June 2018 - STAGING Maverick

David Leask – 'Six in 6/8' review

David Leask Six in 6/8 Self-released ✭✭✭✭ Six of the best from the award winning wordsmith Originally from Scotland, David Leask is now regarded as one of Canada’s leading song writers and numerous awards have made the music world sit up and take notice. His work draws from roots rock, Celtic and country although this rather short offering focuses very much on story-telling, anthem-like ballads, all played in his favourite 6/8 time signature. No less than 19 musicians add their talents to the album which was recorded in various studios from Toronto to Montreal, Nashville to Alabama. Justin Abedin’s excellent electric guitar is prominent on four of the six tracks but Leask appears to have selected specific musicians to suit particular numbers. This is certainly apparent on Red Balloonwhere Loretto Reid (flute, whistle, concertina), Rob Ikes (Dobro) and Doug Romanow (accordion) elevate this to the stand out track on the album. A charming tale of a child letting a balloon slip out of her hands and then remembering her mother’s words, when her first love deserts her; ‘let it go, let it fly’. All the songs are however, superbly crafted and David Leask possesses fine vocal talents although at times he attempts to sing slightly out of his range. When You Think No One Loves You, with its simple piano arrangement, is another superbly written ballad. This one’s certainly worth checking out; such a pity though that only six tracks, spanning just 23 minutes are featured. John Roffey www.davidleask.com

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Carrie Underwood confirmed for The Long Road fest!

News / Editor

Carrie Underwood, the seven-time GRAMMY Award winning country superstar, has been added to the line up for the three-day long The Long Road Festival. Taking place in Leicestershire from September 7-9 2018 the brand new music and lifestyle event will see a host of talented artists and musicians take to the stage from across the country, Americana and roots spectrum, which includes The Shires, Lee Ann Womack, Billy Bragg, Angaleena Presley, Catherine McGrath, The Wandering Hearts, Una Healy, Ward Thomas, Joshua Hedley, Charlie Worsham, Elizabeth Cook, Danielle Bradbery and many more. Underwood emerged from the promise of her 2005 American Idol win to become a true multi-format, multi-media superstar, spanning achievements in music, television, and film and propelling her to international stardom. A seven-time GRAMMY Award winner, she has sold 64 million records worldwide and recorded 26 #1 singles, 13 of which she co-wrote. She will release her new studio album, Cry Pretty – which features the hit lead single of the same name – on 14th September, a few days after her performance at The Long Road. “I’m thrilled to be a part of this exciting new festival that celebrates the heart and soul of country music on a global stage!” Carrie commented. Taking place within the grounds of Stanford Hall and curated by Tennessee-born country music specialist and radio presenter Baylen Leonard, The Long Road will present one of the UK’s largest, most authentic celebrations of country, Americana and roots music featuring five stages of live performances, authentic down home cookin’ and a wide range of themed outdoor activities. The festival has also partnered with an array of organisations including BBC Music Introducing, who will host a stage fronted by presenter of BBC Radio 2’s weekly country show Bob Harris showcasing a selection of up and coming country and Americana acts. Harris will also broadcast tracks from the festival on his weekly country show, which airs every Thursday at 8pm on BBC Radio 2. The Birthplace of Country Music, The Bluegrass Situation (BGS), The Americana Music Association UK, and independent UK label Loose Records, will also all be involved in bringing artists to the festival to showcase an array of international talent. The full line-up to date is as follows: Carrie Underwood Lee Ann Womack The Shires Billy Bragg Aaron Watson Angaleena Presley Brent Cobb Danielle Bradbery Ward Thomas Una Healy Charlie Worsham Ashley Campbell The Lone Bellow The Wood Brothers Elizabeth Cook Joshua Hedley The Wandering Hearts Caroline Spence Zack Logan Catherine McGrath Frontier Ruckus Folk Soul Revival Dori Freeman Andrew Alli The Brummies Logan Brill American Young Striking Matches Laura Oakes Luke Winslow-King Ruby Boots Ferris & Sylvester Andy Brown Kashena Sampson Danni Nicholls Parker Millsap Yola Carter William The Conqueror Jarrod Dickenson Dimpker Brothers Danny and The Champions of the World Megan O’Neill Two Ways Home Holloway Road Kevin McGuire Twinnie Jess and The Bandits Gary Quinn Treetop Flyers The Arlenes Joana Serrat Cardboard Fox Worry Dolls Tickets start at £45 and are available from www.thelongroad.com.

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Sonia Leigh and Friends: Studio 3 Sessions

Live events / Editor

Sonia Leigh set to release her full-length album on 15th June, 2018, paralleling her summer UK festival performances Sonia Leigh moved around frequently throughout her childhood, spending time in five states across the Bible Belt and Midwest. This filled her early life with changing scenery and half-packed moving boxes. Throughout, though, music remained a constant presence. “Growing up, my dad played music,” Sonia told Curve magazine, “He was a writer, and I’d listen to his songs that he wrote and I’d steal his guitar. As soon as I learned a few chords and I could change them fast enough, I started writing songs too.” Sonia became colored in many genres of music along her way. Influenced at a young age by her grandfather singing Hank Williams songs at family gatherings, soaking up her father’s own writing and record collection. It’s no surprise to mention her mothers classic rock favorites crept in and held a major roll in shaping her talents. In her early teens, the angst of the then-emerging grunge scene immediately set fire to a brand new trail and opened up a whole new world for Sonia’s musical wanderlust . Naturally, Sonia drew on every influence when she began writing and performing her own material, which she’s done since she began dreaming up her own songs in her bedroom. Along the way, this shape shifting singer-songwriter has honed both her craft and evolved her own genre-crossing style. “I grew up listening to country music with my Dad,” Sonia remembers, “but rock slowly became one of the biggest parts of the picture. I just loved it all, and I wanted to play it all. I was never someone who wanted to play only one style. I just wanted to play music.” Sonia’s passion for music transcends genres’ boxed-in boundaries, enabling her to maintain an expressive individuality, with energy and edge. She’s toured across the world with the likes of Melissa Etheridge, Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, and country legends such as Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn. Back in her adopted hometown of Nashville, she’s become a popular songwriter on Music Row, with a pair of #1 hits to her name: Zac Brown Band’s ‘Goodbye in Her Eyes’ and ‘Sweet Annie’ (both featured on the Grammy-winning album ‘Uncaged’). Sonia Leigh has earned a reputation as a songwriter who stretches country music far beyond its traditional limits. Now, continuing to develop her solo career, working with new sounds, collaborators, and jumping genre boundaries with ease. Sonia is drawing in and on everything from pop. hip hop melodies and country storytelling to the no-rules spirit of grunge, combined with the energy of rock & roll. Catchy hooks and clever lyrics are Sonia Leigh’s trademarks. Her 11-track studio album ‘Sonia Leigh and Friends: Studio 3 Sessions’ shows an organic, honest, and raw approach. Recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios Sonia collaborates with hand selected UK musicians/artists including, James Tranter, James Dudley and Luke Davis from Broken Witt Rebels, sprinkled with a collection of surprise cameo’s. From the smokey vocals and catapulting guitar’s on ‘Jack is Back’ to the upbeat classic rock nod of ‘Alabama Bound’ and the witty, worldly-wise lyrics of ‘My Name is Money’, there are many gems on Sonia Leigh’s latest effort. Surprises such as a beautiful piano rendition of Claude Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ and a never before recorded version of her penned number one hit for Zac Brown Band “Sweet Annie”. including a Tom Wait’s group sing along coupled with some brand new songs. There is something for everyone here. Sonia is most excited to pair up and work closely with Supa Jam a new music program that allows children and young adults from all back grounds in the UK to learn their musical path, with guidance from expert mentors in the industry. She will be headlining the Supa Jam stage at The Black Deer Festival Friday, 22nd June. You can also catch her pregame show Thursday, 21st June at the Hertford Corn Exchange. Check her website sonialeigh.com for info and don’t miss your chance to see this one of kind live. ‘Sonia Leigh and Friends: Studio 3 Sessions ‘ is available now for pre-order on iTunes and due to release on 15th June, 2018. Sonia Leigh and Friends: Studio 3 Sessions pre order link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/live-in-london-studio-3-sessions/1383365546 Website:http://sonialeigh.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonialeighmusic Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonialeigh

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Get ready… Black Deer has almost arrived

News / Editor

One of the year’s most hotly anticipated events on the calendar for fans of country and folk music, Black Deer Fest is making its debut this weekend which is why we’ve started the final countdown leading up to the weekend’s rich variety of entertainments. Taking place amidst the stunning Kent countryside at Eridge Park between June 22-24, the Friday line up includes Striking Matches – made up of Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis – whose music contains elements of country, rock and blues that collectively form a raw and rootsy sound. Nine of their songs including “When the Right One Comes Along” and “Hanging on a Lie” have been featured on ABC’s hit drama series Nashville and recorded by the show’s stars Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen, and attracted an international fan base. Sarah Darling will also take to the stage with a variety of songs – the talented songstress over the span of her career has amassed 7million Spotify streams and clocked up more than 80 performances at the Grand Ole Opry. Catherine McGrath will show she’s still the “talk of the town” when she performs on Friday, while The Wandering Hearts are stealing our very own with their harmonious vocals. There’s a whole host of authentic roots based music within, over 70 artists over 3 days over 6 stages: on Saturday Keifer Sutherland, Ashley Campbell, Jarrod Dickenson, The Adelaides and The Orange Circus Band will perform; on Sunday the extraordinary Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will play, as well as Passenger, Elles Bailey, Jess and the Bandits, Carousel, Katy Hurt and O&O will perform. Kent native Sam Palladio, who plays Gunnar Scott in the Country music drama Nashville, will perform on Sunday fresh from the Nashville in Concert Farewell UK tour. Check out the full line up and grab tickets at blackdeerfestival.com.

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Debut album – Hayley McKay

Top Picks / Editor

It’s been a long time coming, but Hayley McKay’s self-titled, debut album, released on the Willow Records label, has been worth the wait. There’s already been a hint of what Hayley’s all about with her first two singles, Unspoken and The Bottom Of My Heart, which showcased her amazingly pure vocal and the ability to deliver both a soulful ballad and an up-tempo foottapper with both style and panache. The majority of the tracks are either written or co-written by Hayley proving there’s far more to her than just an amazing voice. Haunting ballads, such as Ghosted and Don’t Give Up On Me, are supported by gentle acoustic numbers like You’re A Song and Matching Suitcase. And there’s also an element of folk in another co-write – Following The Sun. The lead track, Catching Fire – another country/rock track, that found its way to her from Nashville – also deserves an honourable mention for the manner in which it opens the door to what is to come. The current single, Ghosted, showcases Hayley’s talent as a writer as well as confirming her to be a true, all-round country artist with a style all of her very own. However, the masterstroke is undoubtedly the bonus track. Christine McVie’s Songbird was brilliantly delivered by the late, lamented Eva Cassidy. But could it be that Hayley trumps her version? You’ll just have to listen to find out! ‘This album has been a real labour of love for me‘, said Hayley. ‘I’ve been wanting to share my music with everyone for so long now and I’ve been working on the album for over a year to make sure that it’s absolutely right. Every song shows off a different element of my voice and my producer, Matt Parisi, has really delivered an amazing sound with Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road adding his own special magic. I’m so proud of this album and I really hope everyone will love it as much as I do’. Hayley has performed in Nashville, played at Glastonbury, Cornbury, SummerTyne Americana, Hardwick Live, and Twisterella, and supported iconic artists such as Albert Lee, Skip McDonald, Scouting For Girls, Tom Jones and Martha Reeves. Hayley’s live dates for 2018 include; Sep 1st, Lindisfarne Festival; Nov 3rd, Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, with more dates to be announced soon.

