January 2017

Kilkenny Roots Festival Celebrates 20th Year with Stellar Line-up Including The Handsome Family, Marah, Joan Shelley and More

The much-loved Kilkenny Roots Festival celebrates its twentieth year from 28th April to May 1st, 2017 with a stellar line-up including country-noir favourites The Handsome Family, alt.country rockers Marah and the celebrated singer-songwriter Joan Shelley. Also confirmed for 2017 are the legendary songwriter Chip Taylor, rising country singer-songwriter Andrew Combs, acclaimed Belfast-based band Arborist, and Yolo Carter, who is making giant strides both in the UK and the US with her brand of country soul. Los Angeles’ The Americans make their European debut, so too emerging country gospel star Paul Cauthen, the ‘Queen Of Oklahoma’ Carter Sampson, Ireland’s own David Kitt and Western Centuries, a straight-ahead country band featuring Jim Miller (Donna The Buffalo) and Cahalen Morrison. More names to be announced. Scattered around a number of venues in the beautiful historical city of Kilkenny, situated an hour south of Dublin, the Kilkenny Roots Festival has been a staple on the roots circuit for a number of years and has attracted a loyal, hardcore following that makes the festival one of the ‘must attend’ events and most enjoyable on the calendar.  Alongside the ticketed events there is a free Music Trail that gives the chance to a number of local bands to perform across the four days of the festival.

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Big & Rich set to release new single California March 6

Country hit makers Big & Rich aren’t wasting any time getting the party started with their upcoming single, California, which will impact country radio in March and be available for purchase March 6. California will also be promoted through a new partnership with cookie bar TWIX®, which will begin promoting the single in Walmart® stores nationwide in April. California will serve as the lead single for the larger-than-life duo’s upcoming album, DID IT FOR THE PARTY. The project is slated for a third quarter release and will be Big & Rich’s sixth studio album. Big & Rich Records are excited to team up with Thirty Tigers and Sony RED for marketing and distribution for DID IT FOR THE PARTY . The Technicolor Cowboyz will also be hitting the road this summer for the “Did It For The Party Tour,” which will see Big & Rich performing at stadiums and top festivals throughout North America, with more dates to be added. As previously reported, Big & Rich will be featured on Westwood One’s Super Bowl LI Game Day Coverage on February 5. Fans can listen to an exclusive remixed version of their song, Party Like Cowboyz, which will be the opening theme, mixed with highlights and sound bites from the two participating teams in their quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The broadcast is presented by Westwood One Sports, the official network radio partner for the National Football League, providing comprehensive coverage of Super Bowl LI, live from NRG Stadium in Houston Texas, where the Atlanta Falcons will battle the New England Patriots.

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Newcomer Michael Tyler to release debut album '317' March 17

When Michael Tyler looked at his odometer after he arrived in Nashville from his hometown in Thayer, Mo., he noticed a number in his dash that’s resonated with him since his arrival: 317. It’s no coincidence that the 23-year-old’s debut album will be titled 317, available from Reviver Records March 17. MT, whose current single They Can’t See is one of the Top 5 Most Added records at radio this week according to Country Aircheck, continues to connect with fans and the country music industry. Performing rights organization SESAC awarded Song of the Year to MT for co-writing the multi-week No. 1 platinum-selling Dierks Bentley smash Somewhere On A Beach. And now, enthusiasm is building for MT in 2017 with rave reviews about the young talent: MT also penned Jason Aldean’s Laid Back on the platinum-selling album OLD BOOTS NEW DIRT three songs on the LOCASH album THE FIGHTERS (Shipwrecked, Ain’t Startin Tonight, and Moonwalkin) and a Jason Aldean/Kelsea Ballerini duet First Time Again on Aldean’s No. 1 album THEY DON’T KNOW. Hailing from Thayer, Missouri, known as a railroad town, it’s ironic MT is the descendant of the late, great Jimmie Rodgers, known as “The Father of Country Music” who learned his craft around the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad. At the age of 13, over a Myspace meeting, MT met award-winning producer Michael Knox (Jason Aldean/Thomas Rhett/Kelly Clarkson/Trace Adkins). After a few years of sending songs and ideas back and forth, MT came to Nashville, Tenn. to play a show at Tootsies Orchid Lounge for their first face-to-face meeting. At that time, Knox was hired by peermusic Nashville to help restructure the creative department. After watching MT play a few shows, Knox felt it was time for him to make the move to Nashville as a peermusic songwriter. The future has just started for this young singer/songwriter who is on the road touring all over the country with his energetic live show.

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BBC radio 2 country stage – first names announced

We are excited to confirm that once again there will be a BBC Radio 2 Country Stage at C2C 2017 at The O2 in London. First names revealed are: Chase Bryant, Seth Ennis, Lucie Silvas, Drake White and The Big Fire, Logan Brill, Canaan Smith, Temecula Road, Charlie Worsham and Cassadee Pope. More to come and dates and times will be announced in February. The BBC Radio 2 Country Stage will feature US and UK stars and is for C2C Ticket and Wristband Holders, subject to capacity. C2C tickets are still available and Festival Wristbands will be available to buy from The O2 Box Office from Midday Friday 10th March. This news comes as BBC Radio 2 announce the return of their “BBC Radio 2 Country” pop-up digital service from Thursday 9 to Sunday 12 March (12 noon until midnight) which will feature special programmes and live broadcasts from The O2. Previously advised main stage artists Brad Paisley, Chris Young, Jennifer Nettles Friday March 10, 2017  Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Hunter Hayes, Dan + Shay Saturday March 11, 2017  Zac Brown Band, Marty Stuart, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne Sunday March 12, 2017

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Ward Thomas to release new single Boomerang February 3rd

Chart topping twins Ward Thomas announce the release of ‘Boomerang’, the fourth single to be taken from their record breaking number one album CARTWHEELS. Boomerang, their fourth straight Radio 2 A-listed single, is out February 3rd on Sony/WTW Music. A wholeheartedly feel-good moment on the album, Boomerang is classic Ward Thomas – combining irresistible melodies and harmonies with quick-witted, perceptive lyrics. The track is, “about trying to move on from someone. But every time you try, something happens that takes you right back to square one!” Lizzy and Catherine penned the song in London along with Helen Boulding and Shridhar Solanki. Ward Thomas had an incredible 2016, reaching number one with their sophomore album CARTWHEELS. The girls said, “What an incredible year that’s come and gone! We’ve had lots to celebrate and now we’re looking forward to 2017 as already there is so much ahead of us!” The girls played a run of 16 completely sold out UK dates in October last year, and crowned off their live schedule with a spectacular sold out show at the Brooklyn Bowl in December for the Christmas Country 2 Country Social. Following an appearance at Eurosonic in January and a trip to Australia where they play the CMC Rocks festival, Ward Thomas will return to the UK live circuit in April to kick off easily their biggest tour to date, including Shepherds Bush Empire on May 10th.

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YAMAHA MUSIC STAGE 2017 Artists Announced

