffield. A little more about Philippa, her new video and those tour dates follow:

Unheard Chris Cornell track to feature on Johnny Cash 'Forever Words'

February 26, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, Video

Today on what would have been Johnny Cash's 86th birthday Legacy Recordings are releasing 'You Never Knew My Mind' a track from the upcoming Johnny Cash 'Forever Words' album due April 6th (previous RGM coverage of this release including the track listing etc can be found in full here). The song was originally written by Johnny Cash as a poem and has been turned into a new song by Chris Cornell in what would be one of his last recordings. 'You Never Knew My Mind' and the video which features Chris Cornell's thoughts on the words and the recording follows:

Iron & Wine and Passenger to headline Black Deer Festival

February 23, 2018 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, Country, Festivals, News

Iron & Wine and Passenger have been announced as the first headline acts for the inaugural Black Deer Festival at Eridge Park on the Kent/Sussex border in the heart of the beautiful High Weald countryside. The festival is set for 22nd - 24th of June, 2018 and the bill for the festival is shaping up very nicely with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, John Moreland, Eric Bibb and Ward Thomas amongst those already announced. Many more acts are still to be announced + the festival will feature all manner of things to keep country and Americana fans busy with great food, craft beer and custom motorcycles. If you're attending Black Deer be sure to keep an eye open for the Supajam Education in Music & Media (SEMM) the educational provider who will be running their own stage at Black Deer. Everything you need to know about Black Deer including the acts, location, tickets etc follows:

Green Note presents 'Like A Woman' A musical celebration March 8th

February 21, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Folk, singer-songwriter

Green Note and JW3 present an evening of music to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th at JW3 in London. IWD was officially adopted by the United Nations in 1975 but the term was first used in New York in 1909 and became more widely acknowledged after women gained suffrage (the right to vote) in Soviet Russia in 1917 where it was granted national holiday status. Singers and songwriters from as far afield as Australia and Canada will combine with the best of British at JW3 in London for an evening of original material, and a cover or two, that will capture the essence of IWD and what the day means to the artists. Further details about ticketing and the venue follow:

Maverick Festival announces first names for 2018

February 14, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, Folk, News, Tour Dates

The Maverick Festival has announced the first names for the 2018 event set for Friday 6th - 8th July. Now in its eleventh year, the Maverick Festival has become an integral part of the Americana scene in the UK and always hosts an impressive range of artists. This year will be no different with a mix of returning favourites and many performers new to Maverick including Jonathan Byrd, Terra Lightfoot, The Danberrys, Leeroy Stagger and Arkansas Dave. More details about the event and the acts scheduled to appear follows: