October 2015

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Award winning independent folk roots and acoustic label, Folkstock Records have been releasing emerging singer songwriters since its inception following their much acclaimed festival held in September 2013. With high profile support from Patrons Peggy Seeger and Fairport Convention’s Dave Swarbrick plus national treasures Whispering Bob Harris and Tom Robinson, the boutique label has been getting a reputation for their successful and award winning in house promotion, plugging and production. The word has spread and Folkstock have been asked to present two artists, Kelly Oliver and Minnie Birch, by Time Out London for ‘Rising Stars of Folk’ on 27th October at The Electric Carousel in Piccadilly and curate two Emerging Talent events as part of London Folk and Roots Festival in November which involves those two plus six further artists. All eight artists have been involved with Folkstock from the beginning and performed at the first festival they organised in 2013. The ‘Alt Country’ showcase at The Islington on 4th November is headlined by Cambridge band Fred’s House and features Marina Florance from Norfolk, Kaity Rae from London and another Cambridge act, Ben Smith. Kelly Oliver is headlining the all female ‘Folk’ evening on 11th November at The Islington. Joining her are Minnie Birch from Hemel Hempstead, Daria Kulesh from Kings Langley and Zoe Wren from London, currently studying music at Cambridge University. All the acts have impressive stories to tell and songs to sing and are worthy of a national platform as recommended by The Telegraph as Martin Chilton’s ‘Folk Gig Pick’ on 9th October. Folkstock Records are releasing a special cd to celebrate the acts performing for their London showcases called DOWNTOWN. This album of ten tracks with at least one track from each artist available as a download free of charge to everyone who buys an advance ticket to any of the shows. All you have to do is send us an email with proof of purchase to folkstock@hotmail.co.uk.

Brantley Gilbert released a new album exclusively to Europe this year entitled READ ME MY RIGHTS, and is continuing to tour overseas in support of the project. The US native penned each of the tracks, sharing a more intimate glimpse into this chapter of his life. The project serves as a thank you to the loyal European BG Nation for their support of 2014’s JUST AS I AM, which notched the third-highest country debut of 2014 in the US, and landed in the Top 5 Best Selling Country Albums of 2014. The album also scored Favourite Country Album at the American Music Awards, producing two times Platinum number one smash Bottoms Up, Gold certified number one One Hell Of An Amen and Gold certified Small Town Throwdown. Earlier this year, Brantley took home the first ever, fan-voted Renegade Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards recognising an artist who breaks boundaries while remaining true to himself or herself. The rough-and-tumble hitmaker has racked up six number singles, impressive albums sales, multiple award show nominations from the CMA, ACM, ACA, ACC, Billboard Music Awards and CMT Music Awards, in addition to being named 2013 ACM Awards New Male Vocalist of the Year. This March, Brantley performed for the second time at the C2C Festival in Europe, making him the first act ever to perform at the festival twice. He is following up the trip with a tour this November through The Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. For tour dates and more visit, www.brantleygilbert.com.

The CMA Songwriters Series has now expanded into Canada and will be presented as a one-hour broadcast, ‘CMT Presents: The CMA Songwriters Series,’ will air on CMT (Canada) Friday, Oct. 16. This partnership was announced in June at CMA World GlobaLive!, CMA’s annual international artist showcase held during CMA Music Festival. Artists and songwriters Kristian Bush, Deric Ruttan, Ron Sexsmith, and Josh Turner performed during the celebration of songs and song-writing, which was taped this summer in Toronto at The Great Hall, a historic venue located in the music and arts district of Toronto’s Queen Street West. This is the first time CMA and CMT (Canada) have partnered to present a television event. U.S. and Canadian residents will be able to view the episode starting Oct. 16 from CMA’s YouTube channel. The CMA Songwriters Series has been presenting the very best of Country Music’s songwriters, whose hits are known worldwide, since 2005. CMA Songwriters Series shows take the form of intimate presentations where songwriters can exhibit their craft and share many of the stories behind the songs they have penned. Through international honours and events including CMA World GlobaLive! and the expansion of the CMA Songwriters Series in Canada, Dublin, London, and Paris, CMA has famously recognised and empowered its international membership and Country Music fans globally.