FEATURING CAM, CHASE BRYANT, CASSADEE POPE, SETH ENNIS, JANA KRAMER,  LUCIE SILVAS & DRAKE WHITE. Following the success showcasing some of the best new talent around in 2016, THE YAMAHA MUSIC STAGE in the main arena at C2C will be back with six standout acoustic artists performing over the weekend in-between the main stage acts. Last year’s acts included Charles Esten from the “Nashville” TV series, Ashley Monroe, Maren Morris, Striking Matches and Frankie Ballard on the massively popular stage. Cam was the first artist confirmed for 2017 and we can now announce who will be joining her across the weekend: FRIDAY MARCH 10  CHASE BRYANT This 23-year old is a multi-talented Texan singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer who has a strong musical heritage. Chase’s grandfather played piano in Roy Orbison’s first two bands and later for Waylon Jennings. His uncles co-founded the popular group Ricochet, which had several hits in the ’90s. “From the time I was a kid, the only thing I wanted to do was play music,” he says. Because of the Orbison connection, someone suggested a meeting with Roy’s widow, the late Barbara Orbison, a prominent Nashville publisher, who signed Bryant on the spot. That road led Bryant to BBR Music Group imprint Red Bow Records, to whom he’s signed. In early 2017 he’s been touring with Brad Paisley and enjoying the success of his new EP, Chase Bryant. SATURDAY MARCH 11 CASSADEE POPE From West Palm Beach, Florida and the first female winner of “The Voice” on American TV, Cassadee hit the ground running with her solo debut, the Frame By Frame EP, which featured “Wasting All Those Years” a track which sold a million downloads and was highlighted by her soaring vocals and an unwavering energy. She had her first number 1 single with “Think Of You”, a duet with Chris Young which led to her first Grammy nod nod in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance and was previously nominated Musical Event of the Year at the CMA Awards. Amplifying the impressive accolades, Cassadee and Chris continued to collaborate with extended dates on the “I’m Comin’ Home Tour” throughout 2016. Recently, Pope released her Summer EP which was produced by Corey Crowder who co-wrote “Think Of You”.  Her busy touring schedule has included dates with Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts.  SETH ENNIS Arista Nashville singer/songwriter, Seth Ennis, is poised for a breakout in 2017, with early nods as a star on the rise following being named as one of SiriusXM’s “Future Five” and an artist to watch by CMT, Pandora, The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone Country and a CMT “Listen Up Artist.” The 24 year-old multi-instrumentalist, co-wrote, co-produced and played all parts on the recorded version of his debut single, “Woke Up In Nashville.” The Georgia native was recently announced to join Country Music superstars Florida Georgia Line on their 2017 Dig Your Roots Tour for dates spanning from February to April, but will take a break to make his UK debut at C2C in March 2017.  One more artist is TBC  SUNDAY MARCH 12 JANA KRAMER The multi-talented Jana Kramer (who has already been announced for a C2C After Show) is an actor who played Alex Dupre on the television series One Tree Hill, was a recent finalist on the American TV show Dancing with the Stars and is one of country music’s brightest new stars and a successful singer/songwriter.  Named one of this year’s “Next Women of Country” by CMT, Kramer co-wrote more than half of the tracks on her second album, thirty one on Elektra Nashville, which features her smash hit, gold-certified single, “I Got The Boy.”   Kramer’s singing career kicked off with the release of her self-titled debut album in 2012, which featured the platinum-selling “Why Ya Wanna”. She earned the ACM’s New Female Vocalist of the Year award and the distinction of being country radio’s most-played debut artist of the year.  LUCIE SILVAS Born in the UK but raised in part in New Zealand by her Kiwi dad and Scottish mother, Lucie started playing piano and songwriting at 10 but wasn’t exposed to the music industry until she started singing back-up on tour with the British singer Judie Tzuke. She was then signed to Mercury Records and released two pop records, selling over a million albums in Europe.  The next chapter of her life saw her packing her bags and moving to Nashville where she was soon writing and performing with some US artists and musicians.  She’s recently released a self-financed album called Letters To Ghosts featuring some of Nashville finest musicians and with the title track winning strong radio airplay.  DRAKE WHITE The critically acclaimed Drake White (who has already been announced for a C2C After Show) has been called,”One of the country’s most energizing performers”, by Rolling Stone Country.  He’s a rapidly rising new star who released his acclaimed debut album, Spark on Dot Records, in the summer of 2016. The foot-stomping singer/songwriter and nature enthusiast co-wrote 10 of the tracks and the cover tells the visual story of who Drake White is as an artist, husband and native-Alabamian. The images imprinted into his silhouette paint a narrative of White’s life, including his wife Alex, his hometown church (where his grandfather served as preacher), his dog Writer and other mementos that inspired the record. White has been touring as opening act on Zac Brown Band’s Black Out The Sun tour in addition to his own headline dates.  Previously advised main stage artists Brad Paisley, Chris Young, Jennifer Nettles Friday March 10, 2017  Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Hunter Hayes, Dan + Shay Saturday March 11, 2017  Zac Brown Band, Marty Stuart, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne Sunday March 12, 2017    

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Brantley Gilbert's THE DEVIL DON'T SLEEP out Jan 27