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CMA Fest sets record for highest fan engagement in almost 50 years

News / Editor

The 47th annual CMA Fest drew tens of thousands of fans to the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium, capacity crowds at Chevrolet Riverfront Stage and the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater, and largest engagement by Country Music fans in the event’s history from visitors from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and 36 international countries. Additionally, millennials made up 41% (the highest share) of new attendees and continue the trend of a growing younger CMA Fest audience which supports the growing younger Country Music audience trend overall. Forty-seven percent of domestic festival goers attended the festival for the first time. Sixty percent of international attendees were first-time festival goers. In addition to continued representation from regions such as Canada, U.K., Australia and several European countries, attendees trekked to CMA Fest from widespread territories including Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Chile. Outside of Tennessee, droves of music fans from far-reaching regions made the journey to CMA Fest. In order of the most attendees by state, Florida, California, Illinois, New York, Kentucky and Ohio are the top states represented at this year’s CMA Fest. The longest-running Country Music festival in the world took over downtown Nashville Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10, with more than 300 acts performing on 11 official stages and ticket proceeds going directly to helping enrich and sustain music education programs across the country through CMA’s nonprofit arm, the CMA Foundation, thanks to every artist at the festival donating their time. The festival is filmed for a three-hour special, “CMA Fest,” which will be hosted by Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini and airs Wednesday, Aug. 8 on the ABC Television Network. This year marks the 15th consecutive year of the broadcast. “CMA Fest is a marathon music celebration that engages our entire community,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “We thank our Nashville business community, our ABC partners, and of course all the artists and industry for working with us to make it a successful event for the fans. The diversity of talent featured throughout the footprint this year ranged from emerging to legendary artists.” Festivities kicked off early on Wednesday, June 6 with a sold-out CMA Songwriters Series show at the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum featuring Mary Chapin Carpenter, Vince Gill, Mac McAnally and Don Schlitz. Conversations happening around CMA Fest saw almost 900 million in social reach Thursday through Sunday. The CMA Fest app proved essential to festival goers, with nearly 50,000 total users throughout all four days, clocking almost 15 million scheduled events, up 18 percent from last year’s usage. CMA Fest Fan Access users increased by 40 percent from 2017, while the Ultimate Fan Experiences Drawing, which offers fans special access to artists meet-and-greets and performances, saw a 36 percent increase in participants. Traffic on the festival’s official website CMAfest.com increased by more than five percent over last year. Billboard offered livestream coverage of Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley and Dustin Lynch’s Artist of the Day appearances on the CMA Close Up Stage at Fan Fair X inside Music City Center and saw massive fan engagement on their Facebook page. CMA livestreamed Garth Brooks’ appearance on the CMA Close Up Stage on Saturday. Over the course of the four-day festival, Xfinity Fan Fair X welcomed 71,000 attendees, up 10% over 2017, and hosted 365 artists across meet-and-greets and three indoor stages in the exhibit hall, including the expanded Radio Disney Country Stage. Fans enjoyed listening to and meeting the 51 up-and-coming artists featured on the new CMA Spotlight Stage. Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation was a “pup-ular” highlight inside Fan Fair X again with 55 dogs finding their forever homes. CMA’s heavily attended Music Streaming Lounge at Xfinity Fan Fair X offered fans hands-on education of music streaming platforms, charging stations and relaxing lounge areas. On Thursday, the lounge was transformed into an iHeartRadio recording studio where fans had the opportunity to become an on-air radio host interviewing some of the biggest names in Country Music for broadcast on a special iHeartRadio Fan Fair X station. Fans also received a photo with the artist to commemorate their first radio gig inside the iHeartRadio pop-up studio. On Friday, Spotify debuted a new digital experience where fans could find their “Country Music Match” and create collaborative playlists live with Country artists, while also offering updated free product and assisting listeners in personalizing their listening experiences. On Saturday, guests were able to interact with tens of millions of songs on Amazon Music while using Alexa, requesting music in brand new ways based on mood, era, genre, city, lyrics, and much more. Visitors were also able to meet various Country Music artists who stopped by the Amazon Music space, some featured on the brand-new global playlist Country Heat. “The heart of CMA Fest is supporting new music and artist discovery and we do that through our many engaging marketing and brand partnerships,” said Damon Whiteside, CMA Chief Marketing Officer. “This year we took that to the next level by creating an experience that allowed top music streaming platforms to interact with and educate fans directly about the benefits of their services to empower new music discovery.” Verified fan pre-sale for CMA Fest in 2019 begins Monday, July 30, with a national on-sale Monday, Aug. 6 at cmafest.com/tickets.

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