November 2018

Elles Bailey will be taking to the stage at the December 2018 Corn on the Cob music night in Hertford, England, which marks the night being in operation for a whole year. Held on the second Thursday of every month, Corn on the Cob is ran by Steve Young and looks to promote upcoming Americana and country music artists in the UK. The night starts off with a Songwriters Circle, which features three acts and three songs in-the-round, before an acoustic solo/duo act will perform a stripped back and intimate set under the name of Up Close and Personal. The first of the full band line ups then take to the stage under Live and Kicking, before The Grande Finale sees the headliners perform a full set. The special December event will be held on the 13th at The Hertford Corn Exchange and will have Beth Keeping, Tasha Robertson and Danny McMahon in the Songwriters Circle, while Mark Sullivan is the Up Close and Personal pick. Bailey – who will release her second album ‘Road I Call Home’ on March 8 – will then perform for an hour as the Live and Kicking artist, while Young + The Real Time Players will round off proceedings as the night’s Grande Finale. Maverick gave Young’s most recent album ‘A Little North of Nowhere’ a 4* review, claiming that “you can hear the sentiment and soul that’s gone into producing this fine set of songs.” Tickets are available here.

Fender Undiscovered Artist 2018 finalist Roisin O’Hagan has released her latest single in the form of Miss You Like June, which you can listen to on Spotify here. The London and Essex based singer-songwriter has been very busy in 2018 and in her own words, Miss You Like June is about a long-term relationship and the highs and lows that come with that. Over the course of the year, O’Hagan has been building her audience and it seems that 2019 could be very prosperous for the artist. O’Hagan has a few live dates pencilled in before 2018 comes to a close, while today (23/11/18) she will be performing a live session on BBC Radio Essex an 14:00, before heading over to The Islington in London to support Josh Savage. O’Hagan’s remaining dates are: November 28: 229 The Venue, London December 4: Freedom Bar Soho, London December 7: Notting Hill Arts Club, London

The public voting for the Infinitime Music Awards will close tomorrow and there is still all to play for when it comes to the final verdict. Zoee, the winner of the Millport Country Music Festival Maverick Emerging Talent Showcase, is up for three awards including Best Female Act, Best Solo Record and Best International Act. You can see the video of her latest video, Town, below. https://youtu.be/dPhSlKEIJTk The Infinitime Music Awards are seen by some as the Mercury Awards for Scotland and are backed by the BBC.

The first 15 names for the 2019 Cambridge Folk Festival line-up have been announced, with Ralph McTell and Lucina Williams pencilled in to headline the Thursday and Saturday respectively. The headliners for the Friday and Sunday are yet to be announced for Cherry Hinton Hall, but other established names such as Jose Gonzalez, Jarrod Dickenson, Fisherman’s Friends, Lisa O’Neill and Richard Thompson have also been revealed. Elsewhere, Tunng, Karine Polwart, Nancy Kerr, Talisk, Lil’ Jimmy Reed & The A Team, Sam Sweeney, Nancy Kerr, Rura and James Fagan & Friends have also been announced, while Nick Mulvey will return to the festival as guest curator. The second wave of announcements for the Cambridge Folk Festival will be announced in the near future, with the long-running event set to be attended by many once again. Tickets for the event are available at www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk 

Ashton Lane have not one, but two new albums on the horizon, with the first of which – ‘The In-Between – being released on 30 November. Every single song on the album has been co-written with an Ashton Lane fan, which includes the lead single from the record, Marilyn Curls. The song was co-written with Elaine Anderson, and is directly inspired by the tragic story of Ruth Ellis – who was the last woman to be executed in the UK. The single and album are both available for pre-order, with the single having an official release date of 29 November. Both will be launched at a gig at St Luke’s in Glasgow on the 29th.  

Nathan Bell is to release his next single from the ‘Love, Bones & Stars’ album in the shape of A Day Like This. 2017 was fantastic for Bell as he picked up glowing 5-star reviews for his album, ‘I Don’t Do This For Love, I Do This For Love’ – a CD that deservedly won him a huge amount of media exposure. Bell ended the year on another high after being voted Male Americana Performer of the Year in a leading UK Readers’ Poll. The Tennesseean is rounding off 2018 in great form too, having completed his latest successful UK tour in support of TWO new releases, and returned for a string of high-profile dates in The Netherlands too, where he also has a big fan base. He had created a sensational impact earlier last year when he was flown in for a double bill show with James McMurtry at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, and stunned a capacity crowd into hushed silence when he took the stage. Ever since the word went around that this is a singer and song-writer who needs to be heard, the audiences have grown and the reviews have been universally strong. Maverick writer Paul Kerr was one of those he impressed, writing: “Bell is the real deal…do yourself a favour and catch this true American troubadour. You won’t be disappointed.” This track, A Day Like This, is from the latest studio offering, ‘Loves, Bones & Stars’. The sister album also released at the end of September, was recorded live in Wales last year. The CD, ‘Er Gwaetha Pawb A Phopeth’ (In Spite of Everyone and Everything) gives a full insight into the potency of his delivery both as a vocalist and guitarist.

Chris Stapleton had a hugely successful night at The 52nd Annual Country Music Association Awards (CMA Awards/CMAs) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and took home the Male Vocalist of the Year award, while his song Broken Halos won  Song of the Year (songwriters) and Single of the Year. Elsewhere, Keith Urban won Entertainer of the Year, current Maverick cover star Luke Combs won New Artist of the Year and Kacey Musgraves won Album of the Year for ‘Golden Hour’. The full list of winners (with the winners in bold) and nominees are: Entertainer of the Year Jason Aldean Luke Bryan Kenny Chesney Chris Stapleton Keith Urban Album of the Year ‘From A Room: Volume 2’ – Chris Stapleton ‘Golden Hour’ – Kacey Musgraves ‘Graffiti U – Keith Urban ‘Life Changes’ – Thomas Rhett ‘The Mountain’ – Dierks Bentley Single of the Year Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton Drinkin’ Problem – Midland Drowns the Whiskey – Jason Aldean featuring Miranda Lambert Meant to Be – Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line Tequila – Dan + Shay Song of the Year (awarded to the songwriter(s) Body Like a Back Road – recorded by Sam Hunt Broken Halos – recorded by Chris Stapleton Drowns the Whiskey – recorded by Jason Aldean featuring Miranda Lambert Drunk Girl – recorded by Chris Janson Tequila – recorded by Dan + Shay Male Vocalist of the Year Dierks Bentley Luke Combs Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton Keith Urban Female Vocalist of the Year Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Maren Morris Kacey Musgraves Carrie Underwood New Artist of the Year Lauren Alaina Luke Combs Chris Janson Midland Brett Young Vocal Duo of the Year Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay Florida Georgia Line Maddie & Tae Sugarland Vocal Group of the Year Lady Antebellum Lanco Little Big Town Midland Old Dominion Music Video of the Year Babe – Sugarland featuring Taylor Swift Cry Pretty – Carrie Underwood Drunk Girl – Chris Janson Marry Me – Thomas Rhett Tequila – Dan + Shay Musical Event of the Year Burning Man – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne Dear Hate – Maren Morris featuring Vince Gill Drowns the Whiskey – Jason Aldean featuring Miranda Lambert Everything’s Gonna Be Alright – David Lee Murphy with Kenny Chesney Meant to Be – Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line Musician of the Year Jerry Douglas –dobro Paul Franklin –steel guitar Dann Huff – guitar Mac McAnally – guitar Derek Wells – guitar