For Brantley Gilbert, his back-to-back platinum success comes from writing about his life – and watching the people who live like he does respond. If HALFWAY TO HEAVEN was the story of a young man in the clutches of all it means to be wild, and JUST AS I AM considered the consequences of the life and the good times getting there, THE DEVIL DON’T SLEEP marks the next phase of the working class Country icon in the making’s life. Sixteen songs on the regular disc. Ten more on the Deluxe edition. It’s a whole lot of music from Country music’s hardest hitting songwriter/artist. It’s also a lot of life lived. “A lot has happened,” marvels the man nominated for CMA Song of the Year for Jason Aldean’s signature Dirt Road Anthem. “And anyone who knows me knows that every album is another chapter of my life. Even though it’s my life, even though some of what I write about is very specific to what happens to me, I think the challenges, the places where we figure things out are all the same – no matter what we’re facing, realizations all mean the same things.” Though The Weekend explodes as one of Gilbert’s industrial strength five o’clock Friday party anthems, THE DEVIL DON’T SLEEP works a celebratory tip for other reasons. As Gilbert is quick to point out, the songs offer a cautionary undertow because, as the title suggests, temptation is a nonstop reality – and people need vigilance to avoid backsliding into the very things that defeat them. “By now, everyone knows the story turned out okay for me,” laughs the man who sold out his entire BLACKOUT arena tour last winter, as well as his TAKE IT OUTSIDE amphitheater tour which closed with two nights at Red Rocks. “But the truth is there’s always temptation, there’s always something – whether it’s work or substances or gambling or whatever – that can pull you off the path. For me, thankfully, I got through it, got the girl back, got to keep my career moving…” As a tortured soul trying to walk the straight and narrow but always feeling the pull of the devil’s right hand, THE DEVIL DON’T SLEEP is supplemented with a Deluxe version that captures the roots of his songwriting and the essence of his blistering live shows. The expanded package represents a fuller look into the hard-hitting songwriter’s journey to where he is now: one of four Country artists to mine back-to-back platinum albums for sticking to his unapologetically rock-country hybrid on Halfway To Heaven and Just As I Am, six #1s including Aldean’s Dirt Road Anthem and My Kind of Party and his own Country Music Be Country Wide, Bottoms Up, You Don’t Know Her Like I Do and the deeply personal One Hell Of An Amen, two consecutive sold-out headlining tours and the love of the girl he lost along the way and the 2014 American Music Award for Favourite Country Album.    

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Jeannie Seely, Crystal Gayle, Locash and more to be featured in 'The Pickup'

Continuing the tradition of presenting the top stories in country music, another all-new episode of the “The Pickup” features a look at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the several new exhibits for the year of 2017. Exhibits that are open now include Charlie Daniels’ Million Mile Reflections and Alabama’s Song of the South. Exhibits that will open later this year will feature Jason Aldean, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and Loretta Lynn. The award-winning duo Dailey & Vincent have been invited to become members of the Grand Ole Opry. Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent were extended the offer by Opry member Marty Stuart following their performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on December 30. It has been announced that Crystal Gayle will be inducted to the Grand Ole Opry by her sister and Opry member Loretta Lynn. More on that in the next episode of “The Pickup.” Singer and songwriter Kristian Bush has written original music for a new play called “Troubadour.” The play is set in Nashville in in 1951 follows a country music legend and his son. “Troubadour” runs from January 18 until February 12 at Atlanta’s Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre. Jeannie Seely recently celebrated the release of her new album “Written in Song” in Nashville. Seely told “The Pickup” that the album was something her friends kept telling her to do. The album is available now.

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The Kentucky Headhunters to set sail for the second time on Rock Legends cruise

The Kentucky Headhunters have been taking fans on a musical adventure for five decades, with no signs of slowing down in 2017. The band is taking their energetic and unruly live show off-shore on this year’s sold out Rock Legends Cruise in support of their brand-new album ON SAFARI. The Headhunters will venture out to sea with some of rock music’s greats including Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, REO Speedwagon, Creedence Clearwater Revisted, Thin Lizzy, The Marshall Tucker Band, John Mayall, Todd Rundgren and more. The Rock Legends Cruise sets sail on Jan. 19 on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. “It feels great to be returning to the Rock Legends Cruise. There’s no thrill quite like playing alongside some of the iconic bands of the 70s and 80s that influenced our career,” said Richard Young of The Kentucky Headhunters. “We’re proud to be a part of this not only because of these bands we are such fans of, but also because the proceeds of the cruise will benefit a great cause – the Native American Heritage Association.”

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Tim Rushlow to perform during president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremonies

After years of performing for American sailors and soldiers around the globe, powerhouse vocalist Tim Rushlow will perform at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on January 19 as part of the “‘Make America Great Again!’ Welcome Celebration.” Rushlow, the former lead vocalist of Grammy®-nominated, multi-platinum selling group Little Texas, will perform as part of ‘The Frontmen of Country’ alongside Lonestar’s Richie McDonald and Restless Heart’s Larry Stewart. “I am honored to be a part of celebrating such a monumental moment in American history. Music is such a powerful platform and a great way to bring our country together and as an American I am humbled to be included in this historic event,” Rushlow said. Rushlow will be part of the Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration, which will take place following Voices of the People and will be broadcast live to the nation from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It will feature historic remarks from President-elect Donald J. Trump and special appearances from Toby Keith, Jon Voight, Jennifer Holliday, The Piano Guys, Lee Greenwood, RaviDrums, 3 Doors Down, and The Frontmen of Country. The celebration will also feature the participation of military bands as we honor our Armed Forces across all inaugural events and a fireworks show by Grucci at the conclusion.

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