October 2017

Breakthrough Nashville singer/songwriter Ryan Hurd has released his self-titled EP, a 4-track collection which has now amassed almost 50 million streams. As one of Nashville’s most-celebrated young writing talents with songs cut by Blake Shelton, Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley and Lady Antebellum, Ryan captured the country format with his artistry by releasing the EP consisting of 4 tracks, each of which is accompanied by its own music video. Billboard praised Hurd’s unique release strategy saying, “…Hurd has been impressively attracting a variety of listeners, solidifying himself as an emerging artist-to-watch with each track he releases.” Lead single “Love In A Bar”, co-written by Hurd and singer/songwriter Joey Hyde showcases Ryan’s celebrated lyricism as a writer and soulful, gravelly vocals. The electric, autobiographical, anthemic track from the Grammy-nominated songwriter has notched more than 17 million streams since its initial release last year. Watch the video for “Love In A Bar” below. Following the release of the EP, Ryan landed on over 10 watch lists for 2017 including Pandora, Rolling Stone, Huffington Post, CMT and more. He kicked off the year joining his fiancée, Grammy winner Maren Morris on her sold-out HERO tour, followed by supporting Thomas Rhett on his US tour dates, alongside Kelsea Ballerini and Russell Dickerson, then heading out with Chase Rice and Florida Georgia Line. In November, Ryan is making his first trip to the UK, supporting Maren Morris on her tour on this side of the pond: 12th November The Academy, Dublin 13th November O2 ABC, Glasgow 15th November O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London 17th November O2 Institute, Birmingham 18th November Anson Rooms, Bristol 20th November O2 Ritz, Manchester 21st November Leadmill, Sheffield   RYAN HURD – EP Tracklisting We Do Us (Ryan Hurd/Mikey Reaves/Laura Veltz) Love in a Bar (Ryan Hurd/Joey Hyde) City Girl (Ryan Hurd/Gordie Sampson/Troy Verges) Hold You Back (Ryan Hurd/Nicolle Galyon/Will Weatherly)

Buck’ n Bull Saloon are back on November 3rd for their second pop up event Buck’ N Bull Saloon presents Guy Fawkes Friday. Their first event brought fans together for a southern-inspired evening filled with line dancing, a bucking bronco competition, live music from Two Ways Home and a floor filling DJ set from Chris Country’s Baylen Leonard. Organisers have relocated to the Islington Metal Works in Angel for their second event and have another sell-out line up planned.  2016 UK Country Duo of the Year, Holloway Road, will be performing their latest full band set at the event. The Essex boys continue to go from strength to strength and have recently been seen opening for Lindsay Ell at Country Music Week having already played the Martin stage at CMA Fest 2015, performed for the C2C crowds for two consecutive years, written with Jacob Bryant (John & Jacob), partied with Kacey Musgraves, and landed both their EPs in the iTunes country top ten.  Buffalo Trace Bourbon are an official partner of the event and have sponsored one of the bars providing a similar bar and experience as seen at Country2Country 2017. Cocktails will include: Buffalo & Ginger Ale, The Dixie Apple, Old Fashioned, Honky Tonk Manhattan and of course the old classic Boilermaker as well! If you prefer your bourbon straight up, on the rocks or with a dash of coke, then bar staff will be more than happy to accommodate that too! Maxwell Thompson, Managing Director of Buck’ N Bull Saloon stated “we’re incredibly excited to be bringing our unique country party back to London in an amazing new venue. We’re delighted to have Buffalo Trace as an official partner, not only are they providing us with some really cool theming items for one of our bars, they’re also giving the first 60 people through the door a free shot of Eagle Rare bourbon! Lastly it’s great to have Baylen back to deliver another stand out DJ set and ensure the party keeps going all night long.” Tickets are on sale for the next event on 03.11.17 at www.bucknbullsaloon.com/guyfawkesfriday

​‘Nashville Sounds In The Round’ is set to bring together a selection of the UK’s greatest country talent for one very special evening in Birmingham, presented by Your Life In A Song. Taking place at the gorgeous Kitchen Garden Café on Wednesday 29th November, this will be an intimate acoustic showcase hosted by Sally Rea Morris and Steve Marks of Gasoline & Matches, who will be joined by Darcy and Jeannine Barry. Fans will have an opportunity to hear the stories behind their songs in a Bluebird-style ‘In The Round’ session, stripping the songs right back to their origins and transporting us right back to the writing rooms. Darcy has become one of the UK’s most exciting new country artists following the release of his new ‘Hooked’ EP. Having recorded the EP in Nashville using some of the city’s reputable musicians (including a former Paramore drummer, John Mayer’s bassist and Jimmy Buffet’s keyboard player), the result is a phenomenally polished, accomplished collection of songs that stand up well against the current crop of US country radio favourites. The EP has received rave reviews from bloggers far and wide, and the launch at Buckle & Boots Country Festival was a powerful introduction to an artist who is well and truly making his mark on the British country scene. Jeannine Barry will be bringing a wealth of experience to the show, having performed at the UK’s premier country festival, C2C, and headlined impressive shows of her own at The Garage, The Barfly and last year’s C2C launch party at the O2. Her pop-country style has proved popular with a wide variety of music fans and she has garnered comparisons to the likes of Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes and Emmylou Harris. Jeannine’s third studio EP ‘Bittersweet’ was released last year and shows Jeannine in a different light. Lyrically intricate with mellow sounds and authentic, vulnerable, yet powerful vocals. The hosts of the event, Gasoline & Matches, are another of the UK’s brightest emerging country acts. The duo first met in 2011 in a music shop in Birmingham. Coffee and guitars led to discovering a mutual admiration for Americana and Country music. Shortly after, they wrote, recorded and performed their first song ‘The Artist’ in just one day, feeling an immediate spark. Unfortunately, fate propelled the duo in different directions – Steve was touring internationally and Sally moved stateside to sing her way around 39 states. It wasn’t until her return to UK in 2016 that the duo reconnected and Gasoline & Matches was born. With the addition of 3 new members, the band has become a unique blend of heart felt vocals fuelled by edgy guitar licks and a killer rhythm section. Think Bonnie Raitt meets Brad Paisley and you’re half-way there for this explosive 5-piece about to set the UK Country scene alight. The Kitchen Garden Cafe  17 York Road  Kings Heath  Birmingham B14 7SA