Yola Carter fresh from her UK Artist Of The Year Award at the recent AMA UK ceremony has announced a string of festival shows in the UK and Europe. 2016 was a banner year for the singer-songwriter with extensive touring and the release of the 'Orphan Offering' EP. Expect new music soon but in the meantime those festival shows and much more about Yola Carter follows:

Following a year that saw the release of her debut solo EP ‘Orphan Offering’; acclaimed live performances in London and Nashville and in between; and worldwide coverage in publications like The Guardian, NPR, The Times and No Depression, British country-soul singer and songwriter Yola Carter has announced a run of UK & European festival dates over the coming months:

8th April 2017 - Ramblin’ Roots Revue, High Wycombe UK

29th - 30th April 2017 - Kilkenny Roots Festival, Ireland

14th May 2017 - Dart Music Festival, Dartmouth UK

21st July 2017 - Underneath the Stars, Barnsley UK

24th - 27th August 2017 - Tønder Festival, Denmark

Carter was named ‘UK Artist of the Year’ in the UK Americana Music Association (AMA UK) Awards in February, and was presented with her award by Al Booth, Editor of Specialist Music at BBC Radio 2. She also performed twice at the prestigious award ceremony in London, opening the night and later as part of a finale singing ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken’ alongside all the evening’s performers and nominees. In her own words: "We did it! This might be a solo project but it has taken a team to get things done. I'll be heading back into the Studio to record from next week so keep an eye out new recordings and clips in the spring!"

Yola Carter is a rising country-soul singer/songwriter from Bristol, UK, whose recent successes include being voted ‘UK Artist of the Year’ at the AMA UK Awards, a much-hyped performance at AmericanaFest in Nashville and embarking on her first headline UK tour, described by The Times as “spectacular”. Towards the end of 2016 Carter was noted as an ‘artist to watch’ by publications ranging from The Guardian and NPR to Stereogum and No Depression.

Heavily influenced from an early age by Sixties country, Stax-era soul and gospel ranging from The Staple Singers to Otis Redding, Yola was raised in a small seaside town in the South West of the England and “always wanted to be a country music artist”. Unafraid to address difficult issues in her lyrics, Yola’s real-life story - both heartbreaking and inspirational - naturally finds its way into her songs. Coming from a poor, broken home and a parent suffering from mental illness who ‘banned’ her from making any music, Yola’s experience of growing up was one of truly living below the breadline. In a working class community in denial of its status where discrimination and even violence fuelled by racism were not unusual, writing music quickly became an outlet and a means of expression, and touring a means of escape.

From her late teens, Yola Carter (born Yolanda Quartey) worked hard to earn credibility and respect throughout the industry as one of the UK's top singers and a uniquely gifted songwriter. Realising that her soul voice was soon getting attention, Yola graduated to touring internationally straight out of school with critically acclaimed acts such as Bugz in the Attic on their world tour, and later Massive Attack, most notably headlining Glastonbury Festival's Other Stage to 60,000 people and broadcasting live on the BBC. Other notable supports and live collaborations since have included The McCrary Sisters, The Fairfield Four, Willie Watson, Jan Howard, James Brown, Elizabeth Cooke and the legendary Stax Band.

She began her journey into Americana music performing with her band Phantom Limb, based in her hometown of Bristol. The band self-released the eponymous debut album and the later more country-leaning effort of ‘The Pines’ produced by Marc Ford of The Black Crowes, taking to the road with acts such as Dr John, Solomon Burke and Candi Staton. Despite this success, Phantom Limb eventually disbanded, leaving Yola to focus on her own projects.

Yola Carter has since combined her two skillsets of singer-writer and writer/producer to write, record and produce her debut solo EP ‘Orphan Offering’ which was released in November 2016, and gets its physical US release on March 10th 2017. A set of songs that manage to be autobiographical and intensely personal while speaking to wider socio-political issues, the EP is a living example of an artist building something from nothing: In ‘Dead and Gone’ Carter sings “there was a time when my people were product to you; if we can’t supersede that now, where on Earth am I heading to?” - an explicit reference to assumptions about the role of black female singers in the modern music industry.

Following a year sharing stages with artists like St Paul and The Broken Bones, Sam Outlaw and Imelda Mae, and extensive media coverage around her debut release, Yola Carter is now working on her full-length debut and will be performing at a number of festivals throughout the summer.